Israel agrees to remove the blockade on Gaza; Israel agrees to waive its demand of demilitarizing Gaza; Israel agrees to “quiet for quiet” and thus to conclude the Protective Edge campaign. These are the latest reports (Aug. 19) arriving from Cairo. We can assume that within a few days, Hamas will declare that it won the campaign by virtue of its military might, its determination and persistence. Apparently, Israel will also declare that thanks to the military operation, peace and quiet will return to the residents of the south.
One can assume that both sides are correct. Although Gaza suffered a hard blow, Hamas succeeded in “persuading” Israel and the world that a closure extending more than seven years is not legitimate and if Israel wants to ensure peace and quiet to its residents, it must remove the blockade and allow the residents of the Gaza Strip to live and govern their lives by themselves.
According to the settlement that is emerging in Cairo, it seems that the discussions concerning Hamas' demand to build a seaport and an airport will be delayed by a month; in other words, these demands were not rejected outright. As the Protective Edge campaign winds down, Hamas demands, and apparently will receive in the future, open crossings and symbols of a sovereign state. In effect, we can consider that the first cornerstone of the Gaza state has been laid in Cairo. The residents of the West Bank, who relied on the promises and path of President Mahmoud Abbas to establish a Palestinian state by way of peace negotiations with Israel, will certainly feel bitterly disappointed.
At the beginning of the closure imposed on Gaza in the wake of Hamas’ military coup in 2007, I thought that the closure was immoral, inadvisable, and would only achieve the opposite result. Israel counted the daily calorie consumption of the Gaza residents to ensure that they would not have an “abundance” of food, yet still have enough to eat without causing a humanitarian disaster. Gasoline was provided sparingly, thus car and cab owners were forced to fill their vehicles with cooking oil, causing a heavy white cloud to cover the Gaza sky.
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