Hamas Attempts To Ignite Judea And Samaria

• Since October 7, 2023, when the war in the Gaza Strip began, Hamas has been working to ignite Judea and Samaria to open another front that will engage Israel’s security forces, part of the concept the “unity of the arenas” which Hamas and the “axis of resistance” developed earlier. Senior Hamas terrorists, led by Saleh al-‘Arouri, deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau and in charge of Judea and Samaria for Hamas, are again urging the residents of Judea, Samaria, east Jerusalem and Israeli Arabs to join the campaign, attack settlers, clash with Israeli security forces and carry out attacks, including inside Israeli territory. They called on the operatives of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) security apparatus to use their weapons to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel.
• As part of the campaign to encourage the activity of the residents of Judea and Samaria, calls to the Palestinian public to carry out terrorist attacks are published on Hamas-affiliated social networks and channels, led by the Islamic Bloc (Hamas’ student faction at the universities in Judea and Samaria). Hamas also officially declared “days of rage,” mainly on Fridays, when the public was asked to demonstrate and clash with Israeli security forces.
• Not wanting to open another front and to foil Hamas’ plans, immediately after the war began, the Israeli security forces increased their counterterrorism activities in Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem. Their actions are directed primarily against the Hamas terrorist infrastructure and its leadership. So far, the security forces have arrested about 1,850 wanted persons, about 1,100 of them Hamas operatives.
• The PA also understood the danger and the possibility it would lose control. Therefore, as soon as the war began, Mahmoud Abbas instructed the Palestinian security forces to increase their activity in the Palestinian cities, warning that otherwise the situation could become chaotic. He also ordered them to prevent any protest against him personally, and to use force to stop Hamas supporters from demonstrating.
• In practice, the public’s response to Hamas’ calls has been limited

For full analysis by The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center go to https://tinyurl.com/4356shsd