Yesterday, the IDF decided to significantly increase its military presence in the country’s Southern Command, along the border with the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, the IDF deployed an additional Iron Dome anti-rocket Defense system, due to rising concerns regarding an imminent escalation with Hamas. According to military sources, the IDF is prepared for a broad range of scenarios, and it views the Islamist Hamas as solely responsible for any terror related activities emanating from the Palestinian enclave, which the internationally recognized terror group controls. In response to Israel’s actions, the Islamic Jihad, which is an Iranian-backed militia in Gaza as well as an ally of Hamas, held a military parade yesterday in which it displayed armed masked combatants and rockets. According to a Western journalist who covered the rally, the rockets displayed in the rally were “dummy missiles.” According to a Hamas source, who spoke to TV7 on condition of anonymity, the main reason for the latest escalation is that the “negotiations held by Hamas with Egyptian intelligence officials in Cairo have not led to a breakthrough with regard to a reconciliation agreement with Fatah [the faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas]”. To the contrary, the situation between Fatah and Hamas has only deteriorated in recent weeks, with the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority warning Hamas that if it does not turn over control of the Gaza Strip by the end of the month, it will intensify the economic sanctions against the Islamist group, and will stop all funding to Gaza. According to an Israeli Defense Ministry source, “if the Palestinian Authority follows through with its threat, we can anticipate an immediate escalation to violence… unlike anything we have seen before.”
