Has ISIS infiltrated the West Bank?

The pamphlet claiming responsibility for the kidnappings doesn't seem to have come
from the Salafi group now terrorizing Iraq and Syria. But maybe a local cell decided
to claim affiliation with ISIS to inspire fear.
By Zvi Bar'el | Jun. 14, 2014 | 1:02 AM | 6
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The pamphlet
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A pamphlet supposedly issued by the Islamist State in Iraq and Syria and circulated
around Hebron, claiming responsibility for the kidnapping of three Israelis in the
West Bank, raises some doubts.
That the group has a branch in Gaza was suspected two years ago, when one of the
Salafi-jihadi groups there presented itself as an ISIS. More suspicions arose when in
November 2013 three ISIS agents were killed in the Hebron area. The three were
mentioned by name in Friday's pamphlet, which said the kidnapping was to avenge
their deaths.
Follow our live blog and interactive map for the latest updates on the missing
teens
But marking the pamphlet as "Pamhplet number 1 might mean that so far the group
was not behind any memorable operations. According to the pamphlet, the kidnapping
has a specific aim: Vengence for its fallen comrades and support for the
hungerstriking Palestinian detainees. But the pamphlet makes no broad ideological
statement for the liberation of Palestine or for resistance to the occupation. The
pamphlet differs from ISIS and Al-Qaida pamphlets which are usually adorned by
Quran verses, religious rulings and quotations from Osama bin Laden or other top
group members. The only verse which appears on "Pamphlet number 1" seems to have
been photocopied together with the ISIS logo. Furthermore, while the logo carries
the official name of the ISIS, the name which appears at the bottom of the
pamphlet is appended with "Palestine, the West Bank," as if it was printed separately.
But the doubts as to the veracity of the pamphlet do not erase the possibility that a
new, unknown organization, or perhaps an already existing one, has adopted the ISIS
name, which has managed to inspire organizations in Arab countries and in the
Palestinian territories due to its successes in Syria and in Iraq. A similar case
occurred two years ago, when Palestinian groups carried out operations under the
banner of the Nusra Front, which rose to prominence in the Syrian civil war as the
leader of the Islamist rebels. At the time, the Nusra Front released a statement
denying it was behind any of these operations. Other groups operating in Sinai and
Gaza such as Ansar Beit al-Maqdas claim affiliation to Al-Qaida, while Arab
governments sometimes term Salafi groups in their territories as Al-Qaida to
legitimize their suppression.
But Salafi groups are not homogenous. Some have nothing to do with jihad or politics,
and their actions are limited to scholarship and religious rulings. Others make forays
into politics, but don't pursue violence. The Salafi-jihadists, however, reject politics
and see violent struggle as the only path to salvation. Mohamed Nairukh, one of the
three ISIS agents killed in the West Bank two years ago, was probably of the last
category. Expelled from the ranks of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades due to his
radical religious beliefs and objection to Hamas' political involvement, he joined the
Salafi-jihadists while imprisoned in Israel.
These groups usually operate within very small cells, without headquarters or regional
leadership. They don't preach their message and make no attempt to collect funds
from the public. These reasons make tracking them down especially difficult.