Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak (front, L) sits across from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem November 11, 2012. Israel said it was poised to escalate attacks on the Gaza Strip on Sunday following a surge of rocket and mortar salvoes by Hamas and other factions in the Palestinian enclave. But conservative Netanyahu may be reluctant to seem weak ahead of a Jan. 22 general election that opinion polls currently predict he will win. Barak, a centrist in Israel's coalition government, played down speculation that the upcoming election was affecting Gaza policy. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)