By: Tovah Lazaroff; The Jerusalem Post – jpost.com
Israel is prepared for “a large scale military operation in Gaza” if calm cannot be maintained, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, during a visit to Ashkelon.
“I prefer to maintain the tranquility, although we do not have the illusion that it is possible to reach a political agreement with this group [Hamas] that wants to wipe the State of Israel off the face of the earth,” Netanyahu said. “We are preparing for the offensive side, and the campaign is not only going to be broad, but also surprising.”