Just days after Israel completed its withdrawal of forces from the Gaza Strip under the banner of a cease-fire, Hamas is hard at work making sure it can resume its terror as soon as possible, as Abe noted yesterday. According to one report, as many as ten mortars and rockets were fired at Israel yesterday, in addition to two separate shooting attacks on IDF troops the day before. And according to today’s Jerusalem Post, smuggling through the tunnels has resumed.

At this rate, Israel will be hard pressed to hold its fire for long, at least on a small scale. Meanwhile, international reconstruction efforts are being held up until parties can find a way to rebuild Gaza without rebuilding Hamas. With Israelis focused increasingly on the upcoming election, we should not expect a major breakthrough, nor a serious renewal of hostilities — something that would prove to Israeli voters that the ceasefire was a mistake.

What a mess.