IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz said Sunday that speculations about an upcoming war with Syria were premature and exaggerated, Army Radio reported. "Damascus may be pulling the strings, but we have lowered the temperature on the northern front," Halutz declared at the weekly cabinet meeting. He did not, however, reject the possibility of a future confrontation. "[These speculations are untrue], but we are always assessing," he said, adding that "the Syrians, too, have heard these expressions. Sometimes speculation can lead to a result that no one wants." He cautioned, however, that Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah was increasing his efforts to bring down the current anti-Syrian Lebanese government.
Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin, meanwhile, said at the meeting that the unprecedented level of violence last week between Fatah and Hamas has increased the chance of a Palestinian unity government. "The violence between the two factions is the worst that we've had in a long time, with 20 killed in one week," Diskin said. "Most of the violence is Hamas members killing Fatah members. But as the violence gets worse, the chances are better that there will be a national unity government."
Diskin elaborated further about estimated progress with the formation of a unity government, saying that a deal was in the works. "There's growing talk on the Palestinian street of a unity government which would include Ismail Haniyeh as prime minister, Salaam Fayad as finance minister, and an interior minister from the outside who would be agreeable to both."