But Shlomo Brom, a former head of the army's strategic planning, disagrees.

ECONOMIST: Israel and Palestine

Mr. SHLOMO BROM (Tel Aviv University): The purpose of the dialogue is simply to clarify, to find out how far we can go with Hamas.

NPR: Israelis, Government Divided on Dealing with Hamas

Oren reported that ahead of Obama's meeting this month with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, retired IDF brigadier generals Shlomo Brom, Udi Dekel and Baruch Spiegel met secretly in Rome with retired US rear admiral John Sigler who heads the Middle East research institute at the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Israel's ruling class