Kadima leader Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni vowed that if she forms the next government, she "would topple Hamas in Gaza with military, economic and diplomatic means." She told a Kadima party meeting, "As long as Israel is fired upon, Israel must respond to restore its deterrence and stop the fire."
The Foreign Minister's campaign pledges have increased tensions between her and Labor party chairman Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who has defended the June 19 ceasefire agreement as having been the right action at the right time.