News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (June 27 – July 3, 2018)

Arson terrorism continues

• According to data from the Jewish National Fund, since arson terrorism began, nearly 1,000 acres of forests and almost 1,500 acres of fields have been burned. The fires have caused serious ecologic damage and millions of shekels worth of damage to farmers in the communities near the Gaza Strip. It will take an estimated ten years to rehabilitate the forests (Facebook page of the Jewish National Fund, June 25, 2018)
• Hamas uses its affiliated media outlets to continue the propaganda campaign accompanying arson terrorism. It replays Israeli footage of the giant blazes near the Gaza Strip and pictures of Gazans launching balloons, on which “incendiary balloons” is written in Arabic (Palinfo Twitter account, July 1, 2018).

    
Right: A giant blaze near the Gaza Strip caused by an incendiary balloon
(Palinfo Twitter account, July 1, 2018). Left: Hamas picture of masked
Palestinians preparing incendiary balloons. The Arabic reads,
“incendiary balloons” (Palinfo Twitter account, July 1, 2018).

   
Right: IED found near the southern Israeli city of Kiryat Gat, launched into Israeli
territory by a helium balloon (Palinfo Twitter account, July 1, 2018). Left: Balloons
bearing pictures of Palestinian shaheeds and terrorist prisoners, in the eastern part
of the al-Bureij refugee camp. One is a picture of Yahya Ayash, “the engineer,” a
leading figure in organizing suicide bombing attacks against Israel in the 1990s
(Twitter account of Mustafa Ayash, director of Gaza al-A’an, June 30, 2018).

“Return march” riots and demonstrations, Friday, June 29, 2018

• On Friday June 29, 2018, the routine demonstrations and riots continued near the security fence. Their theme was “from Gaza to the [West] Bank, one blood and a common destiny.” Prominent were senior Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) figures, including Yahya al-Sinwar and Khalil al-Haya (Palinfo Twitter account, June 29, 2018).
• Between 2,000 and 5,000 Palestinians demonstrated and rioted at five locations along the Gaza Strip border last Friday. While the numbers were relatively low, the IDF identified an increase in the number of attempts to break through the border fence compared with previous weekends. Pictures were taken of Palestinians trying to cut through the barbed wire near the border fence. During the riots a Palestinian threw a hand grenade at IDF forces near the fence (Ynet and Walla news, June 29, 2018).

Palestinian casualties in the “return march,” June 29, 2018

Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the ministry of health In the Gaza Strip, announced that during the “return march” of June 29, 2018, two Palestinians were killed and 415 were wounded by IDF fire and tear gas inhalation, of whom 136 were treated in hospitals (Facebook page of the spokesman of the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip, June 29, 2018). An ITIC investigation revealed that the two Palestinians were killed trying to sabotage the barbed wire near the security fence. One of them was an operative in the Palestinian police and possibly affiliated with Hamas. The other, a 13- or 14-year-old boy killed near the security fence, was the son of a senior figure in Hamas’ military wing in Khan Yunis. It was another example of the deliberate use of minors from families affiliated with terrorist organizations for life-threatening missions near the border fence.^[1]

• The two fatalities were the following:
• Muhammad Fawzi Muhammad al-Hamayda, 24, from Rafah, killed by IDF fire in eastern Rafah (Facebook page of the spokesman of the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip, June 29, 2018). The Palestinian police force in the Gaza Strip issued a death notice for him claiming he was one of its operatives (Facebook page of the Palestinian police force in the Gaza Strip, June 30, 2018). His body was wrapped for burial in a green Hamas military wing flag, meaning he may have been affiliated with it (Shehab Twitter account, June 30, 2018).

    
Right: Muhammad al-Hamayda (Twitter account Mahmood S El-Blbessy, who says he was a friend of Muhammad al-Hamayda, June 29, 2018). Left: Muhammad al-Hamayda (red shirt) sabotages the barbed wire near the security fence in eastern Rafah a few minutes before he was killed by IDF fire (Facebook page of Kheiri Abu Fires Abu Sinjar from Rafah, June 30, 2018)

• Yasser Amjad Musa Abu al-Naja, 13 or 14 years old, from the Ma’an region of Khan Yunis, killed by IDF fire east of Khan Yunis (Facebook page of the spokesman of the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip, June 29, 2018). His father, Amjad Abu al-Naja, is a senior operative in Hamas military wing in Khan Yunis. His mother said he joined the “return march” activities every Friday and was in the front lines of the demonstrators (Safa, June 30; Palinfo July 1, 2018). A picture was published of him in a group Palestinians near the barbed wire fence trying to sabotage the security fence, in ITIC assessment in preparation for penetrating into Israeli territory. The Hamas leadership, led by Isma’il Haniyeh, Yahya al-Sinwar and Khalil al-Haya, attended his funeral, as did senior Fatah figure Ibrahim Abu al-Naja (apparently a relative).

    
Right: Amjad Abu al-Naja embraces Isma’il Haniyeh. Left: Yahya al-Sinwar, Amjad Abu al-Naja and Isma’il Haniyeh carry the body (Hamas website, June 30, 2018).

Attempts to penetrate into Israeli territory

• This past week there were four attempts to penetrate into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip:
  • July 2, 2018 – An IDF force shot at four terrorist operatives who crossed the security fence and tried to set fire to an abandoned IDF sniper post in the southern Gaza Strip. They were equipped with wire cutters and accelerants. The IDF force pursued and shot at them, killing one and mortally wounding another. A third terrorist was apprehended and detained for interrogation (IDF spokesman, July 2, 2018).
  • June 28, 2018 – During the night the IDF prevented an attempt made by two Palestinians to penetrate into Israeli territory east of Rafah. A tank fired at them. One Palestinian was critically wounded and later died. Molotov cocktails were found at the scene (IDF Twitter account, June 28, 2018). The Palestinian ministry of health in the Gaza Strip reported that the Palestinian who died was Abd al-Fatah Mustafa Abu al-Azoum, 17, from Rafah (Ma’an, June 28, 2018). His funeral was held in Rafah; there were no signs or symbols of terrorist organization affiliation.
  • June 27, 2018 – IDF forces identified three terrorist operatives sabotaging the security fence in an attempt to penetrate into Israeli territory from the southern Gaza Strip. The forces shot at the terrorists and prevented the penetration (IDF Twitter account, June 27, 2018).
  • June 27, 2018 – IDF forces opened fire at three Palestinians trying to cross the border fence in the northern Gaza Strip near the Jabalia refugee camp. One of the, a 15-year-old boy, was seriously wounded and evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment. Two others fled (Walla News, June 27, 2018).

IDF attacks in the Gaza Strip

• On the night of June 27, 2018 the Israeli Air Force aircraft and IDF tanks attacked the vehicle of a Hamas operative who belonged to a squad of incendiary and explosive balloon launchers. In addition, two Hamas observation posts in the northern Gaza Strip were attacked. In response Hamas fired 13 rockets and mortar shells at the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. Three rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome Aerial Defense System. No casualties were reported (IDF Facebook page, June 27, 2018).

Monthly Distribution of Rocket and Mortar Shell Fire since January 2018^[2]

Annual Distribution of Rocket Hits

Significant terrorist attacks during the past year ^[3]

Visit of the chairman of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza

• Mohammed al-‘Amoudi, the chairman of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, arrived in the Gaza Strip for a visit. He presented the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip with medicines and medical equipment. The gift was part of Qatar’s $13.7 million humanitarian aid package for the Gaza Strip, decided on at the beginning of May 2018. It was the second aid package given to the Gaza Strip by Qatar this year, after an emergency donation of $9 million ordered by the emir of Qatar in February. At the presentation ceremony al-‘Amoudi said the committee had allotted $2.5 million for a series of projects to support health in the Gaza Strip (Facebook page of the Qatar committee, June 30, 2018).

    
Presenting medicine and medical equipment to the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip in the participation of Mohammed al-‘Amoudi, chairman of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza (Facebook page of the Qatar committee, June 30, 2018).

• On June 30, 2018, al-‘Amoudi and Khaled al-Hardawi, deputy chairman of the Qatar committee, attended four ceremonies held at the Islamic University, al-Zahar University, al-Aqsa University and the University College for Applied Sciences (UCAS). During the ceremonies al-‘Amoudi awarded scholarships worth about $2.5 million to about 6,5000 needy students. The scholarships are part of Qatar’s $13.7 million aid package (Facebook page of the Qatar committee, June 30, 2018).
• While in the Gaza Strip al-‘Amoudi was interviewed by the Chinese news agency. He said indirect talks were being conducted by Hamas and Israel to reach a “deal” about the situation in the Gaza Strip. He said the American administration was aware of the talks, but that so far no deal had been reached. He said Jared Kushner, presidential advisor, during his most recent visit to the Middle East, had presented programs for the provision of elementary services to benefit the Gaza Strip, including electricity, water desalination, the creation of jobs and rebuilding Gaza’s industrial zone.
• Mohammed al-‘Amoudi added that “We demanded the lifting of the siege and told the Americans and the Israelis that it had to be done. We are working towards that, but so far without result.” He stressed that Qatar’s position was consistent and that all solutions for the Gaza Strip had to go through the PA, calling it Qatar’s “condition.” Without the approval and presence of the PA, he said, Qatar would not intervene (Chinese News Agency in Arabic, July 1, 2018). Al-‘Amoudi left the Gaza Strip on July 1, 2018 (Facebook page of Rafah al-A’an, July 1, 2018).

Fatah activists join the Gaza-launched “national campaign to overthrow the [American] deal of the century”

• On June 26, 2018, the so-called “national campaign to overthrow the deal of the century” was launched in the Gaza Strip. Despite its originating in the Gaza Strip, it made an impact on the Fatah activists in Judea and Samaria, who organized demonstrations and activities protesting against “the deal of the century.” Fatah spokesman Usama al-Qawasmeh announced Fatah’s complete support for the campaign, which he said was “led by patriots,” and called on Palestinians from all political factions to join the activities (Wafa, June 26, 2018). The Fatah movement began organizing its own marches and demonstrations to protest the “deal of the century.” On June 26, 2018, the PLO faction in Tubas held a demonstration of about 1,500 people (Fatah Facebook page, June 26, 2018); on June 28, 2018, Fatah organized a demonstration in Salfit (Fatah Facebook page, June 28, 2018); and on July 2, 2018, a mass rally was held in Ramallah, where the main speaker was Fatah deputy chairman Mahmoud al-‘Alul (Wafa, July 2, 2018).

    
Right: Notice from the “national campaign to overthrow the deal of the century.” It reads in Arabic and English, “Palestine is not for sale”(Fatah Facebook page, June 29, 2018). Left: Fatah notice with a picture of Jared Kushner. The Arabic reads, “The deal of the century is too weak to stand in face of the willpower of Palestine” (Fatah Facebook page, June 27, 2018).

Reactions to the Israeli law freezing funds paid to terrorists and their families from tax money collected by Israel and transferred to the PA

• On July 2, 2018 the Israeli Knesset confirmed a proposal for a law that would freeze the funds the Palestinian Authority (PA) pays to terrorists and their families from the tax receipts collected for and transferred to the PA by Israel: “The bill…proposes that from the funds that Israel transfers to the Palestinian Authority each month, pursuant to the agreements between them, a sum equivalent to 1/12 of the total funds that the Palestinian Authority paid out to [convicted] terrorists and their families in the previous year shall be frozen, pursuant to a report to be prepared by the Minister of Defense on this issue and which is to be approved by the cabinet. According to the bill, if it shall be established in the Minister of Defense’s report that the Palestinian Authority has ceased to make payments to [convicted] terrorists and their families, the cabinet shall be authorized to decide if and when to transfer the frozen funds to the Palestinian Authority” (Israeli Knesset website, July 2, 2018).
• Some of the Palestinian reactions were the following:
  • PA spokesman Yusuf al-Mahmoud denounced the Knesset decision, calling it persecution of “our national symbols and the symbols of the defense of freedom and honor.” He stressed the PA government would not abandon the prisoners and the families of the shaheeds “who sacrificed years of their lives and the lives themselves for the sake of the people, the homeland and all of humanity because they confronted the Israeli occupation, which is part of the oppression that harms mean all over the world” (Wafa, June27, 2018).
  • Intissar al-Wazir (Umm Jihad), chairwoman of the “institution for the families of shaheeds and wounded,” said the decision was “an inhuman act that harms the lives and livelihood of thousands of Palestinian families that lost their breadwinners and sacrificed the lives of their sons and their freedom for the sake of resistance to the occupation. This is piracy and state [sponsored] terrorism.” She said the allotments given to the families of the shaheeds, the prisoners and the wounded were paid as a matter of social and economic principle. She told the families of the shaheeds, prisoners and wounded that the payments would continue, noting that “the institutions operating in the sector continue their activities, and the measures taken by the occupation will not deter them from continuing their humanitarian and social roles” (Wafa, June 28, 2018).
  • The authority for prisoners and ex-prisoners affairs denounced the Israeli Knesset decision, saying it was piracy and the highway robbery of Palestinian money. According to the authority, Israel persecutes the Palestinians’ national symbols. The authority emphasized that the PA government, the Palestinian leadership and the Palestinian people will not abandon the prisoners and the families of the shaheeds “who sacrificed years of their lives and the lives themselves for the sake of the people, the homeland and all of humanity… ” (website of the authority for prisoners and ex-prisoners affairs, June 27, 2018).

The flotilla to the Gaza Strip – update

• The al-Awda reached the Sardinian port of Cagliari on July 2, 2018 (Facebook page of the Sardinia-Palestine Friendship Association, July 2, 2018). The Huriya was supposed to arrive on July 3, 2018 (Twitter account of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, July 2, 2018). The two boats are expected to remain in Cagliari until July 8 (Facebook page of the Sardinia-Palestine Friendship Association, June 23, 2018). The small boats Falestine and Mairead left Lyons on June 30, 2018 and are currently sailing towards Marseilles, and from there to Ajaccio in Corsica (Facebook page of Flottille de la Liberté pour Gaza – France, June 30, 2018).