World View: Gaza-Israel Truce Deal Fails to Materialize

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Purported Gaza-Israel truce deal fails to materialize
• Panicked Gazans run from their homes as Israel drops leaflets on Gaza City
• China is forced to back down diplomatically at an ASEAN meeting

Purported Gaza-Israel truce deal fails to materialize

Hillary Clinton and Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Jerusalem on Tuesday (CBS)

Rumors flew on Tuesday that a ceasefire deal between Gaza and Israelwas imminent. Egypt’s president Mohamed Morsi was quoted as saying,

“The farce of the Israeli aggression will end today,Tuesday, and the efforts to reach a ceasefire between thePalestinians and Israelis will produce positive results within afew hours.”

Sources from Hamas and Islamic Jihad also said that there would be adeal on Tuesday evening, but Israel did not confirm. Israel has saidthat a peace deal they would agree to a peace deal only when there areinternational guarantees that there would be no further missileattacks from Gaza for a long period of time. Otherwise, a peace dealwould only be temporary, since Iran would simply take advantage of apeace deal to supply Hamas with thousands more rockets to be used toattack Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is currently visiting bothparties in the Mideast with the objective of pressuring both sides toaccept a peace deal. Telegraph (London) and Al-Jazeera

Panicked Gazans run from their homes as Israel drops leaflets on Gaza City

On the seventh day of the Gaza conflict, Israel’s air force droppedleaflets across Gaza City telling residents in Arabic:

“For your own safety, you are required to immediatelyevacuate your homes and move toward Gaza City center. …

This is a temporary confrontation. In the end, everyone will gohome.

In keeping with Israel Defense Forces (army) regulations, allcivilians will be kept from harm’s way.”

The leaflets directed residents to use specific roads to move out oftheir neighborhoods to specific locations. Panicked residents,fearful of airstrikes, used donkeys and carts to flee to thedesignated areas for safety, only to find some times that there was noroom left.

Separately, the army posted the following message on Twitter: “Warningto reporters in Gaza. Stay away from Hamas operatives andfacilities. Hamas, a terrorist group, will use you as human shields.”

Tuesday was probably the most violent day so far in the week oldconflict, with hundreds of missiles and rockets flying back and forthbetween Gaza and Israel. AFP and ABC News

China is forced to back down diplomatically at an ASEAN meeting

Not that it’s going to make any real difference, but atthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] in Cambodiathis week, China’s attempt to win a diplomatic victory over controlof the South China Sea backfired, forcing China to agree tonegotiate disputes through ASEAN, rather than through one-on-onebilateral negotiations with each country.

In the last couple of years, China has become extremely nationalisticand belligerent, and has been adopting a policy similar to Hitler’sPacific Ocean, India, and central Asia. In the South China Sea, Chinais demanding control of vast regions, including areas historicallybelonging to Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam.China is using its vast military power to take control of this entireregion, including setting up a military installation in the ParacelIslands.

Part of China’s strategy all along has been to demand negotiationswith each country on an individual basis, so that it could dominatethe negotiations. However, the other countries have beendemanding to force China to negotiate with them as a bloc, toget them more negotiating power. The United States has beenencouraging this approach, which has infuriated the Chinese,calling Americans “troublemakers.”

At this week’s ASEAN meeting, China got its ally, Cambodia,to put forth a draft agreement saying that all sides hadagreed not to “internationalize” the dispute over the SouthChina Sea. However, the attempt backfired, as the Philippinesobjected to the draft statement, forcing it to be rejected.As a result, the Chinese representative said:

“China will continue to come back [with] sinceredialogue with ASEAN countries and to fully implement in aneffective way the DOC so that all parties can accumulate mutualtrust and carry on cooperation and put this issue of South ChinaSea in good control so that we can work together to safeguardpeace, stability, cooperation, and development.”

China was forced into taking the position diplomatically, but itdoesn’t change any reality in the South China Sea. CS Monitor and VOA

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