Israel Introduces “Economy for Security” Plan to Stop Hamas Terrorist Group Violence

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday presented a plan to “improve” the living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in return for a pledge to “calm” on the part of the Hamas terrorist movement, which rules the Gaza Strip. enclave.

“For too long the only two options were conquering Gaza or endless violence. Both options are bad, ”Lapid said when presenting his“ Economy for Security ”initiative at a security conference in Jerusalem.

Concretely, he proposed a plan in two phases, but without negotiations with Hamas, a movement considered “terrorist” by Israel.

In the first phase, “the power lines would be repaired, gas would be connected and a water desalination plant would be built” in Gaza., a territory that has an average of 12 hours of electricity per day and little drinking water.

In return, the Islamists of Hamas will have to commit to “calm for a long time,” added Lapid, adding that in the event of violence, Israel’s response will be “stronger than in the past”.

In a second phase, a port and a “road link” between Gaza and the West Bank would be built., a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel, as well as a new industrial zone, he explained.

The West Bank, where Mahmoud Abas’ Palestinian Authority is based, is separated from Gaza by Israeli territory.

The plan seeks to “act now” to “improve” the living conditions of Palestinians and “create better conditions for future talks.” according to the minister.

Israel and Hamas have fought four wars since 2008. Four months after the last war, in May, reconstruction of the enclave has yet to begin, despite commitments from various donors.

Third night of rocket fire

Palestinian terrorists launched a rocket at Israel from the Gaza Strip on Sunday evening, the IDF reported, adding that the rocket had been intercepted. The launch came at a time of intense tension following the escape of six Palestinian activists from an Israeli prison last week and the lingering hostilities of an 11-day war last May.

In retaliation, terrorists in Gaza fired rockets at Israel for three consecutive nights. Israel typically responds to rocket fire with airstrikes against targets linked to the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza.

The Israeli police have already arrested, in the north of the country, four of six Palestinians who escaped earlier this week from Gilboa high security prison. Since their escape on Monday through a tunnel dug under a sink, the Israeli authorities have been looking for them in Israel and the West Bank, where the fugitives are from and where the army has deployed reinforcements.

It was believed that they may have left the country, crossing the Jordanian border, but four of the fugitives they were arrested in northern Israel, about 30 kilometers from the prison.

Late Friday, police announced the arrest in Nazareth, the main Arab city in northern Israel, from two members of the Islamic Jihad armed group: Yaqub Qadri, 48, and Mahmud Ardah, 45. According to the local press, Ardah, who was serving a life sentence, was the main instigator of the escape. “The police discovered them and chased them by helicopter”, police said about the two fugitives. “They were held without resistance in southern Nazareth.

And in the early hours of Saturday, Israeli police announced the arrest of two other escapees who were “hiding in a truck parking lot.”

It is Zakaria al Zubeidi, a well-known former leader of the armed wing of the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abas, and Mohammad Ardah, a member of Islamic Jihad. The arrests took place in the Arab town of Shibli Umm al Ghanam, about ten kilometers east of Nazareth.

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