News Analysis: Ceasefire between Israel, Gaza factions remains fragile

Gaza, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The recent ceasefire understandings between the Palestinian militant factions in the Gaza Strip and Israel remain fragile and could collapse in a fraction of a second, said the Palestinian observers.

They agreed that the prospects remain open to new rounds of violence as long as Israel keeps its 12-year blockade on Gaza.

On Monday overnight, Egypt and the United Nations brokered a new ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian factions and Israel after an exchange of fire that lasted for several hours.

During the short round of violence, Israeli warplanes and helicopters carried out dozens of airstrikes overnight between Monday and Tuesday, targeting 15 militant sites, according to the Israeli army.

Among these sites were the headquarters of Hamas Chairman Ismail Haniyeh, which was destroyed to the ground.

The Israeli airstrikes came hours after a rocket attack on central Israel wounded seven Israelis.

Militants in Gaza responded with a barrage of rockets launched towards communities in southern Israel.

An Israeli military spokesperson said at least 30 short-range rockets were launched, triggering air raid warning sirens and the Iron Dome anti-rocket system.

Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have succeeded in many occasions to stop repeated violent confrontations between Palestinian factions and Israel. However, their mediation did not come out with a full truce agreement.

Gaza-based political expert Hamza Abu Shanab said both the Palestinian factions and Israel have shown a strong unwillingness to escalate violence.

Abu Shanab said each side tried to achieve its goals without slipping deeper into a comprehensive confrontation at a delicate stage as the upcoming parliamentary elections in Israel are going to be held in April.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to win the next elections, "so he sought to cool down the Gaza front and not to risk sinking into an open confrontation," he added.

"Netanyahu has difficult choices regarding handling the Gaza issue and his first priority is to win the elections, which will not be guaranteed if he starts a new round of violence with the Palestinian factions," the expert explained.

Mobilizing Israeli forces along the Gaza Strip's borders does not mean the Israeli army is going to launch a ground operation in Gaza, adding it is "nothing more than a precautionary measure," said Abu Shanab.

The repeated rounds of violence in the Gaza Strip is related to the ongoing Israeli blockade and the Palestinian factions' persistence to end it, said Adnan Abu Amer, a political analyst from Gaza city.

"Launching a rocket from Gaza on Tel Aviv that left scenes of destruction less than two weeks before Israel's election carried threats for Netanyahu's political future," Abu Amer told Xinhua.

Any high-level escalation in Gaza may increase these threats, an option that Netanyahu does not seek at this sensitive period of time, he said.

New rounds of tension remain are possible as long as the blockade on Gaza is in place, the expert added.

Days before Monday's violence, the Gaza Strip witnessed intermittent rounds of tension. Three Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire last week during the weekly anti-Israel protests known as the "Marches of Return."

Organizers of the marches, which aim to lift the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip since mid-2007, will commiserate the protests' first anniversary this Saturday.

The committee that supervises and organizes the activities of the marches called for a greater protest along the Gaza-Israel borderline to mark the first anniversary of the ongoing rallies.

According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, the Israeli army shot and killed more than 260 Palestinians and wounded 29,000 others since the rallies started one year ago.

"The developments will remain open with renewed rounds of tension in light of the sharp deterioration in the humanitarian and living conditions in the Gaza Strip because of the Israeli blockade," Gaza-based political analyst Hani Habib told Xinhua.

Habib pointed out that the Palestinian factions, especially Hamas, do not seek an open military escalation with Israel, but at the same time they want to continue pressure on Israel to lift its blockade or at least relax it.

"A military confrontation between both sides will always loom since there is no clear vision to improve conditions in Gaza," he said.