Islamic State Group Threatens to Topple Hamas

The Islamic State group threatened to topple the Hamas resistance movement on Tuesday and take control of the Gaza Strip, since it considers that the organization that rules the Palestinian territory is insufficiently stringent about religious enforcement. 

“The rule of sharia (Islamic law) will be implemented in Gaza, in spite of you,” said a masked Islamic State group militant in a video statement and added that the group will uproot the state of Israel, Hammas and the U.S.-backed Palestinian faction Fatah. 

The Islamic State group spokesperson also said that the extremist group is planning to impose the same law that in the regions it dominates in Iraq and Syria.

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The announcement has been considered as a rare public challenge to Hamas, which has been fighting jihadists in Gaza who oppose its truces with Israel and reconciliation with the U.S.-backed Palestinian faction Fatah, which rules in the West Bank. 

On April 1, Islamic State group militants in Syria seized control of the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, where nearly 18,000 people live, causing the death by starvation of at least 200. 

The extremist group has also taken over large swaths of Iraq and has claimed attacks in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, the heavily-armed organization claims to have recruited thousands of fighters from the U.K., France, Germany and other European countries, as well as from the U.S., the Arab world, and the Caucasus region.