The question now is whether Israel will recognize Palestine…or Palestinians for that matter…

Palestinian militant group Hamas has agreed to a document backing a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel, officials say.

The initiative, devised by prisoners held in Israeli jails, implicitly recognises the Jewish state. [BBC]

UPDATE: looks like the media got ahead of itself…

However, Hamas negotiators have denied earlier reports that the deal meant the militants would implicitly recognise Israel - a major policy shift. The full text of the accord has not yet been released. A Hamas minister said it did not have “one word” on the issue. [BBC]

Meanwhile thousands of Israeli troops have massed on the Gaza border poised for an offensive after the kidnapping of a teenage soldier but the United States appealed for restraint. Good cop bad cop?

Shakespeare makes life simple…

“Cry ‘havoc!’ and let loose the dogs of war, that this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial.”

Antony, in Julius Caesar, Act 3, Sc. 1.