This article was about how Palestinian national holidays are approaching and how both the Palestinians and the Israelis were feeling the tension from it. The month of May has both the Palestinian holidays of Nakba and Independence Day. There are feeling of frustration and hopelessness within the community which are much more likely to be expressed around such holidays. Gazans were expected to protest by setting up “tent-cities” around the border fence on Nakba day, as a form of peaceful protest. Israel’s military, called the IDF, has already issued a statement saying they will respond with force if necessary. They are concerned about violent demonstrations by Hamas. Iran has increased funding to the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, by about $60 million. Previously they had stopped funding Hamas because the group refused to support the Assad regime. In the future, there are two major challenges, according to Halevi, the head of the IDF’s intelligence department. He would like to see the weakening of Hezbollah, a Shia political group in Lebanon. He feels that this is a job that should have been undertaken by the Lebanese government, and feels it would be better for the economy of Lebanon if they focused on their own interests and didn’t support Hezbollah and Iran. He says Israel is beginning to feel threatened by Iran’s troops in Syria. Previously Palestine had not been getting involved with the country’s civil war, but Halevi is worried things might change if Israel is forced to take some military action. He believes the West should put pressure on Iran to change its behavior.
Arab World Blog 