News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (August 21 – 27, 2019)

IED attack in Dolev (northwest of Jerusalem)

• On the morning of August 23, 2019, an IED was detonated attacking a father, his daughter and son who were visiting the Ayn Bubin spring (the Danny Spring) near the community of Dolev northwest of Jerusalem. The 17-year-old daughter was killed and the father and son were critically wounded. According to the IDF spokesman an IED was placed on the path used by visitors to the spring (IDF spokesman, August 23, 2019).

   
Right: The path where the IED was laid. Left: Rina Shnerb, killed in the attack
(QudsN Facebook page, August 23, 2019).

• Following the terrorist attack reinforcements were brought to the region and began searching for the terrorists who carried out the attack. Suspects were detained in a number of villages in Judea and Samaria and taken for interrogation (IDF spokesman, August 24, 2019).

•  No comment was made by the PA regarding the killing of the young girl. Most Palestinians praised the attack and those who carried it out, and young men distributed pastries and candy (Shabakat Quds, August 23, 2019). Palestinian social network users praised the attack and its perpetrators. Calls were made on the social networks to erase CCTV recordings in the region to make it difficult for the Israeli security forces to find the perpetrators (Palinfo, August 23, 2019).

• Palestinian reactions were the following:
  • Hamas officially praised the attack, saying the West Bank would not remain silent and would continue its “resistance” despite the killings and detentions. The attack proved, said Hamas, that the Palestinian people would never lose its “resistance” capabilities and the Palestinians would not forget al-Aqsa mosque (al-Quds, August 23, 2019).
  • Isma’il Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, praised and welcomed the attack. He said he did not know the identity of those who had carried out the attack but in any event it was an act of heroism. He called on Israel to distance itself from “the powder keg that is Jerusalem.” He said the fact that in recent months there were more than 12 attacks was a message that the West Bank was a “volcano” that was erupting, especially when al-Aqsa mosque was “in danger” (Hamas website, August 23, 2019).
  • Khalil al-Haya, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said the attack made it clear that the 2015 intifada continued with new acts of heroism, and that the young people rising up in the West Bank wanted to expel the [so-called Israeli] occupation (al-Aqsa, August 23, 2019).
  • Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of Hamas political bureau, called for the continuation of attacks along with the development of “resistance” capabilities in the Gaza Strip. He said the increase in attacks would lead the Palestinian people to achieve its goals (Sawa, August 24, 2019).
  • Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanua said the attack was proof that the Palestinian people did not surrender to Israel’s crimes. He added that the West Bank was blessed by its inhabitants, its youth, its men and women. He said the general mobilization in the Gaza Strip for the sake of al-Aqsa mosque merged with the Palestinian victims in the West Bank and Jerusalem (Abd al-Latif al-Qanua’s Twitter account, August 23, 2019).
  • The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in the West Bank praised the attack which it called the “natural response” to the crimes of Israel and the settlers. The “resistance,” said the PIJ, would continually escalate the measures it took as long as [Israeli] aggression against the Palestinian people continued (Filastin al-Yawm, August 23, 2019).

Attempted attack on an IDF soldiers at the Allenby Crossing

• On August 21, 2019 a 35-year-old resident of Nablus returned from Jordan through the Allenby Crossing. Reaching the terminal, he attacked a soldier, attempting to garotte him with the cable of his cell phone charger. The soldier shook him off and the crossing’s security squad detained the Palestinian. According to the initial interrogation, he went to the crossing to attack an Israeli (IDF spokesman and Crossings Authority spokesman, August 21, 2019).

IED attacks

• On the evening of August 26, 2019, during a routine patrol, an IDF scout located an IED placed near the Nablus detour road. IDF forces rushed to the site closed the road. Border Police demolitions experts neutralized the device (IDF spokesman, August 26, 2019).
• On August 26, 2019, during a Border Police activity in the Issawiya neighborhood of east Jerusalem, a pipe bomb was thrown from one of the buildings. It did not explode. The Border Police soldiers detained two suspects who were taken for interrogation, and police demolitions experts neutralized the bomb. During the activity Palestinians threw stones and shot fireworks at the soldiers. One Border Police fighter was slightly wounded (Israel Police Force spokesman’s unit, August 27, 2019).

Other events on the ground

• In Judea and Samaria Palestinians continued throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli security forces and civilian targets mainly vehicles). Israeli security forces carried out counterterrorism activities throughout Judea and Samaria, detaining Palestinians suspected of terrorist activity, confiscating a lathe used in the manufacture of weapons and seizing military grade and improvised weapons. The more prominent events were the following:
  • August 27, 2019 – Stones were thrown at a vehicle on the Jerusalem-Gush Etzion road between Efrat and the al-Khader Junction. No casualties were reported. The front windshield of the vehicle was damaged (Rescue Without Borders in Judea and Samaria, August 27, 2019)
  • August 26, 2019 – During an Israeli security force activity in the village of Bayt Kahil (north of Hebron) to map the houses of terrorists who carried out the stabbing attack on August 7, 2019, a riot broke out. Palestinians burned tires and threw stones at the soldiers (IDF spokesman, August 27, 2019).
  • August 26, 2019 – During the night IDF forces confiscated a lathe in Bayt Laqia (Ramallah region) used in the manufacture of weapons (IDF spokesman, August 27, 2019)
  • August 25, 2019 – IDF soldiers detained a Palestinian teenager about 14 years of age from al-Bireh, who had roused the suspicions of a civilian security guard near the community of Psagot (north of Jerusalem and east of Ramallah). He was found to be in possession of a knife and was taken for interrogation (Rescue Without Borders in Judea and Samaria; IDF spokesman, August 25, 2019).
  • August 25, 2019 – Stones were thrown at a military guard post on the Gush Etzion-Hebron road near al-Aroub. The IDF force chasing the Palestinians who threw the stones were attacked with stones (Rescue Without Borders in Judea and Samaria, August 25, 2019).
  • August 23, 2019 – Stones were thrown at an Israeli vehicle from a passing truck near the community of Brosh in the Jordan Valley. No casualties were reported. The vehicle was damaged (Rescue Without Borders in Judea and Samaria, August 23, 2019)
  • August 21, 2019 – IDF soldiers identified a Palestinian who threw stones and a knife at a military post near the Gitai Avisar Junction (between Ariel and the Barkan Interchange). He was taken for interrogation (IDF spokesman, August 21, 2019).
  • August 21, 2019 – A 13-year-old Palestinian girl aroused the suspicions of a civilian patrol. The patrol initiated suspect-detention procedures, which ended with shots fired into the air. The girl threw a knife at soldiers who arrived on the scene. She was taken for interrogation (Karnei Shomron Center, August 22, 2019).
  • August 21, 2019 – Stones were thrown at an Israeli bus between Kiryat Arba and Bayt Einun. No casualties were reported. The bus was damaged (Rescue Without Borders in Judea and Samaria, August 21, 2019).

Significant terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria since June 2017^[1]

Rocket and mortar shell fire into Israel from the Gaza Strip

• This past week five rockets and four mortar shells were fired at Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. So far no terrorist organization has claimed responsibility. In response IDF forces attacked Hamas terrorist targets. Israel also announced it was reducing the supply of fuel delivered to the Gaza Strip.

Mortar shell fire into Israeli territory

• On the afternoon of August 27, 2019 four mortar shells were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. One fell in Israeli territory and targeted an IDF force working near the security fence. No casualties were reported. The other shells apparently fell inside the Gaza Strip. In response the IDF attacked a Hamas post in the northern Gaza Strip (IDF spokesman, August 27, 2019).

Three rockets fired at Sderot and the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip

•  On the evening of August 25, 2019 three rocket launches were identified targeting the southern Israeli city of Sderot and the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip. The Iron Dome aerial defense system intercepted two rockets (IDF spokesman, August 25, 2019). One of the rockets hit a road near the Gaza Strip, causing a fire (western Negev spokesman’s unit, August 25, 2019). In Sderot a house under construction was damaged. Several people were evacuated to a hospital, including five treated for shock (Barzilai Hospital spokesman, August 25, 2019). The rockets were launched during a festival in Sderot attended by about 4,000 people, who were quickly evacuated from the site.

Damage caused by a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip and intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system, in a house under construction in Sderot (Palinfo Twitter account, August 25, 2019)

• As in recent times, no terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the rocket fire. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem, denied all responsibility for the rocket fire, saying the Palestinian organizations had not claimed responsibility, although usually Hamas and the other organizations announced their activities (al-Dustour, August 26, 2019). The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities (COGAT) in the Territories appealed to the population in the Gaza Strip in Arabic, saying that by firing rockets the PIJ, which is an Iranian proxy, is trying to undermine regional stability (al-Munaseq, August 26, 2019).
• In response to the rocket fire Israeli Air Force aircraft attacked a number of terrorist targets in a Hamas military compound in the northern Gaza Strip. Among the targets hit was the office of a Hamas battalion commander (IDF spokesman, August 24, 2019). The Palestinian media reported that a “resistance” post in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip had been attacked (Palinfo, Shabakat Quds, August 26, 2019).
• The COGAT announced that following the rocket fire Israel was reducing by half the amount of fuel it delivered to the Gaza Strip for its power plant (al-Munaseq, August 26, 2019). The electric company in the Gaza Strip announced that as a result one of the turbines producing electricity would be shut down, and only two would function, influencing the supply of electricity in the Gaza Strip (Sawa, August 26, 2019).
• Hamas and the PIJ criticized the Israeli decision to reduce the supply of fuel to the Gaza Strip:
  • Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanua said the decision was made to exert pressure on the Palestinian people and an Israeli government attempt to export its internal crises to the Gaza Strip. He said Israel was responsible for the measures taken by the Palestinians which were the result of intensifying the “siege” of the Gaza Strip and its retreat from the understandings achieved through Egyptian and Qatari mediation (Sawa, August 26, 2019).
  • Musheir al-Masri, spokesman for the Hamas faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council, threatened that Hamas would not remain idle in the face of Israel’s decision to reduce the fuel supply.
  • Senior PIJ figure Ahmed al-Mudallal said the “resistance” would not allow Israel to evade its commitments to break the “siege” [as part of the understandings] and would continue strengthening relations with Egypt to exert pressure on Israel (al-Mayadeen, August 26, 2019).
  • Akram Daloul, correspondent for the PIJ-affiliated Filastin al-Yawm channel, called Israel’s decision “collective punishment of the residents of the Gaza Strip.” He said it was liable to cause escalation and an “explosion.” He also interviewed Abu Mujahed, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip, who said the “resistance” had the right to respond in an appropriate way and that the “occupation” would pay a high price if it continued disregarding the understandings (Filastin al-Yawm, August 26, 2019).

   
Right: Akram Daloul near the Gaza Strip power plant. Left: Abu Mujahed, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees in the Gaza Strip, threatens Israel (Filastin al-Yawm, August 26, 2019).

Two rockets fired from the northern Gaza Strip

• On August 22, 2019, a rocket was launched into Israeli territory from the northern Gaza Strip. It landed in an open area. No casualties or damage were reported. In response the IDF attacked a Hamas naval post. In response to the IDF attack another rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip, also landing in an open area. In response the IDF attacked again (IDF spokesman, August 22, 2019).
• The Palestinian media reported that Israeli aircraft had attacked a Hamas naval post and an unmanned “resistance” post west of Gaza City (Palinfo Twitter account, August 22, 2019). It was later reported that the naval post was attacked a second time (Shehab, August 22, 2019). No casualties were reported.
• The IDF issued an exceptional statement in Arabic saying the PIJ was responsible for the rocket fire (IDF spokesman, August 23, 2019).

Monthly Distribution of Rocket and Mortar Shell Fire since January 2018

Annual Distribution of Rocket Hits

The return march of Friday, August 23, 2019

• On Friday, August 23, 2019, the 71^st return march was held in the Gaza Strip. Its theme was “At your service, al-Aqsa,” and marked the 50^th anniversary of the attempt to set fire to the mosque.^[2] Unlike recent weeks, before the march Hamas and the PIJ called on the Palestinian people to participate en masse in return march events. To that end more buses were brought into service to carry demonstrators to the return camps. In addition, the events started at 1500 instead of 1700 hours, apparently to make it possible for more hours of confrontation.

   
Bussing Palestinians to the return march overseen by operatives of Hamas security forces (Supreme National Authority Facebook page, August 23, 2019).

• The Supreme National Authority announced it had decided to mark the 50^th anniversary of the arson attempt with an escalation in the public gatherings, and called on the Palestinian people to participate massively in the activities (Sawa, August 23, 2019). On August 22, 2019, the tire-burning unit marched through the streets of Gaza City, demanding a return of its activities during the August 23, 2019 return march (Amad, August 22, 2019).

Return march events

About 9,200 Palestinians participated in the return march, more than in previous weeks (apparently because of the calls for participation made by Hamas before the march and because its theme was related to al-Aqsa mosque). Most of the demonstrators gathered at the five traditional sites. Several hundred approached the security fence and clashed with IDF soldiers. Despite the call to intensify friction with the IDF, Hamas’ restraint force operatives were present to limit the friction. There was a high level of violence, apparently because of the relatively large number of participants. Hand grenades, IEDs and Molotov cocktails were thrown, incendiary balloons were launched and attempts were made to sabotage the security fence and in some instances to cross it. A number of IEDs were located near the fence which had been placed before the return march.

    
Right: Demonstrators en route to the return march in eastern Gaza City. Left: Hamas operatives wearing orange vests deployed at return march focal points (Supreme National Authority Facebook page, August 23, 2019).

• After many weeks without the appearance of senior Hamas figures at the return marches, this past week Yahya al-Sinwar, head of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip, went to return camp in the eastern Gaza Strip. Senior figures who spoke at the camps related to the terrorist attack in Dolev. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the return marches were one of the most important tools for waging the Palestinian people’s struggle against Israel. He said the many gatherings showed that Jerusalem would always be a source of inspiration for the Palestinian people and motivate them to resist the “occupation” (al-Aqsa TV, August 23, 2019).

   
Right: Senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar visits the medical tent in the return camp in eastern Gaza. Left: Yahya al-Sinwar (head of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip), Khalil al-Haya and Rawhi Mushtaha at return march events in eastern Gaza City (Supreme National Authority Facebook page, August 23, 2019).

• The spokesman for the ministry of health in the Gaza Strip claimed that during the Friday events 122 people were injured (later revising the figure to 155) (Ashraf al-Qidra’s Facebook page, August 23, 2019). Senior PIJ figure and Supreme National Authority chairman Khaled al-Batash called on the Palestinian public to participate in the return march that will be held this coming Friday, August 30, 2019, whose theme will be “Loyalty to the shaheeds” in memory of the Palestinians who were killed in Operation Protective Edge.

Arson terrorism

• In addition to the call for participation in the return march, the Sons of al-Zawari Rafah unit announced the general mobilization of its operatives. The unit claimed they were preparing a “surprise” for the Israeli snipers (Sons of al-Zawari Facebook page, August 20, 2019). On the day of the return march the unit posted a video of balloons launched during the events. It claimed the balloons were intended to divert the attention of the Israeli snipers (Sons of al-Zawari Rafah unit Facebook page, August 25, 2019).
• The day before the march events, August 22, 2019, a number of incendiary balloons were launched. One, with a suspicious object attached, was identified in the western Negev (Field Security News, August 22, 2019). On August 26, 2019, after Israel announced it was limiting the fuel delivered to the Gaza Strip because of the rocket fire, the Sons of al-Zawari unit issued a warning, claiming Israel was “playing with fire.” According to the announcement, if the amount of fuel were reduced and the fishing zone were limited they would launch incendiary balloons to cause fires in the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip (Sons of al-Zawari Facebook page, August 26, 2019).

   
Explosives prepared by operatives of the Sons of al-Zawari unit for attaching to balloon clusters launched into Israeli territory (Facebook page of the Sons of al-Zawari unit, August 22, 2019).

   
Right: Balloon clusters launched from eastern Khan Yunis into Israeli territory at the return march. Left: Model airplane with IED attached prepared by the Sons of al-Zawari unit in eastern Khan Yunis (Facebook page of the Sons of al-Zawari unit in eastern Khan Yunis, August 25, 2019).

Other events on the ground

• On August 22, 2019, a suspicious Palestinian was seen approaching the security fence in the Sajaiya region in the northern Gaza Strip. When IDF forces arrived he threw a fragmentation grenade at them. He was shot and wounded before he could cross the security fence into Israeli territory. He was taken to a hospital in the Gaza Strip for medical treatment (Ynet, August 23, 2019).

Another installment of funds from Qatar arrives

• Mohammed al-Emadi, chairman of the Qatari committee for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, his deputy Khaled al-Hardan and a group of technicians entered the Gaza Strip on August 23, 2019. They came to bring another installment of the funds donated by Qatar to the Gaza Strip and to oversee projects carried out by the committee (alresala.net, August 23, 2019). Isma’il Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau met with al-Emadi. Also present at the meeting were Yahya al-Sinwar, head of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip, and Khalil al-Haya, a member of Hamas’ political bureau (Shehab, August 23, 2019). On August 25, 2019, Mohammed al-Emadi left the Gaza Strip (Sawa, August 25, 2019).
• The distribution of the funds began on August 25, 2019, overseen by the Qatari committee’s deputy chairman. Unlike previous occasions, the distribution did not receive extensive media coverage in the Gaza Strip. According to the Qatari envoy the funds were distributed to needy 100,000 families, $100 to each (Dunia al-Watan, August 23, 2019). Members of the Qatari delegation also participated in the ceremony for laying the cornerstone for a dialysis center at the Indonesian hospital in the northern Gaza Strip. According to al-Emadi, the project includes the construction of a three-story building which will be equipped with 40 dialysis machines. The cost of the center is estimated at $1.7 million (Sawa, August 24, 2019).

    
Right: Khaled al-Hardan, deputy chairman of the Qatari committee for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, oversees the distribution of aid funds at post office banks. Left: Mohammed al-Emadi at the ceremony for laying the cornerstone of a dialysis center in the northern Gaza Strip (Facebook page of the Qatari committee for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, August 24, 2019).

Hamas delegation leaves the Gaza Strip for Egypt

• “Knowledgeable sources” reported that a Hamas security delegation, including Rawhi Mushtaha, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, and Tawfiq Abu Na’im, responsible for the internal security forces in the Gaza Strip, left for Cairo to meet with senior Egyptian officials. According to the sources, the delegation will discuss security issues, including the situation along the Gaza-Egypt border, the Rafah Crossing, monitoring the implementation of the understandings with Israel and the escalation with Israel (Filastin al-Yawm, August 26, 2019).

Break-in into the headquarters of the PLO\s department of prisoners’ affairs in the Gaza Strip

• Unknown persons broke into the offices of the PLO’s department of refugees’ affairs in the Gaza Strip, vandalizing and looting it. Fatah’s department of international relations condemned the event, saying the break-in was a continuation of Hamas’ actions against Fatah. The PLO’s Executive Committee issued a similar statement and said it regarded the Hamas-supported attack as an attack on the role of the Executive Committee to deal with and monitor the interests of the Palestinian people (Sawa, Wafa, August 25, 2019).

Military display in the Gaza Strip in solidarity with al-Aqsa mosque

•   On August 22, 2019, Hamas’ national security forces held a military display in the streets of Gaza City to demonstrate solidarity with al-Aqsa mosque and the residents of Jerusalem, and to protest the measures taken by Israel in the city. The display began at the security forces’ headquarters in the Suraya compound in Gaza City. Jamal al-Jarrah, commander of the security forces, and other senior offices participated in the display (website of the ministry of the interior in the Gaza Strip, August 22, 2019).

The PA agrees to accept oil tax revenues

• Hussein al-Sheikh, minister of civilian affairs in the PA, said the tax crisis over PA oil purchases from Israel had ended. He said the PA had begun importing oil from Israel without paying the retroactive taxes of the past seven months. The sum involved is two billion Israeli shekels, or about $570 million. However, al-Sheikh said the economic crisis with Israel had not yet been resolved because large sums of money belonging to the PA were still held by Israel (Hussein al-Sheikh’s Twitter account, August 22, 2019).

Salaries of PA employees

• Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh announced that Mahmoud Abbas had decided that the September salaries of PA employees would be paid at the rate of 110%. Fifty percent of the sum is reimbursement for the partial salaries received since the first month of the crisis. He also said that 60% of August salaries would be paid (Dunia al-Watan, August 22, 2019).

Implementing measures for ending dependence on Israel

• Muhammad Shtayyeh announced the PA would stop referring patients to Israel and had appealed to Jordan and Iraq to accept them. He also said the PA would begin importing oil from Iraq and strengthen local products instead of buying from Israel (Palestinian TV, August 22, 2019).
• A member of the committee charged with stopping the agreements with Israel told al-Monitor (August 21, 2019) that the committee was “working through legal, economic and political tracks to achieve its purpose.”
  • Regarding the legal track, he explained that the committee would “recommend to the PA to convene an international conference under the auspices of the Middle East Quartet calling for the implementation of al international resolutions and legislation in favor of Palestine. The committee will also recommend that the PA should exert sufficient pressure at the international level to activate and implement Security Council Resolution 2334 of December 2016, which condemns the settlements and calls for putting an end to them in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
  • Regarding the economic track, “the committee is [also] considering its option to end the importation of Israeli goods and rely on Arab goods instead, by expanding trade partnerships between Palestine and all Arab countries.”
  • Regarding the political track, “the committee will recommend that the PA deals with all West Bank territories the same, without any discrimination, in the sense that there will be no Palestinian acceptance of any Israeli administrative or security control over the entire West Bank.”

The school year opens in the PA and Gaza Strip

• On August 25, 2019, the school year opened in the PA and the Gaza Strip, with 1.3 students returning to their studies. Of them, 854,000 will study at government schools, 150,000 at private schools, and the remaining (approximately 296,000) at UNRWA schools. According to a spokesman for the Palestinian ministry of education, 50,000 teachers will teach at government schools, 20,000 at private schools, and 20,000 at UNRWA schools (Shehab website, August 25, 2019).

   
Right: The first day of school in Hebron (Shehab Facebook page, August 25, 2019). Left: The first day of school in the Gaza Strip (Facebook page of the ministry of education in the Gaza Strip, August 25, 2019).