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Gaza's Rogue Islamists Pose Risk to Truce with Israel
(Wall Street Journal) Nicholas Casey - On a recent surveillance patrol, Israeli soldiers watched as a squad of Hamas militants approached the border between Gaza and Israel to block rogue militants seeking to launch rockets into Israel, an Israeli commander said. "They are trying to embarrass Hamas," said Mkhaimar Abusada, a political scientist in Gaza City, referring to the extremists. "The aim is to destabilize the cease-fire. Hamas is trying to maintain the cease-fire." In December, Hamas blamed a Salafist group for launching rockets into Israel, an event that sparked Israel's first airstrikes into Gaza since the summer conflict ended. An Israeli military official said Hamas has attempted to rearm itself in recent months, but its appetite for a new war with Israel has been tempered by its inability to get sophisticated weapons through a blockade enforced by Israel and Egypt.