The threat of rocket attacks is no longer limited to Gaza-adjacent communities, warns Hamas commentator.
By World Israel News Staff
A commentator affiliated with the Hamas terror group spoke out about the recent trends of rockets being fired towards Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, saying the strategy marks a new era in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Since Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2006, Jewish cities and towns in the southern Negev desert region have been bombarded with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles launched from the enclave. However, according to an analysis recently published in the Hamas-controlled Filastin media outlet, the threat of rocket fire is no longer limited to Gaza-adjacent communities.
Since the beginning of 2023, there have been several incidents of older and crudely home-manufactured rockets being launched from PA towns to Israeli municipalities in Judea and Samaria.
While none of those launches have resulted in casualties, Hamas views the phenomenon as a marker of renewed Palestinian aggression towards Israel, and a signal that the conflict has shifted in their favor.
Ahmed Abu Zouhari, a prominent Palestinian political commentator, told Filastin that residents and soldiers in Judea and Samaria should expect the region to become as volatile as the Gaza Strip.
“The nightmare of Gaza and its rockets will chase the occupation in every place,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks published by Arutz Sheva.
“The rockets are the beginning of the end of the [Zionist] entity.”
Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria have been pushing for an air raid siren system in response to launches and attempts that were foiled by the IDF and security forces.
“It doesn’t really matter whether the Jenin area becomes Gaza or not. If the reality is one of launching rockets and the response is containment and [there’s a need for] a red alert systems, then it is already happening,” one resident told Israel Hayom last week.
In late June, the Hamas-linked Ayyash Brigade terror group launched a rocket from Jenin towards a nearby Jewish community south of Afula.
The rocket fell short of its target and exploded in an open area near Jenin.