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A bomb exploded aboard an Israeli bus near the nation's military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, wounding 27 people, delivering a major blow to diplomatic efforts to forge a truce to end a week of fighting between Israel and Gaza's militant Hamas rulers. Thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in Gaza fearing Israeli airstrikes.
To a backdrop of airstrikes and mounting casualties, American efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the latest Gaza [9]
Following a day of intense diplomatic efforts, and grueling negotiations in Cairo, a statement on a cease-fire in Gaza, due to come into effect midnight Tuesday, was postponed in the last minute. Egyptian officials and senior Hamas operatives indicated that an Israeli request was the reason for the delay, and that talks would resume on Wednesday morning.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza. Ban met with leaders in the Mideast Wednesday. (video)
Mourners clashed with Israeli troops at two funerals on Tuesday as Palestinians across the West Bank continued to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza.
"Israel is committing ethnic cleansing by ignoring peace in this region and violating international law,"
A lasting truce between Hamas and Israel hinges in part on the network of smaller armed Islamist groups in Gaza, say analysts.
Last week, when the Israel Defense Forces threatened to pull the switch on the Internet in Gaza, Nour Haridy wanted a backup plan. So the 15-year-old high-school student from Cairo went on Twitter and asked in Arabic and English for help on how Gazans could get back online in the event of a shutoff.
CRITICS of Israel’s campaign to defend millions of its citizens from deadly Hamas rocket fire claim that it lacks a clear objective. Israel has bombed Gaza in the past, they argue, and received only rockets in return. Is there any logic, much less an end, to the cycle of violence? Can it lead to negotiations and peace?
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton begins her Middle East visit today, she will undoubtedly discover that cease-fires do not come in only one shape or size.
Negotiations lasted into the night, but the cease-fire was elusive. Under mounting international pressure, Israel and Hamas agreed to stop fighting in principle but continued to argue over the details.
Of all the merits of the Iron Dome system [27], my favorite is its ability to distinguish between a malignant missile and a benign missile, between a dangerous enemy and an insignificant enemy, between the wheat and the chaff.
How much collateral damage is too much?
Why is everybody now seeking a truce or ceasefire in Gaza, particularly Israel and Hamas, as is evident from their statements, not to mention Egypt, of course? The answer is very simple, and becomes clearer day after day, namely that Israel has achieved its objectives, as has Hamas, whilst Egypt – which is in the eye of the storm – has other motives.
The Israeli attack on Gaza seems to be more of an attempt to draw lines and affect the emerging Middle East following the Arab Spring than just retaliating against Hamas.
In fact, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to engage into a bigger military operation could be seen as sending a message to the newly re-elected President Barak Obama, a test to Egypt’s President Muhammad Mursi and the emerging Islamist forces in the region and on the top of that to ser
Links:
[1] http://www.americantaskforce.org/print/28975
[2] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printmail/28975
[3] http://www.americantaskforce.org/printpdf/28975
[4] http://www.americantaskforce.org/rss/wpr
[5] https://www.americantaskforce.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=1
[6] http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/clinton-presses-on-with-israel-hamas-truce-efforts/nTB9t/
[7] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/world/middleeast/gaza-hospitals-quiet-day-shattered-by-rockets-and-sirens.html?ref=middleeast&_r=1&
[8] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-conflict.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=middleeast&adxnnlx=1353512526-IBcRBxIth2G1LQQvA5MzpA&gwh=C2E43499CCE91CB5B07AC81DB973C285
[9] http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/gaza_strip/index.html?inline=nyt-geo
[10] http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/as-israel-and-hamas-grapple-with-cease-fire-barak-and-netanyahu-disagree-on-terms.premium-1.479349
[11] http://www.statesman.com/videos/ap/international/un-chief-in-mideast-stop-the-violence/vhmct/
[12] http://www.statesman.com/ap/ap/top-news/israeli-airstrikes-kill-3-palestinian-journalists/nTBfX/
[13] http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-11/21/c_131987874.htm
[14] http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=540307
[15] http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-gaza-abbas-20121121,0,7357320.story
[16] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4309117,00.html
[17] http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/hamas-must-make-peace-with-gaza-militants-to-make-truce-work-with-israel
[18] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/21/gaza-s-internet-boy-wonder-takes-on-israel.html
[19] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/21/opinion/israels-tactics-and-strategy-in-gaza.html?ref=opinion&_r=0
[20] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/20/palestinians-have-right-defend-themselves
[21] http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/11/20/how-to-defuse-the-israel-gaza-conflict/a-cease-fire-between-israel-and-hamas-may-be-coming-but-ultimately-a-bigger-cease-fire-could-be-better
[22] http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/11/20/how-to-defuse-the-israel-gaza-conflict/the-us-must-broker-the-israeli-gaza-conflict
[23] http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-the-never-ending-war-in-the-middle-east/2012/11/20/5254eae4-334f-11e2-9cfa-e41bac906cc9_story.html
[24] http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/israel-hamas-fight-highlights-role-for-us/2012/11/20/a0b71b68-3349-11e2-bfd5-e202b6d7b501_story.html?wp_login_redirect=0
[25] http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/neither-israel-nor-hamas-thinks-a-truce-would-last-forever.premium-1.479368
[26] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4308371,00.html
[27] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4307571,00.html
[28] http://forward.com/articles/166384/israel-and-gaza-trapped-in-tragic-tape-loop/
[29] http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=2&id=31883
[30] http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Columnist/2012/Nov-21/195731-a-gaza-cease-fire-historic-or-futile.ashx#axzz2CmPTFsTQ
[31] http://arabnews.com/netanyahu%E2%80%99s-game-plan
[32] http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2012/al-monitor/newegyptnewrole.html
[33] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/20/unite-don-t-divide-the-palestinians.html
[34] http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/11/20/demonization-and-its-discontents.html
[35] http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/palestinian-media-on-gaza-contrasting-the-pa-and-hamas