Predictably, it did not take that long for the ill fated deal with Hezbollah to have repercussions on other fronts: a day after another qassam rocket was launched from Gaza into southern Israeli – a clear breach of the truce by Hamas – Israel decided to close the crossings into the Strip. Hamas’s response? To suspend talks on Gilad Shalit’s release. As a Hamas spokesman said, “After the prisoner swap deal between Israel and Lebanon, according to which Lebanese prisoner Samir Kuntar is slated to go free, Israel is expected to display greater flexibility in talks over a prisoner swap with Hamas.”

Indeed they are. Now every time Israel dares respond to Hamas’s outrageous behavior, Shalit’s life will be used as a gentle reminder to Israel’s government that they’d better not overplay their hand. When the deal with Hezbollah was announced last week, Israel’s security and intelligence heads spoke against it on account of the grievous harm it would cause to Israeli deterrence. It did not take long for Hamas to prove them right.