BICOM

The Israeli army said yesterday that Hamas test fired rockets in the Gaza Strip in another indication that the organisation is rearming.

On several recent occasions, Hamas has publicly displayed its military strength. It held a large scale rally in Gaza City last week, in which around 2,000 fighters participated and advanced rockets were on show. There are also reports that Hamas has begun rebuilding attack tunnels which were used during Operation Protective Edge to target Israeli soldiers and civilians.

And on several occasions, including yesterday, Hamas has test fired rockets towards the Mediterranean Sea. The Jerusalem Post quotes an Israeli navy source saying, “They are doing experiments and checking their rockets. This is a part of their domestic weapons production.”

Meanwhile, various reports say that friction between Hamas and the Fatah faction of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is a major factor in the slow pace of Gaza reconstruction following Operation Protective Edge. Although the two groups agreed a deal in April to reconcile and merge its civil services, the Financial Times quotes former-PA Prime Minister Mohammed Shetayeh who described the reconstruction process as “stuck.” The same article says that “Fatah and Hamas have publicly bickered and failed to work together effectively in Gaza,” with the PA yet to take charge of Gaza’s borders to administer the flow of goods, as agreed under a tripartite framework between Israel, the PA and the United Nations (UN). Since the summer, Israel has eased restrictions on goods entering and exiting Gaza to help reinvigorate trade and facilitate the import of materials for reconstruction.

Meanwhile, a similar AP article says that although international donors pledged billions of pounds to help rebuild Gaza in October, “not even one penny” has been received from the likes of Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, according to PA Deputy Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa. According to Mustafa, “All the parties still have fears about the situation, whether the political situation or the reconciliation or the border crossings.”