After the collapse of the latest ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, admonished U.S. and U.N. officials for being naive on the desire of Hamas for peace in the region. He further was quoted as saying; “Not to ever second guess me again on the matter.”
In a recent phone conversation with U.S. officials, including Secretary of State, John Kerry, the Israeli Prime Minister was clear in his request that the U.S. should now fully support the Israeli offensive in Gaza. He further pointed out that he should now be trusted to handle the situation. There has been several cease fires implemented, mostly for humanitarian reasons and both sides have claimed that the other was responsible for violations.
The recent collapse of a humanitarian ceasefire, quickly escalated into further violence on the part of the combatants. U.S. President Obama condemned the failure of the ceasefire and while not specifically blaming Hamas, alluded to the collapse was on the part of Hamas not living up to the terms of the ceasefire arrangement. Secretary of State John Kerry, who had assisted in brokering the ceasefire called the breaking of the truce. “Outrageous.”
Previously, the U.S. has focused on the amount of deaths in the conflict and now seems to be slightly shifting its rhetoric to a more supportive position of Israel. President Obama was further quoted as saying; “It’s going to be very hard to put a cease-fire back together again if Israelis and the international community can’t feel confident that Hamas can follow through on a cease-fire commitment.”
There still remains some uncertainty as to those specifically responsible for the violations, Hamas or another militant faction.