Unilateral cease fire - Saturday, January 17, 2009

Ann wrote:


I knew it was only a matter of time before PM Olmert's true character re-emerged, and tonight it finally happened. I guess two straight weeks of actually being a leader putting his country's best interests in front of his own was too much for him. Instead of allowing the army to finish the job which they started, he is stopping them short of the end. And while this may clean up his blotted copybook somewhat in international circles, in reality it is condemning Israel to going back into Gaza again in a couple of years, leading to more suffering and death on both sides. But the important thing now is that he can smile for the news cameras and play nicey nicey with the new US administration.

And to give you an indication of his "leadership" style, late this afternoon he sat with "the cabinet" to discuss possible cease fire agreements. Because we are at war, the chief rabbis had given special permission for government and military officials to meet on the sabbath. After this meeting he made a very public announcement to Egypt's President Mubarak that Israel was going to institute a unilateral cease fire, and then called a press conference for 10 pm Israel time. The press conference didn't begin until nearly an hour later. Why? To start with, he hadn't actually discussed his cease fire plans with the full cabinet yet.. The earlier "cabinet" meeting had in reality been attended only by the defense and foreign ministers, both of whom are running for PM in the elections here next month and have their own personal agendas. Ehud Barak has already held the position of PM once. He went in with one of the highest-ever approval ratings, but bungled things so badly that he didn't even last a year in office. I think he is probably the record holder for the Israeli PM with the shortest time in office. Even so, he managed to do a lot of damage. Tsippi Livnim took over the party leadership from Olmert last fall, but couldn't form a coalition and therefore did not become PM. She has a history of putting career ahead of principle.

In order for the agreement to go into effect, it has to be approved by the full cabinet. The press conference started late because Olmert was meeting with the cabinet. Obviously not everyone was ready to go along with him. In the end he got a majority, with two against and one abstention.


The terms of the unilateral cease fire:

1) At 2 am Sunday morning Israeli time, Israel will stop firing, fighting, etc. They will stay in their positions in Gaza, but won't attack unless Hamas fires rockets..

2) When a permanent agreement is reached, Israel will withdraw its troops completely.

3) One of the lesser government ministers (who has the whiniest voice I have ever heard from a human being and a mind to match) will draw up plans to rehabilitate Gaza and provide help for its citizens.


My response to the plan:

1) Hamas has rejected any sort of cease fire By leaving our soldiers in Gaza but not allowing them to do anything, they are nothing more than sitting-duck targets. Within minutes of the official announcement, two rockets hit Israeli cities, one landing directly on a house.

2) Hamas has said that they will continue their fight until all crossing points into Gaza are open with no supervision of who and what goes in and out. Since badly-supervised entry points on the Egyptian side are what enabled Hamas to come into possession of hundreds of Grad rockets in the first place - and Hamas is armed and funded by Iran - this condition is not acceptable to Israel. Remember that Hamas proudly boasts that their number one goal is the complete and total annihilation of Israel.

The US (Condaleeza Rice at any rate) has said it would be willing to help supervise the border points, especially by using "technology". One of the suggestions is that a subterranean wall be built to prevent the construction of tunnels, and a better border wall be built above ground. The wall Israel is building has caused international outrage, even from the US. Somehow their wall will be more acceptable? Not only will this be unacceptable to Hamas, but also to all the gangs who make their money smuggling. I can just imagine everyone in Gaza sitting quietly by while this wall is being built.

3) During his announcement Olmert apologized to the people of Gaza for the unintentional suffering which the incursion had caused them. He then reminded them that Israel was not their enemy but Hamas was. If I were sitting in Gaza tonight and heard his patronizing words and too-facile apology, I think I would have spat in his face. He may or may not have been sincere in his apology (it's hard to tell with him), but the way in which it was offered was insulting, condescending and lacking in feeling. I was offended by it, and I wasn't on the receiving end!

No matter how much material aid Israel may provide to help rebuild Gaza, they will never forgive us, they will never be our "friends". They especially will never forgive Olmert, the man who okayed the attack. And who is going to pay for all of this? It sounds good on paper, though.

4) No mention was made about the return of our kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.


So, all in all it looks workable to me! What do you think? I prediect a lot of rockets between now and morning.



A