The armed wings of various Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip have started taking measures on the ground in preparation for responding to the implementation of the Israeli plan to annex parts of the West Bank, which may take place as early as July 1.
The reported preparations came shortly after the armed wing of Hamas, Ezaddin al-Qassam, announced that the planned annexation would be considered a “declaration of war” on the Palestinians and threatened that Israel would “bite its fingers in remorse.”
Palestinian sources said that the commanders of the armed wings received orders from the faction leaders to respond to the Israeli plan and “overturn the table in the face of the occupation,” if and when it proceeds its intention to extend its sovereignty to parts of the West Bank.
“All the military units on the ground are ready to respond to this plan,” the sources told the Palestinian daily Al-Quds newspaper.
“There is great coordination between the factions to devise a plan for responding to the plan, and the Joint Operations Room [of the armed groups] is continuing to hold contacts in this regard.”
The latest report came in the aftermath of Friday night’s firing of two rockets towards Israel from the Gaza Strip. The rocket attack came as Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were set to receive another cash grant from Qatar. Some 100,000 families are expected to benefit from the grant, with each receiving $100.
Palestinian political activists said that Friday’s rocket attack was aimed at showing that the delivery of the Qatari grant to the Gaza Strip would not stop Hamas and other groups from pursuing the armed struggle against Israel.
“There’s no doubt that the rocket attack could not have taken place without Hamas’s prior knowledge or approval,” said Ibrahim Abu Samhadaneh, an independent political analyst from the Gaza Strip.
“Hamas does not want to be seen as if it’s accepting a bribe from Qatar not to attack Israel,” he said. “In addition, Hamas wants Israel and the rest of the world to known that the Palestinian factions are serious about their threat to escalate the situation in response to the annexation. If Hamas’s military wing says that the annexation would be considered a declaration of war, it needs to prove to the Palestinians that this is not an empty threat.”
Sources in the Gaza Strip confirmed on Saturday that Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, was behind the rocket attack.
The group was quoted as saying that the Palestinian “resistance” has the right to respond to “any aggression plan” by Israel. “Palestinian Islamic Jihad and its military wing won’t stand idly by in the face of this scheme, which comes within a number of projects aiming at liquidating the Palestinian cause,” the group cautioned.
The sources noted that there is complete coordination with Hamas and the other factions in the Gaza Strip on the steps that would be taken politically and in the field in response to the annexation plan.
In a related development, Hamas said that its leaders in the Gaza Strip and abroad, who on Friday discussed the Israeli plan and its repercussions, warned that “any step taken by the Zionist occupation towards stealing our land under the name of annexation or the crime of the century constitutes a new aggression against our people.”
The “crime of the century” refers to US President Donald Trump’s plan for Mideast peace, also known as the “Deal of the Century.”
The Hamas leaders threatened to “make all efforts and use all means available to confront and foil [the annexation plan] within the framework of comprehensive resistance.”
They called on Palestinians to “unleash the widest popular movement to express rejection and anger at the annexation plans and the liquidation of the Palestinian cause.”