Multiple reports on the status of the Gaza ceasefire differ on key points, but one thing is clear: the negotiations have failed for now, and the Israeli government continues to insist that the talks aren’t serious in the first place.
A key reason for the failure, according to Hamas, was a litany of new Israeli demands issued before they would consider ending their attacks. Hamas reportedly agreed to the bulk of the terms but balked at Israeli demands to create an even bigger “buffer zone” between Israel and the tiny strip, carved entirely out of Gazan territory.
Israel has already imposed a de facto “no-go” area for the 300 meters of Gaza that borders Israeli territory, and while this doesn’t sound significant it actually carves a significant chunk out of the narrow enclave, which is only a few kilometers wide in parts. This “no-go” area mostly consists of farmland, and Israeli troops have regularly killed farmers they accused of crossing the boundary. It is unclear how much more territory Israel sought.
Even though there were multiple sources confirming the talks in some form, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to deny that any talks were taking place at all, insisting that it was only possible for Israel to even consider negotiation after all retaliatory strikes had ended. Though the number of rockets fired out of Gaza dropped significantly today, the large number of civilian deaths in Israeli attacks has many militant factions looking to score points by continuing their retaliation.
The only "buffer-zone" that will completely satisfy the Israelis is the entire Strip cleansed of Palestinians. Only when the Palestinians are gone will the Israelis feel safe. That's what they think. It's wrong but I won't tell them if you don't. Wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.
This is an inhuman and barbaric regime as those who wants to change the Syrian government. THe Israel buffer zone is when all palestinians have left their home and moved out of their homes.., that what this man and his supporters from the west are saying, that what these Neo Liberal Fascism all over Europe from Sweden to England and france are saying.
Seems to me that its Gaza that requires a rather large buffer zone for the safety of its citizens. Maybe the Litani River is far enough?
I don't have a problem with deeper buffer zones. Put them on the Israel side of the line.
There are two sides to every story.
There is nothing more nauseating than watching people celebrate as rockets are being fired toward Israel from the Gaza Strip.
This is what happened last week when Hamas fired rockets at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
As soon as the sirens went off, many Palestinians took to the streets and rooftops, especially in Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods, to cheer Hamas. Sometimes they responded to the Hamas rockets by launching fireworks into the air as a sign of joy, and chanting, "We are all Hamas!" and, "O Jews, the army of Mohammed is coming after you!"
Scenes of jubilation over the rocket attacks on Israel were also reported in several Palestinian cities in the West Bank, including Ramallah, the center of Palestinian "pragmatism and moderation."
Later, upon learning that Hamas's rockets had failed to kill Israelis in the two cities, the Palestinians voiced disappointment.
Never mind that the rockets could have fallen on their heads. As far as these Palestinians are concerned, there is no problem if a number of Arabs are killed on the way to destroying Israel.
The celebrations reflect the strong hostility that many Palestinians continue to feel toward Israel despite 20 years of a peace process, and billions of dollars of Western aid. This hostility is the direct result of years of anti-Israel and anti-Western incitement in the Arab and Islamic world.
The hostility is directed not only toward Israel, but also its friends — above all, the United States.
Similar outbursts of joy had erupted in many parts of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem immediately after Palestinians heard of the 9/11 terror attacks in the US.
And this was not the first time that Palestinians had expressed joy over the targeting of Israeli cities.
During the 2006 war in Lebanon, Palestinians and some Arab citizens of Israel took to rooftops to cheer Hizbullah's rocket attacks on northern cities in Israel.
During the second intifada, many Palestinians, particularly in the Gaza Strip, used to take to the streets to sing and dance and hand out candies after hearing about another suicide bombing inside Israel.
And when Saddam Hussein fired rockets at Israel in the early 1990's, Palestinians also took to the streets and rooftops, chanting, "O beloved Saddam, strike strike at Tel Aviv!"
Last week, by the way, many Palestinians in Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron were chanting: "O beloved Qassam [Hamas's armed wing], destroy, destroy Tel Aviv!" and "The people want the destruction of Israel!"
No one is expecting the Palestinians to express solidarity or sympathy with Israel in its confrontation with Hamas.
But when many Palestinians express their joy in public over the firing of rockets and missiles at Israeli cities, one is entitled to wonder whether there is a majority of Palestinians who would ever agree to any form of compromise with Israel.
In today's world of the Palestinians, anyone who talks about peace with Israel is a traitor and a collaborator; but anyone who calls for the destruction of Israel and fires rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is a hero.
Also:
As Richard Kemp, the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan has said, the Israeli Army does "more to safeguard civilians than any Army in the history of warfare." This includes dropping leaflets, making phone calls and providing other warnings to civilian residents of Gaza City. But Hamas refuses to provide shelter for its civilians, deliberately exposing them to the risks associated with warfare, while it shelters its own fighters in underground bunkers.