Increase in confrontations on the Temple Mount: Israeli security forces take action against Palestinian rioters
Mahmoud Abbas gives a speech at the conference.
During his visit to Israel UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visits the shaft of a terrorist tunnel exposed in Operation Protective Edge
Ban Ki-moon visits an UNRWA school where Gazans who left their houses during Operation Protective Edge are housed
A truck carrying building materials at the Kerem Shalom crossing (Cogat.idf.il, October 14, 2014).
- Israel's south remains quiet. There were violent clashes on the Temple Mount during the High Holidays between Palestinians rioters and the Israeli security forces. Senior Hamas figures incited the residents of Judea and Samaria and Israeli Arabs to confront the Israeli security forces. In a number of public statements Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel and supported the rioters. In Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria there were many instances of Molotov cocktails and rocks being thrown.
- Hamas spokesmen stated that the indirect negotiations in Cairo would be renewed at the end of October. They said they were determined to construct air and sea ports and would not compromise. In the meantime, the international conference held in Cairo for rebuilding the Gaza Strip ended. The Palestinians received promises of donations totaling $5.4 billion. The largest donation, $1 billion, was promised by Qatar. Past experience has shown that not all promises are kept.
Negotiations for a Ceasefire Agreement to be Renewed
- Khalil al-Haya, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said the indirect negotiations with Israel for a lull in the fighting and a ceasefire would be renewed in Cairo during the last week of October. He claimed the round of talks would finalize all the issues, among them the construction of air and sea ports (Alresala.net, October 15, 2014). Musa Abu Marzouq, also a member of Hamas' political bureau, claimed the Palestinian negotiating team would be composed of a united delegation and Mahmoud Abbas could not appoint anyone else to manage it. He added that there could be no bargaining over the issue of air and sea ports because their construction was agreed upon in the Oslo Accords (Maannews.net, October 16, 2014).
- Muhammad Nizal, another member of Hamas' political bureau, claimed arrangements were in place for indirect negotiations with Israel regarding prisoners. He claimed negotiations would begin in the near future. He said Egypt had officially announced it would have no part in the indirect negotiations that were supposed to be renewed in Cairo and would deal with a lull in the fighting, and that the negotiating delegations would be separate (Alresala.net, October 9, 2014). Khalil al-Haya, a member of Hamas' political bureau, also claimed that negotiations regarding prisoners would be carried out separately, despite the fact that Israel included the issue in the indirect negotiations (Alresala.net, October 15, 2014).
The Donor Conference for Rebuilding the Gaza Strip
- On October 12, 2014, the international conference for rebuilding the Gaza Strip ended. It was held in Cairo and sponsored by Norway and Egypt. Representatives from 50 countries and 20 international institutions attended. The donors promised a total of $5.4 billion for rebuilding the Gaza Strip. They said about half the sum would be allotted for new construction and the rest for economic aid.
- The most prominent donor was Qatar, which promised $1 billion. The EU promised $570 million, Saudi Arabia $500 million and the United States $400 million. All the donors promised to transfer the funds as soon as possible (Al-ayyam.com, October 13, 2014). According to Muhammad Mustafa, deputy prime minister in the national consensus government and its minister of finance, the funds will be used to implement the Palestinian government's plan. He said the authority for implementing the plan would be divided among the various government ministries (Maannews.net, October 12, 2014).
- Jamal al-Shubaki, Palestinian Authority (PA) representative in Cairo and the Arab League, said the donor countries had imposed conditions in return for their financial support. Among the conditions were the return of the PA to the Gaza Strip and the crossings, and a permanent UN presence in the Gaza Strip. He said if the conditions were not met the Gaza Strip would not be rebuilt quickly (Maannews.net, October 15, 2014).
- At the beginning of the conference PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas gave a harsh, inflammatory speech blaming Israel for the situation in the Gaza Strip because of its "plans to take control of Palestinian lands" and accusing Israel of responsibility for the "cycle of bloodshed" in the region resulting from what he claimed was "international shirking of responsibility." He demanded Israel be held accountable for the "aggression, destruction and tragedy" in the Gaza Strip. He also claimed that efforts would continue to prolong the lull in coordination with Egypt and other involved parties. He said that a great deal of aid was necessary to rebuild the Gaza Strip, including the reestablishment of governmental institutions, all of which had been destroyed. He also noted the need to open the crossings, including between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In addition, he called on the international community to support the Palestinians' efforts to achieve a UN Security Council resolution determining the date of the end of the Israeli occupation and for negotiations for a political arrangement (Egyptian TV, October 12, 2014).
The UN Secretary General Visits Hamas' Tunnels
- On October 14, 2014, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited to the Gaza Strip, the PA and Israel. At the end of his visit to the Gaza Strip he held a press conference where he said that it was hard to describe the extent of the destruction in words. He said the problem of the Gaza Strip could not be solved unless the siege was lifted. He called on Israel to allow building materials to be delivered to the Gaza Strip (Alhayat-j.com, October 14, 2014).
- While in Israel Ban Ki-moon visited the Gaza Strip border. He was shown a shaft of one of the terrorist tunnels exposed during Operation Protective Edge and saw first hand the security threats Israel faced. After the visit he said he was grateful for the opportunity given him by the Israeli government and the IDF to see with his own eyes the underground threat facing Israel (IDF Spokesman, October 14, 2014).
[1] As of October 21, 2014. The statistics do not include mortar shell fire or rockets which misfired and fell inside the Gaza Strip.
[2] The statistics do not include mortar shell fire.
[3] The statistics do not include the many instances of rock-throwing in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.
[4] Ribat is the name for a frontier region where Muslims fight against infidels.
[5] Ali Hussein Haidar was a Hezbollah terrorist operative who, according to Hezbollah claims, was killed on September 5, 2014, by an explosion which occurred while neutralizing a listening device discovered in south Lebanon.
