News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (March 28 – April 3, 2012)

Rocket Fire

• This past week one rocket hit from the Gaza Strip was identified in Israeli territory, landing in an open area. In addition, two mortar shells were fired into Israeli territory. There were no casualties and no damage was done

Terrorist Attack at the Security Fence Prevented

• On March 31 an IDF force identified an Palestinian terrorist digging in the ground near the security fence in the central Gaza Strip. They shot and killed him. A search held the next morning revealed he had been armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, magazines, a knife and a shovel (IDF Spokesman, April 1, 2012).

Rockets Fired into Israeli Territory ¹

Note: The March tally includes 50 rockets from the Gaza Strip which were intercepted and destroyed by the Iron Dome aerial defense system during the latest round of escalation. 

Judea and Samaria

The Situation on the Ground

• On the morning of April 2 a 65 year-old ultra-Orthodox Jewish man was attacked by a young Arab man wielding an axe. The attack took place near the Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. The victim, who had been on his way to the Western Wall to pray, sustained minor injuries and was evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment.
• On the evening of April 2 stones were thrown at a bus near Beit Horon, an Israeli village to the northwest of Jerusalem. Two women suffered minor injuries and were evacuated to a hospital for further treatment.
• For the events in Judea and Samaria on March 30 see below.

Palestinian Terrorists Involved in Shooting at IDF Vehicles Detained

• In recent weeks joint Israeli security forces activities resulted in the detention of 13 Palestinians, all residents of the Amari refugee camp (near Al-Bireh), on suspicion of involvement in shooting at an IDF vehicle in Ramallah on January 25, 2012.^[2] Among the detainees were Salah Barael, the goalkeeper on the Palestinian Olympic soccer team; Palestinian Red Crescent workers; and Mansour Abbas, an officer in Palestinian general intelligence in Ramallah and an arms dealer.
• Interrogation revealed that the attack itself was carried out by Barael and another man, who worked for the Palestinian Red Crescent. The two used Kalashnikov assault rifles which they had received from Mansour Abbas. Interrogation also revealed that they were planning another shooting attack targeting other IDF forces (Israel Security Agency website, April 2, 2012).

Terrorist Operative Hana Shalabi Deported

• Following an arrangement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority regarding the administrative detention of hunger-striking Hana Shalabi, she was released and deported to the Gaza Strip for a period of three years in return for ending the strike (Ma'an News Agency, March 31, 2012). Hana Shalabi is a terrorist operative belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who, according to court findings based on reliable intelligence information, was involved in preparations for a terrorist attack.

Hana Shalabi welcomed to the Gaza Strip by Ismail Haniya
 (Facebook page devoted to Shalabi, April 2, 2012).

 

• Sources within Hamas and the PIJ were critical of the arrangement, calling the deportation of prisoners a "crime" and gross violation of international law. However,PIJ spokesman Daoud Shihab said that Shalabi had succeeded, as Khader Adnan had before her, in the campaign to "shatter administrative detentions" (Safa News Agency, April 1, 2012).

Boycotting Israeli Products

• A Fatah representative told a press conference on April 1 that it was launching a campaign in Ramallah "in support of national products." Mahmoud al-A'alul, a member of Fatah's central committee, said that the campaign would be part ofa comprehensive strategy to boycott Israeli products. He said the campaign would be comprised of several stages and accompanied by extensive "explanations" in the markets, homes and schools (Wafa News Agency, April 1, 2012).

The Energy Crisis Continues

• Three children between the ages of two and six died in a fire in the Deir al-Balah refugee camp. The fire was caused by candles, used to combat the energy crisis in the Gaza Strip. Following their deaths, public criticism of the functioning of the de-facto Hamas administration increased. Senior sources in Hamas blamed those imposing "a closure of the Gaza Strip" for the crisis and called on Egypt to accept responsibility and supply the Gaza Strip with fuel immediately. Senior Hamas figure Salah al-Bardawil said that the energy crisis was almost like "war crimes and crimes against humanity" (Filastin al-'Aan, April 1, 2012).

The energy crisis in the Gaza Strip
(Hamas' Palestine-info website, April 1, 2012).

The Events of March 30
(Initial Summary)

Overview

• The events of March 30 which took place in the countries bordering on the State of Israel, as well as in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, passed relatively quietly with only minor rioting and no significant media coverage. The various events did not spin out of control, in our assessment for the following reasons: governmental and security apparatuses in the various sectors over the border acted, for their own interests, to contain the events, prevent attempts to break through border fences, and distance demonstrators from direct contact with IDF forces; the early, effective deployment of the IDF and preemptive political activity; and the fact that regional and global attention focused on other issues considered more newsworthy in the Middle East, especially the events unfolding in Syria.
• One result was that the organizers of the so-called Global March to Jerusalem did not succeed in embarrassing the State of Israel and thus failed to achieve their main goal. In our assessment, the organizers were disappointed, evident from remarks made by two Hamas activists in Britain, both active in the events:
  • Zaher al-Birawi, GMJ spokesman, said in an interview that while the activities had been successful to a certain extent, the organizers were "realistic." He said they were aware thatif it hadn't been for "weak spots in some Arab-Muslim countries," there would have been more participants. He consoled himself with the claim that it was only the first step and that there would be more, and that the marches had put Israel on high alert and cost it a lot of money. He called on various nationals to exert pressure on their regimes, and said that the march organizers would meet in the near future and formulate a working plan to continue the activities (Al-Aqsa TV, March 31, 2012).
  •  Muhammad Sawalhasaid that the organizers were satisfied to a certain extent, but repeated the claim that "weak spots were discovered in certain countries, caused by their internal situations." He also said that the marches were "the beginning of a new stage" in continuing activity for the sake of Jerusalem (Al-Quds TV, March 31, 2012).

Summary of the Events Held in the Countries Bordering Israel and in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip

• The following were the main events in the various locations:
  • Jordan: Jordan saw the greatest response to the calls issued by the organizers for participation. A rally was held near the Allenby bridge attended by 10,000 participants (more, according to other reports). The Jordanian security forces, which supervised the event, prevented the demonstrators from approaching the border. The rally was attended by Palestinians and Jordanians, conspicuous among them senior Muslim Brotherhood figures (including Hammam Said, the general guide). There were also 230 activists from abroad, four of them members of the ultra-Orthodox anti-Zionist anti-Israel Jewish sect, Neturei Karta. Speakers at the rally called for the "liberations of Jerusalem" and the "liberation of Palestine," and shouted condemnations of the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement.