By Restricting Gaza Aid, Israel Risks Emboldening Its Critics

Israel risks eroding U.S. support and opening the door to renewed violence as it attempts to ensure Hamas doesn’t use new humanitarian aid for Gaza for military purposes. Aid negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas hit an impasse on June 21, with the latter rejecting an Israeli-backed and U.N.-mediated offer for a new mechanism that would put stricter controls over new funding to Gaza than in previous deals. Hamas threatened to resume attacks on Israel’s southern border if the new foreign aid slated for the Palestinian territories, mostly from Qatar, did not arrive. The threats are coming up against a new and more hawkish Israeli government in which Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is attempting to build a stronger deterrence against attacks from Gaza. ...