The strengthening of Islamic Jihad and the criticism in Gaza of Hamas that the organization "forgot" the way of resistance and the struggle against Israel, have put Hamas on alert in recent weeks.
In this situation, it is clear that Hamas needed achievements.
He achieved this "achievement" under the auspices of the riots in al-Aqsa, as well as through the rocket fire tonight (Monday) towards Israel.
One of the allegations made against Hamas is that the organization abandons the "confrontation with the occupation," and cultivates a channel of contact with Israel in the civilian field, including receiving relief and coordinating the entry of thousands of traders into Israel, and therefore not much different from the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas is trying to shake off these accusations.
One way to do this is to try and appropriate the riots in Jerusalem, and to create the impression among the Palestinian public that the clashes in al-Aqsa came in the wake of calls by senior members of the organization "not to remain silent about the crimes of occupation in Jerusalem."
Senior Hamas figures do not hide their satisfaction with the regional and international interest directed at them, and boast of contacts with the mediators.
References from the mediators give Hamas the opportunity to claim that it is a key player in the Palestinian arena, at least when it comes to Jerusalem.
The fact that now the UN envoy and others are talking to Hamas leaders gives them legitimacy and strengthens their status.
Activists of Hamas' military wing (archive), Photo: GettyImages
The last time Hamas was on the "map of international diplomacy" was in the return marches on the Gaza Strip border a few years ago, when the mediators "courted" it in an attempt to calm tensions on the ground.
Hamas is regaining its relevance, and is taking advantage of the events in al-Aqsa to be the focus of attention again.
To this day, some in the Palestinian public believe that Israel has refrained from evacuating homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood thanks to Hamas, and claim that the former withdrew on this issue for fear of escalation in the Gaza Strip.
In any case, Hamas is once again trying to present itself as "the defender of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa," similar to what happened in Sheikh Jarrah.
However, Hamas is careful to make clear that recent contacts with the mediators around al-Aqsa do not include reaching a truce with Israel, one that includes understandings regarding the Gaza Strip.
This allows the organization to claim that "all options are open", thereby reserving the right to act at the time and place it wishes.
A few hours before the rocket was fired at Israel last night, Hamas and Islamic Jihad once again warned of the consequences of "Israeli aggression in al-Aqsa."
Overseas Hamas official Saleh Al-Aruri said: "Jerusalem and al-Aqsa are witnesses to the heroic campaign.
We have a lot of patience, and we will not give up. "
The leader of the Islamic Jihad, Ziad Nahala, stated that: "The violations in al-Aqsa are worth sacrificing for them and that Israel's threats to stop the easing of Gaza can not make us silent about what is happening in Jerusalem and the West Bank."
The leader of the Islamic Jihad, Ziad Nahala, Photo: AP
Nahala also held a telephone conversation with one of the senior advisers of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Wallaiti, and thanked him for his country's assistance to the Palestinian issue and resistance.
"What Israel is doing in Jerusalem and in the holy places of Islam is aggression and the Palestinian people are right to fulfill their duties to ward off this aggression. We adhere to the path of jihad and resistance until the liberation of our holy places from the impurity of the occupiers."
Wallaiti, for his part, conveyed the blessing of Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, "to the fighters," emphasizing that Iran is following the struggle of the Palestinian people who protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and is a symbol of the Islamic nation defending Jerusalem and its identity. Praised the "resilience and sacrifice of the Palestinian people."
Beyond the fact that Hamas managed to inflame the territory in Jerusalem and receive "sponsorship" for al-Aqsa events, the organization was careful to convey in its messages that the involvement of the Gaza Strip in the campaign is only a matter of time.
If Israel "crosses the red lines" in Jerusalem, or alternatively, when Islamic Jihad or "rebellious elements" in the Gaza Strip push for escalation - this window of time is expected to close.
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