On Monday, six terrorists escaped from an Israeli prison, triggering riots in other prisons and unrest in parts of Jerusalem and the West Bank. All this comes on the heels of the return of regular violent protests on the Hamas-controlled side of the Gaza border fence, which began in 2018 and subsided during the coronavirus pandemic. Joe Truzman explains the latter situation:
In recent weeks, Hamas and other Palestinian militant factions resumed a campaign of daily violence at the Gaza border by launching incendiary-laden balloons and rioting at the security fence. . . . Both activities have the goal of making daily life difficult for Israeli citizens living adjacent to the border and keeping the IDF engaged with repeated attacks by militants.
Hamas and media outlets have portrayed the riots as “demonstrations” and “protests” but this a deeply flawed mischaracterization of the reality of events on the ground. Hamas and other factions have been directing militants to attack IDF soldiers at the security fence during these events for more than three years. . . . It’s noteworthy . . . that not all Palestinians participating in the riots at the security fence are militants. Additionally, children and teenagers have also been documented participating in these activities.
Hamas has yet to acknowledge publicly that it has been orchestrating a military campaign under the guise of civilian protests as a way to pressure Israel into allowing financial aid into Gaza that will largely benefit it and other militant groups.
Read more on FDD: https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2021/09/01/analysis-gazas-militant-led-border-riots/