THE announcement came first from the Egyptians, then from Hamas, and finally from the Israelis. A ceasefire in Gaza has been agreed upon and was scheduled to go into effect today (Thursday) at 6:00 A.M. Lest anyone be preparing to break out the apple juice and carbonated water, keep in mind that this is just the most recent of a decade of agreements between Israel and Palestinians, none of which has led to a Palestinian state, only to a modicum of Palestinian autonomy – an autonomy that can be taken away quite quickly by an Israeli invasion or raid. In fact, even as Egypt was making its announcement, Israel was conducting an air attack on Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of six militants connected to the group that claims responsibility for the kidnapping of an Israeli corporal a year ago. In response, Hamas fired mortar shells across the border at Israeli villages. As usual, the death count on the Palestinian side was much higher than that on the Israeli side. Now, we have a six-month ceasefire agreement. Basically, Israel has said that if things in Gaza remain calm, i.e. if there are no rockets fired across the border, it will ease restrictions on supplies crossing the borders into Gaza. If a week of calm prevails, additional restrictions will be lifted and much-needed supplies would begin to flow into Gaza, again. Eventually, the border with Egypt could be reopened and Gazans would again live as human beings, something both Israel and Hamas have obstructed for some time, now. There is even talk that the ceasefire could expand to include the West Bank, as well. Don't hold your breath. No one comes out of this looking particularly good. Hamas violently overthrew the Fatah administration in Gaza in a spasm of hubris and bad judgment that plunged the Strip into a political vipers' nest. Israeli imposed blockade that was ultimately condemned by the entire world as collective punishment that clearly did nothing to stem the rocket fire. Both sides needed a way out and the ceasefire is it. For six months. __
