Egyptian, Palestinian, and Israeli sources tell The Tower that the Iran-backed terror group Hamas is now believed to have been responsible for Tuesday’s rocket strike on the Israeli city of Ashkelon, the first and so far only violation of the ceasefire that ended Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012. Egyptian media,...

On-again off-again reconciliation talks between the rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas have reportedly shifted from temporarily off again to something more than just temporarily delayed.  Hamas cancelled the scheduled February 27 meeting in Cairo between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshaal, and no date...

Members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps are currently in the Gaza Strip, high-level Palestinian security sources tell The Tower. The Iranians, according to our security sources, are experts in missile production, and are in Gaza to help Hamas and Islamic Jihad develop long-range missiles. Israeli security and political officials declined...

The banner hanging in the mourners’ tent at the Jaradat home, in the Hebron-area village of Sa’ir, said it all. On one side appeared Yasser Arafat in military garb, and on the other, Arafat Jaradat, the 30-year-old Palestinian prisoner who died this weekend while being detained in Israel. Scrawled under...

On-again off-again Palestinian unity talks between the rival Hamas and Fatah factions are off again for the near future: Hamas has asked to postpone its next meeting with Hamas to ensure the talks will be positive, the party’s deputy politburo chief said Sunday. Mousa Abu Marzouq said in a statement...

Israeli analysts and security officials are working to understand the calculations of senior Palestinian officials – including those calling on Palestinian Authority figures to “fight and even die” against Israel – who appear to be flirting with, if not encouraging, a potential third Intifada in the West Bank. Israeli Home Front Defense...