The statement claiming responsibility for Wednesday’s rocket fire on the southern city of Sderot was issued by a Salafi organization called Ahfad al-Sahaba Akhnaf Beit al-Maqdis. The statement offered a proximate cause for the rocket launch – last week’s arrest of five Salafi activists by the Hamas-run government of the Gaza Strip – while also citing the need to continue fighting Israel.

This group, a relatively small faction, achieved two goals with a single rocket: It portrayed itself as leading the fight against Israel, while also embarrassing Hamas. The latter organization is not only currently refraining from fighting Israel, in violation of its declared ideology, but also looks like a collaborator with Israel whenever it takes steps to restrain the rocket fire.
The Israeli response was harsher than has been the norm in previous years, just as it was after the last rocket launch at Sderot more than a month ago. Israel’s official statements blamed Hamas, and its airstrikes hit Hamas military targets, though the army’s press statement declined to specify the nature of those targets.

Read the full article at Haaretz.