This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/03/world/middleeast/hamas-kill-leader-islamic-salafist-group-gaza.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Hamas Forces Kill Leader of Islamic Splinter Group in Gaza | Hamas Forces Kill Leader of Islamic Splinter Group in Gaza |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| GAZA — The local leader of an extremist Islamic splinter group was fatally shot on Tuesday in a clash with Hamas forces who had come to arrest him. The death raised tensions in Gaza at a time when Hamas, which controls the territory, has been cracking down on radical jihadists. | GAZA — The local leader of an extremist Islamic splinter group was fatally shot on Tuesday in a clash with Hamas forces who had come to arrest him. The death raised tensions in Gaza at a time when Hamas, which controls the territory, has been cracking down on radical jihadists. |
| Iyad al-Buzom, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in the territory, said the man was shot after he refused to surrender and had opened fire on security forces. Writing on his Facebook page, Mr. Buzom added that the man, whom he called an outlaw, had booby-trapped his house, and that the Hamas forces found explosive belts, bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and various other weapons there. | Iyad al-Buzom, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry in the territory, said the man was shot after he refused to surrender and had opened fire on security forces. Writing on his Facebook page, Mr. Buzom added that the man, whom he called an outlaw, had booby-trapped his house, and that the Hamas forces found explosive belts, bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and various other weapons there. |
| But a brother of the dead man said he was killed because he “rebelled against Hamas” and because he supported the Islamic State and the imposition of Islamic law. | But a brother of the dead man said he was killed because he “rebelled against Hamas” and because he supported the Islamic State and the imposition of Islamic law. |
| The dead man was identified by relatives as Younis Hounor, 27. According to Muhammad Hounor, his brother, he spent four years as a fighter in the military wing of Hamas, before joining the more radical Salafist stream of Islam about two years ago. Mr. Hounor said about 27 family members were sleeping inside the house when Hamas forces surrounded it. He denied that the house contained any weapons, describing the shooting and the raid as “terrorism.” | The dead man was identified by relatives as Younis Hounor, 27. According to Muhammad Hounor, his brother, he spent four years as a fighter in the military wing of Hamas, before joining the more radical Salafist stream of Islam about two years ago. Mr. Hounor said about 27 family members were sleeping inside the house when Hamas forces surrounded it. He denied that the house contained any weapons, describing the shooting and the raid as “terrorism.” |
| Hamas, the largest and strongest Islamist militant group in Gaza, began a campaign about a month ago against Salafists, some of whom now adhere to the Islamic State, the extremist group that has seized control of large areas in Iraq and Syria and is also known as ISIS or ISIL. So far, the local Salafist groups appear to have no formal ties with the Islamic State. | Hamas, the largest and strongest Islamist militant group in Gaza, began a campaign about a month ago against Salafists, some of whom now adhere to the Islamic State, the extremist group that has seized control of large areas in Iraq and Syria and is also known as ISIS or ISIL. So far, the local Salafist groups appear to have no formal ties with the Islamic State. |
| Hamas has set up checkpoints around Gaza, and is said to have arrested dozens of Salafists, fundamentalists who follow a strict interpretation of Islamic law, want it imposed on everyone and rail against what they view as Hamas’s restraint in fighting Israel. Hamas has been enforcing the informal cease-fire that ended the 50-day war last summer between Israel and Hamas. | Hamas has set up checkpoints around Gaza, and is said to have arrested dozens of Salafists, fundamentalists who follow a strict interpretation of Islamic law, want it imposed on everyone and rail against what they view as Hamas’s restraint in fighting Israel. Hamas has been enforcing the informal cease-fire that ended the 50-day war last summer between Israel and Hamas. |
| Since that war, frictions have been mounting among local Palestinian groups in Gaza, and there have been small-scale bombing attacks against buildings and people associated with Hamas or with its main political rival, the more secular Fatah movement, which is dominant in the West Bank. | Since that war, frictions have been mounting among local Palestinian groups in Gaza, and there have been small-scale bombing attacks against buildings and people associated with Hamas or with its main political rival, the more secular Fatah movement, which is dominant in the West Bank. |
| A Salafist jihadist group calling itself the Supporters of the Islamic State in Jerusalem has claimed responsibility for several attacks in recent weeks, according to Agence France-Presse. One was a rocket or mortar attack on a base used by Hamas’s armed wing; another was aimed at the car of a Hamas security official, who was unharmed. The group also claimed responsibility for a rocket attack against Israel last week, but Israeli officials attributed it at the time to a more established group, Islamic Jihad. | |
| Signaling the crackdown, Hamas forces demolished a Salafist mosque in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip in early May. | |
| Adnan Abu Amer, a political analyst based in Gaza, said that Hamas had since arrested more than 40 Salafists from different organizations. “These people have something in common,” he said. “They all want to deliver a message to Hamas that they are still there and have their strength, and that nobody can eliminate them.” | Adnan Abu Amer, a political analyst based in Gaza, said that Hamas had since arrested more than 40 Salafists from different organizations. “These people have something in common,” he said. “They all want to deliver a message to Hamas that they are still there and have their strength, and that nobody can eliminate them.” |
| The Hamas campaign is meant to show that the group is still in control of Gaza’s security, Mr. Abu Amer said. Though Hamas generally prefers to reach agreements with the Salafists rather than confront them, he said any manifestations of chaos in the territory “will cost Hamas a lot.” | The Hamas campaign is meant to show that the group is still in control of Gaza’s security, Mr. Abu Amer said. Though Hamas generally prefers to reach agreements with the Salafists rather than confront them, he said any manifestations of chaos in the territory “will cost Hamas a lot.” |
| Yoram Schweitzer, an Israeli expert at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said that the Salafist groups in Gaza had so far failed to secure the support of the Islamic State and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The reasons for that, Mr. Schweitzer said, included factional splits among the groups in Gaza; their inability to carve out any territory where their interpretation of Islamic law can hold sway; and their ineffectiveness in fighting either Hamas or Israel. | Yoram Schweitzer, an Israeli expert at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, said that the Salafist groups in Gaza had so far failed to secure the support of the Islamic State and its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The reasons for that, Mr. Schweitzer said, included factional splits among the groups in Gaza; their inability to carve out any territory where their interpretation of Islamic law can hold sway; and their ineffectiveness in fighting either Hamas or Israel. |
| Tensions between Hamas and the Salafists burst into open and violent conflict in 2009 when Hamas security officers stormed a mosque in the southern town of Rafah. A leader of a rebel Islamic group and scores of his followers had holed up there and had declared an Islamic emirate in the area. At least six members of the group, which called itself Warriors of God, were killed in the gun battle at the mosque, and scores were injured. Some reports put the eventual death toll near 20. | Tensions between Hamas and the Salafists burst into open and violent conflict in 2009 when Hamas security officers stormed a mosque in the southern town of Rafah. A leader of a rebel Islamic group and scores of his followers had holed up there and had declared an Islamic emirate in the area. At least six members of the group, which called itself Warriors of God, were killed in the gun battle at the mosque, and scores were injured. Some reports put the eventual death toll near 20. |
| Hamas carried out another crackdown in 2012. | Hamas carried out another crackdown in 2012. |
| Islamic State supporters in Gaza issued an ultimatum for Hamas in a statement sent to reporters on Monday. They said the Hamas authorities had 48 hours to halt the latest campaign against them, according to The Associated Press. The statement did not say what would happen if the deadline was not met, but previous threats and deadlines set by Islamic State supporters in Gaza have lapsed without incident. | Islamic State supporters in Gaza issued an ultimatum for Hamas in a statement sent to reporters on Monday. They said the Hamas authorities had 48 hours to halt the latest campaign against them, according to The Associated Press. The statement did not say what would happen if the deadline was not met, but previous threats and deadlines set by Islamic State supporters in Gaza have lapsed without incident. |