Shimon, you are a moron: "It was this absence of an initiative that led us to where we are now. The leaders of Hamas decided that they had had enough, and took matters into their own hands, creating their own initiative that involved changing the reality on the Israeli side"

So if you do not agree with authority &/or refuse to come to the bargaining table you may take the law into your own hands? You foolishly claim the PM has no solutions to the crisis. Do you have one? Does hamas, besides overrunning the Jewish State?

Why not start with identifying the problem & listen to the parties discuss?

Btw, some problems have no solution especially if one side has murderous intentions.

Seems to me Netanyahu has kept Israel safe and has helped the economy grow steadily as well. Hamas has proven to be intransient since 2005. Don’t put all your gripes on the government of Israel. Hamas is evil and wrong. If the Palestinians want a better life they need to overthrow Hamas and if they want help from Bibi or the next PM let them open their mouths to say so.

The prevailing situation on the border with Gaza is uncomfortable for Israel, but it mustn't be turned into a defeat and certainly not into a victory for Hamas. The only place Hamas is winning is in the Israeli press, which either for political reasons or a thirst for "ratings" is painting a battered terrorist organization as the victor.

Hamas is in a Catch-22. It is flailing and kicking against the rising tides, mired in a war for survival it can't truly win. Its fight is to keep its head above water, nothing more. During its rule, Hamas has turned the Strip into a disaster zone. The people there are suffering unprecedented economic despair. They and their children have no hope for a better future. Now Hamas is sending Gaza's youth to die on the border fence in a futile campaign.

Hamas has never been more isolated in the Arab world and international arena. It is wedged between the Egyptian hammer and Israeli anvil and looks to be losing the support of the people in Gaza, who hold it responsible for their calamitous situation.

When Hamas is battered and weak, it has nothing to lose, which explains Israel's struggle to deter it sufficiently. In its weakness, however, Hamas is also willing to accept the crumbs Israel is offering: salary payments for civil servants and insignificant funds for economic initiatives to help it survive the month, not longer.

Similar to its fights with other enemies in the region, Israel's battle with Hamas won't end in some form of a magic knock-out punch. It is an ongoing struggle where the side that is most steadfast, and also capable of self-restraint, will emerge victoriously. Hamas is driving quickly toward a dead end, devoid of hope for a future. Neither a military clash with Israel nor an arrangement with it will alter this reality.

Eyal Zisser is a lecturer in the Middle East History Department at Tel Aviv University.

gantz, a lacklustre general and lapid, an olmert brownoser, may yet win the upcoming election. how? they plan to entice fegilin and lieberman to bring their parties over. the conditions will be portfolios for both parties, the draft of the haredi which is overdue, and no withdrawals from territory. all of this would be written down and made legal so if gantz violated later, he would be sued.

both leiberman and feiglin detest bibi's weakness vis a vis hamas and hezbollah. they know he runs scared and did not listen to them. he does the same thing with bennett and shaked. he may win over stooges shteinitz, elkin erdan and the others. most know bibi to be a v ery weak man who flinches and makes concessions. look at the way sinwar is running circles around him. the public is sick of him and his family
so if gantz gives ironclad guarantees in writing, he may yet win.

the israeli public is sick, just sick of bibi's weakness.