News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) The Hizb ut Tahrir Islamic fundamentalist movement has become active among Palestinian Authority (PA) Arabs in Judea and Samaria, pushing their message that only restoring the Islamic caliphate and the rule of Islamic law, not Fatah or Hamas, holds the answer for the region. According to National Public Radio, the group is arranging rallies and drumming up support while dodging security forces loyal to PA Chairiman Mahmoud Abbas who see the group as a threat.

"The coming of the caliphate threatens the Palestinian Authority regime and threatens the American interests in the area,” said group supporter Osama al-Ansari from Hebron, “They are harassing us because a caliphate will not provide for the existence of the Palestinian Authority." Besides not recognize the authority of the PA or Hamas, the group also does not accept democracy or the concept of the modern nation-state. While they officially reject violence, various counterterrorism agencies have argued that Hizb ut Tahrir's radical ideology can be linked to a number of coup attempts and terrorist attacks. While tolerated in Western countries, it has been banned by several Mideast regimes.