By Ephraim Halevy 

Three policies have typified Israel's strategy in the region ever since the masses began forcing change all around us: blocking, rolling back and waiting. 

We blocked the masses who thronged on our borders solely by means of weapons; we are bracing ourselves for additional surges on our borders and are focusing our diplomatic efforts on blocking the Palestinian Authority's initiative in the UN General Assembly in September. We are trying to roll back the Fatah-Hamas agreement, and are demanding that Abu Mazen tear up the document of understandings as a precondition for the resumption of negotiations with Israel. We are stockpiling more efficient and new weaponry, and are preparing the troops for a series of identifiable threats, such as the Iranian threat and the threats posed by Hamas and Hizbullah, and for threats that have yet to be identified. Succinctly put, the troops are being prepared for surprises that are larger than the ones we have already had to cope with to date.