On Thursday night, Israel’s security cabinet voted unanimously in favor of a ceasefire to end the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza that has been raging since last Monday.
The ceasefire was brokered by Egypt and is set to take effect early Friday morning. A Hamas official told Reuters that Israel and Hamas will enter a “mutual and simultaneous” Gaza truce at 2 am on Friday.
According to Ynet, one Israeli official said the truce was an agreement on “quiet in exchange for quiet.” Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya reported that Egypt was sending monitors to Gaza.
Israeli airstrikes continued to pound Gaza throughout Thursday. After 11 days of Israeli air raids in Gaza, at least 232 Palestinians have been killed, including 65 children. Many residential buildings were also destroyed in the campaign. In Israel, at least 12 people have been killed by rockets fired out of Gaza, including two children.
News of Israel approving the ceasefire came a day after President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and called for a “de-escalation.” Netanyahu appeared to reject Biden’s comments after the conversation and said he was “determined to continue” the Gaza operation. But now, it seems the campaign will wind down.
Israel had rejected an earlier truce offer from Hamas that was made last week through the Russian foreign ministry after only two days of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza.
Too Little. Too Late.
Ah, old stock moved out, new missiles on the way. Rinse and repeat.
Plus some dumb bombs see the wizard and get some brains to become smart bombs.
$735 million of precision guided missiles.
“The bulk of the $735 million deal is for Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), which can convert unguided bombs into precision-guided munitions.”
https://news.antiwar.com/2021/05/18/house-democrat-quickly-backs-down-on-plan-to-ask-biden-to-delay-israel-arms-sale/
Now Israel can claim credit for a victory over the “Flintstones” with unlimited political/financial/military support from the USA. That makes me (n0t) so proud!
It makes me ashamed. For voting for the man.
It’s okay. As Tom Woods said, no matter who you vote for in America, you get John McCain.
Love it! Perhaps we can propose tweaking it a bit. How about this? No matter who you vote for in America, you get Killary Clinton. Sorry for the typo in advance.
Lets just say she is the female version. McCain doesn’t play second fiddle to anyone. I sense a dislike of the witch on your part. 🙂
I don’t know anything but I assumed she was not called “the queen of warmongers” for nothing.
Groan…………………..yessssssssssss
At the link are some thoughts from Elijah J. Magnier. He may or may not know what he is talking about, but the very abrupt way the Apartheid state called for a cease-fire suggests to me that maybe God’s Favorite Barbarians actually were running low on defensive missiles for their glorious iron dome.
https://twitter.com/ejmalrai/status/1395382597681696771
Apparently Biden promised to replenish The Dome.
#thingsthatmakeyougohmmm
The fabled technology cannot handle what amounts to spiked fireworks.
But there are other reasons. Biden can read public opinion in US — and it is catastrophically against Israel. And not to mention global opinion.
Unusually strong wording came out of Russia and Turkey. Israel has been warned.
And given global opinion stacked up against Israel, US did the math, and concluded that any intervention against Israel by either Russia or Turkey — would have been met with a loud global cheer.
Thus, suddenly, Biden became “impatient” with Netanyahu.
What is MOST significant is — entry of Egyptian observers. Does it mean that Israel will no longer control the entry of humanitarian aid?
Entry of a foreign country into Gaza is the most significant development, Given that head of Hamas was in Moscow for consultation, snd given a good track record of Egypt, Russia and Turkey in Libya — this may be a beginning of internationalizing Gaza.
While a cease fire is welcome, we know on past performance that:
Israel will violate it, blatantly and repeatedly to kill many, and
Later Israel will do all of this again.
What can be done to put a stop to Israel’s behavior? Something better than rockets is needed, perhaps some foreign force. Perhaps Turkey might put the S-400 system in there, along with some serious artillery rockets.
It’s not in the interests of foreign powers to get more involved in the situation. Nor is it really in the interests of Palestinians – an Israel-Turkey war would lead to far more dying, not fewer. The key is for o one particular country to get less involved – the USA should stop arming the Israelis.
Are you kidding? It would be like leaving a98 pound weakling to have the sh-t kicked out of him, while those who could help stand back and then say, sorry.
Palestinians are being systematically wiped out. We, the house on the hill, the beacon of freedom,the United States of America, is funding the whole G-d D-mn thing.
A shameful exercise………………….
That’s totally true. But how does it change the interests of the major powers? And using force to change the situation would almost certainly lead to more killing, as has happened in Syria etc.
Except as solidarity martyrdom as this latest, military force is futile, when not corrupting -the idea is not to become another Israel. The most effective resistance we’ve seen so far seems to be BDS.
B.S. It hasn’t done a thing to slow down the genocide.
Not bullshit at all. The Hamas leaders who ordered the rockets in response to the evictions at Sheik Jarra knew it would mean their lives, …and have no practical effect.
Turkey is Israel’s partner in dismantling and assimilating Syria. Erdogan will not support the Palestinians. Erdogan plays on the Turks’ sympathy for the Palestinians. But he is in bed with Netanyahu. Bad visual. Sorry.
bring the apartheid regime to the International Criminal Court
for all these new and despicable war crimes and crimes against humanity
now
Yes, and as devoutly to be wished, a denazification of US .
Did the ceasefire include a halt to the evictions? Did it include the decampment from the Al-Aqsa mosque by the Israeli police? No? Then it’s all going to happen again, until everyone who opposes this speaks out and defunds this activity.
Nope. The IDF is back at the mosque, lobbing tear gas, flash bangs, detaining Palestinians.
Not a G-d D-amned thing has changed.
Jeremiah Wright was correct; G-d D-amn America!
I love this country, but our leaders at every level are pieces of sh-t.
Exactly. Do not count on Netanyahu in his political struggle to look weak.
So, nastiness continues.
Israel has been given yellow card by Russia in unusually blunt statement on East Jerusalem, West Bank settlements and Gaza. I am wondering if the pressure in Biden was such that he agreed to observers.
I suspect that entry of Egypt’s observers is the beginning of a coordinated action by many ME actors, as well as Russia and China. Especially in aid and reconstruction.
I suspect that Israel will have to tread more carefully. Will have to — but cannot. There is a reason Israel went through a series of inconclusive elections, and difficulties with forming government. Why is country so divided? Nobody is being “soft” on Palestinians. So where is the fissure? It looks to me that there is a crater forming between old European immigrants and the Russian speaking immigrants from former Soviet Union.
They never fully assimilated because of the power given to Orthodox parties — those that decide who is Jewish or not. It affects birth certificates, marriage and burials. Many immigrants from Soviet Union were culturally Jewish rather then ethnically Jewish.
But as they are nearly a million — electorally they count. When Netanyahu falls, it remains to be seen how will all of this shake out.
That’s interesting, I hadn’t heard that Egypt was sending observers. It’s time everyone does, let Israel piss and moan that they’re in charge, and then drag them to the Hague because it’s admittedly their fault.
So, what caused BB to back off? Pres. “Come on, man” Joe telling him to “cut it out, man!” US public opinion? especially within the Jewish community? Arab-Jew race violence within Israel? Depleted arsenal, especially Iron Dome? BB offered pardon? …BB suffered compassion attack?
If I had to guess, it was something along the lines of “publicly, I’ll mouth off about being completely supportive. But if you don’t knock it off, that arms sale I just authorized will get unauthorized.”
“Come on man,” do you really think “lunch bucket” Joe has the metal for toe to toe with BB & AIPAC?
Seriously, I think that’s got to be just White House puffery. It could be the Iron Dome? or just BB’s brain trust telling him they’d already optimized.
I don’t know. But we do know that the way to tell something is a lie is when it’s officially confirmed.
“Come on man,” do you really think “lunch bucket” Joe has the metal for toe to toe with BB & AIPAC?
Seriously, I think that’s got to be just White House puffery. It could be the Iron Dome? or just BB’s brain trust telling him they’d already optimized.
I don’t know. But we do know that the way to tell something is a lie is when it’s officially confirmed.
https://tass.ru/politika/11438443
News about Syria has fallen by the wayside.
Jabhat al-Nusra is planning a poisonous weapons attack in Syria, according to Tass.
Funded by…………………..
That is, the renamed HTS.
That is all they have. That is all the pompous and provincial West has. Chemical attack! They would LOVE to do it before election, to mar it any whichever way possible.
I’m no fan of Benjamin Netanyahu, but I’ll give him credit for being smart enough to understand that the longer this conflict dragged on, the real loser would be Israel.
I do not think so. Netanyahu is in a political struggle of his life. He cannot appear weak.
He was forced by US — that is pressed from all sides, allies and adversaries alike. The fact that Egyptian observers are coming in tells me that US had to cave in.
I suggest if US Palestinians want to advance a peace advocacy in Gaza and the West Bank, they should not destroy the good will they’ve acquired since that conflict started in 1948.
Americans aren’t Israelis and American Jews might be less so than Israeli Jews. If you feel the need to fight for your homeland, return now to help your people. We don’t need the violence to feed a Biden administration narrative to use against you.