On the night of June 30, after the discovery of the bodies of the three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped and murdered, allegedly by Hamas, near Hebron, the Israeli air force struck 34 Hamas-affiliated targets in the Gaza Strip. Heavy plumes of dust shot up in the air and deafening noises were heard all around. But once the dust settled and the noise subsided, it turned out that the strikes were aimed primarily at what is referred to in military jargon as “real-estate targets.” The IAF attacked launching positions, unmanned outposts, ammunition depots and rocket production facilities.

The commotion only intensified Israeli frustration over the very limited “tools” available to the leadership in the wake of such a terrorist act. If Benjamin Netanyahu had been the chairman of the opposition right now and not the prime minister, he would have raised hell. He would have raised a belligerent hue and cry, clamoring for an immediate invasion of Gaza and the eradication of Hamas and its rule. He would have demanded to stamp out the terrorist cells to bring peace and quiet to Israel.

How do I know this? I know this because on the eve of Operation Cast Lead at the end of 2008, Netanyahu was chairman of the opposition and Ehud Olmert was the prime minister. Israel’s southern border communities came under heavy rocket barrages from Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Showing up in the city of Ashkelon and looking toward Gaza in the south, Netanyahu declared that when he rose to power he would neither blink nor hesitate. He would go into Gaza, topple Hamas and put an end to that story.

Well, a few months later Netanyahu became the prime minister. Today, Israel’s political right misses Olmert, who at least tried going into Gaza to do something there. And what about Netanyahu? He did not dare do even that.