Over the weekend, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired more than 600 rockets into Israel, killing four and wounding more. Avi Issacharoff argues that this is a carefully planned attempt by Hamas to pressure Jerusalem into allowing further transfers of cash from Qatar:

Hamas continues to demonstrate that it maintains disciplined control over its arsenal, and has escalated the conflict with Israel in a measured and deliberate way. The terror group’s long-range rockets have not yet been deployed—a message to Israel that there is still room for talks, and that the current crisis can be ended quickly. The group’s chief demand for doing so: allowing donated cash to enter the Gaza Strip with the start of Ramadan, which [began yesterday evening]. . . .

Hamas is [also] working hard to demonstrate a high level of military discipline and a dramatic improvement in its ability to operate under fire. . . . The entire organization has gone underground—literally, into the endless tunnels that crisscross the Gaza Strip. Hamas has been preparing those tunnels for years in expectation of war, all the while showing it has the capacity to rain rockets continuously on Israel despite a massive air campaign against it. . . .

It is no longer possible to continue ignoring the woeful decision taken by the government over six months ago that created the current predicament: when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to allow suitcases carrying $15 million in cash—destined for Hamas’s coffers—into Gaza each month.

It was that decision that created the current equation of cash for calm, and which is now exacting a high cost from Israel to ensure the cash continues to flow. As soon as the cash was delayed, the deterioration was only a matter of time. Hamas understands it can extort Israel and threaten it during this week of Memorial Day and Independence Day, and with next week’s Eurovision contest.

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.