(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Yoni Ben Menachem - Abu Ubaida, spokesman of Hamas' military wing, said at a ceremony in Gaza on Feb. 2 that Hamas views the Palestinian problem as "a problem of the Islamic world and an existential, historical, and cultural struggle." Hamas has never for a moment given up its strategy of destroying Israel. Although the military balance of power is in Israel's favor, Hamas is constantly improving its capabilities and building its military preparedness for the next round. It aims to inflict painful strategic blows on Israel through short- and long-range rocket fire, attack tunnels, booby-trapped drones, naval commando forces infiltrated into Israeli territory, and even cyber warfare and hacking into IDF soldiers' computers and telephones. Hamas has fully rehabilitated its military capabilities that were damaged in the 2014 Gaza war. Currently, Hamas has several thousand rockets aimed at Israel and dozens of attack tunnels, intended to infiltrate gunmen under the Gaza border into Israel for murder and kidnapping attacks against civilians and soldiers. Hamas works round the clock on manufacturing rockets and digging tunnels. The writer, a veteran Arab affairs and diplomatic commentator for Israel Radio and Television, is a senior Middle East analyst for the Jerusalem Center.
2017-02-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive