For weeks we've seen lone wolf style terror attacks being carried out by young Palestinian men against innocent Israeli civilians, who have been stabbed and killed in the streets. Now ISIS is backing the attacks, calling for more and for the "return of terror to the Jews." If calls from ISIS gain traction, it could potentially spark a loyalty battle for terrorism between Iranian-backed Hamas and the Islamic State.
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Earlier this year there were reports ISIS had made its way to the West Bank. Those claims were refuted by the Palestinian Authority, which argued they have no interest in having the terror army in the region.
The Palestinian Authority has denied Israeli claims that cells affiliated with Islamic State (ISIS) have been active in the West Bank.
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed last month that the Judea Military Court on December 18 indicted three members of a Hebron Islamic State cell for plotting a range of terrorist attacks. The three suspects planned to murder an IDF soldier and use his weapon and uniform to carry out a shooting attack, the Shin Bet said.
In a press conference on Monday, PA security forces spokesman Adnan Dameiri staunchly denied the existence of ISIS-affiliated cells.
"We are obviously adamant not to have ISIS or umbrellas for them in Palestine. Those who have been trying to create the ISIS phenomenon are Israel and Hamas given that the Muslim Brotherhood movement is the incubator which created al-Qaida, ISIS, the Nusra Front and other Jihadist and Takfiri organizations," the Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency quoted Dameiri as saying.
Dameiri claimed that the PA had successfully fought off the infighting and religious extremism plaguing the rest of the region.
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