Can Palestinian police keep their own peace? Palestinian security forces. Illustrative. By Joshua Spurlock
This is something you won’t hear everyday: the leader of Israel telling reporters that Hamas arrested terrorists in their own territory for attacking Israel. But that’s exactly what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday in comments released by his office.
“It is clear to Hamas that we will not accept sporadic firing; therefore, it took care to make it clear that those who carried out the firing have been arrested and that it is committed to the ceasefire,” said Netanyahu, following Hamas’ response to a mortar attack from Gaza the day before.
That ceasefire is apparently about to be discussed again. Hamas said they expect the talks to resume within the next week, according to Moussa Abu Marzouq, a Hamas official, who spoke to the Ma’an News Agency.
This renewal of negotiations is believed to be part of the original ceasefire agreement. Hamas had multiple demands that were at least postponed in the last round, although it remains to be seen if Israel will accede to them.
After weeks of fighting, Hamas finally accepted a long-term ceasefire with terms that it had previously rejected. Their previous violations of multiple short-term ceasefires looked to be a play to extract more from the initial talks, which did not happen. The next round of discussions will determine what they ultimately end up receiving.
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, September 17, 2014)