BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT — Might a Gaza peace agreement bring benefit beyond the besieged Gaza Strip? That’s the tantalizing hope expressed by several U.S. officials and Middle East negotiators involved in the long and painstaking process to produce a ceasefire-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas – a deal which, as of late Thursday, still awaited the Israeli government’s final approval.
For the people of Gaza, what matters is the deal itself, and its provisions for a six-week ceasefire, during which Israeli forces would retreat to a small buffer zone along the Gaza Strip’s border with Israel; a significant influx of badly-needed humanitarian aid; and a return home for tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza – at least for those whose homes are still standing. For Israelis, the agreement holds the promise of the return of hostages still held in Gaza, and a return home for Israeli soldiers who have been waging a difficult war inside the territory.
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