The uneasy truce in Gaza

What happened

A fragile truce between Israel and Hamas was shaken this week, after only six days, when Palestinian militants launched four rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. Under the terms of the truce, Israel and Hamas—the extremist party whose leaders now control Gaza—had agreed to halt all military actions against each other, and Israel had promised to ease its blockade to allow in more food and supplies to Gaza’s 1.4 million residents. Later phases of the agreement were to address the opening of a crossing between Gaza and Egypt and the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Hamas two years ago. But progress stalled after the rocket attacks, which Israel called “a flagrant violation” of the truce.

The extremist group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the Qassam rocket strikes, which caused only minor damage. In response, Israel abruptly resealed its borders with Gaza, turning away cargo shipments it had begun to let in. Israel said it expected Hamas to control all militant groups in Gaza, but Hamas replied that while it remained committed to the truce, it would not act as Israel’s “police force.”

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What the editorials said

This cease-fire is too important to break down so quickly, said the London Guardian. This year alone, violence in and around Gaza has killed 14 Israelis and 362 Palestinians. For that reason alone, any truce is “a bit of good news from a theater of war that rarely fails to produce the bad variety.” Beyond offering a reprieve from fear and death, the cease-fire creates breathing room to open further negotiations in the region.

“Pardon our skepticism,” said the New York Daily News. This week’s attacks were part of an utterly predictable pattern when it comes to Mideast agreements. “Israel abides by its commitments while everyone waits to see whether Hamas and its allies in rocketry hold up their end. Which they never do.” Even if the truce survives this blow, with Israel refraining from an utterly justifiable incursion into Gaza, it will only give Hamas time to rearm and regroup.

The Islamic Jihad attacks were unfortunate, said The Washington Post. But Israel can’t divorce its actions in the West Bank from the big picture. When Israel began its isolation of Gaza last year, it pledged to counterbalance that “with measures to improve conditions in the West Bank and negotiations to create a Palestinian state.” Somehow, these steps fell by the wayside. Illegal settlements still flourish in the West Bank, and Israel’s heavy-handed raids have alienated Palestinians and weakened the moderate leaders of Fatah, the Palestinian party that advocated cooperation with Israel.

What the columnists said

Whether the truce holds or not, said Michael B. Oren in The Wall Street Journal, Hamas can already claim victory. Merely by signing an agreement with Hamas, Israel legitimized these terrorist thugs as the authentic leaders of the Palestinian cause. Israel’s big mistake came in 2005 when it unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, allowing Hamas to become the dominant power there. “Hamas initiated a vicious war against Israel, destroyed and disrupted myriad Israeli lives, and has been rewarded with economic salvation and international prestige.”

That wouldn’t have happened, said Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times, if Israel and the U.S. hadn’t pursued a self-defeating policy of sanctions and isolation. “Punishing everyone in Gaza radicalized the population,’’ and made Hamas the powerhouse it is today. After all this bloodletting, many Israelis have given up on peace and succumbed to hatred. It’s true that further negotiations may not lead anywhere. But for both the Palestinians and the Israelis, failing to negotiate can only lead to “national suicide.’’

What next?

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has been caught up in an alleged bribery scandal, this week narrowly staved off a call for early elections, which would almost certainly have resulted in his ouster. The deal he struck will likely ease him out of office in September, which gives him and his supporters a few more months to pursue a long-term peace agreement. Already, the rival Likud and Shas parties are saying Israel should abandon the truce and respond to this week’s attacks with overwhelming force. “It was unequivocally proven to us that there isn’t anyone to talk to, and there is certainly nothing to talk about,” said Shas chairman