A statement released on Telegram last week by Hamas’s military wing claimed
direct responsibility for a series of recent terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv and
the West Bank—a rare move highlighting Hamas’s increasingly brazen posture and
influence. A June 20 shooting in the West Bank settlement of Eli killed four
and wounded four others. A 22-year-old Israeli soldier was shot and killed near
the Kedumim West Bank settlement on July 6. And nine were injured in a vehicle
ramming and stabbing attack in Tel Aviv on July 4. Hamas—which has controlled
the Gaza Strip since 2007 but had limited success in asserting itself in the
West Bank—claimed all three of the attacks.





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Hamas Claims West Bank Terror Attacks Amid Palestinian Authority’s Declining
Credibility



(New York, N.Y.) – A statement released on Telegram last week by Hamas
<[link removed]>’s military wing claimed
<[link removed]>
direct responsibility for a series of recent terrorist attacks in Tel Aviv and
the West Bank—a rare move highlighting Hamas’s increasingly brazen posture and
influence. A June 20shooting
<[link removed]>
in the West Bank settlement of Eli killed four and wounded four others. A
22-year-old Israeli soldier wasshot and killed
<[link removed]> near the Kedumim West Bank
settlement on July 6. And nine wereinjured
<[link removed]>
in avehicle ramming
<[link removed]> and stabbing
attack in Tel Aviv on July 4. Hamas—which has controlled the Gaza Strip since
2007 but had limited success in asserting itself in the West Bank—claimed all
three of the attacks.



On July 3, Israeli forces launched a two-day operation in the West Bank’s
Jenin refugee camp.Palestinian Islamic Jihad
<[link removed]> (PIJ)
claimed it led the resistance to the Israeli action. During meetings in June
with the leaders of Hamas and PIJ, the Iranian regime renewed its commitment to
providing financial and material support to Palestinian militants, while
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameneicalled
<[link removed]>
the growth of militant groups in the West Bank central to bringing Israel “to
its knees.”



Iran’s determination to grow its terrorist proxies in the West Bank presents
an existential challenge to the Palestinian Authority (PA), whose President
Mahmoud Abbas has reportedlywarned
<[link removed]>
the West Bank is at risk of being taken over by Hamas. The warning cited the
expulsion of two Fatah—the ruling party of Abbas in the Palestinian
Authority—leaders from funerals of Palestinians killed during the Jenin
operation. Organized protests across the West Bank this month further
demonstrate the deterioration of PA rule. In Jenin, Palestinian protesters
charged <[link removed]> the Palestinian
Authority with collaborating against “resistance fighters,” and in Nablus a
group of protesters claimed the Palestinian Authority consisted of Israeli
“spies.”



To read the Counter Extremism Project (CEP)’s resource Hamas, please click here
<[link removed]>.



To read CEP’s resource Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), please click here
<[link removed]>.



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