A
24-hour “humanitarian” ceasefire might go into effect at 1:00 AM,
Monday morning. UN Sec. Gen. Ban Ki Moon is reportedly pushing for this
option. This will be the sixth ceasefire that has been agreed to. A
ceasefire was to have gone into effect at 14:00 on Sunday afternoon, but
Hamas continued firing before and after the deadline. What must be
remembered, is that Israel has not gone father than 2 kilometers into
Gaza.
As of now, according to Channel 2 TV military correspondent, the
situation is "quiet will bring quiet." So that a reduction in firing
from both sides is already in place.
Reportedly,
Hamas had asked the UN for a ceasefire, then decided to break it when
news leaked out they'd asked for it. Hamas is interested in a cease-fire
during the Moslem holiday of Idl Fider, that marks the approaching end
of Ramadan.
Saturday
saw a 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire from 8:00 AM until 8:00 PM.
Israel tried to extend the cease-fire until midnight, but the entreaty
was rejected by Hamas. Over 60 rockets have been fired at Israel since
Saturday night, some aimed at Tel Aviv were intercepted by the Iron Dome
anti-missile rockets.
Israel's army continues to search and destroy what the Israeli media calls “terror tunnels.” The 32nd
tunnel was discovered today stretching 2 ½ kilometers from Gaza under
the border fence into Kibbutz Beeri. So far Israel's Channel 10 TV
military correspondent Or Heller reports that 16 tunnels have been
destroyed, so far. Most analysts say that Israel will not leave Gaza
until all the tunnels have been destroyed. Israel has continued, and
according to experts will continue to search and destroy the tunnels
even during the humanitarian ceasefire.
The
death toll continues to climb, on both sides. In Israel 42 soldiers
have been killed so far in this conflict, hundreds injured, 51 still in
the hospital. Three civilians have also been killed. The Gazans suffered
far worse, mainly, according to analysts, because Hamas has been using
civilians as human shields. The Gazan death toll has climbed to 1050,
including nearly 300 armed Hamas fighters, with nearly 2,000 wounded.
Saturday
was the first time the Israeli army allowed reporters to accompany IDF
forces. The pictures sent back were or devastation that looked like
Berlin after a bombing raid by the Allies in WWII. Alon Ben David, also a
military analyst for Channel 10, said that the IDF is no longer taking
chances. So far Israeli soldiers have been killed by entire homes rigged
as booby-traps.
Some
Israeli soldiers died in such booby-traps. Israel now calls in the air
force to destroy the building, or the tanks to send in heavy rounds. The
TV footage shows such buildings, three floors and stretching nearly a
city block, blowing up with the extreme force caused by the bombs
waiting inside for the Israeli soldiers. “One house was like a gas
tanker,” said Ben David. When it was bombed, the explosion rocked the
neighborhood.
The
Paris meeting called by US Sec. Of State John Kerry last Friday created
a stir in Israel. According to the reports, Kerry accepted all of the
proposals put forward by Hamas' leader Khaled Mashal for a peace accord,
effectively throwing US support behind Hamas while ignoring Egypt,
Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab
Emirates. He also agreed to donate billions of dollars to solve the
problems of Gaza. According to Channel 2 TV's political analysts Amnon
Rabinovitch, “He's an idealists, a real idealist, but he's a nerd. He
doesn't get what's going on here.”
Kerry
reportedly also agreed to the Hamas demands for a sea port, leaving the
tunnels in place, opening borders, and deal with “security issues,”
without mentioned Israel. Kerry's support of Hamas came about the same
time that a Pentagon official came out in favor of leaving Hamas in
place. Michael Flynn, outgoing head of the Defense Intelligence Agency,
told a high-level security conference in Aspen, Colorado, that what may
replace Hamas may be an even more radical Islamist Fundamentalist group.
The
snub of the Palestinian Authority has left PA leader Machmud Abbas
fuming, according to press reports. The Palestinian Authority today
issued a sharp rebuttal to Kerry's plan saying only Egypt can be the
broker for a peace agreement.
Military
commentator Gen. (res.) Danny Rubenstein said that Israel and the west
now have a golden opportunity to form an alliance with the moderate Arab
states. Kerry's move, analysts say, has closed the door on a chance to
not only replace Hamas but forge a new alliance with these moderate
countries. Analysts say this was a confusing move since Kerry has proven
to be a true friend of Israel.
Hamas
has also called on Palestinians in the West Bank to join in the fight.
Nearly 30,000 marched on the Qalandia crossing point into Jerusalem on
Friday night. A fight ensued in which one Palestinian was killed, and 12
Israeli policemen wounded. It was also the first time that the
Palestinians used live ammunition since the second Intifada. Over 300
spent cartridges were found on the ground after the demonstration.
A
potential disaster was also averted when an alert border guard stuck
his head into a suspicious vehicle at the crossing from the West Bank
into Israel at the Betar Ilit crossing. The guard noticed gas balloons
with electric wires attached to it. The guard pulled his weapon and
arrested the Palestinian. The gas balloons were attached to explosives
that could have done deadly damage had the car reached a civilian
population.
Rumors
are also circulating that Palestinian units are cruising Jerusalem
looking for a candidate to kidnap. Reportedly two attempts were averted.
Israel's
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a series of interviews on
American TV stressing the point that only Egypt's involvement can bring a
ceasefire. While the Israeli cabinet meets to discuss another
ceasefire, commentators are calling for Israel to continue the attacks
until Hamas has been so weakened it will surrender. However, Gen.
Farkash, former head of military intelligence, says that Hamas'
leadership doesn't have to be confronted and destroyed. By turning the
power over to the Palestinian Authority Hamas will be effectively made
irrelevant, or at the least be forced to go underground. All that is
left is to convince Sec. Of State Kerry that this is the best option.
