Gaza strife spells good news for Netanyahu

Gloria Salt:

The more chaos reigns in Gaza – particularly chaos that affects nearby Israeli population centers – the rosier Netanyahu’s prospects become (a sobering thought, when we recall his last rather ignominious tenure as prime minister after Rabin’s assassination). But let’s not count his chickens quite yet. The vote to advance the primary will be among Likud members, a small minority of actual Likud voters, and they do not include too many resounding supporters of Bibi. Still, the situation is delicate. The question now is whether Sharon will feel it necessary to do something really dramatic (read: really violent) to ensure Likud confidence in his determination to fight Palestinian terror. Hamas is well aware of Sharon’s position, and may well attempt to call his bluff with a serious escalation. If he elects not to rise to the bait, Hamas may ultimately be able to add regime change in Israel to their list of dubious accomplishments.