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.
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.”
The military wing further described the attack as “a qualitative operation that confused the enemy's systems.”
Al-Qassam Brigades has rarely claimed responsibility for such attacks in the West Bank in recent years. The recent move could usher in security challenges to the Israeli army. In a May 2 statement, Hamas said that by claiming “full responsibility” for the attack, al-Qassam Brigades is launching “a new phase of resistance to the occupation in the West Bank” as a retaliation to Israel's aggression of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
