Unity government the reason behind intensified Gaza attacks - Aqsa Syarif

The reconciliation of Fatah and Hamas and the formation of a unity government is the reason behind Israeli offensive on the Gaza strip, said Aqsa Syarif chairman associate professor Dr. Hafidzi Mohd Noor.

“The peace talks between the two factions failed previously because both parties refused to budge with their demands and once they had managed to reconcile, Israel sees it as a threat.”

“Israel knows that a unity government will challenge and cause many issues that will create trouble for them,” he told Astro AWANI today.

The two rival Palestinian movements formed a unity government in June 2014, to end a decade long dispute and violence.

President Mahmoud Abbas, who swore in the government at a brief ceremony at his office at West Bank , saw the formation of a new cabinet comprising 17 technocrat members, headed by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

In 2007, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip from Abbas' Fatah and removed Fatah officials.

The battle resulted in division of the Palestinian territories into two entities, the West Bank, which is governed by the Palestinian Authority, and Gaza governed by Hamas.

The formation of a unity government is seen as a momentous step toward ending a political split that has weakened the Palestinian case to form a state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem - lands that Israel captured in 1967.

On Wednesday, Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip killed 20 people including four women and four children, bringing the total death toll to 70 since the military operations started three days ago.

Dr. Hafidzi, however said the power struggle in Israel between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is expected to further aggravate the situation in Gaza.

Earlier this week, Lieberman announced he was ending a political alliance with Netanyahu.

Netanyahu, Dr. Hafidzi added, wants to be seen as a ‘hero’ among Israelis by intensifying the attacks on Gaza.

“Each of them wants to prove that they are trying to protect the Israel people.”

“The dispute between two leaders is wide open and the attempt to rally support of Israelis is reflected in the Gaza attack.”

The kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, allegedly by the Palestinians, also provided justification to the attacks, he added.

“But what Israel does not recognize is that all these while, they had imprisoned and killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, including children," he concluded.