Gaza Terrorist Groups Call On Palestinians To 'Prepare For Escalation'

Gaza terrorist groups call on Palestinians to ‘prepare for escalation’

• Asaf Golan and Shahar Klaiman

Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling on Egyptian and international mediators to pressure Israel to “lift the blockade on Gaza, finalize the rehabilitation matter, and stop the provocations in Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan.”

The terrorist groups also called on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem and within the Green Line to “prepare for a security escalation.”

“The resistance won’t stand idly by in the face of the [Israeli] procrastination. We demand that the mediators pressure Israel to move more quickly to lift the siege on Gaza and finalize the matter of Gaza’s reconstruction,” the statement said.

Earlier on Tuesday, sources told the Palestinian newspaper Al-Quds that no progress had been made on Gaza and that “Israel continues to drag its feet while displaying a lack of seriousness” in terms of reaching a long-term ceasefire agreement.

“Israel is trying to perpetuate a new equation by pressuring the terrorist organizations in Gaza, and the mediators, by tying all the various issues to one another, including the prisoner exchange, the matter of Gaza’s rehabilitation, fully opening of the border crossings and improving the economic situation,” one source said.

Hamas, according to the sources, was in coordination with the other armed factions in Gaza in insisting that these issues be separated.

Increasingly, therefore, it appears Hamas is moving toward another military conflict with the Jewish state, particularly amid the repeated threats by the terrorist group’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

Israel Defense Forces Maj. Gen. (ret) Amos Gilad told Israel Hayomthat there is a gap between Israel and Hamas with regard to their understanding of the situation, which could lead to another round of fighting with Gaza.

“You need to understand one fundamental thing when it comes to the worldview of Hamas and its leadership in Gaza and abroad; members of Hamas aspire to one thing only and that is Israel’s destruction. 

They don’t care how many casualties they sustain, how many Gazans get hurt, what damage they incur along the way. Within this reality, Yahya Sinwar himself has a messianic self-perception; he sees himself as the successor to [famed Muslim military commander] Salah al-Din,” said Gilad.