Hamas leader meets Erdogan as Israel-Turkey ties warm

Hamas leader meets Erdogan as Israel-Turkey ties warm

Special to WorldTribune.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Hamas leader Khaled Masha’al on Dec. 19, the first such meeting after reports of warming ties between Turkey and Israel. Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported that Masha’al briefed Erdogan on the latest political developments in the region during the 60-minute meeting in Istanbul. The report […]

The inside story on Hamas’s fight over ties with ISIL

The inside story on Hamas’s fight over ties with ISIL

Special to WorldTribune.com An internal struggle is afoot over whether Hamas should cut its ties with Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). On one side, the old guard in Gaza, led by former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and “military wing” official Yahya Sinwar, want to sever ties to ISIL. On the other side, a […]

Report: ISIL used weapons seized from Hamas in deadly attack on Egyptian forces

Report: ISIL used weapons seized from Hamas in deadly attack on Egyptian forces

Special to WorldTribune.com Weapons seized from Hamas were used by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’s (ISIL’s) Sinai affiliate to carry out a devastating attack on Egyptian security forces, according to a report on Dec. 7. Sources told Yediot Aharonot that Sinai Province, ISIL’s affiliate in Egypt, seized the weapons from a Hamas convoy. The jihadists had […]

Egypt destroys more tunnels from Gaza that enabled jihadist attacks in Sinai

Egypt destroys more tunnels from Gaza that enabled jihadist attacks in Sinai

Special to WorldTribune.com Egypt has destroyed 20 tunnels it recently discovered near the Gaza Strip border. The Egyptian army has destroyed a large number of the tunnels amid President Abdul Fatah Sisi’s crackdown on Hamas’s network of smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Sinai. The tunnels have been used to smuggle arms to jihadists who have […]

Egypt goes on high alert, but opens border crossing at Rafah

Egypt goes on high alert, but opens border crossing at Rafah

Special to WorldTribune.com Egypt opened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip at Rafah on Dec. 3 for the first time in months even as the government placed its security forces on alert. Egyptian intelligence officials were said to be bracing for mass-casualty attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). preparations for […]

Reassessing security threats to Israel: Hizbullah, N. Korea nuke tech, Jihadist coup in Egypt

Reassessing security threats to Israel: Hizbullah, N. Korea nuke tech, Jihadist coup in Egypt

Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey A former director of the Central Intelligence Agency recently stated that the intelligence community in the U.S. has a perfect record on identifying future threats: “We have never been right”. The one thing we know nothing about is the future. Nevertheless we have no choice but to try to […]

Hamas settles fight over discovered gold treasure by confiscating it

Hamas settles fight over discovered gold treasure by confiscating it

Special to WorldTribune.com The simple act of paving a road turned into a case of pure serendipity for Hamas. The fortunate accident occurred when construction workers paving a road in the Gaza Strip neighborhood of Shujaiyeh unearthed a chest full of Ottoman-era gold coins, Israeli news site Walla reported on Nov. 23. After the coins […]

Gaza protests Egypt’s flooding of smuggling tunnels as more damaging than Israeli bombs

Gaza protests Egypt’s flooding of smuggling tunnels as more damaging than Israeli bombs

Special to WorldTribune.com Gaza Strip officials say sea water pumped by Egypt from the Mediterranean to flood smuggling tunnels has done more damage that 20 years of Israeli bombs. Egypt began the operation a few months ago, saying it has been pumping salt water from the Mediterranean into the tunnels in an effort to halt […]

Israel arrests social media inciter as Hamas cleric vows to eliminate all ‘trace’ of Jews

Israel arrests social media inciter as Hamas cleric vows to eliminate all ‘trace’ of Jews

Special to WorldTribune.com Israel has arrested a Hamas operative said to be directing attacks on Jews. Sheikh Hassan Yousef was arrested on Oct. 20 in Beitunya, west of Ramallah. The 60-year-old Yousef was allegedly using social media and local mosques in an effort to incite a spate of recent stabbing attacks against Jews. Yousef “ferments […]

Israel seals off East Jerusalem for first time since 1967

Israel seals off East Jerusalem for first time since 1967

Special to WorldTribune.com Israel has blocked off Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem for the first time since 1967 after a wave of attacks linked to Hamas. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and police were ordered to impose a siege on neighborhoods in east Jerusalem that are dominated by Hamas. In the past month, eight Israelis were killed […]