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Last update - 10:55 16/08/2009
ANALYSIS / Hamas swiftly crushes challenge to its rule in Gaza
By Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: al-Qaida, Hamas, Gaza 

Hamas crushed on Friday the threat of an armed group in Rafah affiliated with Al-Qaida, and did so with the same approach the Lebanese government and its army crushed terrorists operating under the auspices of Al-Qaida at a refugee camp in the country's north two years ago. It seems the Hamas leadership is not concerned over any public condemnation from the United Nations of the massacre of members of the faction, which is even more extreme than the Palestinian Islamist party in control of the Gaza Strip.

Nor is it expected that any Hamas members will apologize for attacking a mosque, killing 24 - including six unarmed civilians - and injuring 125.

The massacre in Rafah suggests that Hamas is very concerned about the rise in influence of ultra-extremists groups. They had held back for a long time, but the specific group targeted in Rafah - which made a bizarre attempt to use explosive-laden horses to attack an Israel Defense Forces position two months ago - had overstepped the bounds set by Hamas. Its leaders' call for the establishment of an Islamic emirate in the Gaza Strip was a direct challenge to Hamas rule, and Hamas' response was brutal.
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Various factions have been operating in the Strip for a number of years and for the most part Hamas has turned a blind eye to their existence, or rallied them behind its cause. One faction, the Army of Islam, affiliated with the large Durmush clan based in the central Gaza Strip, took part in the raid that led to the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. However, when the clan made things difficult for Hamas with the abduction of BBC correspondent Alan Johnston two years ago, Hamas unleashed its forces and released the captive.

However, the activities of the factions continued, and in 2008 they bombed 36 internet cafes, burned down institutions they consider Christian or having Christian affiliations, and targeted foreign schools. Hamas opted to stay out of the trouble in most cases.

Last week Hamas denied a report in Haaretz that dozens of foreign terrorists have joined the extremist groups in Gaza, sneaking into the territory from Sinai. Some of these fighters were reportedly survivors of combat against the Americans in Iraq.

In practice, the factions have smuggled weapons into the Strip and held training camps in the ruins of Gush Katif. In some cases, Hamas continued to use the Al-Qaida affiliated operatives for its aims. For example, they carried out the bombing of the shop belonging to the nephew of Fatah leader and former Gaza Strip strongman Mohammed Dahlan in Gaza City last month, injuring dozens. According to reports from the Strip, Hamas commanders have reached local alliances with the heads of the extremists.

But Friday, during the sermon at the Ibn Taymiyah Mosque in Rafah, one of the leaders of a faction called Junut Ansar Allah (Soldiers of Allah's Supporters), Abd al-Latif Musa made a crucial mistake, declaring to the television cameras "the birth of an Islamic emirate in Gaza." This led to a Hamas assault and cost Musa his life.

There are substantial ideological differences between the Al-Qaida affiliates and Hamas, even if to the average outsider they appear to only be different shades of black. The extremist positions of these factions found adherents among the supporters of the Salafi movement in Islam, considered to be the most radical school of thought and which has traditionally called for remaining uninvolved in politics. However, the apparent rise of Al-Qaida in Pakistan and Afghanistan has encouraged the Salafis to become more involved in politics, with terrorism as its application. In 2007 the membership in extremist groups in Gaza stood in the dozens; now it is estimated in the hundreds.

One of the reasons for the increase in the appeal of these factions is the de facto cease-fire that exists between Israel and Hamas, which has led some in the Strip to consider the militant Palestinian group as neutralized. Even though Hamas needs the quiet to rehabilitate its strength following last winter's Operation Cast Lead, this is not readily recognized by the extremist groups.

From Israel's point of view, the issue revolves around the impact of Hamas' use of violence (similar to the kind used against Fatah): Will it undermine its legitimacy in the eyes of Gazans? What appeared, two or three years ago, to have been a reflection of the rule of the majority is now perceived as a regime based on fear.

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