(UPDATED below) I'm ignorant on a lot of things Israeli/Palestinean, but I was reading about this poor kidnapped kid and trying to figure out what the heck is going on. The reports are kind of confusing, and I wonder if not missing some critical subtext.

So, Gilad Shalit is serving his stint in the IDF, and his checkpoint was attacked by Palestineans. No article seems to mention which specific groups were involved, but apparently in response the IDF has arrested a number of ministers in the Palestinean government, presumably most or all of them Hamas. Now, Hamas has been involved in all sorts of ugly violence over the years, but no one seems to be claiming that they're holding onto the kid.

Is this just how business gets done these days in the Middle East? One would think that with the proximity and history between the Israelis and Palestineans the IDF would be able to decyper the situation and target people who are more directly responsible. I mean, this seems almost as dense as our handling of sectarian issues in Iraq, but at least we're half a world away (although that's still no excuse).

Anyway, it seems like I'm missing something. Anyone care to put a lightbulb over my head?

UPDATE: I see now that the kidnappers are identified as "identified with Hamas" and that also "Hamas may be willing to release the solder," so clearly they're in control. Still, seems odd. Like, was this a freelance kidnapping, or was it planned? Did the abductors think they'd get a promotion for showing initiative, or were they acting on orders? Murky.