It seems that everything is getting mixed up-side-down in Gaza as people here are worried and anxious on what would happen just four weeks before the intended Israeli withdrawal from settlements in Gaza and northern West Bank.

Israel, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), the radical Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as well as Egypt and the United States are all involved in creating such a feeling among the Palestinians, observers here said.

Each part is involved either in igniting the situation to keep it deteriorating, or in exerting efforts to do something quick to prevent more deterioration of the situation, mainly in the Gaza Strip.

Israel and Palestinian militant groups, especially the Hamas can never escape from being blamed for the current deteriorated situation, said the observers.

Israel has not stopped its military actions against the Palestinians since the Palestinian factions and militant groups accepted a one-year status of calm with Israel in Cairo in March.

The militant groups, on the other hand, also have not kept quite, claiming that the Cairo agreement is enabling any militant group to respond to any Israeli army violation of the calm period.

At the same time, amid the Israeli actions and Palestinian militants' reactions, the PNA security forces were more focusing on preparing for the intended Israeli withdrawal due on Aug. 17, while building up its security forces and recruiting more people to serve in the police.

Such a situation continued going up and down until the arrival of PNA President Mahmoud Abbas to Gaza on Thursday afternoon, when Hamas militants fired dozens of homemade rockets at Israel and Jewish settlements in the strip.

Hamas, which was considered by high-ranking Israeli army commanders as the only militant group that showed commitment to the calm, had suddenly decided to react to the Israeli military actions carried out in both West Bank cities of Nablus and Tulkarem last week.

Before Hamas' reaction, there were so many Israeli actions, raids and arrests in the last few weeks in the West Bank and Gaza, while dozens of Islamic Jihad leaders and militants were detained by the Israeli army.

In face of those Israeli attacks, Hamas did not do anything, why suddenly now Hamas is worried about the attacks, asked Tawfeek Abu Khousa, PAN Interior Ministry spokesman, accusing Hamas of trying to sabotage the entire situation by using the chance while PNA President Abbas is in Gaza.

Hamas wanted to politically blackmail Abbas and drag Israel to the trap in order to make the calm agreement collapses and then war starts again, and consequently, Israel would find a justification and say "no" to the planned withdrawal, said Abu Khousa.

Meanwhile, Abbas also told local and foreign reporters in special meetings held in Gaza on Sunday and Monday that as soon as he arrived in Gaza, Hamas militants intensified their homemade rockets attacks at Israel.

When our police and security officers interfered to stop these attacks in order to keep the situation quite and go smooth before the withdrawal and in order not to give Israel any excuses, Hamas militants attacked out police men and fired more than 120 homemade rockets at Israel, Abbas added.

As usual, Israel is using the situation and always finds it as a good opportunity to pressure on the Palestinians and win more time to be able to implement its plans without any internal opposition or internal troubles that may face it.

While the Palestinian security forces tried to do something to prevent the militants' attacks, Israel used the situation and sent more troops and forces to the Gaza Strip and said it is ready to carry out a large-scale operation into Gaza to prevent firing rockets, the PNA side denounced.

A high-ranking PNA security official, who spoke in condition of anonymity, said that the Palestinian security forces and police were planning to halt Hamas militants from firing rockets by force, adding when we were about to start with this, Israel assassinated seven Hamas militants with missiles from helicopters.

Obviously, Israel helped Hamas and saved it at the last moment before the Palestinian security forces were going to start tough actions against militants, pointed out the observers.

It seems that it is Israeli interests to keep Hamas so powerful in order to keep the armed conflict going on to waste time and implement its security plans, said the PNA officials.

Amid all of this, the PNA has no choice but to start to move.

The PNA can use an iron fist against Hamas, but Israel is targeting Hamas militants from air and sending more reinforcement into the Gaza Strip.

The only thing the PNA can do is to contact Egypt, which sponsored reaching the Palestinian factions' agreement on calmness with Israel, to pressure on Hamas and contact the United States to pressure on Israel to stop any wide-spread military action in the Gaza Strip.

"We contacted Egypt, and decided to send a delegation to Gaza to end any internal conflict with Hamas, we contacted the Israelis and they didn't listen to us, and we contacted the United States which is exerting efforts to convince Israel to keep restrain and give the PNA another chance," said Abbas.

An Egyptian security delegation is in Gaza and managed to get a commitment from Hamas to the calm, but Hamas militants kept firing rockets at Israel on Monday morning.

The question that remains to be asked is that what will happen next after Israel agreed to halt its large-scale operation for 24 hours, people worries.

Source: Xinhua