Word: mubarak
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...greatly weakened Israel's few Arab allies. Moderate Arab countries that were edging closer to recognition of the Jewish state are now recoiling from what they see as the slaughter of fellow Arabs in Gaza. In Egypt, pro-Gaza protests turned into thinly veiled attacks on President Hosni Mubarak's rule, which has helped maintain the blockade of Gaza. The pressure may force Mubarak to support a truce that entails opening the Egypt-Gaza border as Hamas demands, but he is unlikely to soften his position on the Palestinian group that maintains links with Egyptian Islamists as well...
...cease-fire is both a measure of just how serious the humanitarian crisis has become and a small reason for hope that an enduring truce may be possible soon. The agreement coincided with a peace initiative announced on Tuesday night by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, which included what could be a significant concession by the Egyptian leader...
...first place. Those and other measures had been floated by Sarkozy and a group of European Union representatives who led peace missions in the region on Monday and Tuesday. Their proposals, however, were largely met by a disheartening dismissal from the various players in the conflict, including Mubarak...
...what's different now? Mubarak's apparent pledge to tighten controls along Egypt's border with Gaza - with the implicit goal of preventing Hamas from building new missiles to strike Israel with. That appears designed to fulfill Israel's main condition for ending its offensive: rendering Hamas incapable of firing missiles into Israel, through either military defeat or an effective arms embargo. And while Israel hasn't officially accepted the Sarkozy-Mubarak plan, its response to the proposal contrasts with its earlier vows to fight on. "Israel welcomes the initiative of the French President and the Egyptian President to bring...
...primary way of making it work, of course, is obtaining a pledge from Hamas to stop firing missiles into Israel from its Gaza stronghold - something the group has repeatedly refused to do. Yet that may be in the works. Mubarak's evolution from holdout to co-author of Sarkozy's slightly simplified plan suggests that Egypt's may be the first of several positions to shift in the region. It's likely that Mubarak's reversal was made with the knowledge that similar moves are afoot toward the same end - notably securing Hamas' acceptance of an enduring truce with Syria...