The scene tonight in Gaza:
Beinart admits that Israel’s military operation achieved some goals:
[I]n the short-term, destroying Hamas missiles and killing some of its leaders, can win Israelis some respite from rocket fire. It did for a time after Cast-Lead. And any government—most certainly including our own—would be hard-pressed to ignore that benefit.
Max Fisher agrees but also puts Hamas on his winner list:
The cease-fire agreement hints that Israel, which maintains a near-blockade of the impoverished Palestinian territory, might loosen border restrictions. That would certainly be good news for Gazans, 40 percent of whom are unemployed and 38 percent of whom are below the poverty line. Hamas’ popularity among Palestinians had reportedly been declining, so this significant concession could help its stature in Gaza. The high-profile negotiations with world leaders didn’t hurt, either.
Brent Sasley believes most of the players lost, including Israel:
As I’ve argued before, Israel has no long term strategy regarding Gaza. Its victory in a limited military campaign will only strengthen the perception that its tactical-military emphasis works and doesn’t need to be changed. This means it’ll be harder for Israel to accept a new formula for maintaining security and achieving peace. It also means we’re likely to see a repeat of November’s events again.
Meanwhile, Tony Karon notes Egypt’s new role:
[W]hile Egypt seeks a cease-fire that ends Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza and Israeli air strikes on the territory, Cairo’s mediation also offers Hamas a pathway out of the blockade that has choked off Gaza’s economy for the past five years. Even Israeli leaders have praised the response from Cairo, notwithstanding Egypt’s unprecedented public acts of solidarity with Hamas.
Daniel Brumberg adds:
[I]n the coming months [Morsi] must clearly signal that a democratic Egypt will now take the lead in pushing all key regional parties towards making an enduring peace. This will be very hard pill for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood to swallow. But if the idea of Egyptian-Israeli peace as a bridge to Palestinian-Israeli peace once seemed little more than a bad joke, it does not have to remain so.
And Ali Gharib gives America some credit:
[T]he chief mediator—Egypt’s Muslim Brother president Mohammed Morsi—and the Israeli government both value their ties to the U.S., and both acted like it in the face of apparent American requests. In his announcement on Twitter, Benjamin Netanyahu was explicit that he “accepted [Obama’s] recommendation to give [the] Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire a chance.” Those of us who called for public pressure should take heed: JTA‘s Ron Kampeas noted on Twitter that Obama apparently “extracted Israeli concessions [without] an ounce of public pressure.” Nonetheless, there was pressure and, for the moment, it seems to have accomplished something. Like everyone else, we’ll wait to see if that accomplishment will bear tangible fruits…
The Dish 