The dinosaur media is all over the story of a proposed truce between Israel and Hamas. The usual headline, of course is something along the lines of `Israel Rejects Hamas Cease-fire Offer'. Translation - damn those warmongering Jews!
But the real story, as always is quite different. While Israel did indeed say that they would not be interested in a truce unless the attacks on Israel stop, Hamas recognizes Israel and agrees to honor the peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians, the fact is that there was no formal truce offer at all!
Islamic Jihad, the Hamas allies who have been firing a lot of the rockets from Gaza has said that they would not even consider a truce. And major factions within Hamas deny that a truce was even offered!
"These reports are completely unfounded," said Ismail Radwan, one of the top Hamas mob bosses in the Gaza Strip. "There is no room to talk about a tahdiyah [period of calm] or hudna [temporary truce] while the Israeli aggression continues against the Palestinians and the Gaza Strip."
"The enemy understands only the language of resistance," he added. "In any case, a hudna requires consensus from all Palestinian groups.
Obviously, that hasn't happened.
What's going on, I think is that there is no consensus within Hamas on a truce. Some of the more pragmatic figures like Khalid Meshaal are said to favor a temporary truce, the better to build up Hamas' war machine and perhaps even consolidate their hold on the West Bank. Others, like Hamas foreign minister and bag man Mahmoud Zahar and Interior Minister and enforcer Said Siam are said to be fiercely opposed.
There's also been some rumors of a swap in the making...kidnapped Israeli Gilad Shalit for 500 incarcerated Palestinian terrorists.
Hopefully, Israel won't go down that road. While I'd love to see Shalit at home, these types of lopsided `bargains' never end up going well in the long run.
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