News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (July 12 – 16, 2017)

Shooting Attack on the Temple Mount: Overview

• Early in the morning on July 14, 2017, three Israeli Arabs began shooting from the Temple Mount compound at Border Policemen stationed near the Lions Gate (to the northeast).^[1] The Border Policemen returned fire; two of them were mortally wounded and later died. A third Border Policeman and a paramedic were wounded by shrapnel. The terrorists fled to the region of the mosques. One of them tried to enter a mosque. They were pursued, shot and killed by Israeli security forces. In their possession were two Carl Gustav submachine guns, a handgun and knives.
• After Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu discussed the issue with the heads of the Israeli security establishment, the decision was made to close the Temple Mount compound and search it to make sure there were no other weapons. The compound was evacuated and closed. All the gates to the Old City were also closed. The police detained about 20 members of the waqf for questioning, and three of them remained in detention. The Mufti of Jerusalem was also detained on suspicion of having urged Muslims to break into the Temple Mount. Two days later, on the afternoon of July 16, 2017, the Temple Mount compound was gradually reopened. Security force presence was significantly increased and metal detectors and security cameras were installed at the gates to the Temple Mount. The heads of the waqf announced they opposed the installation of metal detectors at the entrance to the Temple Mount and called on Palestinians wanting to pray not to enter the compound.
• The three Israeli Arabs who carried out the shooting attack were Muhammad Ahmed Muhammad Jabarin, 29, Muhammad Hamed al-Latif Jabarin, 19, and Muhammad Ahmed Feisal Jabarin, 19, all three from Umm al-Fahm, an Arab city in central Israel. Initial investigation revealed that the three had spent several hours on the Temple Mount compound before the attack. A short time before the attack Muhammad Hamed Jabarin wrote on his Facebook page that "Tomorrow my smile will be more beautiful, if Allah so wishes," posting a selfie (with Muhammad Ahmed Jabarin) with the Temple Mount in the background (Arabs 48, July 14, 2017). The three generally prayed at the al-Farouq mosque in Umm al-Fahm, where Muhammad Ahmed Muhammad Jabarin was also the muezzin. Muhammad Hamed al-Latif Jabarin was a prominent boxer (Facebook page of al-Masar, July 15, 2017).
• Mourning tents were erected in Umm al-Fahm, which the Israeli prime minister ordered closed. Crowds of local residents gathered near the homes of the terrorists and called out praise for them (Shuf, July 15, 2017). On the evening of the day of the attack a memorial prayer was held for the terrorists in the al-Farouq mosque, where the three customarily prayed. The mosque imam, Sheikh Tawfiq Jabarin, eulogized them, claiming they were "simple young men" who did not belong to any organization and who frequently worshipped in mosques (Panet website, July 14, 2017). Sheik Khaled Hamdan, Umm al-Fahm's mayor, sent letters of condolence to the families in the name of the employees of the Umm al-Fahm municipality (Facebook page of Umm al-Fahm, date, 2017)

Reactions from Senior Palestinian Figures

•  In an exceptional statement, Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack. In a telephone call to the Israeli prime minister, he said he opposed violent actions, especially at sites of worship. He also took the opportunity to condemn the closing of the Temple Mount compound to prayers. He warned of the consequences of closing the Temple Mount and demanded its reopening (Wafa, July 14, 2017).
• A short time after the attack Mahmoud Abbas participated in the Friday prayer at the mosque in the Muqata'a in Ramallah. Mahmoud al-Batash, Mahmoud Abbas' advisor for religious matters and the head cadi (Muslim judge) of the Palestinian Authority (PA), gave a sermon in which he said the escalation threatened to ignite a religious war and cause an "explosion." He said al-Aqsa mosque had to be open to Muslims and that the [Israeli] "occupation" was the main reason for the instability and lack of security in the Middle East and around the globe (Facebook page of Fatah, July 14, 2017). However, he did not condemn the attack itself.

Left: Mahmoud al-Batash delivers a sermon. Right: Mahmoud Abbas at the Friday prayers in the Muqata'a in Ramallah (Facebook page of Fatah, July 14, 2017)

• Majed Faraj, head of PA general intelligence, said the PA opposed all forms of violence and terrorism. He said the PA expressed sorrow [for the event] to the Israeli side. He added that Mahmoud Abbas, in a conversation with the Israeli prime minister, said those who carried out the attack had come from a region under Israeli control, and emphasized that the Palestinian side met its security commitment and worked to prevent terrorist attacks. He claimed that during the past year the PA had prevented a number of terrorist attacks from being carried out against Israelis (alresalah.net, July 15, 2017).

Reactions in Egypt and Jordan

• Reactions in Egypt and Jordan focused on condemning the closing of the Temple Mount to prayers (without reference to the attack in which two Border Policemen were shot to death). The Egyptian government warned of the consequences of preventing prayers from being held, and members of the Egyptian parliament called the decision to close the Temple Mount an "act of terrorism." King Abdallah of Jordan spoke with the Israeli prime minister and condemned the attack, rejected all forms of violence in holy places, and called for the Temple Mount to be opened. Muhammad al-Mumni, spokesman for the Jordanian government, demanded Israel open the mosque compound immediately to people who wanted to pray. He said Israel should not take any step that would change the historic status quo in Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque (Jordanian News Agency, July 14, 2017).

Additional Palestinian Authority Reactions

• Closing the Temple Mount and cancelling the Friday prayers^[2] caused a wave of protests. Many Twitter accounts called for the prayers to be held near the mosque (Twitter account of Ajel from Palestine, July 14, 2017). Hundreds of Jerusalem residents took to the streets and held the Friday prayer at locations near the walls of the Old City (Wafa, July 14, 2017). Palestinians sources stressed that throughout the years there had been hundreds of [terrorist] attacks in Jerusalem, but none of them had led to the closing of al-Aqsa mosque. Many called the attack an excuse for Israel to close the Temple Mount compound.
• Other reactions including the following:

• The Fatah movement claimed the Israeli decision to close al-Aqsa mosque and prevent the Friday prayer was dangerous and unacceptable escalation. Fatah spokesman Usama Qawasmeh said what had happened in al-Aqsa mosque and nearby was very dangerous and that Israel was now trying to do what it had had done at the Cave of the Patriarchs (Wafa, July 14, 2017).
• Tareq Rashmawi, spokesman for the Palestinian national consensus government, said the Palestinian government condemned the Israeli authorities' breach of al-Aqsa mosque and called the decision not to allow Palestinians into the mosque to pray an "act of terrorism." He said Israel's dangerous escalation were causing international efforts to fail, including the American efforts to revive the peace process (Dunia al-Watan, July 14, 2017).
• The Palestinian foreign ministry condemned Israel's actions and warned of dangerous consequences. The ministry called on the international community, the Arab community and the Islamic community to take responsibility and rescue al-Aqsa mosque (Safa, July 15, 2017).
• Azzam al-Ahmed, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, said [Israeli Prime Minister] Netanyahu was using the attack to escalate his "cruel and oppressive" activities. He noted that coordination between the Palestinian leadership and the Jordanian government prevented harm from coming to the holy places. He also said that as long as Israel continued to ignore efforts to restart the peace process, the Palestinian people would "use every method in the struggle" to realize their rights (Dunia al-Watan, July 15, 2017).

Reactions in the Gaza Strip

• Organizations in the Gaza Strip, mainly Hamas, issued a series of announcements welcoming and praising the attack and condemning Israel for closing the Temple Mount to people wanting to pray. The events on the Temple Mount were a good opportunity for them to strengthen incitement to continue and even escalate the Jerusalem intifada (i.e., popular terrorism). Sources in Hamas exploited demonstrations planned to protest Mahmoud Abbas' policies towards the Gaza Strip, using them to express support for the attack and to protest Israel's closing of the Temple Mount. Several hundred Palestinians participated in the demonstrations.

Hamas cartoons about the shooting attack. Left: The Arabic reads, "[...al-Masjid al-Aqsa,] whose surroundings We have blessed" Qur'an Sura 17 (al-Isra), Verse 1^[3](Felesteen, July 15, 2017). Right: "Act of sacrifice in Jerusalem in response to the settler invasions of al-Aqsa mosque" (Palinfo Twitter account, July 14, 2017).

• Other reactions:

• Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri tweeted that the attack was a "natural response" to the [so-called Israeli] "desecration" of al-Aqsa mosque. He claimed the attack was a direct continuation of the intifada and proved that the Palestinian people stood united behind the resistance (Twitter account of Sami Abu Zuhri, July 17, 2017).
• Musa Abu Marzouq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, claimed it was the first time al-Aqsa mosque had been closed since 1967. He said he was surprised that there had been no official Arab response (Twitter account of Musa Abu Marzouq, July 15, 2017).
• Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called on the Palestinian people to escalate the Jerusalem intifada and confront Israel and the settlers at friction points in order to defend al-Aqsa mosque. He called closing the mosque "a crime of Israel" and an unprecedented attack on the rights of the Arab-Islamic nation. He also said it was in preparation for creating a new status quo in which the mosque would be separated from the Palestinian people (Hamas website, July 15, 2017).
• Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said what had happened at al-Aqsa mosque was a crime against freedom of worship and against the Palestinian people. He claimed that by closing the mosque Israel had offended the sensibilities of the entire Palestinian people as well as those of the Arab-Islamic nation. He called for the intensification of the Jerusalem intifada and for a basic national program to defend the holy mosque (al-Aqsa, July 15, 2017).
• The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) held a rally in the Jabalia refugee camp in support of the three terrorists. Speakers condemned the Israeli decision to prevent people from holding the Friday prayer in al-Aqsa mosque (Ma'an, July 14, 2017).

Installation of Metal Detectors at the Entrance to the Temple Mount and Reactions

• The hashtag "Anger for Jerusalem" was launched, calling for the Palestinian public to protest the security measures Israel had installed on the Temple Mount (Facebook page of QudsN, July 17, 2017).

Hashtag "Anger for Jerusalem" tweets (Facebook page of QudsN, July 17, 2017).

• The Fatah Facebook page posted a quote from a speech given in the past by Mahmoud Abbas where he said, "We must defend our holy places in every way and bare-chested. It is not sufficient to say there are settlers in al-Aqsa, they have to be expelled and prevented in every way from desecrating al-Aqsa mosque."
• Other reactions:

• Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas political bureau, Israel was trying to gain control of al-Aqsa mosque. He said the Palestinian people and the "resistance" [i.e., terrorism] would not permit Israel to continue. He praised the Ribat operatives^[4] and the jihad fighters in Jerusalem for their struggle against the occupation. He praised the shaheeds who had died during the attack and those worshippers who refused to enter the Temple Mount (Watan, July 17, 2017).
• Senior Hamas figure Fathi Hamad called for an escalation [of the Jerusalem intifada] in Judea and Samaria. On the other hand, he said Hamas' military wing was committed to a lull and thus could not respond to the events from the Gaza Strip (NN Press, July 17, 2017).
• Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanu' called on Palestinians not to pass through the metal detectors at the entrance to the mosque. He claimed Israel had installed them to establish its security control over the site and change the status quo.

 Other Terrorist Attacks and Attempted Attacks

• On July 15, 2017, two shooting attacks were carried out at two locations in the Benyamin region. Drive-by shots were fired at a vehicle with Israeli license plates on the road between Ateret and Umm Safa (north of Ramallah). A Palestinian in the vehicle was injured by broken glass. The vehicle was damaged. A few hours later shots were fired at an IDF post near Nebi Saleh. There were no casualties.
• The Israeli security forces tracked down the couple who had carried out the attacks. The man was Imad Ahmed Lutfi al-Tirawi, 34; he was killed in an attempt to detain him. In the past he was an operative in the PA's security forces and then became an arms dealer. He carried out both attacks with his fiancée, Rawan Imbar, who turned herself into the Palestinian security forces (Israel Security Agency, July 16, 2017).
• On July 18, 2017, a Palestinian driver accelerated at the Einun Junction near Hebron and drove into soldiers walking at the side of the road, injuring three. Other soldiers shot and killed him. He was Rafaat Nathmi Shukri Hirbawi, 29, from Hebron (Ma'an, July 18, 2017).

Riots, Clashes and Popular Terrorism

• This past week demonstrations, clashes and riots continued throughout Judea and Samaria, primarily involving the throwing of stones and Molotov cocktails. The more prominent occurrences were the following:

• July 18, 2017 – Palestinians threw stones at an IDF force operating in the Jilazoun refugee camp (Ramallah). An IDF officer was injured (Facebook page of Red Alert, July 18, 2017).
• July 17, 2017 – A vehicle sped towards a roadblock in the Old City in Hebron near a Jewish community. The IDF force stationed at the site suspected a vehicular attack and shot at the driver. There were no casualties. The driver escaped (Judea and Samaria Rescue, July 17, 2017).
• July 17, 2017 – Palestinians rioting against Israeli security forces in Silwan in east Jerusalem threw stones and Molotov cocktails. A Palestinian was injured by IDF fire (Facebook page of Red Alert, July 17, 2017).
• July 17, 2017 – Israeli security forces operating in the village of Idna (west of Hebron) seized 2,000 shekels (about $560), transferred from Hamas to the family of a Palestinian terrorist released in the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange deal. After his release the Palestinian carried out the terrorist attack on the eve of Passover in 2014 in which Deputy Commissioner Baruch Mizrachi was murdered (Facebook page of Red Alert, July 17, 2017).
• July 16, 2017 – Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails at an Israeli security force guard post at the T junction in Gush Etzion. There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, July 16, 2017).
• July 15, 2017 – Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails at Israeli security forces in Silwan in east Jerusalem. One Israeli policeman was injured (Facebook page of Judea and Samaria Police Spokesman's Unit, July 15, 2017).
• July 15, 2017 – Palestinians threw more than 25 Molotov cocktails at Israeli security forces operating in Issawiya (northern Jerusalem). There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, July 15, 2017).
• July 14, 2017 – Palestinians threw two IEDs at Israeli security forces on the Gush Etzion–Jerusalem road near the village of Khader. There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, July 14, 2017).
• July 14, 2017 – Palestinian sources reported that a Palestinian was killed and two wounded during clashes with Israeli security forces in the Dheisheh refugee camp (Bethlehem region). The Palestinian who was killed was Baraa' Ismail Hamamda, 18. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) reported he was one of their operatives (PFLP website, July 14, 2017).

• July 12, 2017 – Two young Palestinians were killed and one was injured while rioting against IDF forces in the Jenin refugee camp (Safa, July 12, 2017). The Fatah movement in Jenin claimed the two had belonged to its ranks (aljazeera.net and Wafa, July 12, 2017). The PA and Fatah strongly condemned their killing. The national consensus government claimed Israel was responsible for worsening the situation and for "hostilities" against the Palestinian people (Wafa, July 12, 2017). The PA minister of justice paid a condolence call on the families of the two Palestinians who had been killed; he came as a representative of PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah (Wafa, July 15, 2017).

The two Palestinians killed in the riot. Left: Aus Salameh throws stones at IDF forces in the Jenin refugee camp (Facebook page of the Fatah movement, July 13, 2017). Right: Sa'ad Salah (Facebook page of Wafa, July 12, 2017).

Israel Security Agency Report on Terrorist Attacks, June 2017^[5]

• During June 2017 there was a decline in the number of terrorist attacks. A total of 93 attacks were carried out in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem, most of them (80) involving the throwing of Molotov cocktails. In May 2017 there were 142 terrorist attacks.^[6] In Judea and Samaria there were 72 terrorist attacks (113 in May 2017). In Jerusalem there were 21 attacks (29 in May 2017). A Border Policewoman was killed and three Border Policemen were wounded in a terrorist attack at the Nablus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem, June 16, 2017). An operative in the Israeli security forces was stabbed (at Mevo Dotan, Samaria, June 1, 2017).

Rocket Fire Attacking Israel

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

Riots at the Border Security Fence

• Hamas exploited the demonstrations planned to protest the pressure Mahmoud Abbas exerts on the Gaza Strip and used them instead to support the terrorist attack on the Temple Mount. Several hundred Palestinians participated (Amama, July 14, 2017). The Palestinian media reported one Palestinian was injured, east of Jabalia (July 14, date, 2017).

The Gazan Humanitarian Crisis

• The energy authority in the Gaza Strip reported that the power plant had resumed operations after fuel arrived from Egypt (al-Aqsa, July 13, 2017). The Gaza Strip electric company said that according to the amount of fuel at its disposal, it could provide electricity in cycles of four hours with 12-hour power outages (Palinfo, July 15, 2017).
• The Gaza Strip environment authority reported that a recent analysis of sea water carried out in conjunction with the ministry of health revealed that 73% of the water along the coast was polluted. Only four areas were found where swimming was possible. The reason for the high percentage of pollution was the 110 thousand cubic meters (more than 29 million gallons) of untreated sewage poured into the sea, a result of the electricity crisis (website of the environment authority in the Gaza Strip, July 16, 2017).

Map of the Gaza Strip coastline where swimming is permitted (blue) and forbidden (red). The map was issued by Gaza Strip environment authority (website of the Gaza Strip environment authority, July 16, 2017).

• The Jerusalem-based newspaper al-Quds quoted a report from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. It said that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip after Operation Protective Edge was proceeding very slowly because of the "siege" on the Gaza Strip and the inefficient apparatus used to import building materials. According to the report, between October 14, 2014 and June 30, 2017, 1.6 tons of cement had been delivered to the Gaza Strip, or one third of what was needed.
• Of the 11,000 dwelling units completely destroyed during the Operation, (4,274 (38.8%) had been rebuilt and 1,516 units were under construction. More than 6,300 families (about 33,000 people) had nowhere to live. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, during the first quarter of 2017, 41.1% of Gazans were unemployed and 65% lived below the poverty line. In addition more than 60% of Gazans were supported by UNRWA and other international relief agencies (al-Quds, July 8, 2017).
• A UN report dealing with the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip claimed that in view of the humanitarian crisis, in ten years the Gaza Strip will be unfit for human habitation. Robert Piper, "deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process and the humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory," accused the PA and the Israeli security forces of the current situation in the Gaza Strip and called on the international community to put the residents of the Gaza Strip at the top of their priority list (Reuters, July 11, 2017).

Hamas Activity against Jihadist Operatives in the Gaza Strip

• A Hamas military court in the Gaza Strip sentenced three Salafist operatives who followed ISIS's ideology to prison terms of between five and seven months on charges of firing rockets at Israeli territory. The operatives had been detained by Hamas about four months previously. It is estimated that today Hamas holds about 550 Salafi jihadist operatives in detention, and whose cases will be transferred to Hamas' military court (al-Sharq al-Awsat, July 15, 2017). The Salafi jihadist website in the Gaza Strip also reported that the Hamas military court had sentenced a number of its operatives to prison, apparently for involvement in firing rockets at Israel. The Salafi jihadist social networks did to issue threats against Hamas.

Military Activities in Hamas Summer Camps in the Gaza Strip

(from the Facebook page of the summer camps' committee in the Khan Yunis district, July 2017)

Senior Fatah and PA Figures Visit the Family of the Teqo'a Terrorist

• Jamal al-Muheisen, a member of Fatah's Central Committee and head of its bureau of mobilization and organization in Judea and Samaria, and Majed Faraj, head of Palestinian general intelligence, paid a condolence call in Teqo'a to visit the family of terrorist Muhammad Ibrahim Jibrin. Jibrin carried out a vehicular attack near Teqo'a on July 10, 2017. The two gave speeches (Facebook page of Fatah, July 12, 2017). The visit was another expression of PA and Fatah routine support for popular terrorism.