In Spring 2019, Hamas and Israel exchanged fire between visits by Ron DeSantis.

May 6, 2019: "The Israeli government refused to confirm the reported truce, apparently so as to avoid publicly acknowledging its negotiations with terrorist groups."

Ron DeSantis had just left Israel on April 27, 2019, when fighting erupted between Palestine and Israel.

An exchange of fire between Palestinians and Israel began on or around May 3, 2019, as reported by France 24 on May 5.

The latest round of violence began two days ago when an Islamic Jihad sniper fired at Israeli troops, wounding two soldiers, according to the Israeli military.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the military to continue "massive strikes" against Gaza's ruling Hamas group and Islamic Jihad in the most serious border clashes since a spate of fighting in November.

The exchanges appeared to have calmed overnight and early Monday two Palestinian officials and a TV station belonging to Hamas said a ceasefire had been reached.

However, there was no confirmation of a truce from the Israeli side.

Israel's military said that more than 600 rockets and other projectiles - over 150 of them intercepted by its Iron Dome anti-missile system - have been fired at southern Israeli cities and villages since Friday.

It said it attacked more than 260 targets belonging to Gaza militant groups. Gaza officials said Israeli air strikes and artillery fire killed 27 people, including 14 civilians, since Friday.

On May 6, the Times of Israel reported that this round was over. Hamas and Israel had entered into a cease-fire.

The Israeli government refused to confirm the reported truce, apparently so as to avoid publicly acknowledging its negotiations with terrorist groups.

However, the military announced that, as of 7 a.m., it was lifting all security restrictions that had been in place in the south during the fighting, and that schools would be allowed to open, indicating that a ceasefire had indeed been reached

“The campaign is not over and requires patience and judgment. We are preparing to continue,” the prime minister added. “The goal was and remains to ensure the peace and security of the residents of the south. I send condolences to the families and wish a speedy recovery for the wounded.”

A spokesperson for Hamas similarly said, in response to the prime minister’s statement, that although the recent flareup in violence had come to an end, the wider conflict would continue.

Then, guess who shows up again.

May 27, 2019. GOP megadonors accompany DeSantis on Israel trip. Here DeSantis is begging for more money. Adelson died

Republican megadonors Sheldon and Miriam Adelson attended a signing ceremony with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Israel Monday, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

DeSantis signed a memorandum of understanding between between Florida Atlantic University and Ariel University in a ceremony attended by the Adelson

Adelson has long been a DeSantis supporter and gave more than $800,000 to the governor’s 2018 campaign. During that same cycle, the billionaire donated $5 million to the Republican Party of Florida, which was heavily involved in the DeSantis general election campaign.

DeSantis, who took office in January, has promised to be “the most pro-Israel governor in America,“ and the Israel trip, his first trade mission as governor, is part of a Republican appeal to the state‘s Jewish voters going into the 2020 presidential election.

The Florida effort is part of a larger GOP offensive aimed at breaking the Democratic Party’s hold on the Jewish vote and, in the process, shoring up the conservative evangelical base.

On May 29, 2019, the Times of Israel reported that DeSantis broke Florida Law and was being sued for conducting meetings in Israel. Disgusting.

An open-government watchdog group and several news outlets sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the Cabinet on Tuesday in an effort to stop them from holding a Cabinet meeting while on a trade mission in Israel.

The lawsuit argues that the meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, violates the state’s constitution and open-government laws, which require that Cabinet sessions be open to the public. Florida residents who don’t happen to be in Israel won’t be able to attend, and the meeting’s planned location, at the US embassy in Jerusalem, has generated security concerns that will further restrict access.

The lawsuit was filed by The First Amendment Foundation, Gannett Co., Gatehouse Media and the owners of the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times. The Associated Press and other news outlets plan to join the suit.

The meeting was organized as part of a trade mission DeSantis is leading with a delegation of nearly 100 business leaders, lawmakers, state university officials and others.

“We don’t want our future Cabinet meetings to be held anywhere but in the state of Florida.”

No bombs that day.

Charles Wright