Daily Times

A fresh round of escalation is going on between Israelis and Gazans as hundreds of rockets are being fired towards Israeli cities and Israeli defence Forces (IDF); responding with overwhelming airstrikes. This recent flare-up started when IDF airstrike targeted a senior Islamic Jihad Commander Baha Abu Al-Ata, which Israel claimed was planning terror attacks against them.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) responded with heavy rocket barrage towards Israeli cities. In all this scenario, the most dominant group and ruler of Gaza, Hamas, had so far not come to the aid of its Islamic Jihad allies and is refraining from firing its rockets into southern Israel. This behaviour of Hamas is not because they have suddenly developed a love for Israel but because of sporadic and irresponsible behaviour of PIJ. Hamas, which gained full control of Gaza strip in 2007 from Fatah, the most dominant party in Palestinian Authority, is often limited in its abilities to act against Israel because it bears responsibility for running the day-to-day affairs of Gaza, the coastal enclave often in news because of its humanitarian hardships. Islamic Jihad has no such limitations. It has emerged as the more militant faction, occasionally even undermining Hamas authority.

Over the past year, Hamas has made start-stop efforts at indirect negotiations via Egyptians with Israel

Over the past year, Hamas has made start-stop efforts at indirect negotiations via Egyptians with Israel–offering to maintain silence on the border in return for Israel; easing the decade-long blockade, which has devastated Gaza’s economy. But Islamic Jihad is turning out to be a spoiler. The PIJ is the smaller of the two main Palestinian militant groups in the Gaza Strip and is vastly outnumbered by the ruling Hamas. Yet, it enjoys direct Iranian backing, both financially and militarily, and has become the driving force in rocket fire and confrontations with Israel. In recent months, the PIJ has tried outflanking Hamas by presenting itself as a more radical opponent of Israel but this strategy is creating problems for Gaza-controller, Hamas. The increased support of Iran for PIJ is making them more flamboyant as it’s a known fact that Tehran’s favourite child in Gaza is Islamic Jihad. If Hamas tries to teach manners to PIJ, it risks putting an end to some little relationship with Iran, which Hamas is still trying hard to develop after it was almost over after Syrian civil war. But if Hamas doesn’t contain PIJ, it might push Gaza into major conflict with Israel, which, by all means, will be catastrophic for Gaza.

The Gaza Strip is currently suffering from an acute economic crisis. The cost of living is high and unemployment is spiralling. Another war in the Gaza Strip will be a severe blow to Gaza’s already fragile economy and is likely to push Hamas out of power. Hamas also wants peace at this point because it wants to strengthen its regime by improving the living conditions of the Gaza public and slowly increase its influence to the West Bank by showcasing themselves as efficient administrators. Right now, Israelis are not targeting Hamas positions, but the message has been conveyed to Hamas leadership that if the regular rocket fire doesn’t stop, they may launch a large-scale military attack, which will target every group. This leaves the leaders of Hamas caught between a rock and a hard place. If Hamas tries to stop Islamic Jihad at this stage, before the region gets hotter, still, it will be accused of collaborating with Israel. But if it let Islamic Jihad carry on wildly with massive rocket fires, it is likely to lead to a harsh Israeli response.

Shortly after Hamas seised control of the Gaza Strip in July 2007, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, launched an extensive military operation to disarm other organisations operating there. Only two groups were entitled to extensive “relief” from this campaign: the Popular Resistance Committees and Islamic Jihad. Hamas leadership must be regretting this generous favour it did to PIJ. Because in return, the PIJ has most of the times undertaken a stand, contrary to the Hamas position. The PIJ believes it has nothing to lose and everything to gain by escalating tensions with Israel as it will be seen as leading a resistance against the Zionist state. While Hamas rightly believes at least for now that things need to calm down with Israel. So that Gazans can have some breathing space. But Hamas soon has to make tough choices otherwise it will be ousted from the driving seat in Gaza. Hence, Hamas has to take effective measures to prevent Islamic Jihad’s independent and sole benefiting activities. Because when Gaza will bleed from the Israeli onslaught, common people will hold Hamas responsible only.

The writer is a columnist for Middle-East and Af-Pak region and the editor of the geopolitical news agency, ViewsAround