In the geographic area of Israel, it's a tangled web of competing political ambitions, religious fervor, religious dogma, tribal blood feuds and vendettas dating back into pre-history - as just about everybody should know by now.

So we regard the break-down of the semi-ceasefire between the terrorist group Hamas and the Israeli Government as inevitable as day giving way to night.   It was never of  question of if, but when. 

We know what much of the main stream media is not pointing out this go-around.... the 300 ton pink elephant in the room is that the Hamas leadership doesn't pass wind without the permission of their masters in Tehran.  While there are lots of facets of the tangled web of overlapping intrigue to point towards as the catalyst for this latest round of violence - internal Palestinian power struggles, intrigue associated with the hostility of Egypt towards Hamas, Israeli hostility and so forth, the reality is it's Iran that chooses the time and the place for Hamas to resume fighting. 

And choose they have.

We view this as Iran's opening gambit in dealing with Obama.  The initial part of the test Vice-President Elect Joe Biden predicted would come.  Iran wants to size up how Obama reacts to a little contrived mini-crisis.  Iran wants to see how Obama postures with an aroused Israel, and it's blood thirsty opposition.  And depending on what the Iranians observe, this will set the stage for either bold moves, or a temporary return to more-or-less geo-political stasis, until they test their first nuke perhaps.

The game is afoot, and the first moves have been made.