(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv) Yoram Schweitzer, Benedetta Berti, and Shlomo Brom - Recent weeks have seen a gradual erosion of the Egyptian-brokered November 2012 ceasefire that ended Israeli military operations in Gaza against Palestinian rocket fire. While the first year following the ceasefire was characterized by a significant drop in violence, in 2014 the situation has been progressively less stable. So far Israel has focused its attacks mostly on Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) targets in Gaza, or any other organization that launches rockets and violates the ceasefire, signaling a desire to prevent an all-out escalation - an interest shared by Hamas. At the same time, the Israeli government has been putting pressure on Hamas to control all potential spoilers operating in Gaza, from the PIJ to the local Salafi-jihadist factions.
2014-04-08 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive