Media coverage
Deutsche Welle (Greek) · 2012-11-20
DW Greek during the November 2012 war. Omar Shaban, head of Pal-Think, doubts a ceasefire will hold for long and calls for a political solution, renewed peace talks and Western support for Palestinian reconciliation so that Hamas joins the political system; he sees Egypt’s role as key.
Despite international mediation efforts for a ceasefire, Israel continues its attacks on the Gaza Strip with undiminished intensity. In new air raids today, 16 Palestinians and two Israelis lost their lives. Since the start of the hostilities last week, a total of 133 Palestinians and 5 Israelis have been killed, while more than 1,000 people have been injured.
Earlier, a Hamas official had told Reuters that a ceasefire agreement had been reached and would enter into force at midnight. However, the news was not confirmed by the Israeli government, which pointed out that the negotiations were still ongoing.
On Egypt’s side, which has undertaken the mediation, cautious optimism was expressed by President Morsi that an agreement could be reached by midnight. “Tonight the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip will end. Efforts for a ceasefire between the Palestinian and Israeli sides will bring positive results in the coming hours,” the Egyptian president estimated in the afternoon.
What is needed is a political solution
But how long will the ceasefire last? That is the key question, as Omar Shaban, head of the think tank Pal-Think, who lives and works in the Gaza Strip, notes in an interview with N.B.:
“We do not believe that a ceasefire will be respected for many years. For this reason, we continuously call for a political solution and the continuation of peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel, the United States, but also countries such as Germany and Britain, should support reconciliation among the Palestinians so that Hamas becomes part of the political system.”
Egypt’s role is important
For the time being, however, the regional powers in the Near East—primarily Egypt—are playing a leading role in efforts to end the violence, Omar Shaban believes.
As the Israeli Yossi Mekelberg of the think tank Chatham House also notes: “War benefits neither side. Neither the people in Gaza, nor the Egyptians, who have many internal problems.”
At the same time, in an interview with Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), Avi Primor, former Israeli ambassador to Germany, emphasizes that Israel does not want a war either because it would have disastrous consequences for all sides.
dpa, Naomi Conrad / Stefanos Georgakopoulos
Editor responsible: Kostas Symeonidis
Text © Deutsche Welle (Greek) — archived here with attribution to the source. — Machine translation for archival reference. — Original source