WarSclerotic

No country can force a cease-fire, Israel Hayom, Boaz Bismuth, July 22, 2014

Israel has not entered a campaign with a world so divided and with Hamas so politically isolated since 2008. We are still a long way off from drawing conclusions, and it is not clear when a cease-fire will be reached, even a humanitarian one, but Israel already has one achievement under its belt and it is called Egypt. In a state of affairs such as this, Hamas can only draw a zero on its list of accomplishments, and Israel should be in no rush to open border crossings.

Those who are interested in a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas — and they are not in the majority, as displayed by Israel Hayom’s poll — are frustrated.

There is no country today that could really enforce a cease-fire. Moreover, both cease-fire initiatives, which were placed on the table more than a week ago, are the product of countries — Egypt, Turkey and Qatar — that trust one another about as much as Israel and Hamas trust one another, especially since the ousting of former Egyptian President and Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Morsi in a military coup.

It wouldn’t hurt if someone were to mediate between the mediators. For example, between Cairo and Washington or between Ankara and Cairo. And yet, the effort to find a diplomatic solution is gaining momentum. Washington, which has almost willingly become irrelevant, called (that is, U.S. President Barack Obama called) on Monday for a truce. But even Washington cannot force a cease-fire now.

What happened to the days when former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would come to the neighborhood and get things done? The current secretary of state, John Kerry, was unknowingly recorded on Sunday in the Fox news studio saying to his aide: “We’ve got to get over there. … We ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around.” Proof that times have changed.

It is no surprise that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who just recently joined a unity government with Hamas, has become the primary mediator. Except that Abbas is not a mediator — he is directly involved. The list of his meetings includes Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal. It is the meeting with Mashaal that is the most important. It is with Mashaal that the rivalry is real.

Egypt is asking that Hamas pay a high price for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and it is not prepared to grant any favors. Turkey wants to strengthen its position as an influential party, but it is not able to move past its tensions and rivalries with Israel and Egypt. And Qatar, the trouble-making mediator that owns Al Jazeera, continues to destabilize Arab regimes and to promote conflict in order to ensure its existence and solidify its position with a filled and open wallet. Meanwhile, Iran is busy with its nuclear project and is prepared to let its relationship with Hamas deteriorate, not just for Syrian President Bashar Assad’s sake, but also for the sake of Iranian uranium.

Israel has not entered a campaign with a world so divided and with Hamas so politically isolated since 2008. We are still a long way off from drawing conclusions, and it is not clear when a cease-fire will be reached, even a humanitarian one, but Israel already has one achievement under its belt and it is called Egypt. In a state of affairs such as this, Hamas can only draw a zero on its list of accomplishments, and Israel should be in no rush to open border crossings.

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