1、TOWARDS A GAZA CEASE-FIRE:TALKING AND SHOOTING INCAIROMICHAEL BASKINSEPTEMBER 4,2014COMMENTARYIntended or not,Israelis and Palestinians have been talking and shooting at the same time.After 29 days of inconclusiveblows of force between opponents and claims by both sides of victory,Israelis and Pales
2、tinians gathered in Cairo forEgyptian mediated proximity talks.After an additional 21 days of talks,frequently interrupted by exchanges of rocketsand aerial strikes,negotiations came full circle:to a general ceasefire.These three weeks,the last of the recent flare-up in Gaza,highlight the linkages b
3、etween armed force and negotiations,as well as the need to better understand them.Examining this conflict in the context of broader negotiation frameworksmakes apparent the unique ways in which combat and negotiation overlay on one another.Politics and ForceThe transition to negotiations and near simultaneous,continued engagement in armed action linked the use of force topolitical objectives in a starkly direct way.More specifically,rockets fired from Gaza into southern Israel and return