Israeli Cabinet Unanimously Rejects Gaza Ceasefire

Kerry Plan Spurned for Stopping Attacks on 'Hamas Tunnels'

by Jason Ditz, 

The Israeli Security Cabinet met today to unanimously reject a US-brokered ceasefire offer aimed at ending the war in the Gaza Strip. The plan, pushed by Secretary of State John Kerry, called for a week-long truce to allow talks to begin.

Hamas had been seeking a more permanent truce, but didn’t even have a chance to reject the week-long version before Israel had already spurned it, insisting it would get in the way of their ongoing destruction of “Hamas tunnels” throughout the strip.

Palestinian Justice Minister Saleem al-Saqqa filed a war crimes complaint against Israel in the International Criminal Court today, complaining about attacks against civilians and the excessive death toll in the current invasion, which has killed overwhelmingly civilians, not combatants.

While the toll inside Israel itself has been miniscule, the growing number of soldiers killed has some Israelis complaining about the lack of an endgame strategy. The explosion of public protests in the West Bank, and military efforts to violently suppress them, is only adding to the tensions.

http://news.antiwar.com/2014/07/25/israeli-cabinet-unanimously-rejects-gaza-ceasefire/