After a week of Isis terror, holiday clash puts Israel on high alert for Hamas violence

Israel has been caught “off-guard” by a spate of Isis attacks that have put the country on its highest state of alert since riots last year, security officials have warned.

Lone wolf and copycat attacks attributed to Isis have seen the death of 11 Israelis in one week across three separate attacks in what Naftali Bennett, the country’s prime minister, has called “a new wave of terrorism”.

Gaza’s Hamas has praised the attacks and said that tensions were likely to escalate this month during Ramadan.

A senior Israeli intelligence official, who asked to remain anonymous, said the attacks had caught the country’s security services by surprise and were forcing them to change strategies by the minute. He cautioned that Hamas still remained their top security concern, however.

“As yet, we can’t identify a chain [of command]. There are a few who still identify with that mindset... Maybe a few met in Syria but this isn’t the awakening of Isis in Israel,” he told The Times.

 “The truth is, we didn’t succeed [in stopping the attacks]. Up until recently, the number of terrorist attacks was very low, despite growing extremism in various pockets around the country.” He said security services were closely monitoring the village of Umm Al Fahm as a location for potential Isis activity.

The official also said they were trying to “keep the peace” with Gaza by improving border crossing conditions and giving 20,000 permits to work in Israel to those living in the strip.

Though apparently unconnected to the attacks, Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, was quick to celebrate Tuesday’s deadly shooting of five Israelis in Tel Aviv, which was claimed by Isis.

Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh described it a “heroic” act of resistance, as praise of the attacks was broadcast from Gaza’s minarets and sweets were distributed on the streets.

“It is the legitimate and moral valiant resistance to end the occupation from our land and sanctities, free our detainees, and return to our homes from which we were displaced,” Haniyeh told The Times.

Joe Truzman, Hamas expert at the Foundation of Defence For Democracies, said the militants will latch onto the wave of violence for its own cause, even if there is no direct link.

“The problem for the Israeli security services is that it failed to detect three major attacks in the span of a week, a rare failure for them. Additionally, the high death toll and the media attention will likely inspire further violence. It’s a cycle that is difficult to stop once it gets going.”

The Jewish holy festival of Passover and Easter holiday will coincide this month with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, an overlap that occurs only every 10 years, which is of grave concern to Israel’s security teams.

Hamas has warned of an imminent “explosion” in violence as it readies for a renewed bout of fighting with Israel. In an exclusive interview from his base in Istanbul, Haniyeh said Jews praying at the Al-Aqsa compound during the holy festival next month, the site considered a holy place by both Jews and Muslims, would be met with harsh consequences.

“If they make any confrontation or go to Al-Aqsa, we will not tolerate this. Our position on this has not changed,” he warned, referring to the holy site as a “tinder box”.

“We are always prepared for the worst and we are always ready for war,” he said.

Dozens of Jews visit the holy site each day as is allowed, though some continue to disregard the Israeli law banning prayer for non-Muslims, albeit discreetly. “It’s up to the Israeli government now. If they choose to light this fire, there will be an explosion,” Haniyeh said.

A chronic flashpoint for tensions, the mosque sits inside a 35-acre site known by Muslims as Haram al-Sharif, or the Noble Sanctuary, and by Jews as the Temple Mount.

For Jews, the Temple Mount is considered its holiest place as it was the site of two ancient temples. The first was built by King Solomon and later destroyed by the Babylonians, and the second stood for nearly 600 years before the Roman Empire destroyed it in the first century.

Since 1994 it has been funded and controlled by an Islamic trust known as the Waqf but remains as one of the most sensitive triggers for tension.

A senior US diplomat said that support for Hamas is rising among discontented Palestinians who are losing patience with an ageing Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank.

“Even though the situation in Gaza is a disaster, they don’t see things could be any worse under Hamas rule,” he said, asking to remain anonymous.

“Abbas is showing that his control is waning, his influence weakening and Palestinians are tired but in the next two weeks, we are fully expecting a flare-up.”