Hamas cells form in Tulkarem

The al-Qasam Brigades, the Hamas movement's military arm, published a short video showing armed operatives from the organization in an area that it calls the Nur al-Shams "refugee camp" in Tulkarem, a PA-controlled town that straddles the so-called "Green Line," is less than a mile away from the closet Israeli community, and less than eight miles away from the major city of Netanya.

The video shows four masked operatives with al-Qasam Brigades bandanas around their heads, carrying assault rifles and practicing urban combat to protect against IDF forces.

In recent months Hamas has been investing efforts in developing military infrastructure in Judea and Samaria, which it sees as an important epicenter for the current step in the armed conflict against Israel.

The al-Qassam Bragaide's terror cells operate in northern Samaria, including Jenin and Shechem (Nablus). In Jenin, al-Qassam built plants to manufacture explosives, some of which are strong enough to pierce the armor of IDF vehicles.