In an article for the British Middle East Eye website, Makhoul said that the Palestinian leaders did not read the Israeli moves correctly, and were instead preoccupied with following up on the state of panic and anger experienced by the Israelis in the towns that were closed due to the bombing of the resistance.
He said that Israel’s mobilization of its army on the outskirts of the Gaza Strip, the closure of settlements in the southern region, and the reinforcement of its forces by calling in about 25,000 reservists, are all measures that cannot be considered defensive behavior, nor is it required by the need to respond to any possible retaliation by the Islamic Jihad movement. .
Makhoul expressed his belief that last Monday, Israel arrested the leader of the Islamic Jihad, Bassam al-Saadi, from his home in Jenin, in a humiliating manner, as part of the preparation for launching a new aggression against the Gaza Strip. To achieve a set of strategic goals, even if they are limited in scope.
He explained that understanding the reality of what is happening requires reading Israel’s military and security moves, and not listening to what it says about the objectives of its operation. The way in which Tel Aviv mobilized its forces revealed that Saadi’s arrest was part of the aggressive escalation that all evidence indicates that Israel planned it before .
It is also wrong to link the attack to internal Israeli policy, because the goals of the aggression this time – according to the author – are to cause a split between the Palestinian factions, weaken the Islamic Jihad movement, which is Iran’s closest ally in Palestine, in addition to securing the Karish gas field located in a disputed area. It is with Lebanon.
Makhoul cites many evidences of what he said regarding the objectives of the current Israeli aggression on Gaza, including the Israeli army’s assertion that the goal of its current operation is limited to striking a blow to the Islamic Jihad movement alone.
It is clear that Israel wants to carry out a quick operation without Hamas interfering in the battle, and this may lead the battle to open possibilities if it happens.
The writer believes that by trying to neutralize Hamas’ role in this battle and focusing on Islamic Jihad fighting the battle alone, Israel is seeking to strike the unity of the Palestinians and isolate the resistance factions from each other. In fact, what Israel considers targeting Islamic Jihad is an attack on all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and Hamas and the rest of the Palestinian factions, which may wish not to expand the battle, should pay attention to this challenge.
The writer says that Israel sees the Russian war in Ukraine, and the resulting shortage of Russian gas supplies, as an opportunity that may allow Tel Aviv to export gas to Europe through the Karish gas field, to compensate for the shortfall in energy supplies.
However, the presence of the gas field in a disputed maritime area between it and Lebanon does not make achieving what Tel Aviv aspires to be easy; In light of Hezbollah’s threats to use force to protect Lebanon’s natural resources.
The United States has been leading talks between Israel and Lebanon to reach an agreement for months, but it does not appear that it will result in a solution in the near future.
Israeli reports indicate that gas extraction operations have been postponed until next month, pending a solution, and if this does not happen, the possibility of conflict between the two countries over the gas field will be great.
Therefore, the writer believes that the weakening of the Islamic Jihad movement through the current military operation has become a more urgent matter for Israel, as the movement is likely to participate in the fight against Israel when a military confrontation with Hezbollah erupts in the north.
The Palestinian politician concludes his article by reminding that the people of Gaza will ultimately be the ones who will pay once again the price of Israel’s violent games, the outcome of which will be determined by the Palestinian response.