Hamas� PALDF forum, July 27, 2011
Rocket and mortar shell fire into Israeli territory
Rocket Fire -- Monthly Distribution
Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades operatives practice driving under operational conditions
PIJ operatives demonstrate firing a mortar shell (Hamas� PALDF forum, July 28, 2011).
Website of the PIJ military wing, July 27, 2011
The delegation of European parliamentarians with Ismail Haniya
Daily Star, Lebanon, July 26, 2011
Ismail Haniya, head of the de facto Hamas administration, with the two activists of the Miles of Smiles 4 convoy
The South African aid convoy on its way to the Gaza Strip
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Overview
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Important Terrorism Events in Israel’s South
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This past week two rocket hits were identified in the western Negev (July 28 and August 1). An Israeli civilian woman suffered minor wounds from the rocket fired on August 1.
Rockets and Mortar Shells Fired into Israeli Territory 1
Rocket Fire — Monthly Distribution
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Mortar Shell Fire — Monthly Distribution
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Israeli Air Force Response
Following the rocket fire attacks on Israel, Israeli aircraft struck a site used for terrorist activity in the northern Gaza Strip, apparently a Hamas training camp, and a smuggling tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. The Palestinian media did not report casualties (IDF Spokesman’s website, August 1; Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades website, August 2, 2011).�
Judea and Samaria
The Situation on the Ground
This past week there were a number of attacks in which Palestinians threw stones at Israeli vehicles. Demonstrations were also held at the traditional friction sites, especially Bila’in and Ni’lin. In a number of instances stones were thrown at Israeli security forces, who responded with riot control measures.
This past week the Israeli security forces continued their counterterrorism activities throughout Judea and Samaria, detaining Palestinians suspected of terrorist activities and confiscating weapons. A detention carried out in the Qalandia refugee camp near Jerusalem on July 31 developed into a confrontation between Israeli security forces and Palestinians. Two young Palestinians were killed and five security forces soldiers were wounded by stones thrown at them (The Israeli NRG website and Hamas� Paltoday website, August 1, 2011).
Senior figures in the Palestinian Authority denounced the incident in Qalandia. Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for the PA’s presidential bureau, accused Israel of escalation in view of the Palestinians’ upcoming September appeal to the United Nations (Wafa News Agency, August 1, 2011). Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri denounced what he called Israel’s "crime," called for implementing the option of "resistance" (i.e., terrorism and violence) in Judea and Samaria, and requested that the Palestinian Authority’s internal security forces stop "persecuting" "resistance fighters" in Judea and Samaria (Hamas’ Palestine-info website, August 1, 2011).
Lebanon
IDF-Lebanese Army Exchange of Fire
On August 1 Lebanese army soldiers opened fire at Israeli soldiers on routine patrol along the Hatzbani River. The IDF soldiers returned fire. There were no casualties. The Israeli patrol, as confirmed by a UNIFIL spokesman, was operating in Israeli territory almost 15 meters south of the Blue Line.�
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Developments in the Gaza Strip
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The Crossings
This past week between 196 and 284 trucks carrying merchandise entered the Gaza Strip every day, including drugs and medical equipment for the Jordanian hospital operating in the Gaza Strip (Website of the Israeli government coordinator for the territories, August 2, 2011).
Training and Displays by the Palestinian Terrorist Organizations in the Gaza Strip
The relative quiet in the Gaza Strip was exploited by the terrorist organizations to hold extensive training activities to increase their military-operational capabilities and bolster their image in the Gazan public eye:
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Hamas: The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military-terrorist wing, held training exercises which included unloading vehicles under operational conditions and firing light arms (YouTube, July 30, 2011).
Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades operatives practice driving under operational conditions
(YouTube, July 30, 2011).
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The Palestinian Islamic Jihad:
- On July 28 the PIJ held a broad military exercise in which 400 operatives from various units participated. According to reports the operatives used the capabilities they had learned in theoretical and practical courses. The PIJ’s military wing spokesman said that the objective of the exercise was to prepare "everything necessary to confront an instance of Zionist aggression" (Website of the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing, July 28, 2011).
PIJ operatives demonstrate firing a mortar shell (Hamas� PALDF forum, July 28, 2011).
- On July 27 and 31� PIJ military operatives held a parade in Khan Yunis (Website of the PIJ military wing, July 29, 201
PIJ operatives parade through Khan Yunis
(Website of the PIJ military wing, July 27, 2011).
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The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine: The DFLP held a graduation exercise for one of its military courses near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. The graduates simulated assaults, firing anti-tank rocket launchers and light arms, and abducting Israeli soldiers. DFLP spokesman Abu Khaled said that the organization was ready "for any Israeli aggression," and called for the establishment of a united headquarters of all the [terrorist] organizations in the Gaza Strip (Qudsnet website, July 31, 2011).
A Delegation of European Parliamentarians Visits the Gaza Strip
On July 24 a delegation of European parliamentarians visited the Gaza Strip. They were received by Ismail Haniya, head of the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, and other senior Hamas figures. Haniya gave them a communiqu� addressed to the European parliaments asking for their aid in ending the so-called Israeli "siege" of the Gaza Strip. Jamal al-Hudri, Hamas administration chairman of the so-called "popular committee for the struggle against the siege," said that the Palestinians needed "merchandise and equipment in unlimited quantities without conditions." He also called for the construction of an airport and sea port in the Gaza Strip and for the opening of a passage between Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip (Qudsnet website, July 25, 2011).
The delegation of European parliamentarians with Ismail Haniya
(Safa News Agency, July 25, 2011)
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Israel and the Palestinian Authority
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The Palestinian Authority Continues Preparations for Its UN Move in September
The Palestinian Authority continues preparations for its September appeal to United Nations. To that end Saeb Erekat, member of the PLO’s executive committee, met with international law experts in London to polish the final version of the Palestinian appeal to the UN Security Council. According to the Palestinian media, the meeting was organized and financed by Qatar. On August 3 and 4, a meeting is supposed to be held by the subcommittee of the Arab Monitoring Committee, which Mahmoud Abbas will attend, to put the final touches on the appeal before it is transmitted to the UN Secretary-General (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, July 31, 2011).
Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas, interviewed about the upcoming September appeal to the United Nations, said the following (Wafa News Agency, July 27, 2011):
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The Palestinians intend to appeal to the Security Council and are determined to do so regardless of the Israeli declarations that it will lead to various responses, such as the cancellation of the Oslo Accords or an end to funds being transferred to the Palestinian Authority.
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The appeal the the UN is not an alternative to negotiations with Israel.
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The Palestinian Authority does not want a confrontation with the United States. The Palestinians were not officially asked by the Americans not to appeal to the UN, they only received requests transmitted through mediators.
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The appeal to the UN is not a unilateral step, but rather Israel’s "settlement activity and the siege" are unilateral.
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The Palestinian Authority does not want a war with Israel. However, the Palestinians have the "right" to broad unarmed "popular resistance." Thus the Palestinians are following in the footsteps of the so-called "Arab spring" with peaceful demonstrations.2
Mahmoud Abbas, speaking before the PLO’s central committee, said that the Palestinians would never accept Israel as "a Jewish state" (Palestinian TV, July 27, 2011).
Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, claimed that the objective of the Palestinians’ diplomatic activity was to achieve recognition from the countries of the world, and that the objective of the Palestinian appeal to the UN in September was to "nullify the Zionist idea which created Israel in Palestine" (Al-Dustour, July 26, 2011).
Senior Hamas Figures Publicly Reject� the PA’s Proposed Move in the UN
Two senior Hamas figures in the Gaza Strip recently opposed the proposed Palestinian Authority move in the UN:
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Mahmoud al-Zahar told an interviewer from the German News Agency that Mahmoud Abbas’ planned move in the UN was empty talk and a "political trick." He completely rejected the two-state concept, the foundation for Mahmoud Abbas’ appeal to the UN, saying that "[w]e do not recognize Israel, and it is very simple. We do not recognize Israel as controlling, not even one centimeter [of the land of "Palestine"], because it is an artificial state." He also warned that recognizing the right of the State of Israel to exist would harm the so-called "rights" of millions of Palestinian refugees to "Palestine," asking "[w]ho will go to the refugee camps and tell the people that they do not have the right to Palestine?" (Qudsnews website, July 30, 2011, quoting an interview with the German News Agency).
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On July 31, Khalil al-Hayeh, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said at a reception for a Malaysian delegation visiting the Gaza Strip that the appeal to the UN was only an illusion and would not lead to anything that would serve the Palestinian cause. He said that "the Palestinian people are still bowed under the occupation, and there is nothing to be done but to end it by means of the resistance [i.e., terrorism and violence]." He said that the Palestinian Authority did not have a "political horizon" and that the PLO’s deliberations with Israel ("the country of the occupation") had reached a dead end (Website of Hamas’ daily Felesteen, July 31, 2011).
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Events in Lebanon
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A French UNIFIL Convoy Attacked in Lebanon
On July 26 a French UNIFIL convoy was attacked with an IED near Sidon, western Lebanon. Five soldiers were wounded, one of them critically. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman and other senior Lebanese figures denounced the attack. Sources within Hezbollah also denounced it. So far no organization has claimed responsibility. Ten men, some of the Palestinians, were detained on suspicion of involvement in the attack (Al-Nahar, July 27, 2011).
Upper pictures: Some of the UNIFIL soldiers wounded in the attack. Lower pictures:
The wrecked APC involved in the attack (Daily Star, Lebanon, July 26, 2011).
Hezbollah Leader Warns Israel Not to Exploit the Oil Resources
He Claims Are in Lebanese Waters
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, speaking on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the second Lebanon war, glorified the accomplishments of the organization during the war. He also referred to the issue of Lebanon’s oil and natural gas resources. He said that the "resistance" [i.e., Hezbollah] did not have the authority to determine the maritime boundary between Israel and Lebanon, but as soon as the Lebanese government determined that a certain region belonged to Lebanon, as far as the "resistance" [i.e., Hezbollah] was concerned, it was "a region under attack." He warned Israel not to "steal" Lebanon’s resources and said that the Lebanese government could count on the "resistance" to prevent it. He warned that "whoever damages the facilities established in the future in the waters [under discussion] will have his own facilities [for producing oil and gas] damaged" (Radio Nur, July 26, 2011).
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Convoys to the Gaza Strip � Update
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The Miles of Smiles 4 Convoy Reaches the Gaza Strip
On July 31, 35 anti-Israeli activists from Britain, Spain, Bahrain, Australia and Egypt entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. Their entrance had been coordinated with the Egyptian authorities. They came with the fourth Miles of Smiles convoy to the Gaza Strip, all of which have entered through the Rafah crossing. According to media reports,� they brought mainly milk powder for infants and medicines for children. Ali al-Nazli, spokesman for Hamas’ so-called Popular Committee to Break the Siege, said that the Miles of Smiles 5 convoy is expected to reach the Gaza Strip at the end of Ramadan (the end of August).
The Palestinian media mentioned Issam Yousef as coordinating the current convoy. Issam Yousef is the dominant personality in Interpal, a British fund which sends money to Hamas’ civilian infrastructure. Interpal was outlawed in Israel in 1997 and designated as a terrorist organization in 1998. Issam Yousef was also one of the founders of the Union of Good and served as its operational director. The Union of Good is an umbrella organization of dozens of Islamic funds and foundations around the globe which channel funds to Hamas, and was designated as a terrorist entity by the United States in 2008. Issam Yousef’s involvement in the convoy may well indicate that the British aid convoys are being exploited to transfer funds to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Ismail Haniya, head of the de facto Hamas administration, with the two activists of the Miles of Smiles 4 convoy (Safa News Agency, August 1, 2011). We identified the two as Issam Yousef (at left, holding microphone) and Ibrahim Hewitt, both senior Interpal figures.
The African Convoy to the Gaza Strip
After a considerable delay, on July 29 the Africa Aid 1 convoy left Cape Town for the Gaza Strip. The convoy is composed of nine vehicles and about 100 volunteers, and it is supposed to cross the African continent from South Africa to Tanzania and from there its members will fly to Egypt. It is supposed to meet the other South African convoy, which left Durban on July 14. The Cape Town convoy is carrying food, generators and medical supplies for the residents of the Gaza Strip, and is expected to reach the Gaza Strip at the end of August. In our assessment, the entrance of both convoys will be coordinated with the Egyptian authorities.
The convoy vehicles prepare to leave Cape Town (Website of the convoy, August 1, 2011).
1 The statistics do not include the rockets and mortar shells which fell inside the Gaza Strip. As of August 2, 2011
2 The Popular Committees for Resistance to the Fence and Settlements, a Palestinian-based network, stated it was initiating "quiet popular resistance" in preparation for the appeal to the UN in September. The network claimed that it would hold intensive activities and deploy at all the traditional friction points. It called on Palestinians, Arabs and friends of the Palestinians throughout the world to participate in its activities and demonstrations.
