Talks not bombs

THE first thing to understand about the war that recently broke out in Israel and the Gaza Strip is that Hamas has recently been upping the ante.

Almost four years ago, the Jewish state pummelled Gaza in response to rocket fire into southern Israel. And for a time afterward, the rocket fire diminished. But it has been rising again. There were 365 rocket and mortar attacks from Gaza in 2010, 680 in 2011, and 800 so far in 2012 — 171 in October alone.

It is not clear why the attacks have increased. Hamas may have felt Israel would not respond aggressively for fear of angering Egypt’s new, more assertive Islamist regime. It may have wanted to upstage its rival, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who may boost his stature among Palestinians this month when he seeks “non-state” membership at the UN.