The fledgling band of terrorists wants to raise its profile in Gaza’s crowded field of brutal Islamic factions.
By Ezra Stone, United with Israel
The “Sword of Islam” group may not be one of the Gaza Strip’s largest terror organizations, but that’s not stopping it from trying to snatch some of the spotlight away from the big boys such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“Against the backdrop of posters of dead members, the salafist-jihadi organization ‘Sword of Islam’ displays its rocket arsenal,” read a tweet on Monday from Joe Truzman, leading Middle East analyst and expert on terror groups in the region.
Truzman posted a two-minute video from the group “threaten[ing] to retaliate if Israel goes ahead with annexation of certain areas of [Judea and Samaria].”
The video shows terrorists manufacturing and launching Barq-8 rockets, which they claim can reach Tel Aviv. The footage of terrorists in Gaza is spliced with clips of Israelis taking cover and Magen Adom medics removing an Israeli killed in a previous attack.
Adding to the list of militant threats if annexation occurs, Sword of Islam published its own on Saturday. The publication features the Barq-80 which can “strike Tel al Rabia and Gush Dan.” The video ends by saying; “If war begins, we will make the land a burning flame.” #Gaza pic.twitter.com/5ZRjAqZiRc
— Joe Truzman (@Jtruzmah) June 29, 2020
The video also purports to show the range that the terror group’s four different grades of rockets can reach, with a graphic showing cities as far north as Tel Aviv and Haifa.
In a subsequent tweet, Truzman explained, “The group made an effort to look professional considering how small they are compared to the likes of groups like Hamas or PIJ.”
He added, “In the last day Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have published statements of mutual cooperation with Hamas to improve the coordination of the militant groups against possible [Judea and Samaria] annexation.”