Salafi militants in Gaza have released a video under the banner “prepare us,” in which they call on Islamic State sympathizers and other jihadists to help them “get ready for war in the Holy Land.”
The video is the latest in a propaganda campaign of Islamic State loyalists in Gaza, urging supporters abroad to send them “arms, funds and fighters for the impending war against the Jews.” You can see the video here.
A senior Salafi fighter told Breitbart Jerusalem that many adherents of jihadi militias such as the “Shura Council of the Mujahideen” and “the Army of Islam” have been persecuted by Hamas.
For about four months, he said, Salafi sources have stepped up efforts to establish a major organizational infrastructure that have met with initial success. Salafi and jihadi organizations, mainly in the Persian Gulf region, have shown interest, he said.
In the campaign against Salafi groups, Hamas troops confiscated tens of thousands of dollars, rockets and other weapons that have been smuggled into the Strip, the fighter said.
Most of the jihadists in Gaza have pledged allegiance to Islamic State and its leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, while fewer have allied themselves with al Qaeda and its leader Ayman al Zawahiri.
The fighter said that Gaza-based jihadists will soon challenge Hamas authority in the Strip.
“The fire on Israel will soon be resumed,” he said, “and let’s not forget that the Caliph Abu Bakr has already warned the Zionists that they will hear the voices of IS’s Mujahideen in Palestine.”