GAZA CITY — Less than three hours after a three-day humanitarian cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect Friday, the truce broke down when clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters erupted and militants fired rockets into Israel.Gaza militants captured an Israeli soldier in southern Gaza Strip just as the cease-fire was falling apart, said a senior Israeli military spokesman.The soldier’s abduction could change the course of the war in the hours and days ahead, with Israel either slowing its offensive to negotiate his return or surging forward.By late Friday morning, Israel was heavily bombarding areas in southern Gaza, especially the border town of Rafah, near where the kidnapping occurred, according to Palestinian Health Ministry officials and local news reports. At least 27 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 injured, the ministry said.
Qatar and Turkey have clearly taken sides in this situation, and Secretary Global Test seems eager to accommodate their side:
Qatar and Turkey played the key role as intermediator with Hamas, according to U.S. officials. Kerry met with the foreign ministers of both Muslim nations last Saturday, in a clear bid to make a cease-fire deal more appealing to Hamas.
BTW, Turkey's getting rather weird lately, what with the deputy prime minister's remarks that women shouldn't laugh in public or take vacations "with their lovers" rather than their husbands. Is that some kind of a big trend in Turkey?
But more to the point is the recent provocative move of launching another "aid flotilla" to Gaza in the middle of this conflict. At least Israel got that one to stop with some deft diplomacy. Still, it says a lot about the deterioration in the relationship between the two. Turkey sure doesn't qualify as a strategic partner anymore, let alone an ally.
So, anyway, things have returned to their natural state in the region, with Jews and savages each doing what they do best.
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