News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (February 17 – 23, 2016)

Terrorist Attacks and Attempted Attacks

• February 21, 2016 – stabbing attack: A 14 year-old boy tried to open the door of an IDF vehicle and stab one of the soldiers sitting inside. The soldiers overcame and detained him. There were no casualties. The Palestinian was Ali Adam Al Hamidat, 14, from the village of Bani Na'im, in the region of Hebron (Palinfo, February 21, 2016).
• February 21, 2016 – stabbing attack:

• A Palestinian tried to stab IDF soldiers near the Beita roadblock (Nablus region). The terrorist was wounded by IDF fire and later died. He was Qusai Dhiad Abu al-Rub, 16, from Qabatiya. Hamas issued a death notice for him. At his funeral the body was draped with a PA flag (Wafa, Hamas in Nablus, Facebook page of Hamas in Beita, February 21, 2016).

Left: The death notice issued by Hamas for Qusai Abu al-Rub (Facebook page of Hamas in Jenin, February 21, 2016). Right: Qusai Abu al-Rub (Facebook page of Hamas in Beita , February 21, 2016).

• The Palestinian media reported that Qusai Abu al-Rub tried to imitate his cousin, Ahmed Abu al-Rub. Ahmed Abu al-Rub, along with two friends,  carried out a combined shooting and stabbing attack at the Nablus Gate in Jerusalem on February 3, 2016 (QudsN, February 22, 2016). Qusai Abu al-Rub left a will asking to be buried next to Ahmed. He ended with a quotation from the Qur'an encouraging martyrdom for the sake of Allah: "...do not think of those who have been killed in Allah's way as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, well provided for" (Surah Al-Imran, Verse 169)^[1] (Facebook page of QudsN, February 21, 2016).

• February 19, 2016 – vehicular attack:

• A Palestinian tried to run over IDF soldiers at the entrance to the village of Silwad (northeast of Ramallah). He was shot and wounded. The Palestinian media reported he was A'bed Ra'ed Abdallah Hamed, 21, from Silwad. In 2005 his brother Ghassan Hamed was sentenced to 17 years in jail in Israel for a shooting attack he carried out near Silwad in 2004. His mother told Ma'an TV that her son came to say goodbye to her and asked her to be happy for him (a clear indication that he intended to carry out a terrorist attack).
• Senior PA and Fatah figures attended his funeral, among them Layla Ghanem, governor of the Ramallah district; Jamal Muheisen, a member of Fatah's Central Committee; and Qadoura Fares, a senior Fatah figure and chairman of the Palestinian prisoners' club (Ma'an TV, February 20, 2016). Participants at the funeral called for revenge against Israel and for an escalation of the intifada (Al-Araby al-Jadeed, February 20, 2016).

Top left: Jamal Muheisen, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, before the funeral. Bottom left: Qadoura Fares, chairman of the Palestinian prisoners' club. Right: The death notice issued by Fatah for A'bed Ra'ed Abdallah Hamed, hung during his funeral in Silwad (Ma'an TV, February 20, 2016).

• February 19, 2016 – stabbing attack:

• A Palestinian terrorist stabbed two Border Policemen at the Nablus Gate in Jerusalem. The two incurred minor wounds. The terrorist was shot and killed. A Palestinian woman from east Jerusalem who was passing by at the time was wounded in the leg by IDF fire targeting the terrorist.
• The Palestinian media reported the terrorist was Muhammad Ziad Abu Khalaf, 20, from the village of 'Aqab (east Jerusalem). Hamas issued a death notice for him. After his death many people posted congratulations on his Facebook page for his shahadah [death as a martyr for the sake of Allah] (Facebook page of Muhammad Abu Khalaf, February 21, 2016). One of Muhammad Abu Khalaf's Facebook posts indicated that he admired Bilal Ghanem, who on October 13, 2015, carried out a combined shooting-stabbing attack on a bus in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem (Facebook page of Muhammad Abu Khalaf, January 20, 2016).

• February 18, 2016 – stabbing attack:

• Two Palestinian adolescents went to a supermarket in the Sha'ar Benyamin commercial area, north of Jerusalem,  and stabbed two Israelis. An armed civilian shot and wounded them critically. One of the customers, an off-duty IDF soldier, was mortally wounded and later died. Another Israeli was critically wounded. According to the initial investigation, the two terrorists walked around inside the supermarket for about 20 minutes before they carried out the attack. The two Israelis were stabbed in different sections of the store. A third Palestinian entered the store with the two terrorists and was held back by the security guard at the entrance. He was examined but no weapon was found in his possession.
• The two terrorists, both 14 years old, were from the town of Bituniya (near Ramallah). They were:

• Iham Sabah, who was wounded and later died. According to his Facebook page he was religious and customarily prayed in a mosque. He called himself "the prince of shadow."
• Omar Samir Taha al-Rimawi, whose family was originally from Beit Rima, northeast of Ramallah. At the beginning of 2015 he started writing about death on his Facebook page. He wrote about it more frequently beginning in November 2015. On February 16, 2016, two days before this death, he wrote, "We will live like proud hawks...and we will die like proud-standing trees."

• Hamas spokesman Husam Badran praised the two attacks in Jerusalem and Ramallah, and the Palestinians who carried them out. He called the attacks "the natural reaction" of the Palestinian people to the [so-called] "crimes of Israel." He called on young Palestinians who opposed Israel to continue such attacks. He claimed that the courage of the intifada youth was what would determine the future of the Palestinian people (Hamas website, February 20, 2016).

 Activities of the Israeli Security Forces

• In accordance with instructions from the political leadership, the Israeli security forces razed the houses of two Palestinians who carried out attacks in the terrorist campaign in which Israelis were killed. In the village of Dura (near Hebron) they razed the house of Ra'ed Muhammad Jbara Masalma, who carried out the terrorist attack in an office building in south Tel Aviv on November 19, 2015 (killing two Israelis and wounding a third). In Deir Samet (west of Hebron) they razed the house of Muhammad Abd al-Baset al-Haroub, who carried out a shooting attack on November 19, 2015, between Alon Shvut and the Gush Etzion Junction, killing three people (Facebook page of Red Alert, February 23, 2016).

Riots, Clashes and Popular Terrorism

• In the meantime, demonstrations, protest marches, riots, and the throwing of stones, Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs continue in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. This week riots were again held in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip in support of Muhammad al-Qiq, a hunger-striking Palestinian administrative detainee.
• The more prominent events were the following (including terrorist attacks that were prevented):

• February 21, 2016 – A young Palestinian woman armed with a knife went to the Tapuah Junction in Samaria. Her behavior appeared suspicious to the Israeli security forces at the junction and they stopped her. She was searched and a knife was found. She was Sajda Nizam Mahmoud al-Haj Jaber, 17, from the village of Qasra, south of Nablus (YouTube). During questioning she admitted she had gone to the junction to carry out an attack.
• February 19, 2016 – During an IDF activity in Beit Fajjar (between Hebron and Bethlehem) Palestinians threw stones and burned tires. The soldiers identified two armed terrorists who shot at the soldiers. The soldiers returned fire. According to the Palestinian ministry of health, three Palestinians were seriously wounded and one was critically wounded. He later died. He was Khaled Tareq Takatka, 21, from Beit Fajjar, imprisoned in Israel for two years and released on February 5, 2016. Both Hamas and Fatah issued death notices for him.

• February 16, 2016 – The Palestinian security forces prevented the placing of a pipe bomb at the Gilboa crossing (near Jenin). Two 15 year-old school children from the village of Yamoun (near Jenin) planned to place the bomb. They were apprehended on the Palestinian side of the crossing by the Palestinian security forces, with the pipe bomb and knives found in their possession.

Rocket and Mortar Shell Fire Attacking Israel

• This past week no rocket or mortar shell hits were identified in Israeli territory.

Riots and Terrorist Attacks near the Border Security Fence

• Gazans continue rioting near the border security fence. The riots apparently attract fewer and fewer people. On Friday, February 19, 2016, there were only a few dozen demonstrators at a number of locations, among them the Erez crossing, the region of Sajaiya, Nahal Oz and Al-Bureij. According to reports, a number of Gazans incurred minor wounds from IDF fire.

Statement by Ismail Haniyeh

• Ismail Haniyeh, deputy head of Hamas' political bureau, said in a speech that a few days ago operatives of the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades found underground cameras and sensors. He claimed the devices were meant to expose the movement of fighters in the tunnels. He also claimed apparently there will not be a new war in the Gaza Strip, because Israel is currently undertaking defensive exercises, proving that it is not deploying for a war (Paltoday, February 19, 2016).

Activity against the al-Saberin Movement

• The Al-Saberin Movement said in a statement that an IED exploded near the house of movement leader Hisham Salem in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip. According to the notice, alleged collaborators with Israel were behind the attack (Ma'an, February 19, 2016). At the beginning of October 2015 he was stabbed by unknown assailants during a demonstration in the DMZ between Israel and the Gaza Strip. It was also reported that an IED exploded on February 10, 2015, in an open area in the northern Gaza Strip near the house of an Al-Saberin operative who had been killed (Ma'an, February 21, 2016).

• Hamas continues encouraging the current terrorist campaign and uses its affiliated media to stress the need for continued and expanded "resistance" [i.e., terrorist] attacks. On February 16, 2016, Lama Khater, a Hamas-affiliated woman journalist from Hebron, wrote an article weighing the positive and negative aspects of terrorist attacks carried out by lone Palestinians. The article was widely read and reprinted by the media, appearing on Facebook pages affiliated with Hamas.
• According to the article, the "lone-wolf" attacks had a positive aspect, which was the reinforcing of the "culture of resistance." However, there were also negative aspects, such as the fact that the attacks were random and not well-planned. She claimed the revolutionary atmosphere created in Palestinian society resulting from the attacks had prepared the ground for more organized and effective "resistance" activities.
• Therefore, Lama Khater added, what was necessary was to improve the skills as well as the security and military awareness of the lone "man of the resistance" in his choice of targets. In addition, a number of small, individual squads had to be formed in every area to ensure the continuation of an "active resistance." All that, she claimed, should be directed by the [terrorist] organizations, which had knowledge they could contribute. She also stressed the need for extensive coverage of the current events to encourage more operatives to join the circle of activity [i.e., violence].

Hamas Video Encourages Terrorist Attacks

• Hamas issued an animated video encouraging terrorist attacks. It was called "The Brave Men of the [West] Bank," and promised paradise to those who carried out terrorist attacks (YouTube, February 20, 2016). Following are some pictures from the video.

For the video click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rJWvSu6hBU