Sarkozy Reports a Coming Agreed Cease Fire, But who Agreed?

Photo credit: Reuters

An Israeli woman and her children drop to the ground in Israel, as rockets explode near by.

The Jerusalem Post is reporting French President Nicolas Sarkozy said today, Wednesday, that Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) had accepted an Egyptian-French cease-fire plan for Gaza. There's no mention of Hamas in this acceptance. In the above Reuters photograph, the caption contains this information:

Israel postponed on Wednesday a decision on whether to order its armed forces to storm the Gaza Strip's urban centres, an Israeli official said, citing Egyptian- and French-led efforts to secure a truce with Hamas.

In the meantime, Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood doesn't like Sarkozy's "biased" remarks about Hamas. The Brotherhood wants a boycott of all French products.

Sarkozy blamed Hamas for the Israeli offensive, saying before his Mideast tour this week that the Palestinian group bore a "heavy responsibility" because it broke an earlier truce with Israel.

Israel is facing the possibility of delayed elections, now scheduled for February 10th. If the Gaza offensive continues beyond mid-next week, a delay may be necessary. Of course, politics-as-usual are in play:

MKs and party spokesmen seemed to agree that the ongoing escalation gave an advantage to Labor and Kadima, whose leaders are at the forefront of the decision-making, and the Likud, because party chairman Binyamin Netanyahu has made an effort to remain in the public eye. Netanyahu came out strongly against a delay when he told reporters in the South on Monday that he would see holding the election on time as an indication that Israel had won the war. "Something very extreme would have to happen to delay the election," Netanyahu said. "It would be a victory for Hamas if they succeed in interfering with Israeli democracy."

Holger Awakens reports "a strong possibility that the IDF could deploy throughout Gaza. Read more.