FEATURED: Islamic Jihad trying to show up Hamas in Gaza

"There's no doubt that one reason Islamic Jihad is continuing its rocket fire on southern Israel is its glaring lack of success. After firing more than 200 rockets at the Negev, they still haven't killed any Israelis," writes Ha'aretz reporter Avi Issacharoff. "What's more, the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, which has shot down many of the rockets, is proving to be a formidable obstacle, one the terror group has not been able to overcome, even by firing a barrage of rockets at the same time."

Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) frustrations grew even further when it became apparent that the current round of hostilities was very low on the general Arab agenda. Their Syrian patron, President Bashar Assad, has managed to focus Arab public opinion on what's going on in Syria, rather than in Gaza and even at the height of the crisis in Gaza, with 23 dead and dozens wounded, the fighting was only the third or fourth item on Monday's Arab news broadcasts, "especially after the scope of the massacre in Homs' Karm el-Zeitoun neighborhood was revealed."

Both the large Arab satellite networks, Al-Arabiya and Al Jazeera treated the Palestinian issue as secondary, at best. The PRC lost its general secretary, Zuhair al-Qaissi, who was assassinated by Israel on Friday and a leadership vacuum may have developed. In the meantime, the latest round of violence may have exacerbated growing gaps between Islamic Jihad, whose leadership is still in Syria and supporting Assad, and Hamas, who has turned against the Syrian regime and is being now considered "soft" by the other terrorist organizations.

The clear goal of the Islamic Jihad was to show Hamas up and shore up its position in its competition with the rulers of Gaza.

Related Topics: Gaza, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Syria, Terrorism receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free middle east clarity mailing list