Netanyahu Prepping Cabinet for Possible Offensive in Gaza

Local Editor

“Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday is said to have told his cabinet that a military operation in Gaza would be imminent should violent tensions worsen, according to a local media report.

“If the reality of civil distress in Gaza is diminished, that is desirable, but that is not certain to happen, and so we are preparing militarily — that is not an empty statement,” said the premier according to a TV news report on the “Israeli” entity’s “Hadashot”.

Senior “Israeli” military officials apparently told “Hadashot” that Palestinian Authority president (PA) Mahmoud Abbas was irked by the transfer of funds from Qatar to the coastal enclave, in spite of his attempts to cut financial aid to the besieged strip.

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Nikolay Mladenov had facilitated the transfer.

On Friday, “Hadashot” reported that the PA planned on cutting some $96 million which Gaza receives every month, risking a worsening of the already dire situation in Gaza where residents currently have a couple of hours of electricity available per day.

Meanwhile, Gazans have been in the midst of ongoing violent clashes with “Israel” Occupation Forces [IOF] along the Gaza-“Israel” border. In part of the Great March of Return, protests have broken out consecutively nearly every Friday since March.

The phenomenon of arson balloons and fire kites launched from Gaza was introduced as a new way to cause damage to the entity.

Attempts by Egypt to negotiate a long term ceasefire to end the violence and bring much-needed humanitarian relief to the people of Gaza recently lost momentum, with focus reportedly turning instead towards intra-Palestinian reconciliation.

“Israeli” officials have been divided on how to deal with escalating violence in Gaza. The “Israeli” regime has faced mounting pressure to respond definitively to the protests in the strip.

At least 193 Palestinians had been martyred since the protests began.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team