GAZA CITY (Ma‘an) 21 July -- Salafi groups in the Gaza Strip threatened on Monday to fire rockets at Israel in response to what they called “Hamas crimes and conspiracies” against Salafis living in the strip. The threat came in reaction to the arrest of militants suspected of targeting members of the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad Sunday with a series of bombings on Sunday. The Salafi groups argued in a statement that Hamas' security services were utilizing the recent attacks "to justify its arrest campaign” as an excuse for disproportionate targeting of Salafis. "The Salafis have decided to respond to these crimes and these blows dealt by Hamas by pointing rockets towards the occupation (Israel) and carrying out reprisals," the statement read. “Hamas authorities raided homes of Salafi militants and carried out an arrest campaign hours after the explosions took place, considering that the explosions targeting leaders of the al-Qassam and al-Quds Brigades were ‘deliberate,'" the statement said, referring to the armed wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad respectively. The groups added that at least 12 Salafi members had been arrested in the last few hours. "The results will be catastrophic, will benefit no one, and it will be Hamas who shoulders the responsibility," their statement said. The threat comes amid a power struggle between Hamas and smaller extremist groups.
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