In the 'cost V benefit' analysis Israel got nothing of real value against what it now will pay in soldiers and civilian lives once all Hell breaks loose...and it will...we all know it. Israel is going to pay an enormous price for this - much, much more than if she had tackled this scum earlier...all too late now. Thanks to Mr Olmert and "friends".

Of course this Hamas outfit is going to flourish during the course of this so called peace treaty. While Israel sits by with a Pacifist government, its enemies gain big time. And so it will be with the Iran issue. While the world sings "we must put sanctions on Iran" this enemy will also flourish. The world doesn't care if Israel is hit. It would though and does, when Israel hits its enemies. So flow along with the pacifist Israel and do nothing. You'll eventually pay the price for this error!

The politicians have not learned from Lebanon. Hamas has rearmed reorganized and prepared for the coming Israeli incursion.It will cost the IDF, yes the terrain and depth are different from Lebanon. But Gaza is more densely populated and gives more human shields to hide hamas. There has been a tidal wave of weapons from the Sinai, remember when the walls at Rafah were knocked down and the truck loads poured into Gaza?hamas has worked closely with hezbouleh more significant than Israeli Egyptian cooperation

These two traitors managed to create another Iranian military presence on one of Israel's Israel's border. KOL HAKAVOD TZIPI!!! You are SUCH AN INTELLIGENT, NON-CORRUPT WOMAN!!! BRILLIANT!!YOU WERE RIGHT AFTER Aaaaalllll!!!

WHat a stupid leftist article that is trying to justify the inept governments inaction! There was no lull, just lies and deceit!

more rockets, missiles, JDAMs, artillery and shells to our arsenal. That is first priority. Second priority is to have intelligence to the places that the terrorist leadership is living/hiding.Also to places with the largest massed civilian population. We should make them pay a heavy price in civilian dead and wounded. As for olmert and gang,we should try them and make sure they are punished severely for their inaction. They should be tried by the people and not the courts.

The major benefit of the lull was to bring the time closer when Olmert, Kadima, and Barak would be thrown out of office permanently. After the disaster in Lebanon 2, Israel could not afford another disasterous failure at the hands of inept, incompent Olmert/Kadima. While Olmert has focused on his ludicrous poses for YNET photos, the Israeli voting public has seen through his fascade and knows his true face. Just like Intifada2 in 2000 brought Arik into the PM's office, the Israeli voters will give Olmert the boot and again move dramatically to the right seeking someone who will silence the Qassams that plague Sderot and surroundings. In the final analysis the doubling of Qassams, tunnels, and operational organizational improvements of the fractured Hamulot in just Gaza cannot compare with the Israeli mass of people, economy, military, technology, etc. But the key is having someone at the helm who will know how to orchestrate the war in Gaza correctly, who will cut off the cash shipments to the enemy, who will cut the power, cut the gas, cut the supply lines, and choke the terrorist into total submission. It is far better to strangle Gaza and bomb them from far just as they bomb us with Qassams, than to risk soldier's lives and fall into the trap that they have been planning for some time now.

i think he changed the second part after he read the tbs of the first one . so it apears less rabbish to readers . so the writer is affected by the readers openion more than the reader s were affected by the writer openion

BEFORE the so called ceasefire came into effect Hamas said on the record they said this was a tactical move and they would not stop smuggling weapons because resistance was a right etc. During this ceasefire we shipped them concrete which they have been using to build bunkers, they have stockpiled fuel and other supplies they can use against us in a ground offensive or to carry out future terror attacks. Six months ago Hamas were fighting for survival in Gaza because of the economic blockade and the fact that we were klling their people and fighting back. Today they could hold out for months if we sealed the borders and allowed nothing in or out, the ordinary Gazans would suffer but thanks to Omert, Livni & Barak Hamas have been stockpiling. The only reason there was no ground operation months ago was because Olmert after Lebanon decided he was never going to use the military again and he hoped that the quiet wold stop all the no confidence motions and calls for him to resign and hold elections. If there is quiet the public will be content to let him negotiate away the country for the nobel prize he fantasises about the idea of being awarded. Instead of fighting terror this regime started a policy of releasing terrorists as goodwill gestures, since Gilad was taken around 1000 terrorists including men with blood on their hands have been released in goodwill gestures. Barak now is against a ground operation because he is worried it might damage his election chances. If a ground operation is eventualy carried out then if any Israelis are killed or injured then lets remind this regime that if they had done what needed to be done months ago this operation would have been easier and possiibly there would have been fewer casualties. Olmert, Livni & Baral through their sell out policies probably have more jewish blood on their hands than the average terrorist.

If there are going to be military operations either in Gaza or against Iran then Israel is on a very tight deadline now. Once Obama comes in he is going to make sure that there are no military operations against anybody. His solution will be to preasure Israel to open all the borders indefaintly and if there is rocket fire to say negotiate with Hamas dont attack them. Even if Natanyahu wins even he will have a hard time saying no if Obama is determined and these days all Israels foreign policy and a large part of its defense policies are made in Washington and dictated to Israel because so much soverignty has been sold to the US over the past 20-25 years in exchange for the odd cash hand out or military aid. Today politicians elected in the US have more influence ins running Israel than politicians elected in Israel His solution to Iran will be to invite Ahmadinijad to the White House and force Israel to disarm if Iran agrees to end uranium enrichment. The man campaigned on the goal of getting rid of American nukes first target of his administration wll be Israel Iran second. because Israel is easy to push around.

Imagine... Tsahal may have some strategic tunnels too ;-)))

Israel should recall that the benefactor to which it is attached by a massive $$$ placenta is BROKE. But then also BROKE are Israel's Arab neighbors as oil prices drop. As a hightech society, Israel can become, in the words of the Fathers of Zionism, "a light onto the [Arab] nations," helping them out of their one crop (oil) banana republics status. Whatever Israel does to train the Palestinians-- instead of trying to destroy them for the sake of a Greater Israel-- will bring it closer to Middle East recognition, appreciation...eventually leadership of the region and PEACE.

Thanks to Olmert being kind to the cruel. Traitor to the Jewish people.

does a poker player show his cards as soon as their delt?. of course not. its sometimes better not to show the whole deck becouse no matter how big your cards or weapons may be, someone will always try to build better. its better to keep some secrets until their realy needed, and going by the current affairs with iran and the whole middle east areas, then some secrets are defenetly worth holding back. A prime examply is the usa invasion of iraq, they gave up everything in the first couple of months, and look where they are now.

I'm an American citizen over in Israel on a tourist visa -- quite frankly, in the western media there is NO news regarding how Israel fairs from Hamas's attacks. Put another way, do a google search for attacks on Israel and all you'll find is Israel attacking Hamas. Poor poor Hamas being abused by big bad Israel. It took a lot of searching on my part to pull up any info on the Qassam rockets being fired into Southern Israel. Something like 1200 this year alone even during the so-called Cease Fire. Where is this information? and Why isn't it being spread across the globe?? Not only is Israel following a pacifist policy militarily but also pacifist policy with regards to information propaganda. This is done to your demise. Sadly.

There are no benefits to Israel, Mr. Fishman, whatsoever. The only benefits are to Hamas In summary, as you said, what the IDF could have done six months ago is much more complicated today. Olmert should be imprisoned for life for treason.Why is he allowed to even leave the country at this point and continue to undermine Israel.

Hamas rockets from now on will be launched by multi-org militants (who will make the claim for any other org they belong to, except Hamas). On non-Hamas rockets, we ain't even gonna comment.