This evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement via his Facebook page explaining that while Israel may need to take “harsher military action,” he wants to exhaust all ceasefire possibilities before doing so.
I realize that there are citizens who expect a harsher military action and we may very well need to do that. But at present, the right thing for the State of Israel is to exhaust this possibility of reaching a long-term cease-fire. As Prime Minister, I have the responsibility, and it is the highest responsibility, to make the right steps to ensure our security. That is what I have done and it is what I will continue to do.
Netanyahu’s statement that many citizens want more complete military action is a signal that he won’t be sitting around forever as Hamas continues to violate the ceasefire; since the supposed ceasefire, over 20 rockets have been fired into Israel, including one that hurt an 11-year-old. The ceasefire is merely a first step, not a last step. The next step depends on Hamas – and President Obama, who seems unwilling to allow Israel to take the steps necessary to clean out Hamas from the Gaza Strip.