By Staff

The “Israeli” occupation authorities expect an escalation in the resistance operations in the occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza Strip. These resistance operations which will be accompanied by threats in the North are in solidarity with the Palestinian detainees imprisoned in “Israeli” jails and in the aftermath of the martyrdom of Islamic Jihad leader detainee Sheikh Khader Adnan, who was martyred by the “Israeli” entity by deliberate medical negligence.

In this context, the military analyst for the “Israeli” Maariv newspaper, Tal Lev Ram, quoted the entity’s security services as saying that “The martyrdom of Sheikh Khader Adnan opens up the possibility of a rapid deterioration in the besieged Gaza Strip as well, as it is clear to the security establishment that in every major operation in the South, the ‘Israel’ will face threats from the North as well”.

“There is a very high probability that attempts to carry out shooting operations in the West Bank by the Islamic Jihad will increase in the coming days,” he added.

Tal Lev Ram also expected individual car-ramming operations as well as stabbing or shooting operations, as in many cases in the past year. He continued, “It can be assumed that the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip will want to continue firing rockets from the Strip in solidarity with the detainees in prisons in the coming days as well, but this does not necessarily lead at this stage to a fundamental escalation in the Gaza Strip”.

“The Gaza Strip is still the sector in which the chances of a military operation are high, almost to the point of war… Even if the current round of strikes does not lead to a substantial military development, the continuation of the security escalation in the West Bank may also eventually lead to a confrontation in Gaza, similar to what happened many times before since the disengagement 18 years ago,” the military analyst said.

Tal Lev Ram considered that a war in Gaza or a major operation, even if it did not take place tomorrow morning, is the most reasonable plan that Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy might face as a central challenge during his tenure as Chief of Staff, and he said: “A confrontation in Gaza may lead to additional security challenges in other sectors, the security establishment has no doubt that in every major operation in the south, ‘Israel’ will face security threats in the northern arena as well”.

“Nevertheless, the possibility that a large-scale confrontation in the South could lead to a war in the northern arena against Hezbollah as well is not yet a logical or leading scenario, but it is a dangerous possibility that the ‘Israeli’ army and the security establishment must be prepared for with plans, training and operational competence,” he concluded.