THINGS are eerily quiet outside the caged walkway that cuts through the no-man’s-land separating Israel from Gaza. But there is increasing talk of war on both sides of the expanse, and elsewhere around Israel. “Everyday there is aggression and terror [by Israel],” says Daoud Shihab of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian armed group that has fired rockets into Israel. “The situation could explode at any moment.” Some of Gaza’s leaders believe Israel will use a coming military exercise with America as cover for an attack. They put the chances of a new war at 95%, according to Al Hayat, an Arabic newspaper.
The Israelis see things differently. Gadi Eisenkot, the chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), reportedly told the cabinet that Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza, might start a war if life in the coastal enclave does not improve. It has been under siege by Israel and Egypt for over a decade. Tensions increased after Donald Trump, America’s president, recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital on...Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa http://ift.tt/2ES9yXK
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