Submitted by Dave Levy, Jun 19, 2007 22:13

Israel has over 5,000 Merkava and Abrams tanks at it's disposal, as well as hundreds of artillery pieces, over 700 state of the art warplanes, 700,000 reservists, thousands of rockets (many with BC warheads), 5,000 bombs including tens of thousands of cluster, smart and bunker busters, a swift boat navy with ship to ship and ship to shore missiles, 5 nuclear carrying submarines of the Dolphin Class, and of course between 200 to 400 high fusion nuclear warheads for their Jericho missiles, and other delivery devices.

So, why be overly concerned about either Fatah OR Hamas, I ask?

It's true that both groups have thousands of automatic weapons..some anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, as well as thousands of RPGs (use most effectively in close quarter combat). They might have some IEDs, supplied by Iran/Syria. They have fired over 1,200 Kassams into Israel...reaching the small city of Sderot, and Ashkelon further north. It's possible they might have a few dozen Katyusha rockets or GRAD Iranian rockets. (Israel's north has been struck for years and still survived, if not aggravated).

The balance sheet is still far one-sided for Israel.

Hamas has been more honest with Israel, in that it tells the truth about it's goals for the destruction of the Jewish state, while Fatah talks from both sides. In fact, both would like to see a Muslim state replacing the Jewish one., and in their own ways strive for this accomplishment.

However, Hamas, like Hezbollah, is driven by religious hatred..not ideology. They cannot tolerate Jewish Zionists. Fatah under Abbas is more realistic, They know they can never by themselves defeat the Jewish military. They also will abide by prior agreements, and have accepted the Road Map (a 2 state solution).

So, it is to Israel's advantage to work with Abbas and Fatah, and marginalize Hamas..make them irrelevant, but at the same time, give priority to Israel's security..and not let up. In other words, be cautious, not foolish. Hamas, will, in time, see the error of their policies, and acquiesce to reality. If not, they will continue to rule nothing but 1.4m angry people, in their desert enclave, and on the public dole.

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