Gaza becoming center for export of ISIS fighters
Last month, when ISIS militants took over Turkmen villages in Aleppo, the second largest city of Syria, the terrorist group installed a new “governor” there who is a Palestinian from the Gaza Strip.
In recent weeks, Hamas has been facing perhaps the biggest challenge to its rule in the form of rival Salafist groups allied with ISIS. The groups have accused Hamas of “selling out” their Islamic faith and have been openly challenging Hamas, including with firefight clashes and attempted bombings.
Last week, Salafists in Gaza under the banner of the Omar Brigades claimed responsibility for a rocket launched from Gaza toward southern Israel, at least the fifth such rocket fired from Gaza in recent weeks.
The rocket attack violates a truce between Israel and Hamas. The Salafists apparently want to draw Israeli retaliation targeting the Hamas infrastructure. Israel holds Gaza’s Hamas rulers responsible for rockets fired by Gazan groups.
Hamas has arrested dozens of ISIS-allied gunmen and imams, and a Salafist mosque was destroyed.
Earlier this month, a ISIS-tied jihadist, 27-year-old Younis Hunnar, was killed during a raid by Hamas security forces on his Gaza City home.
Things have gotten so bad that Hamas has been using Egypt as a middle man to pass to Israel information on rival Salafist jihadists in the Gaza Strip, hoping the Jewish state will target the militants, an Egyptian security source told WND last week.