The enmity between Israel and Palestine seems to be undergoing rejuvenation as the Palestinian Authority and Hamas wage pressure on the Jewish State although their strategies differ. The Palestinian authority prefers diplomacy while Hamas focuses more on armed insurgencies.
“We’re going to the United Nations in November 2012, not 2013, or 2014.” Such were the words of the president Mahmud Abbas during the event marking the eighth anniversary of the death of Arafat. Although Israel and its ally, US, are against the idea, Abbas described Israel’s stance as “hysterical reaction” and went to say that they “are under pressure of late from multiple parties to waive our just demand” but they will go ahead.
Israel has threatened that it will stop collecting tax revenues for the Palestinian Authority and not hand over any money if Abbas continues with the project. “It cannot be that they hit us unilaterally and then expect bilateral cooperation with us on economic matters,” Steinitz, a close ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Israel and the US prefer negotiations between the two countries but it has been suspended for the past two years.
Palestine wants to become a non-member state which would implicitly recognize Palestinian statehood. This will enable it access to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where they could file complaints against Israel.
In another friction with its neighbors in the Gaza strip, Netanyahu has warned that they will go into the Gaza Strip again if deemed necessary because of the rise of rocket attacks targeting Israelis. As tensions continue to count between Israel and Hamas, the Jewish state has threatened that its response will be painful if the hostilities continue.
Israel under dual Palestinian pressure
