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 | Daily News Brief July 15, 2014 |
Top of the Agenda
Gaza Cease-Fire Collapses
Israel renewed airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, just six-hours after agreeing to an Egyptian-proposed truce (CNN).
Hamas militants continued to fire dozens of rockets into Israel during
the faltering cease-fire, the Israeli military said. While Hamas' armed
wing reportedly rejected the agreement, a top official from the militant
group who was in Cairo said there was no final decision on the proposal (Reuters).
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that Israel would intensify
military operations on the Palestinian enclave in response to a Hamas
rejection of the truce.
Analysis
"Israel
is now seeking to separate the two parts of Palestine. Not into two
halves, with a safe passage between them, but into two separate
entities. West Palestine in Gaza; East Palestine in the West Bank. Three states for two peoples. By this logic, a strong Hamas government in Gaza is essential to Israel," writes Amir Oren in Haaretz.
"The reconciliation agreement might also hold the key to squaring the ceasefire circle.
Though opposed by Israel, the deal, if implemented, offers the best
chance of alleviating Gaza's misery and lessening Hamas's incentives to
fight. The Islamist movement long resisted admitting any PA presence,
but now that it has renounced governance, a door has been opened, and
with it, an opportunity to redesign the peace process and advance the
well-being of Gaza's 1.7 million residents," writes the International
Crisis Group.
"Netanyahu's
admission that he doesn't see a path to a truly independent Palestinian
state serves no purpose except to convince that diminishing number of
Palestinians who believe that the two-state solution is the best
solution that they have no partner for compromise. As such, Netanyahu's
comments are the rhetorical equivalent of settlement expansion in the West Bank," writes Jeffrey Goldberg in the Atlantic.
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