Not a Lost Cause - A Perspective on Gaza Conflict

"It is now clear that the Iranian conventional threat is smaller than what people thought. The Israeli offensive may have occurred in Gaza – but in Tehran, they are breaking their heads at the moment on finding a solution to the new reality.”

Not a Lost Cause

An Israeli perspective by Eli Avidar (Ma’ariv)

Translated by Viktoria Lymar (IranEdge)

Republished with permission from IranEdge.com

Photo credit: Rafael/Ma’ariv/IranEdge

Israel, Hamas Agree to Cease-Fire

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a cease-fire effective at 9 pm local time (2 pm EST). Egypt’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Ami made the announcement at a news joint conference with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to President Obama, telling him that he has agreed to give Egyptian-brokered cease-fire a chance to succeed. Obama reportedly commended Netanyahu for agreeing to the cease-fire.

UPDATE: The cease-fire takes effect at 9 pm local time.

IDF Strikes Gaza; Rocket Explosion Kills Two Israelis

Reports of an imminent ceasefire proved to have been overly optimistic Tuesday night, Times of Israel said. The IDF continued intense strikes in Gaza targeting Hamas. Meanwhile a Palestinian Fajr-5 rocket killed an Israeli soldier and a civilian in Rishon Lezion, bringing the number of Israelis killed by rocket attacks to five. Nearly 140 Palestinians have also lost their lives as the result of Israeli airstrikes.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Israel tonight on the first leg of her Middle East visit that will also take her to Ramallah and Cairo. Clinton called for “just and lasting peace” in a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Earlier today the Egyptian and Hamas leaders had predicted a ceasefire on Tuesday. The diplomats, including Secretary Clinton, will be busy attempting to arrange the ceasefire on Wednesday. 

Clinton to Visit Israel, Palestine

Sharp Criticism in Region of Israeli Attack on Gaza

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton today is heading to the Mideast on an emergency diplomatic trip. Clinton’s trip comes after the leaders of Turkey and Egypt sharply criticized Israel for its continued attack on Gaza. Clinton will meet with Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian officials in an attempt to end the fighting.

On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Israel as a “terrorist state” and condemned the airstrikes in the Gaza Strip. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has warned Israel against a ground invasion of Gaza and thrown his support behind Hamas’s leadership.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also is to travel to Gaza today with a group of foreign ministers from the Arab League.

Gaza Rockets

Source: Reuters/JPost, 19 November 2012
Click to Enlarge

Gaza Violence Continues

Fear of Ground War over Fajr-5

The violence in Gaza continued on Sunday, the fifth day of Operation Pillar of Defense. Ten Palestinians died in an airstrike on Sunday afternoon, bringing number of today’s fatalities to 18. The violence so far has claimed the lives 64 Palestinians, many of them civilians, and three Israelis. (BBC, 18 November)

Palestinian rockets were fired from Gaza at several Israeli towns and cities. It is feared that the IDF might want to launch a ground operation in Gaza to destroy the Fajr-5 arsenal remaining in the area. In the first five days of conflict, the Israeli Air Force has conducted many sorties hitting Fajr-5 launchers and their underground storage bunkers. The urgency for the IDF to dismantle Fajr-5 rocket capabilities of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza became evident on Saturday when Israel had to intercept an incoming Fajr-5 over Tel Aviv.

The Israeli campaign against Fajr-5 began on 24 October when the Israeli Air Force blew up an Iranian-operated military factory in the Sudanese capital that was producing Fajr-5 rockets. The Yamouk facility was believed to supply the 50-mile-range rockets to Hamas and other militant organizations in Gaza. Three weeks later, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense. The tactical goal of the military operation seems to be the elimination of Fajr-5 inventories in Gaza and the destruction of any suspected assembly plants producing the local version of the rocket, dubbed ‘M-75’ by Hamas. 

Meanwhile, many observers in the region believe that Israel much sooner than later needs to engage Hamas in negotiations covering a host of fundamental issues beyond the Fajr-5 as a parallel track of the broader Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. In the recent months, Hamas has successfully engaged regional powers, Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, and has followed an independent policy on Syria, independent from Iran and Hezbollah. Hamas can play as a positive and constructive role in the settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.