November27, 2006: There were no more rocket attacks on Israel, and Israeli police continued going after terrorists in the West Bank. It's doubtful, based on past performance, that the ceasefire will last long. There are too many Palestinian factions that don't agree with one another, and believe they are on a mission from God.

The Israelis have still not gotten back their soldier, who Palestinians grabbed last June. The Palestinians have still not formed a government acceptable to Western donor nations. The current Palestinian government is dedicated to the destruction of Israel, a policy that has halted a billion dollars worth of essential economic aid each year. Israel continues to wall itself off from the Palestinians, who they considers ungovernable, even by Palestinians, and too dangerous to have anything to do with. Many Palestinians fear the Israelis may be right.

November 26, 2006: Palestinians fired rockets into Israel after the ceasefire went into effect, and the Palestinians said they would send security forces into northern Gaza to prevent this from happening again. Despite Palestinian assurances, not all Palestinian terrorist groups agreed to the truce.

November 25, 2006: Both sides agreed to a ceasefire, with rocket attacks to stop 6 AM on the 26th. But the deal only applies to Gaza. Israel withdrew its troops from Gaza.

November 24, 2006: Palestinians are offering a truce, that would halt rocket attacks into southern Israel (but not other forms of attack, including suicide bombings), in return for a halt in Israeli raids into Palestinian territories. Israeli security forces oppose this, as it would allow Palestinian terrorist organizations to rebuild, and become capable of launching effective attacks.

November 23, 2006: Israeli troops continued to hunt and kill Palestinian rocket launching teams in northern Gaza.

November 21, 2006: Two Italian aid workers were kidnapped in Gaza, and released less than 24 hours later. The kidnappings, for money or favors, are increasingly common. Palestinians have noted that European countries have paid some $30 million in ransoms to retrieve their citizens from Iraqi kidnappers. That kind of money encourages going after the people who control the flow of food and medicine to destitute Palestinians. The larger Palestinian terror organizations have more control over the aid organizations, and usually intervene to get the kidnapped aid officials released.

In Lebanon, another Christian politician was assassinated. Syrian influence was suspected. Syria and Iran make no secret of their desire to see a Lebanese government in power, that they control. Syria has large economic interests in Lebanon, and Syrians working in Lebanon send over a billion dollars a year home. Syria cannot afford to lose its Lebanese connections. Iran also offers guns and cash, and the Lebanese Shia, although only 30 percent of the population, demand a leading role in the government, or veto power over all government decisions. Hizbollah is not afraid to start another civil war, and knows that the Christian/Sunni/Druze majority are more frightened of that.