According to Gaza Now, the Egyptian delegation which has been attempting to calm the waters between Hamas and Israel as well as between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority has left the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and will return in 3 hours.
The “joint resistance factions” in Gaza issued a press statement on Wednesday, stressing that they “salute the Egyptian effort to achieve the demands of our people, and reject all irresponsible attempts that try to sabotage the Egyptian effort, including the rocket fire last night.”
Gaza Alan reported that Egypt has brokered a military de-escalation between Hamas and Israel, and conveyed a message to Israel that Hamas is not responsible for last night’s rocket fire at Beersheba.
Israel, of course, holds that Hamas is the sole sovereign in the Gaza Strip, which makes it responsible for everything that takes place there.
In response to Israeli leaders’ warnings that their response to yet another Friday of violent riots at the Gaza border fence would be even more severe than before, Hamas issued the following message:
“We, in the armed wings of the Palestinian factions, state that all factions will fight off the Israeli attempts to stop the mass peaceful protests by imposing strict rules of engagement.”
So, there you have it. Come Friday, all hell should break loose around 2 PM, when the mosques in Gaza let people out. A traditional peaceful time will be had by one and all.