Israel: Unilarteral Cease-fire Coming

I've been waiting for the official announcement, but what the hell. The Israeli Security Council has agreed to an Egyptian plan for a cease-fire.

Under the plan, Israel will halt its attack for ten days, though Israeli boots will remain on the ground in Gaza. During that time, Egypt, France, Germany, the U.K., the U.S., and Israel will hammer out a long-term solution. A major issue to be addressed is how to prevent Hamas from re-supplying through the Egyptian border-crossings and tunnels. Independently, Egypt will then broker a deal with Hamas.

This is what caught my attention:

But Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said a unilateral cease-fire was not enough.

"The occupier must halt his fire immediately and withdraw from our land and lift his blockade and open all crossings and we will not accept any one Zionist soldier on our land, regardless of the price that it costs," Barhoum said.

"Fawzi Barhoum"? I bet he hates to be called Fozzie Bear.

Israel has announced that if the rocket attacks continue during the cease-fire, the deal is off.

Sub-hed [ace]:

Despite Mounting Death-Tolls and Calls for World Peace,
Hamas Intransigent and Uncaring in Determination to Kill

Because we got variations from that headline when Israel refused a ceasefire. (Hamas refused one too, of course.)

Juan Cole is a Despicable Human Being Update [Gabe, again]: Thanks to Rocks who points out that Juan Cole, Iranian apologist and all-around go-to-guy for antisemitism in the blogosphere, had this to say about the cease-fire:

There are rumors that the Israeli government may declare a unilateral cease fire Saturday. They had better. Because if they ruin the Obama inauguration by splashing the bloody bodies of dead Palestinian children all over the press during the next few days, no Americans, even the most pro-Israeli, are going to forgive them.

I thought it was self-parody at first. But he actually seems to mean it, which makes him just like the Hamas terrorists he spends so much time defending on his blog: a little too happy IYKWIMAITTYD to use regrettable deaths as propaganda. The shock value makes for a nice political bludgeon, even though the reason little Palestinian children die is because Hamas likes to use their bedrooms as launchpads. Those deaths are on Hamas, not Israel.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 03:20 PM

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