The Palestinian Authority (PA)

In the northern Gaza Strip the IDF opened fire at three suspicious Palestinians who were apparently trying to plant an IED near the security fence, killing one. Following the incident two mortar shells were fired into Israeli territory. In response the Israeli Air Force attacked a tunnel to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip from Read more...

This week the sixth Fatah conference ended with the election of the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council, Fatah’s two most important institutions. On the ground, relative quiet continued in the western Negev. On August 14 inside the Gaza Strip an exceptional event occurred in Rafah when Hamas’ security forces confronted operatives of an Islamist Read more...

This past week one rocket hit was identified in an open area near an Israeli village in the western Negev, the first in three weeks. The Fatah conference which opened on August 4 ended on August 9 with elections for the movement’s the central committee and revolutionary council. Before the elections there were interpersonal struggles Read more...

The relative calm in the western Negev continues. This week’s events focused on the sixth general Fatah convention which began on August 4. Hamas, on the other hand, continues smiling at the United States and the West, using softened rhetoric completely different from the extremist language employed when speaking to the Palestinians. Read more...

The calm in the western Negev continues. Hamas refrains from firing rockets into Israel and its senior figures emphasize for Western ears its policy of restraint. This past week the American Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and American special envoy to the Middle East George Mitchell both visited Israel. There has been an increasing number Read more...