Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad offers to pay Palestinians to post videos of terror attacks

The Palestinian terror groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad are seeking to incentivize more violence against Israelis by offering $200 payments to anyone who posts a video to TikTok of such an attack, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 news. 

The payout practice is seen as an attempt to provoke copycat shootings and to glorify the Palestinian perpetrators, and is being introduced as the Israeli security establishment shifts into high alert mode ahead of the Jewish high holidays, which begin next week, and an exponential rise in shooting attacks in Israel. 

Israel has also heightened its security measures as the IDF operation “Break the Wave” aims to eradicate Palestinian terrorism emerging from cities in Judea and Samaria. In recent months, the area has seen several attacks and attempted attacks by Palestinians targeting Israeli civilians and soldiers, sometimes during the IDF’s night raids for capturing known terrorists. 

On Wednesday, two Palestinian Arab gunmen shot and killed IDF Major Bar Falah, 30, while trying to breach a fence adjacent to the Gilboa Crossing, or Jalama checkpoint, in northern Samaria, not far from the Arab city of Jenin in the Jezreel Valley. After shooting at Falah, the two terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire; one of the gunmen had been a member of the Palestinian Authority’s counter-intelligence force. 

Following the attack, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz toured the scene and ordered the crossing’s closure until further notice. 

One day prior, Palestinians opened fire at Israeli Defense Ministry equipment located near the deadly shooting scene. The Times of Israel noted that a heavily edited video posted on social media claimed to have captured that moment but the video could not be verified.

According to the Israel Security Agency, better known as Shin Bet, Israel has detained more than 2,000 Palestinian suspects since the beginning of the year. 

The Biden administration has followed the security deterioration in Judea and Samaria, and expressed concern over the situation, fearing it could lead to a large-scale crisis. 

“The security conditions in the West Bank do concern us greatly,” said Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs Barbara Leaf on Wednesday.

“They also concern Israel and the Palestinian Authority. We want to ensure that security cooperation is robust and continuing to the greatest degree possible.”