After 7 years of Fire: Gaza ceasefire takes effect

Fragile truce between Israel, Gaza Strip terror groups comes into effect in early hours of Thursday morning, following a day of heavy rocket fire on western Negev and Sderot area. Both side reportedly watchful, wary

The ceasefire is to be absolute, binding both the IDF and all the militant groups in Gaza. Should the truce hold and after several days, Israel stands to reopen the Karni and Sufa goods crossings, allowing large quantities of food, fuel, building materials and other goods into the strip, in order to facilitate it economy.

 

Once the Karni and Sufa crossings open – and prior to the reopening of the Rafah crossing – the negotiations to release kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit are to be accelerated.

According to a senior defense official involved in the cease-fire talks, Egypt raised the request for the deployment of the Arab force during meetings between Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's Diplomatic-Security Bureau, and Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.

Israel, the defense official said, was not completely opposed to the idea since it would ultimately bring Arab countries such as Egypt to "take responsibility" for events in Gaza. The deployment was also raised as a way for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party to regain control of the Gaza Strip.

But a look at previous tahadiyehs (the Arabic term meaning "period of calm" that Hamas uses for its informal cease-fires) casts doubt on the possibility of a cessation of violence and the likelihood of this latest truce holding at all.

In February of 2005, a similar cease-fire was announced, which lasted, according to official sources, until June of 2006. But the interim was fraught with rocket attacks on Israeli territory and IAF responses on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza.