News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (February 27 – March 5)

Rocket Fired for the First Time since Operation Pillar of Defense

• After the rocket fired into Israeli territory on February 26, 2013, landing south of the southern Israeli city of Ashqelon, no other rockets were fired. As to the February 26 rocket, Ihab al-Ghussin, head of the information bureau of the de-facto Hamas administration, claimed that it was "Israeli lies" to draw attention away from the death of the Arafat Jaradat in an Israeli jail (Al-Ra'i online, February 26, 2013).

Riots at the Security Fence

• On March 1, 2013, there were a number of riots at the border security fence in the northern Gaza Strip. Gazans approached the fence and threw stones and Molotov cocktails at IDF soldiers stationed there. They also fired shots from light arms.^[3] There were no casualties, but a military vehicle was damaged (IDF spokesman, March 3, 2013). The Palestinian media reported that three Gazans had been wounded by IDF fire east of Jabaliya (Safa News Agency and the Palestine Online website, March 1, 2013).

Riots in Judea and Samaria

• After the funeral of Arafat Jaradat on February 25, 2013, rioting continued throughout Judea and Samaria in a show of solidarity with the Palestinian terrorist operatives hunger striking in Israeli jails. Nevertheless, there has been a decrease in the number of confrontations between Palestinian rioters and the Israeli security forces.
• On Friday, March 1, 2013, there were confrontations between the Israeli security forces and Palestinians at a number of the traditional friction points in Judea and Samaria:

• Bila'in – In the village of Bila'in Palestinians marked the eighth anniversary of the campaign against the security fence. The demonstration in Bila'in was attended by Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Ramallah district governor Ms. Layla Ghanem, and other senior PA figures. Salam Fayyad gave a speech in which he praised the demonstrations in Bila'in, claiming they had turned into a model of "nonviolent popular resistance," which should be imitated. At the demonstration, nonviolent demonstrators threw stones at the Israeli security forces. According to Palestinian reports, 25 demonstrators were injured during the confrontations. Salam Fayyad was evacuated to escape the tear gas used by Israeli security forces to disperse the rioters (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, March 1, 2013).

The demonstration in Bila'in to mark the eighth anniversary of the popular resistance to the security fence (Wafa News Agency, March 1, 2013).

• Hebron – Several dozen Palestinians gathered in Hebron's Clock Square to protest the closing of Al-Shuhadaa Street. They threw stones and forced the temporary closing of the road. Israeli security forces dispersed the gathering. Palestinians gathered near the Beit Hadassah quarter and threw stones at settlers' houses, breaking several windows. According to Palestinian reports, several demonstrators were wounded, among them an officer in the Palestinian police force (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, March 2, 2013).
• Bitunia – Several dozen Palestinian rioters confronted Israeli security forces near the Ofer Prison. According to Palestinian reports, a Palestinian photographer was wounded (Ma'an News Agency, March 1, 2013).

Young Palestinians throw stones and burn tires at the entrance to the village of Ni'lin (Wafa News Agency, March 1, 2013)

Terrorist Network Exposed in the Hebron Region^[4]

• The Israeli security forces recently exposed a terrorist network in the Hebron region which belonged to the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military-terrorist wing. It was headed by Mousa Diab Jneidi, 23, from Hebron. The network was handled by Basel Himouni a Hamas operative released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal and deported to the Gaza Strip. The terrorist operatives planned to carry out shooting attacks and detonate IEDs, but they were detained before they could put their plans into operation. One of operatives had a pipe bomb in his possession when he was detained.

The PIJ Calls for an Intifada

• Khaled al-Batash, a senior PIJ operative, called on the other Palestinian terrorist organizations to join the confrontations with the Israeli security forces in Judea and Samaria to start what he referred to as a "genuine intifada." He called for coordinating committees to be established on the ground to wage confrontations with Israel, and warned the security services of the PA not to try to halt the intifada (Alresala.net website, February 27, 2013).

• Despite the relative decrease in the popular protests held to show solidarity with the Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails, Palestinian protests continue. Two hunger strikers, Jafar Ezeddeen and Tareq Qaadan, stopped their strike after reaching an agreement with a court in Israel that their administrative detention would not be renewed. The PIJ, of which they are both operatives, congratulated them on their victory in the campaign against Israeli policy (Palestine Online website, February 27, 2013).
• At his office in Ramallah, Mahmoud Abbas received the family of Arafat Jaradat, the Palestinian prisoner who died in an Israeli jail. He told them he had appealed to the UN Secretary General for a committee to investigate the circumstances of Jaradat's death (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, March 1, 2013). Qadoura Fares, chairman of the Palestinian prisoners' club, said that the possibility was being examined of bringing suit in the International Criminal Court in The Hague regarding Arafat Jaradat's death (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, March 3, 2013).

Statement from the Military-Terrorist Wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

• In view of the support and solidarity shown for the hunger-striking Palestinian terrorist operatives in Israeli jails, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the military-terrorist wing of the PFLP, issued a statement reading as follows: "The bullets which hit Rehavam Ze'evi^[5] in the head can also hit you in the head, because our weapons are not meant for military displays, they are aimed at your heads, and Palestine will be your graveyard" (Statement by a masked terrorist operative posted on YouTube, February 26, 2013).

Results of Arafat Jaradat's Autopsy

• On February 28, 2013, the Israeli Ministry of Health issued a follow-up announcement regarding the autopsy of Arafat Jaradat. According to the announcement, the microscopic examination shows that the internal bleeding and broken ribs found during the autopsy occurred close to the time of death and were the result of resuscitation attempts carried out for fifty minutes by the prison's medical services and Red Magen David [the Israeli Red Cross] paramedics as they tried to save his life. No other signs of injury were found. The tox screen was also negative. No indication of disease was found which would be responsible for his death, thus additional examinations will be performed to determine the cause of death.
• The Palestinians again rejected the findings and called for an international committee to investigate his death:

• Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinians were waiting for an international medical inquiry to determine how Arafat Jaradat died. He said the Palestinian pathological institute had found that he died as a result of torture but that they did not accept the findings and were waiting for an international inquiry committee (Wafa News Agency, February 26, 2013).
• Saeb Erekat, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee, said that after receiving the results of the autopsy he had contacted the UN. He said he had met with UN envoy Robert Serry and asked him, in the name of Mahmoud Abbas, to appeal to UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon to set up an international committee to investigate the circumstances of Arafat Jaradat's death (Al-Arabiya TV, February 25, 2013).
• Issa Qaraqa, PA minister for prisoners' affairs, said that the PA was examining the possibility of appealing to the International Criminal Court in The Hague because Israel relied on internal Israeli investigatory committees, and Israeli law made it impossible to take legal steps against senior Israelis (Radio Cairo, March 2, 2013). At a press conference held with a Palestinian pathologist who had been present at the autopsy, Qaraqa said that Arafat Jaradat had been tortured to death and that there were signs of violence on the body (Al-Hayat Al-Jadeeda, March 1, 2013).

Hamas Prints Shirts Called the "Prisoners' Intifada"

• According to the Facebook page Ajnad, which is affiliated with Hamas in Judea and Samaria, Hamas' military-terrorist wing has printed T-shirts for young Palestinians rioting in Judea and Samaria to protest Israel's treatment of the Palestinian terrorists in its jails. They bear the Hamas military-terrorist wing's logo and the words "prisoners' intifada" (Ajnad Facebook page, February 25, 2013).

Events in the Gaza Strip in Support of the Terrorist Operative Prisoners

• Demonstrations and rallies continue in the Gaza Strip in solidarity with the Palestinian terrorist operatives in Israeli jails. A rally was held in Rafah by the PIJ (Paltoday website, March 2, 2013), while Hamas organized a demonstration of kindergarten children near the Erez crossing (Palinfo website, February 26, 2013). On March 4, 2013, the ministry of endowments of the de-facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip held a solidary rally in front of the Red Cross offices in Gaza City (Palinfo website, March 4, 2013).

The Crossings

• Following the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip at Ashqelon on February 26, Israeli temporarily closed the Kerem Shalom crossing to the passage of goods. In addition, the scope of the activities of the Erez crossing, intended for the passage of personnel, was limited (IDF spokesman, February 26, 2013). With the closing of the crossings, Hatem Uwaidah, aide to the minister of the economy in the Hamas administration, increased the ministry's efforts to open the Rafah crossing to goods so as "not to be dependent on the mercy of the occupation" (Qudsnet website, March 3, 2013).
• On March 4, 2013, Israel authorized the reopening of the crossings. However, the de-facto Hamas administration prevented the Kerem Shalom crossing from reopening, demanding that the PA contractor who operated the Palestinian side of the crossing be replaced. Hamas ordered the employees of the PA company operating the crossing not to go to work until all their demands had been met, including a toll to be paid by trucks entering the Gaza Strip. Apparently, the proposed change in the status quo is intended to increase Hamas' income and limit the PA's influence in operating the crossing. It may also be a result of the decrease in income from smuggling following Egypt's destruction of tunnels along the Egypt-Gaza Strip border (Website of the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories, March 4, 2013).
• In response to Hamas' preventing the activities of the company operating the crossings, Ziad al-Zaza, Hamas minister of the treasury, said that the Hamas administration was in favor of free competition between Palestinian companies wanting responsibility for the passage of goods at the Kerem Shalom crossing. He said it opposed the monopoly of one lone company, and that competition would benefit Gazans by lowering prices. He also said that the Hamas administration did not in the least want to operate in a crossing under Israeli control (Interview with the People's Newspaper, China, March 3, 2013).

Egyptian Destruction of Smuggling Tunnels

• Egypt's continuing destruction of the tunnels in the Rafah region has caused concern for both Hamas and the Gazan population. They fear that the closing of the tunnels will lead to shortages, especially of building materials, and to profiteering (Ma'an News Agency, March 2, 2013). Egyptian sources reported that two Hamas delegations had come to Egypt to discuss the issue with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and the heads of Egyptian general intelligence. At the meetings the Hamas representatives tried to find a way to change the decision made by the Egyptian minister of defense to destroy the tunnels (PalPress website, March 2, 2013).
• However, Alaa al-Rifati, minister of the economy in the de-facto Hamas administration, said that so far, the influence of the Egyptian activity on the Gaza Strip was small and that there were no shortages. He said that the destruction of the tunnels had led to only a 20% reduction in the amount of goods smuggled into the Gaza Strip. He also said the tunnels would soon return to their routine level of activity (Qudsnet website, March 3, 2013).

Hamas Senior Activists Meet with Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi

n  On two separate occasions senior Hamas activists recently met in Qatar with Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a central figure affiliated the Muslim Brotherhood and a source of religious authority for Hamas. Khaled Mashaal, chairman of Hamas' Executive Committee, met with him on February 25, 2013, and Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Hamas ministry of the interior, on March 2, 2013. Al-Qaradawi called on the Palestinian people to be patient (Website of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, March 2, 2013).^[6]

Left: Khaled Mashaal meets with Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Website of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, February 27, 2013). Right: Islam Shahwan, spokesman for the Hamas ministry of the interior, meets with Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Website of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, March 2, 2013).

Hamas Rebuilds Its Training System

• Colonel Mahmoud Salah, head of the training administration of Hamas' ministry of the interior and its national security services, closely examined the progress of the buildings and training compound under construction at a new facility belonging to the training administration (Facebook page of the Hamas' administration's ministry of the interior, March 2, 2013). The facility was attacked during Operation Pillar of Defense.

Building and expanding the training facility at the Ansar compound in Gaza City (Facebook page of the Hamas' administration's ministry of the interior, March 2, 2013)

Live Fire Exercise of the PIJ's Khan Yunis Brigade

• The terrorist operatives operating in the Gaza Strip continue exploiting the agreement ending Operation Pillar of Defense for military buildup and the training of its various operatives: on February 25, 2013, the Khan Yunis Brigade of the PIJ's military-terrorist wing held exercises in a field used as a firing range. Pictures posted on the Hamas forum showed operatives firing heavy machine guns and firing during an assault (Hamas forum website, February 25, 2013).

Mahmoud Abbas Presents Diplomatic Passport to Director of Hezbollah-Affiliated Lebanese TV

• On March 2, 2013, Mahmoud Abbas met in Amman with Ghassan bin Jiddo, the director of Lebanon's Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV, and presented him with a Palestinian diplomatic passport^[7] (Ma'an News Agency, March 2, 2013). Al-Mayadeen TV began broadcasting in Lebanon in June 2012 as an alternative to the pan-Arabic satellite channels Al-Jazeera TV and Al-Arabiya TV. Al-Mayadeen was established by Ghassan bin Jiddo, formerly a senior correspondent for Al-Jazeera TV and close to Hezbollah. Hezbollah uses Al-Mayadeen to issue its reports, sometimes exclusively.

 Mahmoud Abbas presents Ghassan bin Jiddo with a Palestinian diplomatic passport (Ma'an News Agency, March 2, 2013).