Israel finds itself at crossroads in Gaza invasion
Hamas, too, is at a crossroads. A quick cease-fire would spare Gaza further devastation. But it could also keep the militants from reaching their key objective of opening Gaza's borders.
Israeli officials on Monday were weighing whether to take their 17-day offensive to a new, more violent phase invading Gaza's heavily populated areas to try to go after Hamas leaders and weapons stores and pressure the group to enter a truce on Israel's terms. This could be very costly in terms of human life on both sides and yield uncertain results.
A second option is to halt the offensive as part of a truce deal that gives Hamas what it wants: an end to the blockade of Gaza imposed after the militants violently overran the coastal territory 18 months ago. While this would stop the war, it would also likely cement Hamas' hold on power in Gaza an unwelcome outcome for Israel.
Under another scenario, Israel could also declare victory and remain in key parts of Gaza, effectively reoccupying territory it left in 2005's withdrawal.
International mediators expressed hope Monday that a cease-fire could be achieved. Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who now serves as an international Mideast envoy, said in Cairo that the "elements of an agreement ... are there" and that he hoped to see a truce "in the coming days."
Hossam Zaki, spokesman for the Egyptian foreign ministry, told the BBC that cease-fire talks in Cairo were "progressing." He suggested the sides might agree to stop fighting even while details of a truce deal were being worked out.
However, when asked about what is probably the main requirement for any truce to work guaranteeing Israel that Hamas' rockets and arms smuggling will stop he said, "Egypt is not in the business of giving guarantees of such a nature."
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I think Israel should pull back with the warning that if the Hamas...
2 bits | Jan. 12, 2009 at 5:09 p.m.
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