News Analysis: Sporadic tensions in Gaza Strip not to lead to another Israeli war

Despite intermittent tensions between Gaza militants and Israeli forces, local analysts and observers rule out that such acts could lead to another large-scale Israeli military operation in the coastal enclave like that of last year.

On Wednesday, Israeli war jets carried out four intensive airstrikes on training facilities that belong to al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Hamas movement, which has been ruling the Gaza Strip since its violent takeover of the coastal enclave in 2007.

The Israeli airstrikes were a response to firing two rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel and caused no casualties.

HAMAS Vs SALAFISTS

Usually groups like the radical Salafists, who claimed to be affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, claim responsibility for the rocket fire into Israel. In the last two rocket fire attacks, Salafist group of the Brigades of Sheikh Omer Hadid claimed responsibility.

Israel fired missiles back on Hamas bases and training facilities, but Hamas kept quiet and did not fire back on Israel. Israel has been blaming Hamas and holding it responsible for every rocket fired from Gaza, because Hamas is the only power that controls Gaza.

A senior Hamas security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that Hamas is fully controlling the field in the Gaza Strip, "but this doesn't mean that Hamas fully controls some rare individual actions that happen suddenly."

"Al-Qassam Brigades deploys a special unit that includes dozens of militants who are located close to the borderline areas between the Gaza Strip and Israel," he said, adding "Salafist groups are less influential, very minor and small ones, who have their own considerations when they fire rockets from time to time."

Observers believe that many of the radical Salafist groups consider firing rockets into Israel as a challenge to Hamas' rule of the Gaza Strip. These groups sometimes carry out bombing attacks on Hamas security facilities.

A member of one of the Salafist groups, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also confirmed that various Salafist groups in the Gaza Strip "are behind the rockets fired from Gaza into Israel and the internal bombings against security facilities of Hamas in Gaza."

"These attacks, whether it is against Israel or against Hamas, are aiming at opposing the rule of Hamas and its policy of repression in the Gaza Strip," said the Salafist, adding "there are dozens of Salafists in Hamas jails."

Salafists in Gaza are divided into two different groups: non-militant and armed groups. The non-militant group only focuses on teaching and publishing the rules and laws of Islam, which are supported by thousands of people in the enclave, who receive educational and medical services.

The armed group is called the Jihadi Salafi, which are divided into five major armed wings: the Army of Islam, the Army of the Nation, the Mujahidin Shura Council, the Ansar of Jihad and Tawhid and the Ansar of the Jihadi State. All claimed they are affiliated with the IS.

Akram Attallah, a Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua that Hamas is the only super power that controls the Gaza Strip. He does not think this control will be weakened or decline due to the intermittent rocket fire.

"The actions of the escalating tension in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the militants are happening as a kind of tit-for-tat and also an indication to the status of despair that dominates the enclave," said Attallah, adding "sometimes Hamas is interested in sending messages to Israel."

SLIM CHANCE FOR ANOTHR WAR

Israel has been imposing a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip since Hamas violent takeover. Attallah believes that sometimes Hamas asks some militants to fire rockets into Israel to tell Israel that if the blockade is not lifted, the other option will be the war. "But it is very difficult to say that this will lead to a comprehensive confrontation between Hamas and Israel at least on the short run."

Usually, the Gaza Strip populations express fears that the intermittent rocket fire would increase their misery and another war is pending.

The Egypt-brokered cease-fire agreement between Hamas and Israel ended the last large-scale military air and ground operation in August last year, which killed around 2,200 people and wounded more than 11,000 others, besides leaving large destruction in housing and infrastructure.

Mekhemer Abu Se'da, political science professor at Gaza al-Azhar University, told Xinhua that waging intermittent airstrikes on the Gaza Strip "is an Israeli message that Israel will keep responding to any attack that Gaza militants are carrying out from Gaza into Israel."

However, he does not think these tit-for-tat actions would lead soon to a large-scale war between Gaza militants and Israel. The atmosphere is ready for a war, "but the ties between Gaza and Israel will remain like this until Hamas or Israel decides for a war against the other." Endit