Gunfire Ends But the Debate in Israel Begins: Should We Have Pressed On?

Talk of victory was scant in Israel today after the government's declaration of a unilateral ceasefire in Gaza. "The decision was terrible," said Shimon, a 55-year-old from Ra'anana, a town in Israel's interior. "We should carry on fighting until Hamas is devastated."

Overwhelmingly, the Israeli Jewish public supports the country's assault on Gaza. But while the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, described the three-week war as a "brilliant" achievement of Israel's objectives, the public does not seem as certain. "I hope we will succeed in halting the rockets, but I think the ceasefire was a little premature," said Avot Yitzhak, 48, from Tel Aviv. "They should have continued, to show [Hamas] that they really have lost."

Some people expressed ambivalence, best articulated by one presenter on Israeli Army Radio who said: "Did we achieve our objectives? Who knows, but let's thank God it's over."

There is also talk of a missed opportunity. "There is a broad consensus in support of the war and the public is prepared to put up with this situation for as long as it takes," said a 42-year-old man from Kiryat Shmona in the north of Israel. "How often does that happen?"

And as rockets from Gaza hit southern Israel this morning before Hamas declared its own ceasefire, local residents denounced the end to the offensive as illogical. "If I am still getting Qassam rockets fired at me, what have we achieved?" asked Hava Gad, a 42-year-old mother of three in Sderot. "We stopped because the whole world is shouting at us to stop, and the government crumpled."

Those who support the government's decision to lift the barrage do not see it as a long-term solution. "We achieved what we could for now, but it won't help and it won't last," said Guy Cohen, a translator from Tel Aviv. "It's a wise tactical move, but it is not a complete stop ? this is going to be a long story." A similar view was expressed by other Israelis, who view relations with Gaza as being permanently hostile. "This will go on until the end of the world," said 37-year-old Olga Blechkov, who said she opposed the war and did not define victory as "killing more people than Hamas kills".

Many Israelis are deeply critical of their government for not securing the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured in 2006 and held in Gaza. "As long as there is no written agreement and as long as they still have Gilad Shalit, we shouldn't stop," said Idit in Tel Aviv. "I don't think Shalit should be treated as incidental to the story, he should be at the center of the government's decisions."

Israelis view each soldier as a child of the collective nation, while governments talk of an unwritten covenant that national leaders will secure the release of captured soldiers. When the Israeli cabinet convened at the defence ministry last night to debate the ceasefire, hundreds of protesters stood outside declaring that such a move would be "a death sentence for Gilad".