...if you are a suicide bomber sworn to die anyway, why not trade your bomb for a gun and open fire on soldiers, who are not exactly difficult to find in Israel? The only real answer to this question is that the Palestinian organizations have wanted to kill civilians rather than soldiers because this is precisely the message they have wished to deliver - namely, that their enemy is not specifically the Israeli "occupation," nor even the Israeli army, but the entire Jewish population of Israel.

And it is because of this, too, that the Israeli response to Sunday's raid should not be Chief-of-Staff Halutz's. Rather, it should be: "Fair enough! You fought this time like soldiers rather than like terrorists - we will treat you this time like soldiers rather than like terrorists."...

...Israel should therefore say to this government: "The charade is over. While we are willing to negotiate through neutral parties a prisoner exchange involving Gilad Shalit, we are also declaring war on you. From now on we will treat you as any country treats another country it is at war with. We will close all our borders with you, cease providing you with all services, and consider any branch of your government, any of its members, and anyone on your side contributing to your military effort, legitimate war targets. We will do our very best to avoid harming civilians, and we will expect you to do the same, but anyone else, from Prime Minister Ismail Heniya down, is from now until further notice a legitimate target. And when you're ready to sue for peace-and-quiet, let us know."

Rest assured that Hamas will sue fast. This time, though, Israel will have to insist that the quiet, if not the peace, be real and lasting.