Hamas resistance crushed. Campaign aims achieved. No withdrawal but a temporary unilateral ceasefire. Job mostly done.
Who do the Israelis think they’re kidding? The politicians attending peace talks in Egypt today can’t say it for fear of fanning the flames – and won’t say it because of Israel’s role as a non-Muslim stronghold in a sea of Middle Eastern hostility. But Israel’s rationale for ending its three week bombardment of Gaza is as flimsy as its rationale for starting.
The Israelis have been successful at hammering home one underlying principle – if fired on we must retaliate. But Hamas is still firing and the Israelis have suddenly decided not to notice. The world is heaving a sigh of relief – but clearly Israel’s military objectives have not been achieved. Nor can they ever be.
Five years in Iraq and seven years in Afghanistan are testimony to that. The timing of Ehud Olmert’s ceasefire is cynical beyond belief. Unsavoury headlines of death and chilling pictures of maimed children will be packed away to give President Obama’s inauguration a clear run on front pages for the rest of the week. And yet three weeks of random killing by Olmert’s troops in Gaza have already hobbled Obama’s chances of starting a new chapter in world relations. The inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama will see a Christian with a Muslim step-father assume the reins of power in the USA. His inaugural prayer meeting will be addressed by a group believed to be connected to Hamas by the outgoing administration. And yet, this almost ecumenical world event has ironically been the trigger for Israel’s attack on Gaza, leaving more than a thousand Muslims dead. To read more click here.
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