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Violence Along the Gaza Strip Border

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רמה כ ז מל ו תשר מה ו ד י ע י ן ( למ מ" ) רמה כרמ כ ז ז מל מה ו י תשר עד מל מה ו ד ו י ד ע י י ע ן י ן ו ל ( רט למ ו מ" ר ) כרמ ז מה י עד מל ו ד י ע י ן ול רט ו ר Violence Along the Gaza Strip Border August 24, 2021 Overview On Saturday, August 21, 2021, Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip carried out their threat to increase tension along the border with Israel and hold riots near the border security fence. It was in spite of the announcement an arrangement had been found to deliver the money from Qatar to needy families in the Gaza Strip, and despite Israel's announcement of additional measures to ease conditions for Gazan civilians. This time excuse used for a riot was the anniversary of the 1969 attempt to set fire to al-Aqsa mosque.1 During the unusually extensive, severe riot, hundreds of Palestinians clashed with Israeli security forces, approaching and trying to climb the border security fence and wall near the Karni Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip. They threw rocks and IEDs at IDF forces and burned tires. IDF fighters, who had been deployed at the site, employed riot control measures and according to necessity, sniper fire. During the riot a Border Police fighter was critically wounded by a Palestinian terrorist operative who shot him at close range through an aperture in the wall. The Palestinian operatives also made an unsuccessful attempt to yank a weapon out of the hands of an IDF soldier, also through an aperture in the wall. The riots continued for about three hours and ended when the rioters left the site. In response the Israeli Air Force attacked a number of Hamas terrorist targets, and the IDF command raised the alert level in the sector. Following the events Egypt closed the Rafah Crossing, apparently as an indication of its dissatisfaction with Hamas' refusal to meet its commitment to prevent escalation from the Gaza Strip. Hamas rushed to explain that it had not intended for the events to become violent, claiming the riot was the result of the Palestinian public's anger at the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian terrorist organizations claimed they had prepared a program of post-rally activities which they would announce later, demanding the On August 21, 1969, a young Australian Christian tried to set fire to al-Aqsa mosque, causing 1 damages. The man, who was emotionally disturbed, was institutionalized by court order and later deported to Australia. 137-21 2 "siege" be lifted and expressing their commitment to Jerusalem. Reportedly they intended to hold a mass rally east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 25, 2021, whose theme would be "The sword of Jerusalem will never waver." On August 23, 2021, incendiary balloons were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, causing about ten fires in dry weed fields. So far no decision has apparently been made regarding the renewal of the "return marches." All the Hamas spokesman asked about return marches avoided giving straight answers. In past years the anniversary of the attempt to set fire to al-Aqsa mosque was almost never mentioned by Hamas or the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. On August 21, 2016 Hamas' military-terrorist wing marked the day in Rafah with a military-type parade. On August 23, 2019, the weekly return march was dedicated to marking its 50th anniversary with the theme "At your service, al-Aqsa mosque." Apparently this year Hamas found it important to mark the event because of its increasing involvement in Jerusalem in general and al-Aqsa mosque in particular, and its attempts to represent itself as defending Jerusalem. The Rally On August 21, 2021, an exceptionally violent riot was held near the border security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, organized by Hamas and the other terrorist organizations. The events began in the afternoon with a mass rally whose official objective was marking the anniversary of the attempt to set fire to al-Aqsa mosque and protesting the [so-called ongoing Israeli] "siege" of the Gaza Strip. Several thousand Gazans attended, including senior Hamas figures such as Khalil al-Haya, deputy chairman of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip. Violence-inciting speeches were given during the rally, whose main themes were that the Gaza Strip would not remain silent in the face of Israel's [so- called] "economic aggression" and would not surrender to "Israeli blackmail" (Palinfo Twitter account, August 21, 2021). 137-21 3 Right: Hamas security forces direct demonstrators to the location of the rally. Left: Hamas security forces deploy east of Gaza City to secure the event (Facebook page of the Hamas ministry of the interior in the Gaza Strip, August 21, 2021). Right: Demonstrators stream to the rally east of Gaza City. Left: The speakers' stage (Facebook page of the Hamas ministry of the interior in the Gaza Strip, August 21, 2021). When the rally ended several hundred Palestinians approached the border security fence in the northern Gaza Strip near the Karni Crossing. They tried to climb the wall and sabotage it, burned tires, and threw rocks, IEDs and Molotov cocktails at the IDF forces. IDF soldiers who had been deployed in the region employed riot control measures and when necessary sniper fire to control the rioters. A Palestinian terrorist armed with a handgun reached a surveillance aperture in the wall and shot at a Border Police fighter at close range. The fighter was critically wounded and evacuated to a hospital. The Palestinians also attempted, without success, to yank a weapon from the hands of an IDF soldier who stood with his gun pointing through a surveillance aperture. The riots lasted for about three hours until the last of the rioters left (IDF spokesman, August 21, 2021). The shooting of the Border Police fighter was documented by the Palestinian media and the shooter was lauded as a hero. The Palestinians who tried to steal the IDF soldier's weapon were also photographed. 137-21 4 Hundreds of demonstrators rush towards the border security fence after the rally (Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, August 21, 2021). A Hamas operative shoots at a Border Police fighter through an aperture in the border security fence (Safa Facebook page, August 21, 2021). A Palestinian rioter uses a strip of rubber in an attempt to drag an IDF soldier's weapon through an aperture in the border security fence (Safa Facebook page, August 21, 2021). According to medical sources in the Gaza Strip, 41 Palestinians were wounded, two of them critically. Twenty-two of them were children. One of the wounded, Issam Shehadeh, was a photographer (Ashraf al-Qidra's Twitter account, August 21, 2021). Later, Gazan sources quoted by the Israeli media reported that the shooter was detained by the Hamas security forces. Hamas denied all connection to him (Watan24, August 22, 2021). 137-21 5 The Palestinian operative who shot the Border Police fighter congratulated by the crowd (Amad website, August 22, 2021). Senior figures in the joint operations room of the Palestinian terrorist organizations rushed to inform the Egyptian mediators that the shooting of the Border Police fighter was the action of a lone wolf and had not been premeditated. They claimed it was a result of "popular rage" in the Gaza Strip and that no "military" activity had been planned for the "day of rage." Plans, they claimed, had been limited to sending Israel the message that avoidance of its commitments and the lifting of the "siege" of the Gaza Strip would lead to the renewal of the "popular activities" which were suspended at the beginning of 2021. However, they said, the continuation of the "siege" could push the Palestinians to carry out unforeseen actions (al-Risalah, al-Quds al-Arabi, August 22, 2021). Israel's Response Attack on Hamas terrorist targets In response to the riots in the northern Gaza Strip and the shooting of the Border Police fighter the Israeli Air Force attacked Hamas terrorist targets. The IDF spokesman reported that four Hamas sites for the manufacture of weapons had been attacked (IDF spokesman, August 21, 2021). The IDF also reinforced the forces in the sector (IDF spokesman, August 21, 2021). 137-21 6 The sites attacked by the IDF (IDF spokesman, August 21, 2021) The Palestinian media reported attacks on a post in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip and on a nearby field, on the Sheikh Ajlin post in the southern part of Gaza City and on the Bader post in the western part of the city, and on a Hamas naval police post in the Shati refugee camp, also situated in the western part of the city. According to the Palestinian media, anti-aircraft missiles were fired at the Israeli aircraft. The Palestinians also claimed to have hit the yard of a house in the southern Israeli city of Sderot (Shehab, Dunia al-Watan, Filastin al-Yawm, August 21, 2021). IDF attacks in the Gaza Strip (Twitter account of journalist Hassan Aslih, August 21, 2021). In response to Israel's attacks Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Israel ("the Zionist occupation") was trying, "as usual," to attack "resistance" posts in order to cover its failures. He claimed Israel had clearly been mistaken in its assessments, had ignored the messages sent by the Palestinian people and the Palestinian organizations, and had "opened fire on journalists and children [sic]." He added that Gaza would again support al-Aqsa mosque and the holy places and would set fire to all of Israel (Filastin al-Yawm, August 21, 2021).
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