Hamas Threatens To Repeat October 7 Attack In Or From West Bank

Hamas leaders continue to threaten a repeat of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel[1] and to incite the people of the West Bank to attack Israelis and take part in terrorist activity. Telegram channels identified with Hamas' student organization, the Islamic Bloc, and especially with its branches in the West Bank, are especially active in spreading threats and incitement of this kind.[2] In a November 16 post on its Telegram channel, for example, the Islamic Bloc urged the people of the West Bank to emulate the October 7 attack by storming Israeli localities within their reach. Other posts on this channel likewise incite terrorism and provide operational advice on carrying out effective attacks.

The following are examples of Hamas' ongoing incitement to terrorism against Israel in and from the West Bank.

Hamas Student Organization: Israeli Localities Are Our Targets; We Will Storm Them, Operating Singly Or In Groups

As stated, on November 16 the West-Bank branch the Islamic Bloc, Hamas' student organization, posted a message calling on the people of the West Bank to emulate the October 7 attack. It posted a graphic showing masked terrorists breaching a fence and raiding an Israeli locality, with the text: "The settlements are our targets. Let us storm them, [operating] singly or in groups, and let them taste the might of our resistance. #To the settlements."[3]

It should be stressed that, in Hamas' parlance, all Israeli localities are termed "settlements," both the ones in the West Bank and those inside Israel.

Another post two days later also featured a threatening graphic, with the text: "Ambushes of death await you."[4]

A November 20 post featured a graphic showing armed terrorists preparing to attack an Israeli locality, with the text, "You have no security. Most of our resistance fighters are lying in wait for you. The [West] Bank is not a playground for the settlers."[5]

Hamas Student Organization: How To Carry Out A High-Quality Attack Causing Maximum Casualties

In addition, Hamas' student organization in the West Bank continues to post operational advice for carrying out terrorist attacks.[6] On November 18, for example, its Telegram channels posted a video titled "How to carry out a high-quality attack causing maximum casualties in the ranks of the occupation." The video presents the various stages of preparing and carrying out the attack: "research and planning," "learning the features of the [target] location," "surveilling the target of the attack," "obtaining the necessary weapons and keeping them safe," "securing the target location in an inhabited area,"  "maintaining absolute secrecy," "avoiding the use of digital devices," "maintaining your routine activities in your [everyday] surroundings," "planning a suitable escape route," "choosing the timing, based on the goals of the operation."[7]

Another post called to document the resistance actions, despite the danger this entails, in order to demoralize the Israelis and boost the Palestinian morale. [8]

Hamas Official: The People Of The West Bank, Jerusalem And The 1948 Territories Are Called Upon To Resist The Occupation

As stated, Hamas officials likewise continue to incite terror in the West Bank. On November 18,  Hamas in the West Bank posted on its Telegram channel a statement by movement official 'Abd Al-Rahman Shadid, saying: "The people of the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, and the people  the Palestinian territories occupied in 1948 [i.e., Israeli Arabs] must mobilize, confront the crimes of the occupation and resist by every means. If victory could be attained just by uttering [the phrase] 'Sufficient for us is Allah , and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs' [Quran 3:173], Allah wouldn't have commanded us to prepare [for battle] and to fight…"[9] 

'Abd Al-Rahman Shadid: "It is the duty of every free person in the [West] Bank and inside [Israel] to mobilize and join Operation Al-Aqsa Flood" (T.me/Hamaswestbank, November 20, 2023)