“Israeli security agencies have prepared a package of sanctions against the Palestinian Authority [PA] if it turns out that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the heads of his Fatah movement are pushing the Palestinians into a clash with Israel in the West Bank,” an Israeli defense source has told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

Israel is closely monitoring preparations by the Tanzim, Fatah's armed wing, for Muslim Friday prayers on July 28. Although Israel has removed the contentious metal detectors from the entrance to Jerusalem’s Haram al-Sharif compound, it appears that Abbas and the other leaders in his movement are not interested in restoring calm and are instead openly calling for an escalation.

Israeli officials believe that senior PA officials, especially from the dominant Fatah faction, have interpreted Israel’s removal of the magnetometers in the face of international and regional pressure as a sign of weakness on Israel’s part and are unwilling to stop the momentum they have gathered.

Tanzim leaders convened July 26 in Ramallah, the seat of the PA in the West Bank, and adopted a unanimous decision to instigate clashes with Israeli troops. They have designated the events planned as “Jum’at al-Miyadin” (Town Square Friday) and are not only calling on Palestinians to hold public demonstrations, but is also providing them with the means to ensure a mass turnout to confront Israeli forces at roadblocks erected at the entrance to Palestinian towns.