EXCLUSIVE: Gaza Jihadi Claims Hamas Cracking Down on Salafists to Get Closer to Egypt

Islamic State loyalist Abu Baker Almuhajer said that no less than 280 radical activists have been arrested across Gaza in a campaign with no end in sight.

He said many of the detainees said they were subjected to torture as Hamas interrogators tried to force testimonies that would be passed on to Egypt, which has been waging a similar war against IS loyalists across the border, in the Sinai.

Almuhajer said Hamas needed to acknowledge that the intelligence they provide to Egypt about IS loyalists is bound to reach Israeli intelligence. “This means that Hamas is indirectly but deliberately assisting Israel so that they, in turn, would allow Hamas leaders to travel via the Rafah crossing,” Almuhajer claimed without offering evidence. “Whether they like it or not, Hamas are warming to Israel.”

In an audio file uploaded to YouTube, top Gaza jihadi Abu Anass is heard saying that Hamas is a movement of nonbelievers, that détente is not an option, and that sooner or later Hamas will pay a price for the so-called persecution of Salafists.

“We prefer to avoid confrontation with Hamas, but we promise that this approach will not last much longer,” he said.

Hamas consists of “false Muslims,” he said, “loyal to the dirty and transgressive democracy that stands in opposition to the divine sharia.”

Anass also blamed Hamas leaders for evading the mediation efforts of Islamic clerics regarding their differences with Salafi jihadists.

“Hamas ignored these efforts and are instead focused on spreading democracy at the expense of the rule of Allah and his Sharia,” he said.

He said Hamas adopted the Muslim Brotherhood’s “fake Islam” which “distorts the Islamic model that seeks to impose Sharia, and are determined to drive people away from it.”

Anass further said Salafi jihadists aren’t after the perks of government. “We sacrifice ourselves for the benefit of Allah and his rule, and all we want is to save Muslims from the grip of democracy.”

By going after Salafi jihadists, he said, “Hamas seeks to bolster its ties with nonbelieving and anti-Islamic regimes,” for which it will pay a price.

“The liberation of Palestine will be complete only after America and the other infidels supporting Israel are attacked,” he said, and further accused Hamas of merchandizing religion.

“We are part of the global mujahedeen movement that fights against tyrannical regimes with a view to destroy them, as part of the campaign to liberate Palestine. We belong to global jihad, to the mujahedeen who from the first minute didn’t hesitate to impose the divine Sharia without making any compromise whatsoever,” he added.

Jihad will continue, Abu Anass vowed. “We pave our way through the rocks.  We ask permission of no one and we will not compromise on the divine decrees. To this end, we will continue to bite our lip despite all we have to go through.”