ISIS Vows to Oust Hamas, Impose Sharia Law in Gaza

Serious Threats in Wake of Recent Hamas-ISIS Clashes

A new statement issued from ISIS’s parent organization in Syria has vowed to see Hamas overrun in the Gaza Strip, and their rule replaced with ISIS forces operating under their harsh interpretation of Sharia law.

Hamas and the local ISIS affiliate have been increasingly at odds in recent weeks, with that affiliate launching rockets at Southern Israel in an open attempt to spark a new Israeli invasion, which they believe would weaken Hamas’ control on the strip.

Despite very public fighting between the two groups in Gaza, and despite this new statement from the parent ISIS, Israeli Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz today reiterated claims that Hamas is secretly in league with ISIS, claiming the Egyptian junta could confirm this.

Egypt’s junta is indeed opposed to Hamas because Hamas was on better terms with the ousted democratic government, but claims of Hamas activity in Sinai have never panned out, and the junta’s war there seems focused mostly on fighting the local ISIS affiliate, which is closely allied with the one Hamas is fighting.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.