Netanyahu Raises Prospect of Ground Invasion of Gaza

Egypt Predicts Ceasefire in Two Days

by Jason Ditz,

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The fourth day of Israeli attacks against the Gaza Strip continued, killing at least seven people, including three civilians. The toll of the recent bombing campaign so far is 25 killed.
Egypt’s envoy to the Palestinian Authority downplayed the continued violence, saying he believed that a ceasefire would be finalized within the next 48 hours. Israeli officials, however, seem to dispute that.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is openly talking of a full-scale ground invasion, and the Israeli military says it is “ready” to launch such an operation, the first of its kind since 2009′s Cast Lead, which killed about 1,400 people.
Meanwhile Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that rockets fired in retaliation to Israel’s attacks meant the Palestinians no longer would be allowed to have a territorially contiguous state. The Palestinians “have condemned themselves to a separation that looks like it will continue for generations,” he said.