It's hard to fault Israel for reacting to the daily bombardment of its southern villages by terrorists in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Israeli bombing has killed around 300 people, and troops are massed along the border for a likely ground invasion aimed at wiping out the missile factories that are openly tolerated in Gaza. Hamas is fighting a proxy war against Israel, allowing the clandestine rocket attacks against civilian targets in Israel, and pretending it cannot do anything about the people's righteous anger against the Jewish Entity.
But since Hamas took over Gaza from the more moderate Palestinian Fatah party in 2007, it has proven itself to be little more than a military force parading as a sovereign state. Embargoes by Israel and Egypt along Gaza's border have not been effective in keeping military supplies out of Gaza and preventing the missile attacks that have so angered Israelis. The current Israeli attacks, no matter how successful and deadly they might be, are unlikely to put a stop to the missile attacks. At best, Israel can hope to slow down the attacks or achieve a brief hiatus.
Hamas' intransigence also signals a new complication to Middle East peace talks. Israel has been able to achieve a working relationship with Fatah on the West Bank even though Palestinian policy insists that the West Bank (captured by Israel in the 1967 war) and Gaza (also taken in 1967) are unitary. Talk of a Palestinian state involves both the West Bank and Gaza. But what happens if Fatah reaches a peace agreement with Israel while Gaza continues its military assaults? Instead of a two-state solution, which has been the basis for U.S.-led negotiations, there would be a three-state solution — or a three-state stalemate.
Fatah enjoys the support of Iran and Syria. So long as those nations continue to support Fatah, it can prevent a peaceful settlement with Israel. Gaza is the monkey wrench in the gears of Middle East negotiations and will be so long as Iran and Syria support the militant group ruling Gaza.
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