News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict(September 8-15, 2009)

 

Overview

Relative quiet continues in the western Negev. However, attacks on IDF patrols and Israeli civilians near the security fence continue. On September 11, two-three 122mm rockets were fired into Israel from Lebanon by networks affiliated with the global jihad. There were no casualties and no damage was done. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with George Mitchell, the American envoy to the Middle East, on September 15 in an effort to make it possible for the President of the United States, the Israeli Prime Minister and the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority to hold a trilateral summit meeting in New York. Mahmoud Abbas has not yet agreed to the meeting.

 

 

Important Events

 

Gaza Strip

Rocket and mortar shell fire

During the past week no rockets or mortar shells were fired at the western Negev. However, Palestinian terrorists continued their attacks on IDF patrols and Israeli civilians near the security fence, using mainly light arms.

The most important events were the following:

• September 9: An anti-tank missile was fired at an IDF force near the Erez crossing. The military-terrorist wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack (PFLP website, September 9, 2009). The military-terrorist wing of the Popular Resistance Committees also claimed responsibility for the attack (PRC website, September 9, 2009). The Palestinian media reported that a Palestinian was slightly wounded by IDF fire northeast of Beit Hanoun (Ma�an News Agency, September 9, 2009).

• September 10: Palestinians used light arms to shoot at an IDF force near the Karni crossing. The military-terrorist wing of the PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack (PFLP website, September 10, 2009).

Rocket and mortar shell fire into Israeli territory
since the end of Operation Cast Lead ¹

Judea and Samaria

Israeli security forces continued their counterterrorism activities in Judea and Samaria, detaining Palestinians suspected of terrorist activity.

During the past week stones were thrown at Israeli vehicles and there were attempted stabbings as well (IDF Spokesman):

• September 13: Stones were thrown at an Israeli vehicle east of Qalqilya. There were no casualties but the vehicle was damaged.

• September 11: Stones were thrown at an Israeli bus southeast of Ramallah. There were no casualties but the bus was damaged. Stones were also thrown at an Israeli vehicle northeast of Ramallah. There were no casualties but the vehicle was damaged.

• September 10: A Palestinian attempted to stab an IDF soldier at the Hawara checkpoint (south of Nablus). Note: During the past week IDF forces found knives in the possession of four Palestinians who tried to pass through IDF checkpoints.

• September 10: Stones were thrown at Israeli vehicles southwest of Bethlehem. An Israeli woman sustained slight injuries and two vehicles were damaged.

 

The Lebanese Arena

Rocket fire on the northern border

During the afternoon of September 11, two or three 122mm rockets were fired into the western Galilee from the area of Qulaylah (the western sector of south Lebanon), falling in open fields. There were no casualties and no damage was done. In response the IDF fired approximately ten shells at the source of the attack (IDF Spokesman, September 11, 2009).

Soldiers from UNIFIL�s Italian battalion examine the area near the south Lebanese town of Qulaylah,
from which the rockets were fired into Israel (Haidar Hawila for Reuters, September 11, 2009).

Immediately after the rocket attack, UNIFIL forces (the Italian battalion) and the Lebanese army searched the area (a favorite spot for terrorists attacking Israel) for the rocket launchers. In addition, road blocks were set up and vehicles were searched (Lebanese News Agency, September 11, 2009). According to Agence France-Presse, civilians reported having seen a pickup truck carrying three rockets leaving Qulaylah, and four men were later seen positioning them and then fleeing the area (Agence France-Presse, September 11, 2009). A UNIFIL spokesperson called on both sides to show restraint and said that UNIFIL had begun an investigation of the circumstances of the rocket fire (Press TV, September 11, 2009).²

On September 14 an Al-Qaeda-affiliated Internet forum reported that a network called the Abdallah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack (Al-Fallujah website, September 14, 2009). It was the fifth incidence of rocket fire since the end of the second Lebanon war. All the rockets were apparently fired by networks affiliated with the global jihad and not by Hezbollah, which has been exploiting the relative calm in south Lebanon to rebuild and improve its military infrastructure.

The Global Jihad

Senior global jihad operative killed in commando operation in Somalia

Salah Ali Salah Nabhan, senior global jihad operative, was killed in a commando operation in Somalia when the vehicle he and four other senior operatives were riding in was attacked from the air by [apparently American] helicopters. All five passengers were killed (Reuters, September 14, 2009). Salah Nabhan, who was on the FBI�s wanted list, played a key role in planning and carrying out the terrorist attacks in Kenya in November 2002, in which Israelis were killed.³ He was also wanted for his involvement in attacks on the American embassies in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, and Dar el-Salaam, the most important city in Tanzania.⁴

Apparently, after the attacks Salah Nabhan fled to Somalia, a country with a weak central government. He became a leader of the Shabab al-Mujahedeen movement, a radical Islamic opposition organization affiliated with the global jihad, a serious threat to the Somali government.

Salah Ali Salah Nabhan (Al-Jazeera TV, September 14, 2009).

Bin Laden issues an audio cassette on the anniversary of the 9/11 attack

To mark the eighth anniversary of the destruction of the Twin Towers, Osama bin Laden issued an audio cassette aimed at the American leadership and explaining the reasons which he claimed the attack. He represented the differences between Al-Qaeda and the United States as originating with American support of Israel. He claimed the White House should release itself from pressure exerted on it by various groups, such as �the neocons and the Israeli lobby.� He also threatened that if the United States did not end the war it was waging [in Afghanistan and Pakistan], Al-Qaeda would begin a war of attrition like the one waged by the Afghanis against the Russians, until the USSR fell apart (Al-Fallujah website, September 14, 2009).

Developments in the Gaza Strip

The Islamization of the Gaza Strip

In view of the criticism voiced against Hamas on the grounds of its forced Islamization of the Gaza Strip, Hamas-affiliated religious sages stressed that the process had to be implemented gradually, weighing the issue carefully and taking into consideration existing conditions.

Remarks by senior Islamic sages in the Gaza Strip were the following (Felesteen, August 21, 2009):

• Dr. Ziyad Muqdad, professor of Islamic law and head of the department of advanced studies at the Islamic University, said that �working gradually is part of Islamic law, for it is appropriate for human nature, which cannot accept things all at once.� He said that �the Palestinian government [of Hamas] is working along two parallel lines: it is gradually meeting its commitments to the people, and at the same time implementing Islamic law…When the government and people are under siege conditions are not right for full implementation of the law… The government works to separate male and female students in the universities and the schools. Islamization is carried out gradually and quietly to keep people from opposing it…�

• Dr. Hassan al-Juju, chairman of the religious appeals court said: �religious law is fully implemented when the situation permits… In the Gaza Strip, because of the [closed] crossings and the siege, we cannot implement it fully, but only to the extent we are capable… The implementation of the law is deferred if there are obstacles… If conditions are not appropriate, it can be implemented as far as possible…as was done by Hamas� ministry of education, when it forced female students to wear veils. It is working along two parallel lines: the first is forcing the veil, and the second is increasing the girls� awareness of the necessity to behave modestly and to be careful in their dress… We are implementing the law insofar as we can, according to previously drawn-up plans…carefully and not randomly…�

Networks and jihadi-Salafist figures affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the global jihad attack Hamas

Jihadi-Salafist networks affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the global jihad, and Salafist clerics in Arab countries continue their harsh attacks on Hamas for its violent suppression of the jihadi-Salafist operatives at the Ibn Taymiyyah mosque in Rafah:

• On September 5, 2009, Al-Qaeda in Iraq issued a statement on its most important information website (Al-Fajr Media Center) strongly condemning Hamas. It denounced the �gang ruling Gaza� for damaging the Ibn Taymiyyah mosque, executing the Salafist Muslims and serving the �Crusaders� [the West, especially the United States], the Jews, the infidel Arab rulers and especially the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The statement called on Allah to avenge the blood of the murdered men and to destroy the �Hamas state,� and demanded that the Salafists in the Gaza Strip not negotiate with �criminals.�

• The well-known Egyptian Sheikh Sayid Hussein al-Afani condemned the Hamas killing of Sheikh Abd al-Latif Musa and his supporters and the shelling of the Ibn Taymiyyah mosque. Interviewed by Al-Khalijia TV on August 17, 2009, he praised Sheikh Abd al-Latif Musa, saying that he had been a well-known figure in Salafist circles in Egypt and had been greatly respected.⁵

• On August 31, 2009, the Yemenite Salafist Forum, a body uniting senior Islamic clerics, issued a statement signed by dozens of clerics criticizing the way the crisis had been handled and the attacks on Sheikh Abd al-Latif Musa and the Ibn Taymiyyah mosque. According to the statement, Hamas� conduct was inappropriate and could not be justified. Hamas had offended the sensibilities of their Salafist brothers, who were considered their strategic depth throughout the world.⁶

• �Assad Bayoudh al-Tamimi, an Palestinian extremist Islamic activist, severly criticized Hamas, saying that its actions were an unforgivable crime and could not be justified. He accused Hamas of belief �in democracy and national unity with the enemies of Allah� [i.e., the Palestinian Authority], and wondered whether �Hamas received money from the Persian Shi�ites to fight the Salafists in Gaza and destroy the mosque bearing the name of Sheikh Ibn Taymiyyah, affiliated with Salafist doctrine.�⁷

The Peace Process

Trilateral summit meeting in New York?

On September 15, 2009, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with George Mitchell, the American envoy to the Middle East. It was an attempt to reach an agreement which would make it possible to hold a trilateral summit meeting at the UN General Assembly with the participation of American President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Yasser Abd Rabbo, secretary general of the PLO�s executive committee, told a correspondent from the Hebrew daily newspaper Haaretz that Mahmoud Abbas had not yet decided if he would meet with Netanyahu: �Mahmoud Abbas will listen to what Mitchell has to say and then make his decision� (Haaretz, September 15, 2009).

The Palestinian Authority continues its political and propaganda warfare against Israel

The Palestinian Authority continues its political and propaganda warfare against Israel:

• In its weekly meeting, the Salam Fayyad government congratulated the decision of the Norwegian government to pull its investment out of the Israeli firm Elbit because of its involvement in building the security fence. The Palestinian government even claimed that one of the reasons for the Norwegian decision was the success of the �popular resistance� of the Palestinians against the fence at various friction points. It called on governments and NGOs to increase their boycott of international companies involved in building the fence or in the settlements (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, September 8, 2009).

• In an attempt to recycle the blood libel published in the Swedish paper Aftonbladet, the Salam Fayyad government held a meeting to listen to the first report of a committee of its foreign, health and internal ministries which was appointed in early September. The committee gathers information about the so-called �illegal trade� it falsely claims Israel carried out in terrorist internal organs (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, September 8, 2009).

The Palestinian Authority tries to reinforce its posture and influence in East Jerusalem

The Palestinian Authority continues reinforcing its posture in Jerusalem and bringing the issue before world public opinion:

• Dr. Nasser al-Kidweh, chairman of the board of directors of the Shaheed Yasser Arafat Institution, said that his organization was organizing an international symposium about Jerusalem in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. It will take place at the end of October in collaboration with the Moroccan government and participants will come from the United States, Europe and the Arab countries. Its objective is to raise international consciousness about the distress of the Palestinian residents of Jerusalem caused by Israeli policies against them (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, September 8, 2009).

• Jamal Jawarish, a senior Fatah figure, said that Salam Fayyad had allotted a large sum of money for the support of the families of shaheeds, prisoner and the wounded in Jerusalem and the villages in the Jerusalem district. The Palestinian Authority was supposed to distribute tens of thousands of school bags and writing materials to the school children of needy families. The Palestinian Authority also pays for fast-breaking meals during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan for patients in six hospitals in East Jerusalem and in the Al-Aqsa mosque (Al-Quds TV, September 7, 2009). It was also reported that the office of the Palestinian Authority chairman oversees the distribution of food to needy families for breaking the fast though charitable societies in East Jerusalem and paid for by the Red Cross of the UAE (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, September 8, 2009).

The Internal Palestinian Arena

Khaled Mashaal and the Sudanese president
(Al-Jazeera TV, September 9, 2009).

Khaled Mashaal in Sudan reiterates Hamas� fundamental strategy

Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas� political bureau in Damascus, paid a visit to Sudan, where the met President Omar al-Bashir and Vice President Ali Osman Muhammad Taha. Mashaal gave a speech before students in Khartoum in which he reiterated Hamas� fundamental strategy for the �liberation� of all Palestine �from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea� by means of jihad and the �option of resistance� [i.e., terrorism]. His main points were the following (Al-Jazeera TV, September 9, 2009):

• The Palestinians� desire for jihad, their firm stance, their refusal to waive their �rights� and the restoration of the territories are at the top of the Palestinian agenda. The banner of jihad and resistance waved by the Palestinians will not fall.

• Palestine will remain [the land] from the river to the sea and from north to south. The Palestinians will not abandon the land, Jerusalem, the right of return and the option of resistance. The Palestinians� path is to preserve jihad, stand firmly and remain faithful to their principles.

• The Palestinians must strengthen their capabilities and reduce the gap between themselves and their enemies by acquiring weapons: �Your brothers in Palestine, despite the siege, the growing pressure, the closed crossings, the great plot of the East and West which use their fleets to keep us from getting weapons, we, praise be to Allah, buy weapons, manufacture them and smuggle them in under the watchful eye of the entire world.�

Fatah responds to the Egyptian compromise for the internal Palestinian dialogue

On September 7 Egypt sent the Palestinian organizations the draft of a compromise proposal for renewing the internal Palestinian dialogue. As a result, on September 12 Hamas and Fatah delegations arrived in Cairo to present Omar Suleiman, head of Egyptian general intelligence, with their answers to the Egyptian proposal (PalPress website, September 13, 2009). According to Al-Ayyam, Mahmoud Abbas� answer to the Egyptians had several reservations, the main one relating to the suggestion to postpone the date of general elections for the Palestinian Authority, which are supposed to take place on January 25, 2010.

Senior Fatah figures expressed the reservations about postponing the elections:

• Azzam al-Ahmed, chairman of the Fatah faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council, said that Fatah was surprised by the Egyptian document, especially by the articles dealing with postponing the elections, because everyone had already agreed that they would be held on January 25, 2010 (Ma�an News Agency, September 10, 2009).

• Nabil Shaath, member of the Fatah Central Committee, said that Fatah hoped to hold the elections sooner and not postpone them. Hamas wants to postpone them for two years but Fatah has strongly rejected the proposal (BBC in Arabic, September 10, 2009).

• Yasser Abd Rabbo, secretary general of the Executive Committee, said that �we have decided to relate positively to the Egyptian compromise document, but Fatah is not satisfied with the suggestion about the elections.�

The Palestinian Authority continues its attacks on Hamas networks in Judea and Samaria

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas issued an order to disband the Qalqilya municipality, which is controlled by Hamas, because it did not follow the instructions of the office of the local authority and had amassed large debts (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, September 13, 2009).

The Palestinian Authority�s security apparatuses continue their ongoing activities against Hamas activists in Judea and Samaria:

• On September 10 they detained 19 Hamas activists in Jenin, Tulkarm and Nablus (Hamas� PalToday website, September 11, 2009). Among them was Mahdi al-Malah, the imam of the mosque in the Al-Aqsa neighborhood in Tulkarm, who was giving a speech during the fast-breaking meal at the time (PalToday website, September 13, 2009).

• The Palestinian Authority government reported the dismissal of 39 Hamas-affiliated teachers in Salfit and Hebron (PalToday website, September 11, 2009).

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¹ The statistics do not include the mortar shells fired at IDF soldiers patrolling the border fence which fell inside the Gaza Strip.

² For further information see our September 13, 2009 bulletin �Rocket fire in northern Israel� at http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/lebanon_e001.pdf.

³ On November 28, 2002, three suicide bombers blew themselves up in a car in front of the Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya. Fifteen people (including three Israelis who were staying at the hotel) were killed and more than 80 wounded. At the same time two shoulder missiles were fired at an Israeli Arkia plane taking off from the Mombasa airport. The missiles missed their target, preventing a catastrophe. The attacks were carried out by terrorist operatives affiliated with the global jihad and Al-Qaeda.

⁴ On August 7, 1998, a car bomb carrying hundreds of kilograms of explosives and two suicide bombers blew up near the American embassy in Nairobi, killing 213 individuals and wounding more than 4,000. A few minutes later a similar attack was carried out at the American embassy in Dar es-Salaam, where a suicide bomber blew himself up with a tanker full of explosives.

⁵ Sheikh al-Afani wrote the introduction to a book written by Sheikh Abd al-Latif Musa about Muslim doctrine. He also write a biography of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (the late Hamas founder and leader) and wrote a poem eulogizing Nizar Riyyan, a senior Hamas operative killed during Operation Cast Lead.
http://mdarik.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=ArticleA_C&cid=1248188005121&pagename=Islamyoun%2FIYALayout

⁶http://mdarik.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=ArticleA_C&cid=1251021323143&pagename=Islamyoun%2FIYALayout

⁷ http://www.almitro.com/09/3547.html

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