News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 6 – 12, 2017)

Rocket Fire Attacking Israel

• During the past week several rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel. Several rocket hits were identified in Israeli territory. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted two rockets:
•   On the evening of December 8, 2017, a number of rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel. One landed in a parking lot in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, damaging several cars. The remains of another rocket were later discovered in Sderot in a kindergarten, where it damaged the building. A third rocket was intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system. Several other rockets were fired but fell inside the Gaza Strip. A Salafi jihadist network calling itself the Brigade of the Unity of Allah claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. The network claimed the rocket fire was a response to the American decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel (Twitter account of ics news, date, 2017).

   
Rocket fired from the Gaza Strip hits a kindergarten in the southern Israeli city of Sderot (Israel Police Force, December 8, 2017).

• On December 10, 2017, an attempt was made to fire rockets into Israeli territory. Two rockets blew up in an open area inside the Gaza Strip (Facebook page of Red Alert, December 10, 2017).
• On the evening of December 11, 2017, a rocket was fired from the northern Gaza Strip at the southern Israeli city of Ashqelon. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted the rocket. A rocket fired earlier in the day fell in an open area in the western Negev near the border security fence in the southern Gaza Strip. There were no casualties and no damage was reported.

IDF response

• In response to the rocket fire IDF forces attacked military targets belonging to Hamas, which Israel regards as responsible for everything that occurs in the Gaza Strip.
• In response to the rocket fire on December 8, 2017, Israeli Air Force planes attacked six Hamas targets. The Palestinian ministry of health reported that more than 15 Palestinians had been wounded (Twitter account of the Palestinian ministry of health, December 8, 2017).

•   On December 10 and 11, 2017, IDF forces responded by attacking Hamas military targets with tank fire, aerial fire and fire from Israel naval vessels. The attacks reportedly destroyed facilities for the manufacture of weapons, weapons launchers, and other facilities (IDF spokesman, December 12, 2017). The Palestinian media reported that a surveillance position and post of Hamas’ restraint forces east of Khan Yunis were attacked (Palinfo, December 11, 2017).

Monthly Distribution of Rocket Hits in Israel since January 2016

Annual Distribution of Rocket Hits in Israel’s South^[3]

Clashes near the Israel-Gaza Strip Border

• On December 8, 2017, several thousand Gazans rioted in locations along the border with Israel. They threw stones, burned tires, and taunted the IDF forces. Two rioters were killed by IDF gunfire (Shehab, December 9, 2017). Several dozen Palestinians were wounded. Many school children joined the rioters (Palinfo, December 9, 2017). The riots continued on the following days but with a relatively limited the number of participants.

IDF exposes Hamas tunnel penetrating into Israeli territory

• As part of the Israeli security forces’ efforts to locate tunnels penetrating into Israeli territory, IDF forces exposed a tunnel into Israeli territory near the Gaza Strip border. The tunnel, which began in the Khan Yunis region, belonged to the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. IDF forces had followed the progress of constructing the tunnel by means of a “unique capability” combining technology, intelligence and operational capabilities, locating it before it crossed the border. On the night of December 9, 2017, the decision was made to neutralize the tunnel, which was already in an advanced stage of construction.
• In IDF assessment, when the tunnel was neutralized there were no Hamas operatives inside. It was the second terrorist tunnel exposed in recent weeks (On October 30, 2017, a PIJ tunnel was exposed inside Israeli territory.). According to the IDF spokesman, the Hamas tunnel penetrated deeper into Israeli territory than the PIJ tunnel. According to reports, no weapons were found in the tunnel. The IDF spokesman noted that for Hamas tunnels are of great importance and it invests considerable resources in building them (IDF spokesman, date, 2017).

The transfer of authority to the Palestinian national consensus government

• On December 11, 2017, Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanua claimed the national consensus government had received authority for all the governmental offices and institutions, including the crossings, and that everything was under the control of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah. He said there was nothing currently delaying the reconciliation process. He also quoted Azzam al-Ahmed, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, who said that all problems and obstacles had been removed and that all authority had been transferred to the national consensus government (al-Arabiya al-Hadath, December 11, 2017).
• Mamoun Abu Shahla, Palestinian minister of labor, said that in light of the progress made in the reconciliation process, in the near future the PA would lift the sanctions imposed on supplying electricity to the Gaza Strip, and the status quo ante would be restored (Ma’an, December 10, 2017). Despite the declarations, apparently the transfer of authority to the national consensus government has not yet been completed.
• A number of ministries reported they had begun rehiring employees who had been employed before 2007 (when Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip). For example, Jawad Awad, minister of health, said he had decided to rehire 512 members of the professional staff who stopped working in 2007, and that he would examine integrating them into the staffs of hospitals and medical centers (Shehab, December 10, 2017). The ministry of transportation announced it had rehired 35 employees as part of implementing the reconciliation process (Safa, December 10, 2017). The ministry of education announced it would begin making plans to build a hundred new schools in the Gaza Strip (Wafa, December 6, 2017).
• Salah al-Bardawil, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said Hamas had dismantled its administrative committee and transferred all its authority to the national consensus government. He claimed that on December 10, 2017, the government was supposed to pay the November salaries of more than 40,000 workers in the Gaza Strip. In addition, he said, it was supposed to renew the supply of electricity to the Gaza Strip. He said that at the most recent meeting, Fatah had asked for an extension to get approval from Mahmoud Abbas to implement decisions regarding salaries and electricity, and that the extension would end on December 10, but that as yet no answer had been received (Shehab, December 10, 2017).
• On December 10, 2017, Hamas stopped transferring taxes it had collected to the bank account of the national consensus government’s ministry of finance. According to sources in the Gaza Strip, that was done in retaliation for the government’s not lifting the sanctions imposed on the Gaza Strip. According to Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanua, Hamas was angry at the delay in paying its workers’ salaries after all the taxes collected had been transferred to the Bank of Palestine, from which salaries are paid. He confirmed that on December 10 Hamas had stopped transferring local tax funds to the bank, and said Hamas would not renew the transfers until the government met it commitment to pay salaries (Dunia al-Watan, December 10, 2017; al-Hayat and al-Masry al-Youm, December 11, 2017)
• In the meantime, the workers’ union in the Gaza Strip announced a general strike for December 12, 2017, to protest the non-payment of salaries. All schools, government offices and institutions will be closed. The union held a press conference where it accused Palestinian government employees of harming the residents of the Gaza Strip and its employees. The union warned that if the government continued conspiring against the workers, the union would call for a stop to the establishment of the government in the Gaza Strip (Palinfo Twitter account, December 10, 2017).

Iran promises support for Hamas and other terrorist organizations

• Isma’il Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, held a telephone conversation with Hassan Rouhani, the president of Iran, about the American president’s declaration that the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. Rouhani called the declaration “aggression against the Palestinian people and the nation of Islam.” He said that Jerusalem was Palestinian both politically and religiously. He called for a struggle against Trump’s declaration, and urged the adoption of a united Arab-Muslim position supporting the Palestinian position and for an intifada. Haniyeh said they expected clearly-worded decisions would be made during the Islamic summit meeting which will be held in Istanbul on December 13, 2017 (Hamas website, December 11, 2017).
• Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian IRGC’s Qods Force, held a telephone conversation with the commanders of the military-terrorist wings of Hamas and the PIJ. He said Iran supported the various “resistance” groups [i.e., the Palestinian terrorist organizations]. He said all the regional “resistance” groups [i.e., the regional terrorist organizations supported by Iran, especially Hezbollah] supported them on the issue of al-Aqsa (ISNA, December 11, 2017).

Hamas plans events to mark its 30^th anniversary

• Hamas is planning a rally to mark the 30^th anniversary of its founding. The rally will be the most important of the events to be held in al-Katiba Square in Gaza City on December 14, 2017. Its theme will be, “Our decision is the resistance [i.e., terrorism], and unity is our choice.” Asraf Abu Zayid, responsible for Hamas’ public activities unit, said Hamas had decided the day would be the day of enlistment for Jerusalem and al-Aqsa (website of Hamas’ public activities unit in the Gaza Strip, December 9 and 11, 2016).

• According to Hamas, the date would be marked with a number of pre-events. Among them was a press conference in front of the house of the late Ahmed Yassin, who founded the movement, and a march of Hamas’ military wing operative that would end in front of the house of Muhammad Deif, the military wing’s commander (Hamas movement website, December 5, 2017). In the northern Gaza Strip Hamas announced activities would begin with a march of military wing operatives in Beit Hanoun to the house of Salah Shehadeh, former military wing commander (Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades website, December 7, 2017).

Political activity following Trump’s declaration

• The PA continues sending strong messages to the American administration while carrying out assertive diplomatic activities with regional and Western countries. Mahmoud Abbas headed a delegation of senior Palestinian figures to Egypt for a meeting with Egyptian President El-Sisi (Abdallah, King of Jordan, was supposed to join the meeting, but cancelled) (al-Watan, December 10, 2017). At the meeting they discussed ways of dealing with the implications of the United States’ declaration and various measures to take at the Arab and international levels (Facebook page of the spokesman for the Egyptian president, December 11, 2017). The delegation also met with Ahmed Abu Gheit, secretary general of the Arab League, who provided an update on the pan-Arab efforts being invested in the issue of Jerusalem (Wafa, December 11, 2017).
• Senior PA figures claim that all contacts with the United States have been completely cut off: Azzam al-Rahman, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, said all contacts had been completely cut off. He said Mahmoud Abbas would not meet with American Vice President Mike Pence when he came for a visit on December 19, 2017. He added that Mahmoud Abbas would not meet with any senior American figure (al-Arabiya al-Hadath, December 7, 2017). Nabil Shaath, advisor to Mahmoud Abbas for foreign affairs and international relations, said relations between the United States and the PA had “reached an end.” He added that the Palestinian leadership had also decided to close the PLO’s office in Washington (Dunia al-Watan, December 12, 2017).

• In the meantime, senior Palestinian figures still say they have not withdrawn from the peace process, but emphasize that the United States can no longer serve as a moderator. Nabil Shaath, advisor to Mahmoud Abbas for foreign affairs and international relations, said the Palestinian leadership would leave any peace process brokered by the Americans. He stressed that the leadership would not allow the United States to serve as a broker because it had shown it was unfit for the role (Dunia al-Watan, December 12, 2017).

Incitement for the continuation of clashes

• In the Palestinian media, incitement continues for violent clashes with the Israeli security forces. The official Fatah Facebook page posted notices with the hashtag “JerusalemRage” calling for clashes and more expressions of rage against Israel and for the sake of Jerusalem and al-Aqsa mosque (Facebook page of Fatah, December 11, 2017). Hamas also continues using its websites to encourage violence, for example, a notice reading “Rise up and rebel#JerusalemIntifada” (Palinfo Twitter account, December 12, 2017). The QudsN Facebook page, considered the dominant Palestinian medium (claiming to have 6 million followers), changed its background picture to a picture calling for and encouraging continued violence for the sake of Jerusalem (Facebook page of QudsN, December 11, 2017).

   
Official Fatah movement Facebook page with notices calling for riots to continue for the sake of Jerusalem. Right: “#JerusalemRage. The rage will continue.” Left: “Rage for the sake of al-Aqsa [mosque]” (Facebook page of Fatah, December 11, 2017).