Newsletter
Newsletter Support JNS

Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders meet in Beirut to coordinate activity

The terror groups held talks about how they can coordinate actions in light of the restrictions on movement into and out of Gaza, and the normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Ismail Haniyeh
Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh arrives in Gaza, at the Rafah border crossing from Egypt, after reconciliation talks with Fatah mediated by Egyptian intelligence, Sept. 19, 2017. Photo by Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Secretary-General Ziad al-Nahala in Beirut on Wednesday to discuss cooperation between the two terrorist groups.

The two organizations held talks about how they can coordinate their actions in light of the restrictions on movement into and out of Gaza and the normalization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and the Trump peace plan, Ynet reported on Thursday.

The Hamas leader is in Beirut for a week-long visit to meet with other Palestinian factions over the warming relations between Israel and some Arab states, AlJazeera recorded.

Hamas representative in Lebanon, Ali Baraka, said the joint discussions in Ramallah and Beirut seek to develop “a unified Palestinian strategy to confront normalization schemes ... and to reject plans to annex the West Bank, as well as [the Trump administration’s] ‘deal of the century.’ ”

That deal also refers to the Mideast peace plan, formerly called the “Peace to Prosperity” vision.

According to Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, speaking in Ramallah, the talks aim “to open a new page, to end divisions, achieve national reconciliation and build a national partnership between all factions,” according to the report.

“This is what happens when antisemitism spreads, like wildfire, and it’s not checked by responsible people in the middle and on the left and on the right,” Ron Halber, of the local JCRC, told JNS.
“These Hezbollah-aligned officials include individuals embedded across Lebanon’s parliament, military and security sectors,” the U.S. Treasury Department said.
Yechiel Leiter said May Golan’s comments denigrating Reform Judaism are “disgusting and reprehensible.”
“We feel that Israeli athletes are doing much more than sports,” Yael Arad, Israel’s first Olympian to medal and president of its Olympic Committee, told JNS.
Federal prosecutors say the suspect, accused of working for Iran’s IRGC, gathered intelligence on Jewish and pro-Israel targets in Berlin in preparation for murder and arson attacks.
Jewish members of the coop “should not have to choose between local and organic food and their safety and their voice,” Kenneth Marcus, CEO of the center, said.