News of Terrorism and the Israeli- Palestinian Conflict September 20-24, 2012 Left: Israel’s chief of staff visits the site of an incident on the Israeli-Egyptian border where an IDF soldier was killed. Right: one of the weapons seized during the incident (IDF Spokesman, September 23, 2012). Overview The focus of this past week’s events was an incident on the Israeli-Egyptian border in which an IDF soldier was killed. Three terrorists armed with two explosive belts were killed. A Salafi jihadist network operating in the Sinai Peninsula claimed responsibility. An Israeli Air Force strike prevented a terrorist attack from the Gaza Strip via the Sinai Peninsula. These incidents show once again that the threat of terrorism from the Israeli-Egyptian border is growing more serious. On September 27 Abu Mazen is scheduled to deliver a speech at the U.N. General Assembly in which he will ask the U.N. to upgrade Palestine’s status to that of a non-member state. On the eve of the assembly the PA leadership continued its efforts to raise Arab/Muslim and international support for the Palestinian move. 190-12 2 Israel's South Important Terrorism Events Incident on the Israeli-Egyptian border On Friday, September 21, at around noon, three terrorists opened fire at an IDF force engaged in routine security operations along the Israeli-Egyptian border. The IDF soldiers joined another IDF force that was nearby and returned fire, killing the three terrorists. One IDF soldier was killed and one sustained moderate injuries in the incident. The soldier killed was Corporal Netanel Yahalomi, 20, from the village of Nof Ayalon (IDF Spokesman, September 21, 2012). Scans of the area showed that the terrorists, who had been using the terrain for cover, were equipped with two explosive belts, one of which exploded during the fight with the IDF force. Also found in their possession were a machinegun and three RPG launchers. The terrorists were not in uniform but did attempt to camouflage their clothing (IDF Spokesman, September 21, 2012). Judging by the equipment found on the scene, it can be assumed that the terrorists were planning a large-scale attack. The site of the incident on the Israeli-Egyptian border (IDF Spokesman, September 21, 2012) A Sinai-based Salafi jihadist organization known as Ansar Bait al-Maqdis claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack. A statement posted on Islamic websites said that the attack was carried out in retaliation for the American film “that humiliates Prophet Muhammad”, whose production crew included Jews, according to the organization. The statement also said that the terrorist attack had been originally planned as 190-12 3 revenge for the killing of one of the organization’s operatives this past August, but that the release of the American film (Innocence of Muslims) ultimately led to the decision to first retaliate for the offense done to Prophet Muhammad and postpone the retaliation for the killing of the operative to a later date. Also according to the announcement, the attack, during which the organization was planning to kidnap a soldier, resulted in the deaths of eight Israeli soldiers, a number which Israel supposedly does not disclose (masrawy.com, September 23, 2012). The claim of responsibility released by Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (www.alwafd.org) Israeli Security Forces Thwarted an Attack in Israeli Territory via the Sinai Peninsula On September 19, in a joint operation with the Israel Security Agency, IDF aircraft attacked a terrorist squad in the southern Gaza Strip belonging to a network called Defenders of al-Aqsa. The two operatives killed in the attack were in the final stages of preparation for a terrorist attack in Israeli territory. The operatives killed were (IDF Spokesman, September 20, 2012): Anis Abu al-Anin, born in 1979, from Rafah. In recent years Anis was involved in a number of attempts to carry out terrorist attacks, including smuggling IEDs from the Gaza Strip to Israel via Egyptian territory. He was also involved in orchestrating terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria. Ashraf Mahmoud Muhammad Salah, born in 1979, from Rafah. He was a PRC operative and had been involved in transporting two terrorists to Egypt for suicide bombing attacks in Israel. He was also involved in weapons trade. 190-12 4 Ashraf is the brother of Ahmed Yousef, former political advisor of Isma’il Haniyah, the head of the de-facto Hamas administration (Safa, September 19, 2012). The IDF Spokesman said in an interview that the killing of the two operatives prevented a terrorist attack planned from the Gaza Strip via the Sinai Peninsula. The terrorist attack included activating powerful IEDs and was almost ready to launch. According to the spokesman, Hamas knew about the attack and made no attempt to prevent it even though it had received information on it (interview to the IDF Radio morning show, September 20, 2012). Palestinian sources reported that two people were killed and one critically injured in the attack. According to the Interior Ministry of the de-facto Hamas administration, which released a statement of condolence, the people killed were members of the national security apparatus and died while on “official and routine” duty (Safa, September 19, 2012). Ihab al-Ghussein, the head of the Publicity Office of the de- facto Hamas administration, accused Israel of perpetrating “crimes against humanity” by launching air strikes against civilian targets. He said that those hit in the attack were members of the Crossings Administration, considered a civilian body (Felesteen al-Aan, September 20, 2012). Left: Isma’il Haniyah on a condolence visit in Rafah (Hamas forum, September 22, 2012). Right: the vehicle driven by the terrorists after being hit (Felesteen al-Aan, September 19, 2012). 190-12 5 Rocket Fire Continues ***** No rocket landings in Israeli territory were detected this past week. Rockets Fired into Israeli Territory1 180 174 179 160 155 140 120 100 80 69 60 19 22 40 45 10 11 6 1 3 3 28 3 9 20 15 23 17 10 28 0 July July May May June June April April March March August August January January October February February December November September September Since the end of Operation Cast Lead, 1,097 rocket hits Since the beginning of 2011, 834 rocket hits have been have been identified in Israeli identified in Israeli territory; 549 territory. since the beginning of 2012. Judea and Samaria Demonstrations at Points of Friction In addition to new protests sparked by Innocence of Islam, which took place after the Friday prayers, this week as well there were riots at the traditional friction points in Judea and Samaria. Rioters threw stones at the IDF forces, who in certain instances used riot control equipment to disperse the demonstrators. In a number of instances stones and Molotov cocktails were thrown at Israeli civilian and security vehicles. 1 As at September 24, 2012. 190-12 6 Friday demonstrations in Naalin (Wafa, September 21, 2012) The PA Exposed a Hamas Underground Vault in Ureif On September 23, acting on information obtained during the interrogation of Hamas operatives, Palestinian security forces discovered an underground vault belonging to the Hamas military wing in the village of Ureif (south of Nablus). The vault could be accessed through a restaurant situated in the main street of the village. The vault had electricity and running water and was equipped with a refrigerator, communications devices, and a satellite dish. Found inside were hundreds of thousands of dollars, Hamas flags, flyers, video tapes, uniforms of the Hamas military wing, and more (Maan, September 23, 2012). Hamas condemned “the fabrications spread by PA officials”, saying their sole intent was to justify the recent wave of arrests of Hamas operatives (Paltoday, September 23, 2012). 190-12 7 The Hamas vault discovered in the village of Ureif (Maan, September 23, 2012) The Gaza Strip PIJ Military Display On September 22 the Jerusalem Brigades, the military wing of the PIJ, held a military display in the Gaza City neighborhood of Sajaiya to mark 31 years since the organization’s establishment and 17 years since the death of its chairman, Fathi Shaqaqi. Another, larger military display commemorating these events is scheduled for October 4 and will be held in downtown Gaza City (Jerusalem Brigades website, September 23, 2012). PIJ military wing operatives on a military display in the Gaza City neighborhood of Sajaiya (Jerusalem Brigades website, September 23, 2012) 190-12 8 PIJ operatives hanging posters in northern Gaza Strip mosques ahead of the main event that will be held in Gaza City on October 4 (Jerusalem Brigades website, September 23, 2012) Smuggling to Gaza Strip Decreases Due to Egypt’s security activity on the Egypt-Gaza Strip border, particularly the closing down of smuggling tunnels, the Ministry of National Economy of the de-facto Hamas administration reported that, since the Kerem Shalom terrorist attack, there has been a decrease of nearly 45 percent in smuggling to the Gaza Strip. Of particular note is a 31-percent decrease in smuggling basic food supplies (rice, flour, and sugar). The ministry also reported that there has been a 22-percent increase in importing goods to the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing. However, the ministry added, given the limited capacity of the Kerem Shalom crossing, it cannot meet all the demand for goods in the Gaza Strip (Maan, September 21). The Palestinian Authority The Palestinian U.N. Bid As the U.N. General Assembly is about to convene, the PA leadership under Abu Mazen continues to raise Arab/Muslim and international support for the Palestinian U.N. bid. In this context, Abu Mazen visited Turkey to meet with Prime Minister Erdogan.