On the fifth day of Operation Bring Back Our Brothers, Israel continued to target Hamas in the West Bank and has arrested over 200 members of Hamas, mostly in the area of Hebron while the search for the three kidnapped teenagers continues.
If Hamas was behind the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank, it would mark a breach of understandings between Fatah and Hamas, and render their unity agreement void, a senior official in the Palestinian Authority told the Times of Israel.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues statement on the three kidnapped teenagers who have been missing for 6 days.
IDF troops operating in the West Bank arrested some some 80 Palestinians, including senior members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, overnight Saturday, as security forces continued to search for information regarding the whereabouts of three Israeli teenagers kidnapped while hitchhiking south of Jerusalem on Thursday night, Palestinian sources were quoted as saying.
In his first statement since the disappearance of Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel nearly 48 hours ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Saturday that the three yeshiva students were kidnapped by a terrorist organization.
More than half of Palestinians are against renewing negotiations with Israel, while less than one third think they should be restarted, according to a new poll conducted by a West Bank research center.
President Barack Obama received a letter from 88 U.S. Senators urging him to reconsider aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) over forming a unity government with Hamas, a designated Foreign Terrorist organization.
Al Sabirin, a pro-Shi’ite militia in the Gaza Strip, backed by Iran and Hezbollah launched its first operation May 25 against Israel. The organization is under the command of Hisham Salem, a former senior official of Islamic Jihad, who was arrested by Hamas in 2013.
Hamas has called on members of its armed wing in the West Bank to target Israeli soldiers and civilians in a bid to ease the plight of its prisoners in Israeli jails, a party spokesman said on Monday.
Gaza-based terror group Hamas is planning to encourage attacks against Israel as well as sap support in the West Bank from the Palestinian Authority (PA) by exploiting the Islamist “Dawa” social and cultural movement, a security source told the Ma’ariv daily on Sunday.
International hopes that a Palestinian unity government would strengthen the position of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip; however Hamas is taking control of Judea and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet on Sunday.
The first crisis facing the Palestinian unity government was apparently solved over the weekend as Qatar pledged to pay salaries of thousands of Hamas public servants in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to disarm Hamas and take control of the Gaza Strip after creating a unity government with Hamas.
During the 2008 presidential campaign, as it became clear that Barack Obama would be the Democratic nominee, he granted an interview with Jeffrey Goldberg in an attempt to establish pro-Israel bona fides. A Hamas official had recently endorsed Obama’s presidential candidacy and when Goldberg asked him about it, Obama responded emphatically: My position on Hamas is indistinguishable from the position of Hillary Clinton or John McCain. I said they are a terrorist organization and I’ve repeatedly condemned them. I’ve repeatedly said, and I mean what I say: since they are a terrorist organization, we should not be dealing with them until they recognize Israel, renounce terrorism, and abide by previous agreements.
In an apparent punitive move following the swearing in of a Palestinian unity government, Israel has revoked special travel permits for all Palestinian Authority officials other than President Mahmoud Abbas, a Palestinian official said Tuesday.
The West is prepared to work with a new Palestinian government, US and European Union officials said Monday, despite Israeli concerns it gives power and influence to the radical Hamas movement.
The Palestinian unity government with Hamas will be announced on Monday “despite Israeli threats,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas chose a prime minister to head a unity government on Thursday but announcement of the lineup was held up over the foreign affairs portfolio, officials said.
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) announced Thursday that a senior Hamas operative, who was arrested at the Allenby Bridge last month, revealed during his interrogation that Hamas uses the Islamic Movement in Israel as a front to advance its activities and goals in Jerusalem.
Differences between Fatah and Hamas may delay the formation of a Palestinian unity government and its announcement by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian sources said Wednesday.