Israeli military officials on Sunday predicted an escalation of the violent protests on the Israel-Gaza Strip border after Hamas leader said that the group would not try to prevent Palestinian demonstrators from rioting or approaching the security fence in future border protests.
The IDF has increased its deployment near the southern security fence in the wake of the violence seen during Friday's Hamas-orchestrated march on the border.
Some 30,000 Palestinians took part in the march, during which hundreds of rioters hurled firebombs, torched tires and stoned Israeli troops. Seventeen people were killed, 10 of them known terrorists, and some 1,400 were wounded in the border riots.
On Sunday, troops along the border began deploying stacked coiled barbwire along the security fence, creating an additional physical barrier meant to keep Palestinians from breaching Israeli territory.
Work continued on Monday under heavy aerial and ground cover.
Defense officials said Sunday that the military continues to be on high alert on the border, maintaining an increased presence of Infantry, Armored Corps and Combat Intelligence troops, alongside special forces, sappers and snipers.
As tensions on the Israel-Gaza Strip border rise, four separate incidents of border infiltrations were noted last week. On Sunday, three Palestinians infiltrated the border and were promptly arrested by Israeli troops. The three were unarmed and were handed over to the Shin Bet security agency for questioning.
The military is concerned that as well as infiltration attempts, Palestinian terrorist would attempt to carry out shooting attacks, place explosives on the border, or use anti-tank missiles against the troops patrolling the fence.
Another concern is rocket fire on the border-adjacent communities and Israel's south as a whole in the event that further clashes between the IDF and protesters on the border would result in a large number of Palestinian casualties.
A senior officer with the Southern Command said that Hamas "could decide to exact a price from the IDF using sniper fire or attacks [carried out] under the cover of the protests.
"If that happens, Hamas is risking a forceful military response that could reach beyond the fence," he warned.
A senior defense official told the Walla news website Sunday that according to reports on Palestinian media and social media posts, it is clear that Hamas plans to push for multiple violent protests in the weeks leading to May 15, when the Palestinian mark Nakba Day.
Nakba Day commemorates the displacement of Palestinian refugees during Israel's War of Independence, known in Arabic as the "Nakba" ("catastrophe").
The IDF is bracing for border riots on Friday, when Hamas has called for a solidarity protest to honor the Palestinians killed on March 30. Another particularly volatile date is April 14, when the Palestinian mark Prisoner Day.
The official stressed that from an operational standpoint, Friday's objectives were achieved and the IDF maintained deterrence opposite the Palestinians.
Going forward, "Hamas will definitely try to take it up a notch and be more violent. We are ready for every scenario," he said.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh warned Sunday that while the organization had called for "peaceful protests" Israel's "aggression" toward the Palestinians protesters last week meant it would do nothing to restrain protesters in the future.
"We tell the whole world that the protests were peaceful, attended by women, children and the elderly and that the murder of our youth by the enemy was premeditated," he said during a ceremony in Gaza honoring children who participated in last week's march.
"The free world must take responsibility and bring the leaders of the occupation to justice. … The Palestinian people can no longer bear the siege. Last week we reached a certain limit and we held back. We do not know where this limit will take us next time," he said.
Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli maritime blockade and an Egyptian land blockade since the terrorist group seized control of the coastal enclave in a military coup in 2007.
Meanwhile, security forces operating across Judea and Samaria overnight arrested eight Palestinian suspected of terrorist activity. They were turned over to the Shin Bet for interrogation.
