People hold Hamas flags as Palestinians gather after performing the last Friday of Ramadan to protest over the possible eviction of several Palestinian families from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, in Jerusalem’s Old City, May 7, 2021. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

i24 News – Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have reached an agreement to step up terrorist attacks against Israel, especially in Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The Iranian-backed groups have also agreed to increase coordination between their military wings, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades and the Al-Quds Brigades. The deal was reached during meetings of leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in recent days.

The deal is seen by Palestinian political analysts as a new challenge for the Palestinian Authority, whose security forces continue to carry out a massive crackdown on Hamas and members of Palestinian Jihad in the West Bank.

“Hamas and Islamic Jihad hope to kill two birds with one stone,” said a Ramallah-based analyst. “They know the attacks make [PA Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas appear to be losing control of the situation.”

A Ramallah official said the Palestinian Authority security forces have received “strong instructions” from the Palestinian leadership to prevent lawlessness in the West Bank.

Eight attacks against Israelis were carried out in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem this month, raising fears of yet another wave of terror.

On Thursday evening, Palestinian terrorists shot at a vehicle near the Homesh settlement, killing an Israeli and wounding two others.