The two frontrunners in the race to become prime minister (of Israel) after a snap election in February both vowed to topple Hamas, which has run Gaza since violently seizing power there in June 2007.

Militant rocket and mortar fire continued on Sunday, the Israeli army said, reporting that one person was slightly wounded. A Palestinian medic said a woman had been injured in northern Gaza by shrapnel from a tank shell but the military denied firing in the area.

“Israel must topple the Hamas rule in Gaza and a government under my command will do just that,” Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, leader of the governing Kadima party, was quoted as saying by Israeli media.

“Israel must react when it is fired upon, must re-establish its force of dissuasion and stop the rockets.”

Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud party which is leading in opinion polls, echoed the sentiment.

“In the long run, we have no choice but to topple Hamas rule,” he was quoted as saying by the Ynet news website as he toured the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which has borne the brunt of militant rocket attacks from Gaza.

“Right now we have to go from passive response to active assault.”

And if Bibi Netanyahu indicates an assault is called for, chances are good it will occur and is needed.

Knowing this, ships filled with “activists” are arriving in the area:

Gaza – Ma’an – A ship of civil society activists from around the globe arrived in the Gaza Strip from Larnaca Port in Cyprus Saturday morning after being accosted by Israeli warships.

Yoni The Blogger writes, in re the Gaza situation:

So the terrorists can shell Israel with the support of the population of Gaza, and the IDF’s (Israeli Defense Forces) hands are tied by lawyers.

I just don’t have words to show my anger over how sick the decision making process has become when it comes to think about how to best defend the Jewish people.

If we would have operated this way in 1948, Israel would never have been born — we would have been defeated.

Turn the IDF loose with one objective victory and tell the Chief of Staff: “if you can’t produce, resign or be fired.”

Egypt is now weighing in on the Gaza Strip. From The Jerusalem Post:

We say such a move would have devastating consequences, devastating humanitarian consequences,” Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki told the Post in a telephone interview. “This is something we cannot accept or condone under any terms.”

The logic of those persons making decisions for Israel continue to amaze me: why would you possibly go out of your way to not only comfort those who only wish you to fall, but insist on placing them directly next door to your own home?

There will be more violence for Christmas. And the rockets continue.