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Do Netanyahu's policies allow Hamas to get stronger?

The Israeli political class, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog, offer little solution to the threat posed by Hamas.
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“After the [2014] Protective Edge campaign, the blabbermouths promised us that there would be deterrence and quiet for many long years. But it turns out that [Hamas leader Ismail] Haniyeh isn’t afraid of [Education Minister Naftali] Bennett, and [Hamas army branch commander] Mohammed Deif couldn’t care less about [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu. The time has come to establish an Israeli government whose leaders will keep their mouths shut but give the enemy hell.” These were the final words of a belligerent announcement released April 18 by opposition leader Isaac Herzog, after the media broke news of the cross-border attack tunnel that was dug by Hamas from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory.

Herzog's words were so combative that one might have been fooled into thinking that the announcement had been released by the office of former Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman. Yisrael Beitenu leader Liberman has argued several times in recent years that the solution in Gaza must involve Israeli land forces entering and conquering Gaza.

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