King for a lifetime, fool for a... lifetime...

This is pretty significant. It looks on the surface like some actual damn progress. Within the same article are several reasons to be skeptical.

In the first reported violation of the truce, Palestinians opened fire on a car near a West Bank Jewish settlement after nightfall Tuesday and fired and threw firebombs at an army force that came to investigate, the Israeli military said. No one was hurt. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, affiliated with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah (news - web sites) movement, claimed responsibility.


"What we agreed upon today is simply the beginning of the process of bridging the gap," Abbas said.

Sigh... so what you're saying is, "We agree that the idea of the ceasefire is a good one, but don't feel the need to adhere to it." Great. That's just great. Don't ever speak about "moral highground" ever.

Oh, and even though Israel released hundreds of prisoners last week, there's this gem:

The first crack in the optimistic front came from the violence Islamic Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings that killed hundreds of Israelis.

Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, said Israel did not fulfill Palestinian demands to release prisoners and halt aggression. Therefore, he said, the truce is not binding on Hamas.

Yeah, that bodes well.