The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday that Israeli intelligence believes that “Hamas cooperated with global jihadi elements who used the Sinai Peninsula to fire rockets on Eilat.”

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the chief al-Qaida-linked group in Sinai, maintains strong links with the Gaza Strip, partnering up with groups such as the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC).

In the past, this allows Gaza terrorist groups – including Hamas – to ‘sub contract’ attacks on Israel away from the Strip, in order to protect the ruling Hamas regime from Israeli retaliation.

The Post specifically cites a July 15 rocket attack on Eilat as an example of this cooperation.

Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis beheaded a number of men in the northern Sinai area in recent weeks.

Although Hamas is supported by Shi’ite Iran, it is also allied with Sunni jihadists. Recently, Pinchas Inbari of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs wrote about the ties between Hamas and the al-Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda affiliated terror group active in Syria near the border with Israel.

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