Leaders of the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip are reportedly at loggerheads over whether to join the Palestinian Islamic Jihad-instigated fighting against Israel or refrain from adding fuel to the fire, a senior official affiliated with Gaza’s rulers told Israel Hayom.
Hamas military leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar reportedly prefers not to provoke Israel, while the majority of the group’s senior officials think the Islamist terrorist group should join the fray.
The latest flare-up followed the targeted killing of top Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Ata on Tuesday, for which the Iranian-backed terrorist group vowed an “unprecedented response.”
Since Tuesday morning, Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists have fired over 250 rockets at Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the Iron Dome missile defense system has intercepted over half of the rockets, with the majority of the rest hitting open areas.
According to various reports in Arab and Palestinian media, Egyptian officials, who have been trying to mediate a ceasefire, are “the only ones keeping Hamas at bay.”
This is proving to be a very problematic task, as the Islamic Jihad, an Iranian proxy, has publicly announced that it would not heed Cairo’s orders to halt its fire, making it increasingly difficult for Hamas to rein it in.
Senior Hamas officials in Gaza have been lambasting Sinwar and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh over their reluctance to back Islamic Jihad’s assault on Israel, saying that the pressure may get to Sinwar.
As head of Izzadin al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, he has the power to decide whether Hamas will harness its considerable arsenal to serve local rival Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s campaign against Israel.
“In the past, it would fall to [former Hamas strongman] Khaled Mashal to decide on such things and he would have the final say,” a Hamas official told Israel Hayom.
“Unfortunately, Ismail Haniyeh is no Khaled Mashal and he is powerless to make Sinwar abide by the political bureau’s position on the matter, which supports joining Islamic Jihad in the fight,” he said.
This article was provided to Metro through an agreement with Israel Hayom news. Visit www.israelhayom.com for more coverage.
