Common enemy: Israel, Hamas face threat of ISIS in Gaza …
Posted By admin on May 22, 2015
ISIS claimed responsibility for a recent bombing of Hamas security offices in Gaza. (Reuters)
HAIFA, Israel Sworn enemies Israel and Hamas may have found the one thing that can unite them: The threat of ISIS taking over Gaza.
Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist organization which controls the Islamic enclave in Israel and which fought a vicious 50-day war against Israel last summer, is desperately trying to stop ISIS from gaining a foothold within its territory. In recent weeks, jihadi groups loyal to ISIS have exchanged gun and rocket fire with Hamas authorities, planted bombs in public buildings and threatened an all-out war with the Gaza government. Hamas reportedly blew up a mosque believed to be a base for ISIS loyalists and has detained significant numbers of suspects.
In light of Hamas latest action, we renew our allegiance to [ISIS leader] Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and call on him to strengthen his influence, to open up a war in Palestine in order to unite together in a war against the Jews and their accomplices, a group calling itself Supporters of the Islamic State in Jerusalem said in a statement last month after the mosque in the central Gaza section of Deir Al-Balah was destroyed.
Hamas is brutal enough and determined enough to meet that challenge.
- Yoram Schweitzer, Institute for National Security Studies
The statement demanded that Hamas release all ISIS loyalists and was followed days later by a bombing near Hamas' security headquarters.
ISIS has now expanded beyond Iraq and Syria and into Yemen, Libya, Egypt and Somalia. Although Palestinian leaders refuse to publicly acknowledge an ISIS presence threat in Gaza, the groups black flag is now often seen there.
The developments have Hamas and Israel, which sees an ISIS takeover of Gaza as a bigger threat than Hamas, reportedly talking through back channels about how to squeeze out ISIS, a collaboration that some commentators say could be the basis for possible dtente between sworn enemies. Any potential agreement, informal or otherwise, does not appear imminent, but there is a growing belief that it remains a possibility.
I know that people from Hamas have expressed more and more the concept of long-range hudna [truce] with Israel, regional terror expert Yoram Schweitzer of the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies told FoxNews.com. Because of the dire straits in Gaza as a consequence of the last operation there, Hamas has to carry the burden of caring for the people and is considering pushing for a kind of hudna in return for Israeli concessions.
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Common enemy: Israel, Hamas face threat of ISIS in Gaza ...
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