Deal or no deal in Gaza?

It looks like Egypt’s backroom efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are breaking down. Today, Hamas publicly laid out its terms for a deal, which Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared to swiftly reject, warning, "Continued combat in Gaza will bring an escalation beyond what we have seen so far, before we ...

It looks like Egypt's backroom efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are breaking down. Today, Hamas publicly laid out its terms for a deal, which Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared to swiftly reject, warning, "Continued combat in Gaza will bring an escalation beyond what we have seen so far, before we reach a period of calm." The rocket fire has been quiet the past few days as negotiations proceeded, but it looks like they are set to resume in earnest again. "We are not in a state of calm with Hamas, we are in ongoing activity meant to stop Kassam fire," Barak said. No wonder former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is supposed to be helping solve this mess, is fleeing to Yale instead.

It looks like Egypt’s backroom efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are breaking down. Today, Hamas publicly laid out its terms for a deal, which Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak appeared to swiftly reject, warning, "Continued combat in Gaza will bring an escalation beyond what we have seen so far, before we reach a period of calm." The rocket fire has been quiet the past few days as negotiations proceeded, but it looks like they are set to resume in earnest again. "We are not in a state of calm with Hamas, we are in ongoing activity meant to stop Kassam fire," Barak said. No wonder former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is supposed to be helping solve this mess, is fleeing to Yale instead.

In a new Web exclusive for FP, former Israeli deputy national security advisor Chuck Freilich looks at Israel’s options for stopping the rockets, and find that they range from bad to worse. Check out Freilich’s article, "Six Ways Not to Deal with Hamas," and post your thoughts in the comments section below.

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