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Gaza Ceasefire Doesn't Solve the Fundamental Problem
(U.S. News) Mortimer B. Zuckerman - Israel's recently concluded Gaza air attacks were aimed at taking out the rocket sites, especially the new longer-range Fajr-5 missiles, which had come from Iran. The residential surroundings from which Hamas launches its attacks are clear on videos showing these launches. Surely this time Israel cannot yield to the clamor for a ceasefire that leaves Hamas to do what it did after 2009 - bringing in still more rockets and arms through the tunnels from Sinai to Gaza while the world again turns a blind eye. The U.S. must put all its muscle and money toward seeing that any peace deal is durable. It must see to the elimination of the long-range missiles, pledge Hamas to control all the militias it blames for attacks, and it must be a peace enforceable by Egypt with guaranteed retribution for every violation. It must also rethink the whole attitude to a peace settlement on the West Bank. The U.S. cannot fail to recognize the force of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's argument that Israel cannot risk annihilation by simply withdrawing from the West Bank as it withdrew from Gaza.