Israel Matzav

Funny how the world media missed that, isn't it?

Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.

Although de facto there is very little going on there now - an occasional 'Palestinian' missile followed by an Israeli air raid in response - there is not going to be an official 'ceasefire' in Gaza anytime soon. One issue is that the 'Palestinians' don't want to release kidnapped IDF corporal Gilad Shalit. The bigger issue is that the 'Palestinians' aren't willing to give up the terror option. I doubt you've read that in any media published outside of Israel....

On Saturday, Hamas claimed that Israel backtracked on the group's demand to limit the truce to a year and a half, Israel radio reported.

Israel, according to the report, demanded that the truce instead be unlimited. Sources in Hamas were quoted as saying that if Israel would accept a truce limited in time, Hamas would accept the deal by the end of the weekend. The sources added, however, that should Israel demand a longer truce, that would be rejected.

In other words, while Israel wants real peace and quiet, Hamas wants a temporary quiet to allow it to rebuild its capabilities, and then it wants another round of fighting. Funny how the world media missed that, isn't it?

Another report pointed to a potential problem with the prisoner swap. According to Israel Radio, officials in Jerusalem said that all Palestinian terrorists released would not be allowed to return to either the Gaza Strip or the West Bank. While there was no immediate reaction from Hamas, Ahmed Yussouf, a senior official in the group told the Saudi Okaz paper that the group had demanded the release of 1,400 prisoners in exchange for Schalit.

In other words, Israel is willing to release terrorists so long as they don't go back to terror, but Hamas wants them free to resume their murderous activities. Funny how the world media missed that, isn't it?

Egyptian state-run newspapers Friday quoted Egypt's top mediator, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, as saying that four obstacles remained to be resolved; "firing rockets, establishing a buffer zone between Gaza and Israel, a Hamas commitment to respect calm and a halt to weapons smuggling" into the Gaza Strip.

In other words, all of the 'obstacles' to the 'calm' relate to Hamas' desire to maintain its terror option. Funny how the world media missed that, isn't it?

By the way, the guy at the top is Khaled Meshaal. He's the chief of Hamas' politburo and he lives in safety in Damascus, Syria, from which he is willing to fight to the last drop of Gazan blood. Funny how the world media missed that, isn't it?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:27 PM