The rollout of the war-ending ceasefire agreement between Israel and Palestine last month was impressive. With almost perfect synchronization, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the end of the war on Gaza in a televised broadcast from his Ramallah headquarters, while Hamas leaders called on Palestinians in Gaza to take to the streets to celebrate their supposed victory.
Of course, with more than 2,200 Palestinians — mostly civilians — killed, over 10,000 injured, and thousands of homes, schools, mosques and other structures destroyed, the war's outcome can hardly be called a victory.
Nonetheless, this is the first time that Palestinians have been able to create something close to mutual deterrence with the Israelis.