Gaza ceasefire: Hamas's celebrations mask major defeat

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Other than a possible improvement in support from Palestinians and some bragging rights in questionable circles, it is hard to see what, if anything, Hamas got out of the past week

My initial reaction to the ceasefire announced yesterday was anger: this makes no sense, the job isn't done, and Hamas will claim victory. But then I started to think: Netanyahu is nobody's fool, and neither is Egypt's Morsi, who has proven himself a skilled opportunist politician. So then I began to ask myself: what has really happened tonight? What has Israel been promised?

It was no coincidence that Hillary Clinton had been shuttling between the two leaders all day. Whatever she had said to both men, and especially to Netanyahu, was seemingly enough for him to call a ceasefire. But what could she offer him?

That’s easy: Iran. Hamas is a distraction; it is merely Iran's proxy, therefore a symptom of the problem which in Israel's mind has always been Iran. Clearly, Netanyahu has got the policy agreement with the Obama administration that he has craved for months – that's a big victory for him.

In addition, it is clear from the various leaders’ statements that Hamas has been placed on a very short leash. Netanyahu is not withdrawing his forces from Gaza's border and if there is any infraction of the ceasefire, those men will be going in.