Hamas
The $15 million assistance from Qatar was to be the third installment approved by Israel’s government in what officials see as a way to ease tensions and avoid a potential humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
The Palestinian rioters were seen throwing rocks, firebombs and hand grenades at IDF soldiers, while also burning tires and trying to breach the border fence
Qatar began making the monthly money transfers to Gaza last year as a way of mitigating the ongoing humanitarian crisis there.
The military’s state of readiness has dramatically improved, according to internal reports, but a senior analyst told JNS it had a lot more catching up to do after years of neglecting the ground forces, which will be essential for defeating enemies like Hezbollah decisively.
Ties between Hamas and Iran have grown over the past couple of years. Hamas initially opposed the Assad regime following the onset of Syria’s civil war, leading Iran to virtually sever ties to the terrorist organization.
“After the last round, I thought there would be a ceasefire for a few months before it all began again,” said Ariel Shagerman of Kibbutz Or Haner, where the rocket landed.
In the last Palestinian elections held in 2006, Hamas won a clear majority of Parliamentary seats in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The IDF is taking the Palestinian factions’ threat of a “harsh response” seriously, but has not deployed additional forces in the area at this time.
Just 42 percent of people would vote for current incumbent Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah Party, who in January begin his 15th year of an initial four-year elected term.
Past experience indicates that Hamas will not be in any rush to slow down its West Bank terrorism program, even if this ends up placing its Gazan regime in Israel’s sights.
In the Gaza Strip, Hamas warned that additional terrorist attacks were in the works, predicting that they will “set the West Bank on fire.”
In light of the latest attacks, Special Envoy for Middle East Affairs Jason Greenblatt called out member states that voted against or abstained from a U.N. General Assembly resolution last week that required a two-thirds majority to pass condemning Hamas.
