Thursday March 17, 2005

I've Been Thinking:

This ceasefire between the Israelis and the Palestinians is worth discussing.

The Palestinian parties got together in Cairo and decided to extend the temporary ceasefire with Israel to the end of 2005. The PA would have preferred a permanent ceasefire, but that was pie in the sky.

No way Hamas and Islamic Jihad would agree to a permanent ceasefire.
What did they agree to?
They agreed to desist from attacking, reserving the right to fight the Israeli "occupation".
What does that really mean?
It means that they can and will violate the agreement.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad gain a double portion here.

Point #1: They get the PA off their backs, and in exchange for joining the ceasefire they will be given a serious role in the government and will also be running in the upcoming legislative elections.

Point #2: The extremist terrorist groups now get credibility in the public eye and in official PA eyes, and they will use that to leach votes and popularity from the PA. They will campaign on a hard line platform to keep the PA from making bold and important concessions to the Israelis.

Everyone needs to keep their eyes on Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Everyone, especially the PA.