Countries - The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

Summary of Events on the Gaza Strip Border

The Friday "return march" of November 16, 2018, was held under the shadow of the ceasefire that ended the most recent round of escalation. The events were attended by senior figures from Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other organizations. Senior Hamas figures and the organizers of the "return marches" said they were committed to obeying the Egyptian demand to distance the marchers from the security fence and stop the incendiary kites and balloons. Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (November 4, 2018 – November 18, 2018)

Diplomatic efforts concerning the settlements of the Syrian war continue. In the military domain, on November 9, Syrian sources reported that special forces of the Syrian military in collaboration with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out a raid against a position of the Syrian rebel groups Jaysh al-Izza near Lataminah. A growing Iranian role in religious and economic affairs in the region. Iranian media provided extensive coverage of the events of the past week in the Gaza Strip Read more...

Spotlight on Iran (October 21– November 4, 2018)

In a meeting with families of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) fighters killed in Syria and Iraq, the Supreme Leader of Iran once again justified Iran’s military involvement in the region. Senior IRGC commanders condemned the decision of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to designate the IRGC. Iranian, Russian and Turkish delegations met in Moscow for another round of talks concerning the settlement of the war in Syria. A Syrian opposition website reported that Iran began the construction of a military base in the Lajat region in Daraa governorate, intended to serve pro-Iranian militias in the region. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (November 8-14, 2018)

In the Idlib area, there was an increase in the intensity of the incidents between the Syrian army and the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham and other jihadi organizations (dozens of fatalities on both sides). Around the world, terrorist attacks inspired by ISIS or carried out by its operatives continue. In Australia, a stabbing attack was carried out in the city of Melbourne by a member of a Somali immigrant family (one dead passerby and two wounded). Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (November 1-7, 2018)

Russian spokesmen and the Turkish foreign minister announced that the implementation of the Sochi Agreement was proceeding as planned, without significant interruptions. In ISIS’s former “capital” Al-Raqqah, which was taken over by the SDF about a year ago, ISIS has started increasing its activity. This week as well, showcase attacks continued in ISIS’s provinces outside Syria and Iraq Read more...

Hamas’s use of anti-tank Kornet missiles supplied by Iran and Hezbollah

On November 12, 2018, Hamas launched an anti-tank Kornet missile from the Gaza Strip at a bus carrying soldiers near the border with the Gaza Strip (south of the city of Sderot). An IDF soldier was severely wounded. A few minutes before the missile was launched, dozens of soldiers got off the bus to receive a briefing nearby. Read more...

Hamas spread the false claim an infant who died as a result of a heart defect was killed during the “return marches” to defame the IDF and Israel

On May 14, 2018, the Hamas-controlled ministry of health in the Gaza Strip reported the death of Layla Anwar Ghandour, an eight-month-old infant. The story of her death was accompanied by a Palestinian campaign to defame the IDF and the State of Israel. The infant's cousin, a terrorist operative detained by the IDF said during interrogation that Yahya al-Sinwar, head of Hamas' political bureau in the Gaza Strip, paid the family a large sum of money to say she had died from tear gas inhalation and to hide the fact she had died from heart disease. 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...

ISIS’s use of drones in Syria and Iraq and the threat of using them overseas to carry out terrorist attacks

During the years in which it was active in Syria and Iraq, ISIS made extensive use of drones, both for offensive and defensive purposes. It handled the drones to carry out attacks (“explosive drones”), to collect intelligence, and even for propaganda purposes (documenting attacks by suicide bombers in order to disseminate the photos through ISIS’s media foundations). 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...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (September 6-16, 2018)

In the Idlib region, preparations for the impending campaign continue. These preparations included continued reinforcement of northern Syria and the Turkish-Syrian border by the various sides. Concurrently, intensive political activity is taking place. While ISIS is under severe pressure in Syria, its operatives continue to carry out suicide bombing attacks in various places around the world. Read more...

Summary of Events Along the Gaza Strip Border

On Friday, November 9, 2018, another "return march" was held in the Gaza Strip along the border with Israel. About 10,000 Palestinians participated in the Friday march. There has been a decrease in the level of violence, apparently because this week as well Hamas kept demonstrators away from the security fence. Thus in the current situation, Israel enables fuel and money from Qatar to enter the Gaza Strip in return for a decrease in Hamas-sponsored violence, but not a complete cessation of violence. In ITIC assessment, as long as the "return marches" do not stop, there will be a fragile reduction in the violence from the Gaza Strip, occasionally accompanied by outbreaks of more serious violence. Read more...

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (October 17 – October 23, 2018)

The "return march" events of this past Friday, October 19, 2018, were relatively less violent because Hamas was concerned about a response to the rocket fire attacking Israel. Thus despite the prevention of a military escalation after the rocket fire attack, the situation on the ground may still deteriorate as a consequence of the methodical violence orchestrated by Hamas. During visits of mediators from Egypt, Hamas leaders repeatedly declared that the "return marches" would continue until the "siege" of the Gaza Strip had been lifted. In Judea and Samaria stabbing attacks continue. 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...

The United States recently designated Hezbollah as one of the five leading transnational criminal groups and approved bills intensifying the sanctions imposed on Hezbollah and on those supporting it

In October 2018, the US administration adopted a series of legislative and law enforcement measures against Hezbollah and all those supporting it. These measures have met with broad bipartisan support in Congress and have been approved by President Trump. These measures provide law enforcement agencies with an improved “toolkit” in the struggle against Hezbollah and the international crime in which it is involved. Read more...

Spotlight on Global Jihad (October 18-24, 2018)

In the Idlib enclave, there is still no progress in the establishment of the demilitarized zone, even after the extension for the implementation of the Sochi agreement. In eastern Syria, the Kurdish SDF forces continue to attack the ISIS enclave north of Albukamal, with Coalition air support. In the area of As-Suwayda, in southern Syria, ISIS continues its relentless fighting against the Syrian army. A ceasefire was achieved in order to enable a deal to be carried out in which six Druze abductees (two women and their four children) were released in exchange for wives of ISIS operatives detained by the Syrian regime Read more...