The Times of Israel:
After six days of intensive air raids by the Israeli Air Force on Gaza, in an effort to stop the missile attacks against Israel from terrorist groups in Gaza, more and more voices are being raised in Israel to accept a cease-fire and enter into negotiations to end the violence. As of this writing, it seems that a cease-fire can be reached very soon.
If our assumption is that there is ‘no alternative,’ we are taking the curse of Esau that the world will live by the sword, but then we must also know and accept that we will never have any real hope for a different future.
In a letter signed by leading cultural personalities in Israel – including Amos Oz, Yehoshua Sobol, and 88 others – they called for a cease-fire and dialogue with Hamas. While dialogue with Hamas is rejected by the Israeli and American governments, more and more people are realizing that we have been negotiating with Hamas for years, ever since the abduction of Gilad Shalit. Indeed indirect talks led to his release from captivity last year. And we are actually talking to Hamas again, to end this round, albeit through intermediaries.
In addition, Amnon Mitzna – who was the Chairman of the Labor Party in Israel for several years, and the mayor of Haifa, and a career officer in the Israel Defense Forces – has called vociferously on the radio for the end of the offensive, arguing that we have done enough and a ground offensive will only hurt us now. He also said that he has shared his thoughts with Defense Minister Ehud Barak (but it was not clear if Mr. Barak was paying him any attention).
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Israel, Middle East