A bloody stalemate

The murder of the innocent woman in Sderot is another step in the escalation caused by the Hamas' decision to reduce the profile of the internecine strife by attacking Israel.

At the moment it looks that further escalation is the only way, judging by this:

The Popular Resistance Committees' military wing, which claimed responsibility for the barrage of Qassam rockets on Sderot that killed one woman on Monday said it would continue to fire rockets at Israel. The group's spokesman, Abu Abir, said that the salvo was timed to coincide with the Israeli television news edition.

The Israeli government, under relentless pressure of public opinion, cannot ignore the Qassams and does not have a solution other than a full-blown occupation of the Gaza strip, which will be a bloody, long and dangerous operation. Thus the tough rhetoric:

"We'll shoot till they say 'stop'!" a defense establishment source told Ynet on Thursday after IDF activity in the Gaza Strip was expanded. "We plan to operate against those who are guilty, not around them; they will be the ones to pay the price. We are aware of their Qassam launching abilities, but the more they launch, the more they will get back," the source said.

There is no visible way for both sides to back out of the corner they have painted themselves in, and until the fatal decision by IDF to go in is finalized, the violence will only escalate.

Too bad...

***