No [blank] Tony

From Ethan Bronner’s Israel in the Season of Dread:

Mr. Sara’s use of the word “calm” (“regiah” in Hebrew) was telling. No one quite knows what to call the current accord. Many use the Arabic word “tahadiya,” which is what Hamas has chosen; the word means not quite a truce, not quite a cease-fire, but some temporary cessation of hostilities.

Later on Bronner quotes a famous former Prime Minister who can’t seem to avoid the limelight, though he seems to miss the obvious:

Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain, who has spent part of the past year as an international envoy to the Palestinians, said on Thursday that it could be very hard for everyone involved to gain a grasp on this conflict.

“The view of what is happening here tends to lurch between unjustified optimism — pretty rare, actually — to unnecessarily bleak pessimism, which is more common,” he said in a conversation in his Jerusalem offices. “There is a cease-fire now and both sides think the other’s commitment is tactical rather than strategic.”

Given that Hamas itself by the way it defines the “ceasefire” deems it temporary, it’s not an Israeli perception is it?

And of course Blair (not to mention Bronner) seem blissfully unaware that indeed, Hamas is violating the terms (not just the spirit) of the recent ceasefire. Noah Pollak writes:

How are Ehud Olmert’s various diplomatic gambits going? Yuval Diskin, the head of the Shin Bet — he was against the Hamas cease-fire in the first place — tells Haaretz that both arms smuggling and terrorist training in Gaza have increased since the cease-fire took effect.

Not all that surprising considering the Haniyeh said that smuggling would continue:

According to a Reuters report, Haniyeh – speaking to worshipers ahead of Friday prayers in Gaza City – said: “We cannot talk about stopping smuggling because it is something beyond our ability as a government and we did not give a commitment in this regard.”

Haniyeh added that Hamas would not force other organizations in Gaza to abide by the truce, but added that they had nevertheless agreed to it voluntarily.

As if Hamas didn’t have the ability to police its own borders. It isn’t a “perception” that Hamas will not keep all the terms of the ceasefire, it’s the reality.

Crossposted on Yourish.