the main reason why israel has not crushed hamas is because it refuses to send in ground forces ina vicioius routing of the tunnel systema nd killing of top hamas echelon. Bibi has abdicated invasion twice now primarily because as danon correctly noted-bibi is scared stiff and that has been his Mo since he was shot as a commando- he talks big but cannot deliver,. recall Olmert invaded gaza but wiht livni cut it short. So israel has had leaders like peres, ehud barak, olmert livni and bibi who were fearful of invading. Sharon, eitan, dayan could invade but not many others. Today we have bibi elected on the right, yet adopted the livni lapid meretz program of concessions and turning the other cheek. Do not believe bibi will undertake new serious actions. he is scared stiff and will not invade. Just keep firing and in a few days you can say you won. Bibi will sign a ceasefire on your terms, do not worry./

Israel lacks the courage to admit , at least implicitly , it could never have a permanent solution for this conflict militarily . Victories in past wars gave Israel ephemeral honeymoon and breathing space , nothing more... For long the French military regarded Algeria as " metropolitan France " despite the cost and pain of colonizing that Arab country in Africa yet in the end President Charles De Gaulle had the guts to admit the truth and decided to let the Algerians have their independence . Last January Yiftach Ron Tal wrote an op-ed in Ynet in which he advocated holding on to the Jordan valley despite any final peace agreement with the Arabs , and he called the western bank of River Jordan " ... a strategic depth " ! How could a distance of forty kilometers serve as a strategic depth for Israel when HAMAS , in this very conflict , has launched rockets that reached the Haifa and Nahariya regions - a distance of some 150 kilometers ? And what about HIZBULLAH , Syria, and Iran which are still hostile to Israel and still possess tens of thousands of rockets that can span the length and breadth of Israel ? And if the two-state solution does not seem feasible then , ultimately , Israel will have to abandon Zionist ideology and treat both Palestinian Arabs and Jews as equal citizens in one country stretching from River Jordan in the east to the Mediterranean coast in the west , much like all European colonial powers finally discarded the policy of overseas colonization and gave the colonized ( occupied ) peoples their freedom ...

Hamas is like a weed, if you cut it down it will sprout again. Not exactly perhaps, but Islamic thought cares little about the individual except to convert them to Islam. Once they are in power, they really don't care for small people at all, so the plight of the simple Gazian Arab means little to them. They will put his/her live on line even if it means certain death as long as they are safe hiding underground in their well built bunkers. Hamas must be up rooted completely. The radical Islamic philosophy that gave it credence must be forbidden to be taught in Gaza schools. Then there is a chance for peace. One of the big mistakes the Israelis gave to the West Bank Arabs was freedom of education as it exists in Israel proper. So the Arabs took advantage and spread their radical thoughts both in schools and in mosques. So we must up root the radical extremists and take a lesson from Saddam Hussein (that's corrrect) who had no problem from Islamic extremists. If they said something he did not like, they were found the next morning with their throats slit. the others were too frightened to open their mouth. So, while I do not recommend slitting throats on a wholesale level, still the banning of radical clerics is needed.

While I agree with the spirit of this article...i.e. Hamas is winning...I must note that contrary to the author's assertions, Israel does not supply Gaza with neither electricity of water. The Palestinian Authority does - and Israel delivers it, as agreed between the two parties.

involving ground forces with the inevitable loss of life and we have this maven boob telling us the sun is setting and that he fears for the Palis and that we ought to reward them. You said your piece now make sure your shelter is close at hand. We wouldn't want to read your obit of how a great mind was lost to humanity . (NOT) Mavens are a dime a dozen.

But, it is hamas that refuses negotiations, recognition and squandered every chance for building an economy. Israel can not accept dictats from hamas becase that would lead to endless demands and ensure the next war will be Israel's great disadvantage. Better Israel take down hamas while world opinion is running against hamas and Egypt needs to have hamas defanged. I agree with you that hamas has inflicted pain upon Israel, but I don't think the population will want round 4. I do not think they wanted this round.

From what? A home-made missile one out of hundreds launched that hasn't killed a single Israeli in this latest genocidal rage by Netanyahu and his gang of war criminals? Have Israelis become so soft and cowardly that they fall to the ground at the first sound of an air raid siren? Don't they trust the Israeli designed Iron Dome missile defense system? I guess not. They are realising that Iron Dome is all hype and Israeli defense industry smoke and mirrors. When will they realise that Bibi is all bluster too?

1) We aren't quaking, we are adjusting. I keep a blanket in my car and if the siren sounds when I'm on the roads, I pull over, spread out the blanket, lie down on it for a few minutes, and get back in my car and drive off. So what? 2) Our leaders, whether or not I agree with them on other matters, provide us with warning sirens, shelters, and iron dome. Our army commanders serve at the front with their troops. I feel sorry for the Palestinians whose leaders, from their underground hideouts, demand that their civilians remain above ground at sites that are about to be bombed. 3) What has Hamas achieved so far for their people?

What is needed in Gaza is regime change. We cannot get rid of Hamas completely, but we can shut down as many tunnels & destroy as many rockets as possible. Then we can push for a political solution where Abbas takes control.

Ignoramus, listen up. Falling shrapnel from one of your homemade rockets kills & injures, big time. Of course you have never been subjected to the above. We have been advised to proceed asap to the nearest bomb shelter when we hear those sirens. We have been advised to remain in those bomb shelters for 10 minutes. When we hear that huge, loud boom of the Iron Dome catching one of your home made rockets, we rejoice & yes we also lift our bodies from the ground,if we did not make it to the bomb shelter, because we believe in living. Unlike you, who believes in death.

I have yet to encounter a person here in a panic or under stress, during the last 9 days of hostilities here. Brilliant idea of a blanket in your car. We, the citizens of Israel, ARE being protected, as you say. Hamas has achieved a big fat nothing for their people. The foreign Israel haters need to realize that we Israelis are stronger & more determined than we look! Am Israel Chai.

Pray tell where in actual fact does the water & electricity come from? Where is the source?? oh clever one.

Hopeless situation because Israel's Leftist Elite (including Netanyahu) rather see civilians cowering in shelters than end this war. Tomorrow, Netanyahu announces Temple Mount will be open to Jewish prayer as a reaction to the murder of the three Jewish boys, and annexes various portions of Judea and Samaria, and starts massive building in E1 in reaction to rockets on Israel. There will be peace, but Netanyahu refuses to take these steps.

Hamas whose Ancestors the Islamic Brotherhood Collaborated with the Nazis through the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem who had Lemon juice with Hitler in 1941 deny the Holocaust .From the Tough but Protective Dhimmi of Early Islam to Allies of Nazi Genocide.

We refuse to bomb rocket stockpiles, launch platforms and bunkers located beneath tall apartment blocks filled with hundreds of civilians. PERIOD.

... eventually one side will crack first. Israeli civilian front: please stay strong & united!

Indeed, Hamas, in the near future, will be the ultimate Liberators of all of Palestine from the River to the Sea! Zionists, goodbye, good riddance!

"There is no substitute for victory". (General George Patton) First, stop ALL lunatic Israeli support to genocidal fictional palestine. No more Israeli food, money, electricity, materials, work permits or anything. No other state has EVER adopted the insane policy of supporting its foes. This alone would largely destroy fictional palestine. Have the IDF finish the job. Total Israeli victory is the only answer.

Not just one, but several dillemas all at once. This situation is clearly and directly mentioned as one of the strongest signs that MASHIACH BEN DAVID is very very close to us.. The world will be turned on its head. We are on the verge of enormous change in the world.

hey, little man, have you ever looked at a map? "greater" Israel? to anyone with a functioning brain, uncrippled by hate, "greater" Israel should be a joke. look at a map, dummy. you know what a map is, don't you? Israel withdrew from all of gaza, from all of Sinai, many times the size of "greater" Israel. aside from that, dummy, there would have been no conflict if the terrorists in gaza had not determined to subject Israel to continuous rocket attack. ol' steve is a hateful slug and is incapable of detaching himself from his hate. and, he has a lot of company, but not everyone is hateful knuckle-dragger.

what ideas YOU have for dealing with Hamas. It is not enough to rant that " leaders must provide far-reaching ideas in order to deal with the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." What ideas do you have? Oh yes, to give Hamas a port, an airport, power stations, etc., so that next time Hamas will be much best equipped to wage war on Israel. So that you, Mr Shiffer, will then be able to write another article claiming that Netanyahu (taking your advice) has made things even worse.