The Qatari newspaper Al-Araby al-Jadeed reported on Wednesday that senior figures from Palestinian terrorist organizations abroad, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have adopted stricter security precautions following Israel’s threats of targeted assassinations.
According to Arab media reports, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, the leader of the Palestinian terrorist organization Islamic Jihad, is spending most of his time in Egypt.
An Egyptian source told the London-based Al-Araby al-Jadeed that Cairo had cautioned against any attack on Al-Nakhalah, who is in the Egyptian capital almost permanently due to the rising threat of an Israeli strike.
The source added that Egypt, as part of its mediation role in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, recently received a request to provide Al-Nakhalah with semi-permanent housing. Meanwhile, a source from Islamic Jihad’s office in Lebanon refused to comment, saying the terrorist organization does not respond to such reports.
The newspaper said there is concern that senior officials could be targeted during visits to Egypt as part of talks with Egyptian intelligence. It also reported that several Hamas leaders left their headquarters in Lebanon because of ongoing Israeli strikes there, fearing they too could be killed.
A senior Hamas figure told Al-Araby al-Jadeed that the terrorist organization had received warnings from officials in several countries where members of the terrorist organization’s political bureau reside. According to the source, these governments advised them to implement stricter security protocols and deploy more guards.
The Hamas official also revealed that Turkey has recently taken tougher measures regarding the protection of senior Hamas operatives on its soil, including several prisoners released in the latest hostage deal.
Just last week, Hamas’s internal security wing issued a “security warning” to its leaders abroad about Israeli attempts to assassinate them.
The warning claimed that Israel was deliberately spreading rumors of planned killings to create psychological and media confusion and to prepare public opinion ahead of potential future assassinations.
Originally published by Israel Hayom.
