Our government leaves us in the dark | Jerusalem Post

I read this AP report after googling “israel’s ceasefire conditions”:

A senior Egyptian official says Egyptian mediators are hoping Monday to have a clearer idea whether a Gaza ceasefire is possible as Israel and Hamas are presenting their conditions for a halt to fighting…Israel and Hamas are both looking for guarantees to ensure a long-term stop to hostilities…The official says he hopes that "by the end of the day, we will receive a final signal of what can be achieved." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the indirect negotiations.

As for Hamas, I read this:

The draft cease-fire agreement condemns Israel for “aggression” and calls for it to stop airstrikes. The draft also called for League Secretary-General Nabil Al-Arabi to lead a delegation of ministers to Gaza “immediately” to show solidarity with Palestinians.

At the weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu didn’t mention a ceasefire and surely not any conditions. I don’t know who the Israeli envoy to Egypt was. I checked again just now and all the BBC informs me is that

Israeli leaders met late into the night to discuss Egyptian truce proposals, as officials are due to restart talks in Cairo.

Even this paper had no particulars.

Is this a wise policy?

Well, if you fear that the Hamas, assisted by Egypt, with support of Turkey and the unhelpfulness of Obama and Clinton (she’s coming here tonight), will out-maneuver Israel diplomatically, maybe not being specific is a smart move. That way, we citizens of Israel don’t know how much we really lost out.

Not knowing Israel’s exact demands will protect the politicians in that we cannot criticize their failure to achieve a better or even the best deal.

The rockets put us in shelters and our government is leaving us in the dark.

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