[KevinTheOmnivore]

This "escalation" came off of weeks of the U.S. and British negotiating to secure the prison. Both nations made it very clear that they'd leave if the prison wasn't made more secure, and they kept good on the promise.

I'm not sure how I feel about Israel's actions here, because I think it may have been precisely what Hamas wanted. Say you'll let the criminals go, goad Israel, and bam!.....top story on the BBC. I know it put Israel in a tough position, and it's unacceptable for Hamas to just let terrorists walk free.

And if I see one more story lead with "thus further undermining Abbas" I'm gonna go nuts. Abbas became irrelevant the moment Hamas took power. He has no power over them, and they will sink with that ship.