After battles between Hamas and Israeli soldiers in the Gaza strip has created high civilian & military death counts, a supposed, conditional truce has been reached - one that could possibly end the fighting in both Gaza and the West Bank.
In a joint peace-effort between the Hamas and Israeli militants, it appears that for the short term, there could be
peace in the Gaza strip.
The Hamas, which have ruled the Gaza strip under tight military aggression with Israel, had kidnapped an Israeli soldier nearly two years ago and held him ever since; this action had set off the Israeli military to raid and bomb the area in the seemingly endless battle between the two parties in the area. However, with the help of an Egyptian moderator, the deal was brokered between the conflicting sides:
[An Egyptian official said] the cease-fire would go into effect on Thursday. Israel refused to confirm a deal, but said a "new reality" would take hold if Palestinian attacks end.
Meanwhile, the deal comes with certain conditions, such as the opening of the Egyptian/Gaza border that has been the source of the heaviest fighting. These demands were brought forth from the Israeli blockade that has prevented aid to the severely impoverished strip, which at the same time has trapped 1.4 million inhabitants from leaving.
According to the Egyptian news agency MENA, the truce will commence on Thursday at 6AM, and if it is calm for at least 3 consecutive days, Israel would open up Gaza border to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as the first stage of the agreement.
Secondly, after a week of calm there would be more goods allowed in (perceived to be 'regular' trade commodities), and that this would bring on the final stage of the agreement from Israel's side, which would be the blockade between the Gaza/Egypt border (called Rafah crossing), allowing the main route in and out of the strip to be reopened. However, that was only called 'a consideration', which probably means it won't happen. The border has been closed since June 2007, when the Hamas violently seized control of the strip.
And in another glimpse of hope, the truce has the potential to extend to the West Bank, where Israeli arrest raids on Hamas militants has been occurring.
However, this deal is all contingent on the release of the Israeli soldier; and Hamas said that the main border opening is the key to his release:
A Hamas official said the Rafah deal would be connected to the release of the Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Palestinian militants in a cross-border raid two years ago. Israel has balked at Hamas' demand for a release of hundreds of militants held in Israeli jails.
Of course, there's a large amount of scepticism that this truce will last for the proposed 6-months; after all, the last truce in November 2006 fell apart quickly, and the violence escalated immediately. What is also fuelling this cynicism is Hamas' open claim they would take advantage of any lull to restock their arms. Israel, meanwhile, is still reluctant to recognize the Hamas rule of Gaza as a legitimate government.
Domestic pressure inside Israel also helped to push this conflict to a truce agreement, as Israel's other option was a widescale invasion of the strip, something they feared would create a high amount of civilian casualties.
The United States deputy spokesperson Tom Casey was encouraged by the news, but still remained cautious in his words, claiming that Hamas was still a terrorist regime.
"We believe that establishing calm in Gaza and elsewhere is a good thing and we're supportive of Egyptian efforts and other efforts to achieve this, but saying you have a loaded gun to my head but you are not going to fire it today is far different than taking the gun down, locking it up and saying you're not going to use it again," he said. "Even if this is in fact a true report, it hardly takes Hamas out of the terrorism business."
The scepticism is well founded, and it seems the only ones really interested in a truce is Egypt in this case, who has no doubt had some economic troubles from the violence that is occurring just next door to them. The truce has the potential to last, but the conditions required from both sides seem to be those that neither will actually abide to - at least not for long. Is it so difficult to ask for just three days of peace in the region?
