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As Gaza Tensions Simmer, Palestinian Authority Official Warns Of ‘Explosion’ In West Bank

With most eyes focused squarely on the violence in the Gaza Strip, an anonymous Palestinian Authority official has reportedly warned that tensions in the West Bank could lead to a huge “explosion.” This month, multiple terror attacks and clashes in the territory resulted in the deaths of two Israelis and five Palestinians. Now Ramallah is calling for mass weekend protests to mark “Land Day,” which commemorates a 1976 riot in which six Israeli-Arabs were killed while demonstrating against Jerusalem’s expropriation of Arab-owned lands. Meanwhile, Hamas is urging Palestinians in the West Bank to continue the “resistance” by using “all methods to confront Israeli crimes.” After two days of military exchanges between Gaza’s terrorist rulers and Israeli forces, relative calm prevailed Wednesday along the border. However, Hamas is hoping to draw tens of thousands of Gazans to the security fence on Friday and Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of the “March of Return” protests. Israeli soldiers have killed at least 150 Palestinians over the course of the demonstrations, which have invariably descended into mass chaos. According to Israeli figures, Gazans have perpetrated more than 2,000 violent acts since the beginning of the weekly protests, including the launching of over 1,200 rockets at Israel. Palestinians have thrown 94 explosive devices and 600 Molotov cocktails at Israeli troops across the border while causing nearly $10 million in damages to farmland and nature reserves by flying rudimentary incendiary devices into Israel. In the past 12 months, one Israeli civilian and one soldier have died because of violence emanating from the enclave.