The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday the fundamentalist Islamic group Hamas has begun using a novel approach to recruit West Bank and Jerusalem residents to join its ranks via social networks and television.
According to the Israeli security agency Shin Bet, recruiters are using social media – such as Facebook – alongside Al-Aqsa TV as a means to recruit Palestinians, including women and those who carry Israeli papers to carry out attacks within Israel, the report said.
The Post reports the Hamas-run television channel has been used to transmit coded messages between recruiters and their would-be agents.
The report claims by recruiters placing a coffee cup in an agreed upon moment as well as citing of a specific verse from the Quran, the recruiters have gained the trust of their targets.
Hamas, Shin Bet reports, is greatly interested in recruiting Palestinian residents of Jerusalem who have Israeli papers and are able to travel the country freely, the report said.
Residents of the West Bank, however, who are recruited to carry out stabbing attacks or suicide bombing missions, must carry papers, the newspaper reported.
Israeli security services made several arrests and were able to prevent the attacks, the report concluded.
– WN.com, Jack Durschlag
Photo:
WN / Ahmed Deeb
