Israeli army says withdraws all forces from Gaza

[cal04]

The Israeli army said it had withdrawn all forces from the Gaza Strip before a ceasefire with Palestinians took effect on Sunday.

"There are no forces now in Gaza," a military spokeswoman said, adding that all the troops had been pulled out overnight.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L26276747.htm

[IntiRaymi]

1. Good!

Of course, Gaza is barely more than a 15 minute drive away from anywhere in Israel.

This is a temporary state of affairs, at best.

I wager 2 weeks before they find a reason/excuse to go back in and re-occupy. Any takers on this bet?

[ruiner4u]

2. I give it 2 hours...

Its a sad thing that a botched suicide bomber would mean the shelling of a thousand innocent Pali houses...


Not that I agree with any of it, but Israel goes WAY TOO FAR... oh yeah, ibtl...

[Boston Critic]

15. It's terrible when people defend themselves...

...when they're Israeli, eh?

Or is there some other agenda you have that causes you to blame Israel for fighting back when they are under attack?

[pelsar]

4. what an excuse to you?

do kassams count? ....or are they not considered....as in the first time israel left?

[IntiRaymi]

5. I knew someone would bite.

:crazy: :crazy:

You forgot to add your wager, Pelsar!

[pelsar]

7. the wager...

mutliculturalism.....i promise to break through my tribalism and go after the western concept of a "beautiful girl" ( I think the Playboy definition might work here)

how about you?

[IntiRaymi]

8. No, no, no!

I was asking what your wager was for how long before Israel rolled back in to Gaza.

Keep your fantasies to yourself, mmmmkay?

[pelsar]

9. how long?...

dont know..in the meantime the kassams restarted.....(that was quick)...so what did israel do this time?

[IntiRaymi]

11. The issues have not gone away.

On the other hand, I am not 100% certain (are you?) that Hamas controls these rocket launching units. I have wondered if Hamas had the ability to actually enforce a ceasefire - ceasefires require discipline in the rank and file, and this discipline may not be Hamas' forte.

[pelsar]

12. internal politics.....of the palestenians....

how much can hamas control islamic jihad (main shooters of the kassams)?..its probably more of how much they want to. Islamic jihad is a small group.....and i'm sure their metal shops, explosives etc are known to Hamas.

Israel is not looking for 100%....we dont get that out of Egypt or Jordan (syria yes, interesting enough). Both guard their border as well as they can, and infiltration does happen, but their intentions are good.

That too is what israel is looking for with the Palestenains....if the intention is there, the occasional kassam or infiltration would be accepted.

[breakaleg]

13. It's actually a relief to see you say that, and I hope it's true.

I would hate to see an agreement fail because of a few (hopefully small) elements the Palestinians couldn't control.

[Boston Critic]

16. How inconvenient for you

Hamas forces confessed they were to blame for the attacks.

Excuse me, I forgot my anti-Israel mediaspeak. They "took responsibility" for the firing missiles AFTER the ceasefire went into effect.

[IntiRaymi]

17. With you, all roads lead to Rome.

Credibility bye bye!

[Boston Critic]

18. Is that the way you admit I was right?

Indeed, your credibility is shot.

[Boston Critic]

14. You mean you don't think Palestinians will honor the ceasefire?

What other reason would Israel have to go back in?

Indeed, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired their missiles today, it was Ehud Ohlmert who ordered the IDF not to respond.

I predict that the Palestinians will continue to violate the ceasefire and when Israel finally responds, the usual suspects will blame Israel for "breaking" the truce.

Any takers?

[PFunk]

3. While I think this is a great idea...

But since like its relations with the rest of the world is, like the US is near rock bottom. This looks to me like Isreal's trying to raise it's world standards.

[Jim Sagle]

6. Hopefully Hamas will do likewise.

[Lurking Dem]

10. They've already dropped a Qassam on Sederot.

Maybe someone didn't get the memo.