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My question is this-what was Hamas's strategy in going into Israel and capturing a soldier? Did they not think they were inviting trouble by taking that action? It was not enough that Israel uprooted it's own people out of Gaza in order to bow to world pressure that obviously sucks up to the Arabs. Now the Arabs think they can go into Israeli territory on raids, kidnap their people and make more demands. I say full-throttle Israel! And if this young man is still alive and okay why has there been no proof other than a lying Arab saying it is so?

Sometimes, when you're the "victim", you need to be attacked so everyone will feel sorry for you. They'll excuse all your past sins (oh, you poor darling!) and punish the ones who are picking on you.

Yep, worked for my brother. He'd pull my hair, when whine to Mommy when I pulled his back. Then, while I stood in the corner, he'd laugh! I have no sympathy for the Palestinians, none. I'm sure they attended the Rev-uh-rend Jessie Jackson's "How to be a Professional Victim and Win Lots of Money in 3 Days" at the local Holiday Inn!

That's a good question.

There are those who say that the Gaza-based Hamas didn't plan this, that it was planned by Kaled Meshaal in Damascus and carried out by some partisans. Why would he do it? Maybe because he didn't like the steps that the Gaza Hamas was taking to form a "unity government" with the PLO/Fatah. So he ordered this attack knowing that it would put the local Hamas in a bind.

Now the local Hamas does not want to reveal that it is not in control of itself, that outsiders from Damascus can control actions taken in their name. So from that point of view, they had to take responsibility. Furthermore, Hamas has very few friends, and does not want to risk alienating Meshaal who has been helping them smuggle in weapons and cash. And Meshaal does not want to lose his influence. He gains by having Hamas ostracized, so he does not want to see the Gaza Hamas make a deal with Fatah that would mean ending conflict with Israel and resuming EU/US aid to the PA.

Another factor to consider is how Hamas has conducted its PR this last year. Hamas claims that its fighting is what caused Israel to leave Gaza. In part that is how they won the election. They have also claimed this kidnapping as a victory. So they cannot go backwards. Releasing him would cause them to lose a lot of face both inside Gaza and with Damascus and Tehran.

They don't have many choices. They could either lose a lot of face, accept the quartet demands and make a deal with the PLO (which they sort of did already, though not a good one and one that caused Meshaal to react), or they can bunker down and fight like Meshaal wants them to. Looks like they have chosen the latter.