Netanyahu is playing cautious politics here in an ever-cloudy crystal ball. The less fuss in the news, the better, in a perilous time.
Could Israel occupy Gaza? I do not doubt it in the slightest. Would it keep peace in Gaza? Probably so. Would it produce a huge world stink? Why, of course. Would Israel care about the stink? A little, but not enough to stop.
So why doesn’t Israel do it? Because of the erratic Big Ears.
Ceasefire negotiations bring Gaza ground operation closer than ever [Israel and Hamas]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3181458/posts
Israel’s determination to demilitarize Gaza and Hamas’ desire to shed Israeli blood could well mean IDF boots on the ground before calm is restored.
Negotiations for a ceasefire moved into a serious stage on Wednesday night, but - absurdly – an IDF ground operation in Gaza seems closer than ever, and is apparently inevitable.
This is down to the fact that Hamas is now trying with all its might, or rather last of its strength, to gain some kind of operational achievement, one that, if realized, could lead to the deaths of Israeli civilians and soldiers. On Wednesday night, the IDF thwarted a massive infiltration attempt through a tunnel dug in Gaza and emerging near Kibbutz Sufa.
This attempted infiltration was another effort by Hamas to rehabilitate its poor operational image and boost its bargaining power during the negotiations on a ceasefire. The relatively large group of terrorists entered through the tunnel that led under the fence close to Sufa, and were apparently intending a major attack with a high death toll and the abduction of soldiers and civilians. Had this plan succeeded, it would have drastically altered the face of this war.