News of Terrorism and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict (March 8 – 14, 2017) Stabbing attack at the Lion Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem. Left: The scene of the attack. Right: The knife used in the attack (Twitter account of Palinfo, March 13, 2017). Overview n Popular terrorism continues in Judea and Samaria, with a stabbing attack at the Lion Gate in the Old City in east Jerusalem. Two Border Policemen were wounded. The Palestinian attacker was from Jabal Mukaber, an east Jerusalem neighborhood from which many Palestinian terrorist operatives have come. In a separate incident, a Palestinian stabbed an Israeli in an attack that took place near a roadblock south of Bethlehem. The motive for the attack is so far unclear. n On March 10, 2017, Mahmoud Abbas spoke on the phone with Donald Trump, the first conversation since Trump entered the White House. A spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas said Trump had invited Abbas to the White House to discuss ways to renew the peace process. According to Mahmoud Abbas, they discussed their mutual commitment to the peace process and the two-state solution. n Following the revelation that two senior UNRWA employees were elected to the new Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip, Israel appealed to the United States and other countries that contribute funds to UNRWA. In response the chairman of the department for refugee affairs in HamasJudea, threatened Samaria andcrises Jerusalem would occur if support for UNRWA were affected. He claimed it was the "right" of every Palestinian who worked for UNRWA to "engage in political activity" [i.e., to belong to Hamas]. 057-17 2 Terrorist Attacks and Attempted Terrorists Attacks n On March 13, 2017, a Palestinian carried out a stabbing attack at the Lion Gate in east Jerusalem: • Before dawn a Palestinian terrorist entered a Border Police booth at the Lion Gate in east Jerusalem, took out a knife and stabbed two policemen manning the location, wounding them. One of the wounded policemen drew his gun and shot and killed the terrorist. The wounded men were evacuated to a hospital (Israel Police Force spokesman's unit, March 13, 2017). • The Palestinian terrorist who carried out the attack was Ibrahim Mahmoud Matar, 25, from Jabal Mukaber in east Jerusalem, a neighborhood from which many terrorist attackers have come. Ibrahim Mahmoud Matar worked in his father's metal workshop and customarily prayed at al-Aqsa mosque (Facebook page of mukaber.net, March 13, 2017). Ibrahim Mahmoud Matar, who carried out the stabbing attack (Facebook page of QudsN, March 13, 2017). • Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanua praised the attack, calling it a "natural response" to Israel's crimes. He claimed the attack proved the so-called "Jerusalem intifada" continued and that no one could stop it (quds.net, March 13, 2017). n On March 7, 2017, a Palestinian carried out a stabbing attack at a roadblock south of Bethlehem. An Israeli from Beitar Illit took his car to be serviced at a garage near the village of Walaja, southwest of Jerusalem. He then agreed to give a ride to a Palestinian who asked him for one. When the car approached the roadblock 057-17 3 the Palestinian stabbed him and fled the scene. So far the motive and circumstances are unclear. Riots, Clashes and Popular Terrorism n In the meantime, demonstrations, clashes and riots continue throughout Judea and Samaria, mostly involving the throwing of stones and Molotov cocktails. The Israeli security forces carried out a series of detentions of suspects in Judea and Samaria. The more prominent incidents were the following: • March 12, 2017 – Palestinians threw stones at Israeli vehicles on the roads in the Gush Etzion region. There were no casualties; the vehicles were damaged (Facebook page of Red Alert, March 12, 2017). • March 11, 2017 – IDF forces detained a Palestinian armed with a knife. He was taken for interrogation after he admitted his intention to carry out a stabbing attack in the Jewish community in Hebron (Facebook page of Red Alert, March 11, 2017). • March 11, 2017 – The Israeli security forces shot and wounded a Palestinian throwing stones in the village of Silwad near Ramallah (Facebook page of Red Alert, March 11, 2017). • March 9, 2017 – Palestinians threw stones at a vehicle on the Gush Etzion- Jerusalem road near the Efrat Junction. There were no casualties; the vehicle was damaged (Facebook page of Red Alert, March 9, 2017). Israeli vehicle damaged by a stone thrown near Yitzhar, southeast of Nablus (Facebook page of Shehab, March 9, 2017). 057-17 4 Israel Security Agency Terrorist Attack Statistics, February 2017 n According to statistics issued by the Israel Security Agency, in February 2017 the scope of terrorist attacks was similar to that of January 2017. Ninety-seven attacks were carried out: 82 in Judea and Samaria (the same number as January 2017), 14 in Jerusalem (16 in January), and one inside Israel (Petah Tikva). Most of the attacks (86 of 97) involved Molotov cocktails, 12 of them in Jerusalem. There were eight attacks involving IEDs, two shooting attacks (one inside Israeli territory) and one vehicular attack. Fourteen Israelis were injured, nine of them civilians (seven in the attack in Petah Tikva) and five members of the Israeli security forces (Note: the number of attacks does not include the dozens of instances of stone-throwing). Significant Terrorist Attacks in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem since September 20151 70 59 60 50 40 41 34 30 26 20 21 21 10 11 12 11 9 9 7 7 5 4 5 3 3 0 1 Weapons Network Exposed in Nablus Region n The Israeli security forces exposed a network in the Nablus region that dealt with manufacturing and selling weapons. The exposure was the result of information received from the customs authority about a large number of packages containing weapons parts ordered on the Internet around the globe and sent to Nablus. The information led to a network which used the parts to manufacture weapons. Detentions were carried out and four weapons and hundreds of parts for manufacturing weapons were confiscated. A bridal boutique managed by one of the 1 A significant attack is defined by the ITIC as involving shooting, stabbing, a vehicle, the use of IEDs, or a combination of the above. Stones and Molotov cocktails thrown by Palestinians are not included. 057-17 5 suspects was also used as an address where packages had been sent (Website of the Israeli customs authority, March 9, 2017). Hamas Terrorist Activity Exposed in Judea and Samaria n During the past month the Israeli security forces detained a number of Hamas operatives in Judea and Samaria involved in terrorist attacks and planning to carry out more attacks (Israel Security Agency, March 12, 2017): • A squad of Hamas terrorist operatives was exposed in the village of Bidu (northwest of Jerusalem). The terrorists had placed IEDs and thrown Molotov cocktails at IDF forces. They had also been involved in shooting at the community of Har Adar (northwest of Jerusalem) in 2015. They were planning to carry out more shooting attacks. • Muhammad Ghazi, 20, was detained in Samaria. He was a Hamas operative and lived in the village of Jama'in. During interrogation he confessed to planning, with another terrorist from Hebron who was also detained, to shoot at an Israeli vehicle. In preparation for the attack they carried out surveillance along the road. They manufactured sharp devices made of metal to strew on the road to slow the passage of cars and make it easier to shoot at the drivers. They were also suspected of having purchased a gun for the attack. They confessed they were planning to attack Israeli vehicles and IDF forces (Israel Security Agency, March 12, 2017). • A number of students from Bir Zeit University were detained, operatives in a Hamas student organization. They were involved in activities to establish Hamas at the university. To that end they organized rallies and recruited activists. Their activities were funded by Hamas. Detention of Hezbollah Recruit from Qalqilya n The Israeli security forces recently detained Yusuf Yasser Suaylam, 23, from Qalqilya, a metalworker. Interrogation revealed that he had been recruited to the ranks of Hezbollah on the organization's Facebook page used to enlist recruits. Hezbollah instructed him to carry out various missions, including taking photographs and collecting information about IDF bases, roadblocks and various locations in east Jerusalem. He was also instructed to set up a terrorist squad to abduct an Israeli and transfer him to Lebanon (Israel Security Agency website, March 9, 2017). 057-17 6 Yusuf Yasser Suaylam from Qalqilya, recruited to Hezbollah (alqabas.com, March 9, 2017). Israel's South Rocket Fire Attacking Israel n On March 9, 2017, a rocket was fired at Israel from the area of Khan Yunis. It fell inside the Gaza Strip. A network calling itself "the Fatah intifada" (founded by defectors from Fatah) used its Facebook page to claim its military wing had fired two rockets at the western Negev and that Israel denied the rockets had landed in its territory. According to the statement, in the coming days the organization would escalate its attacks on Israel (Gaza al-A'an, March 9, 2017). It was the first time since Operation Protective Edge that any group affiliating itself with Fatah had fired a rocket at Israel. n On March 13, 2017, a "red alert" was sounded in the western Negev. Shortly thereafter it was reported that no rocket hit had been identified in Israeli territory. A network calling itself the Descendants of the Prophet Tweeted its claim of responsibility for the rocket fire.