A cease-fire in Gaza began at 06:00 Sunday, November 26. PA
Chairman Abbas told Prime Minister Olmert that all
Palestinian organizations have committed to it and said that
he expects that Israel will halt its military activity in the
Gaza Strip in response and will withdraw its forces from the
Strip. Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas
claimed that he had reached agreement with all Palestinian
factions to halt all violent actions from the Gaza Strip
including rocket fire, the digging of tunnels, and the
dispatch of suicide terrorists.
At press time the cease-fire did not apply to the West Bank.
Though there were reports of an attempt to have it apply
there as well, the IDF continued with its "routine"
operations to stop terror over there.
Prime Minister Olmert consulted with Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni, Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and other ministers, and
with senior security establishment commanders, and informed
PA Chairman Abbas that since Israel's activity in the Gaza
Strip was only in response to terrorist actions, if there is
a cease-fire Israel will halt its military actions and
withdraw its forces from the Gaza Strip.
By Sunday morning Israel had withdrawn all of its forces from
the Gaza Strip.
PM Olmert hopes that this will bring about a more general
improvement in the security and political condition of the
region.
Israel is knowingly undertaking the risk that the terrorist
organizations will exploit the cease-fire to rearm and to
rebuild their infrastructure.
On Sunday, about two hours after the cease fire went into
effect, five Kassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at
Sderot and communities in the Western Negev.
In response to that and further attacks on Monday, it was
announced that the IDF will target rocket crews preparing to
attack Israel. For some reason this was not part of Israel's
original stance.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said that if Kassam rockets are
about to be fired at Israel, "Israel must intercept them."
She also said, "Both Abu Mazen and the most moderate in the
Palestinian Authority understand that the unconditional
release of prisoners which was possible before the kidnapping
of Gilad Shalit has become conditional on the release of
Gilad Shalit."
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is apparently hoping that the
truce will conditions for the return of Cpl. Gilad Shalit,
and set in motion a new peace dynamic.
"The cease-fire is only a stage in a process we hope will
lead to negotiations and dialogue, and perhaps bring about an
agreement between us and the Palestinians," Olmert declared.
In a well-publicized address, Olmert said that he is ready to
free many prisoners, and to uproot settlements from the West
Bank in exchange for peace, which he defined as meeting the
conditions set by the Quartet: renouncing terror, recognition
of Israel and acceptance of past agreements. He also said
that the Palestinians will have to give up the right to enter
and live in Israel proper, which the Palestinians call the
"right of return," even though very few were ever here in the
first place.
The Israel Defense Forces has serious reservations, arguing
that Palestinian terrorists will abuse the cease-fire to
build up their military power for new attacks on Israel. They
fear a lull will create a situation similar to that in
southern Lebanon, where Hizbullah militiamen exploited six
years of quiet to create a formidable military force.
The Israeli left backs the government's approach.
The Israeli right sees folly. Right wing spokesmen also said
that Olmert lacks the political power to carry out
dismantlement of settlements, and his statements did not
worry them.
Relative moderates from the Fatah movement emphasize the
possibility of significant diplomatic progress, while
spokesmen from Hamas tend to highlight the temporary nature
of the lull, and emphasize their unwillingness to give up
their arms. Hamas' leader Khaled Meshaal warned of a return
to intifadah violence unless the parties achieve
comprehensive peace within six months.
Some attribute the timing to the heavy military pressure the
IDF has been exerting on the Palestinians. In the past few
months, hundreds of Palestinian militants have been killed in
Israeli operations in Gaza.
The Palestinians also were aware that the Israeli army was
pressing for a large-scale offensive in Gaza along the lines
of 2002's Operation Defensive Shield, which gave Israel the
upper hand in the fight against terror in the West Bank. The
cease-fire preempted any such military plan.
The Israeli government was under intense pressure to do
something to stop Palestinian rocket fire on Sderot and other
communities.
Speaking at a memorial for Israel's first prime inister,
David Ben-Gurion, Olmert made a statement designed to appeal
to one of the strongest Palestinian desires: a prisoner
exchange.
"With Gilad Shalit's release and his return safe and sound to
his family, the Israeli government will be willing to release
many Palestinian prisoners, even those who have been
sentenced to heavy terms," he declared.
