It's not for nothing that Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza, said this week in an interview with Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV station that his organization coordinates with Iran on a daily basis. The message was meant primarily for Egyptian and Arab ears, but was also intended to convey the prevalent mood in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian terrorist organizations, chief among them Hamas and Islamic Jihad, are now leaning more than ever toward Tehran.
Hamas' about-face toward Iran is deemed heresy in the eyes of Sunni Muslims and even in the eyes of Qatar, whose diplomatic efforts have successfully secured cease-fires in the past. Qatar is no longer capable of influencing Hamas, due to the boycott imposed on it by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. In fact, the key to preventing an escalation in Gaza lies in Cairo, not in Tehran. Only Egypt, which has already forced Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to bend once by ordering him to end the violent border protests, can prevent Hamas and the other Palestinian groups from exacerbating the situation.
This is also why, despite the ongoing rocket fire and the Israeli Air Force's counterstrikes in Gaza, senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials have openly declared and reiterated that they are not interested in an escalation or another war with Israel.
Palestinian officials in Gaza and Ramallah believe the armed groups in Gaza are simply letting off steam, under considerable pressure both from a population crumbling under the weight of a humanitarian crisis and blockade and from their own military wings, which have suffered repeated blows at the hands of the Israeli army in recent weeks.
With that, as the hours pass and Egypt continues to mediate, it is safe to assume this round will be contained by both sides, at least until "Naksa Day" on June 5.
