Hamas is cracking down on jihadists--again.
The Islamist party, which rules the Gaza Strip, has reportedly locked up at least six Salafist-jihadists in recent days, according to security analyst Michael Horovitz.
Two suspected Salafist-jihadists were nabbed on Sunday and Monday by Hamas authorities, and another four were arrested on Tuesday, said Horowitz, who works for The Levantine Group, a United Kingdom-based research and risk consulting company.
A commander of the al-Quds Brigades, which is the military wing of Islamic Jihad, was also detained, Horovitz tweeted, although it appears he was arrested simply for "being the brother of one of suspects," Horovitz said.
Horovitz obtained his information from Arabic-language Salfist-jihadist accounts.
In the past days #Hamas arrested at least six suspected Salafi-jihadists, four yesterday night and two on May 15-16
— Michael Horowitz (@michaelh992) May 18, 2016
Earlier, 2 other suspected jihadists were arrested in central #Gaza, and the day after a commander in the al-Quds brigade was also detained
— Michael Horowitz (@michaelh992) May 18, 2016
Salafism is a radical brand of Sunni Islam that emphasizes literal adherence to the Koran. It is the basis of the ideology of Daesh, the militant group that seized large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
A source told the Agence France Presse news agency last week that Salafist forces in Gaza numbered about 3,000, although Hamas has shown little tolerance for them in the past, having been accused of imprisoning them without cause and even allegedly torturing some of them while they were detained.
--HS
