TIMES OF ISRAEL IS LIVE BLOGGING
Mutual Ceasefire. Sa’ar and Mayor of Sderot are against it.
Hamas official: We received assurances on Israeli policies in Jerusalem
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan tells Al-Mayadeen that the ceasefire will go into effect at 2 a.m.
“The resistance has forged a new equation and a new victory,” Hamdan says.
Hamdan says Hamas has received assurances regarding Israeli policy toward the Temple Mount, as well as Sheikh Jarrah, where dozens of Palestinian families face eviction in a property dispute with right-wing Jews in a court fight.
Israel denies it.
Israel’s only achievement is that she set back Hamas a number of years.
But she also suffered losses:
– support for Israel in the US is no longer a bipartisan issue.
– the world wide left has been energized to hate Israel
– Israel sovereignty over Temple Mount has been further eroded.
– The cost of defending Israel has been enormous.
– she failed to achieve any concessions from Hamas.
The American MSM has been depicting Israel as the bad guy of the conflict. The New York Times, NDC, CNN, all of the major media.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Yes, Sebastien, and also in that same article it claims that there is to be a “cessation of the monthly Qatari money transfers to Gaza via the United Nations” as Bear had suggested. I am very surprised that these stipulations were agreed – if in fact they were.
peloni1986 Said:
Yes and that is a big loss.
Biden had Israel by the beyzim. He could refuse to replenish the ammunition used by Iron Done. That would have left Israel no choice but to invade Gaza. Israel didn’t relish the prospect.
I made the mistake of reading tweets on the ceasefire. Most are hateful.
So long as the “occupation” continues the hate will continue. For Israel, the status quo is unacceptable. If Israel were to agree to a two state solution the hatred would continue.
Israel must change the status quo in her favour. The Jordan option is the only alternative to end the status quo.
@ Ted Belman:
Another loss: the solidarity of Israeli Arabs coordinating pogroms in the streets of Israel with the missile barrages from Hamas.
Indeed, this is a setback. I do believe the gains must be viewed as limited by the significance of such a display of losses – and that is assuming that the story about the concessions of “Sheikh Jarrah” neighborhood is false(Hamas did make the claim but the IDF spokesman has specifically claimed this is false and Netanyahu has specifically stated that there were no concessions granted).
There is one ray of hope, namely that this contention over the concession of the “Sheikh Jarrah” neighborhood and the resulting claims that it is true and that it isn’t true (which is still going back and forth as of a short time ago) could bring the embers back to a full flame.
But the reality is plain for all to see. Israel has a real dilemma with the return of Obama’s third term. Biden has spoken to Bibi now 5 times – another several interesting dialogues(read as many threats). I wish this mess had been resolved many years ago, but the idea that they were going to do more than this would have been remarkable. As the current occupant of the White House, there is much mischief that he can bring to bear to Israel’s detriment. And Hamas is only one limb of the Iranian soon-to-be-nuclear behemoth. I believe more could have been accomplished but a lesson from the consequences of Pyhrrus’ many successes in his Italian campaign should never be forgotten. Still it is most unfortunate that this can is once again being kicked down the road to once again explode and cause the loss of many lives.
@ Ted Belman:
That appears to be the case. TOI tends to slant things in a center-left direction, even if by omission. The cabinet unanimously made a condition that it would be silence for silence without preconditions and that targeted assassinations would continue regardless. Any resumption of aggression from Gaza, including incendiary balloons, would “be met with a sharp military response.”
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/eye-on-palestine/hamas/report-israel-agrees-to-end-operation-hamas-ready-for-ceasefire-is-it-true/2021/05/20/?fbclid=IwAR2K7cTdEgq6E1talLf7J7Gi4QilgES4vHihCwMnCFvYNBfvJ-27yzFtpgo
@ Bear Klein:
I added this to the post;
Is that not a victory for Hamas?
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
Israel denies this. Who reported it.
@ Ted Belman: Israel has made at least one concession as part of the cease-fire deal: it has agreed to Hams’ demand that it withdraw permission to the owners of several houses in the David Hamelek (“Sheikh Jarrah”) neighborhood to repossess their them and evict the Arab squatters. This despite several court orders granting the owners permission to repossess them. That is a real concession that allows Hamas to claim victory.
@ Ted Belman:
No it is not a victory for Hamas. The negotiations only start after the stopping of shooting. Hamas won the destruction of all of its commanders homes and many dead plus the destruction of the underground city “Metro”, tunnels and their military industry making rockets.
Now is the time not to let aid in except for food and medicine. NO BUILDING MATERIALS.
Tell the international community that Gaza can not be rebuilt unless Hamas turns over its weapons and turns the reign of power to someone else that will acceptable.
Do NOT allow Qatar to bring bags of money into Gaza. Allow Gazans to leave but not rebuild if Hamas is still in charge and weapons not turned over to Egypt or another acceptable third party.
The characterization of the plaintiffs in the suit as ‘right-wing Jews” is misleading. This is not a political dispute between “right-wing Jews” and Arabs. Instead, the legal owners of the houses have been trying for tenty years to evict A small group of Arab squatters who have never paid a cent of rent, and then repossess the houses, which have legally owned for decades.
Let us assume that both sides are stopping their attacks and no concessions are being given by either side..
Is that a victory for Hamas?