Tensions between the Hamas and Islamic Jihad factions in Gaza are running high, as Iran, which backs the Islamic Jihad and factions within Hamas, is seeking to push the area into a bloodbath while weakening Egypt’s sway on the ongoing developments in the Strip.
The friction between the factions exists under the surface. A source within Gaza told TPS that the drama between the factions is ongoing and is part of the reasons that pushed the two terror group to attack Israel.
The Islamic Jihad has learned, through leaks from Iran, that Hamas has made no progress in its negotiations with Israel, despite Hamas’ claims otherwise.
The Islamic Jihad has also learned the Hamas is focusing on the release of terrorists held in Israeli prisons, an achievement that would earn Hamas political clout at its expense.
Therefore, the Islamic Jihad attacked Israel in an attempt to thwart the deal.
Iran is not pleased with its rival Egypt’s sway on the region and has told Hamas that it is likewise unhappy the Hamas and Egypt are growing close. Iran has further told Hamas that it is interested in a bloody front with Israel on the Gaza border that will keep Israel busy and its focus away from Iran’s activities in Syria.
The source further said that while both terror groups fired at Israel, Islamic Jihad led the initiative to serve its Iranian masters and to thwart Hamas’ plans for a ceasefire with Israel.
The Islamic Jihad has gained power and independence in recent months, despite Hamas’ attempts to coordinate its actions with it.
In a related development, The Islamic Jihad terror group has admitted that a rocket it fired on Saturday evening killed a baby in the Gaza Strip, despite initial claims she was killed in an Israeli strike.
Gazan sources identified the victims as 14-month-old Saba Mahmoud Abu ‘Arar and her pregnant mother Falastin, although the initial reports of the identity of the woman appear to have been inaccurate, and it was not the baby’s mother – rather another female victim in the household.
TPS has learned that the baby and woman were killed when Islamic Jihad terrorists launched a rocket towards Israel from within a populated area in the east of Gaza City, but the rocket misfired and landed short, exploding in a nearby house and killing the two.
Mahmoud H., a local resident, told TPS about a massive pit he saw inside the house after the rocket’s explosion.
The rocket was locally produced and may have malfunctioned or exploded prematurely because of the low-grade explosives.
The Hamas-controlled Gazan Ministry of Health initially announced that Saba’s mother was killed, but then claimed that another woman named Falastin Abu ‘Arar was killed in the explosion. She may be Saba’s aunt.
A source in Gaza told TPS that Islamic Jihad representatives met with the Abu ‘Arar family on Sunday morning and offered them full compensation and a registry of the baby as a “Shahid” entitled to long-term support in exchange for their silence.
Arab journalists in Gaza are aware of the facts, but have refrained from reporting on them due to the sensitivity of the situation.
TPS was successful in capturing Hamas’ report on the Islamic Jihad’s culpability.
(TPS)
