Photo by Amir Meiri, courtesy of NRG, August 29, 2011
The knife used by the terrorist (Photo by Amir Meiri, courtesy of NRG, August 29).
Rocket and mortar shell fire into Israeli territory
Rocket Fire -- Monthly Distribution
Mortar Shell Fire -- Monthly Distribution
IDF forces on the Israeli-Egyptian border
Rioters confront IDF soldiers in Qalandia (Al-Jazeera TV, August 26, 2011)
Safa News Agency, August 28, 2011
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Overview
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Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv
On the night of August 29 there was a terrorist attack involving a hijacked taxi used to ram into a crowd. It also including stabbings. The attack occurred at a youth center� in south Tel Aviv, where more than a thousand people, most of them teenagers, had congregated. The terrorist, a resident of Nablus, hijacked a taxi and rammed it into a joint police-border guard barrier set up near the center, ran over two border guards, got out and stabbed police and center security guards.
Seven people were wounded, four of them belonging to the security forces. Three of the victims were seriously or critically wounded and four sustained slight injuries. According to the terrorist’s confession during interrogation, he planned the attack alone (Israeli police website and NRG, August 29, 2011).
The Palestinian Authority issued a press release denouncing the attack, however (for the sake of "balance") also denounced the Israeli Air Force attacks in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s detentions in PA territory, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip (Wafa News Agency, August 29, 2011).
The knife used by the terrorist (Photo by Amir Meiri, courtesy of NRG, August 29).
The Terrorist Attack North of Eilat and the Subsequent Escalation in the South
(Supplement, Morning, August 30)
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad Joins the Lull in the Fighting
The round of escalation in the south which began on August 18 with the terrorist attack north of Eilat and continued with massive barrages of rockets targeting Israeli population centers in the south ended on August 26. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which played a major role in the escalation, announced its readiness to join the lull (after Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees had voiced agreement to the lull).
On August 26 Dr. Muhammad al-Hindi, high-ranking PIJ figure in the Gaza Strip, confirmed that his organization would join the lull on the night of August 26 (Paltoday website, August 26, 2011). Previously Khader Habib, also a high-ranking PIJ figure, said his organization was committed to the lull with Israel, but threatened that "any Israeli violation would entail a retaliation" (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, August 25, 2011). A spokesman for the PIJ’s military wing nicknamed Abu Ahmed said that if Israel did not stop its "aggression," "the million Zionists [who had sought refuge] in bomb shelters…would become two or three million, or more," a hint at the organization’s ability to launch long-range rockets (Sawt al-Quds Radio, August 25, 2011).
Jamil Mizher, a member of the Central Committee of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said that his organization opposed a lull with Israel and called for the organizations of the "resistance" [i.e., the terrorist organizations] to establish a joint operations room to coordinate actions against Israel (Al-Hayat, August 27, 2011). Somewhat later Al-Hayat reported that the DFLP had also made a commitment to Hamas and Egypt to abide by the lull despite their objections to it (Al-Hayat, August 28, 2011).
The Situation on the Ground Since the PIJ Joined the Lull
Once the PIJ joined the lull there was a significant drop in the amount of rocket fire targeting Israel. However, daily sporadic rocket fire into Israeli territory continues:
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On August 28 two rocket hits were identified, one of them a standard 122mm Grad rocket, which hit near Beersheba. There were no casualties and no damage was done. Another rocket fell in an open area in the western Negev. There were no casualties and no damage was done. A network called the Oneness of Allah and Jihad, affiliated with the global jihad, claimed responsibility for the attack (Qudsnet website, August 28, 2011).
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On August 27 two rocket hits were identified in the western Negev. There were no casualties and no damage was done.
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On August 26 two rocket hits were identified in open areas in the western Negev. There were no casualties and no damage was done.
According to the Palestinian media, Hamas’ internal security forces were instructed to enforce the lull and prevent rocket fire into Israeli territory, "even by force," when they identified rocket firing squads (Palpress website, August 26, 2011). As noted, sporadic rocket fire continues.
Statistical Data
During the latest round of escalation 149 rockets fell in Israeli territory (of the 200 fired). It was the worst round since Operation Cast Lead.
Rockets and Mortar Shells Fired into Israeli Territory 1
Rocket Fire — Monthly Distribution
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Mortar Shell Fire — Monthly Distribution
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Alert Along the Border with Egypt to Prevent Another Terrorist Attack
During the past few days the Israeli security forces have been on high alert along the border with Egypt following an early warning that the PIJ or one of the terrorist cells in the Sinai Peninsula plans to carry out another terrorist attack, possibly using the same modus operandi as that used on August 18, or an abduction. The movement of civilian vehicles along roads near the Israel-Egyptian border has been restricted and the security forces have increased their presence along the border and in the towns and villages nearby.
Israeli Foreign Minister Ehud Barak stated that the security forces "are on high alert in the south to prevent a possible attack. We are determined to strike terrorist attackers and to do everything in our power to intercept them, and we reiterate that the responsibility is with the Gaza Strip and from the Gaza Strip. Not only the PIJ, but Hamas as well, and all the other forces" (NRG and IDF Radio, August 30, 2011).
IDF forces on the Israeli-Egyptian border
(Photo by Yehuda Lahiani, courtesy of NRG, August 29, 2011).
Judea and Samaria
The Situation on the Ground
On August 26 marches and demonstrations were held at the traditional friction points in Judea and Samaria with no relation to the events of Jerusalem Day, which also fell on August 26. There were a number of confrontations with IDF forces but they were kept under control.
The main location of confrontation was Qalandia, north of Jerusalem. About 200 Palestinians (among them Israeli activists and foreigners) rioted and threw stones at IDF forces, who responded with riot control measures. There was also a demonstration in the region of Kafar Qadoum, during which stones were thrown at IDF forces, who responded with riot control measures. Some of the rioters were injured when they inhaled gas. One Palestinian man sustained minor injuries. There were also demonstrations and stones were also thrown at IDF forces and the security fence in Bila’in, Nili’in and Umm Salmouna. IDF forces responded with riot control measures. Four Palestinians sustained minor injuries.
Rioters confront IDF soldiers in Qalandia (Al-Jazeera TV, August 26, 2011)
This past week there were a number of confrontations between Israeli settlers and Palestinians.
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Developments in the Gaza Strip
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The Crossings
This past week a total of 1,350 trucks carrying merchandise entered the Gaza Strip. About 200 activists and humanitarian workers entered the Gaza Strip, and 283 Palestinians left the Gaza Strip for Israel or Judea and Samaria (IDF Spokesman’s Website, August 28, 2011).
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The Palestinian UN Initiative
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Mahmoud Abbas States the Palestinians Are Determined to Appeal to the UN and Gives Palestinian Conditions for Future Negotiations with Israel
Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority, said in a speech that after the appeal to the United Nations the Palestinians intend to return to the negotiating table with Israel. He said, however, that so far "the world" had not offered the Palestinians anything new in the way of negotiations. As long as "the world" did not accept the 1967 borders, he said, and Israeli settlement in the territories was not stopped, the Palestinians would continue their move in the UN (Wafa News Agency, August 27, 2011).
Mahmoud Abbas again said that he would not agree to recognize the State of Israel as a Jewish state: "We [the Palestinians] will not accept the Jewish state. We will not accept such a thing." He added that the Palestinians would not accept the "settlement blocks" as established facts and would not accept a solution to the Palestinian refugee problem within a Palestinian state [i.e., the Palestinians would insist on the refugees’ returning to the territory of the State of Israel] (Wafa News Agency, August 27, 2011).
Interviewed by the press the following day, Mahmoud Abbas said that the Palestinians were aware that the appeal to the UN would not change the situation on the ground but it would change the Palestinian Authority’s status to that of "an occupied state." He again stated that the Palestinians preferred negotiations "first of all," but that they would not accept a solution not based on the 1967 borders (Al-Watan, August 28, 2011).
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Convoys and Flotillas to the Gaza Strip � Update
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Two African Convoys Enter the Gaza Strip
The Africa Aid 1 convoy entered the Gaza Strip on August 29 (Africa Aid 1 Facebook page, August 30, 2011). Another South African (SARA) convoy, calling itself "Freedom for Prisoners," entered the Gaza Strip on August 25. South African convoy representatives were received by Ismail Haniya, head of the de-facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip (Hamas’ Palestine-info website, August 26, 2011).
Members of the South African convoy meet [Hamas] representatives of the Palestinian
Legislative Council in the Gaza Strip (Safa News Agency, August 28, 2011).
Miles of Smiles Convoy Enters the Sinai Peninsula
On August 29 the Miles of Smiles convoy entered the Sinai Peninsula on its way to the Gaza Strip (Imemc.org website, August 30, 2011). Issam Yussuf, the convoy’s "general coordinator," said that it had about 100 members and was bringing medical equipment. He added that the convoy had decided to change its name to The Convoy of the Border Shaheeds in "honor of the shaheeds of the Egyptian army [killed] by Israeli occupation gunfire… after the action in the occupied city of Eilat" [i.e., the members of the Egyptian security forces mistakenly killed during the terrorist attack north of Eilat on August 18, 2011].
1 The statistics do not include the rockets and mortar shells which fell inside the Gaza Strip. (As of August 30, 2011)
