Hamas warned against visitng targeted operative's Facebook page

Hamas warned against visitng targeted operative's Facebook page
Online Hamas forum warned members to stay away from page – two days later al-Karmi was killed


It has been revealed that Hamas issued a warning against visiting the Facebook page of one of the senior members of its military branch – and two days later he was killed in a targeted IDF killing. Nasat al-Karmi and Mamun Natashe were responsible for the murder of four Israelis near Hebron in August.

As early as Wednesday, two days before the targeted killing, a warning was issued on Hamas' online forum, telling participants to stay away from a Facebook page created for Karmi. The message expressed suspicion that the creators of the page were in fact Fatah intelligence operatives, who created it in the hopes of getting closer to Karmi's close circle, and through them, to Karmi himself.

Warning on Hamas forum

Additional warnings were posted on the Facebook page's "wall", which was supposedly created in support of Karmi. They were erased a short time later.

A Hamas official told Ynet that the organization was not responsible for any statements published on the online forums. "Our warnings", said the official, "are passed on to our operatives through the usual channels". He stated that the operatives are fully aware of the constant danger that the Internet will be used by Shin Bet in order to entrap them."

Over the past two days, Karmi's Facebook profile has been erased and in its stead appears to be a memorial to Karmi and Natashe.

Natashe family divided

Karmi chose to hide out with the Natashes, one of Hebron's most prestigious families. Many of the family members are members and senior operatives in Hamas and its military wing – but the family also has prominent representation within the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement.

One family member, Mamoun Natashe, is the second terrorist who was killed in the IDF operation. Like Karmi, he too had a "past" in the Israeli prison system. After the deadly terror attack on August 31st at the Ben Naim Junction, the Palestinian Authority arrested two of Mahmoun's brothers; their father was also taken in for questioning.

The two are still detained. It remains unclear whether the two were accomplices in Mahmoun's terrorist activities, or were being detained in order to put pressure on Mahmoun himself.