What is behind the Tel Aviv bus fires... and who benefits?

"The bombings raise big questions about who benefits from this timing," Basharat told Anadolu Agency.

In this regard, he points to three possible contexts: the first is the internal Israeli conflicts, especially in light of the pressures that the head of the Shin Bet is facing with the aim of dismissing him, which may make the bombings part of the internal conflict between the right-wing religious movements and the military security establishment.

The second context, according to Basharat, is related to Israel’s attempt to fabricate justifications for escalating its aggression in the West Bank with the aim of strengthening political control and imposing sovereignty over it, which brings to mind Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.

He explained, "The occupation began the wall operation in the West Bank under a security pretext, but its goal was to achieve political goals, and it seems the same thing is happening today."

Since January 21, the Israeli army has escalated its aggression on cities and camps in the northern West Bank, leaving 56 Palestinian dead according to the Ministry of Health, in addition to the displacement of tens of thousands, and widespread destruction of property, homes and infrastructure.

After the Tel Aviv bus fires, the Israeli army intensified arrests in the West Bank and announced the deployment of three battalions shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to carry out a "strong operation" there.

In the third context, Basharat links the bus fires to the war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, considering that the Israeli government is seeking to shuffle the cards and reduce international pressure on it in this regard.

He concluded that "what happened (of fires) comes within the Israeli context to a very large degree, and the situation is not linked to the Palestinian situation if we take into account the data in terms of timing, objectives, and form of implementation."

thorny issue

For his part, Imad Abu Awad, a Palestinian expert on Israeli affairs, described these fires as a thorny issue, noting that all scenarios are possible regarding them, "whether they are motivated by nationalism or are an Israeli plot."

However, Abu Awad, in an interview with Anadolu Agency, suggested that the bombings had a nationalist background for several reasons.

The first of these reasons, according to the Palestinian expert, is that Israel does not usually risk creating such huge incidents that cause terror and harm the reputation of its security establishment, especially the Shin Bet.

He added that Israel is already intensifying its aggression on the West Bank without any real response from the international community, and therefore it does not see the need for media or international justifications.

He concluded that "the situation (regarding these fires) is strange (...) things are not clear," noting that there are several doubts, including the fact that no injuries occurred as a result of them.

"A natural evolution of resistance"

As for the Palestinian political expert, Ahmed Abu Al-Haija, he believes that these fires are a “natural development of the resistance in the West Bank.”

In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Abu Al-Haija expected that this type of operation would become the "most likely scenario" in the next phase.

He pointed out that the resistance in the West Bank, despite its weakness and fragility, is able to continue.

He said: "These explosions indicate an important matter: there will be no stability after the war on Gaza."

Abu Al-Haija added that international, Arab and regional plans for the Palestinian arena to witness stability accompanied by the introduction of a national political project, after the end of the war on Gaza, will actually collide with the reality of instability.

This comes as "all files remain open in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank," as the Israeli aggression continues in various forms.

He added: "The next stage will witness a repositioning of the form of resistance in the West Bank in particular, and this will be the most prominent title of the next stage."

The Palestinian expert warned that indications indicate that Israel will escalate its aggression in the West Bank, but these strikes "will not eliminate the resistance, but will change its form, as it will move from public action to secret action, which means the state of instability will continue."

He added: "Israel does not need justifications to carry out its operations in the West Bank, as it is continuing its military escalation, annexation plans, and settlement expansion."

Abu Al-Haija pointed out that "Israel was carrying out all forms of escalation in the West Bank before the bombings, including setting up military checkpoints, carrying out arrests, killings, settlements and annexation operations."

Abu Al-Haija considered that "these bombings constitute a strong blow to the Israeli security establishment, and reflect a major failure on its part."

Source: Anadolu Agency