Countries - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

End of Operation Northern Shield to expose and neutralize Hezbollah tunnels on Israel’s northern border

On January 13, 2019, Israel announced the completion of Operation Northern Shield, carried out to locate and neutralize Hezbollah tunnels penetrating into Israeli territory from Lebanon. According to the announcement, all the tunnels crossing the border had been exposed. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (December 30, 2018 – January 13, 2019)

Against the backdrop of President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, Iran welcomed the announcement by the spokesman of the Syrian Arab Army claiming that the Syrian military entered the city of Manbij, currently under control of the U.S.-backed Kurds, and raised the Syrian flag there. Meanwhile, the former Iranian Minister of Defense, Ahmad Vahidi, declared that whether the U.S. remains or withdraws from Syria, its decision does not matter, since it is clear that the American have been defeated in Syria. Read more...

Senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas figures praise Iran’s military support and threaten that in the next war the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip will reach all the cities in Israel and the “resistance axis” will coordinate its actions on all fronts.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) leadership recently visited Iran and Lebanon to meet with the Iranian leadership and Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah. They also gave interviews where they the deep bond between Iran and the "Palestinian resistance." Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (January 10-16, 2019)

The ISIS-controlled enclave on the east bank of the Euphrates River is gradually shrinking. The evacuation of the Kurdish and American forces from Manbij continued. In the Idlib area, the jihadi organization the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham continues to take over areas controlled by other jihadi organizations and rebel organizations affiliated with Turkey. The United States officially announced that it had begun withdrawing its troops from Syria. Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (January 9 – 15, 2019)

This past week there was a high level of violence during the "return march." In response to the violence, Israeli Air Force aircraft attacked a Hamas post On January 10, 2019, an Egyptian delegation visited the Gaza Strip. In the northern arena Israel announced the end of Operation Northern Shield, carried out to locate and neutralize Hezbollah tunnels penetrating into Israeli territory. Read more...

Operation Northern Shield for locating and neutralizing Hezbollah tunnels on Israel’s northern border (December 30, 2018 Update)

On December 26, 2018, the IDF blew up the fifth Hezbollah terrorist tunnel, which had been located a few days before in the region of the Shi'ite village of Ayta al-Shab (east of the Israeli community of Zar'it). Before the tunnel was destroyed the IDF called on the Lebanese villagers to evacuate the area (IDF spokesman, December 26, 2018). Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 12 – December 18, 2018)

This past week events focused on four shooting, stabbing and vehicular attacks, three in the Ramallah area (one in the Old City in Jerusalem). In the "return march" and mini-flotilla in the Gaza Strip the level of violence was relatively low despite the escalation in Judea and Samaria. The IDF located a fourth Hezbollah tunnel near the Israel-Lebanon border. UNIFIL confirmed the existence of four tunnels, two of which crossed the border. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (January 3-9, 2019)

Following is an overview of the situation on the ground in Syria, against the backdrop of President Trump’s announcement of the pullback of US military personnel: In the enclave controlled by ISIS on the east bank of the Euphrates River, fierce fighting continues between ISIS and the SDF forces (with US and Coalition air support). The city of Hajin, ISIS’s stronghold, has not yet been mopped up, and fighting is still ongoing there. Fighting also continued in the town of Al-Sha'fah, north of Albukamal. According to reports, the SDF forces took over half of the town and the fighting was still ongoing. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 27, 2018 – January 2, 2019)

Around two weeks after President Trump announced the pull-out of the American soldiers from Syria, the attention of the key players in the Syrian arena was diverted to eastern and northern Syria/ In the city of Hajin and its environs, the SDF campaign against ISIS continues. The Kurdish-controlled city of Manbij, is attracting considerable political and military attention in the wake of the Trump statement. In the Idlib area, incidents between the Syrian army and jihadi organizations continue. According to Arab media, the Americans have begun to evacuate their soldiers from Syria to the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (October 25-31, 2018)

In the Idlib enclave there is still no progress in the establishment of the demilitarized zone. Local clashes occur between the Syrian army and the rebel organizations. In eastern Syria strong fighting continues in the ISIS enclave in the Euphrates Valley. In the al-Ghurabaa’ region fighting was renewed in the al-Safa enclave after a ceasefire which was used for the exchange of prisoners (abducted Druze women in return for the wives of ISIS operatives). Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (September 17 – October 3, 2018)

On September 17, 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met in Sochi, Russia. Their talks centered on the Syrian regime’s planned attack on the rebel organizations in the Idlib area. The Sochi agreement marks a breakthrough in the contacts between Russia, Turkey, and Iran to resolve the situation in Idlib, after. On September 22, 2018, five armed operatives in Ahwaz, southern Iran, attacked a parade by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. As a result, Iran responded by firing missiles and carrying out drone attacks against ISIS targets in the Albukamal area. Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (January 2 – 8, 2019)

This past week there was an increase in the level of violence from the Gaza Strip. The increase in tension on the ground was accompanied by Hamas complaints about the freezing of the third payment of money from Qatar and threats that if the funds did not reach the Gaza Strip by the end of the week they would gradually return to activity on the Israel border. Meanwhile, tensions between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority (PA) reached a new high Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (November 28 – December 4, 2018)

On December 4, 2018, Operation Northern Shield began along Israel's border with Lebanon. Its objective is to expose and neutralize Hezbollah terrorist attack tunnels penetrating from Lebanon into Israeli territory. This past week a "return march" and a mini-flotilla were held along the Gaza-Israeli border without exceptional violence towards the IDF. The United States has proposed a UN resolution condemning Hamas and other terrorist organizations for rocket fire at Israel, and using resources meant for the population for their military buildup. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (19-27 September 2017)

The Islamic State is disintegrating in Syria and Iraq. Its territorial areas of control Iraq are falling to the two anti-ISIS coalition forces one after another, although in some important strongholds ISIS operatives continue stubborn fighting. Read more...

Strong condemnation of Iran for its support of terrorism and calling Hezbollah a terrorist organization at an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo

On November 19, 2017, the Arab League's foreign ministers held an emergency meeting in Cairo at the request of Saudi Arabia. The meeting focused on Iranian intervention in the internal affairs of the Arab states. Saudi Arabia complained of the launching of an Iran-manufactured ballistic missile into Saudi territory by the Iranian-supported Houthis. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (December 20-26, 2018)

The most important event of the week was the US announcement that it intended to pull out its military personnel from Syria. An ITIC analysis of ISIS’s situation in Syria, Iraq, and the various provinces abroad shows that the organization has not been defeated, even though it was weakened following the collapse of the Islamic Caliphate. After the Caliphate collapsed, ISIS once again changed its methods and adapted itself to the changing realities. Read more...

The impact of the withdrawal of the American troops from Syria on the campaign against ISIS (Initial Assessment)

On December 19, 2018, four years after the American campaign against ISIS began, President Trump announced that ISIS had been defeated and America had won. Therefore, Trump and the American administration announced that the United States would withdraw its troops from Syria over a period of several months. Read more...