jerusalem
Iran is sponsoring the massive Hamas-led violent protests on the Gaza border, reported Israeli security agency Shin Bet on Monday.

Shin Bet released the report just hours before 50,000 Palestinians amassed at the Gaza border, with many attempting to breach the security fence with bolt-cutters, grenades, pipe bombs and guns. In the process of containing the attempts, Israel killed 60 Palestinians, 24 of whom have been reported by Israel as belonging to Hamas.

While it is common knowledge that the ongoing violent protests have been directed and funded by Hamas, the Iranian connection was little-known until Shin Bet released its findings from numerous interrogations of suspects.

Monday’s report stated:

From the information we have, it appears Hamas is encouraging and sending protesters to the border fence in order to carry out violent acts and damage security infrastructure. In addition, it was found that Iran is providing funding to Hamas in order for it to carry out these violent activities along the Gaza Strip’s border fence.

While the report did not elaborate further about Iran’s specific contributions, the fact that its fingerprints are all over the March of Return is not surprising given Hamas’s renewed relationship with Tehran. The recently installed Hamas chief in Gaza, Yahywa Sinwa, is known for his strong ties to the Islamic regime. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (irgc) Quds Force leader Qassem Suleimani has praised him.

As we have long reported at the Trumpet, Hamas forms a vital part of Iran’s strategy to surround Israel.

To Israel’s north, Lebanon’s recent election has confirmed Iran’s legitimate hold over that country with Iranian proxy Hezbollah and its allies gaining their first majority in Parliament. Hezbollah has a reportedly 140,000-missile arsenal that is ready to be used in the next war against Israel.

On the Golan Heights, Israel now finds itself directly combating irgc fighters who have used the excuse of propping up the Assad regime to take up positions inside Syria, just northeast of Israel. One of Iran’s goals in Syria is to gain access to the eastern Mediterranean in order to confront Israel with an Iranian naval threat from future bases on the Syrian coast.

Dominating Hamas inside the Gaza Strip gives Iran another front from which to threaten Israel. And while most in the media will not portray it as such, the current Hamas-led violence on the Gaza border should be seen as another Iranian battlefront against the Jewish state.

Iran has a potent and passionate desire to eradicate the Jewish state and take control of Jerusalem. In Iran’s view, Jerusalem’s current Jewish occupation is just as wrong as its previous occupations by the Romans and Catholics, from whom Muslims forcibly took control on multiple occasions. Jewish control over Jerusalem is essentially a symbol of the injustice of Western imperialism—and a bitter reminder of the powerlessness of today’s Muslim society.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has repeatedly warned readers to watch for signs of Iran meddling in Palestinian affairs to further its own goals. Iran’s ideological, logistical and monetary support of Palestinian terrorists is about nothing less than conquering Jerusalem.

Two decades ago, Mr. Flurry berated the West for being “spellbound by peace treaties” and thus suffering willful blindness to “Iran’s massive plot to control the Middle East.” Then he wrote: “The most precious jewel of Iran’s plan is to conquer Jerusalem. This would then galvanize the Islamic world behind Iran!” (Trumpet, February 1995).

To learn more about Iran’s plans for Jerusalem, please read our article “The Precious Jewel of Iran’s Plan.”