"We told the Israelis: Give us 50,17 work permits for Gaza residents. Only good will come from this. They kept resisting until last year they agreed to give <>,<>. Israel has always insisted on not taking civilian steps into Gaza so as not to reward Hamas and punish it and make it capitulate. And today there is already another policy that emerges from this concept with the understanding that Hamas is here and it is not going anywhere, the organization is strong, it has a state in Gaza and two million people to feed and it will do everything so as not to lose its rule while continuing its military buildup," a resident of the Gaza Strip summed up in a conversation with Israel Hayom about the "interim situation" reached by Israel and Hamas.
Place an IED near the fence and detonate: disturbing documentation on the Gaza border
Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip and founder of his military wing, thinks far. While Israel is talking about a possible increase in the number of permits for workers from Gaza to about 20,<>, in Gaza there is talk of a more significant scope.
In talks with Israel over the past two years, the Gaza representatives explain to their interlocutors that it is not enough to "keep Gaza afloat" and provide it with only minimal things, but that the number of work permits must be raised to 50,60 and <>,<>, and projects to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip must be allowed, including the construction of infrastructure and substantial steps to create employment opportunities for young people.
Riots along the Gaza Strip border, photo: AFP
Riots along the Gaza Strip border, photo: AFP
These issues came up again in the mediation talks held with the Qataris and Egypt to prevent escalation on the border following the daily violent riots led by Hamas over the past two weeks. The organization's leadership in Gaza strives to break the siege on the Gaza Strip, and if it is not possible in one fell swoop, then it can be done in measured steps and gradually. Each time take a little and go one step further.
The Man Who Tricks Everyone
Hamas once again managed to bend Israel and the mediators. Egypt, Qatar, the UN – they all begged him to stop the rioting at the border fence and restore calm.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Cracked the system// Photo: AFP,
Sanwar came up with the method. He created a sense of urgency and made everyone nervous as he tackled all the players around him. Like a child in kindergarten who whines and may even go wild when his demands are not met, he excuses himself when he gets something from what he asked for, and calms down a bit until the next round.
He understands that Israel does not want an all-out confrontation and does not want to topple it. This is good for Sinwar's ego, but also for the political changes he may bring about in Gaza. Hamas reads Israel and thinks it is not interested in toppling its regime because then there will be total anarchy and no address. Second, his presence in power perpetuates the split between Gaza and Ramallah, which prevents the realization of the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 67 borders with territorial contiguity. This is convenient for Israel, and also convenient for Hamas, which is not interested in giving gifts to Abbas.
In terms of results, Hamas did not pay a price for its planned provocations, which were carried out through subcontractors, the "rebel youth" groups. Several ISIS positions near the border were bombed, but it was not hit militarily and continues to grow stronger. Sinwar's general interest at this stage is to "maintain quiet" in Gaza in order to boost the economy and focus terrorism on Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.
Moreover, as far as he is concerned, the "popular protests" on the border fence with Israel are not a violation of the quiet. While the term calm in Israel means complete security quiet, for Sanwar, "riots here and there" on the fence are part of the rules of calm.
As has been proven in the past, the unwritten understandings reached again show that when Hamas wants to enforce the quiet, it usually knows how to do so, either by arresting Islamic Jihad members or deploying troops on the border to "restrain rogue people." But the road is not one of roses, it is criticized and there are already those who call it "Israel's Border Police."
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