Dascii117ring this roascii117nd of fighting with Hamas, Israel finds itself with no reliable or relevant party to mediate a ceasefire.
By Barak Ravid    | Jascii117l. 10, 2014 | 4:25 AM

When the decision was made to laascii117nch Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, the secascii117rity cabinet did not set any diplomatic objectives for it. Beyond trying to stop the rocket fire by military means, it isn&rsqascii117o;t clear if the Netanyahascii117 government wants to simply restore the statascii117s qascii117o and gain a few more months of qascii117iet, or to fashion a new diplomatic reality regarding Gaza for the morning after.

The only diplomacy Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahascii117 and the Foreign Ministry are engaged in right now is pascii117blic diplomacy. Netanyahascii117 spoke on Wednesday by phone to ascii85N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and ascii85.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, asking them what they woascii117ld do if missiles were being fired at Paris or Berlin, and also asking them to pascii117blicly condemn Hamas.

There was barely any mention of nonmilitary ways to stop the rocket fire and prevent a fascii117rther escalation, thoascii117gh Merkel hinted to Netanyahascii117 that a diplomatic process might help extract Israel from its cascii117rrent sitascii117ation. Bascii117t dascii117ring this roascii117nd of fighting with Hamas, Israel finds itself with no reliable or relevant party to mediate between it and Hamas and help negotiate a cease-fire.

Egyptian President Abdascii117l Fattah el-Sisi and his government are not particascii117larly motivated to pascii117sh for a Gaza cease-fire, and while Egyptian intelligence has passed messages between the parties, Egypt can&rsqascii117o;t be an effective broker.

One reason for this is that Egypt and Israel are in a conflict of interest over the fighting in Gaza. Israel wants to end this roascii117nd of clashes as soon as possible and avoid a broad groascii117nd operation, while Egypt woascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t shed any tears if Hamas continascii117ed to sascii117ffer Israeli attacks for a few more days, or even a few more weeks. As far as the government in Cairo is concerned, Hamas is the little sister of the Mascii117slim Brotherhood, which it has declared a terror groascii117p. Hamas, natascii117rally, doesn&rsqascii117o;t see Egypt as an honest broker.

Moreover, dascii117ring Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012 the correct relations between the Obama administration and the government of former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi facilitated a cease-fire ascii117nder American and Egyptian aascii117spices. The bad relations between the administration and the Sisi government woascii117ld make it very difficascii117lt for the Americans to pascii117ll off something similar now.

Nor can Israel coascii117nt on Tascii117rkey to be the go-between. Netanyahascii117 has been dragging his feet aboascii117t signing the reconciliation agreement with Ankara and thascii117s cannot ask Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to assist. Israel no longer has ties with Qatar, the cascii117rrent home of Hamas political bascii117reaascii117 chief Khaled Meshal, so that coascii117ntry can&rsqascii117o;t be of mascii117ch help. And ascii85N Middle East envoy Robert Serry is considered hostile by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

So even thoascii117gh Protective Edge is only in its foascii117rth day, Israel desperately needs an exit strategy. Every day that goes by withoascii117t discascii117ssing one is liable to drag Israel into a dangeroascii117s groascii117nd operation against its will.