Gaza truce holds but both sides wary

 

remaining wary.
Following a night of quiet skies after an Egyptian-brokered truce deal came into effect at 1900 GMT, Gaza’s Hamas prime minister hailed the factions for respecting the ceasefire.

And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was “giving the ceasefire a chance” but was prepared for the eventuality it could collapse.

The agreement, announced in Egypt on Wednesday night by Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, calls on Israel to “stop all hostilities . . . in the land, sea and air, including incursions and targeting of individuals”.

It also urges the Palestinian factions to end “rocket attacks and all attacks along the border”.
In Gaza, streets which had been emptied by Israel’s intensive air strikes were once again flooded with honking cars and people getting back to their daily business.

After days and nights cooped up at home, residents were out en masse, traffic clogging the streets as people waved flags, and exchanged handshakes and smiles after a night of celebratory gunfire and fireworks.

The ruling Hamas movement declared a public holiday to mark the end of hostilities, and organised a mass celebration in the centre of Gaza City.

“I salute the resistance factions who have respected the agreement since it entered into force and I ask everyone to respect it and act accordingly,” Haniya said in a televised speech as thousands waved flags outside the parliament building.

And Haniya’s office said president Mahmud Abbas had spoken by telephone with Haniya to congratulate him on his “victory”.

Parents carried children with the words “Hamas” in green and “Fatah” in yellow painted onto their cheeks, and some waved the flags of both movements in a most unusual show of unity in the Hamas-run territory.

“The thing I’m happiest about is that the Palestinian people seem to be coming together. This, I think, is the best and most beautiful outcome of a terrible war,” said a smiling Yusef Jdeidah, 60.
Both sides claimed the ceasefire as a victory, while warning they would be ready to resume hostilities should the other violate the agreement.

“Israel has failed in all its goals,” Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said in Cairo late on Wednesday. “If you commit, we will commit. If you do not commit, the rifles are in our hands.”

Israel’s military Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz hailed the campaign, saying it had “accomplished its purposes and goals as set by the political leadership”.

“We hit Hamas hard,” he said, his remarks relayed through a spokesman, adding the operation had inflicted “great damage” on Hamas’ rocket-launching capabilities.
Netanyahu warned Israel was ready should the truce collapse.

“We are currently giving the ceasefire a chance, but are also prepared for the possibility the ceasefire will not be kept, and we’ll know to act accordingly,” the premier said.
But the tone was far from celebratory.

And with just two months until a general election, it was back to the campaign trail for politicians, many of whom were quick to accuse Netanyahu of failing to make good on a pledge to bring down Hamas from his 2009 campaign.

“Deterrence was not restored,” said Shaul Mofaz, head of the centre-right Kadima party. “We shouldn’t have stopped the operation at this stage. The ceasefire is a mistake,” he told army radio.
Yediot Aharonot newspaper said the Cairo agreement “will lead to a certain period of quiet in the south” but it was only a matter of time before the border heated up again.

“Ultimately, the only interest that Israel and Hamas share is the current wish for a truce, and the understanding that the countdown has begun for the next round,” it said.

During the eight eight-day operation, the army said it hit more than 1 500 targets, as Gaza militants fired 1 354 rockets over the border, 421 of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile system.

The Hamas-run health ministry said 163 Palestinians had been killed and 1 235 injured, while five people, including a soldier, died in Israel and another 280 were injured, army figures showed. — AFP.