Word: amirs
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...have no intention of drowning in the Gaza swamp." --AMIR PERETZ, Israeli Defense Minister, saying his country does not plan to fully reoccupy Gaza. Israel seized three small sectors of the territory last week as a buffer against Palestinian missile fire, which has showered southern Israel since hostilities escalated two weeks ago following the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants...
...Given the expanded objectives of the Israeli campaign and the possibility that the escalation of fighting creates its own momentum, Israel's original purpose in reentering Gaza might soon be forgotten. "We have no intention of drowning in the Gaza swamp," said Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz Thursday, adding that if Shalit is returned the troops will pull back. But it is the confrontation in northern Gaza, far away from where Shalit is believed to be held, that threatens to spiral out of control...
...focus in the days and weeks ahead is on immediate military action, in the long term Olmert's choices are unpalatable: He can heed right-wingers such as former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and simply reoccupy Gaza, or he can follow the advice of those, like his Defense Minister Amir Peretz, who insist that Israel's security ultimately requires a peace agreement with the Palestinians. The latter, of course, means dealing with a credible Palestinian government - and for the foreseeable future, Hamas would likely be the leading element of such a government. As remote as the possibility of an Israel...
...Threatening Hamas leaders is not enough for some Israelis. Senior military figures have repeatedly floated the idea of invading Gaza, an option Defense Minister Amir Peretz is loathe to embrace because it would mean reoccupying hostile territory without resolving the causes of the conflict. "They could go in," says Galia Golan, Professor of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, "but how would they get out?" Golan believes that Defense Minister Peretz, leader of the Labor Party, sees a negotiated political solution as the only chance for long-term stability. That's a difficult argument to sustain...
...private. Ahmadinejad, for his part, has suppressed dissent and marginalized political opponents whom Khamenei considers a threat. Officials and outside analysts say Khamenei has never felt so in control. "Khamenei feels the President shares his values, so he sees the government as stronger and more stable than before," says Amir Mohebian, an analyst with close ties to prominent conservative officials...