After weeks of violence, a three-day cease-fire between the Israeli Defense Forces and the Hamas militants seems to be holding this morning in the ravaged Gaza strip.
The cease-fire comes ahead of negotiations scheduled to begin today in Cairo for a longer-term truce and perhaps a broader peace deal.
Both Israel and Hamas went into the conflict seeking to change the underlying dynamics of a situation that has produced three outbreaks of deadly combat in the last several years while also crippling the Gazan economy.
After weeks of fighting that have killed dozens of Israeli soldiers and nearly 2,000 Palestinian civilians, can both sides get what they want?
For Israel, it’s a promise of an end to the rocket fire coming from Hamas toward their cities. And for Hamas, it’s an end to the blockade of Gaza that has turned the strip into what human rights activists have long called an open-air prison.
Ilise Cohen, leader of the Jewish Voice for Peace Atlanta chapter, and Johnny Rukab, past president of the Ramallah Club of Jacksonville, joined Melissa Ross for a deeper look at the latest conflict.
You can follow Melissa Ross on Twitter @MelissainJax.
