Hamas takes advantage of pre-election restraint to needle Israel
Convinced that Israel will not engage in a large-scale military operation before the September elections, Hamas seems to be allowing sporadic attacks from Gaza to escalate.
Yet another stormy weekend has shaken up the Israel-Gaza border. On Aug. 17, just when it seemed southern Israel was settling into a period of calm following the cease-fire reached with Hamas in May, sirens blared throughout the border communities. The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted two of three rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Shortly after, Israeli troops foiled an attempt by five armed militants to infiltrate Israel from the northern part of the Gaza Strip, killing three and wounding a fourth.
Israel’s reaction to these attacks was very restrained. The air force bombed several Hamas targets of marginal importance and was careful not to inflict Palestinian casualties. Such actions are known as “real estate attacks” designed to cause symbolic damage to buildings and nothing more. When the Israel Defense Forces really wants to deter the Hamas leadership, it takes more extreme actions such as flattening several multi-story buildings in May.
