Once again, the Middle East waits for Khaled Meshal.

The consent of the head of Hamas’ political bureau appears to be the last obstacle on the way to declaring a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinian organizations in the Gaza Strip. The United States and Egypt are working to pressure Meshal by leaning on his host, Qatar, as are the Palestinian Authority and the smaller factions. It seems we’ve been here a few times during this past month-and-a-half.

The meeting between Meshal and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Doha last week was described as tense and difficult. Abbas, who wants to relieve the people of Gaza of their plight while also restoring some of the PA’s status in the Gaza Strip, is frustrated by the Hamas leader’s intransigence.

Israeli intelligence reports indicate that there is deep despair in Gaza. According to some estimates, it will take no less than 10 years to repair the damage caused by the Israeli attacks over the past seven weeks. There have also been complaints about Meshal from within Gaza, to the effect that refusing to approve a long-term truce last week led to the wave of assassinations of senior Hamas military figures. Those killings apparently left something of a vacuum in the military wing, whose functioning seems to have been impaired.

Moreover, because of the assassinations, Meshal’s position has been strengthened at the expense of the group’s military and political leaders in Gaza. He also has the advantage of being in close proximity to the financial spigot Qatar has promised to open to help rebuild the Gaza Strip.

Read the article in full at Haaretz.