Three weeks later and more than 1,000 people dead, Israel is reported to be ready to end the conflict with or without any deal from Hamas. It sounds like one of those let's end this while we're ahead strategies.
Israel plans to halt its Gaza offensive without any deal with Hamas, an Israeli official said on Saturday, in an apparent effort to deny the Islamist group any gains from the three-week-old conflict.
"The goal is to announce, subject to cabinet approval, a suspension of military activities because we believe our goals have been attained," said the official, asking not to be named. The security cabinet met shortly before 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was to address the nation afterwards.
So, will the rockets from Gaza now end or is Israel just tired of the fight?
Israel launched air strikes on the Gaza Strip on December 27 and ground troops pushed into the coastal enclave a week later. Without an accord with Hamas, diplomats said they feared Israel would let only a trickle of goods into Gaza, hampering reconstruction and creating more hardship for its people.
"There is no agreement with Hamas," the Israeli official said, adding that Israel would reserve the right to act if Hamas continued firing or launched rockets across the border. A Hamas official in Beirut said earlier the militants would keep fighting until Israel met their demands, mainly for an end to a crippling economic blockade.
So, maybe a better description would be that there is a suspension to the war, but not an end.
About the Author:
As a spiritual-futurist, I interpret current events in light of possible macro-universal forces at play leading up to 2012, but not limited to it.