Israeli Defense Minister Condoleezza Rice

Israel will not commit to a long-term operation in Gaza unless it has Condoleezza Rice's approval:

The government has yet to define or approve the overall goals of the current military campaign in the Gaza Strip, and will wait until Wednesday - after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit - to do so, senior government officials said Sunday night.

...The official said it was no coincidence that the security cabinet was not meeting until Wednesday to discuss the government's goals and aims in Gaza, after the Rice visit, to see if her intervention would put an end to Hamas's rocket fire.

The officials said that if Rice were able to bring about calm by getting Hamas to stop the attacks, it was unlikely that the government would go ahead on Wednesday and okay a widespread ground push into Gaza.

Rice is scheduled to go to Egypt before coming to Israel on Tuesday. Since most of the international community does not talk directly to Hamas, Egypt is the mediator.

Senior government officials said the IDF was likely to scale back its activities on Monday night, so as not to embarrass Rice with a major conflagration when she arrived on Tuesday.

It's good to know that Israel finally has its priorities straight when it come to protecting its citizens from Hamas terror attacks.

See also: Israel Looking Over It's Shoulder Before Deciding On Major Operation

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