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Source: https://www.inss.org.il/publication/hamas-reason/
Time for Israel to Deprive Hamas in Gaza of Its Power of Extortion
(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Udi Dekel - In recent days, Hamas has sought to wage a campaign of attrition that will exhaust Israel through an ongoing campaign of harassment on a number of fronts: terrorism and mob violence from Gaza, incitement in Jerusalem, rocket fire from Lebanon, and encouragement of terrorism in the West Bank. Current efforts to reach understandings and even an arrangement with Hamas weaken the PA and contribute to its image as an irrelevant partner for a political process, while further damaging the PA's legitimacy. Israel's current policy of conflict management, instead of changing the rules of the game and acting in a proactive and unexpected way, means continuing to act according to the extortion rules defined by Hamas. The writer, former head of the IDF Strategic Planning Division, is Managing Director of INSS.