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Hamas expands confrontation with Israel to West Bank

In a rare move, Hamas’ military wing claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting at a settlement in the West Bank, in a sign that the resistance may change tactics in its confrontations against Israel.
Israeli soldiers and policemen gather at the scene by the body of a Palestinian man who was shot dead reportedly while attempting a knife attack at the Gitai Avisar Junction, west of the Jewish settlement of Ariel and south of Nablus, West Bank, Jan. 26, 2021.

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, has claimed responsibility for a deadly shooting April 29 that killed an Israeli security guard in the Ariel settlement in the Salfit district in the northern West Bank.

In a May 2 statement, al-Qassam Brigades said the attack came in response to Israel's “defiling and aggression of Al-Aqsa Mosque,” warning that it “will not be the last.” 

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