Hamas policy on attacking Israel has changed
Maybe it's the support it received from the official visit of the Qatari emir, maybe it's Hamas' feeling that it has restrained itself for too long in light of the Israeli assassinations of extremist Jihad activists in Gaza – what is apparent, based on the heavy rocket attack from the Strip on Wednesday morning, is that Hamas has changed its policy on attacks against Israel. According to initial information, Hamas is responsible for at least some of the rockets that wounded three migrant workers and caused heavy damage to homes in the Gaza envelope communities.
For a long time there has been a steady escalation on the border of the Strip. But until Wednesday morning, it still seemed that things were under a certain degree of control.
The main clash was between Salafist Jihad organizations, which launched rockets against Israel, and the Israel Defense Forces, which struck at firing squads and occasionally assassinated activists who were involved in attempts to carry out attacks via Sinai.
Hamas played a double game: Sometimes it financed the activity of some of the organizations, sometimes it took steps to restrain them, when it felt that their initiatives were liable to bring about a large-scale military campaign by Israel and endanger the stability of Hamas rule.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/hamas-policy-on-attacking-israel-has-changed.premium-1.472027
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