Let’s stop and think a moment. Why were IDF troops in Gaza? Because the palestinians were launching kassam rockets every day into Sderot, the Negev, and other points in Israel.
So we have a cease-fire that takes effect Sunday morning. What happens? In the first hour, kassams are launched at Sderot. Israel says she will “exercise restraint” and ignore the fact that Hamas—that would be the same terrorist organization that runs the PA these days—itself claimed the rocket fire.
So now it’s Monday, and what happens? More kassam rockets are launched at Sderot. So the media, of course, ignores the fact that if you’re supposed to have a cease fire, and you’re shooting rockets into Israel every day, then it’s not known as a cease-fire, in fact, it is still known as “firing rockets into Israel everyday.”
This is buried in the AP piece about Olmert’s speech:
His offer to restart long-stalled peace talks came a day after the two sides began observing a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, ending five months of widespread violence in the coastal area and raising hopes that the truce would lead to new peace efforts.
Despite the cease-fire, Palestinian militants fired two rockets at Israel on Monday, causing no injuries, Israeli authorities said.
The AP sees no cognitive dissonance in pointing out that there is a cease-fire in effect, but that firing two rockets isn’t breaching it. Yes, such is the low threshhold held for terrorists that they’re allowed to keep a cease-fire while breaching it, but if the IDF then responds to the rocket attacks—and it will—the headlines will be “Israel breaks truce with palestinians.”
Count on it.
As for Olmert’s speech: Wrong time for it. You offer concessions from a position of strength, and right now, Israel isn’t looking very strong.