Saturday, July 22, 2006

Hamas ready to accept unilateral cease fire

Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reports that Fatah sources indicate that Hamas is ready to accept a deal brokered by Egypt which will include unilateral cease fire between Gaza and Israel, the release of Israeli Defense Soldier Gilad Shalit, cessation of IDF assassinations in Gaza and eventual release of Palestinian prisoners. It is not clear if this is a done deal; Israel will not accept a cease fire that does not include the release of Shalit.

But what is clear is that Hamas wants to distance itself from Hezbollah. Hamas leaders believe Hezbollah has harmed the Palestinian cause by its actions and are striving to reach a separate deal with Israel.

Meanwhile, at an anti-war rally in Tel Aviv, major Arab groups, including Hadash and Balad, participated for the first time in any anti-war rally. They marched along with the Zionist Left, Yesh Gvul, the refusal to serve movement, and Gush Shalom, among others.

These Jewish and Arab groups ordinarily shy away from joint activity. They couldn't come up with a unifying slogan this time either, except for the call to stop the war and start talking. However, protest veterans noted that in the Lebanon War of 1982 it took more than 10 days of warfare to bring out this many protesters, marking the first crack in the consensus.

This was a distinctly anti-American protest. There were chants of "We will not die and will not kill in the service of the United States," and slogans condemning President George W. Bush. One woman, Tehiya Regev, lost two friends in the Kaytusha bombings of Carmel (a suburb of Haifa.) She told a reporter from Ha'artez, "This war is not headed in the right direction. The captured soldiers have long since been forgotten, so I came to call for an immediate stop to this foolish and cruel war." Ms. Regev was a new face to peace rallies.


**********************************************************************************
Links are fixed, in case you tried to get there.

7 comments:

Intrepidflame said...

If the citzesn of Israel and the Palestinians could finally see that they are pawns in the hands of the US and the Israeli government than maybe they can unite for some change. Nice post.

Tina said...

Amen to what BZ said!
Diva, BZ's point dovetails perfectly with the very same point I made in repsonse to the latest comment you left at my blog.
I think that we (the crazy Neo-Cons in the US) could care less who "wins" as long as it benefits our imperial interests.

DivaJood said...

Hello, BZ and Tina. This is what I've been saying all along. It has nothing to do with what the people want; it has everything to do with lining the pockets of Dick Cheney, of furthering the insane goals of the PNAC.

On a local note, part of the arrogance of government: an LA County official drives a gas guzzling, tinted-window Cadillac with CA Exempt plates. At close to $3.50 per gallon on the taxpayers dime, he's one of the reasons the PNAC is just tap dancing around all of us who object.

robin andrea said...

Yes, this is the most hopeful thing I've read in days. If the anti war movement can bring the Iraelis and Palestinians together into the streets in a united cause, then there is really hope.

DivaJood said...

'Morning Robin Andrea. I'm with you, sister. I hold out hope that people take back responsibility and create an environment for peace.

Anonymous said...

Taking it to the streets, I like that. This will surely come of some good. To have people who are rocket targets condeming their governments actions shows that people would rather sacrifice their lives for peace then kill others for their government's idea of peace. Rock on.

DivaJood said...

Karena, yes, and I think it is time we in the USA take it to the streets to get out of Iraq.