http://www.mediaite.com/online/israel-is-done-with-ceasefires/Israel Is Done with Ceasefires
by Evan McMurry | 10:30 am, August 2nd, 2014
The Israeli security cabinet decided unanimously that it would no longer pursue ceasefire options with Hamas, declaring late Friday it would pursue military options for defeating its Palestinian opponent in Gaza.
The decision was reached after Hamas broke a 72-hour ceasefire almost immediately Friday, killing two Israeli soldiers and potentially capturing a third.
One Israeli official said the country’s ground operation would continue destroying tunnels Hamas had built into Israeli territory, and that the country would consider withdrawing from Gaza once it felt it had defanged Hamas.
“if we feel that deterrence has been restored, we will leave the [Gaza] Strip on the basis of the ‘quiet for quiet’ principle,” the official said. “If we feel deterrence has not yet been achieved, we will continue the operation inside the Gaza Strip or exit and continue with the aerial bombardment.”
Despite multiple attempts by the U.S., Egypt, the United Nations to broker a variety of temporary ceasefire agreements, fighting has continued almost unabated for three weeks, killing over 1,600 Palestinians and leveling a good amount of Gaza infrastructure.
