The Palestinian militant group Hamas announced its threat to restart attacks on

The military wing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has threatened to resume attacks on Israel, ending a ceasefire declared in February 2005. The announcement on the group’s website followed the killing of 7 Palestinians including 3 children on a beach in Gaza. These killings have the potential to tip the conflict here into a new phase. In January, the Palestinian Islamic Movement Hamas took power in parliamentary elections. Since then, attention has focused mainly on the efforts of Israel and the international community to back Hamas into a corner, forcing it to renounce violence and to accept the existence of the Jewish state. In past years, Hamas has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings and other attacks. But for some 16 months, it’s largely forsworn violence. Now, faced with what it views as a massacre of innocent Palestinian civilians, Hamas’s armed wing has felt compelled to respond. An official statement threatens new attacks inside Israel,and at a time and place of its choosing.