Israeli planes are set to patrol the skies of the Gaza Strip during the contentious Jerusalem flag march, prepared to respond immediately to any potential rocket launches from the Hamas-controlled enclave, military said Sunday.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh last week warned Israel about going ahead with the nationalistic march marking the Jerusalem Day, which could potentially re-ignite violence in the capital. Israel has given the go-ahead for flag-waving Jewish nationalists to march through the Damascus Gate, the Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem's Old City, which Palestinians see as unacceptable.
The IDF, however, warned the terror organization that any attacks against Israel in retaliation to the march would lead to great consequences.
While Hamas representatives outside of Gaza keep leveling threats, the group's military's wing chief Mohammed Deif and its leader in the Strip Yahya Sinwar have remained relatively reserved. Deif, who called the shots in last year's 11-day May war, is staying silent for the time being, and Sinwar has not explicitly threatening escalation.
Meanwhile, Khaled Mashal - one of Hamas' leaders abroad - called on all "people of the Islamic and Arabic nation" to embark on a day of rage alongside the flag march on Sunday.
"We must do something big, so that the occupation and its supporters understand that harming Al-Aqsa will lead to an earthquake," said Mashal.
Despite the ominous tone from Mashal and other Hamas officials, the IDF believes that Hamas is not interested in another military confrontation akin to that of last year. It appears the Gazan leadership wants to verbally incite violence from afar, while maintaining stability inside its borders. Hence, the chances of missile launches are low, but casualties and violence in Jerusalem could alter the circumstances.
The IDF also believes the turmoil in Jerusalem could spark a symbolic missile launch from Lebanon. Another scenario would see the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement shooting rockets separately from Hamas, in which Israel will have to consider the nature of its response.
Additionally, throughout the last few weeks a host of violent clashes took place in Huwara, a Palestinian town south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, between Palestinians and Israeli forces.
Tensions began to fester when a group of settlers arrived at Huwara to take down Palestinian flags. More so, on Friday, a group of masked settlers opened fire toward a Palestinian café in Huwara and shattered its windows. Luckily, no deaths were reported in the event.
This front is drawing the IDF's attention, given it could be a focal point of violence which would be difficult to dismantle and keep under control.
Throughout the last ten days, over 40 cases of nationalist crimes have been carried out by extreme right-wing Jews against Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank. Officials at the defense establishment are worried that incidents like these could ignite the whole West Bank region and create an additional front.