Palestine
President: Mahmoud Abbas
Prime Minister: Rami Hamdallah
Israel
President: Reuven Rivlin
Prime Minister: Binyamin Netanyahu
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel and Gaza’s ruling Hamas agreed Tuesday to an open-ended cease-fire after seven weeks of fighting — an uneasy deal that halts the deadliest war the sides have fought in years, with more than 2,200 killed, but puts off the most difficult issues.
In the end, both sides settled for an ambiguous interim agreement in exchange for a period of calm. Hamas, though badly battered, remains in control of Gaza, with part of its military arsenal intact. Israel and Egypt will continue to control access to blockaded Gaza, despite Hamas’ long-running demand that the border closures imposed in 2007 be lifted.
The Deal
Under the Egyptian-brokered deal, Israel is to ease imports to Gaza, including aid and material for reconstruction. It also agreed to a largely symbolic gesture, expanding a fishing zone for Gaza fishermen from three to six nautical miles into the Mediterranean. Next month, talks are to begin on more complex issues, including Hamas’ demand to start building a seaport and airport in Gaza. Israel has said it would only agree if Hamas disarms, a demand the militant group has rejected.
Before the Agreement
The cease-fire went into effect at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and violence persisted until the last minute. Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., Gaza militants fired 83 rockets, of which 13 were intercepted. Throughout the war, Israel launched some 5,000 air strikes against Gaza, About three-fourths of those killed in the strikes have been civilians, according to the U.N. and Palestinian officials. The military said Gaza militants have fired at least 1,400 mortars on the border communities since the fighting began. Hamas declared victory, even though it had little to show for a war that killed 2,143 Palestinians, wounded more than 11,000 and left some 100,000 homeless. On the Israeli side, 64 soldiers and five civilians were killed, the last being a man killed by Palestinian mortar fire shortly before the cease-fire was announced.
Bordering Communities
Hundreds of Israelis left their homes along the border with the Gaza Strip on Monday, reflecting growing frustration over the war with Hamas and the Palestinian mortar fire raining down on their communities. Tens of thousands of Israelis have fled the area in nearly two months of fighting. With the school year fast approaching, the government began offering assistance to residents Monday in the first large-scale voluntary evacuation in nearly eight weeks of fighting. Officials estimate that 70 percent of the 40,000 inhabitants of the farming communities along the Gaza border have left over the course of the fighting, including hundreds on Monday. Some went to stay with relatives and friends, while others are staying at hostels or were taken in by strangers who want to help fellow Israelis.
Loose Ends
Despite its victory celebrations Tuesday, Hamas failed to force an end to the Gaza blockade, imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militants seized the seaside strip in 2007. Under the restrictions, virtually all of Gaza’s 1.8 million people cannot trade or travel. Only a few thousand are able to leave the coastal territory every month. The cease-fire deal makes no mention of ending the ban on exports from Gaza or significantly easing travel. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a long-time rival of Hamas, will likely play a key role in any new border deal for Gaza. Abbas, who lost Gaza to Hamas in 2007, is expected to regain a foothold there under any Egyptian-brokered agreement.
Hamas
A “national liberation movement” whose forces are “freedom fighters who are seeking the liberation of the Palestinian people and their civil rights,” said Izzat Risheq, a Hamas official. Established in December 1987, Hamas overran Gaza in 2007.
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