It look's as if a ceasefire may be orchestrated by Abu Mazen, but the mass murderers have warned that it will not be permanent - and Israel must release all Palestinian political prisoners for Hamas to come to the party. Here's an analysis from the Washington Post Times.
At the moment all the players want a cease-fire, said Boaz Ganor, deputy dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. Abu Mazen and Israel want it so that he can strengthen his position and organize his forces. Hamas and the Islamic Jihad want it to recover from the blows they have sustained in the fighting with Israel. Egypt and Jordan want the situation to stabilize, and Syria is concerned with U.S. pressure, he said. But Hamas will not disarm and eventually there will be a showdown, he predicted. A senior source in the IDF Southern Command told Army Radio, "If, in the past, I gave Abu Mazen a 10% chance of success, now I give him 25%." (UPI/Washington Times)
The above cartoon was certainly true of the Arafat era - time will tell whether Abbas really means business.
Cartoon courtesy of Cox & Forkum Editorial Cartoons.
Spesificaly on your mention of mass murderers: I'm curious who you refer to, because for every suicide bombing there appears to be an Israeli millitary backlash. Both sides qualify perfectly as mass-murderers. Violence begets violence after all.
If Israel stopped going after targets every time ther eis a suicide bombing, general public sympathy for Israel would be far more than it is. But right now what the world sees are people throwing themselves, strapped to bombs, at a nation that in turn retaliates with state-of-the-art military weapons.
I don't care who started it, there are no saints or honorables left in the Isaeli/Palestine conflict.
Posted by: Gonzo | January 26, 2005 at 12:03
The above commentor "Gonzo" is quite offended that people are still offended today by the swastika.
To quote him exactly
So take the above comment from whence it comes.
Posted by: Steve | January 26, 2005 at 12:46