Will escalation with Hamas benefit Netanyahu?
Escalation with Hamas arrives exactly at the moment when the anti-Netanyahu bloc is trying to cobble up a "government for change."
![Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a Cabinet meeting, as an escalation of violence raged for a second day in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem, Nov. 13, 2019.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2021-05/GettyImages-1182108082.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=0ApYZxip)
The current round of violence that erupted May 10 between Israel and Hamas has two unusual aspects.
The first is unprecedented. For the first time ever, a relatively minor terrorist organization such as Hamas presented a major military power such as Israel with an ultimatum, demanding the withdrawal of all its security forces from two Jerusalem flashpoints — Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Hamas even set a specific time — 6 p.m.