If Hamas really intended to kill scores of Jews, say, in a sarin gas attack in an Israeli movie theater, they could do it right now. If a crazy Japanese cult could do it in a subway, Hamas could certainly pull it off even more easily. But in the weird calculus and unwritten rules of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, both Israel and Hamas fully realize that such an attack would be an "escalation", and Israel would respond accordingly. (I read a recent interview with a Hamas leader in which he admitted this was the case) I agree, it seems downright bizarre in light of the horror of what already happens all too often in suicide bombings, but it's true.