Netanyahu's deliberate choice of words on Gaza cease-fire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he delivers a statement to the press at his Jerusalem office on November 21, 2012. / Gali Tibbon/AFP/Getty Images

In his reaction to the cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas faction in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chose his words very carefully, deciding to position himself as reluctant about the truce that went into effect today.

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Will Gaza cease-fire last?

An official announcement from Netanyahu's office said that in his latest telephone conversation with President Obama, the prime minister "acceded to his recommendation to give the Egyptian cease-fire proposal a chance."

• Israel and Hamas agree to Gaza cease-fire
• Timeline of recent Israel-Gaza violence

Netanyahu's choice of words is largely due to his genuine skepticism that the terms of the truce will hold. But also, he is trying to be as friendly as possible with the recently re-elected President Obama. Israel will likely need Mr. Obama's support in 2013, when the simmering crisis over Iran's nuclear program is likely to come to a head - either through diplomacy or military action.

In addition, Netanyahu himself hopes to be re-elected in the Israeli election on January 22. The military clash with Hamas, during the past week, gave him an opportunity to portray himself as a tough leader whose first priority is the security of Israelis who were concerned about the threat of rockets from Gaza.

At an official announcement in Jerusalem, Netanyahu and other senior officials pointed to accomplishments scored by Israel in the past week: killing many Hamas "terrorist leaders" in Gaza and destroying hundreds of missiles before they could be launched at Israel.

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Flash Points: Can the Gaza conflict spread regionally?

Netanyahu thanked Israeli soldiers, notably tens of thousands of reservists who left their jobs and families to get ready near the Gaza border, as well as Israeli intelligence services that were able to provide targeting information. His remarks in Hebrew were followed up by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who heads his own small political party, and by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, whose party has temporarily merged with Netanyahu's Likud Party for this election campaign.

The prime minister also thanked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her personal involvement. She left Mr. Obama's tour of Southeast Asia to rush to Jerusalem and had three meetings with Netanyahu. She also went to nearby Ramallah, in the West Bank, to confer with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority.

Netanyahu said many Israeli people were expecting even more military action - referring to the possibility of a ground invasion of Gaza, something that Israel did do in late 2008. More than 1,000 Palestinian deaths and 13 Israeli deaths occurred in that brief war. In this past week, according to health officials, more than 130 Palestinians - up to one-third of them children - and 5 Israelis were killed.

Netanyahu said it still is possible, with many missiles provided by Iran still in the hands of Hamas, that Israel will find a need for further military strikes. But one reason for accepting the truce, however reluctantly, is that Israeli citizens living in the south of their country deserve some peace and quiet.

He is deeply skeptical that the Islamic radicals of Hamas will adhere to a ceasefire, and there is also the problem that other factions inside the Gaza Strip have frequently fired rockets and mortar shells into Israel in order to stir up trouble or act as heroes.

Israel will face a dilemma - whether to respond to such attacks - if they do occur and don't seem definitely linked with Hamas, the faction that has ruled Gaza for most of the years since Israel pulled out its troops and Jewish settlers in 2005.

At the Jerusalem announcement, Netanyahu said that, above all, he was thanking the Israeli people - concluding: "I am proud to be your prime minister."

At about the same time, Hamas was celebrating what its leaders see as major strides ahead in the past week: challenging Israeli military power, suffering significant casualties in Gaza while holding together support for Hamas, making the rival Fatah faction in the West Bank look irrelevant, and achieving recognition when Egyptian and other foreign officials came to Gaza to show solidarity.

There is fear, in the Middle East, that eventually the Israelis and the Palestinians of Gaza will fight each other again. Some diplomats are wondering what the United States might do to make Secretary of State Clinton's statement - that the ceasefire deal can be a step to "move us toward a comprehensive peace for all the people of the region" - more than a rhetorical hope.

[caboverdebro]

What horrible man netanyahu is and certainly no peacemaker Israel is what god will usher in When Jesus comes back to us to rein as lord on earth .Then the diaspora will end and then we will have peace. and then we will have Israel. till then The Jewish people will just be disobeying God as usual.




















palistine

[gilmendozza]

AMERICANS THE ISRAELY PEOPLE IS A HUMBLE PEOPLE; BUT LIKE IN THE U.S. THE CRIMINAL GOVERNMENTS! . . "BIBI" JEW KILLER NETANYAHU USE WHITE PHOSPHOROUS WELL KNOW AS "BLACK OBAMA" IN GAZA CITY. NETAYAHU IS A CHILDREN KILLER~WARS INSTIGATER~TREACHERY OF PEACEKEEPING AND GLOBAL TYRANY. ON THIS THANKGIVING DAY AMERICANS NEED TO REFLECT AND DON'T ALLOW OUR CROOKED/CRIMINAL 'PRESIDENT' "SLICKY" OBAMA TO SEND MONEY NOR WAPONRY TO ISRAEL.

[gilmendozza]

. . . CROOKED/CRIMINAL WARMONGER ISRAELY JEW NETANYAHU. . . "I FALLOW AMERICAN POLITICS; BUT I DON'T INTERFERE... I RULE AMERICA"!

[JerusalemCenter]

"Hamas views each round of armed conflict with Israel as a stage in a long-term war of attrition. Hamas leaders hope the increasingly severe and violent outbreaks will eventually erode Israel's resilience, while goading the masses toward the emergence of a united military front for the liberation of Palestine. "

this is something that must be taken into account when discussing the viability of a long time cease fire between both sides.

http://jcpa.org/article/the-long-term-implications-of-the-israel-hamas-clash/

[dassa0069]

To find an individual like Netty one merely strolls into the woods, rolls over a rock...aha!

[92F150]

I'd like to see this cease fire successful and a negotiation of equal rights for Israeli Palestinians, a change to a secular Israel and eventually, a united secular republic that represents improving the quality of life of all the people in Gaza, West Bank and Israel.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

Combovers look so ridiculous, even on Prime Ministers.

[stevehc1]

At some point, President Obama will have to accept the fact that Israel is not Afganistan, and cannot accept ANY violence perpetrated against its citizens by Gazan terrorists. If attacks of any kind continue against Israelis by Palestinian terrorists - particularly from those in Gaza - a ground invasion preceded by another and far more devastating aerial assault - will become an absolute necessity.

[gmcgmc]

you seem to ignore some of the facts relating to the conflict. Israel assassinating Palestinians. I guess You can't call that terrorism?

[Biggest_Lew]

Nope.

The Palestinians shouldn't have started it by lobbing all those rockets indiscriminately into Israel.

Not terrorism by Israel, Self Defense. Completely justified, IMHO.

[wrigleyguy]

Congratulations. A few more "victories" like this and Gaza would be wasteland. The way forward is to accept the State of Israel and to build your land. Two states is the only way.

[Chivalry1978]

If peace is to last it will take more then a cease fire...it will take egos on both sides to be removed. If Netanyahu is a real leader he will and must make strives for peace. He must create a working relationship with Gaza and the west bank. Give them training and representation and create a unified state. Where both sides have representation, to where both sides will be as one. Such a Nation could become a true power house.