Egyptian mediators rushed to the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Hamas’ supreme leader emerged from his hideout as an unofficial cease-fire between Israel and the Islamic terror group appeared to take hold.
The Egyptian delegation sought to cement the truce that ended two days of heavy fighting between the bitter enemies. They face a key test on Saturday, when Hamas is planning a mass demonstration to mark the one-year anniversary of weekly protests along the Israeli border.
In a sign that both sides had stepped back from a major conflagration, Hamas’ supreme leader Ismail Haniyeh – whose office was destroyed in an IDF airstrike – made his first public appearance since violence with Israel erupted earlier this week. During times of fighting, Hamas leaders typically go underground, fearing assassination by Israel.
Standing before the rubble of his Gaza City office, which was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike on Monday, he declared that “the Israeli occupation got the message.”
Haniyeh urged Palestinians to come out in force to the Saturday demonstration. The Israeli military bolstered its forces along the Gaza frontier in advance.
These guys 👇 are preparing explosives for friday's 'spontaneous' & 'peaceful' violent riot on the Gaza fence.#Gaza terrorists plan to storm the Israeli border & kill Israelis in nearby communities.#Hamas is targeting Israeli civilians & is endangering Gazan lives. pic.twitter.com/enTpz7oHHo
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) March 27, 2019
Hamas has staged the protests in hopes of pressuring Israel and Egypt to ease a crippling blockade. The protests, however, have yielded few gains, and nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire.
Israel accuses Hamas of using the demonstrations as cover for attacks, and says it is defending its border against crowds that have hurled flaming tires, grenades and other explosives at troops.
To those who claim that the Hamas riots on the Gaza border are peaceful poetry reading sessions, I dedicate these pictures of grenades, IEDs and mines, published today by the Hamas terrorists who lead them.
We will defend our border communities from these terrorists. pic.twitter.com/KTqDduxVpT
— Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) March 27, 2019
Palestinian media reported that the Egyptian mediators would offer Hamas economic incentives in exchange for its commitment to end the protests.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, a teenage Palestinian “medic” was shot dead during clashes between Israeli troops and protesters. The Israeli army said it had responded to Palestinians who hurled blocks and firebombs at Israeli forces. The army released a video showing what it said was a “medic” who removed his uniform and joined a group of protesters throwing rocks at troops. It was not clear if the video showed the same medic who was shot.
Israel and Hamas have fought three wars and dozens of skirmishes since the terror group seized control of Gaza in 2007. The latest round was triggered by a Gaza rocket fired early Monday that slammed into a house in central Israel and wounded seven people.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rushed back to Israel from a trip to Washington to deal with the crisis. Israel struck dozens of targets in Gaza. Gaza’s Health Ministry said seven Palestinians were wounded in the airstrikes.
Netanyahu faced the difficult task of delivering a tough blow to Hamas while avoiding protracted fighting that could work against him in next month’s national elections. He has faced heavy criticism from both political allies and opponents for what they describe as his failure to contain and deter Gaza terrorists.
Netanyahu has conducted indirect cease-fire talks through Egyptian mediators in recent months, and even allowed the delivery of millions of dollars of Qatari aid to Hamas to ease harsh conditions in the territory, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas seized power in 2007.
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Hamas has recently faced rare demonstrations over its mismanagement of an economic crisis that has left Gaza with an unemployment rate above 50 percent. Hundreds of Gazans took part in the protests last week, and Hamas responded with a violent crackdown, beating and arresting dozens of demonstrators.
The fighting in Gaza comes amid an uptick in violence in the West Bank.
18-year-old Sajed Mizher was killed during violent clashes in the Dheisheh refugee camp near Bethlehem early Wednesday. The Israeli military said it responded to the violent protests with “riot dispersal means,” which usually refers to tear gas and rubber-tipped bullets.
Israeli troops killed four Palestinians last week, following the weekend stabbing and shooting attack in which a Palestinian killed two Israelis near Yishuv Ariel.
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(AP)
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3 Responses
I don’t understand why the Jewish media uses the word “Palestinians” when writing articles when we all know that there is no such person as a Palestinian or a REAL place called Palestine. Never was, and with Hashem’s help, never will be.
Typical AP drivel, so now 190 dead Pali terrorists becomes almost 200!
CircleSteve: Wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong and wrong. Let’s work backward in history, shall we? Before the creation of the Zionist state and the adoption of the name “Israel,” even the Zionists themselves referred to the land as “Palestine,” the name by which the land had been called since the time of Roman Emperor Hadrian. Prior to that, it was referred to as “Palestine” by the Greek historian Herodotus c.500 BCE. Last but not least, the Torah itself refers to “eretz P’listim” several times, most notably to Avraham Avinu dwelling there, placing the time c. 3900 years ago. IOW, it was called “Palestine” long before it was called “Israel”