Running out of cash, Gaza’s Islamist rulers, Hamas, fired rockets into Israel, hoping for a wider war that would inevitably bring rich Gulf State donors to re-supply Hamas with fresh cash. Since seizing the Gaza Strip June 14, 2007 from Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority [PLO], Hamas has squandered billions in donations from oil-rich Arab states, starting three wars with Israel with the intent of raising cash for its Hamas rulers. Firing over 600 rockets into Israel, Hamas killed four Israeli citizens in Southern Israel, prompting newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netayahu to retaliate with F16 strikes, decimating Gaza’s infrastructure. No matter how hard Egypt and other Arab states try to broker a ceasefire deal with Hamas, they continue to put Gaza’s 2 million impoverished residents in harm’s way. Gaza’s residents are told daily Hamas will conquer Israel.
Gaza’s Hamas rulers run the Mediterranean enclave as a totalitarian state, inundating the state-run airwaves with constant lies about Palestinians taking back Israel in the near future. Since March 2018, Hamas has sponsored violent protests on the Israeli border, telling residents to break through the security fence to retake lands once held before May 14, 1948, Israel’s first Independence Day. Hamas knows that they won’t get one inch of Israeli land without subjecting Gaza residents to utter devastation. Yet the same propaganda goes on daily, inciting Gaza residents to violence on the Israeli border. Hamas thinks that attacking Israel wins it favor with other Arab states, looking for any excuse to retaliate against the Jewish State. President Donald Trump has told Palestinians that there can be no negotiation for a two-state solution until Hamas stops the terrorism toward Israel.
Hamas commander Hamed Ahmed –Al-Khodary, who was responsible for transferring funds from Iran to Hamas, was killed yesterday by an Israeli strike. Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have taken a tough stance on Iran, primarily for supplying arms-and-cash to Hamas terrorists, itching for another war with Israel. While Iran gives some cash, it’s not the whopping sums given by the Gulf States, necessary to run the Gaza government. “We strongly condemn the attacks in Gaza by Hamas terrorists. Israel has the absolute right to defend itself and the U.S. stands by our great ally Isreael,” said Vice President Mike Pence. Gaza’s 56-year-old Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said publicly that he did not want a wider conflict with Israel, yet rockets fly from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Haniyeh likes to pretend he has no control over Gaza militants, including the Islamic Jihad.
Since rockets started to fall, Israel halted natural gas supplies from its offshore Tamar gas fields, also stopping fuel supplies to the seaside enclave. Hamas uses Islamic Jihad the same way the late Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO] leader Yasser Arafat used Hamas, in the old days, to pressure Israel into concessions. Arafat acted like he had no control over the late blind and wheelchair-bound Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin to attack Israel to win concessions. Netanyahu ordered Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] “to continue its strike and to prepare for the next stages,” telling Hamas that they’re treading on thin ice when it comes to firing rockets into Israel. Netanyahu isn’t likely to give Palestinians anything at the barrel-of-a-gun, striking Gaza militants hard until they stop their rocket attacks. With the Muslim holy month of Ramadan set to start May 13, Hamas doesn’t have much time to attack Israel.
Hamas blamed Israel for killing 14 Gaza civilians, including a 14-month old baby and her aunt. Israel blamed their deaths on friendly fire from Hamas. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Gutierres condemned Hamas rocket attacks on Israel. He urged both sides to “exercise maximum restraint.” Israeli air strike destroyed four multi-story structure buildings in Gaza, claiming it housed Hamas command-and-control facilities. Watching rockets fly into Israel, there’s little Egypt can do to prevail in Gaza or Hamas. With blockades from Egypt and Israel, Hamas has limited resources to feed its struggling population. Hamas calls the shots in Gaza, leaving residents powerless to do anything other than watch the smoke billow from key Gaza sites. Hamas knows how to generate cash from Arab Gulf States, knowing Palestinians will get next-to-nothing from foreign sources, including the Gulf States.
Hamas latest attacks on Israel pander to Gaza residents told daily that they’re on verge of conquering Israel. Any outside observer knows that Israel calls the shots in the Middle East. Hamas complains daily about the Israeli blockade, knowing that Egypt does the same thing, preventing Hamas from winning more concessions. When Hamas fires rockets in recent years it’s usually due to running our to cash. There’s nothing Gaza residents can do to stop Hamas from waging war with Israel. Inviting retaliatory strikes from Israel, Hams plays the “poor-me” PR card, going up against Israel’s superior war machine. Gulf Arab states are getting fed up watching their donated cash go up in smoke, primarily because Hamas promotes the false narrative that conquering Israel is in the cards. Once thought unthinkable, war with Israel a convenience way to fund raise for Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
