"The state of Israel has a difficult decision to make," former Israeli
military intelligence research division chief, [Res.] Maj. Gen. Yaakov
Amidror said. "If it does not want to reach a situation in which Hamas
cannot strike, it must occupy Gaza for a long time. Otherwise, Israel
accepts an enemy that fires whenever it feels like it."
Officials said Hamas has been encouraged by its leadership in Damascus
as well as Iran and Syria to sustain missile and rocket fire into Israel in
advance of elections, scheduled for Feb. 10. They said Hamas has assessed
that Israel's government would not launch massive retaliation to avoid a
confrontation with the United States.
"If the smuggling and firing continue, then we should conclude that we
will be unable to overcome developments in the Gaza Strip under Hamas rule,"
Vice Premier Haim Ramon said. "I call for an immediate and definitive
response."
[Hours later, Israel Air Force jets struck a Hamas military target in
the central Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources said the building was empty.]
Officials said Hamas has also accelerated weapons smuggling from
neighboring Egypt. They said Egyptian troops, despite the installation of
cameras and sensors along the Gaza border with the Sinai Peninsula have
failed to respond to renewed tunnel construction in the divided city of
Rafah.
"Two weeks after the ceasefire, terrorists that are not Hamas are
challenging Hamas and conducting attacks for a renewed escalation,"
Israeli military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin said. "Hamas, for
its part, has been deterred and is honoring the ceasefire, but is not
deterring the others enough."
Quietly, officials said, the Cabinet has examined the prospect of
recapturing portions of the Gaza Strip, particularly the Gaza border with
the Sinai Peninsula. They said Olmert, Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi
Livni — expecting Hamas and Egypt to agree to a ceasefire with Israel —
remain opposed to such an option.
"We have no intention of embarking on Operation Cast Lead [Israel's
invasion of the Gaza Strip in January 2009] No. 2," Barak said. "We said
there would be a response [to Hamas fire] and we responded."
