Haaretz comments: "The cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, declared on Saturday night by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, is a welcome step toward putting an end to the spiraling bloodshed of recent weeks in the south. We can assume that both sides agreed to an end to the shooting after continuous fighting left them both exhausted and battered. The endless launching of Qassam rockets against Sderot has claimed lives and caused injuries, and Israel Defense Forces operations in the Gaza Strip have exacted a heavy price in Palestinian fatalities. The agreement among Palestinian factions to a cease-fire is an important achievement for Abbas who, in spite his weakness, has retained his stature as the one who represents the Palestinians in the territories and talks with Israel on their behalf... Now both sides will be tested on how well they are keeping the cease-fire."

The Jerusalem Post writes: "It does not take a clairvoyant to predict that a cease-fire will be used by terrorists to recover from the IDF's military pressure. How can allowing the terrorists a pause to refresh serve the cause of peace? Alone, it cannot. But there is a way that a cease-fire could be part of a more comprehensive policy that does bring down the likelihood of renewed bloodshed. To stop terrorism, Israel must address both the capabilities and the strategic environment of the terrorists. There is no point in a cease-fire if the border between Egypt and Gaza remains a conduit for a constant flow of weaponry to Hamas and other terrorist groups. Plainly, in such a circumstance, any time-out is only a precursor to a renewal of intensified violence down the road."

Yediot Aharonot asserts that the average Israeli would not bet on a successful outcome for the present cease-fire. But, the editors continue, the deployment of foreign troops in Lebanon has provided relative quiet for the Americans, and a similar model could be adopted for Gaza. The cease-fire is a step in that direction. The Americans need calm in the region and what America wants, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are trying to provide.

Hatzofeh asserts that historically, when there is no decisive victory by Israel, cease-fires are used as a means of reorganization by the Arabs. Both Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigade and Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Battalion claimed credit for Kassam rocket attacks after the cease-fire began and dissasociated themselves from the it.

Yediot Aharonot, in its second editorial, comments on the escape of rapist Benny Sela, noting that the only thing done right so far was to invite Uri Geller to assist in the manhunt

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