Hamas

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 23 –29, 2020)

In the Gaza Strip the number of active Covid-19 cases stands at 10,740 (up from a week ago), and the rate of positive test results is 31%. In Judea and Samaria the number of active cases stands at 10,556 (a slight decline from last week), and the rate of positive test results is 21%. Two rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashqelon after a month of quiet. A third rocket was fired and fell inside the Gaza Strip. In Judea and Samaria large numbers of stones and Molotov cocktails were thrown at Israeli vehicles. Prominent were drive-by stone-throwing attacks.
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The Spread of Covid-19 in Judea and Samaria (Updated to December 28, 2020)

The situation in the Gaza Strip: The number of active Covid-19 cases in Gaza is still very high. Between December 22 and 28, 2020, 4,735 new cases were detected. The number of active cases currently stands at 10,729. There have been 340 deaths, up from 271 on December 22. On December 28 there were 327 hospitalized patients, 195 in serious condition. The situation in Judea and Samaria: This past week the rate of infection declined slightly, but the number of active cases is still high. On December 28 the number stood at 11,322, down from 13,529 a week ago. Of the daily tests administered, 22.3% were positive, down from 23.3% a week ago. The Nablus district remains the district with the highest number of cases in Judea and Samaria, followed by the Ramallah-al-Bireh district.
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News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 16-22, 2020)

Compared with last week, in the Gaza Strip the number of active Covid-19 cases increased to 9,574 and the percentage of positive test results is 23.8%; in Judea and Samaria the number of active Covid-19 cases decreased slightly to 13,379 and the percentage of positive test results is 25.6%. The lull in the Gaza Strip continues. In Judea and Samaria an Israeli civilian was murdered in northern Samaria (possibly in a terrorist attack). A shooting attack targeted a police security post in a gate of the northern Temple Mount.
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The Spread of Covid-19 in Judea and Samaria (Updated to December 21, 2020)

In light of the significant rise in the number of Covid-19 cases, over the weekend severe restrictions were placed on Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, although (so far) a general lockdown has not yet been imposed. Despite the restrictions, the number of active cases and percentage of positive test results continue climbing.
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News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 15-9, 2020)

In the Gaza Strip the number of active Covid-19 cases reported by the ministry of health is 8,723. However, the real number is apparently higher (for reasons including the low number of tests administered). In Judea and Samaria the rise in the number of active cases continues and currently stands at 14,696. This past week Palestinians rioted against the Israeli security forces in the village of al-Mughayir, located northeast of Ramallah. Mahmoud Abbas continues his visits to Arab states.
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The Spread of Covid-19 in Judea and Samaria (Updated to December 14, 2020)

The number of active Covid-19 cases in Gaza decreased this past week but is still high. The central laboratory resumed operations after receiving the necessary testing materials. In Judea and Samaria: The number of active Covid-19 cases continues rising. The number of active cases the east Jerusalem neighborhoods also rose. Palestinians continue violating public health guidelines, even in districts with high rates of Covid-19 infection, mainly by holding mass events. In ITIC assessment, Israeli Arabs continue holding weddings in the Palestinian Authority (PA) territories with a high rate of infection.
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Hamas

Hamas is a fundamentalist Sunni Muslim organization founded in the Gaza Strip in 1987 by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. It seeks to establish an Islamic state on the entire territory of the State of Israel and does not recognize Israel’s right to exist.


The Hamas leadership has two branches: the internal leadership, which includes the military wing and the de-facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, responsible for the day-to-day activities of governing the Gaza Strip population, in addition to social, educational activity vis-à-vis the population of the Gaza Strip; and the external leadership, Hamas’s political bureau, located beyond the borders of the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria. The external leadership maintains relations with various countries and bodies, and deals mainly with raising money and finding other resources for Hamas in the Gaza Strip.


Hamas’s ideology seeks to establish an Islamic Palestinian state on the entire territory of Israel. The preferred way to achieve this goal is through armed struggle. Hamas has a military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which carries out terrorist attacks against Israel, including rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and various kinds of other attacks (such as shooting, suicide bombings, abductions etc.) in the territories of Judea, Samaria and Israel.


Over the years, Hamas has challenged the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, causing conflicts between the sides, culminating in June 2007 with Hamas’s violent takeover of the Gaza Strip and the suppression of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority members. Ever since, the rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority has grown.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including Israel, the United States, and the European Union.