Quiet before the storm

As the weather outside is very stormy right now I have to mention the fact that the past few days have been extaordinarily quiet.
Only one siren was heard over the weekend, and nothing since.
I hope it is not the quiet that comes before the storm.

I am not sure why it is quiet and many reasons can be given:
1. The weather... It's too cold and both sides want to stay warm. After all the soldiers are all human.
2. Israel has stopped most of it's actions in Gaza, and so has the Hammas, waiting to see who will start the next violet act...
3. The opening of the border in between Gaza and Egypt has eased the pressure on the people in Gaza and all the energy and attention is drawn to whet is going on there.
4. No special reason at all. This has been going on for 7 years. There may be a month or 2 with hardly any violence and then it suddenly breaks out. Each side blames the other.

Anyway there have been some periods of quiet over the years, and they let us breath and give us hope. If it can be quiet for a day then why not for a week, a month, a few months, a year, many many years?
It is possible, I am sure. The quiet creates hope and may enable both sides to think of ways to create some kind of normality.

There are so many issues that need to be dealt with and if this blog seems "nice" to the readers, don't be mistaken. In Gaza there is desperate need for serious development in every area of life:
Employment, Welfare, Education, Housing, infrastructure etc. etc. etc. If these things are neglected, then it is just a matter of time before the next eruption of violence.

In Sderot many have left the town for fear of the rockets and many wish to return if Sderot returns to be the quiet small town in used to be. Before year 2000 Sderot was developing very rapidly. Over the past years all areas of life have been harmed by the situation: Employment, Welfare, Education, Housing, infrastructure etc. etc. etc.

Unfortunately I don't see initiatives to make the real change that is needed.
The money and resources needed to give hope and allow people in Gaza and Sderort to feel there is a future are much, much less than all that is wasted on walls, fences, guns, rockets, troops and other weapons.

Seeds of hope need to be planted and nurished on both sides. These can bring about real change and then going to Ramallah (together) will be a natural thing.