“If the Palestinians think that unilateral moves are a one-way street, they are sadly mistaken. It is an option that both sides have,” said the [defense ministry] source.

There was some speculation that Israel may be considering reviving aspects of former prime minister Ehud Olmert’s “convergence” ideas for a unilateral withdrawal from isolated parts of the West Bank, evacuating settlements and deploying soldiers there instead. But there was no official confirmation on Thursday night of any such plans and a settler source dismissed the notion as nonsense.