News Analysis: Emerging Salafists not big threat to Hamas

A growing tension between Islamic Hamas movement and Salafist groups overshadows the situation in the Gaza Strip, but analysts ruled out a comprehensive collision between the two sides.

The analysts believe that although the Salafist groups represent an annoying source to Hamas which took control of the coastal enclave in 2007, these groups is not a big threat so far to the movement's existence.

In the meantime, the analysts concluded that the recent firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel by these Salafist groups would not lead to a collapse of the Egyptian-brokered ceasefire deal that ended 50-day of conflict between Hamas and Israel last summer.

Over the past three weeks, six rockets were fired from the coastal enclave into southern Israel. Israel retaliatory struck some training facilities in Gaza, which not only belong to Hamas militants, but also to Islamic Jihad and other minor militant groups, loyal to Hamas.

The Salafist groups claimed responsibility for firing the rockets into Israel, and said in separate leaflets that it fired the rockets into Israel in response to Hamas security apparatuses crackdown on Salsfists and showing Hamas that Salafist groups intend to confront Israel, not Hamas.

Over the past seven weeks, there were several explosions in some areas in the Gaza Strip. Those bombings targeted security headquarters, cars and facilities that belong to Hamas security forces. No injuries were reported, but Hamas kept its crackdown on members of these groups.

MESSAGE DELIVERED

One of the Salafist members, who spoke to Xinhua on condition of anonymity, said that the Salafist groups took responsibility for the rockets firing from Gaza into Israel and also for some bombings in recent weeks, adding that these actions were a message to Hamas.

"Our groups escalated military actions in the Gaza Strip to make Hamas rule unstable and to express outrage for the intensive crackdown of Hamas security forces against our members," he said, adding that "one of our members was killed, dozens were arrested, and dozens are under home arrest."

According to the 27-year-old Salafist member, "the honeymoon between Hamas and the Salafist groups, which has been going on for two years, is now over," adding that "this escalation is expected to elevate as long as Hamas goes on with its crackdown on the groups."

In the Gaza Strip, there are about 20 Salafist groups, which are divided into two different kinds. The first is those who are armless and work on promoting Islam. It estimates that there are thousands of activists who act through Islamic charities all over the Gaza Strip.

The second kind of Salafist groups is those who are armed, such as the Army of Islam, the Ommah (Nations) Army, The Shoura Council of the Mujahidin, Ansar al-Tawhid and al-Jihad and Ansar al-Dawla al-Jihadeya. However, it is still unknown how many militants are members in each group.

Security sources in the Gaza Strip said that the group of Ansar al-Dawla al-Jihadeya, or Supporters of the State of Jihad, is the group that has a growing tension with Hamas movement. At least 15 of this group's members were recently arrested by Hamas security in Gaza.

The bloodiest confrontation between the Salafist groups and Hamas was on Aug. 14, 2009 in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah, when Hamas security forces attacked a mosque and killed 28 people, including Sheikh Abdulatif Musa, leader of the group.

TENSION BUILDUP EXPECTED

Mekhemer Abu Se'da, political science professor at al-Azhar University, told Xinhua that ties between Hamas and the Salfists would worsen in the near future, adding that "these groups believe that it is time now to empower its presence in Gaza with the growth of IS power in the region."

Abu Se'da asserted that over the past seven years, Hamas had failed repeatedly to block the growth of the Salafist groups, adding "but at the same time, the Salafist groups know that they don't have the enough power to challenge Hamas."

"I don't believe that the Salafist groups represent a challenge to Hamas rule over the Gaza Strip right now, but these groups are an annoying source to Hamas by firing rockets into Israel and create a status of security instability in the Gaza Strip," said Abu Se'da.

Meanwhile, many observers believe that launching rockets from Gaza into Israel by the Salafist groups aims at dragging both Israel and Hamas into a military confrontation. Some observers said that Salafists want to kill two birds with one stone: putting Hamas into an embarrassing position and seeking revenge on Hamas.

"The Israeli airstrikes in response to recent rockets firing were an message to Hamas that if it doesn't stop these rockets, it will be fully responsible for it," said Adnan Abu Aamer, political science professor at al-Ummah University.

However, Abu Aamer ruled out that in the short run there will be another Israeli war on Gaza, adding that "the two sides will keep stick to the truce, so there will be no war and the recent Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip were a message to Hamas that Israel won't remain silent for any rocket fired from Gaza." Endit