News of the Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation July 1-14, 2006

Center for Special Studies Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

The Palestinian arena… …and the northern arena Contents

Overview

Northern front

Operation Summer Rains

Counterterrorism

The abducted soldier Operation Summer Rains continues in the Gaza Strip to free the abducted Escalation in the north following a Qassam rocket fire soldier and stop Qassam rocket fire Hezbollah terrorist attack. Photo: The (Photo courtesy of the IDF spokesman, Statistical data bridge over the Awali River bombed by July 12). the Israeli Air Force as part of Israel’s Humanitarian responses to the Hezbollah attack (Al- conditions Jazeera TV, July 13) Internal Palestinian arena

Overview Escalation began in the northern arena following a Hezbollah terrorist attack during which eight IDF soldiers were killed and two abducted. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah proposed indirect negotiations for a deal to trade the abducted soldiers for Lebanese prisoners in Israeli jails. Hamas and Fatah called upon Hezbollah not to release the soldiers except in a joint Palestinian-Lebanese prisoner-swap deal. Since the attack the IDF has acted against Hezbollah targets and Lebanese infrastructures and Hezbollah has attacked population centers in northern Israel.

Operation Summer Rains continued in the Gaza Strip, during which infantry and armored forces operated in the northern, central and southern Gaza Strip. The IDF activity was accompanied by artillery fire at Qassam rocket-launching sites and intensive Air Force attacks on terrorist targets, Hamas government offices and civilian installations. In Judea and Samaria there were widespread arrests of Hamas operatives, including Hamas government ministers and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and institutions belonging to the Hamas civilian infrastructure were closed. The goal of the activities was to effect the return of the abducted soldier and to stop the Qassam rocket fire; it has not yet been achieved.

In the wake of the IDF activity in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians warn of an impending humanitarian crisis. Israeli security sources reiterated the fact that despite the harm done to civilian welfare, basic needs are supplied by the partial opening of the Karni crossing and the fuel terminal. Nevertheless, the Palestinian terrorist organizations continue their efforts to carry out terrorist attacks at the crossings, hindering the entrance of vital supplies into the Gaza Strip. Northern front Hezbollah terrorist attack on Israel’s northern border

To the two week-old Israeli-Palestinian crisis in the Gaza Strip has been added the new situation following the Hezbollah July 12 attack, unprecedented in severity since Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000. During the attack Hezbollah abducted two IDF soldiers and killed eight.

Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for the attack. In response, IDF forces attacked Hezbollah and Lebanese infrastructure targets on July 13, including the international airport in Beirut. Hezbollah responded by a massive, ongoing rocket attack on the population centers in northern Israel. The international community has called for the release of the abducted soldiers and views Hezbollah as responsible for the current escalation, but is asking Israel not to use disproportional force.

In the Palestinian arena, Hezbollah’s attack and abduction of the two soldiers were received with overt joy by all the terrorist organizations, which also view abduction as a means to accelerate the release of Palestinian prisoners. Senior Hamas leaders called the attack “heroic” and “legitimate.” Hamas and Fatah called upon Hezbollah not to release the two abducted soldiers unless an overall prisoner-exchange deal were brokered and to formulate a joint Palestinian-Lebanese plan for exchanging “captives.”

For a preliminary report on the Hezbollah attack and the ensuing escalation, see the relevant Information Bulletin at http://www.terrorism- info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hezbollah_upd1e.pdf.

2 Operation Summer Rains1

The IDF forces in the Gaza Strip continue Operation Summer Rains, whose goal is to return the abducted prisoner and stop the Qassam rocket fire directed at population centers in the western Negev. So far, the goals have not been achieved.

As part of the operation, IDF infantry and armored forces conducted various activities which can be divided into three stages:

DDD Phase 1 (which began on the night of June 27): IDF forces entered the southern Gaza Strip as far as the airport at Dahania. The aim of the activity was to prevent the abducted soldier from being removed from the Gaza Strip.

DDD Phase 2 (which began on July 3): IDF infantry and armored forces entered the northern Gaza Strip to prevent Qassam rockets from being fired into Israel. The first actions were taken on July 3 in the near the town of Beit Hanoun. From July 5 on, after Qassam rockets landed in Ashqelon, the IDF conducted activities in the region of Al- ‘Atatra in the northwestern Gaza Strip, south of the disengaged Israeli settlement of Dugit.

DDD Phase 3 (the night of July 11): An Israeli force entered the central Gaza Strip through the Kissufim road to the ruins of Gush Katif to cut off the northern Gaza Strip from the south. That was done to keep the Palestinian terrorists holding the abducted soldier from smuggling him out of the Gaza Strip and to hinder the activities of terrorists launching Qassam rockets.

1 The situation as of morning of July 14. For further information see our Information Bulletin entitled “IDF force attacked and soldier abducted near Kibbutz Kerem Shalom,” at http://www.terrorism- info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/kerem_shalom_e.pdf, and the six updates. .

IDF soldiers in the area of disengaged Gush Katif (Photo courtesy of the IDF spokesman, July 12)

Ground activity was accompanied by air strikes and artillery fire from the land and from Israeli Navy boats to destroy Qassam launching sites and the access roads leading to them. The activities included:

DDD Attacks on headquarters and on senior terrorist leaders: the most conspicuous attack was an air strike carried out on the night of July 11, attacking a structure in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza in which Hamas terrorist-operative leaders were having a meeting. Apparently three of them were wounded, it is not known how seriously. Among them were Muhammad Deif, commander of the Hamas’s terrorist- operative wing, and Ahmad al-Ghandour, head of the terrorist-operative wing in the northern Gaza Strip.

DDD Attacks on armed squads of terrorists, including those firing anti-tank missile and Qassam rockets.

DDD Attacks on the offices of the interior and foreign ministries of the Hamas government and on the prime minister’s office, and on Hamas’s civilian infrastructure, including the Islamic University and the Dar Al-Arqam school.

DDD Attacks on civilian installations: bridges, roads and the power station supplying electricity to the southern part of Gaza City, resulting in power outages in large parts of the city.

4 DDD Attacks on buildings used for the manufacture and storage of weapons.

DDD Attacks on Palestinian terrorist organization training camps.

Response of the terrorist organizations

During Operation Summer Rains, the terrorist organizations continued firing Qassam rockets into populated Israeli areas (See below). At the same time, squads of terrorists were active against the IDF, especially in the northern Gaza Strip, shooting small arms and attempting to lay small side charges along the roads. There was also a significant increase in the use of anti-tank missiles against the IDF forces in the Gaza Strip.

During the evening of July 2 near the airport at Dahania, a suicide bombing attack against IDF soldiers was foiled. The soldiers saw a group of three armed terrorists, opened fire and killed them. On two of the bodies explosive belts ready for detonation were found.

Security force operations

On the morning of June 29, at the beginning of Operation Summer Rains, Israeli security forces carried out widespread arrests throughout Judea and Samaria. About 360 terrorist- operatives were arrested, including senior Hamas leaders. Among them were eight members of the Hamas government and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. To be able continue functioning as a government, the remaining ministers in the Gaza Strip took the portfolios of those arrested.

IDF forces also took action against more than 40 offices of institutions belonging to Hamas’s civilian infrastructure (da’wah) in Judea and Samaria, especially the “charitable societies.” Such organizations are part of the apparatus supporting Hamas’s terrorist-operative activities and serve as conduits for the channeling of funds from abroad into Hamas coffers. During the action the institutions were closed and documents and inflammatory materials were confiscated.2

2 For further information see our Information Bulletin entitled “The Hamas civilian infrastructure in PA territories,” at http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/hamas_0706e.pdf. 5 IDF and Palestinian losses during Operation Summer Rains

During the activity an IDF soldier was killed by friendly fire near Al-Atatra and two were slightly wounded. Approximately 50 Palestinian terrorists and civilians (in whose midst the terrorists operate) were killed and more than 100 were wounded. It should be noted that during the operation civilians, among them teenagers, customarily congregate around the terrorists firing weapons, contributing to the number of wounded among them (See photo below).

Propaganda… …and reality

A cartoon by militant Hamas supporter Gazan teenagers watching terrorists firing at Omaya Joha, portraying an IDF soldier as a IDF forces in Beit Lahiya (Al-Hayat Al- “hunter of children.” A prominent aspect of Jadeeda, July 7). Hamas’s hate propaganda is depicting Israel as deliberately harming Palestinian children (Hamas Website, July 11).

Threats of vengeance and anti-Semitic hate propaganda

[Following[ the attack on leaders of Hamas’s terrorist-operative wing on the night of July 11, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades issued a strong condemnation. It falsely accused Israel of blowing up “a tranquil residence” and threatened to draw Israel into a “maelstrom of violence no one will emerge from alive.” The announcement was laced with anti-Semitic elements: “These are the Jewish criminals, the murderers of the prophets and their messengers, the new Nazis…”

The announcement as it appeared on the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades Website (July 12, 2006)/

Counterterrorism in Judea and Samaria

While Operation Summer Rains was being carried out in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli security forces’ counterterrorism activities continued in Judea and Samaria. Prominent among them were the following:

DDD On the night of July 3, the three Palestinian terrorists who murdered Eliahu Asheri were arrested. The three They surrendered after several hours of Israeli security force siege. In March 2006, all three had been involved in planning a foiled suicide bombing attack, and had also smuggled weapons from the Gaza Strip into Judea and Samaria.

DDD On July 7 , Thamer Qandil, a Fatah/Tanzim operative in Nablus who was involved in planning terrorist attacks, was killed. He had recently planned to dispatch a terrorist to the settlement of Izhar to attack children in the playground.

DDD On July 10 four members of a Fatah/Tanzim squad were arrested in the village of ‘Asira al-Shamaliya near Nablus. When arrested they gave up an explosive device weighing approximately 30 kilograms (about 67 lbs) which they intended to use to attack an IDF force.

DDD On July 13 a fragmentation charge weighing about 4.5 kilograms (about 10 lbs) was discovered near a hitchhiking stop in Ariel. The charge, which was to be detonated by cellular phone, was blown up in a controlled explosion by the IDF’s bomb squad.

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On July 10, Khaled Mashal held a press conference in Damascus, the first since the soldier’s abduction. Relating to the soldier, he said (Syrian TV, July 10):

DDD The soldier’s state of heath: Khaled Mashal claimed that information about the soldier was known to Hamas operatives in Gaza. However, he noted that “[Hamas] morality would always keep a soldier alive and not harm him.”

DDD The soldier would be released exclusively as part of a prisoner exchange which would entail male and female prisoners held by Israel. Khaled Mashal called upon the Israeli public, the Arab/Muslim world and the international community to support the prisoner-exchange deal.

DDD The Palestinian people supported Hamas: It was the position of the Palestinian people that the soldier was not to be returned without getting male and female Palestinian prisoners in exchange. There was, he said, a national Palestinian consensus on that point.

In addition, he made the following points:

DDD He expressed his thanks and deep admiration for Syria and its president, Bashar Assad, for rejecting pressures and supporting the Palestinian demand to exchange the soldier for prisoners. He said that Hamas had “close relations and much understanding with Syria,” although he denied that Hamas operated in accordance with instructions from Damascus and Teheran.

DDD He noted that Hamas and the other “resistance organizations” (i.e., Palestinian terrorist organizations) had chosen the “resistance” (i.e., terrorism and violence) as their preferred strategy and that the Palestinians were waging “a legitimate campaign against the occupation.”

Ehud Olmert, Israeli Prime Minister, met with foreign correspondents in Jerusalem and again rejected the idea of negotiating with Hamas: “Khaled Mashal is a terrorist with blood on his hands… Mashal stands at the head of a terrorist organization that threatens to annihilate Israel. He is not a partner and will not be a partner and, as such, I won't negotiate with Hamas

8 now or in the future,” he said. He added that he did not intend to conduct an exchange of prisoners for Gilad Shalit. He would, however, negotiate with Abu Mazen in the future if he proved his ability to conduct negotiations in the name of his people (www.ynetnews.com, July 10

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During Operation Summer Rains Qassam rocket attacks population centers in the western Negev continued. Hamas’s terrorist-operative wing joined the other Palestinian terrorist organizations in attacking Israel with Qassams and even launched an upgraded version into the center of Ashqelon.

During the first two weeks of July 71 Qassam rocket hits were identified in Israel, similar to the situation at the beginning of June, a record number for such attacks. One individual was moderately injured, five were slightly injured and 12 civilians were treated for shock and anxiety.

Among the rockets launched were four upgraded Qassams, two of which fell in the center of Ashqelon. The first, on July 4, fell near a high school and the second, on July 5, fell on open ground near a residential area. The Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s terrorist- operative wing, claimed responsibility for the attack.

At the same time, the Palestinian terrorist organizations reported two attempts to launch rockets from Samaria:

DDD On July 8, an attempt to launch an improvised rocket from the Tulkarm region failed. An organization calling itself Al-Majd (“glory”) took responsibility (Al-Sharq Al- Awsat, July 11). In our assessment, “Al-Maad” is a pseudonym for one of the well- known terrorist organizations. The PA security services in Tulkarm met with the heads of the terrorist organizations there and warned them not to make the same experiment again, because firing rockets did no good and gave Israel an excuse for counter-operations (Al- Sharq Al-Awsat, July 11).

9 DDD On July 10, elements within Fatah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad reported the launching of a rocket from the Jenin region at moshav Ram-On, west of Afula. The organizations issued flysheets claiming responsibility for the launching (Ma’an News Agency, July 11). No rocket remains were found in the purported area.

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250 228 197

200 173 180 168 148 150 147 140 150 98 118

76 100

0 Apr-06 May-06 Jun-06 July 1-4 מרץFeb-06 06- ינואר Aug-05 Sep-05 Oct-05 Nov-05 Dec-05 06 Grenades Explosive Charges Suicide Bombers Personal Assaults Anti-Tank Fire Small Arms Fire Rocket Fire

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160 140 140

120 91

100 75 80 70 68 63 80 71 54 46 43 60 26 40

0 Aug-05 Sep-05 Oct-05 Nov-05 Dec-05 Jan-06 Feb-06 Mar-06 Apr-06 May-06 Jun-06 July 1-14

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92 100

74 80

55 60 50

50 41

33 34 40

26 30 19 15 20 9 8 8 9 4 10 3 5 1 1 1 1 1 0 Aug-05 Sep-05 Oct-05 Nov-05 Dec-05 Jan-06 Feb-06 Mar-06 Apr-06 May-06 Jun-06 July 1-14

Total Killed Total Wounded

3 These data relate only to identified hits and not to the total number of rockets fired. That number is, in our assessment, 20%-30% larger. 4 These data do not include those injured in the Hezbollah attack. 11 HHHuuummmaaannniiitttaaarrriiiaaannn cccooonnndddiiitttiiiooonnnsss iiinnn ttthhheee GGGaaazzaaa SSStttrrriiippp

The IDF actions in the Gaza Strip have led the Palestinians to warn of an impending humanitarian crisis. The issue has received a great deal of attention from both the United States and the European Union

According to Palestinian claims, the damage done to the power station made the Gaza Strip almost completely dependent on diesel fuel to operate generators for vital installations, and led to power outages which are liable to affect the water supply and its quality. Closing the crossings, say the Palestinians, will lead to a diminishing of supplies of food, medicine and medical equipment.

Israeli security sources have repeatedly stated that despite the damage done to the civilian population’s welfare, their basic needs are supplied because the Karni crossing is partially open, as is the fuel terminal, and food, medicines, medical equipment, gasoline and cooking gas all enter the Gaza Strip. The humanitarian situation, they say, is problematic but not critical.

The Palestinians, on the other hand, continue fostering the image of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip which requires international intervention. While the Palestinians make their claims, the terrorist organizations, chiefly Hamas, plan terrorist attacks at the crossings to hinder the passage of supplies into the Gaza Strip, in direct, clear contradiction of the interests of the Palestinian population.5

5 According to IDF assessment, since the attack at Kerem Shalom the Palestinian terrorist organizations have increased their efforts to carry out attacks at the Karni and other crossings using tunnels. According to an article by Amir Rappoport in the July 12, 2006 issue of Ma’ariv, soldiers stationed at the Karni crossing have heard the sounds of tunnels being burrowed out beneath their feet.

Humanitarian aid being brought to the residents of the Gaza Strip (Photo courtesy of the IDF spokesman, July 12)

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The crisis of the abducted soldier and Operation Summer Rains shifted the Palestinian agenda from dealing with the Hamas government’s difficult internal problems to the confrontation with Israel, which is largely justified by the indigenous population despite the deterioration of their conditions.

The current crisis has enabled Hamas to marginalize dealing with the difficult challenges of running the country, central to which are the economic crisis and the unending confrontations with Abu Mazen, Fatah and the Palestinian security forces. The prisoners’ document and the referendum, which stirred up the Palestinian political arena, have been put on the back burner. So far, Abu Mazen and his supporters have preferred keeping a low profile, understanding that Hamas has broad public support and that they themselves cannot really influence the direction of the crisis.

Within Hamas the centrality of the leadership in Damascus, headed by Khaled Mashal, is particularly prominent, and traditionally takes positions far more extremist than those of the movement’s leadership “inside.” The Damascus leadership, which receives support and backup from Syria and Iran, demands a prisoner-exchange deal and the cessation of IDF

13 activity in the Gaza Strip. Pragmatic countries, chiefly Egypt, have tried to mediate the crisis but have not managed to find an effective way of influencing Hamas and the Syrian régime.

However, some of the Palestinian and even Arab newspapers have been critical, saying that the Palestinian population is liable to pay too high a price, higher than that of the Israeli government, for the current escalation. As time passes, such criticism may increase, especially if the escalation continues and turns into a drawn-out war of attrition which does not significantly benefit the Palestinians.