Israel threatens a change of policy towards Gaza to curb escalation in West Bank: analysts

Israel is attempting to curb the unprecedented "escalation" with the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by diverting attention to besieged Gaza Strip, Palestinian analysts said to The New Arab. 

On 15 November 2022, an Israeli Channel 12 reported that the "Israeli security system is studying to change the policy towards Gaza, which funds the military operations in the West Bank."

“We learned from a security official that the Israeli security system is considering changing its policy towards Gaza and not separating the incitement of Hamas and jihad in Gaza from what is happening in the West Bank,” the channel said. 

In 2022, the occupied West Bank has become a deadly battleground between Palestinians and the Israeli army. Since March, Palestinian attacks against Israelis have escalated, both in the West Bank and Israel, killing at least 20 Israelis. Israel, on the other hand, has killed at least 190 Palestinians, including women and children. 

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— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) October 11, 2022

Israeli officials said that there is a significant increase in Palestinian attacks against the Israeli army and settlers in the West Bank.

Israel has responded by launching 'Operation Breakwater', carrying out over 3,000 raids and arrest operations in the West Bank, largely targeting the cities of Nablus and Jenin.

In separate remarks to The New Arab, the Gaza-based analysts said that "the threats reflect the internal official confusion in Israel over the reasons for the growth of the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank, primarily among the new generation."

Israel only believes in the forced language to deal with the Palestinians for decades and it has not allowed any understanding to be succeeded, which pushes the young generation to adopt the force to punish the occupation for its crimes, according to the Gaza-based political analyst Hussam al-Dajani. 

"To avoid more escalation in the West Bank, Israel may adopt the scenario of transferring the confrontation ball into Gaza," al-Dajani said. "In turn, the Palestinian factions have to seriously take all Israel's threats, which could lead to a new military escalation in the region." 

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— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) November 14, 2022

For his part, Talal Okal, a Gaza-based analyst, told TNA that "it is clear that these statements mean that Israel is looking for new pretexts all the time to overcome the escalation in the West Bank."

"Israel may resort to reducing the facilities little by little, and so that it can carry out assassinations or attacks on the Gaza Strip, as happened in previous times, without there being a clear pretext used by Israel, as it always did," Okal said.

"I think we are facing an expected escalation in the framework of the comprehensive war that Israel is waging against all Palestinians, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip," he added. 

But Mustafa Ibrahim, a Gaza-based political analyst, thinks that "Benjamin Netanyahu's government prefers the continuation of calm with Gaza because it is beneficial for it," noting that Israel may adopt more facilities for Gaza, such as increasing the number of workers for Israel to ensure the continuation of this calm.

"The Israeli threats statements came based on the increase in commando operations in the West Bank, especially the Israeli security system's claim that Hamas and Islamic Jihad are organizing some of these groups (...) However, they (threats) will not change the current situation," he stressed. 

With at least 190 Palestinians, including women and children, killed during these raids since January, this year is on course to be the deadliest for the West Bank since 2015.

During the same period, nearly 7,000 Palestinians have been injured, according to United Nations statistics.