Nine members of the Hamas faction currently imprisoned by Israel have reportedly decided to leave the organization and join Al Qaeda, feeling that Hamas was not radical enough.
Israeli security forces discovered propaganda material from Al Qaeda and messages written between prisoners which led them to believe that the prisoners had decided to join Al Qaeda.
Two of the nine men were reportedly trained by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
“In their opinion, Hamas is not doing enough, not carrying out enough terror attacks, and allowing the Jihad organization to lead the struggle against Israel, ” one Israeli official said, adding, “Their move was meant to create a situation in prison where they serve as Al Qaeda’s arm in jail.”
Israeli prison officials met with Hamas representatives regarding the discovery. They too expressed discontent with the defection of the nine detainees from Hamas.
“We’re talking about a move of defiance against the Hamas, which isn’t radiical enough…in the prisoners view,” an Israeli prison official said.
