Washington asks for immediate cease fire in Gaza

January 7, 10:51 PMForeign Policy ExaminerAimee Kligman

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This may confuse some, who have seen the official response to the hostilities in Gaza, as George Bush was questioned about the attacks. With his signature smirk, he declared that Israel had a right to defend herself, and that Hamas should have known better. Period.

Something changed. Two hours ago, we are getting wind of the U.S. calling for an immediate cease fire between Israel and Hamas, where a war has been raging for the last twelve days. Press secretary Dana Perino said that the U.S. was deeply concerned by the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and that "we" were working on this to resolve it as quickly as possible.

It was only yesterday that Barack Obama broke his customary silence to comment on the alarming proportions of the humanitarian problem. The first time it had been mentioned by someone in Washington,  not yet sworn into office.

Another stunning remark by Perino: " we have urgent need to conclude certain conditions of a durable cease-fire agreement that would assure three requirements to be met: the end of rocket launching, the end of arms trafficking and the reopening of the border."

I say stunning because this urgency coming from the White House is rather belated and sudden. It would not come as a surprise if some of the events of the last 48 hours had some bearing on this development.

The Sarkozy shuffle in the Middle East and particularly Cairo, and push on Mubarak to come up with an agreement may have had some influence. The bombing of a UN school which caused the deaths of upward of 40 civilians horrified the world, despite Israel's insistence that the school was harboring Hamas operatives. The UN and the US have both denied the report in today's press, and more recently, a UN spokesman categorically denied that any such weapons existed and declared that anyone having evidence to the contrary should come forward.

Images are coming fast and furious over the internet and making their way into mainstream media in the U.S. There was a horrific report about a Norwegian doctor that had flown to Gaza to help with the wounded who had been sending news on the ground in real time using SMS messages on his cell phone. His face is probably one of the most recognized now after we caught wind of the report. Another disturbing report is that Israel is using chemical weapons against the civilian population (phosporus in cluster bombs).

And then a small sign that perhaps the Bush administration was feeling a bit of pressure to do something. Condoleeza Rice cancelled her trip to China, where she had been invited to attend a ceremony honoring the 30 year anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. She spent her time making franctic phone calls to her little black book on the Middle East.

It is not certain what precipitated these statements from the Bush White House, but they are welcomed. A tad late, but still welcomed. There was a small respite in the bombing today to allow for Gaza to receive humanitarian supplies.

By the way, reporters are still barred from entering Gaza.