The Gaza Strip came under renewed Israeli militaryattacks late last week, and analysts say it is possible that the standoffbetween Israel and Palestine could become even more tense with a new Israeligovernment taking office.
Israeli fighter jets on Saturday night carried outairstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to incendiary balloons launched atsouthern Israel, according to Palestinian security sources.
The sources said that Israeli war jets fired twomissiles at a military training post south of Gaza City that belongs toal-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic ResistanceMovement, or Hamas.
Several missiles also targeted various Hamasmilitary posts in northern and western Gaza. No injuries were reported whilethere was severe damage at the Hamas military posts and facilities.
An Egypt-brokered cease-fire declaration tookeffect on May 21, ending 11 days of deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas.However, skirmishes continued despite the agreement.
On Saturday, Palestinian activists fired severalincendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel, causing fires anddamage.
Palestinians said the balloons aimed to pressureIsrael to ease restrictions on the coastal enclave that were tightened duringthe fighting in May.
Israel has vowed to respond to even minor attacks,and Israel's army chief ordered forces to be ready for a variety of scenariosincluding a resumption of hostilities, following an exchange of fire on June 18just several days after Israel's new prime minister, Naftali Bennett, was swornin.
Bennett, 49, who has succeeded Benjamin Netanyahu,used to be tough on Israel-Palestine issues, such as clearly and stronglyopposing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
After the new government came to power, thesituation between the two sides was hard to get any better, said Shu Meng, aresearcher at the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai InternationalStudies University.
Conflicts will continue to appear every two to threeyears, and skirmishes every two to three months, Shu said.
'Unstable, fragmented'
The reason lies in the form of the new government,a diverse coalition of eight parties with representatives from many parts ofthe political spectrum.
The governing coalition is unstable and fragmented,based on opposition to Netanyahu, containing multiple factions in both ideologyand policy positions, Shu said. The interests of those parties within theruling coalition are inconsistent, and many are hard to reconcile.
Wang Shuming, a researcher at the Shanghai Academyof Social Sciences, said the difficulties in forming the cabinet have shown thesharp and complex contradictions of the governing factions.
Strong hostility from the right-wing oppositioncould be a gunpowder keg that may trigger serious political conflicts andcrises at any time.
Whether the new government can effectively handlesuch differences may determine how long it governs, he said.
With such a diverse range of opinions inside thegovernment, Shu said that members of the coalition are likely to go all out toavert disagreements to guarantee their political survival.
With a shaky coalition, it might be best for thegovernment to continue to follow Netanyahu's path, such as exaggeratingsecurity issues, creating external enemies and taking measures to worsen theexternal environment to promote internal cohesion and support.
For some time to come, Bennett's government willcontinue to follow such policy inertia in the post-Netanyahu era, said Shu,adding that it will continue holding hard-line and expansionary policies onIsraeli-Palestinian issues.
Palestine on Thursday complained that Israel'scollecting Palestinian taxes and customs duty have limited the government'sscope for investment.
Israel keeps its control over the borders, crossingpoints, and areas under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank, saidPalestinian Finance Minister Shukri Bishara in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
来源:China Daily