News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (August 31 – September 6, 2016)

• September 5, 2016 – After a security activity in the Shuafat refugee camp a car driven by a Palestinian sped towards Israeli soldiers, apparently with the intention of striking them. When the driver did not stop the soldiers shot at the car. One of the passengers was killed and two were wounded. A knife was found in the car (Filastin.net Facebook page of Paldf, September 5, 2016). According to the Israeli police report the driver was drunk, and in police assessment the event was not terrorism-related.
• September 5, 2016 – A 24 year-old Palestinian woman was detained and taken for interrogation by police in the Old City of Jerusalem. A knife was found in her possession. During interrogation she confessed to having gone to the Old City in order to attack policemen. In the past she had been detained at a roadblock in the Hebron region when she was found to be carrying a knife (Facebook page of the Israel Police Force, September 5, 2016).
• September 4, 2016 – Two 14 year-old Palestinian boys from the town of Dura, south of Hebron, were detained by the police near the Cave of the Patriarchs. Both were carrying knives. According to the initial investigation, they were planning to carry out stabbing attacks (Ynet, September 4, 2016).
• September 2, 2016 – Border Policemen ordered the driver of a car to halt for examination at the entrance to the village of Issawiya in east Jerusalem. He did not obey and kept driving, endangering the lives of the police. One policeman injured his leg when he jumped out of the way of the oncoming car. He shot at the car, which drove on and disappeared into the village (Facebook page of Red Alert, September 2, 2016).

Monthly Distribution of Terrorist Attacks in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem

Riots and Clashes

• In the meantime, riots, the throwing of stones, Molotov cocktails and pipe bombs and light-arms fire continue in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.
• The more prominent events were the following:

• September 6, 2016 – Palestinians threw four Molotov cocktails at an IDF force operating near Bethlehem. There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, September 6, 2016).
• September 5, 2016 – Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli vehicle near Hawwara (south of Nablus). There were no casualties. Palestinians also threw stones at Israeli vehicles in Karmei Tzur and Beit Umar (north of Hebron). There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, September 5, 2016).
• September 4, 2016 – Palestinians threw stones at Israeli vehicles at a checkpoint east of Tulkarm. Palestinians also threw stones at an IDF force near Beit El. There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, September 4, 2016).
• September 3, 2016 – Palestinians threw stones at an Israeli vehicle on Route 443 (the Jerusalem-Modi'in road). In addition, Palestinians threw Molotov cocktails at vehicles on Route 446 (the road linking to the Trans-Samaria highway). (There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, September 3, 2016).
• September 1, 2016 – Palestinians threw stones and Molotov cocktails at an IDF force near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron. There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, September 1, 2016).
• September 1, 2016 – Palestinians shot at an IDF force near Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, injuring one IDF soldier (Facebook page of Red Alert, September 1, 2016).
• August 31, 2016 – Palestinians threw a Molotov cocktail at an Israeli bus near the Nil'in roadblock (west of Ramallah). There were no casualties (Facebook page of Red Alert, August 31, 2016).

Local Radio Station Closed for Inciting Terrorism

• In the early morning hours of August 31, 2016, Israeli security forces raided the al-Sanabel radio station in the town of Dura south of Hebron. They closed the station, confiscated equipment and detained five employees, including the manager. The action was taken because al-Sanabel broadcast incitement and encouraged terrorism (Ynet, August 31, 2016). The raid prevented the station from continuing its broadcasts. The station's Internet site is inactive, but its Facebook page is still active and issues updated news reports.
• After the station was closed Kamel Hamid, governor of the Hebron district, went to its offices and condemned the Israeli action. The station's offices were also visited by Mahmoud Khalifa, deputy Palestinian information minister and Nasser Abu Baker, chairman of the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate (Facebook page of al-Sanabel radio, August 31, 2016). On September 2, 2016, Palestinians held a rally in front of the Dura municipality and called for the immediate release of the station employees held by Israel (Wafa, September 2, 2016).

Left: Demonstration in front of the Dura municipality, south of Hebron, to protest the closing of the al-Sanabel radio station (Wafa, September 2, 2016). Right: Kamel Hamid, governor of the Hebron district, at the al-Sanabel radio offices after they were closed by Israel (Facebook page of al-Sanabel radio, August 31, 2016).

Series of Shooting Attacks from the Northern Gaza Strip Targeting IDF Forces

• This past week there was a series of shooting attacks from the northern Gaza Strip. They targeted IDF forces engaged in routine security activities. The IDF returned fire at terrorist targets.

• On September 6, 2016 Palestinians fired light arms at a routine IDF patrol near the border security fence in the northern Gaza Strip (Facebook page of Red Alert, September 6, 2016). According to Palestinian reports the IDF fired artillery at two Hamas posts and an observation post of the Jerusalem Battalions, the military-terrorist wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). According to Palestinian reports, a house in Beit Lahia was damaged by the Israeli fire (Ma'an and Wafa, September 6, 2016).
• On September 4, 2016, Palestinians fired light arms at an IDF force near the border security fence in the northern Gaza Strip. In response the IDF shot at an abandoned Hamas post in the Beit Lahia area in the northern Gaza Strip. There were no casualties and no damage was reported (Ynet and Wafa, September 4, 2016).
• On August 31, 2016, a Palestinian sniper shot at an IDF force engaged in routine activities near the border security fence in the northern Gaza Strip, hitting an IDF vehicle (Facebook page of Red Alert, August 31, 2016).

Rocket Fire Attacking Israel

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

Ismail Haniyeh Visits Saudi Arabia

• The Palestinian media reported that Ismail Haniyeh, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on September 5, 2016, to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca (Dunia al-Watan, September 5, 2016). According to Hamas sources, Haniyeh is supposed to go from Saudi Arabia to Qatar and from there to Turkey to meet with other senior Hamas figures (Sputnik News in Arabic, September 5, 2016). It is the first time Ismail Haniyeh has left the Gaza Strip since the fall of the Mohamed Morsi regime in Egypt in July 2013.

The Crossings

The Rafah Crossing

• Between August 30, 2016, and September 1, 2016, the Egyptian authorities opened the Rafah crossing. It was an exceptional act, initiated to enable Gazans to go to Mecca; 795 pilgrims left the Gaza Strip (Facebook page of the crossings authority in the Gaza Strip, September 1, 2016).
• On September 3, 2016, the Egyptians opened the Rafah crossing again for the exit and entrance of humanitarian cases. The crossing was supposed to operate for two days but because of the large numbers of people seeking to exit and enter the Gaza Strip, the Egyptians decided to leave it open until September 7, 2016. As of September 5, 2016, about 1,200 Gazans had left the Strip and 1,800 had entered (Ma'an, September 5, 2016).

The Kerem Shalom Crossing

• The unit of Israeli coordinator for government activities in the territories (COGAT) issued data about merchandise entering the Gaza Strip from Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing. During the past the past week, 58 tons of medical equipment, 15,000 tons of food, 170 tons of agricultural produce, 83 tons of building materials, 6.7 million liters of fuel (about 1.8 million gallons) and 1,387 tons of cooking gas entered the Gaza Strip (Facebook page of COGAT, September 5, 2016).

The Erez Crossing

• On September 1, 2016, COGAT reported that 111 new and used vehicles had been imported into the Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing (Facebook page of COGAT in Arabic, September 1, 2016). According to reports, on August 31, 2016, 300,000 new text books for UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip entered the Gaza Strip after a request lodged with Israel by the agency. The books were printed by the printers of the Palestinian ministry of education in Ramallah (Al-Quds, Ma'an and the Facebook page of COGAT in Arabic, September 1, 2016).

Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades Propaganda Video of Abducting of an IDF Soldier

• On September 1, 2016, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military-terrorist wing, posted a propaganda video to YouTube simulating the abduction of IDF soldiers. The video begins with an Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades operative digging a tunnel and preparing himself for battle. Then a number of operatives emerge from the tunnel. The video notes that the operatives are equipped with GoPro©cameras to document the battle.
• The video shows a simulation of Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades operatives firing mortar shells at two Israel tanks. They then rush the tanks, kill the Israeli soldiers, abduct one and return to the tunnel. After that they fire more mortar shells at the tanks. The video also shows a funeral held for one of the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades operatives killed during the action (YouTube, September 1, 2016).

The Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades propaganda video simulating terrorist operatives emerging from a tunnel, attacking Israeli tanks and abducting an IDF soldier (YouTube, September 1, 2016).

Detention of Palestinian Businessman Who Transferred Funds to Hamas in Hebron

• The Israeli security forces detained Bashir Muhammad Yunes Mustafa, a Palestinian businessman from the Gaza Strip, at the Erez crossing on August 31, 2016. During interrogation he confessed to having smuggled $50,000 from the Gaza Strip for Hamas in Hebron. He also said that someone from the Hamas crossings unit on the Gazan side of the Erez crossing had asked him to transfer the funds because he was officially a businessman [and could enter Israel without difficulty] (Facebook page of COGAT in Arabic, September 1, 2016).

Turkey Sends a Cargo of Humanitarian Aid to the Gaza Strip

• The Palestinian media reported the arrival of a Turkish ship with a cargo of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip at the Israeli port of Ashdod on September 3, 2016. The ship left the southern Turkish port of Mersin on September 2, 2016. It carried a cargo of 2,500 tons of humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip, including school supplies, food products, cleaning materials and bicycles. It was the second Turkish aid ship to anchor in Ashdod. The first unloaded its cargo on July 3, 2016 (Shasha News and al-Istiqlal, September 3, 2016).

The Turkish IHH Opens a Soup Kitchen in the Gaza Strip

• On September 1, 2016, the Turkish IHH (the organization that dispatched the Mavi Marmara to the Gaza Strip in May 2010) opened a soup kitchen in the Gaza Strip. According to Muhammad Kaya, IHH head in the Gaza Strip, it cost $85,000 to construct the soup kitchen and it was named for the "martyrs of the Mavi Marmara." It will provide food for 600 needy Gazans daily (Turkey Post, September 1, 2016).

The Turkish IHH's soup kitchen in the Gaza Strip, named for the martyrs of the Mavi Marmara (Facebook page of the IHH in the Gaza Strip, September 1, 2016).