It's been a while

Sorry for not writing for such a long time.
Much has happened since my last post and I will try to give a brief summary.

The cease fire is holding!

Many people were skeptic this can actually occur, however for 3 and a half months now there are no real fire exchanges. There have been a handful of rockets fired into our region, however these have not really disrupted the cease fire. They did however remind us how fragile things are, and how much restraint is needed to keep it going.

Our life here in Sderot has improved significantly. People are out in the streets and moving around without fear.
My kids are now sleeping outside of the safe room after about a year and a half. They feel safer and are able to play outside without the constant fear of alerts and rockets.

The cease fire is not an official one. It was not signed directly by leaders on both sides. It's details are a bit vague and each side claims the other is not keeping the agreement, which makes it even more fragile.

Goods are being allowed to enter into Gaza, however at a much slower rate than in the past. This is causing great discomfort and need for the civilians.

As my friend Peace Man wrote, there is no freedom of passage. There are 2 ways to enter and leave Gaza: The Erez crossing which allows people through to Israel and from there to the west bank, and the Rafah crossing which allows people through to Egypt. Both these crossings are closed for the majority of the civilians. Both Israel and Egypt are making it extremely difficult for people to pass. This is why Peace Man has not been able to leave Gaza for more than a 18 months and has missed 2 years of University studies!

I am involved in a grassroots group called Other Voice which has been active for about 8 months. The group is creating contacts with civilians like us in Gaza and we are trying together to think of ways to help sustain the cease fire and create a trust building process that may influence the way we see each other.
I invite people to go to the web site for more information: www.othervoice.org

Apology

At first I would like to thank you for your attention to us and also apologized for not writing for some time but it was for personal reasons .

I am trying since long time to get out of the Gaza Strip to complete my studies abroad, because of the closure of crossings borders couldn’t leave until this moment, and I hope to open soon .

The situation in Gaza is better than the previous, no violence or fighting between the two parties and the food entre gaza, but the crossing border still closed where only for the few allowed to leave Gaza
and that’s make significant problems, especially for patients and students

I wish the border will open in the near future and solve all the problems and that peace would prevail in the all
As we want to know We will complete what we started me and friend Hope Man to spread peace and to create good future for our people

Peace to you All