For the fourth time since Hamas violently overthrew the Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership in the Gaza Strip in 2007, Israel and Hamas engaged in prolonged major clashes. Hamas fired 4000 plus rockets indiscriminately into Israeli population centers with Israel responding with rocket and bombing forays into the Gaza Strip. With the PA on popular decline in the West Bank and among younger Palestinians, Hamas sought to assert itself in intra-Palestinian politics.  Egypt led in arranging a cease-fire, after 250 Palestinians and more than a dozen Israelis died. Hamas admitted at the end of May that it had placed military centers in civilian population areas. Social media platforms generally blistered Israel for her military action. Though the clashes took place while Israel was in the throes of establishing a new coalition government, that process went forward barely affected.