In the days since a fragile ceasefire took hold in the Gaza Strip, Israel has launched a major military operation in the occupied West Bank and suspected Jewish settlers have rampaged through two Palestinian towns.

The official reason for the clampdown given by the idf was a spate of shootings and stabbings in recent weeks, in the West Bank and in Tel Aviv, and explosive devices hidden on the roads which killed and wounded Israeli civilians and troops.

The Israelis being returned by Hamas were criminally kidnapped. Getting them back isn't a fair 'deal'; it's extortion, says a reader.