Tuesday, September 09, 2014

John Kerry's "Ceasefire" (It Was A Failure)

Let's remind ourselves:

July 31 - John Kerry nails down Israel-Hamas ceasefire days after facing ridicule for failure

Finally, less than an hour after all sides signed off on the precise and technical wording for a 72-hour truce, Kerry issued a statement and called a 3:30 a.m. Friday press conference to seal the deal before any party could back out.

July 31 - Cease-Fire in Gaza Conflict Takes Effect as Talks Are Set

“During this time, the forces on the ground will remain in place,” said the announcement, which means that Israeli troops can continue destroying the labyrinth of tunnels in Gaza that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said are the prime target of the operation.

“We urge all parties to act with restraint until this humanitarian cease-fire begins, and to fully abide by their commitments during the cease-fire,” Mr. Kerry and Mr. Ban said in the statement.

August 1 -  Obama: John Kerry Facing 'Unfair Criticism' Over Israel-Hamas Ceasefire

President Obama went to bat for his secretary of state on Friday, defending John Kerry from "unfair criticism" over the failed cease-fire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

"Let me take this opportunity, by the way, to give Secretary John Kerry credit. He has been persistent. He has worked very hard. He has endured on many occasions really unfair criticism simply to try to get to the point where the killing stops and the underlying issues about Israel's security, but also the concerns of Palestinians in Gaza, can be addressed," Obama said during an afternoon news conference.

And, a month later,

September 9 - Report: US-Israeli misunderstanding led to breakdown of Gaza truce

The IDF-run radio station reported on Tuesday that the Americans mistakenly led Israel to believe that Hamas accepted an unconditional 72-hour cease-fire when in fact the Palestinian Islamist group never gave its consent to a key Israeli demand that it refrain from attacking troops already on the ground in Gaza.

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