This article is from the archive of our partner .
An Egyptian ceasefire proposal aimed at ending the week-long battle between Israel and Hamas was accepted by Israel's cabinet on Tuesday, but rejected by Hamas. Here's what you need to know.
A new Egypt makes all the difference
Egypt mediated the last ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in 2012, but those were entirely different days. Back then, Egypt's ruler was Mohamed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood bona fides made him a natural ally of Hamas. With Morsi deposed and military rule restored, Egypt did not pursue the kinds of concessions that Morsi extracted from Israel in 2012. (Israel initially rejected a ceasefire in 2012 before agreeing on one.)
This time around, Egypt also didn't include Hamas in the negotiations. Feeling left out, Hamas acted out a little bit.
SecState Kerry in Vienna: I condemn Hamas for shooting rockets at the time Israel and Egypt are working in good faith to get a ceasefire
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) July 15, 2014
The proposal
What the ceasefire proffered by Egypt was pretty straightforward. Most importantly, a cessation of hostilities and some ease of movement and goods along the borders. The basic components of it returned things back to its 2012 ceasefire state.