The Hamas renegades who kidnapped Shalit would love for Israel to murder the PM, ensuring that a state of war will be made permanent.

You're kidding, right?

Surely you didn't just wake up and notice Israel exists. ...their entire military history.

If Hamas were to declare open war on Israel, it would signal the end of Hamas, veritably guaranteeing that a state of war NOT be permanent.

Good grief, bud, grab a military history book and read up.

Isreal's view of the matter is rather simple. The head of the pal government is the head of a terrorist group. Its like as if Osama bin Laden was elected head of the Afghan government. Their view is, elected or not, if they don't get their guy back, they are going to take it out on that terrorist scumbag.

If Osama bin Laden became the head of a government, would we refrain from killing or capturing him?

I wouldn't.

If Isreal is telling the truth, then I support it. Do what you have to do.

If the rest of the world doesn't get that, well, f--- them.

I don't know whether the threat was a good idea or not, but its merits have nothing to do with phony international sympathy. People are sympathetic when the Jews are victims, but the whole point is not to be a victim, even if that loses some sympathy. What good is sympathy to people who are being killed?

President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Graceland on Friday....

First things first, palestine is not a "State"
and hasn't been since King David gave them the boot and built Jerusalem as his Capitol.

Second, the bulk of the world hates Israel anyway.
and 9 out of ten arabs in the street have bought in to the Israel must be purged from the earth ideology

If the Secular Israeli gov't is beginning to grow cojones perhaps they have achance at survival. Screw world opinion, as long as the US doesn't five up on Israel it will all be Ok in the end.

Then tell Hamas and Fatah both that any future attacks on Israel will trigger the same policy - Israel will choose one Hamas (or Fatah) member for assassination and expect them to choose another member to die with them or ten (10) other will die in the one's place.

Then make damn sure that THEY DO IT!!

Again, though, the propaganda value to Hamas and the Palestinians of an Israeli murder of an elected head of state would be tremendous.

With all due respect, sir, the propoganda value of just about everything Israel does is 'tremendous' and the efforts to exploit them are persistent and relentless.

Quite simply, because Haniyeh was duly elected by the Palestinian people does not expunge his role as a leader of a terrorist organization with much Israeli civilian blood on his/their hands.

If David Duke or a Grand Wizard of the KKK, for instance, were elected President of the United States, would either no longer bear responsibility for the actions of the groups they lead aside from political office?

Dig a little bit deeper and ask where Hamas obtained the advanced anti-tank missiles fired that took out a Merkava tank (considered by many the finest in the world, including the M1A2 Abrams) in the tunnel raid that netted Hamas Cpl. Shalit to begin with.

Please consider this from Anatomy of An Attack: The Palestinian Tunnel Raid:

This is likely part of the �new capabilities� that Hamas promised recently. Abu Abdullah, Izzadin el-Kassam�s commander, recently warned of a �unique response� to Israel and went so far as to declare Hamas� new capabilities, admitting this to be their principal objective during the recently abandoned informal cease-fire with Israel. Abdullah told Aaron Klein, �In the last 15 months, even though the fighters of Hamas kept the cease-fire, we did not stop making important advancements and professional training on the military level. In the future, after Hamas is obliged to stop the cease-fire, the world shall see our new military capabilities.� Now that Hamas has determined themselves �obliged to stop the cease-fire,� the tunnel system and the effective anti-tank missiles are certainly part the �new military capabilities� for a terrorist group once relegated to attacking the mighty Merkava tank with RPG�s and roadside bombs.

For those who wish to draw the (intentionally obscuring) distinction, "Izzadin el-Kassam" is the 'military' wing of Hamas.

Again for those who wish to draw such distinctions, is the 'military wing' of the United States responsible for the invasion of Afghanistan or Iraq or prosecuting the (visible) War on Terror? Or is it, perhaps, guided and directed by the duly elected government of the United States?

No one wants to hand anything of propoganda value over to the enemy. However, again with all due respect, James, perhaps the concern over propganda value in this instance is a concern tied more closely to international relations nuance than fundamental principle.

With countless buses and restaurants (and their civilian occupants) in Israel intentionally targeted by terrorists, coupled with the emergence of kidnap & execution as a new Hamas (et al) tactic, at some point enough must be enough.

Perhaps Israel is simply at that point, and their concern for Int'l nuance is trumped by the security of their civilian population.

Very serious news. One that is likely to cause Israel to lose support in its showdown at the moment.

But.............