Epigraph:
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:7-9)
In this aerial view of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, it is easy to recognize the dome of the rock and the wailing wall
Source: MSN News
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire beginning Friday, during which time there will be negotiations on a more durable truce in the 24-day-old Gaza war, the United States and United Nations announced Thursday.
The announcement came hours after Israeli Prime Minister vowed to destroy ‘ tunnel network “with or without a cease-fire” and as the Palestinian death toll soared past 1,400. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the announcement.
Secretary of State John Kerry
In a statement released in New Delhi where Secretary of State John Kerry is traveling, the U.S. and U.N. said they had gotten assurances that all parties to the conflict had agreed to an unconditional cease-fire.
“This humanitarian cease-fire will commence at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. It will last for a period of 72 hours unless extended. During this time the forces on the ground will remain in place,” the statement said.
“We urge all parties to act with restraint until this humanitarian cease-fire begins, and to fully abide by their commitments during the cease-fire.”
The statement said the cease-fire was critical to give civilians a much-needed reprieve from violence. During this period, civilians in will receive humanitarian relief and have time to bury the dead, take care of the injured and restock food supplies. The time also will be used to repair water and energy infrastructure.
At least four short humanitarian cease-fires have been announced since the conflict began, but each has been broken by renewed fighting.
Judaism, like Christianity and Islam, bases its spirituality in human compassion:
Quoting BBC
Israel and Hamas have agreed to an unconditional 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza from 08:00 (05:00 GMT) on Friday.
A joint US and UN statement urged all parties to “act with restraint” until the ceasefire begins. Talks on a more permanent truce are to start in Cairo.
Since Israel began its offensive in Gaza on 8 July, 1,422 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Fifty-six Israeli soldiers have died.
Two Israeli civilians have been killed, as well as a Thai national in Israel.
Israel says its operation in Gaza is designed to defend its population from attacks by Palestinian militants.
‘Much needed reprieve’
Officials from both Israel and Hamas, which controls Gaza, confirmed that they had agreed to the ceasefire proposal brokered by the US and UN.
“During this time the forces on the ground will remain in place,” US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the joint statement.
http://www.bbc.com/news/28596609
After so many killings and destructions US became the champion of making 72 hour seize fire that goes in favour of Israel as they used that also kill and make further destination. UN has failed completely in stopping the criminal act of Israel. If it was some other countries socially a Muslim country UN & US would put sanctions against it and may be used force to stop the crisis. This dual standard must stopped to bring peace in the world.
Cease- fire???? Then what next? War again? Pse put an end to war. We are sick and tired of bloodshed. What of use if you put in place social amenities only to destroy them after cease-fire!!! What is needed is an unconditional end to this senseless war which has claimed lives of innocent people.
ZIONISM!
At this juncture of the ongoing dreadful tragedies, it’s worth quoting Muhammad Asad (1900-1992) born Leopold Weiss of Jewish Parents in Austria. He mentioned in his book – first published in 1954 – ” The Road to Mecca”: ” Although of Jewish origin myself, I conceived from the outset a strong objection to Zionism. Apart from my personal sympathy for the Arabs, I considered it immoral that immigrants , assisted by a foreign Great Power, should come from abroad with the avowed intention of attaining to majority in the country and thus to dispossess the people whose country it had been since time immemorial. Consequently, I was inclined to take the side of the Arabs whenever the Jewish-Arab question was brought-which of course happpened very often……I still remember a brief discussion I had on this score with Dr Chaim Weizmann, the undisputed leader of the Zionist movement…..I met him in the house of a Jewish friend….I had the disturbing impression that even he, like most of the other Zionists, was inclined to transfer the moral responsibility for all that was happening in Palestine to the “outside world”…..This impelled me to break through the deferential hush with which all the other present were listening, and to ask: What about the Arabs?….I must have committed a faux pas by thus bringing a jarring note into the conversation, for Dr Weizmann turned his face slowly toward me, put down the cup he had been holding in his hand, and repeated my question: ” What about the Arabs? Well how can you hope to make Palestine your homeland in the face of the vehement opposition of the Arabs who, after all are the majority in this country? The Zionist leader shrugged his shoulders and answered drily: We expect they won’t be in a majority after a few years.”
Regrettably, the general public is taking its cue from The Lame Stream Media, and seems to be totally ignorant of the bigger picture. As George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) – the Irish playwright and Nobel Prize in Literature – said: ” Beware of false knowledge, it is more dangerous that ignorance.”
Furthermore, the ongoing MUSLIM MALAISE at the dawn of the present century is not only deeply disturbing, but most importantly against THE CREATOR’S WILL.
O THE ALMIGHTY, please show the Judeo-Christian-Islamic World the Way forward.
Peace, La Paix, Shalom and Salaam
Umar Solim – England