Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Bethlehem – Ma’an Report – Political and military analysts recently claimed in the Hebrew press that both the incoming and outgoing US presidents had expressed deep concern to Israel about civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.
And according to military analyst Alof Ben David, the Israeli government may actually respond to a ceasefire request from the United States, if not to dozens of others throughout the past week.
Israel will have to decide whether to go ahead with its military offensive or to announce a ceasefire in return for a Hamas guarantee of halting the shelling of Israeli towns.
Other analysts have affirmed that Israeli army commanders are not yet satisfied with the losses they had inflicted on Hamas fighters and ammunition caches, preferring instead to take their time with the assault.
Some soldiers also said they noticed near a mosque that Hamas fighters had prepared explosive belts ready to blow themselves up amidst invading troops.
A Channel Ten analyst described Shuja’iyya clashes as relatively fierce, asserting that Israeli troops discovered Hamas had prepared dozens of fighters on motorcycles, provided with ropes that they expected to use for capturing Israeli soldiers.
Another reporter claimed that dozens of Hamas fighters were trained in Iran.
Regardless, many expect that Israel is satisfied enough with collectively punishing Gaza for its Hamas-run government and may even consider ending the offensive should it present itself as a better option than engaging in more warfare inside Gaza.
And the way Israeli analysts are explaining scenarios implies that they too are trying to convince the Israeli home-front that the army should not progress further into the Gaza Strip.
Many claim Hamas fighters can prevent residents from fleeing the battlefields, which means more killing amongst civilians in order to embarrass Israel in front of western countries and the United States which is, in the end, the only international voice that Israel actually hears.
According to Ma’an’s sources, the US initiative is comprised of three points:
1. A non-expiring ceasefire
2. Postponing Israel's request for Egypt to sort out the Rafah crossing alone
3. Postponing international calls for a monitoring force in Gaza
And according to a Channel Two analyst, the US initiative was already delivered to Israel through a secret delegation, which arrived in Cairo on Tuesday morning.
In tune, White House spokesperson Sean McCormick also demanded on Tuesday an immediate and sustainable ceasefire in Gaza. He affirmed that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would meet with Arab foreign ministers, along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, at United Nations headquarters in New York to discuss it.
Interestingly, the US request seems to have come just following a so-called massacre at a UN school in a northern Gaza Strip refugee camp late on Tuesday night.
***Nasser Laham is chief editor of Ma'an News Agency. His analysis was originally written in Arabic and translated and edited by the English Desk in Bethlehem.
