Israel flexible on demands after Hamas threatened to escalate tensions before Knesset passes state budget, Lebanese newspaper says.
Hamas boy terrorist practices warfare in Gaza
Lebanon’s Al Akhbar newspaper has reported that intense negotiations have been held over the past week in an attempt to stabilize the security situation in Gaza, following threats issued by Hamas that the terror movement would escalate tensions on all fronts.
According to the report, Israel responded to the threats by agreeing to a number of demands made by the Palestinian Authority and Gaza organizations which are working to rehabilitate Gaza, including transferring the Qatari money and finding solutions to the electricity problem.
Al Akhbar also reported that the Hamas leadership told the brokers that a continuation of the status quo in which Israel “drags its feet” will push the Gazans to action (in military terms – terror), which will bring down the current Israeli unity government.
The message received from Hamas, the report said, emphasized that the terror group is serious in its threats and that if there is no significant progress in the negotiations in the next two weeks, the Gaza “battle” organizations will not allow the Israeli government to “quietly” pass its new budget in the month of November.
By statute, the government must secure passage of a spending plan by November 4th, or face the automatic dissolution of the Knesset and snap elections – Israel’s fifth since 2019.
The newspaper noted that in light of the threats, the brokers worked quickly in order to prevent an escalation in the situation, and the Qatari government told Hamas that the funds intended for rebuilding residential units will begin to arrive in the coming week, and that a solution would be found with Israel on the issue of transferring the third part of the Qatari funds, which is intended to pay the salaries of Gaza government employees.
Hamas sources told Al Akhbar that Israel and Qatar have agreed on a new mechanism for transferring the Qatari funds to Gaza, by means of funding the cost of gas which the Gaza government purchases from Egypt.
Content retrieved from: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/316003.