Hamas leads gradual escalation against Israel in protest against economic restrictions

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — During the past few days, the Palestinian resistance factions, led by Hamas, have informed Egypt that the situation in the Gaza Strip has reached a difficult stage and that they are studying several options, including activating “anger marches” along the Gaza border similar to the weekly return marches between March 2018 and December 2019.

This week, tensions between Israel and Gaza reached their biggest peak since the cease-fire in May, with two rockets fired Aug. 16 toward Israel, which is preparing to respond.

A statement made following a closed meeting of Gaza military factions Aug. 18 expressed “determination to continue resisting the Israeli siege imposed on Gaza and to continue the struggle until breaking it.”

Daoud Shehab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, “The coming week will be full of pressure operations on Israel because it does not respect or fulfill its obligations toward Gaza.”

The Islamic Jihad does not recognize the truce that was reached in May to end 11 days of fighting between the military factions in Gaza and Israel.

Shehab told Al-Monitor, “There is practically no calm or truce. What happened was a cease-fire that ended the last round of fighting, but there is no calm, because achieving it is linked to conditions that Israel must abide by, and this is yet to happen.”

He said, “On the contrary, despite the factions’ commitment to the cease-fire, Israel continued its siege and blockade over the Gaza Strip and prevented reconstruction. This is a hostile act that constitutes a major provocation to the Palestinian people, whom Israel seeks to punish.”

Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials said the factions’ demands focus on both political and humanitarian issues. On the political side, the attacks in Jerusalem constitute a major tension factor, and that is why the factions are calling for “ending all aggressive policies in Jerusalem, including storming Al-Aqsa and demolishing or seizing homes for the settlers to take over.”

On the humanitarian side, Palestinians face obstacles in “the reconstruction and the introduction of building materials without any conditions, opening the crossings and allowing the entry of relief aid to the poor, represented by the Qatari grant.”

Shehab said, “Anger prevails due to the crimes committed by Israel in the West Bank, the latest of which was the murder of four young men inside Jenin camp on May 16.”

He added, “The resistance will not allow violations in the rules of engagement, and any escalation on the occupation’s part will certainly be met with a response, and we warn against any aggression that could lead to the situation spinning out of control.”

For the first time since the Egypt-brokered cease-fire that took place May 21, unidentified military groups fired two rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the Israeli town of Sderot, less than a mile from the Gaza border.

Israeli sources said the Iron Dome intercepted one rocket while dozens of settlers fled from the COVID-19 vaccination center in Sderot to fortified rooms after the sirens sounded. The other rocket was reported to have fallen within Gaza.

On Aug. 15, the Palestinian incendiary balloon unit issued a statement on its Telegram account, threatening to continue to launch more such balloons toward Israeli communities near Gaza. Such attacks have been happening almost daily for about a week.

The statement said, “Let everyone know that we have the right to live with dignity and honor. The time given by the mediators was enough to break the siege and we will no longer give any chance. Instructions have been given to all units to take action as of tomorrow.”

Qatari aid is supposed to arrive in Gaza every month but it has been blocked by Israel, which wants guarantees that Hamas will not use the money for military activities. Aziza al-Kahlout, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Social Development in Gaza, told Al-Monitor that there is no progress regarding the disbursement of the Qatari grant as there is still a political dispute over the mechanism.

“Since the last escalation in May, the Qatari grant could no longer make its way into the Gaza Strip. About 100,000 poor families used to receive a grant of $100 per family per month, since February 2019,” Kahlout said.

Multiple media sources reported that Israel refuses to allow the Qatari grant to enter as cash through travel bags through Erez and that it wants to organize the process through Palestinian banks in the West Bank, but that the banks balked as they feared possible international sanctions if some of the grant money made its way to Hamas.

The Jerusalem Post reported Aug. 17 that an agreement between Qatar and the UN will be signed in the coming days whereby needy families in Gaza would be able to withdraw $100 using cards provided by the UN; the Palestinian Authority would not be a party to the agreement.

Palestinian Central Bank Governor Firas Melhem issued a statement Aug. 5, a copy of which was obtained by Al-Monitor, denying statements by media outlets that the Palestinian Monetary Authority and Palestinian banks had agreed to facilitate the transfer of Qatari funds to Gaza. The funds also would pay salaries of government employees in Gaza.

The governor added that the Palestinian Monetary Authority and the banks are committed to applying the best international standards, especially those related to the “know your customer rule.”

Hamas spokesman Abdellatif Alqanou told Al-Monitor, “The battle with Israel will remain as long as it continues to tighten the noose on Gaza and commit violations in the West Bank.”

He added, “The mediators are required to exert more pressure on Israel to restore the situation in Gaza to the way it was before May 15, that is, before preventing the entry of the Qatari grant or preventing many materials from entering through the crossings.”

Gaza stands on the brink of collapse, despite the various threats by the resistance factions. The coming days will be more decisive and will determine whether or not the current cycle of escalation will expand if no agreement is reached on the mechanism for disbursing the Qatari grant as well as facilitating the entry of building materials and other goods through commercial crossings.

The start date for the renewal of the Gaza return march is Aug. 21, as per the announcement made during the Aug. 18 press conference.