Palestinians fight each other regardless of the cease-fire arranged between Hamas and Fatah. During the earlier peace negotiations, Hamas repeatedly offered Israel a similar long-term truce.

One guard killed. The strike cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Israel conducted several similar attacks today. Hamas vowed more suicide bombings.

Israel will win the Palestinian factional strife on Fatah-PLO’s behalf. Olmert finally announces “harsh and severe” measures against Hamas. A happy hour for Abu Mazen. Hamas also welcomes Israeli invasion as a way to unify the Palestinians against the common Zionist enemy.
Hamas, Fatah leaders losing grip over their troops. Cease-fires don’t hold. After the Israeli withdrawal, Gaza is saturated with weapons, earmarked for street violence.
The harsh measures won’t include targeted assassinations of Hamas politicians who are directly responsible for murdering Jewish civilians. Israel will only target the Arabs directly involved in terrorism. A dog bites a stick that hits it.
Israeli government aims at “damaging the terrorist infrastructure.” Olmert didn’t specify what would prevent Hamas from rebuilding the “terrorist infrastructure” weeks after Israel withdraws from Gaza. Olmert understands that the invasion of Gaza is a no-win situation, but he has no choice: Israeli public opinion pressures him into action just like it pushed Itzhak Shamir who has made a policy of no negotiations with Arabs. The problem of terrorism in Gaza is unsolvable in short term except by clearing Gaza from Arabs or intensive police operations. Ariel Sharon pacified Gaza at one time by combing the territory for insurgents and using scores of imformants and provocateurs. Gaza is an Arab pressure cooker: poor, saturated with arms, lacking job opportunities or life prospects, with plenty of unemployed youngsters, and foreign financing of the insurgency. Rationalist people look for fast solutions; there is no fast and politically correct solution to Gazan terrorism.
Tzipi Livni urges the government for diplomatic action. Israel continues to supply Gaza with subsidized electricity and water.

bans Jews from participating in the missionary Christian women conference. Knesset’s Christian lobby (Christian Allies Caucus) defends Jewish right to attend a Christian conference.
Christian missionary groups, notably the evangelical International Christian Embassy, are ardent supporters of Israel whose establishment they view as a necessary step toward Apocalypse.

and a direct rocket hit at a school.
Defense Minister Peretz stopped the government and various organizations from evacuating Sderot residents. Peretz said the government “can’t sit and watch” as Russian oligarch Arkady Gaydamak sent buses to evacuate the residents of Sderot. Peretz maintains a house in Sderot, guarded by the IDF soldiers, but doesn’t show up in that dangerous place. After a year of extensive missile attacks from Gaza, municipality still failed to prepare two-thirds of Sderot bomb shelters for use.

Work time increased 20%, salaries 25%. Teachers will spend only 2/3 of the paid time for teaching, and discharge unspecified administrative duties for the rest of the time paid by taxpayers. 1.1 billion shekels only to implement the changes.

Tzipi Livni opposes the appointment of Haim Ramon a minister in charge of negotiations with Palestinians. Israeli government routinely invents portfolios to reward loyalists. Ramon lost his previous position as Justice Minister for forcibly kissing a Jewish girl. Livni objects to Ramon’s ministerial appointment on pragmatic basis: she wants to control negotiations with Palestinian Arabs.

agrees with the IDF human resources’ demand of integrated religious-atheist platoons. Religious Jews who occupy themselves 16 hours a day with studying Judaism are not obliged to join the IDF but many do – on the condition that they serve in separate units which allow them to discharge religious duties. The demand of religious-atheist integration will force the religious Jews to avoid the army. Religious Jews are commonly considered excellent, highly motivated soldiers. The IDF’s conflict with religious soldiers flared after they refused to evict the Jews from Gaza communities.

Mazab Bashir who works for humanitarian NGO Doctors Without Borders also planned to murder a Jew David Beeri. David heads the organization which buys Arab houses in Jerusalem for free market prices in goodwill transactions.
The would-be assassin, when arrested, frankly told Israeli security service SHABAK about his plans to kill Olmert. The Arab murderer will receive about five-year sentence and be freed in prisoners swap. Shortly, Bashir will have a second chance to murder Jews.