Israel-Hamas war raises fears of global extremist attacks
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Semafor Signals
Insights from The Washington Post, The Economist, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies
The News
Western security officials fear that the risk of extremist attacks have grown following the Israel-Hamas war.
European officials are focused on threats this summer against the Paris Olympics and Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Germany, while the US’ FBI chief has expressed concerns about “lone-wolf extremists.”
SIGNALS
FBI head fears terror threat is high
Source: The Washington Post
US Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher A. Wray has voiced his concerns over the threat of terrorism in recent months, saying that he fears “lone-wolf” attacks by those angered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Some American national security experts are also concerned about the threat of ISIS-K, a branch of the Islamic State, The Washington Post’s David Ignatius recently noted — and think that the organization is “playing the long game.” They worry that ISIS-K, which recruits from Central Asian countries, could carry out an attack on Europe or the US. The organization “is reshaping its propaganda” to reach Central Asian immigrants, Ignatius noted. For now, though, “officials see the raw ingredients for an attack, rather than specific plans.”
Gaza war is shaping terrorist groups’ propaganda
Source: The Economist
The Israel-Hamas war has bolstered the anti-Western propaganda arms of major militant organizations such as al-Qaeda and IS, who have been able to galvanize followers through depictions of Palestinian suffering in the Gaza Strip, The Economist noted. Extremist content is proliferating online, and “Jihadist tracts and videos are distributed in many languages,” the outlet noted. Some organizations, which had previously diminished in their reach and capabilities, are now starting to regroup. That means the threat of an attack on a Western nation could be climbing, The Economist added.
Terrorism isn’t the leading threat to the US
Source: Center for Strategic and International Studies
The relative threat of terrorism in the US is low compared to the past two decades, a February report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted. Instead, the risk lies in the rise of violent far-right — and to a lesser extent far-left — extremists, the authors argued. That causes a problem for counterterrorism efforts, since most governments have prioritized preparations for foreign threats. As a result, “governments now face mismatched authorities and internal divisions in responsibilities that make it difficult to effectively coordinate security responses to domestic terrorism.”
