Given Egypt's near-catastrophic economic situation Egyptian President Morsi's room for manoeuvre is limited.

The so-called "Arab spring" was really a cluster of hunger riots that deposed geriatric autocrats. If the new leaders do not improve the lot of their long-suffering people they too will face hunger riots.

Egypt especially faces the problem of a still rapidly growing population, massive youth unemployment and under-employment, poverty, illiteracy and a rising bill for imported food.(It is the world's largest wheat importer.)

Instability drives tourists and investment away.

However much Morsi may bluster in public he will surely be trying to calm Hamas down.

I have a feeling most Egyptians would prefer a job before a confrontation with Israel or anybody else.

NB: As ever I am merely commenting on the strategic situation - which in Egypt's case is not good.

I shall not be entering the debate on the rights and wrongs of Israel.

I've been raising the possibility of Israel driving the Gazans into the Mediterranean or into Egypt for quite some time. Perhaps this is the moment for them to strike.

With Gaza denuded of Palestians, that only leaves the West Bank to ethnically cleanse which, given the existence of Jewish settlement there, could be accomplished with relative ease.

Then Israel, with help from the U.S., could concentrate on weakening Iran and follow that up with its plans for Greater Israel.

The pieces could be falling into place except that there would be reaction from the Arab Nations which would fear a mega-Israel with good reason.

WW3 will be with us soon. It will be nuclear. And it will involve most of the world.

Kiss your children each night!

"In fact, while the Arab Spring has invigorated nearly every other revanchist political cause under the sun, thus far it hasn't unleashed a surge of anti-Zionist fervour."

By killing the Hamas leader it is apparent that Benjamin Netanyahu is doing his best to make sure that the surge of anti-Zionist fervour is again unleashed.

David

This has more to do with Israeli politics then is does anything else isn't there an elections in a few weeks?

...One obvious attribute of the Jews is their highly successful propensity towards “doing business”. Now is the time (I suggest), to do a deal with the Arabs, sell-off the farm and get the "flock" outa there!

These prognostications overlook the presence of well over five million people in exile while racist interlopers who keep them in exile occupy their homeland. The injustice of the exiling of the Chagossians of Diego Garcia by colonialists may last for ever, because there aren't many of them, but the clamour of the fast-growing population of Palestinian exiles (three million in Gaza alone) for right of return to their occupied homeland is ultimately "too big to fail".

Return is held in check by America's dependence on Israel as a cat's paw in the oil-rich Middle East, but this can last only as long as the oil does. Then good bye America's military and financial backing for Israel, the exiles will repossess their homeland and the racist settlers will have to return to theirs.

Meanwhile the world will continue to lose patience with Israel, a process the assiduous Israel lobbies won't be able to stem.