In order to tighten its grip over the Gaza Strip, which it captured in June, Hamas is implementing a plan to dismantle all rival factions, and form instead a bloc of groups backing its religious regime in the coastal enclave, an Islamic Jihad official said.
Hamas is offering financial incentives to what the official called “mercenaries,” who are usually secondary figures, in a bid to persuade them to quit their parties and form new groups backing Hamas’ plans for Gaza.
"Hamas wants to vanquish all rival factions and portray unanimous public support for its Gaza plan,” he added.
Hamas routed its Fatah rival in Gaza last June and took over all the Palestinian Authority and Fatah premises including the Palestinian Authority chairman’s own residence, known as Al-Muntada.
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Since then, Hamas has tried to show that Gaza, under its regime, is enjoying relative order and calm with no more gang warfare and widespread crime that was prevalent while Fatah was in control.
Shortly after taking Gaza, Hamas paved the way for Khalid Abu Hilal, a Fatah member who servers as spokesman for the ministry of interior under the former Hamas-led government, to form a rival group called Fatah Al-Yassir, with its own military wing.
According to the official, Hamas also gave the green light to ‘Amr Kurmout and Kamal A-Nirib, leaders of the popular resistance committees, to form another group backing Hamas in Gaza.
Recently, several armed clashes erupted between Hamas’ militia policing Gaza, the Executive Force, known as Tanfiziyya, and Islamic Jihad fighters.
The Executive Force used mortars and rockets to attack the wedding party of an Islamic Jihad member, a couple of days ago.
Executive Force spokesman Islam Shahwan said the attack came after Islamic Jihad refused to abide by the new law banning celebratory gunfire and hand over arms to what he called the legal force.
These clashes between Islamic Jihad and Hamas are an indication of growing animosity between the two Islamic groups. It also put Islamic Jihad’s activities under intense scrutiny by Hamas that wants the former to abide by its unilateral cease-fire with Israel.