News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 20 – 26, 2016)

Rocket Fire Attacking Israel

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

Riots near the Border Security Fence

• The Palestinian media reported that Gazans had rioted against IDF forces near the village of Nahal Oz, east of Gaza City. Several Palestinians approached the border security fence and set tires on fire and threw stones at the IDF forces. According to the reports, a number of Palestinians suffered from smoke inhalation from smoke grenades thrown when the IDF forces responded to the riot (Quds.net, July 22, 2016).

Terrorist Organization Summer Camps in the Gaza Strip

• The first round of the summer camps held for high school students in the Gaza Strip ended this past week. A commander speaking at a final ceremony said that the objective of the camps was to train the "generation of liberation for a campaign against Israel" (Quds.net, July 23, 2016). Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas' political bureau, said in a recorded speech that Hamas, its military wing and all the organizations in Palestine understood that conflicts with Israel demanded a long period of preparation. He said Hamas was working intensively on preparations for "resistance" and liberation, defending the [Palestinian] people and fighting against the [Israeli] occupation and settlements (Hamas website, July 22, 2016).

Graduation ceremony for the first session of Hamas summer camps. Left: Khaled Mashaal's recorded speech. Right: Campers simulate taking control of the Temple Mount (Facebook page of the Hamas summer camps, July 21, 2016).

• During the summer camp in the Sajaiya refugee camp, Hamas' military-terrorist wing displayed weapons it claimed had been used in fighting Israel during Operation Protective Edge. The display included various types of rockets, rifles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (Facebook page of the "Pioneers of Liberation in Sajaiya," July 19, 2016). In a different display organized by Hamas' military-terrorist wing in one of its posts, there was a model of a tunnel and materials used by the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades' information unit (Facebook page of the "Pioneers of Liberation," July 21, 2016).

The display in Sajaiya. Left: A UAV Hamas claimed had flown over Israel during Operation Protective Edge. Right: IDF "spoils of war" Hamas claimed it had seized in the Sajaiya refugee camp during Operation Protective Edge (Facebook page of the "Pioneers of Liberation in Sajaiya," July 19, 2016).

Display in an Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades post. Left: Rocket launchers used by Hamas' military-terrorist wing. Right: Model of a tunnel and a poster with the names of Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades terrorist operatives killed during activities the tunnels (Facebook page of the "Pioneers of Liberation," July 21, 2016).

Training for Women

• The security apparatus of the ministry of the interior in the Gaza Strip noted the completion of the second round of a special training course in Khan Yunis called "Flowers of Palestine." The course was given to women, some of whom were the wives of senior Hamas operatives (Alresala.net, July 24, 2016). According to reports, there was also a course given for young women. It was supervised by the security and guard forces of the southern Gaza Strip (Facebook page of Palinfo, July 24, 2016).

The PA Intent to Sue Britain over the Balfour Declaration

• Riyad al-Maliki, foreign minister in the Palestinian national consensus government, gave a speech at the Arab summit meeting in Mauritania (replacing Mahmoud Abbas, who canceled because of his brother's death). Al-Maliki said the PA intended to sue Britain because of the Balfour Declaration and demanded the support of the Arab states. He said the PA would open the issue of the crimes committed by Israel against the Palestinian people since the Declaration (November 2, 1917). He also praised the French initiative and called on the Arab states to support it (Wafa, July 25, 2016).

Activities of the Palestinian Security Forces

• The Palestinian security forces continue their operation to put an end to the "security anarchy" in the territories under PA control. They instituted a broad campaign in the villages in the region south of Hebron (Quds.net, July 19, 2016). Their activities infuriated local residents, who set tires on fire in the market in Nablus to protest the detention of an Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades operative (Facebook page of Quds.net, and Facebook page of Hamas – Jenin, July 20, 2016).

• The Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR), an Arab human rights organization in Britain, lodged a complaint with the office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague regarding what it called "the widespread and systematic torture of Palestinian detainees in the West Bank, committed by the Palestinian Security Services."^[3] The organization appended a list of the names of those detained and the tortures allegedly inflicted on them. According to the AOHR, despite their appeals to the authorities, including Mahmoud Abbas, the crimes were not investigated and the organization was therefore appealing to the ICC (AOHR, July 25, 2016). The AOHR is a non-governmental organization established "to promote human rights culture in the world and to advocate human rights in general and the rights of the Arab citizens in particular."^[4]

Facebook page of the Town of Sa'ir (north of Hebron)

• The Facebook page of "Sa'ir, our home" calls itself the official Facebook page of the "Sa'ir, the hometown of shaheeds." The page has received about 21,000 "likes." Its background pictures include scenes of Palestinians rioting against the Israeli security forces (Facebook page of "Sa'ir, our home," February 7, 2016)

 (Facebook page of "Sa'ir, our home").

• During the most recent Palestinian terrorist campaign Sa'ir was prominent for the number of operatives who carried out terrorist attacks. From the beginning of the terrorist campaign (middle of September 2015) till the present day ten residents of the town have been killed while carrying out terrorist attacks. Others were killed in confrontations with the Israeli security forces.