Everyone expected the Israeli government and Hamas to honour a ceasefire; at least until Barack Obama’s inauguration, to allow the new U.S president time to get his feet under the desk. Rumours had been going around that one of Obama’s first acts would be to convene an Annapolis-style Mid East conference. Not to achieve peace, but to kickstart the kind of diplomatic process the region so sorely needs.
But Hamas’ incessant shelling of southern Israel, its cancellation of a recent truce, and the pressures of the Israeli election –- which have seen the hawkish Likudnik Benjamin Netanyahu take a lead over Tzipi Livni, the pro-peace foreign minister, with Labour’s Ehud Barak struggling for attention –- forced the Israeli government’s hand.
On Saturday, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert launched one of the largest offensives on the Gaza Strip since Israel captured the territory in 1967. Palestinian sources claim at least 271 people have been killed, 180 are believed to be part of Hamas’ security apparatus.
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