The situation in the Gaza Strip is increasingly borderline. After the Israeli air raids against Hamas targets and the Palestinian response, the dead rise to 70, 500 wounded. More than twenty thousand Israeli soldiers recalled in reserve, ready for the land initiative. Ready as the tanks deployed at the edge of the strip.
Outgoing president Shimon Peres, interviewed by CNN's Becky Anderson, says he is doing everything to avoid the ground attack. “If the bombing stops,” he says, “there will be no need for any encroachment on the other side of the strip.” But he also adds that the tanks deployed on the border are ready in case that doesn't happen. He doesn't provide a date, but the ultimatum is more than clear: either the air raids end, or the tanks will start marching on Gaza and shooting.
A little over a month has passed since Pope Francis had gathered Shimon Peres and Abu Mazen in the Vatican gardens to talk about peace and pray together. It really seemed like the beginning of the end of the conflicts that torment the region between Israel, Palestine and the West Bank. The events of the last three days, and the even more worrying ones that lie ahead for the next few, have decisively swept away the air of peace that that visit had breathed.
