Egyptian-French Cease Fire Deal accepted by Israel and the Palestinian Authority...

[StudsT]

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday Israel and the Palestinian Authority had accepted a truce plan for Gaza announced by Egypt on Tuesday.

"The president is delighted by the acceptance by Israel and the Palestinian Authority of the Franco-Egyptian plan presented last night in Sharm el-Sheikh by (Egyptian) President (Hosni) Mubarak," said a statement from Sarkozy's office.

"The head of state calls for this plan to be implemented as quickly as possible for the suffering of the population to stop."

more...
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5053R720090107

now how will this be workable without Hamas :shrug:

StudsT

[bunnies]

1. Reuters link ---->

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE5053R720090107

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Wednesday Israel and the Palestinian Authority had accepted a truce plan for Gaza announced by Egypt on Tuesday.

"The president is delighted by the acceptance by Israel and the Palestinian Authority of the Franco-Egyptian plan presented last night in Sharm el-Sheikh by (Egyptian) President (Hosni) Mubarak," said a statement from Sarkozy's office.

"The head of state calls for this plan to be implemented as quickly as possible for the suffering of the population to stop."

[StudsT]

15. thanks for the link bunnies

added to the OP

:toast:

StudsT

[Kber]

2. What's with France being all diplomatically active these days

First Russia and now Israel and Hamas?

Guess someone needs to step in to the void.

[bdamomma]

8. well it used to be us but not anymore Bush could not give a shit.

[Idealism]

30. France was the head of the EU

until 2009. Now the Czechs have it, and they aren't really a demonstrative crew I hear

[Dennis Donovan]

3. It's not Hamas - the PA accepted the deal...

...no word on whether Hamas has accepted it.:shrug:

[tekisui]

5. For Hamas to accept, Israel will have to agree to open the borders.

We'll see. Israel can say they accept, knowing they will not give a key concession, and then say it is out of their hands.

[cali]

13. and for the borders to open there needs to a mechanism to ensure

that Hamas doesn't take advantage of the borders to attack Israel. It's not simply a matter of throwing open the borders. Would that it was that simple.

[tekisui]

14. Not to mention that before Hamas will agree, they will want Israel

out. I am hopeful, it is good to see some talking going on, however, the situation is still very unstable.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

19. Hamas has refused a permanent ceasefire, its hudna time again

[azurnoir]

24. Perhaps you should check out this thread

Hamas Team Takes Egypt Truce Plan To Syria

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x240705

[ProgressiveProfessor]

29. Perhaps you should check out these two

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x240674
and
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x240770

[azurnoir]

31. The first I had already seen and commented on

the second was the Israel defense ministry says that Hamases military might not agree to a cease fire such statements are common in these situations and usually quite tenuous or as it is said talk is cheap

[StudsT]

9. damn, wonder why Hamas is not included in this plan?

don't see how it can work without them.

StudsT

[tekisui]

12. That is my concern.

Without Hamas at the table, it will mean little.

[azurnoir]

25. another question is

why was the PA included, they have no role in this conflict, answer both questions and the picture becomes much more clear.

[GoesTo11]

17. We're getting close

"Hamas says no to permanent ceasefire

Despite mounting international pressure for an end to hostilities between Israel and Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip, Hamas declared on Wednesday that it would not accept any permanent cease-fire with Israel.

According to the Deputy head of Hamas's political bureau, Moussa Abou Marzouk, the group would not talk about a permanent cease-fire so long as Israel continued its "occupation," and would instead continue the "resistance." He said that Hamas stands by its demand that Israel immediately halts its offensive, withdraws from the Gaza Strip, and opens all of the border crossings."

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231167294753&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[azurnoir]

26. From Reuters

Hamas seeks truce but says lifting siege a must

Moussa Abu Marzouk vowed that the Palestinian Islamic group would keep fighting an uneven war with Israel rather than return to the blockade, one of the grievances cited by Hamas when it chose not to renew a truce with Israel last month.

"Any initiative not based on ending the aggression, opening the border crossings and an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has no chance of succeeding," Abu Marzouk told Reuters in an interview in Damascus.

"The defeat of the enemy and its failure to achieve its objectives must be reflected in the situation to come. I agree that the rules of the game must change, but in Hamas's favour," said Abu Marzouk, who lives in Syria along with other members of the group's exiled leadership.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKTRE50431Q20090105

[GoesTo11]

27. "I agree that the rules of the game must change, but in Hamas's favour"

No wonder the people of Gaza voted for this wise leadership. It's worked out well so far, if they measure their quality of life in terms of how many rockets were fired at Israel.

[azurnoir]

28. And in hamas favor

is opening the crossings which was the agreement in the first place, which is why I included the paragraph

[tekisui]

4. Let's hope this works.

They may have agreed in theory. I hope they can make it happen.

[ShadesOfGrey]

6. Finally, a little glimmer of hope. Thanks for reporting. nt

[bdamomma]

7. the UN Security Council met last nite too, did anyone catch that

on C Span last nite?

[oberliner]

10. Hamas was not involved in this

Meanwhile, senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk said that his organization would not discuss a long-term ceasefire as long as the Israeli occupation and siege of Gaza continue.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3652259,00.html

[tekisui]

11. This is where it will get sticky.

Hamas will demand Israel leave before they agree to a cease-fire. Israel won't do that before a cease-fire is agreed upon. But, I am hopeful, as it is a step towards some kind of resolution.

[azurnoir]

18. Isn't it odd that Marzouk who is in exile exactly where who knows

because he was convicted in the US on terrorism charges in the '90's yet he surfaces to make this announcement interesting isn't it? the ynet article doesn't mention him by name however

[bemildred]

16. I think it's a head fake. Maybe some damage control.

Maybe trying to get "the people of Gaza" to "turn on Hamas". But this "agreement" is not going anywhere just yet in any case.

[azurnoir]

21. Oh sure it is

Israel has agreed to stop its invasion and bombing for a whole 3 hours a day for humanitarian purposes

[bemildred]

22. Well, I think politicians are starting to think about the endgame.

The "demands" being made are changing. It sounds less like "give us everything we want or your die" and more like we want this and we'll give that in return. The piece on Obama's "warning" is interesting.

[azurnoir]

23. I read that

hat is plain is that Israel is "concerned" about Obama, what a shocker

[azurnoir]

20. The BBC has a slightly different take

The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has been targeted by the Israeli military in Gaza, said there were "positive signs but no agreement yet".

The development came as Israel halted military operations in Gaza for three hours to aid humanitarian efforts.

The lull was the first of what an Israeli spokesman said would be a daily ceasefire to allow Gazans to "get medical attention, get supplies... whatever they need".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7815929.stm