The Briefing Room
General Category => World News => Topic started by: mystery-ak on August 05, 2014, 01:34:45 pm
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11012307/Israeli-army-announces-total-retreat-from-Gaza-as-ceasefire-begins.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11012307/Israeli-army-announces-total-retreat-from-Gaza-as-ceasefire-begins.html)
Israeli army announces total retreat from Gaza as ceasefire begins
Israeli military announces that all forces will have completed their withdrawal from Gaza at the start of the latest ceasefire agreed with Hamas in Cairo
AP
5:55AM BST 05 Aug 2014
A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas meant to last at least three days has taken effect in the Gaza Strip.
The truce was agreed to by both sides in the month-long war. It started at 8am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday.
During the 72-hour truce, Israel and Hamas are to hold indirect talks in Cairo on a broader deal that would prevent future cross-border violence.
Previous international attempts to broker a temporary halt in the fighting failed.
The Israeli military says all its ground troops will have pulled out of Gaza by the start of the new cease-fire.
Lt Col Peter Lerner said the withdrawal will be completed by the 8am deadline to cease hostilities.
Lerner said the withdrawal is going forward after Israel completed the destruction of 32 cross-border tunnels meant to allow Islamic militants to carry out attacks against Israel.
The ceasefire is meant to end nearly four weeks of fighting between Israel and Hamas, which has claimed 1,900 Palestinian lives – most of them civilians. The war has also left 67 Israelis dead, all but three of them soldiers.
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I'm surprised that Israel was surprised by tunnels. Doesn't equipment exist, that would detect them?
Or they weren't surprised, but let the palis build them, waste their time and resources, and the Israelis knew exactly where they were?
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I'm surprised that Israel was surprised by tunnels. Doesn't equipment exist, that would detect them?
Or they weren't surprised, but let the palis build them, waste their time and resources, and the Israelis knew exactly where they were?
That seems more likely. Israel can make accusations until they're blue in the face, but to actually show what they are capable of - and what they are actually doing - is the picture that is worth a thousand words.
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(http://i1310.photobucket.com/albums/s658/GourmetDan/bart_zps7d44c540.jpg)
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I'm surprised that Israel was surprised by tunnels. Doesn't equipment exist, that would detect them?
I was extremely surprised by that as well. How did they find them this time? Did a IDF soldier fall in one during this last 15 day war?
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Hamas must have been running out of rockets, or they need time to regroup and think up a new strategy. Peace is the last thing they want.
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Talk about egg on the face for Kerry and Obama. Had they but waited a few days and worked with the Israelis, they might have been the ones to claim credit for brokering this cease-fire.
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Talk about egg on the face for Kerry and Obama. Had they but waited a few days and worked with the Israelis, they might have been the ones to claim credit for brokering this cease-fire.
Obama and his merry band of goofballs probably can't even grasp how powerless and ineffective they have proven to be.
But Merkel and Putin and Bibi just have to do what they have to do in spite of our feckless leader/followers.
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Egypt brokered the last cease fire in 2012. They were always in the lead on this one too, with the US working with the Egyptians. We were the public voice--and punching bag---Israel couldn't risk losing Egypt's silence during this conflict.
World opinion was shifting too fast away from Israel for this to continue much longer. Remember, Israel needs some good will left if it plans/hopes to tackle Iran--whether diplomatically or militarily.
The Palestinians are in the mix now too. They've been meeting with Egypt prior to the Israelis. Egypt has whittled their list of demands in half to four. This will be presented to the Israeli delegation now on its way to Egypt.
I do hope Israel found all the tunnels in Gaza and have located the ones in the North, too.
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Egypt brokered the last cease fire in 2012. They were always in the lead on this one too, with the US working with the Egyptians. We were the public voice--and punching bag---Israel couldn't risk losing Egypt's silence during this conflict.
World opinion was shifting too fast away from Israel for this to continue much longer. Remember, Israel needs some good will left if it plans/hopes to tackle Iran--whether diplomatically or militarily.
The Palestinians are in the mix now too. They've been meeting with Egypt prior to the Israelis. Egypt has whittled their list of demands in half to four. This will be presented to the Israeli delegation now on its way to Egypt.
I do hope Israel found all the tunnels in Gaza and have located the ones in the North, too.
Except that the US chose to work with the Qataris and Turks this time around, and snubbed Egypt.
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Except that the US chose to work with the Qataris and Turks this time around, and snubbed Egypt.
Not exactly. Egypt pulled away after Hamas rejected the first proposal they (Egypt) presented--the one Israel accepted. Hamas said "no deal"--since they were not at the table they felt their needs had not been recognized.
Qataris and Turks: The US along with the Brits, the French, the Italians and the Germans held a meeting after the Egyptians pulled back.
Egypt/Israel didn't much like the Qatar meeting since any outcome promised to be more "favorable" to Hamas than Israel or Egypt would want---and presto: Egypt is at bat again and their representatives are now running up and down Cairo carrying messages to and from Israel, Hamas and the Palestinians (Abbas' group)--since the groups refuse to meet face-to-face.
Kindda makes your head spin, doesn't it.