Hamas is assembling a security force of its own in the Gaza Strip to replace the Fatah-affiliated Preventative Security, which it evicted from the area in a bloody coup in June. A Hamas spokesman said the force will be operational within a few weeks.

Thousands of Palestinians are being recruited as personnel for the new organization, which will operate separately from Hamas’s military wing, a Hamas spokesman said. The security force will contain fighters from Hamas’s military and other associated groups.

Currently, Hamas military gunmen are the only power on the ground in Gaza, and are responsible for control of the area. Hamas leaders hope the new force will help it administer Gaza more effectively and free its military fighters to focus on other objectives.

“People will be surprised at the level of professionalism exercised by the forces being established,” the Hamas source said.

Professional conduct among its gunmen would indeed be surprising to many, as reports of Hamas members using physical force and torture methods on captives in its Gaza prisons have surfaced. Hamas fighters indulged in execution-style killings on the streets of Gaza in their ouster of Fatah—some of which were committed in front of the victims’ families, according to reports—and escorted other victims to rooftops of buildings before throwing them off.

A principle objective of Hamas forces, particularly the new security force, is to foil collaboration with Israel, according to a report by the Jerusalem Post. While most of the international community feels cooperation among Palestinians and between Palestinians and Israel is critical to a peaceful solution in the area, Hamas appears intent to use its military and its new security force to block any such collusion.

The objectives of its armed forces contradict the supposed merits of the organization some Hamas leaders have insisted upon on the op-ed pages of American newspapers, claiming that Hamas is a legitimate organization that should be engaged with diplomatically by the international community.

Hamas rejects Israel’s right to exist and refuses to renounce violence, and for these reasons was denied funding by the U.S. and the EU after coming to political power a year and a half ago.

Hamas is also establishing an intelligence group to enhance its capabilities in the area. The organization may be able to draw on sensitive spy technology and methodology allegedly seized from Fatah forces and originally provided by the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

Hamas continues its buildup while Israel and the international community do little to deal with the problem or its source, Iran. To find out how the Middle East situation will finally explode, read Jerusalem in Prophecy.