News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (June 15 – 21, 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.
• The more prominent events were the following:

• June 20, 2016– Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli vehicle near Uja in the Jordan Valley. There were no casualties. The vehicle was damaged (Facebook page of Red Alert, June 20, 2016).
• June 18, 2016– Palestinians threw stones at the Sha'ar Binyamin industrial zone (north of Jerusalem). One person was injured and received on-site medical attention.
• June 18, 2016 – Palestinians threw 20 Molotov cocktails at the security fence of the village of Psagot (near Ramallah). There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, June 18, 2016).
• June 17, 2016– The Israeli security forces detained a Palestinian woman in the Old City of Jerusalem who was en route to carrying out a terrorist attack. She was Rafiqa Jaber, 20, from Qabatiya (Facebook page of Red Alert, June 17, 2016).
• June 17, 2016 – Palestinians threw four Molotov cocktails at a house in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem. One hit a window, causing minor damage. Police closed off one of the entrances to the nearby neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber and carried out detentions (Facebook page of Red Alert, June 17, 2016).
• June 16, 2016– Palestinians drove to the village of Migdal Oz in Gush Etzion and threw five Molotov cocktails at its southern gate. There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, June 16, 2016).
• June 15, 2016– Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli vehicle near Hawwara (south of Nablus). A woman was injured and received on-site medical attention.
• June 15, 2016– An improvised M-16 assault rifle was found in the village of Yatta (south of Hebron). Its owner was taken for interrogation (IDF spokesman, June 15, 2016).
• June 15, 2016– Palestinians in Shuafat threw Molotov cocktails, causing a fire in the wadi between the Shuafat refugee camp and the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev. There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, June 15, 2016).

House of Terrorist Destroyed

• In accordance with instructions from Israeli security, security forces destroyed the apartment of Palestinian terrorist Bashar Masalha in the village of Hijjah (near Qalqilya). Pictures show that only his apartment was destroyed, not the entire house. On March 8, 2016, Masalha carried out a stabbing spree on the seaside promenade between Tel Aviv and Jaffa, killing one person (an American tourist) and wounding eleven. The destruction of his house led Hamas spokesman Husam Badran to call on the Palestinian people and families to stand united and resist the destruction of the houses of "resistance fighters" [i.e., terrorist operatives] (Hamas website, June 16, 2016).

Smuggling to the Gaza Strip Prevented

• Security inspectors of the crossings authority at the Kerem Shalom crossing prevented dozens of wetsuits from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip. They were suspected of being consigned to terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including the naval unit of the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military-terrorist wing. The suits were hidden in a shipment of sports equipment imported from abroad by an agent in the Palestinian Authority (PA), who sent them to the Gaza Strip. The shipment was confiscated (Israeli Crossings Authority, June 20, 2016).
• Two weeks ago Ayatollah Abd al-Karim, 37, from Jabalia, was detained at the Erez crossing. He had a permit to enter Israel for commercial purposes. A large sum of money was found hidden in his shoes, which he had been asked to transfer to a Hamas operative in Judea and Samaria. Hamas in the Gaza Strip recruited him for the mission. According to Israeli security sources, it was not the first time Hamas had exploited Gazans with permits to enter Israel (Ynet, June 17, 2016).

Left: One of the wetsuits hidden in a shipment of sports equipment. Right: A shoe in which money was smuggled from the Gaza Strip (Israeli Crossings Authority, June 20, 2016).

Rocket Fire Attacking Israel

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

Opening the Rafah Crossing and Hamas-Egypt Relations

• According to sources in the PA embassy in Cairo, the Rafah crossing is supposed to open during the last days of the Muslim religious month of Ramadan. The sources reported Hamas was in contact with the Egyptians and initial promises had been given that the crossing would open during the month, depending on the security situation in the Sinai Peninsula (Alresala.net, June 19, 2016).
• In the meantime, Palestinian sources reported that Egypt had postponed the date of another visit by a Hamas delegation to Cairo until clarification had been received regarding the security issues raised during previous visits. According to the report, senior officials in Egyptian General Intelligence were displeased with Hamas' oversight of the Gaza-Egypt border and the coming and going of extremist terrorist operatives to and from the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula (Quds.net, June 16, 2016).
• Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said in response that as requested by the Egyptians, Hamas was prepared to provide clarification for every issue raised during previous visits to Cairo. He claimed Hamas had not and would not meddle in internal Egyptian affairs, and he hoped the Egyptians would open the Rafah crossing soon (Alresala.net, June 16, 2016). On another occasion he said Hamas was investing considerable effort in supervising the Gaza-Egypt border and the relevant senior Egyptians were aware of and were monitoring the situation. He claimed Hamas was close to formulating new guidelines that would lead to the permanent, regularized opening of the Rafah crossing (Al-Kofia Press, June 17, 2016).

Responses to Reports Israel Will Construct a Security Fence along the Gazan Border

• According to the Israeli media, Israel will construct a new security system along its border with the Gaza Strip. The new system is expected to solve the problem of Hamas' attack tunnels. Israel is planning to construct a concrete wall 60 kilometers (about 37 miles) long and several dozen meters deep along its border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) responded to the news reports:

• Senior Hamas figure Ismail Radwansaid the plan reflected Israel's failure to deal with the tunnels. He boasted Hamas could adapt to all conditions. According to a posting to various Hamas Twitter accounts, the Israeli plan to construct a wall would be met with a "reaction." Hamas, according to the the posting, would not permit Israel to construct the wall. Later, the posting was revealed as false and the poster apologized for writing in the name of the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades.
• Senior PIJ figure Khader Habibsaid the "resistance" [i.e., the terrorist organizations] would not allow the [Israeli] "occupation" to decide the fate of the Gaza Strip border by constructing a concrete wall. He claimed the "resistance' was following the situation closely and would respond forcefully. He also claimed Israel was trying to drag the "resistance" into an unwanted military confrontation (Shihab, June 18, 2016).

Hamas-Iran Relations

• Senior Hamas figure Ismail Radwan, interviewed by Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen TV, expressed Hamas' appreciation for Iran's continuing support of the Palestinian people. He said the support was at the levels of "ideas, policy, training and military intelligence" (Al-Mayadeen, June 16, 2016).

Rami Hamdallah Visits the Temple Mount

• Rami Hamdallah, prime minister of the Palestinian national consensus government, headed a PA delegation to the Temple Mount and participated in the afternoon prayer in Al-Aqsa mosque on the second Friday of Ramadan.^[1] He said there would be no peace without Jerusalem as the capital of an independent Palestinian state, there would be no peace with the settlements and no peace with "walls" [i.e., the border security fence] (Wafa, June 18, 2016). Before the prayer he broke the fast by dining with families of shaheeds in Ramallah. He presented the families with gifts and said that despite the PA's economic difficulties, the government would act as quickly as possible to raise the allotments given to shaheed families (Wafa, June 17, 2016).

Left: Rami Hamdallah, prime minister of the Palestinian national consensus government, speaking before shaheed families (Wafa, June 17, 2016). Right: Rami Hamdallah on the Temple Mount (Wafa, June 18, 2016).

Riots in the Jenin Refugee Camp

• On June 17 and 18, 2016, groups of young Palestinians rioted against the PA security forces in the Jenin refugee camp. Six security force operatives were wounded. The riots were in response to a Palestinian security force roadblock erected to prevent a procession to welcome released prisoner Yahya al-Saadi (son of senior PIJ figure Bassam al-Saadi). The rioters opened fire on the Palestinian security forces and threw stones. The security forces returned fire, and detained PIJ activist Mahmoud al-Saadi, who had participated in the procession (Safa, June 17, 2016).

The Bank of Palestine Holds Accounts of Hamas-Affiliated Charitable Society

• Every year during Ramadan the activity of the various charitable societies increases, including the Islamic societies affiliated with Hamas. During Ramadan the Palestinian media also call on the public to donate money. Hamas organ Al-Resala printed a notice from the Islamic Society, outlawed by Israel, with details for donating funds. The Islamic Society's bank account is in the Jabalia branch of the Bank of Palestine, number 91999 (Alresala.net, June 9, 2016). It was not the first time charitable societies affiliated with Hamas and outlawed by Israel deposited their funds in Bank of Palestine accounts.
• The Bank of Palestineis one of the largest banks operating in the PA. It was founded in 1960 and its head offices are in Ramallah. It was 54 branches throughout Judea and Samaria and 11 in the Gaza Strip. The chairman of the board is Hashim Shawa. Since 2005 the bank's shares have been traded on the Palestinian stock exchange. In 2014 its profits were reported as $40.2 million. At the end of 2014 it had $2.42 billion in deposits, up from $2.34 billion in 2013 (Bank of Palestine website, April 21, 2016).

Left: The logo of the Bank of Palestine (Bank of Palestine website, June 20, 2016). Right: A call for donations for the activity of the Islamic Society in the Gaza Strip, one of whose accounts is in the Bank of Palestine in Jabalia (Alresala.net, June 9, 2016).