Gaza talks in Cairo: Cease-fire may be all that Israel and Hamas can agree on

[P F Tinmore]

I thought that the 72 hour ceasefire would come and go with no agreement on a truce.

As Israel and Hamas sit down at indirect negotiations in Egypt aimed at delivering a lasting cease-fire in the Gaza conflict, both sides are out to get an agreement that is different from past accords.

But both sides wanting a different outcome than in the past is where any similarity between their aims comes to an abrupt halt. That’s one reason why officials and regional experts say devising an arrangement that ends the month-long war in a lasting manner will be extremely difficult.

With both sides reluctant to return to fighting but with neither side ready to accept the other’s chief demands, the outcome is likely to be a minimal agreement that risks leaving in place the conditions that have led to three rounds of fighting in five years, some analysts say.

Gaza talks in Cairo: Cease-fire may be all that Israel and Hamas can agree on

Then what?

 

[Lipush]

Sometimes the best decision is to decide nothing and see where it goes from there.