Gaza violence: Questions to the Resistance and the enemy

In the latest round of clashes between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza, Islamic Jihad went against the tide by actually retaliating against the continuous Israeli bombardment. In light of its the operation “Breaking the Silence,” one wonders: were the rockets hitting Israel a direct message to the enemy, or a message to all parties staying silent inside Gaza and the outside world?

Islamic Jihad leader, Dr. Ramadan Abdullah Shalah, said that the retaliation was in response to Israeli aggressions while he warned the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah from engaging in a hollow deal brokered by the United States.
Were the rockets hitting Israel a direct message to the enemy, or a message to all parties staying silent inside Gaza and the outside world?

As expected, Shalah didn’t criticize other Palestinian factions involved in the Resistance, making us wonder about Hamas’s true position. In fact, all signs on the ground suggested that Islamic Jihad deliberated with Hamas about the operation. It didn’t seek Hamas’s permission, but it acted reasonably, respecting Hamas’s role as a main partner in the Resistance and its influence inside Gaza. Furthermore, Islamic Jihad was not about to fight the enemy while clashing with other Palestinian factions.

However, Hamas was not being neutral as is often the case with the “disassociation” enthusiasts in other parts of the Arab world. It did take a political position, which was reiterated by the Ezziddin al-Qassam Brigades; however Hamas is quite aware that this is not the right time to wage an open ended war against Israel. Islamic Jihad also acknowledges this fact but the difference between the two is that Hamas is not even interested in getting involved in a single round of clashes, because that would call for an international intervention, while Islamic Jihad can operate on its own.

In fact, Hamas’s political agenda has changed since 2011; hence the Resistance is no longer its ultimate priority. We are not suggesting that Hamas has given up on the Resistance or that it is ready to settle, but the movement is now paying the price of the confusion it created since it supported the Syrian opposition.

Hamas’s actions are still a debatable issue, but in any case all rational people should keep in mind that the Resistance remains the only mean to restore Palestinian rights.

Today, we ask Hamas: isn’t it about time to conduct a comprehensive, transparent and courageous review of the last three years? Isn’t it time to redraw a roadmap that serves only the Resistance?

Israel escalated its assault on the Resistance in Gaza in recent weeks as it is seeking to undermine the measures taken to reinforce the Resistance. In fact, officials in Tel Aviv prefer to engage in dispersed clashes along the Gaza border than to commit to an appeasement that the Resistance may exploit to build tunnels and landmines. Meanwhile, Israel doesn’t seem interested in waging a full-scale war. In any case, the unfolding events can be explained based on the “waiting game” adopted by the enemy for a while now.
As 150 missiles targeted periphery settlements, Israel was forced to think twice about its current underestimation of Palestinian force.

Israel has exploited the Syrian crisis to break the rules of the game; it raided Syrian targets without anticipating any response from the Syrian side. It recently also tried its luck in Lebanon when it struck a Hezbollah target on the Lebanese- Syrian borders. However, the enemy is now examining the missile attack in the Golan Heights, as well as the bomb blast yesterday that targeted an Israeli patrol in the occupied Shebaa Farms. Israel is considering all these events as a message from the Resistance in Lebanon announcing that it rejects any changes in the rules of the game. A message ought to be repeated if necessary.

Israel believed that Hamas is in “crisis” and cannot afford a clash right now, and it thought that no other Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad, could respond. In addition, the current crisis between Egypt and Hamas is affecting the whole Gaza Strip with the destruction of most tunnels on the Egyptian borders and Israel believes it can take advantage of the Gaza-Egypt tension. The enemy even resorted to maritime piracy by blocking an alleged arms cargo carrying Syrian missiles on its way to Gaza and it is now planning to exploit the incident as a way to impose new measures on the ground that go beyond the appeasement agreement of 2012.

However, Israel was shocked with Islamic Jihad’s response, which was not even proportional to the size of the Israeli aggression. As 150 missiles targeted periphery settlements, Israel was forced to think twice about its current underestimation of Palestinian force.

For Israel, the reaction of Islamic Jihad was a lot more than an angry response. The Resistance is ready to engage in a confrontation that goes beyond a minor clash. Also, Israel and other parties need to examine whether Islamic Jihad’s reaction is limited to Gaza or if it’s linked to the Resistance movement as whole.

The latest round in Gaza was a major success for the Resistance; it worried Israel but also raised even more questions about Hamas.

Source: Al-Akhbar