Hamas Renews Funding For ‘Terror Kites’ As Gaza Strip Tensions Rise

Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip revealed that Hamas intends to renew funding of terrorist units responsible for launching incendiary objects into Israel. For over nine months, the rulers of the coastal enclave have staged weekly demonstrations along the border collectively known as the “March of Return,” which invariably have descended into confrontations between protesters and Israeli forces. Concurrently, Hamas developed a new weapon: namely, rudimentary objects set aflame or rigged with explosives that were flown primarily into southern Israel (although there were multiple instances of “terror kites” being found as far away from Gaza as Jerusalem and Beersheba) by the hundreds and which caused widespread ecological damage. In mid-November, the two sides were on the verge of their fourth full-blown conflict over the past decade when an 11^th-hour loose ceasefire agreement was forged. After a period of relative calm tensions have again increased, with separate incidents over the past two weeks of limited rocket fire from Gaza and retaliatory air strikes by the Israeli army targeting Hamas assets. The apparent attempts by the terror group to escalate the situation is being attributed to the ongoing inability to resolve the intra-Palestinian divide between Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas’ Ramallah-based government. An Egyptian delegation is slated to visit Gaza in the next few days with a view to dissuading Hamas leaders from initiating a new round of hostilities.