The Course of the Conflict in Gaza
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Subterranean Warfare: a New-Old Challenge
Subterranean Warfare: A New-Old Challenge Yiftah S. Shapir and Gal Perel Subterranean warfare is not new in human history. Tunnels, which have been dug in all periods for various purposes, have usually been the weapon of the weak against the strong and used for concealment. The time required to dig tunnels means that they can be an important tool for local residents against an enemy army unfamiliar with the terrain. Tunnels used for concealment purposes (defensive tunnels) can be distinguished from tunnels used as a route for moving from one place to another. The latter include smuggling tunnels used to smuggle goods past borders (as in the Gaza Strip), escape routes from prisons or detention camps, offensive tunnels to move forces behind enemy lines, and booby-trapped tunnels planted with explosives !"#$%#!#&'%()*+,+-+#.%/)%-)*-+*% .#"%0'%1)&).23 Operation Protective Edge sharpened awareness of the strategic threat posed by subterranean warfare. The IDF encountered the tunnel threat long ago, and took action to attempt to cope with this threat, but the scope of -4#%54#!6&#!6!7%).%0#*)&#%)55)$#!-%+!%8 ,'9: ; .-%<=>?7%@).%56$-$)'#"% as a strategic shock, if not a complete surprise, requiring comprehensive reorganization to handle the problem. Some critics argued that an investigative commission was necessary to search for the roots of the failure and punish those to blame for it. This article will review subterranean warfare before and during Operation Protective Edge, and will assess the strategic effects of this mode of warfare. !"#$%&#'()#*+,-"../0"/0#1/.2/." A 0-#$$)!#)!%@)$()$#%4).%)55#)$#"%&)!'%-+&#.%+!%-4#%:$)09B.$)#,+%*6!-#C-7% and the IDF and the Ministry of Defense have dealt with various aspects of the phenomenon of subterranean warfare for many years. -
ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT Primer to Understanding the Centuries-Old Struggle
ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT Primer to understanding the centuries-old struggle “When people criticize Zionists, they mean Jews. You’re talking anti-Semitism.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. HonestReporting Defending Israel From Media Bias ANTI-SEMITISM IS THE DISSEMINATION OF FALSEHOODS ABOUT JEWS AND ISRAEL www.honestreporting.com 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1 History Part 2 Jerusalem Part 3 Delegitimization Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Part 4 Hamas, Gaza, and the Gaza War Part 5 Why Media Matters 2 www.honestreporting.com ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT Primer to understanding the centuries-old struggle The Middle East nation we now know as the State of Israel has existed throughout history under a va riety of names: Palestine, Judah, Israel, and others. Today it is surrounded by Arab states that have purged most Jews from their borders. Israel is governed differently. It follows modern principles of a western liberal democracy and it pro vides freedom of religion. Until the recent discovery of large offshore natural gas deposits, Israel had few natural resources (including oil), but it has an entrepreneurial spirit that has helped it become a center of research and development in areas such as agriculture, computer science and medical tech nologies. All Israeli citizens have benefited from the country’s success. Yet anti-Israel attitudes have become popular in some circles. The reason ing is often related to the false belief that Israel “stole” Palestinian Arab lands and mistreated the Arab refugees. But the lands mandated by the United Nations as the State of Israel had actually been inhabited by Jews for thousands of years. -
The Palestinian Refugee Issue
MENU Policy Analysis / PolicyWatch 238 Israeli-Lebanese Negotiations: The Palestinian Refugee Issue Dec 28, 1999 Brief Analysis yrian foreign minister Faruq al-Shara's recent announcement that Damascus and Beirut will sign peace S treaties with Israel together is not surprising, considering Syria's hegemony in Lebanon. But while Israel, Syria, and the United States have expressed guarded optimism about the latest resumption of peace talks, Lebanon has been more reserved in its enthusiasm. This is mainly due to its concern over the final disposition of the Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon. Hostile Minority Under Siege According to United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) figures, there are approximately 350,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon (about 9 percent of the country's total resident population). The refugees have long been viewed with suspicion by their Lebanese hosts, who cite the delicate sectarian balance in the country, heavy Palestinian involvement in the Lebanese civil war, and the military attacks that provoked the Israeli invasions of 1978 and 1982, as justification for their spurning of the refugees. Although no national census has been held in decades, available evidence indicates that the country is 70 percent Muslim and 30 percent Christian. The longstanding conflict between and among the various Muslim and Christian sects led to the explosion of the Lebanese civil war of 1975-89. Their differences--papered over in the 1989 Ta'if agreement which is designed to guarantee representation of each group and subgroup in specific positions in the government–remain pronounced. The Lebanese government rejects the integration of the refugees into the country, largely because it would upset whatever balance exists between religious and ethnic communities. -
The Origins of Hamas: Militant Legacy Or Israeli Tool?
THE ORIGINS OF HAMAS: MILITANT LEGACY OR ISRAELI TOOL? JEAN-PIERRE FILIU Since its creation in 1987, Hamas has been at the forefront of armed resistance in the occupied Palestinian territories. While the move- ment itself claims an unbroken militancy in Palestine dating back to 1935, others credit post-1967 maneuvers of Israeli Intelligence for its establishment. This article, in assessing these opposing nar- ratives and offering its own interpretation, delves into the historical foundations of Hamas starting with the establishment in 1946 of the Gaza branch of the Muslim Brotherhood (the mother organization) and ending with its emergence as a distinct entity at the outbreak of the !rst intifada. Particular emphasis is given to the Brotherhood’s pre-1987 record of militancy in the Strip, and on the complicated and intertwining relationship between the Brotherhood and Fatah. HAMAS,1 FOUNDED IN the Gaza Strip in December 1987, has been the sub- ject of numerous studies, articles, and analyses,2 particularly since its victory in the Palestinian legislative elections of January 2006 and its takeover of Gaza in June 2007. Yet despite this, little academic atten- tion has been paid to the historical foundations of the movement, which grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Gaza branch established in 1946. Meanwhile, two contradictory interpretations of the movement’s origins are in wide circulation. The !rst portrays Hamas as heir to a militant lineage, rigorously inde- pendent of all Arab regimes, including Egypt, and harking back to ‘Izz al-Din al-Qassam,3 a Syrian cleric killed in 1935 while !ghting the British in Palestine. -
Strateg Ic a Ssessmen T
Strategic Assessment Assessment Strategic Volume 19 | No. 4 | January 2017 Volume 19 Volume The Prime Minister and “Smart Power”: The Role of the Israeli Prime Minister in the 21st Century Yair Lapid The Israeli-Palestinian Political Process: Back to the Process Approach | No. 4 No. Udi Dekel and Emma Petrack Who’s Afraid of BDS? Economic and Academic Boycotts and the Threat to Israel | January 2017 Amit Efrati Israel’s Warming Ties with Regional Powers: Is Turkey Next? Ari Heistein Hezbollah as an Army Yiftah S. Shapir The Modi Government’s Policy on Israel: The Rhetoric and Reality of De-hyphenation Vinay Kaura India-Israel Relations: Perceptions and Prospects Manoj Kumar The Trump Effect in Eastern Europe: Heightened Risks of NATO-Russia Miscalculations Sarah Fainberg Negotiating Global Nuclear Disarmament: Between “Fairness” and Strategic Realities Emily B. Landau and Ephraim Asculai Strategic ASSESSMENT Volume 19 | No. 4 | January 2017 Abstracts | 3 The Prime Minister and “Smart Power”: The Role of the Israeli Prime Minister in the 21st Century | 9 Yair Lapid The Israeli-Palestinian Political Process: Back to the Process Approach | 29 Udi Dekel and Emma Petrack Who’s Afraid of BDS? Economic and Academic Boycotts and the Threat to Israel | 43 Amit Efrati Israel’s Warming Ties with Regional Powers: Is Turkey Next? | 57 Ari Heistein Hezbollah as an Army | 67 Yiftah S. Shapir The Modi Government’s Policy on Israel: The Rhetoric and Reality of De-hyphenation | 79 Vinay Kaura India-Israel Relations: Perceptions and Prospects | 93 Manoj Kumar The Trump Effect in Eastern Europe: Heightened Risks of NATO-Russia Miscalculations | 103 Sarah Fainberg Negotiating Global Nuclear Disarmament: Between “Fairness” and Strategic Realities | 117 Emily B. -
The Cabinet Resolution Regarding the Disengagement Plan
The Cabinet Resolution Regarding the Disengagement Plan 6 June 2004 Addendum A - Revised Disengagement Plan - Main Principles Addendum C - Format of the Preparatory Work for the Revised Disengagement Plan Addendum A - Revised Disengagement Plan - Main Principles 1. Background - Political and Security Implications The State of Israel is committed to the peace process and aspires to reach an agreed resolution of the conflict based upon the vision of US President George Bush. The State of Israel believes that it must act to improve the current situation. The State of Israel has come to the conclusion that there is currently no reliable Palestinian partner with which it can make progress in a two-sided peace process. Accordingly, it has developed a plan of revised disengagement (hereinafter - the plan), based on the following considerations: One. The stalemate dictated by the current situation is harmful. In order to break out of this stalemate, the State of Israel is required to initiate moves not dependent on Palestinian cooperation. Two. The purpose of the plan is to lead to a better security, political, economic and demographic situation. Three. In any future permanent status arrangement, there will be no Israeli towns and villages in the Gaza Strip. On the other hand, it is clear that in the West Bank, there are areas which will be part of the State of Israel, including major Israeli population centers, cities, towns and villages, security areas and other places of special interest to Israel. Four. The State of Israel supports the efforts of the United States, operating alongside the international community, to promote the reform process, the construction of institutions and the improvement of the economy and welfare of the Palestinian residents, in order that a new Palestinian leadership will emerge and prove itself capable of fulfilling its commitments under the Roadmap. -
General Assembly Security Council
United Nations A/58/837–S/2004/465 General Assembly Distr.: General Security Council 8 June 2004 Original: English General Assembly Security Council Fifty-eighth session Fifty-ninth year Agenda items 37 and 156 The situation in the Middle East Measures to eliminate international terrorism Identical letters dated 8 June 2004 from the Chargé d’affaires a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council I wish to draw your attention to the latest violations of the Blue Line from Lebanese territory. Yesterday morning, 7 June 2004, six 107-mm missiles were fired from Lebanese territory at an Israeli naval vessel patrolling in Israeli territorial waters. Four of the rockets hit Israeli territory, south of the Israeli-Lebanese border, just meters from the Israeli town of Rosh Hanikra. The rockets also gravely endangered the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel stationed in the area. Israeli security forces identified the source of the rocket fire as Ahmed Jibril’s Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Damascus-based Palestinian terrorist organization operating in southern Lebanon. Israeli aircraft responded to these attacks by measured defensive action, in accordance with its right and duty of self-defense, against a PFLP terrorist base located near Beirut, which is used as a platform for terrorist activity in Lebanon. No injuries resulted from this defensive measure. This afternoon, 8 June 2004, Hizbullah terrorists perpetrated a heavy mortar attack from Lebanon across the Blue Line, wounding an Israeli soldier in the Har Dov region. -
Palestinian Forces
Center for Strategic and International Studies Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy 1800 K Street, N.W. • Suite 400 • Washington, DC 20006 Phone: 1 (202) 775 -3270 • Fax : 1 (202) 457 -8746 Email: [email protected] Palestinian Forces Palestinian Authority and Militant Forces Anthony H. Cordesman Center for Strategic and International Studies [email protected] Rough Working Draft: Revised February 9, 2006 Copyright, Anthony H. Cordesman, all rights reserved. May not be reproduced, referenced, quote d, or excerpted without the written permission of the author. Cordesman: Palestinian Forces 2/9/06 Page 2 ROUGH WORKING DRAFT: REVISED FEBRUARY 9, 2006 ................................ ................................ ............ 1 THE MILITARY FORCES OF PALESTINE ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 2 THE OSLO ACCORDS AND THE NEW ISRAELI -PALESTINIAN WAR ................................ ................................ .............. 3 THE DEATH OF ARAFAT AND THE VICTORY OF HAMAS : REDEFINING PALESTINIAN POLITICS AND THE ARAB - ISRAELI MILITARY BALANCE ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 4 THE CHANGING STRUCTURE OF PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY FORC ES ................................ ................................ .......... 5 Palestinian Authority Forces During the Peace Process ................................ ................................ ..................... 6 The -
Using a Civil Suit to Punish/Deter Sponsors of Terrorism: Connecting Arafat & the PLO to the Terror Attacks in the Second In
Digital Commons at St. Mary's University Faculty Articles School of Law Faculty Scholarship 2014 Using a Civil Suit to Punish/Deter Sponsors of Terrorism: Connecting Arafat & the PLO to the Terror Attacks in the Second Intifada Jeffrey F. Addicott St. Mary's University School of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.stmarytx.edu/facarticles Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Jeffrey F. Addicott, Using a Civil Suit to Punish/Deter Sponsors of Terrorism: Connecting Arafat & the PLO to the Terror Attacks in the Second Intifada, 4 St. John’s J. Int’l & Comp. L. 71 (2014). This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law Faculty Scholarship at Digital Commons at St. Mary's University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Articles by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons at St. Mary's University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. USING A CIVIL SUIT TO PUNISH/DETER SPONSORS OF TERRORISM: CONNECTING ARAFAT & THE PLO TO THE TERROR ATTACKS IN THE SECOND INTIFADA Dr. Jeffery Addicott* INTRODUCTION “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”1 -Edmund Burke As the so-called “War on Terror” 2 continues, it is imperative that civilized nations employ every possible avenue under the rule of law to punish and deter those governments and States that choose to engage in or provide support to terrorism.3 *∗Professor of Law and Director, Center for Terrorism Law, St. Mary’s University School of Law. -
Gaza Emergency Daily Report – 31 August 2014
Gaza Emergency Daily Report – 31 August 2014 Transport Services Logistics Cluster transportation into the Gaza Strip since activation on 30 July 2014: Total Number of Trucks 184 Total Number of Pallets 4809 Total number Organizations Supported 37 Logistics Cluster transportation into the Gaza Strip – 31 August 2014: Final Number Number of Consignor From Consignee Sector Destination of pallets Trucks Shelter Global Communities Ramallah Gaza City CHF International 30 1 Food Ministry Of Social Ministry Of Social Shelter Ramallah Gaza City 140 5 Affairs (MoSA) Affairs (MoSA) Gaza WASH Agricultural Agricultural Food Development Development Ramallah Gaza City 52 Shelter 2 Association (PARC) Association (PARC) WASH Ramallah Gaza Union of Union of Agricultural Food Agricultural Work Work Committees Nablus Gaza City 31 Shelter 1 Committees (UAWC) WASH (UAWC) Food Hebron Food Trade Ministry Of Social Hebron Gaza City 56 Shelter 2 Association Affairs (MoSA) Gaza WASH Food Social Welfare Ministry Of Social Bethlehem Gaza City 23 Shelter 1 Committee Affairs (MoSA) Gaza WASH Private donation from Ministry Of Social Shelter Bethlehem Gaza City 14 Dar Salah Affairs (MoSA) Gaza Food Earth & Human Applied Research Center for Shelter Institute- Bethlehem Gaza City 2 1 researches and Food Jerusalem(ARIJ) studies (EHCRS) Social Welfare Ministry Of Social Shelter Bethlehem Gaza City 10 Committee Affairs (MoSA) Gaza Food TOTAL 358 13 Coordination/ Information Management/ GIS The Logistics Cluster is compiling information and assessing partners’ needs to determine whether the Rafah crossing can be used on a more permanent basis to support the humanitarian community transport relief items from Egypt into the Gaza Strip. www.logcluster.org Gaza Emergency Daily Report – 31 August 2014 Logistics Gaps and Bottlenecks The Logistics Cluster continues to monitor the impact of the ceasefire on logistics access constraints and the security of humanitarian space for the transportation and distribution of relief supplies. -
Palestine 100 Years of Struggle: the Most Important Events Yasser
Palestine 100 Years of Struggle: The Most Important Events Yasser Arafat Foundation 1 Early 20th Century - The total population of Palestine is estimated at 600,000, including approximately 36,000 of the Jewish faith, most of whom immigrated to Palestine for purely religious reasons, the remainder Muslims and Christians, all living and praying side by side. 1901 - The Zionist Organization (later called the World Zionist Organization [WZO]) founded during the First Zionist Congress held in Basel Switzerland in 1897, establishes the “Jewish National Fund” for the purpose of purchasing land in Palestine. 1902 - Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II agrees to receives Theodor Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement and, despite Herzl’s offer to pay off the debt of the Empire, decisively rejects the idea of Zionist settlement in Palestine. - A majority of the delegates at The Fifth Zionist Congress view with favor the British offer to allocate part of the lands of Uganda for the settlement of Jews. However, the offer was rejected the following year. 2 1904 - A wave of Jewish immigrants, mainly from Russia and Poland, begins to arrive in Palestine, settling in agricultural areas. 1909 Jewish immigrants establish the city of “Tel Aviv” on the outskirts of Jaffa. 1914 - The First World War begins. - - The Jewish population in Palestine grows to 59,000, of a total population of 657,000. 1915- 1916 - In correspondence between Sir Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner in Egypt, and Sharif Hussein of Mecca, wherein Hussein demands the “independence of the Arab States”, specifying the boundaries of the territories within the Ottoman rule at the time, which clearly includes Palestine. -
The Special-Purpose Carrier of Pipe Joints
15JULY1988 MEED 25 Ramazarnanpour Ramazanianpour held talks Denktash. says he is ready for financial aspects of its offer. The group — with the ccfnmerce, heavy and light industry unconditional talks with Greek Cypnot Impreqilo, Cogefar and Gruppo m ministers arid visited the Iranian pavilion at the President George Vassiliou about the Industrie Elettromeccaniche per 24th Algiers international fair. future of the divided island. Impiantl all'Estero (GIE)—plans to start • The Mauntanian towns ot Ak|ou|t and Zouerat In March. Denktash insisted any talks work on the diversionary canal for the dam have received equipment including trucks, must be based on a proposal put forward m September (MEED 24:6:88). trailers, water tanks and tractors from their by UNSecretary-General Javier Perez de Bids for construction of the dam, which Algerian twin towns of Staoueli and Ouenza. Cuellar. The proposal has been reacted will replace the old Esna barrage, were by Greek Cypnots. submitted by 12 international groups in Denktash issued his statement on 6 July December 1986. The field was eventually after a three-day visit to Ankara, where he narrowed to three bidders — the Italian BAHRAIN met Turkey's President Evren and Prime group, Yugoslavia's Energoprojekt, and a Minister TurgutOzal. Canadian consortium of The SWC Group • Bahrain National Gas Company (Banagaa) Vassiliou has refused previous offers to and Canadian International produced 3.2 million barrels a day (b/d) ot Construction Corporation. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in 1987. This was meet Denktash on the grounds that the highest daily average since 1979 — its first unacceptable preconditions have been The Italian group brought in Switzerland's year of operations — and 5 percent up on the attached to any meeting.