Tel Aviv Agrees

From USA Today:
"Israel announces 5-hour bombing lull in Gaza"

Israel announced it would cease attacks on Palestinian militants in Gaza for five hours Thursday at the request of a United Nations official, but a ground operation against rocket-firing factions in the territory looks increasingly likely. A five-hour lull is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Ynet reported. A U.N. official made the request after Hamas on Tuesday rejected an Egyptian cease-fire proposal to stop hostilities in which 215 Palestinians and one Israeli have died, according to The Jerusalem Post.

Israel said it would hold its fire to allow Palestinians to restock supplies, but pledged to retaliate if Hamas or other militant groups launch attacks on Israel during that time. Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Israel's top peace negotiator in U.S.-brokered peace talks that failed recently, told Israel's Channel 2 on Wednesday that a further escalation of the operation in Gaza will be necessary if rocket fire from the Hamas-controlled territory continues. Her comments came hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Cabinet approved the call-up of 8,000 reservists, bringing to 56,000 the reservists on active duty, according to The Jerusalem Post. The chances of a ground operation that could involve the occupation of Gaza and last several months are increasingly high, according to reports by The New York Times and Washington Post, citing an unnamed source in the Israeli military. Israel accepted an Egyptian truce proposal Tuesday that called for a halt to hostilities, but Hamas rejected the deal, saying it did not believe Egypt's rulers — who deposed a Hamas-friendly government in Cairo last year — could be fair brokers. In a news conference Wednesday, Sami Abu Zuhri, a senior Hamas official, said the group feels "alone in the field" with little support from the Arab world. Zuhri, who vowed the militant group will continue its attacks on Israel, called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to support Hamas' refusal of the cease-fire.  In Washington, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, "The situation in Gaza is very urgent. We are concerned about reports of loss of life on both sides of the border. The United States stands "firmly behind the Israelis and their right to defend themselves," he said. "And not just a right but a responsibility." Israel told residents of the northern town of Beit Lahiya and the Zeitoun and Shijaiyah neighborhoods of Gaza City, all near the border with Israel, to evacuate their homes by 8 a.m. Wednesday. The warnings were delivered in automated phone calls, text messages and leaflets dropped from planes. The Israeli military said in its message that large numbers of rockets were launched from these areas and that Israel plans to bomb these locations. "Whoever disregards these instructions and fails to evacuate immediately endangers their own lives, as well as those of their families," the message said.

^ Again, Israel steps-up and accepts the UN cease-fire (just as it had the Egyptian one.) It seems the whole world is with Israel (or at least not with Hamas.) It's good to hear Hamas say they feel abandoned. I think the Arab Spring is starting to have some positive affects on the Arabs/Muslims and they are beginning to realize that they can't win against Israel no matter how hard or how many weapons and troops they have. There's a saying in Israel that the Arabs can loose a thousand wars, but if Israel looses even 1 then it will be destroyed. In the 66 years of modern Israel that hasn't happened and I don't see it ever happening. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/07/16/israel-gaza-hamas-palestinians/12720079/