News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (January 16-21, 2013)

Rocket Fire

• Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue to implement the understandings reached at the end of Operation Pillar of Defense. Since 2300 hours on November 21 no rockets or mortar shells hit Israeli territory.

Events on the Ground

• This past week local Palestinians continued gathering in provocation near the security fence. On January 18 dozens of Palestinians gathered near the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip to riot and sabotage the fence. An IDF force fired at the rioters to disperse them (Ynet, January 19, 2013). The Palestinian media reported that two Palestinians near Beit Lahia (northern Gaza Strip) were injured by IDF fire (Wafa and Ma'an news agencies, January 18, 2013).

Violence Continues

• This past week friction and violence continued in various locations in Judea and Samaria between Palestinians on the one hand and Israeli security forces and settlers on the other. IDF forces detained terrorist operatives (IDF spokesman, January 16, 2013). Two IDF soldiers sustained minor injuries during the incidents.
• Some of the incidents were the following:

• On the evening of January 16 a Molotov cocktail and stones were thrown at an Israeli military vehicle southwest of Hebron. One of the soldiers sustained minor injuries (IDF spokesman, January 16, 2013).
• On January 16 several dozen Palestinians gathered near the Tomb of Rachel in Bethlehem, which has recently become a focal point for rioting. Rioters threw pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails and stones at the IDF force which arrived at the site. One IDF soldier sustained minor injuries. One of the pipe bombs damaged the security fence (IDF spokesman, January 16, 2013).
• On January 15 a Palestinian attempted to damage the security force and infiltrate into Israel territory northwest of Ramallah. An IDF force securing the fence instituted arrest protocol, which included opening fire (Ynet, January 15, 2013). The Palestinian media reported that a young Palestinian had been killed.

Terrorist Cell Exposed in Ramallah

• During November 2012 the Israeli security forces exposed a terrorist cell in Ramallah responsible for a series of attacks carried out as part of the so-called "popular struggle." The cell was composed of Palestinians from the village of Sinjil (Ramallah district), who were responsible for a series of attacks, some of which were carried out during Operation Pillar of Defense. Their attacks included throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles. In one instance they threw a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli vehicle near Maaleh Levona (south of Nablus). The passengers got out in time and were not harmed, but the vehicle was completely destroyed (IDF spokesman, January 17, 2013).
• The members of the terrorist cell, who do not belong to an organization, admitted that they also had weapons and gave up two rifles. One of them also admitted that he had agreed to participate in planting IEDs (IDF spokesman, January 17, 2013). In our assessment, the affair shows that there is a fine line between the so-called "soft" violence carried out by what is known as "the popular struggle" and the armed attacks, in which weapons are used.

Rebuilding Gaza

• The committee for rebuilding the Gaza Strip, responsible to Qatar, and an Arab contracting company under the aegis of the Egyptian Ministry of Housing Utilities and Urban Development signed an initial agreement to collaborate in the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip. They will use a $400 million donation from Qatar. According to the Egyptian minister, the money will be used to build to rebuild the infrastructure, and to build roads, housing units, a hospital, etc. He said the Egyptians would deal with issuing tenders, signing contracts, and importing the necessary raw materials and necessary equipment from the Egyptian market (Filastin al-Yawm, January 17, 2013).
• The finance minister of the de-facto Hamas administration said that delivering the building materials through the Rafah crossing was "a good beginning" for the entry of other goods the Gaza Strip needed. He said he hoped that the Rafah crossing would become a commercial crossing and not merely limited to pedestrians and passengers (Al-Ra'i Online, Kuwait, January 17, 2013).

The Hamas Administration Reduces the Import of Goods from Israel

• The ministry of the economy of the de-facto Hamas administration said in a statement that it was banning the import of a number of good through the crossings with Israel. Among those mentioned were office furniture, various types of foods, gas pipes, plastic bags and clothing. The step, probably unpopular with the local population, was apparently taken as part of Hamas policy to prevent goods imported from Israel from being sold in the Gaza Strip (Website of the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories, January 16, 2013).

Osama Hamdan Visits the Gaza Strip

• On January 20 senior Hamas figure Osama Hamdan, responsible for Hamas' foreign relations, arrived in the Gaza Strip. Hamdan, who today lives in Lebanon, had not been in the Gaza Strip for 46 years, since his family left after the 1967 Six Day War. Osama Hamdan entered the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing to examine the situation in the Gaza Strip after Operation Pillar of Defense (Shihab website, January 20, 2013). He was given a formal state reception led by Ismail Haniya, head of the de-facto Hamas administration, and attended by senior Hamas movement officials (Qudsnet website, January 20, 2013).

Death of a Senior PIJ Terrorist Operative

• On January 16 the PIJ announced the death of Ibrahim al-Harazin (Abu Jundal), a senior terrorist operative in the organization's missile unit, killed while on a "jihad mission" (Jerusalem Brigades website, January 19, 2013). His death was extensively reported by Hamas and PIJ websites.

Left: The announcement of the death of Ibrahim al-Harazin (Hamas forum website, January 16, 2013). Right: A rally held by the PIJ in memoriam (Jerusalem Brigades website, January 19, 2013).

A Mock Trial of Senior Israelis Held by Gazan Children

• On January 17 children in Gaza held a mock trial of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Spokesman Avihai Edri. It was held under the auspices of the Hamas ministry of youth and sport. The children played the roles of the judges, prosecution and witnesses. The mock trial ended with all three being condemned to death. The production was a collaboration of the Al-Shams Institute and lasted eight days (Alresala.net website, January 17, 2013). It was another expression of the culture of hatred for Israeli used to brainwash the youth of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas Delegation Visits Iran

• Imad al-Alami, a member of Hamas' Executive Committee, paid a visit to Iran. He met with Sayeed Jalili, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Ali Akbar Salehi, the Iranian foreign minister. The Iranians said they supported the Palestinian people and all aspects of its position vis-à-vis the "Zionist regime," including politically (ISNA, Iran, January 15, 2013).

Israel Accused of Violating the Lull Understandings

• Musa Abu Marzouq, deputy chairman of Hamas' Executive Committee, stressed that Egypt was responsible for any violation of the lull reached with Israel because it had brokered the agreement. He said that if Israel continued violating the agreement Hamas would not sit by idly and would respond "in an appropriate manner." He added that Hamas expected that as part of the agreement, all the crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip would be opened. He said that the tunnels would disappear only after the full implementation of the lull agreement, especially relating to the issue of the opening of the Rafah crossing to the entry of goods. As to weapons being brought into the Gaza Strip, he said that for a long time Egypt had treated the issue with "full awareness and strictness," and that as in the past, Israel would not succeed in preventing [weapons from entering the Gaza Strip] (Alresala.net website, January 16, 2013).
• Abu Ahmed, spokesman for the PIJ's military-terrorist wing, also accused Israel of "repeated violations" of the lull agreement, and said that his organization was closely following all the "violations." If they continued, he said, the PIJ would decide on a position regarding all aspects of the agreement (Filastin al-Yawm, January 17, 2013). Abu Mujahed, senior figure in the Jerusalem Brigades (the military-terrorist wing of the PIJ), said his organization would not continue to restrain itself for long in the face of the "Israeli violations" (Filastin al-Yawm, January 17, 2013). The Jerusalem Brigades also issued a detailed report of the so-called Israeli violations allegedly carried out, during the past week (Jerusalem Brigades website, January 19, 2013).

Renewal of the Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation Talks

• After a day's postponement, the result of technical difficulties, on January 17 Fatah and Hamas delegations met in Cairo under the aegis of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi for another round of reconciliation talks. Egypt issued a press release after the meeting, stating that a schedule had been established, necessary for beginning the implementation of all matters connected to the reconciliation. They included the dates for the elections central committee to begin its work and for consultations for forming a government (Facebook page of Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' Executive Committee, and the Ma'an News Agency, January 17, 2013).

Rejecting Recognition of Israel as Jewish State

• Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu told the Jerusalem Post that the core of the confrontation with the Palestinians was not the issue of the settlements in Judea and Samaria but rather the refusal of the PA to recognize the existence of Israel as a Jewish state within any borders (Jerusalem Post, January 18, 2013). In response, Fatah spokesman Ahmed Asaf said that Palestine would never recognize Israel as a Jewish state and that they would teach their children that Palestine was for the Palestinians until the end of the "occupation" (Qudsnews, January 19, 2013).

Outlawed Humanitarian Organization Involved in Distributing Aid in Ramallah

• Ms. Layla Ghanen, governor of the Ramallah district, headed a program to distribute food and other assistance to needy families in the Ramallah-Al-Bireh district after the recent storms (Wafa, Ma'an, and the PNN news agencies, January 20, 2013). The Palestinian media and the Ramallah district Facebook page posted pictures of packages distributed to families from Human Appeal International, an organization based in the UAE. The organization was outlawed by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak because of its involvement in financing terrorist activities.

Palestinians Continue Erecting Outposts

• On January 18, a week after the Palestinians erected the Bab al-Shams outpost in Area E1, they erected another one in the village of Bayt Iksa (northwest of Jerusalem). They set up their tents on an area in dispute between Israel and the local villagers because of the route of the security fence. The Palestinians claim the area belongs to the village and set up several tents, calling the outpost Bab Al-Karameh ("gate of honor"). They began building a cinder block structure to be used as a mosque (See picture on front page). The Palestinians announced that they would not permit Israel to destroy this outpost as they had the previous one (Wafa News Agency, January 18, 2013).
• Amin Abu Rashad, head of the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG), a network participating in the campaign to delegitimize Israel, said that erecting the outpost of Bab al-Shams was "a new hope" for the Palestinians. He said that Israel's "crime" of evacuating the outpost would not be met with silence because the EU would exert pressure on Israel. He said his organization was preparing a report on the events at the outpost for senior figures in the European Parliament and EU institutions (Al-Quds TV, January 13, 2013).
• Rateb Jibour, coordinator for the Yata branch of  "the national committee to resist the fence and settlements" [the committee behind erecting the outposts] said that preparations were being made for another outpost south of Hebron which would be called Bab al-Qamar ("gate of the moon"). It would be erected there, he claimed, to call attention to the suffering of the south Hebron residents. He refused to name an exact date (Quds News, January 20, 2013).

Senior Israelis Sued in Spain

• The Spanish national attorney general formally asked for legal proceedings to begin against senior Israelis in the International Criminal Court (ICC). The pretext for the suit was the presence of three Spanish nationals aboard the Mavi Marmara at the time of the IDF takeover of the ship in May 2010. According to the suit, "firm evidence" was found that crimes against humanity, illegal detentions, expulsion and torture were committed (Electronicintifada website, January 17, 2013).
• The three Spanish nationals aboard the Mavi Marmara lodged a complaint with the Spanish national court (Audiencia Nacional) in November 2011. They claimed that they had been illegally detained in international waters, tortured and sent to Turkey against their will. The 86-page brief was officially lodged in the name of the three by a pro-Arab NGO called the Arab Cause Solidarity Committee (Isralmuse.com website, November 3, 2011).
• The three are suing Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu. Also mentioned in the statement of claim are Minister of Defense Ehud Barak, Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, Minister of Intelligence Dan Meridor, Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe Yaalon, Interior Minister Eli Yishai, Minister without Portfolio Benny Begin and Navy Commander Eliezer Marom (Isralmuse.com website, November 3, 2011).