Israel mulls loosening restrictions on Gaza to maintain long-time calm, normalisation with Saudi

According to Israeli media outlets, the Israeli government is reportedly discussing the possibility of providing further facilities to the besieged Gaza Strip coast to maintain further calm. 

"Increasing the number of permits for Gazan workers to work in Israel and easing the conditions of entering goods into the coastal enclave are among the main issues under discussion, which may be approved soon," claimed the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. 

In its report published on Monday, 2 October, the Israeli newspaper attributed Israel's attempt to prevent any military escalation on Gaza because it may undermine normalisation efforts with Saudi Arabia. 

"There are real fears among the security levels in Israel of facing a new Gazan escalation that would negatively affect the current contacts between Israel and Saudi Arabia," the newspaper reported. 

Based on quotes from a diplomat who visited Gaza recently, the Israeli newspaper further claimed that the latest protests that took place in the eastern borders of Gaza for several days were organised by Hamas as a way to pressure Israel to loosen restrictions on Gaza. 

Israel may provide more for Gaza, not out of fear that Hamas will affect the normalisation talks with Saudi Arabia, but rather to prove to Saudi Arabia that it has good intentions to improve the conditions of the Palestinians, according to Talal Okal, a Gaza-based political analyst said to The New Arab​​​​​​.

"The Israeli and US statements about the nearness of reaching a normalisation deal between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia do not necessarily mean that an agreement is certain," Okal said. 

"Currently, neither Israel nor Hamas want to get involved in a military confrontation that might destabilise their popular standing," he added.