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‘Hamas must choose between violence and rebuilding Gaza’

Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar warns Hamas in Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar he cannot continue to orchestrate terrorism in Judea and Samaria.

Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at a rally in Beit Lahiya, May 30, 2021. Photo by Atia Mohammed/Flash90.
Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at a rally in Beit Lahiya, May 30, 2021. Photo by Atia Mohammed/Flash90.

Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas in Gaza, will not be permitted to continue to pursue a double policy of both rebuilding the Strip and orchestrating terrorism in Judea and Samaria, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) Director Ronen Bar says.

The domestic intelligence chief spoke in an internal agency discussion, Channel 12 reported on Saturday.

His comment appears to be a warning to scale-back Hamas’s extensive efforts to establish terror cells in Judea and Samaria and supply them with funds and instructions on attacks.

On Sept. 19, the Shin Bet announced that it exposed a terror cell active in Nablus and Hebron, which planned attacks against civilians and security personnel under the command of a Hamas operative in the Gaza Strip.

Seven suspects, all Hamas members, were arrested and Israeli forces seized weapons in the counter-terrorism operation.

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