Analysis: Egypt, Hamas, ISIS and Israel after the latest rocket attack

For a few hours last week, after the rockets landed in Israel, there was uncertainty from where they were fired.

 

At first it was thought the projectiles came from the southern Gaza Strip, but later it was reported that the Islamic State’s Egyptian affiliate in the Sinai claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

Hamas denied that the rockets were fired from Gaza.

 

Nonetheless, it’s conceivable that the group that fired the rockets on Friday was a rebellious Salafist organization in Gaza, that does not recognize Hamas’s authority and wants to drive a wedge between it and Israel. What this would mean is that despite Egyptian efforts to control them, the Sinai-Gaza smuggling tunnels are still operational.

 

In any case, Israel needs to be concerned about the latest rocket fire, but the incident does not mark a dramatic turn of events. In the past, formerly al-Qaida affiliated Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, that recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and now calls itself Sinai Province, fired rockets on the Negev and Eilat.

 

Read More: Analysis: Egypt, Hamas, ISIS and Israel after the latest rocket attack – Middle East – Jerusalem Post