David Bedein

Israel is reflexively reacting to Hamas and is basically following the latter's script, without any policy or goals of its own.Also detailed:-U.S. Endorses Abbas-Hamas Vows To Target Ashkelon-Israel Government Wanton Neglect Of Shelters In South

It can now be revealed that Hamas demanded that Israel release dozens of Israeli Arab convicts who are imprisoned for security offenses in exchange for the release of Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was captured last June by Palestinians. Israel summarily rejected the demand to release Israeli Arab security convicts.

The timing of the attack coincided with the preplanned visit to Sderot of Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who accompanied European Union envoy Javier Solana to a meeting at the Sderot municipality, where Livni had announced earlier in the day that she wanted to acquaint Solana with the human implications of the missile attacks on Sderot.

Chronicle of the weekend and eye-witness reports from the scenes of incessant rocket fire in Sderot.

A source in the prime minister's office did say to the leading Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, that in the event of continued rocket fire, the prime minister may authorize attacks targeting Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. However, no large-scale incursion into the Gaza Strip has yet been announced despite Hamas' efforts to bring Israel into its conflict.

Replacing names of Jewish educational institutions in Philadelphia with names of donors is not a new phenomenon. The Moses Dropsie College was renamed for Walter Annenberg, while the Solomon Schechter school has been renamed the Raymond and Ruth Perelman.

Hamas, the ruling faction of the Palestinian Authority government, took credit last night for firing 21 missiles into Sderot, the main city of Israel's Western Negev southern region.

Over the past seven years, eight people, most of them residents of Sderot, have been killed by the Gaza missiles. On Sunday, the families had a meeting organized by Alon Davidi, head of the "Sderot Security Advocacy Council." Their lawyers explained the expected legal procedure to the families.

The Israel Defense Forces Southern Command is pressing the Israeli government for a major ground operation into Gaza. Israel Defense Forces Southern Commander Yaakov Galant has adamantly asserted that the Hamas army must be weakened immediately or it will become as strong as Hezbollah.

The representative, Serge Bardugo, who served in the past as the Moroccan tourism minister, has already made a number of secret trips to Jerusalem in the past number of months, in the course of which he met with members of the Israeli Knesset and other political officials.