A new push for a return to the Gaza ceasefire is making considerable progress, with both Islamic Jihad and Hamas agreeing to the idea, and the Palestinians saying that the only real sticking point is whether or not Israel will accept it.
Israeli officials say that “no decision” has been made on the ceasefire call, and that they rejected several previous ceasefire proposals before the current one was proposed.
Selling the ceasefire is to Israel’s cabinet is a tough matter, as the far-right security cabinet has a lot of hawks who don’t want anything short of a full military conquest of the strip. Indeed, the last ceasefire collapsed largely because Israel rejected the peace deal that was being negotiated.
The US and European Union have been working on a draft UN resolution calling for a new ceasefire, though it would be extremely unusual for the US to introduce such a resolution without Israel’s endorsement.