Is Israel Preparing For War At Gaza Border? Liberman: 'The Holidays Are Over' As IDF Tanks And Ground Troops Take Positions

'The holidays are over,' Liberman warns Hamas heads

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Friday signaled to the heads of the Gaza-based Hamas terror group that Israel was prepared to go war, as the military geared up for another day of violence along the security fence surrounding the coastal enclave.

In a tweet, Liberman indicated that Israel had been holding back on a harsh response to the near-nightly riots on the border in order to prevent an all-out conflict during the period of the Jewish High Holidays, beginning with Rosh Hashanah on September 9 and ending with Simchat Torah on October 1.

“We’ve been through the High Holidays exactly as we planned, without a flare-up and by exacting a heavy price on the rioters along the Gaza border,” Liberman said, referring to the people killed and injured by IDF troops during the clashes.

“The holidays are over, and I say to the heads of Hamas: ‘Take that into account,'” the defense minister wrote.

On Friday morning, IDF snipers, tanks and ground troops prepared to take positions along the security fence ahead of violent protests and clashes expected to take place later in the afternoon.

The night before, Liberman ordered the Israel Defense Forces to go on high alert on the border.

The defense minister instructed the IDF to maintain “maximum preparedness for any scenario,” his office said.

On Thursday, the army announced it had decided to deploy additional troops to the Gaza area. The IDF also positioned a number of Iron Dome air defense batteries in the south as part of its preparations.

The nightly riots, in which Palestinians regularly throw grenades and improvised explosives at IDF troops, as well as ongoing airborne arson attacks using balloons carrying incendiary devices, have threatened to spark a new large-scale clash in Gaza.

“The IDF is prepared and ready for a variety of scenarios and sees the Hamas terror group as responsible for everything that happens in the Gaza Strip and that emanates from it,” the army said.

Defense minister orders IDF on high alert at Gaza border

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman on Thursday said the Israel Defense Forces was on high alert on the Gaza border, following weeks of nightly riots along the security fence.

“Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman held an assessment session this afternoon on the situation in the Gaza Strip, together with the chief of staff, head of military intelligence, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), and other security officials,” a statement from his office said.

Liberman instructed the IDF to maintain “maximum preparedness for any scenario,” according to his office.

Messaging before war: 8 things to know for October 5

1. Marching toward battle: The seemingly inexorable march to war with Gaza is on Israel’s mind heading into the weekend, with fears that border violence will ramp up significantly on Friday.

Channel 10 news reports that the army is expecting some 20,000 Palestinians to protest/riot along the border Friday, with the IDF ordering extra troops to the area to deal with the unrest, including special forces and snipers.

According to the channel, the army believes that Gazans may also return to shooting rockets at southern Israel, and if so it will be in “significant volleys.” Thus the army has deployed a bolstered Iron Dome presence to the region.

2. ‘Ready’: As is usual for times when war drums are beating, Israelis tend to turn more jingoistic, hence the headline on Hadashot news’s website that “we’re ready, no doubt.”

3. Message in a call-up: Yedioth notes that the troop call-up and extra Iron Dome batteries aren’t just meant to protect the border but also to send Hamas a message that “even before an escalation, the army is changing its policies regarding rioters, who have been ramping up the level of violence on the border for several weeks.”

• “Gaza and Jerusalem both understand very well that they are playing with fire, and neither side is interested in a confrontation whose results, in a best-case scenario, will return both sides to where they started (minus the death and destruction).”

4. Fueling discontent: Making matters even worse, the one thing that may have helped curb tensions, the delivery of fuel to the electricity-starved enclave, is also seemingly not happening. Trucks were reportedly turned away at the Gaza border Thursday, apparently at the request of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, who wants to squeeze Hamas into giving up control of the Strip.

5. Night moves: Though it’s received relatively little media attention, Hamas has also been leading nightly protests along the Gaza border. Haaretz’s Amos Harel reports that Hamas has been deploying special units at night intended to disrupt the construction of Israel’s anti-tunnel barrier.

6. Sinwar says: Yedioth is running its full interview with Sinwar, a day after publishing an excerpt that made a fairly large splash, with the hawkish terror leader claiming he doesn’t want to fight, just for Israel’s blockade on the Strip to end.

• In the interview, Sinwar rejects the idea of Hamas disarming and being protected by an international force, defends suicide bombings as a way to get attention and says arson kites and balloons launched into Israel don’t hurt anyone but are just meant to send a message.
• “The kites and balloons are not a weapon, they are a message: You are stronger than us where it’s not even comparable, but you will never, ever win,” he says.

7. Bird-brained: Haaretz reports that shadowy right-wing name-and-shame group Canary Mission is being used by Israeli authorities to deport people accused of supporting boycotts of the country.

8. No mayorship, and maybe no Jerusalem: ToI’s Adam Rasgon interviews former Jerusalem mayoral candidate Aziz Abu Sarah, whose campaign to become the city’s first Palestinian mayor was abruptly cut short earlier this week.

• Abu Sarah says Palestinians threatening him played a role in his decision to quit, but he was really forced out when Israel challenged his residency in the city, saying his “center of life” was elsewhere. (It’s worth noting that the front-runner in the mayoral race, Zeev Elkin, only moved to Jerusalem a few months ago for the sole purpose of running for mayor.)