There are calls today from the 'political echelon' in Israel for a renewed war on Hamas - or, more accurately, on the people of Gaza. It's not just the rockets they are worried about (although no one has been injured by them, in contrast to deaths running into double figures on the Palestinian side) - it's the revolutions sweeping the Arab world, the dissipation of international support, moves towards reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas and another Freedom Flotilla due to arrive in May. There's a meeting of the Israeli security council today.
The Israeli vice-premier, Silvan Shalom, said the situation recalled the runup to Israel's 2008-2009 Gaza war, in which around 1,400 Palestinians died. Hamas has mostly held its fire from the enclave since.
"We may have to consider a return to that operation," Shalom told Israel Radio. "I say this despite the fact that I know such a thing would, of course, bring the region to a far more combustible situation." more
Hamas and Israeli leaders might have different reasons for their rejection of the Abbas initiative and the escalation of the violence in the Gaza strip. Whatever their political motivation, neither side has the right to punish the civilian population.
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