Palestinians burn tires to throw over the Gaza border into Israel on May 4, 2018, as part of weekly riots led by Hamas since March 30. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Hamas does not want an escalation with Israel during the upcoming month of Ramadan, though it is likely to pursue terrorist attacks in the West Bank, Israeli defense officials told news site Walla.

Ramadan is often a time of raised tensions in the region, and this year it coincides with Land Day — a day of protest against what Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs regard as unjust land appropriation by Israel.

However, the sources said, Hamas wants to avoid a major conflict with Israel, especially because of the results of the last round of fighting in May 2021, which left the group’s terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip devastated.

Nonetheless, both Hamas and Islamic Jihad are seeking to commit major terror attacks in the West Bank, even though the Hamas leadership is concerned that such attacks — especially around the Temple Mount — could force it into a new round of fighting.

The security sources said that the Hamas leadership will likely attempt to restrain the various terror factions in Gaza should such a situation occur.

Hamas is also under pressure at home, with the cost of living rising in the Strip, to the point that the terror group has begun arresting food sellers who raise their prices.

“The entry of thousands of workers from Gaza into Israel is a mediating factor,” one of the sources said. “If the Gaza Strip enters a round of fighting with Israel, the crossings [into Israel] will be closed. The street could rise up against Hamas. This is very problematic from their point of view.”