On again, off again relationship

Hamas is caught between a rock and a hard place.  Do they truce, or do they not?  Do they follow their masters orders(Muhammad) or do they try to present an image of moderation?  This latest truce proposal is but one in a long line of appeasement and allegiance.   We will see more rockets, more obfuscation, more lies and more talk of peace, just remember that the end result of all this hoopla is the destruction of Israel and the rise of a Palestinian Islamic caliphate.

From BBC News August 22

Israel and Hamas agree Gaza truce, officials say

The face of peace...notice the AK-47 on the headband.

The latest clashes began when militants crossed into southern Israel and killed eight Israelis on Thursday.

Subsequent Israeli air strikes on Gaza killed 15 Palestinians. One Israeli was killed in rocket fire from Gaza.

The Quartet of Middle East peace mediators - the UN, US, EU and Russia - has called for restraint.

Informal truce

A Palestinian official said that Hamas had agreed to ensure that the ceasefire was recognised by smaller militant groups in Gaza - which were responsible for most of the rockets fired at southern Israel in the past few days.

Prior to the announcement, Israeli media reported that 12 rockets launched from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israel overnight. No injuries resulted.

But on Monday, Gaza's Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) - last to agree to the truce - agreed to halt rocket fire against Israel as a "temporary" measure "for the sake of the Palestinian people".

Earlier, Israel's army radio reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet had decided the military would stop its air strikes on Gaza if militants there halted their attacks.

Like similar arrangements in the past this is not a formal agreement, says the BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem.

With Islam it is never formal, the maximum length of time Muslims are allowed to be in a truce with non-Muslims is 10 years, and any time within that 10 years if Muslims feel the agreement has been breached, they are free to attack.  Of course, there doesn't need to be much of a reason for the "religion of the perpetually insulted" to feel justified in attacking the infidel.

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