Jewish communities around the globe have been warned they could be targeted ahead of what Hamas has called a global “day of jihad” tomorrow – Friday, October 13.
Former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal urged Muslims in the Middle East and around the world to rally to Hamas’ cause on Friday.
Irina Tsukerman, a fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and the Arabian Peninsula Institute, warned that this call as well as other factors could foreshadow an attack on Jewish communities in Israel and around the world.
She told Daily Express US: “Hamas leader just came out in public calling for more attacks against Jewish and other targets in the West around the world on October 13.
“Pro-Hamas networks in the West and elsewhere are already galvanized as we have seen from mass rallies in Western cities, which means such direct encouragement is likely to attract more attention.”
Meshaal, in a video address, urged “a day of general mobilization in our Arab and Islamic world and among the free people of the world”.
He lauded the attack which saw Hamas terrorists slaughter 1,200 Israelis, including many women, children and babies.
The horrific invasion prompted rallies of support for Palestine in the West – London, Paris, New York and Sydney are just some of the cities that saw massive pro-Palestinian rallies in the days after the attack. France has now banned the gatherings.
In London, two Jewish schools shut their doors on Thursday over safety concerns. They won’t reopen until Monday morning.
In addition to Hamas’ calls for a day of jihad, Ms. Tsukerman pointed out that the “premier” Egyptian Sunni Islamic Institution Al-Azhar has urged Palestinians to die as martyrs fighting Israel.
She added: “We could see both the rise of more direct lone wolf incidents inspired by these comments and eventually more efforts at mass casualty-oriented attacks, which will be better planned but will probably take more time to plan and will materialize weeks or months later.
“We could see a rise in the casing of and attacks on synagogues, vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, assassination attacks against Jewish and Israeli individuals, and mass attacks in subways, on the streets, tourist sites, and political areas.
“Hamas made it clear that it has a global reach, global level of backing, and backing for increasingly more international activities – and is now sophisticated enough and has sufficient capabilities to coordinate effectively with other terrorist organizations and violent actors.”
The terrorist organization is known to be given significant funding by Iran, a country that does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.
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