- Col (Res.) Dr. Raphael G. Bouchnik-Chen
- Paper No. 1040
Hamas has repeatedly threatened to disrupt commercial flights to Israel, a threat intended to deter Israel whenever a violent round of hostilities erupts. This threat hearkens back to the flight ban that was imposed on Israel during 2014โs Operation Protective Edge following a Hamas rocket attack on Yahud. While the flight ban was more a reflection of the Obama administrationโs desire to put political pressure on Israel than a reflection of genuine safety concerns, Israeli decision makers do seem to consider the Hamas threat to Ben-Gurion Airport to be viable. In fact, it is more a propaganda message than a concrete threat.