Israel has no security policy towards Gaza, so while we are now seeing another escalation in the south it will wind down. Until the next time.
By ANNA AHRONHEIMPalestinians run for cover from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, east of Jabalia on May 14, 2018(photo credit: MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
It’s been six years since Israel last went to war with Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip. But it’s not been six years of peace and quiet.Several rounds of violent clashes between the Israeli military and terror groups have taken place in the Strip. All of them ending without any tangible solution.Since the end of Operation Protective Edge, over 2,500 rockets and mortars and even rocket-propelled grenades have been launched from the Hamas-run coastal enclave, killing close to a dozen Israeli civilians and one soldier.Countless incendiary and explosive aerial devices – first kites, then balloons and condoms – have also been carried by the wind into Israel, devastating hundreds of dunams of agricultural fields and brush.Palestinians have also faced the hammer of the Israeli military, which has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against targets belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.IDF soldiers have also opened fire against Palestinians taking part in the Great Return March border fence demonstrations. Just as in Israel, several dozen Palestinians – mostly but not all belonging to Hamas and PIJ – have been killed.Israel has also repeatedly closed the fishing zone off of Gaza as well as the crossings into the Strip (except for humanitarian goods) and suspended the transfer of the much-needed fuel into the blockaded enclave.Rockets, balloons, retaliatory strikes, fatalities, then quiet. Yes, there were several weeks of quiet as both sides dealt with the initial outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. But in April, the tensions rose once again.If there is one constant in Israel, it’s that southern Israel has not seen peace since 2014. But no full-blown war between the two sides has broken out. And, yet, has anything changed?Short answer: No.
Israel hoped to free itself from the burden that is Gaza when it disengaged in 2005. Instead, the opposite has occurred and it has realized over the years that there is no solution to the deteriorating situation on its southern front.Though officials say that they would like to see Gaza develop, Israel has made it clear that it won’t happen until the missing soldiers and civilians are returned and full quiet is achieved.Hamas meanwhile, has not agreed to return their hostages until they get prisoners released from Israeli prisons and along with PIJ will not agree to disarm.The situation in Gaza is verging on a humanitarian catastrophe, with serious economic, social and infrastructure crises only getting worse.With a population of 2 million people living in dire conditions, Hamas is desperate to secure an easing of Israeli restrictions on the beleaguered coastal enclave and an end to Israel’s 12-year blockade.Hamas uses the distress and rage felt by the residents of Gaza and directs it against Israel in the form of rockets or incendiary balloons in a controlled manner in an attempt to force Israel to its knees and get more humanitarian and financial aid.Once the two sides agree to the demands of the other – and yes it does go both ways – through mediation carried out by Egypt, the quiet returns.The crossings are reopened, fishermen can once again go out to sea, Gazans can once again have electricity for more than four hours a day and the much-needed money from Qatar is once again delivered to Hamas.Israel, on the other hand, keeps its planes grounded, farmers can once again tend to their fields, parents no longer need to worry about their children picking up explosive balloons or running to shelters with their children.A sense of normality returns during this war of attrition.The Israeli government, which is falling apart and likely heading towards a fourth election, is too busy with other issues to deal with Gaza.The IDF, though Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi has prioritized the southern front as the one most likely to explode into conflict but has been focused on the threat coming from the northern front. It’s been dealing with the conflict as it comes, and not been able to think strategically towards fixing this urgent problem. It’s letting terror groups dictate when the next round of violence comes around.And while we are now in the midst of another escalation, we will soon say “until next time.”We will see a “next time” because we’ve seen this over and over again: the pressure will once again push Hamas and PIJ to launch incendiary balloons and rockets leading to Israeli retaliatory strikes which in turn lead to more launches from Gaza.It’s never-ending.
