Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman asserted that he does not believe that reaching a long-term ceasefire arrangement with Hamas is possible, while stressing that dealing the internationally recognized Palestinian terror group with “a hard blow” would improve the security situation in southern Israel. During a meeting of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the top Israeli defense official underscored that Jerusalem had exhausted all options vis-à-vis the Gaza Strip, forcing Israel to prepare for a military operation that will, once and for all, bring peace and security to the southern communities of Israel. Lieberman further explained that while “the State of Israel does not have the luxury of conducting wars when there is an alternative,” ‘Jerusalem has reached a point in which it exhausted all options and now a decision has to be made.’
