Whether the ceasefire will remain in place, one Israeli official said, is dependent on what happens on the ground.
The joint command of the Paleostinian armed factions announced the ceasefire on Tuesday afternoon, saying they would abide by the Egyptian-brokered deal "as long as the Zionist enemy does the same."
At about the same time, Israel’s security cabinet ‐ after meeting for over six hours in Tel Aviv ‐ issued a laconic and vague statement saying that the IDF would continue to act as necessary. The statement did not mention a ceasefire.
| An interesting approach. |
During the security cabinet meeting, the ministers heard briefings from top IDF, Mossad and Shin Bet officials who were all against widening the IDF response and rejected a full-fledged, prolonged military campaign. Their position was backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who over the last few weeks, has made clear that he wants to avoid a war in Gazoo, because Israel does not want to reclaim the region, being as there is no party willing to assume responsibility for it.
Four ministers voiced opposition to a ceasefire, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beytenu), Jerusalem Affairs Minister and Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) and two Bayit Yehudi ministers: Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked.
The ceasefire angry protests in Sderot as a number of residents ‐ who have faced months of terror from Gazoo and wanted to see a more aggressive Israeli response ‐ blocked roads into the city. In Gazoo, on the other hand, there were a number of gatherings that took the form of victory rallies.
According to Israeli officials, Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, requested the ceasefire and messages to that effect came to Jerusalem from four different mediators: Egypt, the UN, Norway and Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...‐ both European countries are among the major donors to the Paleostinians.
But a representative of one of the terrorist groups in Gazoo denied that a ceasefire had been reached. "We haven’t been notified of any understandings concerning a ceasefire," he said. "We know that the Egyptians and the UN are trying to arrange a ceasefire, but we still haven’t received any word that Israel will stop its attacks. We’re only responding to the Israeli aggression. Once the aggression stops, there will be calm."
On Tuesday afternoon, the UN Security Council was scheduled to hold an emergency session on the situation in Gazoo. Israeli ambassador Danny Danon said before the meeting that Israel "will not accept a call for both sides to exercise restraint. There is one side that attacks and fires 400 missiles at civilian populations, and there is another side that protects its citizens." He added that "every member of the Security Council should ask themselves how they would respond after a barrage of missiles on their country."
| The Times of Israel adds that the IDF declares return to normalcy in south: |
The IDF Home Front Command on Tuesday night removed all restrictions on residents of southern Israel, the army said, declaring a "return to normality" as an uneasy reported ceasefire with the Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, terror group appeared to hold after two days of rocket fire.
Schools will be reopened on Wednesday, as will all businesses and government offices. Farmers will again be allowed to work in their fields.
In a statement to residents, the head of the Eshkol regional council Gadi Yarkoni said: "We’ve had a difficult two days. Two days which are a continuation of life in the shadow of terrorism and a pendulum swinging between emergency and normality for eight months straight."
He said he expected Israeli leaders and the army to "give us true peace and true calm" which would allow the communities to thrive.
"We cannot accept the continued hopeless reality of life under the threat of terrorism that includes fires, balloons and rockets."