The Israeli army and the Islamic Jihad have been exchanging deadly strikes since Friday, the biggest increase in tensions since a blitzkrieg in May 2021. In Gaza, eleven people were killed, including one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad, as well as a five-year-old child. “The length of this confrontation will depend on whether Hamas decides to join this confrontation or not”estimated Saturday August 6 on franceinfo Daniel Shek, former ambassador of Israel in France between 2006 and 2010. An unknown also raised by the journalist Charles Enderlin on franceinfo.
franceinfo: Is Israel preparing for a new war?
Daniel Shek: I am not part of the government and I do not speak for it. I don’t know what his intentions are, but I don’t think so. I think on the contrary that the Israeli interest is to limit this explosion of violence with the Islamic Jihad to the minimum possible. In my opinion, if in Gaza things can calm down with the Egyptian intervention, on the Israeli side, it will be welcome if it is announced that the case is closed.
Israel said it feared a response after the arrest of an Islamic Jihad leader on August 1. Finally, it was his army that attacked on Friday. Why ?
For several days, the whole of southern Israel was immobilized because of very precise information about the intentions of Islamic Jihad to launch attacks across the border against Israeli targets bordering the Gaza Strip. At some point, we have to break this immobility of the country. Israel has decided to attack precisely the head of the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza. It has been an organization that has launched thousands of rockets against Israeli targets for decades. It is besides the long arm [bras armé] of Iran in the Gaza Strip. It is a smaller organization than Hamas that governs in Gaza. It is not entirely under the control of this government and so today we see Islamic Jihad acting alone. The length of this confrontation will depend on whether or not Hamas decides to join this confrontation. For the moment, Hamas is not moving and that gives me hope that we are nearing the end.
Hamas, indeed, for the moment does not act. Is this what Israel expects, in your opinion?
Of course, because during the past year under the national unity government in Israel, there have been many benefits for Palestinians in Gaza. On the civilian level, there have been more work permits in Israel, there has been international aid, and Hamas has an interest in seeing this situation continue. However, if the violence continues and the death toll rises, Hamas will find it difficult to hold back. That’s the reason I say I hope we’re nearing the end. And like that, with all the sadness vis-à-vis the civilian victims, we will not see a tumble of the situation towards a situation similar to that of May 2021 where for long days, there were attacks on both sides. others against civilians.