A recent mass arrest of Hamas terrorists in Judea and Samaria offers a glimpse into the deceptive nature of the ongoing quiet in the area and how hard the Gaze-based terror organization is working to disrupt the relative calm.
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At any given time, Hamas is trying to establish dozens of terror cells, and only the determined efforts by Israel's security forces prevent these efforts from maturing into waves of shootings and bombings.
Earlier this month, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency announced the arrest of dozens of Hamas operatives in the village of Turmus Aya, north of Ramallah. Assisted by the Border Police, the arrest operation enabled Israel to break up a Hamas student cell at Birzeit University near Ramallah.
Some of those apprehended "were directly involved in terror activities, including money transfers, incitement and the organization of Hamas activities," the IDF said in a statement. The suspects were taken into custody for questioning.
These results were made possible by high-quality intelligence, operational preparations and tight cooperation between multiple Israeli security branches in Judea and Samaria. The arrests are merely the tip of the iceberg.
Israeli security forces are engaged around the clock against Hamas, mostly behind the scenes, which is the main reason for the relative quiet. The Palestinian Authority, which is directly threatened by Hamas' activities, has an interest in coordinating with the IDF; the official resumption of this coordination, in November 2020, means more effective repression of Hamas' terror activities in the area.
Student cells in Palestinian universities form fertile ground for Hamas to spread its radical Islamist ideology and recruit ideological young people to the organization.
Hamas often disguises such recruitment programs as social welfare activities. The Islamic student organizations, known locally as a Kutla, form a strategic recruitment mechanism for Hamas. The organization's Gaza headquarters, as well as operatives in its overseas branches in Turkey and Lebanon, are often behind attempts to remotely set up Judea and Samaria terror cells, fund them, recruit more members, and eventually, activate them to conduct attacks against Israeli targets, including plots to conduct mass-casualty shootings and bombings in Israeli cities.
'Paradigm shift in public attitudes against the PA'
While Hamas is continually working "under the radar" to undermine stability in Judea and Samaria, the current timing of the arrests is of particular interest as the terror group clearly recognizes a potential for improving its foothold in Judea and Samaria – likely due to the growing unpopularity of the PA and its ongoing internal power struggles. It remains "flexible" on how to ultimately topple the PA, whether via ballot, elections or bullet, as it did in Gaza in 2005.
It is this objective of weakening Fatah that led Hamas to fire rockets at Jerusalem and southern Israel on May 10, sparking a destructive 11-day conflict with Israel. One of the key considerations behind Hamas' choice to risk war was the idea that marketing itself as Jerusalem's "genuine" defender would strengthen Hamas' status at the expense of the PA in Palestinian public perception.
A recent opinion poll among Palestinians by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found that Hamas made considerable progress towards this goal in its competition with Fatah for Palestinian hearts and minds. The center said its report found a "semi-consensus that Hamas has won the May 2021 confrontation with Israel," adding that this represents "a paradigm shift in public attitudes against the PA and its leadership and in favor of Hamas and armed struggle."
The poll also found a two-thirds majority rejecting the decision by PA President Mahmoud Abbas to postpone the Palestinian parliamentary elections – a decision driven by the knowledge that a splintered Fatah was on its way to losing against Hamas.
Meanwhile, Hamas' efforts on the ground persist around the clock as well. In 2020, 430 significant terror attacks were thwarted by Israel in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria; in 2019, that number topped 500. The drop in attempts last year represents a temporary slowdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
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The current year shows no sign of letting up, and Hamas is encouraged by the weakness it identifies in the rival Palestinian ruling entity it wishes to replace.
These factors lead to the conclusion that the calm in Judea and Samaria is highly deceptive. At the surface level, the quiet seems to be stable, but it hinges on the continued success of Israel's defense establishment to thwart Hamas' efforts to recruit and orchestrate terrorist attacks.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
