TONIGHT AGAIN!! Another person shot on route towards Betar Ilit. Unless this terrorism stops, i don't see meaning in this "cease fire!"

Israel must not accept a ceasefire until two major concessions are achieved. The first is the demand that HAMAS publicly change the HAMAS CHARTER calling for the Total Destruction of Israel and Murder of All Jews/Israelis. Second Israel must get international guarantees that there will be NO FURTHER ROCKET FIRE ON ISRAELI CITIES AND CITIZENS. In other words a cease fire is to be a cease fire and not an opportunity for HAMAS to re-arm and resume the terror. Furthermore, HAMAS will have to publicly agree to humiliating terms of changing the charter to accept Israel's right to exist and is accepted behaviour in the international community. This way they will not be able to twist the cease fire and claim any form of victory. Even better is simply to keep on fighting until HAMAS is totally and humiliatingly defeated and the international community is shown how HAMAS weaponized the Geneva Convention by accusing us of murdering civilians who served as Human Shields for the Terrorist as the Terrorist launched rockets at our civilians.

Deterrence point made. Israel will go in and easily escort Hamas to Martyrland, if someone besides Egypt doesn't "guarantee" an end to rockets. The UN isn't even a guarantor of peace. Look at Lebanon. UN troops watch as Hez-fulla-bulla fires rockets at Northern Israel. "It's not in our mandate," the blue helmets whine...

The big one is still to come from hamas. This was just a test by hamas of their new weapons and israeli defences and to see how much the israeli military know. israel must go in and flatten hamas now or the next time hamas strikes they will do real damage to israel, this is their plan and israel is doing exactly what is predicted. if israel stops now then they are playing directly into the hands of hamas. BEWARE.

about the Iranian ship carrying Fjar-5 missiles for Gaza. What will trucemaker, Egypt, do with this ship and its cargo?

The blockade of Gaza has been a disaster for Israel. Needing civilian goods has caused the population of Gaza and Egypt to turn a blind eye to the construction of hundreds of tunnels. Had trade not been hindered, there would never have been the need for so many smuggling tunnels. The tunnels allow the easy transfer of arms, and clearly closing the Gaza border crossings has failed to either reduce the arms flow or to protect Israel. Open the crossings to all civilian trade that the Gazans want. Do 100% inspection of every truck to ensure no arms are included. This way no one will object to the systematic destruction of all remaining tunnels, and it will be clear to Palestinian civilians that turning a blind eye to tunnels is only for contraband, which does not help their cause in the long term. Making the effort to inspect an unlimited flow of consumer goods and people who are not currently wanted for terror will cost Israel a great deal less than these constant wars and weapons systems like Iron Dome. Israel can do this with airports, it's time to do this with the border crossings with Gaza.

It's an intermissioni in hostilites, it isn't Peace

Bibi is far from perfect but what is the alternative if Likud keep him as their man? Shelly Yachimovitch - a woman who has only ever been in journalism, her time in the IDF was as a journalist and is a socialist who by her own admission has voted for the communist party before. Only 6 years of political experience. Yair Lapid - a pampered prince who has only ever been a journalist and tv presenter including in the IDF. We have no idea what his party stands for because he has been selling himself as something different to each group of voters. This is also going to be the mans first time in the Knesset. Assuming Kadima don't replace him with Olmert before the election Shaul Mofaz - heads a party thats heading for meltdown and whilst he has political experience he has never done anything worth mentioning. The one good thing to be said about him is he was a general. Barak - lousy PM, average DM Bibi - Plenty of political experience including as PM, good on economics was in the special forces and has seen combat in the Yom Kippur War. Bibi isn't perfect but he is easily best of a bad bunch.

To #36. Ed. You are really naïve as one just can be. An open border will not cause the closures of the tunnels. Do you think that the Hamas gang is a pack of gentleman who will keep their word? Without the tunnel they cannot bring in missiles. Did Hitler and the Nazis kept the agreement they signed with the British PM Chamberlin? Please be real, and learn a little history.

A cease fire at this time would be a defeat for Israel. The Arab “world” will take this as a victory and will be emboldened for more acts of violence against Jews anywhere in the world. Israel must stand strong no matter what world opinion is. NEVER AGAIN. Israeli should send ground troops to secure the “Philadelphia Corridor” along the Gaza-Egypt border which will prevent rockets, guns, ammunition and other terror supplies from entering Israel. The “Philadelphia Corridor” is Hamas’ life line. Iran is reportedly supplying Hamas with the military tools to kill Jews and such things enter through the “Philadelphia Corridor”. At the same time Israel should bring Hamas to its knees begging for mercy and a cease fire. This would be accomplished by relentless bombing of all Hamas military facilities and civilian areas, with due notice to the civilians to leave before their location is flattened. Making it impossible for civilians to live normal lives will put pressure on Hamas to beg for a cease fire. It will put pressure on the worthless UN to convince Hamas to enter into a cease fire on Israeli terms. NEVER AGAIN.

You don't read well or pay attention. Not an open border. A 100 percent inspected and checked border. Not Gaza being left to it's own devices, continued border control by Israel but no limit on the amount of consumer goods allowed in either direction, or the flow of people subject to security checks. Your snide comments aside, you show you haven't learned from recent history. The current policy is a total failure. Please show me a concrete example of how things have improved since Operation Cast Lead. Remove the argument from the anti Israel activists about collective punishment, and Hamas might have to start acting like a political party. And I've got no issue once such a policy is in place of destroying any missle sites that are used after the policy is modified. Changing this policy removes any justification for Hamas and Islamic Jihad violence on the international stage.

Is there anyone writing in this Forum that criticizing Bibi that would like to take the responsibilities to send thousands of our troops in to certain casualties and even worse than deaths being crippled for life? As I wrote in a previous note, to my mind we should only use the cheapest of rockets to fire back to Gaza One for one indiscriminately, NO Planes, No Tanks, cut of all supplies, fuel, and even water. I guarantee that all will come to a standstill so quick that it would make your heads spin! Very Cheap operation with the maximum affect!