Resistance rockets are a lifeline for Israeli officials

The Palestinian resistance groups launched two rockets against Israel on Tuesday night to let the occupation authorities know that their firepower is more accurate and effective. The intention was to provide Israeli officials with an excuse to accept a peaceful solution for the Gaza protests, because the military way will hurt not only the Palestinians, but also the Israelis.

The past few days have seen the tension in and around the Gaza Strip increase as both the Palestinian resistance and Israeli army seemed to be walking towards the abyss. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman both threatened to strike the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian resistance in order to stop the Great March of Return protests.

On Sunday, Netanyahu warned that he would inflict “very strong blows” on Hamas, the de facto government in the besieged territory. “We are very close to another type of action which would include very strong blows,” he told his cabinet. “If Hamas is intelligent, it will cease fire and violence now.”

According to Lieberman, Israel is not willing to accept the “level of violence” one week after another. “A serious blow to Hamas could bring us at least five more years of quiet.” He overlooked the fact that the protests were entirely peaceful until Israeli snipers started shooting unarmed protesters, including children, medics and journalists. More than 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israel, with more than 20,000 wounded since the protests began at the end of March. The demonstrators are demanding their legitimate right to return to the land from which they and their families have been expelled by Israel since 1948, and an end to the Israeli-led siege.

Read: 13 Palestinian students killed by Israel in Gaza since March

Israeli officials, including Netanyahu and Lieberman, have been making such remarks throughout the protests, which they want to stop without any concessions for two reasons: they do not want to lose right-wing votes in the upcoming elections and they are trying to preserve Israel’s power of deterrence. However, neither the Prime Minister nor the Defence Minister is prepared to carry through the threats.

The leading Israeli newspaper Haaretz said on Wednesday that even though cabinet ministers speak about inflicting strong blows on Gaza, none of them have introduced any plan. It also said that the Israeli security authorities believe that Lieberman’s language reflects political pressure on him, as it contradicts with the policies of the army. They point out that Israel has been affected negatively by the threatening language adopted by Netanyahu and Lieberman.

At the same time, Haaretz revealed that the Israeli Chief of Staff and most cabinet ministers support the Egyptian efforts to de-escalate the tension. Israel Hayom also stressed that political interests are behind Lieberman’s threats and reiterated that most ministers hope for successful Egyptian mediation.

Read: How can the new Egyptian measure achieve a truce in Gaza?

The problem is that the Israeli settlers adjoining the nominal border with Gaza do not believe that the mediation will end the protests, which have been worrying them for seven months. They have staged protests in Tel Aviv several times, calling for the Israeli government to stop the protests by force; they do not, they insist, expect Netanyahu and Lieberman to stop at words, but go into action. This way, Israel will not see the end of the Great March of Return protests and the main Palestinian demand – the lifting of the 12-year-old Israeli siege imposed on Gaza —will not be achieved.

#GreatMarchOfReturn

Meanwhile, the Palestinian resistance in Gaza, mainly Hamas, have recognised the Israeli dissonance and want to exploit it. Although the Palestinian people are ready to offer more sacrifices for the sake of achieving their goals, the resistance movements have concluded that 200 martyrs and 20,000 wounded should be enough to lift the siege.

That is why a message has been sent to the Israeli occupation authorities, as well as to the regional and international mediators, that the military option allegedly favoured by Netanyahu and Lieberman will not be easy. Hence the latest rockets, which are not only more accurate and capable of harming more Israelis as a result, but are also a lifeline for officials across the border. The hope is that the settlers who witnessed the precision and destructive power of the new rockets will agree to a political solution to end the protests near their settlements, and the politicians will have an excuse to skip the military option, even if that is at the expense of the Israeli army’s deterrence power.

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