Claim: Hamas Investigating Own Members for Involvement in Assassination Attempt on Terror Commander

TEL AVIV — Hamas suspects that members of its security forces, particularly prison guards, may have aided in an attempted assassination of a Hamas official two weeks ago, according to a senior jihadist in Gaza.

Tawfiq Abu Naim, the commander of Hamas forces in Gaza, was wounded after an explosive device detonated in his car as he traveled through the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. Abu Naim, released from Israeli prison in the prisoner exchange for IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, was moderately wounded in the blast.

According to senior jihadist Abdel Rahman al-Maqdesi, Hamas security forces questioned jihadists who were jailed in Hamas prison facilities as well as current inmates. “In a number of interrogations, Hamas personnel tried to confront our brothers imprisoned in their facilities and Hamas prison guards were questioned in others on suspicion that they coordinated with our brothers in the attempt to kill Abu Naim.”

In a conversation with Breitbart Jerusalem, al-Maqdesi said that Hamas investigators tried to find out if the order for the assassination was given from inside the prison and if the perpetrators received help from the prison guards. It should be noted that no jihadist organization has yet claimed responsibility for the failed attempt on Abu Naim’s life.

In the last few days, said al-Maqdesi, “dozens of our brothers were interrogated and questioned regarding how much help they got from Hamas members. Hamas is confident its members were involved in the assassination attempt and that our brothers were the ones who carried out the attempt.”

Al-Maqdesi said he could not confirm who was behind the assassination attempt, but “there’s no doubt that it’s comfortable for Hamas to stick the assassination attempt on the jihadists instead of an internal attempt to get square between members of the organization.”

Al-Maqdesi’s comments shine light on the fact that despite the progress in Hamas’ handing over of power in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority, Hamas investigators and prisons remain active and Hamas remains the boss of Gaza in everything relating to security matters.