| Israel needs to avoid a cease fire with Hamas while appearing to favor the idea. In the event of a cease fire, the continuing west bank expansion would then unavoidably leap to the front as the next item on the agenda. Avoiding the cease fire needs to be done in such a way as to make Hamas seem like the unwilling partner. That is difficult to do since it is Hamas idea to begin with. By tangling the Shalit issue with the cease fire, Israel hopes to cloud the issue to the point that the cease fire can be avoided at no apparent fault to themselves. |
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