So far, most of the fighting in Israel’s war against Hamas has occurred in the Gaza Strip, the territory controlled by the terrorist group. However, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have carried out limited operations in the West Bank, which is run by the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas.

Now, terrorist agitators in the West Bank have launched efforts to radicalize people in the region to carry out attacks against Israel. If this catches on, then it could lead to a more volatile situation in the area.

Since launching the war against Israel on October 7, 2023, Hamas has kept up an ongoing incitement campaign calling on the people of the West Bank to aid Gaza by opening up their own front against Israel. On October 12, 2023, for example, Hamas official Husam Badran urged all those with weapons in the West Bank to "take immediate action," stressing that "the [West] Bank is the front most capable of aiding Gaza, before we request aid from outside."

Much of this incitement is spread via social media, especially Telegram, which serves as a convenient platform for Hamas' calls for terror attacks in the West Bank, as it did before the outbreak of the war. Many Telegram accounts that belong to or are affiliated with the terror organizations post messages that encourage the people of the West Bank to carry out shootings, stabbings, car-ramming attacks and other attacks against Israelis. Especially conspicuous in this context are accounts affiliated with Hamas' student organization, the Islamic Bloc, which call to wage terror and "launch a jihad war" against Israel. Similar incitement appears on platforms of other Palestinian terror organizations, including the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, the military wing of Fatah, which is the ruling party in the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Muhammad Hamada, Hamas’ spokesperson for Jerusalem affairs, wrote a post on the terrorist group’s Telegram account that referred to the "uprising against the occupier and its settler gangs” as “vitally important and has great impact on the Al-Aqsa Flood campaign." He called on younger Palestinians to “carry out effective, high-quality attacks to teach the enemy a lesson he will never forget.”

Messaging platform Telegram has been one of the primary digital means Hamas and other terrorist groups are using to disseminate their message and inspire Palestinians to violence against Israel. Even before Hamas’ October 7 assault on the Jewish state, the platform was a favorite for violent extremists.

The Islamic Bloc, Hamas’ student organization, has been quite vocal in its calls to wage terror and “launch a jihad war” against Israel. Others, like the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, which is the military wing of Fatah, the ruling party in the Palestinian Authority, have engaged in similar types of incitement despite the party’s claim that it is more moderate than Hamas.

The Islamic Bloc wrote a post on its Telegram channel sharing footage of Hamas using drones to carry out an attack during the October 7 fighting. “Who will be the first in the West Bank to launch a suicide drone at an enemy checkpoint or settlement?” the accompanying message asked.

The escalating severity of the rhetoric coming from the West Bank, combined with the IDF’s continued efforts to wipe out Hamas, underscores the complexities of an already volatile situation. If these groups manage to inspire enough people in the West Bank to carry out terrorist attacks against Israel, the war could easily expand even further than it already has -- a scenario that could spell disaster for even more people in the region.