ASSESSMENTS

Israel and Hamas Try a New Approach in Gaza

Nov 15, 2019 | 22:53 GMT

This picture shows the site of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Nov. 12.

This picture shows the site of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on Nov. 12.

(YOUSEF MASOUD/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Highlights

  • By not holding Hamas responsible for recent violence emanating from the Gaza Strip, Israel could be tacitly acknowledging the ineffectiveness of its usual strategy against violence from the Palestinian territory.
  • Though Hamas did rhetorically support recent Palestinian Islamic Jihad retaliation and reportedly did not try to stop the rocket volleys, it did not participate in attacks on Israel. 
  • For the beleaguered political leadership of both Hamas and the Israeli government, kicking the can down the road regarding their eventual relationship might be the best option.

Forty-eight hours after an Israeli airstrike that killed Palestinian Islamic Jihad's (PIJ) leader in the Gaza Strip, Baha Abu al-Ata, and a simultaneous strike against a PIJ target in Damascus that sparked a back-and-forth exchange of rockets and airstrikes between Gaza and Israel, the PIJ reached a fragile cease-fire with Israel Defense Forces early Nov. 14. Hamas stayed on the sidelines of the recent violence, the result of an apparent strategic shift for Israel and Hamas....

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