News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (August 7 – 13, 2013)

Rocket Fire

• This past week there were approximately three rocket hits in Israeli territory. One, launched on August 13, 2013, was intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system situated on the outskirts of Eilat, Israel's southernmost city.

• On the night of August 7, 2013, a rocket hit was identified in an open area in the western Negev. There were no casualties and no damage was reported.
• At 0100 hours on August 13, 2013, two explosions were heard in Eilat, caused by two rockets launched from the Sinai Peninsula. The Iron Dome aerial defense system, installed a number of weeks ago, intercepted one of them. The other apparently fell at a distance from the city. So far, its remains have not been found. Two civilians were treated for shock and a woman broke her leg while running to take cover.

• A Gaza-based network called the Mojahideen Shura Council of the Environs of Jerusalem, affiliated with the global jihad, issued an announcement claiming responsibility for the rocket fire. It said that the attack was in response to the deaths of four network operatives in the Sinai Peninsula on August 9, 2013 (See below). According to the announcement, Israel will pay a high price for the deaths of the operatives and Eilat and other cities will not be secure (Al-Masri Al-Youm and Al-Fajr, August 13, 2013).
• A few days previously, on the afternoon of August 8, 2013 the Eilat airport closed for two hours. The Israeli media reported that the IDF had closed Eilat's air space over concerns of rocket fire targeting the city.

Rocket Fire into Israeli from the Sinai Peninsula Prevented

On August 9, 2013, a rocket attack from the Sinai Peninsula was prevented. According to the Egypti^{an media, a squad of terrorist operatives attempted to station a rocket launcher near the Israeli-Egyptian border, and four of them were killed. The launcher was seized and found to contain three 107mm rockets ready for firing (Al-Masri Al-Youm, Al-Shorouk, August 10, 2013).}

^{Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, a global jihad-affiliated network operating in the Sinai Peninsula, announced the deaths of four operatives who were, according to the announcement, on their way to fire rockets into Israel. According to media reports, one of them, Hussein Ibrahim Salem (aka Hussein al-Tayah}), was a rocket launching specialist and one of the most important global jihad terrorist operatives in the Sinai Peninsula. Two other terrorists killed were members of the al-Mani'i clan (Al-Watan, August 11, 2013). All four were buried in Sheikh Zuweid in the northern Sinai Peninsula. Their funeral was attended by an estimated 3,000 people, who waved jihadist black flags and chanted anti-Israel slogans (Shihab website, August 10, 2013).

Right: The cortege of the four terrorist operatives in Sheikh Zuweid in the northern Sinai Peninsula (PNN website, August 10, 2013). Left: The formal announcement of their deaths issued by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (Sinayouth.com website, August 10, 2013).

IDF Force Kills a Palestinian near the Gaza Strip Border

• At approximately 20:20 hours on August 10, 2013, an IDF force killed a Palestinian who was attempting to cross the security fence. The Palestinian, who aroused the soldiers' suspicions, was near the fence in an area where IEDs had been placed in the past. The soldiers initiated the procedure used to detain suspicious individuals, and when the Palestinian did not heed their calls they shot at him (Ynet, August 10, 2013).
• The Palestinian media reported that the Palestinian was Hussein Abd al-Hadi Khalil Awadallah, 30, a resident of the Nuseirat refugee camp, and that he had been killed while trying to cross the security fence east of the Al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip (Filastin Al-'Aan, Qudsnet, August 11, 2013). He apparently did not belong to any organization, but at his funeral his body was draped with a Fatah flag (Filastin Al-'Aan, Hamas forum and PalPress, August 11, 2013).

Palestinian Violence Continues

• Violent confrontations and friction between Palestinians and the Israeli security forces continue, part of the so-called "popular resistance," including incidents of stones and Molotov cocktails thrown at Israeli vehicles. There were no casualties reported. Violent confrontations and friction continue between Palestinians and the Israeli security forces at the weekly riots, demonstrations and protests.
• The following were some of the prominent events (Tazpit News Agency):

• On August 10, 2013, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at an IDF post near Negohot (west of Mt. Hebron).
• On August 8, 2013, pieces of metal were thrown at an Israeli bus in the Hawara region (south of Nablus). In addition, a Molotov cocktail and stones were thrown near the Jewish settlement of Ofra (northeast of Ramallah) and Beit Umar (the Hebron region).
• On the night of August 12, 2013, a number of Israel vehicles were obstructed by stones and nails driven into wooden boards on the road near the Jewish settlement of Talmonim (near Ramallah). Three vehicles were damaged. The Israeli security forces searched the area.

• On the night of August 12, 2013, during Israeli security force activity in the greater Hebron area, an improvised submachine gun was found, along with two magazines, ammunition and a knife.

The Rafah Crossing

• The Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing for Eid al-Fitr (the holiday ending the Muslim religious month of Ramadan), August 8-11, 2013. On August 12 its activity was renewed, but so far its activities are unclear. So far only individuals holding foreign passports, patients with medical authorization and a limited number of individuals with visas and plane tickets have been allowed through (Safa News Agency, August 11, 2013). Ibrahim Salah, head of the department of public relations and information in the ministry of the interior of the de-facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, said elements in the Hamas administration were in contact with senior Egyptian officials regarding the opening of the crossing (Website of the ministry of the interior of the Hamas administration, August 11, 2013).
• A spokesman for the Egyptian army reported that during the past month the army had destroyed 102 smuggling tunnels along the Egypt-Gaza border. He also said that 40 fuel reservoirs containing 2.7 million liters, or about 713,000 gallons, of gasoline and diesel fuel had been destroyed (PalPress website, August 7, 2013).

Fatah Activists Detained in the Gaza Strip

• The tension between Fatah and Hamas led the security forces of the Hamas administration's to detain of several Hamas activists. A Fatah spokesman condemned the detentions, claiming that Hamas was deliberately creating a crisis to increase the tension. He also said that the objective of the detentions was to evade the internal Palestinian reconciliation process and delay the announcement of presidential and Palestinian Legislative Council elections (Mawtini Radio, August 11, 2013). 

Renewing the Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations

American Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the negotiations would resume on August 14, 2013. Martin Indyk, the American envoy to the peace process, will attend the round of talks. On the eve of renewing the talks, Israelreleased 26 of the Palestinian terrorist prisoners of those whose release had been promised.

Release of the Palestinian Terrorist Operatives Imprisoned in Israel

• On August 11, 2013, an ad hoc committee of Israeli government ministers met to discuss the release of Palestinian prisoners. The committee was chaired by Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Yaalon and attended by Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni and Minister of Science Yaakov Peri. Also present were the head of the Israel Security Agency, head of the Israel Prison Authority, representatives of the ministry of justice, the IDF and other groups. The committee authorized the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners. Their names were made public after the families of their victims had been notified. Eight of the prisoners were supposed to have been released in the coming three years and two during the next six months. It was emphasized that if any one of them engaged in activities hostile to the State of Israel he would be returned to jail to continue serving his sentence (Israeli Prime Minister's website, August 11, 2013).
• Of the 26 terrorists who were supposed to be released, 19 are Fatah operatives, two belong to Hamas, three to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), one to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and one to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).Fourteen of those who were supposed to be released were sent to the Gaza Strip and 12 to Judea and Samaria. The terrorists who were supposed to be released are the following (according to the website of the Israel Prison Authority, Wafa News Agency and the Judea and Samaria Rescue Organization, August 12, 2013):

• The PA is planning a formal reception for the prisoners. Ziyad Abu Eyn, deputy minister of prisoner affairs in the PA, said that a meeting had been held, chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, where instructions were given for the reception. He said it would take place at the Bitunia crossing and the prisoners would be taken by bus to the Muqata'a in Ramallah, where Mahmoud Abbas and members of the PLO's Central and Executive Committees would receive them.  Mahmoud Abbas instructed the mayors of the cities from which the prisoners came to hold receptions for them as well. The prisoners from the Gaza Strip will be received at the Erez crossing and Beit Hanoun (Ma'an News Agency, August 12, 2013).
• Before the announcement was made, Issa Qaraqa, PA minister of prisoner affairs, claimed that the decision regarding the prisoners should have been made by a joint Israeli-Palestinian committee, which was supposed to have been formed to decide on criteria and names, but that that had not happened. He said the Israelis wanted to decide everything themselves and were using the prisoners as a bargaining chip in the peace process (Sawa Radio, August 9, 2013).
• Hamas decided to be modest in its celebration and not allow mass receptions to be held for the terrorists. Operatives of the Hamas administration's security services gave instructions not to hold mass ceremonies and took down the tent erected by Fatah in the center of Khan Yunis. They also warned owners of print shops in the Gaza Strip not to print signs or flyers referring to the release of the Palestinian prisoners (Wafa News Agency, PalPress, August 13, 2013).

The Construction in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria

• In light of Israel's intention to construct dwelling units in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, senior figures in the PA voiced extreme criticism:

• Saeb Erekat, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee, said that there were elements in Israel that were trying to use the settlements to sabotage the negotiations and the two-state solution. He said many Israelis believed that the final result of the negotiations should not be peace but rather more settlements. He appealed to everyone who supported the renewal of the negotiations to prevent the government of Israel from constructing new buildings in the settlements (Wafa News Agency, August 7, 2013). He also sent a communiqué to Secretary of State John Kerry, saying that the recent Israeli announcements regarding construction in the settlements indicated "bad faith and a lack of seriousness" on the Israeli side. He urged Kerry to "take the necessary action to ensure that Israel does not advance any of its settlement plans, and abides by its legal obligations and commitments."[3]
• Nabil Abu Rudeina, PA presidential spokesman, condemned the Israeli decision to build new dwelling units, adding that their objective was to sabotage the peace effort. He said Israel was evading its commitments to peace. He added that eventually the settlements would disappear from the map because no Israeli settlements would remain in the independent Palestinian state with the 1967 borders (Wafa News Agency, August 9, 2013).

Hamas Opposition to Renewing the Negotiations

• Hamas continues to be extremely critical of the renewed negotiations. It issued a formal announcement expressing its opposition to the new round of talks and called on the PA to withdraw from the negotiations with Israel. According to the announcement, reconciliation with Israel would come at the expense of the rights of the Palestinian people, its land and security. Hamas stressed that the release of dozens of prisoners on Israel's terms was a fraud, and called on all the Palestinian organizations to oppose the peace process (Website of Hamas' information office, August 7, 2013).
• Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum and Hamas political bureau member Khalil al-Haya held a press conference where they noted Hamas' total opposition to renewing the negotiations, saying it would be unlawful for Mahmoud Abbas to conduct negotiations. They said Mahmoud Abbas and his staff did not have the authority to concede the land of Palestine, the "right of return" or any other Palestinian right (Al-Aqsa TV, August 12, 2013).

Preparations Continue for the Gaza's Ark Initiative

• According to activists organizing the Gaza's Ark project, they expect the ship to set sail from the Gaza Strip in a number of weeks. So far, they said, they have raised about half of the necessary sum, and there are volunteers working on renovating the boat. It was also reported that the first 13 passengers had been chosen, some of them Gazans and the rest French and Canadian (Freedom Flotilla Italia website, August 2, 2013). The Gaza's Ark project has been ongoing for several months, including acquiring the boat which the organizers intend to sail loaded with goods from the Gaza Strip as a way of defying the so-called Israeli "blockade" of the Gaza Strip.
• According to David Heap, one of the initiators of the project, two things delayed its progress: the Muslim religious month of Ramadan and the coup in Egypt, following which the Rafah crossing and the tunnels were closed. That made it difficult to obtain new equipment and they were forced to use old equipment, such as gas balloons that had been refurbished (Gazaark.org website, July 30, 2013).