Gaza Live Coverage: A Ceasefire is Declared --- Now What?

See also Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The Pressure Builds On Assad
Wednesday's Gaza Live Coverage: Israel Rejects Ceasefire and Maintains Assault

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1605 GMT: The Israeli Prime Minister's spokesman summarises Benjamin Netanyahu's statement of victory/defiance/warning this afternoon:

PM Netanyahu: Many terrorist leaders were killed. We eliminated thousands of missiles. Things that were built over the years were demolished

— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) November 22, 2012

PM Netanyahu: We are ready to act should the quiet be violated. we will decide when and how to act, and against whom.

— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) November 22, 2012

PM Netanyahu: Now we are giving the ceasefire a chance, but we are also prepared for the possibility that the ceasefire will not be upheld

— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) November 22, 2012

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US Politics Opinion: Lessons from the Campaign and the Election

Anti-Obama billboard in Missouri

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The Republicans are between a rock and a hard place. Because of that, there is a possibility that business can actually be done in Congress, especially if Obama takes a leaf from Lyndon Johnson’s book in how to deal with legislators --- studying, for example, the passing of Civil Rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Indeed, the bigger risk for the President may be that his own party’s legislators will try to exact revenge for the past two years of gridlock, ruining the chances of good governance by the Executive and Congress.

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Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- A Health Crisis, A Hunger Strike, and Keeping Women at Home (Arseh Sevom)

Nasrin SotoudehQuestions remain unresolved concerning the death of blogger Sattar Beheshti, while authorities deny that any hunger strikes have taken place among women in prison. Iran’s Health Minister faces parliamentary scrutiny for the depletion of medical supplies, public executions continue, and international airfares double. A single exchange rate is announced and Parliament considers a bill that would require single women under 40 to get permission in order to obtain a passport.

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The Latest from Iran (22 November): Ahmadinejad Benefits from Tehran's Problems Abroad

See also Iran Feature: The Week in Civil Society --- A Health Crisis, A Hunger Strike, and Keeping Women at Home
The Latest from Iran (21 November): The Economy? "All Is Well"

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1740 GMT: Political Prisoner Watch. Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabi has stopped all in-person visits in the women’s section of Evin Prison, according to opposition websites.

Kalemeh wrote that female inmates who had children were allowed to meet with them in person on Wednesday, but yesterday the prisoners were told that these visits are cancelled until further notice.

Prison authorities have informed detainees that the decision has been handed down from the prosecutor’s office and prison officials have no authority to alter it.

Up to nine women political prisoners recently went on hunger strike over their treatment, including denial of visits, and seven of them signed a statement of condolence to the family of Sattar Beheshti, a blogger killed earlier this month during interrogation in prison. The women have also expressed sympathy with detained lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is in the fifth week of her hunger strike.

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Gaza Audio Feature: Before the Ceasefire --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks tonight about the ceasefire in Gaza

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I spoke this morning with Monocle 24's The Globalist --- after last night's rebuff by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a ceasefire but before this evening's apparent agreement to stop fighting --- about the political and military dimensions of the situation in Gaza for Israel, Hamas, the US, Egypt, and other countries.

The 10-minute discussion complements our morning analysis, "Why Netanyahu's Rejection of A Ceasefire is Bad News for the US", and our Video Analysis, "The 4 Biggest Losers of the Gaza Conflict...So Far".

The item starts at the 11:12 mark.

Gaza Live Coverage: Israel Rejects Ceasefire and Maintains Assault

Tel Aviv bus struck by an explosion today

See also Gaza Audio Feature: Before the Ceasefire --- Scott Lucas with Monocle 24
EA Video Analysis: The 4 Biggest Losers of the Gaza War...So Far
Why Netanyahu's Rejection of A Ceasefire is Bad News for the US"
Gaza Feature: The Names of Those Killed
Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Damascus Shakes as Assad Regime Wobbles
Monday's Gaza Live Coverage: Israel Chooses Air Assault Over Ground Invasion...For Now

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2005 GMT: Chris McGreal of The Guardian reports the scene from Gaza City:

On a street running along the Gaza City waterfront, three young men --- one armed --- were celebrating. They waved at a man driving by blowing his horn. Above their heads a loudspeaker on a mosque repeated over and over: Allahu Akbar.

Part of the celebration is relief that, hopefully, the eight days and nights of bombing and shelling are now at an end and people can sleep safely. Or sleep at all.

But there is also a mood of victory.

"Israel begged for a ceasefire because it could not stop our rockets," said Adel Mansour, who was without a gun. "They bombed us, they killed our women and children, but they could not stop the resistance. So they had to surrender and agree to stop the assassinations. They learned we cannot be defeated by their bombs."

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Gaza Feature: The Names of Those Killed

Aharon SmadjaOmar al-Mashharawi

Since the beginning of the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday and the rocket fire from Gaza, at least 140 Gazans and five people in Israel have been killed. The number of injuries, the vast majority in Gaza, is estimated to be at least several hundred.

Medical sources indicate at least half of the casualties are civilians. Several names are missing because they haven't been released, yet.

The list has been compiled from Palestine From My Eyes and The Yeshiva World and cross-checked against EA reports.

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EA Video Analysis: The 4 Biggest Losers of the Gaza War...So Far

A week into the Gaza War, we count down the four biggest losers in the conflict so far:

4. The US
3. Iran
2. Israel

And Number 1?

US Politics Analysis: Pushing Obama and Congress Towards the "Fiscal Cliff"

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke talks on Tuesday about the "fiscal cliff"

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America's politicians are wrestling with a basic problem --- raise taxes or cut welfare spending --- and the interested and influential advocacy groups are unlikely to be accommodating. Thought organisations supporting Obama are shouting loudest now there is little doubt that, once Republicans have come to terms with their electoral defeat, conservatives will push back hard. This is a game which is only beginning and in which the President and members of Congress are far from the only players.

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The Latest from Iran (21 November): The Economy? "All Is Well"

See also The Latest from Iran (20 November): A Supreme Leader Shift on Syria?

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1950 GMT: Nuclear Watch. Following a meeting of the 5+1 Powers (US, Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia) in Brussels, a spokesman has said that the group wants a new round of negotiations with Tehran as soon as possible: "The idea of course is that we want Iran to really engage in the proposals we have made and guarantee and persuade the international community that the Iranian nuclear programme is purely for peaceful means."

The spokesman said "necessary contact" would be made "in the coming days” with the Islamic Republic.

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