This article was originally published by the Palestine News Network and is republished with permission.

Bethlehem residents consider the new 'ceasefire' fragile to say the least. Hopes were not high from the beginning in the West Bank, as checkpoints, arrests, settlement and Wall activity, and invasions continued. And then the Israeli Central Command, which is the occupying administration in the central West Bank, said that the 'ceasefire' does not include the West Bank.

A gas station worker in Bethlehem, Abu Mustafa Kaid, commented to PNN on Monday that the 'ceasefire' is fragile and frequently violated by Israel. He cited arrests and continuing incursions into Palestinian cities, villages and camps in the West Bank, in addition to killing a young man and woman in the Jenin area.

Under the Israeli terms, killings, provocations of any kind, arrests, raids and incursions do not constitute a breach. Is this a move to further separate the Gaza Strip from the West Bank, or to quickly confiscate more of the West Bank while all eyes are on whether the Palestinian armed resistance in Gaza will respond?

A 60-year-old Bethlehem man, Ahmed Zayed, has asked about a specific time frame for the 'ceasefire,' and whether it is composed of coded items and documentation that Palestinians are not privy to. "We certainly have never been able to take the governments of Israel on their words. Experience with the occupation has time and again taught us this bitter lesson."

Zayed continued to speak with PNN on Monday. "The Israelis must be accountable to international parties present for all discussions on all subjects. It is not permissible that Israel may interpret the situation by taking what it wants and rejecting what is does not want. This has, unfortunately and without exaggeration, always been the Israeli way and it must finally end. The most glaring evidence of this is that Israeli military leaders talk of a truce that does not include the West Bank while the Israelis continue to commit arrests and assassinations, in addition to land confiscation, settlement expansion, and continual Wall building. Every point in those acts violates international law. The West Bank is a glaring example of Israel holding itself above the law while the international community is complicit by not standing up to Israel and its omni-present protector."

Hundreds of people from Bethlehem's Deheisha Refugee Camp walked in a funeral procession, while side-talk was dominated by the irony of a 'ceasefire' that only includes one sector of Palestine divided from all others. Sentiment was strong that there was no reason to once again agree to something that clearly serves the Israelis at the expense of the Palestinians.

Young Imad Abed Rabbo was among the mourners who told PNN, "Israel will seek to violate the agreement as evidenced by what happened in Bethlehem and Beit Sahour this morning when large forces entered and surrounded the houses, arrested people and fired indiscriminately. And this is in addition to the attacks in Jenin; the house to house searches, the arrests, and the usual indiscriminate fire. If you weren't already, it makes you question the intentions of Israel."

Abdul Karim Hammash, also from Deheisha Refugee Camp is a 50-year-old father. His son was sentenced to life in Israeli prison, accused of involvement with the armed resistance wing of Fateh, Al Aqsa Brigades. Armed resistance to occupation is entirely legitimate under international law, further making the term 'ceasefire' less than accurate as there are not two sides at war.

The father said that he hopes the 'ceasefire' is honored and successful. "What is involved here is a chance to get the prisoners out of the jails and have national security controls. That will mean a national unity government and a return of salaries. Unfortunately we are in the position to prove ourselves, instead of the other way around. For that we must be unified in our commitment in order to oblige the Israelis to abide, if and only if, all eyes of the international community are on them."

The International Court of Justice in the Hague did rule that the Wall in the West Bank was illegal, but Israel was not moved and Wall building continued unimpeded save for the Palestinian nonviolent resistance. Of the hundreds of United Nations resolutions and condemnations against Israel, just one in 1982 was honored. The Palestinian calls for international assistance, troops, witnesses, have gone unheeded for years.

University student Noha Abdel Hamid said, "The truce is by popular demand and in effect for a year. It must be preserved by us by abstaining from any violations, provided Israel does not exploit our willingness, which is no truce at all."