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Security services in the Middle East fear that the conflict in Gaza has allowed the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda to reorganize across the region, leading to a wave of terrorism in the coming months and years.
Officials and analysts say there is evidence of a rise in Islamist militant extremism in many places, but many factors have come together to cause this rise.
In recent months, a branch of IS in the Sinai desert has become more deadly, the group’s increased attacks in Syria have raised concerns and plans in Jordan have been thwarted.
Turkey made dozens of arrests last month as it sought to combat the growing threat from a branch of IS with a strong presence there, and al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen issued a new announcement encouraging its followers to strike Western, Israeli, Jewish and other targets.
Analysts and officials say the new activities are linked to the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas, but widespread economic crisis, instability and ongoing internal conflicts also play an important role.
“Gaza is a breeding ground for terrorism and radicalization in the Islamic world,” said Tricia Bacon, a former US State Department analyst. There is a strong emotional response,” said a source familiar with the region. “We are just starting to feel the heat.”
An expert on terrorism at American University in Washington DC, he described the Gaza war as “a seminal cause that will radicalize the next generation of jihadists.”
“We may not see it immediately, but we will certainly see it in the coming years. This has really increased the threat of terrorism,” he said.
The United Nations has issued a series of reports highlighting efforts by major extremist groups to use the war in Gaza to recruit new recruits and mobilize existing supporters, despite decades of condemnation of Hamas as an “apostate” by both al-Qaeda and IS.
Albania News Agency
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