Hamas leadership as a festival marking the group’s 31st anniversary. Photo: Hamas.

i24 News – Palestinian terrorist factions in Gaza threatened to escalate violence again, and could even fire rockets at the Jewish state, if Jerusalem continues to impose conditions on the transfer of Qatari redevelopment money and the full opening of border crossings, according to the Hamas-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar.

The newspaper reported that “the factions have given the occupying power until the end of this week [July 31] to bring in Qatari subsidies, open passages, and bring in reconstruction materials,” otherwise, “tensions will intensify along the borders, and they will take other larger and broader forms.”

At the same time, Palestinian media have reported in recent days that negotiations regarding the transfer of Qatari money are progressing, but according to Ynet, no agreement has been reached between the various parties.

For three years, Qatar has regularly paid millions of dollars to Gaza, with Israel’s consent. These funds are used to pay the salaries of civil servants, but the money is also distributed in cash directly to Palestinians in need.

Israel is also delivering Qatari-funded fuel to the coastal enclave to provide for power generation, a move aimed at further loosening the grip imposed during the May conflict between the Jewish state and Hamas.

Earlier this week, Israel reduced the radius of permitted fishing off Gaza’s coast from 12 nautical miles to six in the wake of the resumption of incendiary balloon attacks against communities in the country’s south.