Cease-Fire Announced Between Israel And Hamas

By Aliza Worthington — May 20, 2021

Eleven days into the fighting between the Israeli and Palestinian forces, they have agreed to terms of a cease-fire. Prime Minister Netanyahyu's statement:

The security cabinet this evening unanimously accepted the recommendation of all of the security officials, the IDF of chief of staff, the head of the ISA, the head of the Mossad, and the head of the National Security Council to accept the Egyptian initiative for a mutual cease-fire without preconditions to take effect at a time to be determined. The IDF chief of staff, the military, and the head of the ISA briefed ministers on Israel's significant achievements in the operation some of which are unprecedented. The political leadership emphasizes that it is the reality on the ground will determine the future of the operation.

Andrea Mitchell explained, "He [Netanyahu] is crediting Egypt with the initiative speaking for Hamas, obviously. We have through the producer in Tel Aviv a statement provided by the Egyptians that Hamas also accepted these terms." The terms call for the cease-fire to begin at 2 a.m. Friday morning Israeli time (7:00 p.m. Thursday, United States eastern time.)

Former CIA director John Brennan was skeptical about Hamas' willingness to stick to the terms of that agreement, and urged Israeli restraint in the event they are faced with more attacks. "I think it's a very positive step, but I am concerned that there may be some violations that will take place, and I'm not confident that the command and control and discipline within Hamas ranks in the Gaza strip is going to prevent any type of rocket attacks from taking place after the cease-fire goes into effect," he explained. "That's why I think it's particularly important for Israel to show restraint if there are going to be some one-off attacks by Hamas, or individuals coming out of the Gaza strip. Again it's a very positive step, but It needs to be followed up not just with follow-on security measures but also trying to tackle some of the underlying causes that have led to this fighting."

Nicolle Wallace then asked for Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney's (D-NY) assessment of Pres. Biden's handling of what's essential his first major foreign policy crisis in office. Rep. Mahoney gave Biden a great deal of credit.

"It think it's been extremely well handled by the Biden administration and it really shows you what it means to have experienced, competent people at the helm guiding our foreign policy," Maloney said. "This is a complicated situation and thank god innocent people, noncombatants will no longer be in harm's way or lose their lives because of this terrible conflict. But the administration gets high marks for steadiness and resolve, and for getting the result. I think this is a big win for the White House."

At that point, Wallace couldn't resist a dig at the former wunderkind wannabe who was tasked with solving the decades-old (hell, centuries-old) problem of bringing peace to the Middle East during Traitor Trump's administration, saying, "The elephant in the room, Congressman, is that Jared Kushner basically ran U.S./Israeli relations for the last four years. There is a sense, I think, the world over, I think, that the adults have returned."