Hamas and Islamic Jihad are holding consultations on how to respond to the visit of Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir to the Temple Mount, a few hours after his visit the Islamic Jihad organization launched a rocket at Israel which landed in the Gaza Strip, the IDF did not respond to the rocket fire in order to avoid escalation.
The terrorist organizations fear that Ben Gvir’s visit symbolizes a first step by the Netanyahu government towards a gradual change in the status quo on the Temple Mount, contrary to Netanyahu’s public commitment, because Netanyahu needs the religious Zionist party to maintain his coalition.
The wave of condemnations by the Palestinian factions and Arab countries for the visit does not reassure Hamas, which feels that its deterrence has been compromised and that the Palestinian street is disappointed by its lack of response.
The question the terrorist organizations are debating is how to deter Israel in order to prevent further visits by Itamar Ben Gvir to the Temple Mount in the future.
Hamas has called on the Palestinian Authority to stop security coordination with Israel and the persecution of the organization’s activists in the West Bank.
The year 2023 will be a challenging year for Hamas and Islamic Jihad following the rise of the right-wing government to power in Israel. Hamas understands that its deterrence is in the process of being eroded because, despite the organization’s rocket attack on Jerusalem in May 2021 and the IDF military operation that followed, the Netanyahu government is not dettered in everything related to its policy on the Temple Mount, apart from Ben Gvir’s visit to the Temple Mount, Israeli police officers were photographed while they were conducting a search inside the Dome of the Rock Mosque on the Temple Mount while wearing their shoes, which upsets many Muslims.
Hamas officials say that the organization will be forced to give up the continuation of the relative calm in the Gaza Strip Despite the humanitarian relief, the entry of thousands of laborers to work in Israel and the receipt of the monthly financial grant from Qatar in order “to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque from the attacks of the settlers.”
Hamas sees the visit of Itamar Ben Gvir as a change in the policy of the Israeli governments in recent years towards the Temple Mount, senior Hamas officials claim that this is the first official visit of an Israeli minister on the Temple Mount for the past 20 years, which sets a dangerous precedent for the future.
The assessment in Hamas is that Itamar Ben Gvir will not visit the Temple Mount in the coming weeks and that one must prepare for the real test on the Temple Mount that will take place during the month of Ramadan which is close to the time of Passover.
Various groups of activists on the Israeli right demand from Minister Itamar Ben Gvir a series of changes in the status quo on the Temple Mount, among other things they demand that they be allowed to make a sacrifice on the Temple Mount during Passover, which is considered a “red line” for the Palestinians.
It seems that until then the Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations will further sharpen their vigilance towards what is happening on the Temple Mount and will raise the bar of their reactions towards everything they see as a violation of the status quo.
Hamas delivered messages and warnings in this spirit to the Netanyahu government through Egyptian intelligence and the UN envoy to the Middle East.
