News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (August 5-11, 2015)

Rocket Fire Attacking Israel

• On the afternoon of August 7, 2015, a rocket hit was identified near the security fence in Israeli territory in the western Negev. There were no casualties and no damage was reported. During the past week rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip but fell inside Gazan territory.
• A network calling itself the "Descendants of the Comrades of the Prophet Muhammad – Greater Jerusalem – Gaza" claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. The network said in a statement that "While the Jews defile Al-Aqsa mosque, harm Muslim women and burn their children, those who believe in the unity of Allah will provide worthy responses in accordance with their religious duty" (Twitter page of the network, August 1, 2015). The network claimed responsibility for two rockets fired at a Jewish community north of the Gaza Strip and two rockets fired at an IDF post near Nahal Oz (southern Gaza Strip) on August 7, 2015; more rocket fire was threatened.

Israel's Response to the Rocket Fire

• In response to the rocket fire Israel Air Force aircraft attacked Hamas' terrorist infrastructure in the region of Al-Bureij in the central Gaza Strip (IDF Spokesman, August 7, 2015). The Palestinian media reported aerial strikes on military sites belonging to Hamas' military-terrorist wing. A number of Palestinians were reported wounded (Filastin al-Yawm, August 7, 2015).

The Jewish Terrorist Attack in the Village of Duma

• On the night of July 30, 2015, a baby died and three of his family members were injured in an arson attack on the family home in the village of Duma (near Nablus). On the morning of August 8, 2015, the father, Sa'ad Dawabsha, died of his injuries. His death prompted a new wave of condemnations:

• Ihab Bsiso, spokesman for the Palestinian national consensus government, said the government would continue every diplomatic and legal effort to bring the Israeli criminals to justice. He claimed the death of Sa'ad Dawabsha was more proof of the enormity of the crime carried out in Duma by a group of terrorist settlers.
• Hamas in Judea and Samaria issued a formal statement claiming the death of the father eight days after the death of his son was a "turning point" in Palestinian awakening in the fight against the [so-called Israeli] occupation. The statement stressed that the "resistance" [i.e., terrorist organizations] was planning to avenge the baby's death, and that the death of his father only strengthened its determination (Hamas website, August 8, 2015).

Left: The funeral held for Sa'ad Dawabsha (Facebook page of PALDF, August 8, 2015). Right: Hamas' death notice for Sa'ad Dawabsha (Facebook page of the Islamic Bloc at Al-Najah University, August 8, 2015).

• Hamas spokesman Husam Badran claimed the death of Sa'ad Dawabsha was proof of the enormity of the crime carried out by the Israelis against the Dawabsha family. He claimed the "resistance" had become a right, a means of self-defense, and was the only way to halt the Israelis was to attack them. He called on the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria to begin broad confrontations everywhere without waiting for a [formal] decision (Hamas website, August 8, 2015).

Riots, Clashes and Popular Terrorism

• This past week violence and popular terrorism continued at the usual locations in Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem, part of what the Palestinians call the "popular resistance" (i.e., popular terrorism). The violence mainly centered on throwing stones, rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli security forces and civilians. Some of the prominent attacks were the following:
• On August 10, 2015, during a security check at the Meitar (Mt. Hebron) crossing a knife was found in the possession of 17 year-old girl from Bethlehem. During questioning she said she was planning to stab a female warder at the Eshel prison (south of Beersheba), where her brother was incarcerated.

•  On August 10, 2015, Palestinians threw stones at the light railway in Jerusalem. There were no casualties. A railway window was damaged (Red Alert, August 10, 2015).
•  On August 8, 2015, Palestinians threw stones at a bus driving through a tunnel en route to the community of Ma'aleh Adumim east of Jerusalem. There were no casualties. A bus window was damaged (Facebook page of Red Alert, August 8, 2015).
•  On August 8, 2015, Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails and stones at Israeli Police and Border Police forces at the entrance to the village of Issawiya (south of Jerusalem). There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, August 8, 2015).
•  On August 7, 2015, Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails at an IDF post at north of Ramallah, causing a fire. There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, August 7, 2015).
•  On the night of August 6, 2015, Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli ambulance in the Jordan Valley near the village of Uja. There were no casualties; the ambulance was damaged (Ynet, date, 2015).
• On August 6, 2015, Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli vehicle north of the Elias junction in Mt. Hebron. There were no casualties; the vehicle was damaged. Palestinians threw stones at a bus in Al-Aroub (Gush Etzion). There were no casualties; the bus was damaged (Facebook page of Red Alert, August 6, 2015).

PIJ Terrorist Prisoner Continues Hunger Strike

• The hunger strike of administrative detainee Muhammad Allan continues. Allan is a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operative from the Nablus region. He has been on a hunger strike for 54 days, demanding to be released. There has been a strong ongoing public, media and medical debate about force-feeding him if his life is in danger, possible according to a law recently passed in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament). His death is liable to spark serious riots. On the other hand, releasing him will erode the effectiveness of administrative detentions, which are an important tool for the security forces in the fight against Palestinian and Jewish terrorism.

The Crossings – Recent Developments

• Khaled al-Shaer, director of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, claimed the Egyptian authorities would open the Rafah crossing on August 7, 2015, for three days, to allow Gazan pilgrims returning from Mecca to enter the Gaza Strip (Ma'an News Agency, August 8, 2015). Iyad al-Bazam, spokesman for the Hamas ministry of the interior, called on the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah crossing, saying it was an urgent matter because of the harsh humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip. He claimed that more than 20,000 Gazans registered as "humanitarian cases" could not leave the Gaza Strip (Ma'an News Agency, August 8, 2015).

Explosion in Home of Hamas Military-Terrorist Operative

• On August 6, 2015, there was a powerful explosion in the Shabora neighborhood of the Rafah refugee camp, killing four Palestinians and wounding four who lived nearby (PalInfo and Al-Hayat, August 6 and 7, 2015). It occurred at the home of Hassan AhmedAbu Naqira,a senior operativein the Popular Resistance Committees's Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Battalions. According to reports, before the explosion a fire broke out in the house and the explosion was caused when the fire came in contact with and ignited an inflammable substance. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) operative Hassan Ahmed Abu Naqira and three of his relatives were killed, among them Abd al-Rahman Ayman Abu Naqira, 20, an operative in Hamas' military-terrorist wing. 

• Various conflicting explanations were given for the explosion. According to the local Palestinian media, primarily those affiliated with Hamas, it was caused by an unexploded IDF rocket left in the area after Operation Protective Edge (Filastin al-'Aan, Gaza al-'Aan, August 6, 2015). However, according to the Veto Gate website, based on security sources the explosion occurred during an attempt to smuggle weapons, missiles and explosives through a tunnel from the Gaza Strip to the Sinai Peninsula (Veto Gate, August 6, 2015).
• According to the version of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, the explosion was the result of a "work accident" connected to one of the Palestinian [terrorist] organizations. For that reason the Center called on the attorney general in the Gaza Strip to initiate an investigation and to publish its full findings. The Center also stressed the danger inherent in the Palestinian organizations' continued stockpiling of explosives in the heart of civilian population centers, which is a violation of international law (Samaa News and Pal24, August 8, 2015).

Hamas Tunnel-Digging Terrorist Operative Detained

• Last month the Israeli security forces detained a Hamas operative living in Rafah who dug tunnels. According to the initial report in the Israeli media, during interrogation Ibrahim A'del Shhadeh Shaer, 21, provided a information about Hamas's military-terrorist activity in Rafah, its operational plans and its intentions to use offensive tunnels to attack Israel. He also stated that the new road currently being constructed along the Israeli-Gaza Strip border was intended to be used for vehicles that would cross the border in a surprise attack against Israel (Ynet, August 11, 2015).

Hamas Summer Camp Graduation Exercises

• On August 5, 2015, graduation exercises were held at Hamas summer camps throughout the Gaza Strip. They included parades of Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades operatives and were attended by senior Hamas figures, among them Ismail Haniya, Mahmoud al-Zahar and Ahmed Bahar. Models of an Israeli Merkava tank and APC were displayed in the streets of Gaza City. There was also a large map showing the locations in Israel infiltrated by Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades terrorist operatives during Operation Protective Edge (Facebook pages of the Pioneers of Liberation summer camps and Quds.net, August 5, 2015).
• During the main ceremony, held in Gaza City, Mahmoud al-Zahar claimed the demand to continue the cease-fire was contingent on lifting the siege of the Gaza Strip. He rejected Israel's claim that the Palestinian Authority (PA) was responsible for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. He claimed Israel was responsible, since it was the Israelis who had destroyed the houses, schools and mosques (124News, August 6, 2015).

Left: A model on an Israeli APC hauled by a car through the streets of Gaza City (Facebook page of Quds.net, August 5, 2015). Right: Campers at the central graduation exercises in Gaza City hold a map showing the locations in Israel infiltrated by Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades operatives during Operation Protective Edge (Facebook page of the Pioneers of Liberation summer camps, August 5, 2015).

Iran-Hamas Relations

• The Palestinian media reported that in the wake of Khaled Mashaal's visit to Saudi Arabia Iran had cancelled the [planned] visit of a Hamas delegation to Tehran. A senior figure in the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) met with Hamas representatives and told them that Iran condemned the visit of a Hamas delegation to Saudi Arabia and that it had been directed against Iran. Senior Hamas figure Khalil al-Haya claimed Hamas-Iran relations were still good and said he hoped Iran would continue supporting Hamas. Khaled Qadoumi, Hamas representative in Iran, denied relations between Hamas and Iran were tense and claimed Iran had promised to improve them (Al-Risala, August 9, 2015).

New Hamas Spokesman in the Gaza Strip

• Hamas recently appointed another official spokesman to join Salah al-Bardawil, Fawzi Barhoum and Sami Abu Zuhri (in the Gaza Strip) and Husam Badran (currently in Qatar).
• The new spokesman is Abd al-Rahman Ahmed Hafez Shadid. He was released in Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal after ten years in an Israeli prison and was deported to the Gaza Strip. Abd al-Rahman Ahmed Hafez Shadid was sentenced to life imprisonment and ten additional years for his involvement in planning and carrying out a suicide bombing attack in Kfar Saba (central Israel) by Hamas' military-terrorist wing.
• He was born in 1977 in the village of A'llar in the Tulkarm region, has an MA in comparative Islamic law, and is married and father of two (Official Hamas website, August 6, 2015). In addition to being a Hamas spokesman, Shadid is also the director of Al-Asra Prisoners' Center for Studies in Gaza, which deals with Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israel (Facebook page of Al-Asra Prisoners' Center for Studies, August 6, 2015).

Hamas' Position on Deported Prisoners

• Hamas spokesman Husam Badran discussed at length Israel's claims that deported prisoners [of the Gilad Shalit deal] were behind the terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria. He claimed Israel was trying to harm Hamas' foreign relations. Badran, himself a deported prisoner currently residing in Qatar, said Hamas had relations with the countries hosting the deported prisoners (Al-Monitor, August 6, 2015).^[3]

Another PIJ Military-Terrorist Wing Observation Post Erected near the Border Security Fence

• The PIJ's military-terrorist wing erected another observation post near the border security fence establish of Gaza City. According to PIJ operatives' claims, the post was erected for surveillance and monitoring IDF movements and for deploying for possible fighting (Ma'an News Agency, August 5, 2015). It was the second observation post the PIJ erected near the border security fence. The first was in the region of Khirbat Ikhz'a, east of Khan Yunis.

PA Moves in the International Criminal Court in The Hague

• Riyadh al-Maliki, the foreign minister in the Palestinian national consensus government, told an interviewer that his recent visit to The Hague had been very important. He said the visit had been decided on during an urgent meeting of the Palestinian leadership after the murder of the child Ali Dawabsha. While in The Hague he gave the International Criminal Court (ICC) a report complementing the report presented on July 25, 2015, about the settlements and Operation Protective Edge. Al-Maliki claimed that the ICC and its chief prosecutor had held an urgent meeting attended by the investigative team working on the Palestinian issue. It was decided that a team of experts would pay a visit to examine the situation on the ground. It was agreed that the Palestinian foreign ministry would present all the relevant data and reports to the investigative team so it could formulate its conclusions (Wafa News Agency, August 5, 2015).
• Abu Zneid, the Palestinian representative in The Netherlands, claimed he expected the ICC would begin its investigation in the middle of 2016 and that in two months an ICC delegation would arrive in the Gaza Strip to complete the investigation begun in January 2015. He also claimed that if the investigation were insufficient an international investigation would be initiated. He claimed there were delays because legal steps took time, they were result of investigations and collecting evidence, and he expected the investigation to take five years (Alresala.net, August 6, 2015).

The PA Joins Interpol

• On August 3, 2015, Rami Hamdallah, prime minister of the Palestinian national consensus government, signed a request for the PA to join Interpol. The request will be voted on during an Interpol meeting to be held on November 3, 2015. To join Interpol the PA will need the support of 125 countries. Ahmed al-Rabi', aide to the Palestinian minister of the interior's department of international relations, claimed that there were rights and obligations to joining Interpol, foremost of which were commitment to its constitution, maintaining neutrality, fighting crime and not intervening in political issues (PS News, August 5, 2015).

Self-Defense Committees To Be Established in Judea and Samaria

• The Palestinian media reported that following the attack in the village of Duma the PA had decided to establish self-defense committees throughout Judea and Samaria. According to Mahmoud al-Aloul, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, they were already being established in the villages (Voice of Palestine Radio, August 5, 2015). For example, Fatah in Qalqiliya announced the establishment of guard and defense committees throughout the district to prevent future attacks by Israelis like the one in Duma (Ma'an News Agency, August 6, 2015).
• Abdallah Abu Rahma, coordinator of the Popular Resistance Committees, claimed the establishment of the defense committees in the villages was an important and beneficial step. He claimed the settlers and the [Israeli] army would hesitate to enter villages where the defense committees operated (Voice of Palestine Radio, August 4, 2015). At this stage, however, the ITIC has no information about the activities on the ground of any such committees.

Detention of Swedish Spying for Hezbollah

• On July 21, 2015, the Israeli security forces detained a Swedish citizen of Lebanese origin at Ben Gurion International Airport. Hassan Khalil Hizran, born in 1960, was detained on suspicion of connections with Hezbollah. The information released by the Israel Security Agency was the following (Israel Security Agency, August 9, 2015):

• Recruitment by Hezbollah: In 2009 Hizran and his family went to Lebanon to visit relatives. During the visit it was suggested he meet with Hezbollah operatives and he agreed. The operatives specifically told him that Hezbollah was recruiting Palestinians living in Europe and having foreign citizenship, who could exploit their easy access to Israel to provide Hezbollah with intelligence.
• His mission: Hizran was asked to recruit Israeli citizens, especially those with ties to the military, Israeli security and the government. He was also asked to gather information about military installations, weapons, tanks, IDF bases in Israel, etc. Hezbollah operatives also interrogated him about procedures at Ben Gurion International Airport, its security arrangements, passport checks, etc.

·      Payment: In 2009 Hezbollah paid him $2,300 for meeting and agreeing to work for them, and $800 in 2011.[4]

• In response, sources in Lebanon claimed that Israel was still at the top of Hezbollah's priority list and that the fight against ISIS in Syria was not at the expense of the organization's preparedness to face the IDF (Al-Akhbar, August 10, 2015).