It's Official: Israel Declares Ceasefire, Hamas Declares Fight Not Over

by Charles Lenchner · 2009-01-17 15:34:00 UTC
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From the NYT:"Meanwhile, Hamas leaders outside Gaza have insisted that the group will fight on, regardless of any Israeli declaration."

Wow. I guess having Israel agree to stop shooting isn't enough.... But wait:

Israel has signaled that its troops will stay in Gaza until a formal truce is signed that meets Israeli goals of stopping rocket fire from Gaza and sharply hindering the smuggling of arms, weapons, cash and fighters into Gaza through tunnels from Egypt. But the government says it will not sign any deal with Hamas, which is committed to Israel’s destruction and whose rule over Gaza Israel does not want to recognize.

So, Israel is declaring a unilateral ceasefire while making it perfectly clear that it has no intention of signing a truce with Hamas. So.... I guess Israel doesn't actually want a truce with Hamas, right?

Though exiled Hamas figures vowed to keep fighting, it was unclear how the cease-fire will be received by leaders within Gaza. The group’s representatives were scheduled to meet Egyptian officials in Cairo who are trying to pull together a sustainable truce of at least a year that will end rocket fire into Israel, hinder Hamas resupply and reopen all the crossings into encircled Gaza from both Israel and Egypt.

Oh I get it. It's the Hamas leaders in exile who plan to keep on fighting; we don't yet know what Hamas in Gaza will do. Agree to stop shooting, even though Israeli troops are still in Gaza, the siege is still in effect, and Israel is announcing it won't come to an understanding directly with Hamas, the democratically elected government of Gaza?

This blogger predicts that the fighting calms down a bit, but doesn't actually stop. I hope I'm wrong.

Charles Lenchner
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