Hamas In Malaysia
In recent weeks, at least 20 members of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the so-called military wing of Hamas, have traveled from the Gaza Strip to Malaysia to participate in combat training, according to a Palestinian security source speaking to Breitbart Jerusalem.
Along with the training, some of the Hamas members will study at Malaysian academic institutions in fields that could aid Hamas in developing its military capabilities, the source said. For example, they are slated to undergo theoretical and practical training in the field of operating unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.
Another Palestinian security source added that Malaysia has become a “favorite destination for Hamas members to develop their military abilities.”
Hamas Spokesman Ismail Radwan told Breitbart Jerusalem that the report is “one more lie that aims to embarrass the Malaysian leadership after a very successful visit of a Hamas leadership delegation to the country.”
Last week, a Hamas delegation led by Khaled Meshaal, the head of the terrorist group’s political bureau, took part in a four-day visit to Malaysia that included meetings with senior politicians. While in Malaysia, Meshaal praised the ongoing wave of violence targeting Israelis. He claimed Palestinians have become disillusioned with the land-for-peace process and declared “only the path of Jihad, sacrifice, and blood” will bring results.
Israel has accused Malaysia of hosting Hamas training programs in the past.
In March, Israel’s Shin Bet security agency revealed it had information that Hamas was training Palestinian students in Malaysia to carry out attacks on behalf of the group’s military wing. In 2014, Israeli officials claimed Hamas members went to Malaysia to train in paragliding techniques. At the time, Malaysian officials denied the report.
Four Americans Arrested In Saudi Arabia For Joining ISIS
Saudi Arabia has arrested four Americans accused of joining the Islamic State, sources told the country’s Al Jazirah newspaper.
The paper, one of four leading daily publications in the kingdom, reported on Sunday that the Americans were arrested as part of a broader anti-terrorist operation in which a total of 377 people have been detained over the past 57 days on suspicion of joining ISIS.
Also arrested in the anti-terror sweeps were four Belgians, 29 Syrians, 26 from both Yemen and Somalia, three Egyptians, two Turks, three Palestinians, six each from Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and 287 Saudis, the newspaper reported.
Al Jazirah did not provide any further details about the arrested Americans. The Saudi embassy in Washington acknowledged receiving this reporter’s request for comment but did not reply before press time.
FBI chief James Comey said in July that over 200 American citizens have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria to fight in the country’s civil war.
Hamas Has Sights On Tel Aviv
Hamas in the Gaza Strip has been hard at work attempting to manufacture rockets capable of reaching Tel Aviv. It has also shared its rocket-making capabilities with other terrorist organizations in the coastal enclave, according to security sources here familiar with the matter.
The fear is that Gaza’s Hamas rulers are deliberately aiding other jihadist groups so they can blame outside organizations for future rocket fire.
Separately, Palestinian Authority security officials told Breitbart Jerusalem that Palestinian organizations in Gaza conduct 5-10 rocket tests per week by firing projectiles into the Mediterranean Sea.
The rocket manufacturing and testing was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces. “Rocket testing takes place over the territory of the Gaza Strip and over the Mediterranean Sea as part of Hamas’s development of high trajectory fire,” an IDF spokesperson told Breitbart Jerusalem.
Continued the IDF spokesperson: “The terrorist organization Hamas is constantly engaged in the strengthening and development of the infrastructure of terror in the Gaza Strip. Among other activities, the organization is engaged in the manufacturing of rockets meant to target Israeli civilians.”