index

The cease fire between Israel and Hamas continues to hold after a second day, with both sides jockeying for position in preparation of talks in Egypt to hammer out a more lasting and comprehensive agreement.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, that the truce is the longest pause in fighting that has so far killed 1,875 Palestinians and 67 Israelis, including three civilians, since the war started on July 8, according to Palestinian and Israeli officials. Officials are hopeful it can set the groundwork for talks on a lasting peace.

CBC News reported that Israel wants the Islamic militant Hamas to disarm, or at least ensure it cannot re-arm, before considering the group’s demand that the territory’s borders be opened.  Israel and Egypt imposed a closure after the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007, although Egypt allows individuals to cross intermittently.

“The two sides have reviewed what they consider as issues of concern,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said at a news conference, describing the matter as “complicated and not easy.”

Bassam Salhi, a Palestinian delegate stated, “The most important thing to us is removing the blockade and start reconstructing Gaza.” Salhi continued, “There can be no deal without that.”

The cease fire is expected to expire at 8 A.M on Friday, but can be extended if the talks proceed with the potential of reaching an agreement.

One concern for Egypt is that it’s not going to agree to any major changes in the border blockade between Gaza and Egypt as long as Hamas controls the border crossing into Gaza, not the Palestinian Authority.

Robert Danin a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern and African Studies at the Council on foreign Relations commented that the current round of fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is the longest and most deadly since the two squared off in 2009. The conflict, which has broader regional implications, is likely to wage on until a third party can broker a cease-fire that allows both sides to point to respective achievements.

Danin continued to articulate that there are three areas to know about the crisis in Gaza, the first being there is no rush to resolve the conflict.  Israel wants to completely weaken Hamas in all areas, while Hamas wants a complete lifting of the blockade around Gaza by both Israel and Egypt.

The other aspect of this conflict it has coincided with a broader power struggle in the region, Hamas receiving support from Turkey and Qatar, and the Arab League supporting Israel in its campaign in Gaza.  Arab countries don’t like the mounting casualties among the Palestinians, but don’t want Hamas to triumph as they see a potential Islamic threat spreading to their country.

Danin commented that Egypt could historically be relied on to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but today Cairo “is implacably opposed to Hamas—an organization it sees as a mere extension of its own banned Muslim Brotherhood,” says Danin.  At the moment, the only party positioned to broker a deal, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, has little to offer either side.

The other aspect of this crisis is that it has severely strained the relationship between Israel and the United States.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that the blunt, unsparing language — among the toughest diplomats recall ever being aimed at Israel — lays bare a frustrating reality for the Obama administration: the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has largely dismissed diplomatic efforts by the United States to end the violence in Gaza, leaving American officials to seethe on the sidelines about what they regard as disrespectful treatment.

The Times continued to report that even as Israel agreed to a new cease-fire with Hamas, raising hopes for an end to four weeks of bloodshed, its relationship with the United States has been bruised by repeated clashes, from the withering Israeli criticism of Secretary of State John Kerry’s peacemaking efforts to Mr. Netanyahu’s dressing down of the American ambassador to Israel.

Even our Arab allies were perplexed and shocked at how the U.S. moved forward with trying to broker a cease fire in Paris last week, by inviting Turkey and Qatar, excluding the Palestinian Authority and Egypt from the talks.

Eventually a deal will be reached but it now has the United States virtually on the sidelines while negotiations take place.

The United States needs to have a better understanding of the region and the players in it, too often we look at it from our perspective and not from how everyone else sees it.