Hamas

If the truce announced in Cairo last Wednesday truly brings the Gaza war to a close, it is not too soon to assess who gained and who lost from this conflict.

Hamas

Hamas provoked the war and chose the timing, so it is not surprising that they thought they would gain—and they have gained. The PLO initiative in the United Nations (to be classified as a “non-member observer state”) was shifting energy to the West Bank leadership, and by these attacks on Israel Hamas shifted it back. President Mahmoud Abbas and his cronies in Ramallah barely made the papers, despite Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit there. They were marginalized while Arab leaders and Turkish officials visited Gaza, and Hamas leaders traveled to Cairo for high-publicity meetings. The PLO leadership in Ramallah is one of the big losers of the last few weeks.

Lee Smith, writing at Tablet: 

Reuters reports:

Here's the text, via the Egyptian president, of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas:

Agreement of Understanding For a Ceasefire in the Gaza Strip

1: (no title given for this section)

A. Israel should stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land, sea and air including incursions and targeting of individuals.

In a phone call today between the two leaders, President Barack Obama thanked Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi for helping to assist with the ceasefire between Hamas in Gaza and Israel.

America's ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, was quick to condemn the terror attack in Tel Aviv today as a "terrorist attack."

"I condemn today’s cowardly terrorist attack targeting innocents on a Tel Aviv bus. Terrorism is never justified. #Israel," wrote Rice on Twitter.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

The White House immediately condemned today's bus bombing in Tel Aviv, which it labeled a "terrorist attack."

The Jerusalem Post reports:

The Israeli army has issued a warning to journalists: Stay away from the terrorist group Hamas. The warning was issued on Twitter:

Warning to reporters in Gaza: Stay away from Hamas operatives & facilities. Hamas, a terrorist group, will use you as human shields.

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 20, 2012

The warning comes after several targeted attacks hit high-level targets seeking refuge in the same building holding journalists.

The office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that "At this point in time there is no Israeli agreement on any version of a ceasefire." Emergency Committee for Israel executive director Noah Pollak reports on Twitter:

The pro-Israel group Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is circulating a petition asking Twitter not to allow the terrorist group Hamas to use its social media platform.