Even if Hamas could be trusted to abide by the terms of some new agreement, Egypt is no longer trusted by Hamas, after throwing out and criminalizing the Muslim Brotherhood, the terrorist group from which Hamas originated, making further Egypt-backed negotiations even less likely to succeed. Moreover, Hamas is not the only terrorist group in Gaza, and there is no guarantee that it would be able to persuade other militants to agree to any new cease-fire. Violence is always regrettable, in Gaza or anywhere else. But, given the nature of their enemies, Israel is on the path most likely to put an end to the violence, by demilitarizing the Gaza Strip in the only way it can be done–by force.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 23:40:30 +0000