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Jerusalem. It is the most violent exchange of blows between the Israeli armed forces and the Palestinian Islamist Hamas organization for a long time. Hamas fired numerous missiles from the Gaza Strip on Israel, fought back the Israeli army: During the mbadive air strikes on Gaza, two young Palestinians were killed. Twelve others were injured when the Israeli Air Force bombed a skyscraper in a residential area that allegedly used radical Islamic Hamas for combat training. The Israeli army wants to warn residents of the attack. Apparently, the two children playing on the roof of a neighboring house had not heard the warning.
In all, Israeli warplanes attacked 40 Islamist leaders in the Gaza Strip – according to military, armor stores and missile launching bases. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of "the toughest wear and tear" that Hamas has known since the war four years ago. At that time, more than 2,000 Palestinians, including many civilians, died.
Hamas announces a ceasefire
The trigger for the escalation was apparently a Gaza-fired shell that wounded an Israeli soldier. Palestinian fighters fired more than 200 rockets and mortar shells at Israeli settlements in the border area. A Hamas spokesman then announced this weekend a ceasefire that had mediated the Egyptian government and wanted to follow Islamic Jihad. Nevertheless, there were isolated rocket attacks on Israel.
Netanyahu refrained from commenting on Hamas. He added that the ceasefire did not include ferocious dragons and helium-filled balloons that would take Hamas to Israel, he said at the start of Sunday's government session. However, those who attack Israel must rely on a "reasonable" response from the army. The fierce dragons and balloons that set the fields on fire are for Israel the aftermath of the "Great March of Return", the weekly demonstrations between late March and early June. Hamas overwhelmingly supported the demonstration in the border region, leaving 140 dead and several thousand wounded, as the Israeli sniper ruthlessly stopped the protesters.
Their declared goal, the end of the blockade for more than ten years and thus alleviate economic difficulties, The Palestinians have not yet moved closer to the action. Israel demands that Islamist leaders in the Gaza Strip stop the kite attacks which, according to Ministry of Defense information, have destroyed nearly 30 square kilometers of land, arable land and forests. near. Only food and medicine are provided by Israel. Israel has also reduced the fishing area for Palestinian fishermen, who have sailed only six nautical miles instead of nine.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Settler Party, reacted indignantly to the ceasefire. Dictate. "Those who show restraint in the face of a violation of our sovereignty and prevent a large-scale military operation, determine that we will persevere in the ongoing war of attrition," a statement in his office said. The reservoir will cause climbing. Bennett also advocated shooting at Palestinians sending incendiaries to Israel.
Mahmoud Abbas withholds funds
The context of this acute frustration is the economic situation in the Gaza Strip, which has intensified for months. Fresh water is scarce and electricity is only available a few hours a day. The main reason for this distress is that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, head of Fatah in the West Bank, has withheld two-thirds of Gaza's public funds. On the back of the civilian population, Abbas is trying to force Hamas to capitulate and is preparing for Fatah's return to the Gaza Strip. In addition, US President Donald Trump reduced contributions that the United States was donating to UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency for Palestinian refugees. Refugee work provides food badistance to more than half of Gaza's population and maintains schools and clinics. About a quarter of a million children in Gaza visit United Nations schools.
Army warns ministers before the war
The Israeli security cabinet met this afternoon to discuss next steps. According to the daily Maariv, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is calling for tougher crackdowns on incendiaries and Hamas, as the military and intelligence agencies warn of a new war. For the moment, kites and balloons cause only material damage. The army is currently focusing on punitive countermeasures such as drones mounted on razors to intercept prematurely flying arsonists. "For the moment, a war could be avoided," writes Amos Harel in the liberal daily Haaretz. But if the Palestinians continue to send their kites to Israel, it will lead "sooner or later to another, even worse escalation".
("The Press", printed edition, 16.07.2018)
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