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News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

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News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information News of Terrorism and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict April 13-26,2011 Joseph's Tomb, where Jews who came to pray were shot at by Palestinian police. One of the worshippers was killed and three were wounded. Following the attack the site was set on fire and young Palestinians confronted IDF forces, throwing stones (Picture from PALDF, Hamas’ main forum, April 24, 2011). Overview . Events this past week focused on the April 24 killing of a young Israeli and wounding of three others by Palestinian police. The victims were returning after praying at Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, without having previously coordinated their visit with the IDF. The attack is under investigation by the Israelis and the Palestinians. Israel's south was relatively quiet during the Passover holiday. Two rockets were fired, and the IDF responded by attacking terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. 093-11 2 . On April 14 Vittorio Arrigoni, an anti-Israeli International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist, was abducted in the Gaza Strip. He was killed by his abductors, operatives of a network affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The event posed a governmental challenge to the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, its security and image, and its reaction was rapid and aggressive. On April 19 operatives of Hamas' security forces killed two of the abductors, wounding and detaining the third. Palestinian Police Shoot and Kill a Young Israeli Worshipper and Wound Three Others . On April 24, 2011, a group of Orthodox Israeli Jews was attacked by gunfire. They were returning after praying at Joseph's Tomb, near Nablus. The four belonged to a larger group of Breslav worshippers who arrived without previously coordinating their visit with the IDF. Ben- Yosef Livnat, a young man in his twenties, was killed, and three others were wounded, one critically. Their car was attacked by gunfire near the Samarian village of Har Bracha (IDF Spokesman, April 24, 2011). The incident is being investigated by the IDF, the Civilian Administration and the Palestinian security services. The investigation will include a meeting between the IDF and the Palestinian services (IDF Spokesman, April 24, 2011). According to IDF Radio, quoted by the IDF Spokesman, the Israeli civilians were shot by a Palestinian policeman. The victims belonged to a large group of worshippers who entered the precinct of Joseph's Tomb without authorization. They managed to escape from the area and went to the IDF base at Har Bracha, where they received medical treatment (IDF Spokesman quoting IDF Radio, April 24, 2011). Left: Young Palestinians confront the Israeli security forces which entered Nablus after the incident. Right: Closing the gates of Joseph's Tomb after the gunfire (PALDF, Hamas’ main forum, April 24, 2011). 3 . In response, Jibrin al-Bakri, governor of the Nablus district, said that the Palestinian security forces were investigating the event and that when they had finished a formal statement would be issued. He claimed that the young Israelis had entered the Nablus district in a suspicious way without authorization. He also claimed that before they were shot at, a policeman fired shots into the air. He added that shooting at an Israeli vehicle, even if it entered without military coordination, was exceptional and that the circumstances were as yet still unclear, but he stressed that shots had not been fired "[with intent] to harm" (Wafa News Agency, Ynet, April 24, 2011). Important Terrorism Events . Israel's south was relatively quiet over the Passover holiday. Two rocket hits were identified in Israeli territory: on April 15 a Grad rocket landed near the city of Ashdod. There were no casualties and no damage was done. On April 18 a rocket hit was identified in an open area in the western Negev. There were no casualties and no damage was done. Rockets and mortar shells fired into Israeli territory1 Since the end of Operation Cast Lead 67 372 rocket hits have been identified and 333 mortar shells have been fired into Israel. 55 Rockets 16 18 13 Mortar shells 8 6 6 6 2 4 3 44 5 0 0000 2 0001 001 1 0 0 1 0 2/3-8/3 2/2-8/2 92-15/2 23/2-1/3 8/3-15/3 30/3-5/4 6/4-12/4 5/1-11/1 26/1-1/2 7/8-31/9 7/9-14/9 29/12-4/1 15/2-22/2 15/3-22/3 23/3-29/3 13/4-19/4 19/4-26/4 12/1-18/1 18/1-25/1 15/9-20/9 22/9-27/9 28/9-5/10 30/11-7/12 8/12-14/12 6/10-12/10 26/10-2/11 9/11-16/11 14/12-21/12 22/12-28/12 19/10-26/10 17/11-22/11 23/11-30/11 13/10-19/10 2010 2010 2010 1 The statistics do not include the rockets and mortar shells which fell inside the Gaza Strip. 4 Rocket Fire - Monthly Distribution Since the beginning of 2010, 216 rocket hits have been identified in Israeli territory. 69 60 40 23 15 20 15 13 11 6 11 9 7 11 Rockets 11 5 3 0 4 3 Mortar Shell Fire - Monthly Distribution Since the beginning of 2010, 223 mortar shell hits have been identified in Israeli territory. 120 Additional mortar shells were fired at IDF forces engaged in counterterrorism activities and fell inside the Gaza Strip. 100 74 80 67 60 40 28 *מדובר בנפילות שאותרו בשטח ישראל ולא ברצועת עזה. **נכון ל- 22 בפברואר 2011 17 12 20 8 6 4 5 1 1 0 00 0 0 0 * As of April 26, 2011 ** Rocket and mortar shell hits identified in Israeli territory, not the Gaza Strip. 5 Israeli Air Force Attacks . On April 16, in response to the rocket fire targeting the Israel's south, Israeli aircraft struck terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian media reported that two posts of Hamas' Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades were attacked. No casualties were reported ((IDF Spokesman's website, Safa News Agency, April 16, 2011). Hamas Action to Restrain Rocket Fire into Israel . The Palestinian media reported that Hamas deployed its internal security forces along the border with Israel to prevent rocket fire. The forces detained operatives caught while firing rockets (Alkofiapress website, April 12, 2011). Abduction and Murder of Italian Anti-Israeli Activist . On April 14, 2011, Vittorio Arrigoni, an anti-Israeli activist belonging to the ISM, was abducted in the Gaza Strip by a network affiliated with Al-Qaeda. He was executed by his abductors. The abduction and execution posed a governmental challenge for the Hamas administration, its security and image, making Hamas respond aggressively in an attempt to minimize the damage. Vittorio Arrigoni arrived in the Gaza Strip in 2009. He came on a ship belonging to the FGM (Free Gaza Movement), an anti-Israeli network organizing flotillas to the Gaza Strip. In a video posted on YouTube Arrigoni says that ISM activists came from abroad to "serve as human shield [for the Palestinians]" and to renew ISM activity in the Gaza Strip, which stopped in 2003. Vittorio Arrigoni describes his voyage to the Gaza Strip aboard a FGM ship. The tattoo on his arm reads "Resistance" (i.e., terrorism and violence) in Arabic (YouTube, April 14, 2011). 6 . Arrigoni's abductors threatened to kill him the following day if the Hamas administration did not accede to their demands and release Hashem Saidani, an operative who heads an Al- Qaeda-affiliated network in the Gaza Strip called Tawid wal-Jihad. A video was posted on YouTube showing Arrigoni blindfolded and wounded. The subtitle read "If our demands are not met within 30 hours the captive will be executed." Arrigoni was killed before the time was up, apparently by Tawid wal-Jihad operatives (the network denied connection to the abduction). Following the execution the Hamas security forces acted quickly to locate the killers. On April 19 security force operatives surrounded the house in the Nuseirat refugee camp3 in which the three were hiding. According to a statement issued by the Hamas interior ministry, the operatives tried to convince the murderers to surrender, and when that failed the force stormed the house. In the ensuing takeover of the house two of the murderers were killed (according to Hamas, one of them, Abd al-Rahman al-Barizat, used a hand grenade to commit suicide). The third operative, Mahmoud al-Salfiti, sustained minor injuries and was arrested. One Hamas operative was wounded (From a press conference held by Ihab al-Ghussein, spokesman for the interior ministry of the Hamas administration, Al-Quds TV, April 19, 2011). Hamas sources reported that Abd al-Rahman Muhammad al-Barizat was a Jordanian citizen who infiltratedinto the Gaza Strip through a tunnel (Al-Sabil, April 17, 2011). Speaking publicly, Ismail Haniya and the de facto Hamas administration strongly denounced the murder, claiming it was "an isolated incident" and that the Gaza Strip was a safe place (Al-Aqsa TV, April 15, 2011). On April 15, the Hamas administration interior ministry called the event "a revolting crime," "which is completely against the Palestinian religion, customs and tradition." The Hamas administration's foreign ministry and a spokesman for the Hamas police stressed that the Gaza Strip was a safe place and that the murder would not influence the arrival of foreign activists affiliated with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (Hamas' Safa News Agency, Al-Aqsa TV, April 20, 2011).
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