Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (November 22-29, 2022)

Vehicular ramming attack near the settlement of Kokhav Yaakov

•  On the morning of September 29, 2022, a Palestinian terrorist carried out a vehicular ramming attack near the settlement of Kokhav Yaakov (southeast of Ramallah). According to the initial findings, he drove to the site and deliberately rammed into and seriously wounded a female IDF soldier, and then drove off towards Ofra. Seeing a police roadblock, he made a U-turn and drove towards the settlement of Givat Asaf. Police initiated pursuit and shot and killed him. His vehicle hit a safety railing; a knife was found inside (Israeli media, November 29, 2022). According to unofficial Palestinian sources, he was Rani Maamoun Fayiz Abu Ali, 45 years old, from Bitunia and father of five. He had a work permit for the Ariel industrial zone (Facebook page of Ashraf al-Husseini from Hebron, November 29, 2022).

   
Right: the vehicle used in the vehicular ramming attack (QudsN Twitter account, November 29, 2022). Left: Rani Abu Ali, the Palestinian who carried out the attack (Facebook page of Ashraf al-Husseini from Hebron, November 29, 2022).

Double terrorist attack in Jerusalem

• On the morning of November 23, 2022 there was a double IED attack in Jerusalem. At approximately 7 a.m. an IED exploded at a bus stop at the exit from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. Half an hour later another IED exploded at the Ramot Junction, approximately 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) to the north. A 15 year-old yeshiva student was killed in the first blast. A man in his 50s was wounded in the same blast and died a few days later. A total of about 20 people were wounded, some of them critically. No terrorist organization claimed responsibility for the attack. According to Israeli security sources, the IEDs were packed in backpacks which were placed near the bus stops and detonated remotely. Both attacks are thought to have been carried out by the same organized terrorist squad and not spontaneously by lone wolf terrorists (Israeli media, November 23, 2022).^[1]

    
Right: The scene of the attack at the exit from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv (Israel Police Force Facebook page, November 23, 2022). Left: The explosion at the Ramot Junction (Twitter account of photojournalist Hassan Aslih, November 23, 2022).

Terrorist attack prevented in Israel’s south

•   In October 2022 the Israeli security forces detained Fathi Ziyad Zaqout, 31 years old, from Rafah, who had a permit to work in Israel. He had been recruited to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) by two relatives and asked to attack an Israeli bus in the southern part of the country. The attack was planned by Jihad Ghanem, a senior PIJ figure in Rafah. Interrogation revealed that a specialist in the Gaza Strip trained and instructed him in the preparation of explosives. When in Israel, he collected the materials necessary to construct the device (Israeli Security Agency website, November 24, 2022).

   
Right: Fathi Ziyad Zaqout. Left: The IED he had begun constructing
(Israeli Security Agency website, November 24, 2022).

Significant Terrorist Attacks in Judea and Samaria since November 2020^[2]

Body of Israeli teenager taken from the hospital on Jenin

• On November 23, 2022, two young Israeli Druze men drove to Jenin through the Gilboa Crossing. They were involved in a serious automobile accident and taken to a local hospital for medical treatment. One, less injured, was returned to Israel and the other, who had been mortally injured, remained in the Jenin hospital. While in an induced coma and on a ventilator he was taken from the hospital by armed, masked terrorists. The Israeli security forces closed the crossings and began organizing efforts to release the body, which included military action on the ground and exerting pressure on the PA, the governor of Nablus district and local residents. On November 24, 2022, approximately 30 hours after his body had been taken, it was returned to Israel with the help of the PA and its security forces. Once the body had been returned Israel reopened the crossings (Israeli media, November 23 and 24, 2022).

• In his Friday sermon, Mahmoud al-Habash, Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor for religious affairs and Islamic relations and supreme judge of the Sharia courts of the PA, harshly criticized the event, saying that taking the young Israeli’s body was a serious offense and contrary to Islam and the teachings of Muhammad (Facebook page of Ramallah News, November 25, 2022). He also headed the Palestinian delegation which paid a condolence call at the home of the family in Daliyat al-Karmel (QudsN, November 26, 2022).

• The sermon he gave and his condolence call in Israel were criticized by the Palestinian public:
  • The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (AAMB) in Jenin said they would prevent al-Habash from entering the Jenin district. They called on Mahmoud Abbas to fire him, claiming it would have been preferable for him to issue a call from the mosques for an uprising to return the bodies of the 117 shaheeds being held by Israel (QudsN, November 25, 2022).
  • Atta Abu Armila, Fatah secretary for the Jenin district, said Habash talked about the body of a young Israeli but said nothing about the bodies of the shaheeds “held by Israel for years and decades.” It was unfortunate, he said, that the Palestinian leadership was creative in its gestures to Israel, which kept spilling Palestinian blood (Telegram channel of the AAMB Panthers, which deals with reporting about Fatah and the AAMB, focusing on Nablus, November 26, 2022).

Counterterrorism Activities

• This past week the Israeli security forces continued intensive counterterrorism activities in Judea and Samaria, detaining Palestinians suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and confiscating large quantities of weapons (IDF spokesman’s Twitter account):
  • Before dawn on November 29, 2022, IDF forces operated in Bayt Ummar (north of Hebron). Technical problems caused two jeeps to stall in the center of the village. A riot broke out at the site. Dozens of Palestinians threw rocks and IEDs at the jeeps and armed Palestinians shot at them. The IDF forces responded with riot dispersal measures which included live fire. A short time later the jeeps were extracted by IDF forces who entered the village.

• • On November 29, 2022, IDF forces operated in Kafr Ein (north of Ramallah). Local residents rioted against the forces, throwing cinder blocks and Molotov cocktails at the forces, who responded with riot dispersal measures which included live fire.
  • On November 28, 2022, the Israeli security forces detained 16 wanted Palestinians in Judea and Samaria.
  • On November 27, 2022, Israeli security forces operating in the village of Ubeidiya (east of Bethlehem) found an illegal weapon.

• On November 24, 2022 the Israeli security forces detained ten wanted Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. In the village of Anata (north of Jerusalem) a Palestinian wanted for involvement in terrorist activity was detained; ammunition was found in his possession.

Palestinian fatalities

• This past week five Palestinians were killed during Israeli security forces activities; one died after having been wounded in a riot in July 2022.
• The ministry of health in Ramallah reported that during a riot in Bayt Ummar (see below) Mufeid Muhammad Mahmoud Ikhlil, 44 years old, from Bayt Ummar, was killed (Dunia al-Watan, November 28, 2022; Wafa, November 29, 2022). According to his niece Sanaa he was shot and killed while filming a live broadcast about the clashes in Bayt Ummar (Facebook page of Sanaa M. Zaqeeq, November 29, 2022). The Fatah branch in northern Hebron issued a mourning notice for him, stating he was a movement operative (Facebook page of the Fatah movement in northern Hebron, November 29, 2022).

• On November 29, 2022, the ministry of health in Ramallah reported the deaths of Jawad Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Jawad al-Rimawi, 22 years old, and his brother, Zapher Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Jawad al-Rimawi, 21 years old. Both lived in Bayt Rima and were killed in Kafr Ein, northwest of Ramallah, during clashes with the Israeli security forces (ministry of health in Ramallah Facebook page, November 29, 2022). Zapher al-Rimawi was a student in the engineering and technology department of Birzeit University and Jawad al-Rimawi was a graduate of its business administration and economics department. Both were active in the Shabiba, Fatah’s student cell in the university (Birzeit University Facebook page, November 29, 2022). They were nephews of Zapher al-Rimawi who was detained in April 2002 and is serving a 32-year sentence in an Israeli jail (Facebook page of Mhassn Nasser November 29, 2022; Wafa, October 23, 2018). The Fatah branch in the Ramallah district declared a general strike following their deaths, with the exception of the schools (Facebook page of Sami Foqahaa, November 29, 2022).

• The deaths of three Palestinians on the night of November 28, 2022, caused a wave of reactions:
  • PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh claimed it was escalation with the potential for great danger. He called on the international community for urgent intervention to halt the “Israeli killing machine and demand accountability from the criminals” (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, November 29, 2022).
  • Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary of the PLO’s Executive Committee, claimed IDF forces (“the forces of the occupation”) had carried out a “terrible crime” by killing two brothers from Bayt Rima. He claimed it was “a cold-blooded execution, fascist behavior and the politically-ordered shedding of Palestinian blood” (Hussein al-Sheikh’s Twitter account, November 29, 2022).
  • The PA foreign ministry issued an open letter accusing the Israeli government of full, direct responsibility for its “crimes.” The foreign ministry called on the international community to give the Palestinians international protection and called on the ICC to complete its investigations of Israel’s “crimes” as quickly as possible (PA foreign ministry website, November 29, 2022).
  • Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem claimed Israel was “desperately” trying to stop the “legitimate Palestinian struggle.” He added that the escalation of Israel’s crimes and terrorism would be met with an escalation of “resistance” [terrorist] activity (Hazem Qassem’s Twitter account, November 29, 2022; Dunia al-Watan, November 29, 2022).
• On the evening of November 22, 2022, as Israeli security forces were deploying to secure Jewish worshippers who were entering the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus, Palestinians who had made preparations in advance rioted and blocked the roads to the tomb (Israeli media, November 22, 2022). According to reports, Ahmed Amjad Shehadeh, 16 years old, from the Balata refugee camp in Jenin, was killed. The Lion’s Den terrorist network said in a statement that he was one of its young operatives, and threatened Israel (Lion’s Den Telegram channel, November 23, 2022). A funeral was held for him in Nablus the following day, attended by dozens of armed terrorists. He had a Lion’s Den headband and his body was wrapped for burial in a Lion’s Den flag (Shehab Twitter account, November 23, 2022).
• His death was followed by harsh condemnations of Israel in the Palestinian arena which stressed his young age. PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh issued a message of condolence for his death and called on the international community to put a stop to Israel’s activities (Amad website, November 23, 2022). The PA foreign ministry condemned the “awful crime of his execution,” adding that the “crime” was a continuation of the “killings without trial” and one of “Israel’s attacks on Palestinian children” (Wafa, November 23, 2022). The Presidency of the Palestinian National Council strongly condemned “Israel’s methodical terrorism against innocent children and unprotected civilians,” and the execution of 15 year-old [sic] Ahmed Amjad Shehadeh. According to the condemnation, “Israel’s barbarity and torture of children must not be allowed to continue without accountability, and the entire world must act to defend Palestinian children” (Wafa, November 23, 2022).
• The PIJ issued a mourning notice for Shehadeh claiming that Israel’s increasing “crimes” would be met with the Palestinians’ firm stance and “resistance fighters” [terrorist operatives], such as the November 23 praise-worthy double attack in Jerusalem (PIJ website, November 23, 2022).

  
Right: The funeral held for Shehadeh in Nablus. He is wearing a Lion’s Den headband (Twitter account of photojournalist Hassan Aslih, November 23, 2022). Left: armed terrorist operatives at the funeral in Nablus (Shehab Twitter account, November 23, 2022).

• On November 23, 2022, the ministry of health in Ramallah announced the death of Muhammad Hashem Muhammad Abu Kishk, 22 years old, from the Askar refugee camp in Nablus. He died after having been wounded on the night of November 22, 2022, while rioting against IDF forces securing Jewish worshippers entering the Tomb of Joseph to pray (Wafa, November 23, 2022).

• The ministry of health in Ramallah announced the death of Muhammad Ahmed Hassan Harazallah (Abu Hamdi), 30 years old, from Nablus, who died after having been wounded in the Old City of Nablus on July 24, 2022. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Club reported he was a released prisoner who was detained at the end of 2013 and was imprisoned in Israel for a year and a half (Wafa November 23, 2022).
• The Lion’s Den terrorist network issued a mourning notice for him, claiming he was one of the network’s founders and was wounded while defending Muhammad al-Azizi (Abu Saleh), also one of the network’s founders, and Abd al-Rahman al-Sabah^[3] (Lion’s Den Telegram channel, November 23, 2022). The AAMB also issued a mourning notice for him, representing him as a prominent operative in the AAMB in Nablus (AAMB Telegram channel, November 23, 2022). Fatah’s bureau of media information and culture issued a mourning notice for him, stating he was a Fatah operative (Facebook page of Fatah’s bureau of media information and culture, November 23, 2022).

 
Right: AAMB mourning notice issued for Harazallah (al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades Telegram channel, November 23, 2022). Left: Mourning notice issued by the Fatah branch in the Nablus district for the death of Harazallah (Telegram channel of the AAMB Panthers, November 23, 2022).

  
The funeral held for Muhammad Hararallah and Muhammad Abu Kishk in Nablus on November 24, 2022. A Lion’s Den’s flag and weapon were placed on Harazallah’s body (al-Hayat al-Jadeeda Facebook page, November 24, 2022).

Rocket and mortar shell fire into Israel

• This past week no rocket or mortar shell hits were identified in Israeli territory.

Monthly Distribution of Rocket and Mortar Shell Fire since January 2020

Annual Distribution of Rocket Hits

Ceremony held for Palestinian prisoners

• Asra Media, Hamas’ political department for foreign relations and prisoners’ media information office^[4] held a ceremony in Gaza City to announce the results of the competition for studies researched and written by Hamas prisoners about “Hamas, the defender of Jerusalem and the path to liberation,” and the publication of the book Defender of Jerusalem, a collection of the studies. Present as the ceremony were senior Hamas figures including Mahmoud al-Zahar and Rawhi Mushtaha, members of Hamas political bureau; Dr. Bassem Na’im, head of Hamas political department; Bahaa al-Din al-Madhoun, deputy minister of prisoners and released prisoners’ affairs; and Ahmed al-Qidra, director of the office of prisoner information (Asra Media website, November 22, 2022).

Hamas delegation visits Algeria

• A Hamas delegation headed by Zaher Jabarin, head of the organization’s bureau of prisoners and the wounded, visited Algeria. The delegation met with Ibrahim Boughali, president of the Algerian parliament. The Palestinians asked Algeria for help in raising the issue of the rights of prisoners in Israeli jails before international and regional human rights and humanitarian organizations. Boughali noted the importance of the Palestinian cause for Algerians, and said defending it was the duty of all parliament members in various international and regional forums (website of the Algerian parliament, November 20, 2022).

Palestinian concerns regarding the formation of Israel’s new government

• Senior PA figures continue expressing concern regarding the formation of the new Israeli government and its international and regional influence on the Palestinian cause:
• According to Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, the agreements and understandings announced by the rightwing coalition, including preparations for construction in the settlements, were an abandonment of the agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinians under international aegis. He claimed the agreements were a new stage in Israel’s violations of international law and challenged resolutions passed by the international community (al-Hayat al-Jadeeda, November 29, 2022).
• At the weekly Palestinian government meeting, Muhammad Shtayyeh called the Israeli government being formed “a government of war and aggression” because of its plans for construction in the settlements and the eradication of the 1967 borders. He claimed the government would establish a settler militia that would operate under IDF protection, fueling the existing tensions (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, November 28, 2022).
• Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki met in Cairo with foreign representatives. He said the upcoming government would be different from those that preceded it because it would be “fascist” and show “excessive hatred” for the Palestinians due to the “extremists” serving in it. He claimed that there was no partner for peace today, which meant the Palestinians could not promote negotiations or sit for talks with Israel (Ma’an, November 29, 2022).
• The PA foreign ministry issued a statement warning of the implications of the coalition agreement for international and regional efforts for calm, halting escalation and taking trust-building steps. It also expressed concern over the increase in settler attacks on Palestinians, and called on the international community to take responsibility and exert pressure on the government of Israel (PA foreign ministry Facebook page, November 25, 2022).
• According to Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary of the PLO’s Executive Committee, the coalition was right-wing and “fascist,” and the Palestinians would face a new political era. He claimed that to cope the Palestinians had to reassess the situation and formulate a new national plan for the international and local arenas (Hussein al-Sheikh’s Twitter account, November 27, 2022).
•  Following reports of the agreement reached for expanding the authority of the ministry of internal security for the new minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem claimed the agreement showed the determination of the upcoming government to adopt “racist and fascist policies” against the Palestinians. Manzar al-Hakim, Fatah spokesman in Hebron, called it “a new stage of violence” which required the Palestinians to unite and plan for the next confrontation (al-Andalou News, November 25, 2022).

Mahmoud Abbas continues encouraging “peaceful popular resistance” [popular terrorism]

• Mahmoud Abbas met with Fatah representatives and the governors of the Nablus and Jenin districts, the two districts which are the focal points for friction with the Israel security forces.
• On November 26, 2022, he met with members of the Fatah leadership in the Nablus district. The meeting was attended by Ibrahim Ramadan, the governor of the Nablus district, and members of Fatah’s Central Committee. Mahmoud Abbas praised the increase of the [so-called] “popular resistance in the Nablus district” (Wafa, November 26, 2022).
• On November 25, 2022, he met with members of the Fatah leadership in the Jenin district. The meeting was attended by Majed Faraj, head of Palestinian general intelligence; Ziad Hab al-Reeh, minister of the interior; and Akram al-Rajoub, governor of the Jenin district. Mahmoud Abbas was briefed by them on the situation in the district and instructed them to aid and strengthen the firm stance of the district’s residents (Wafa, November 25, 2022).

  
“Peaceful popular resistance,” as encouraged by Mahmoud Abbas. Fatah operatives wearing yellow headbands participate in the weekly riot in Kafr Qadoum, east of Qalqilya (Wafa, November 25, 2022).

Arab League support for the Palestinian bid for full UN membership

• A meeting was held on November 26, 2022, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, headed by Adel al-Asoomi, chairman of the Arab Parliament.^[5] The meeting unanimously voted in favor of the resolution proposed by the “Palestine committee” regarding “developments in the Palestinian cause and the situation in the occupied territories.” The Parliament noted its support for the Palestinian effort to gain full membership status in the UN, and called on the countries that did not recognize “Palestine” to do so in accordance with “international resolutions.” The Parliament also welcomed the forming of an Arab ministers’ committee headed by Algeria, membership in which was open to all. Its objective was to be proactive in the international arena, work for holding an international peace conference and provide international protection for the Palestinians and their resources (al-Hayat al-Jadeeda, November 26, 2022).

Shtayyeh accuses Israel of stealing Palestinian water

• On November 27, 2022, Muhammad Shtayyeh opened the fourth Arab Water Conference. It was organized by the PA with sponsorship from Mahmoud Abbas, and held in Cairo on November 30, 2022. Shtayyeh gave the opening speech, in which he again accused Israel of stealing Palestinian water. He claimed that every year Israel stole 600 million cubic liters of Palestinian groundwater (about 158,503,306 gallons) of the 800,000,000 (about 211,337,741) that can be used. He added that water was one of the central factors In the conflict and that Israel was waging a war against Palestinian people, their land and their water. He also said that from the time he became prime minister [about three and a half years ago] the Palestinian government had invested about half a billion dollars in water and sewage projects (Wafa, November 27, 2022).

  
Shtayyeh at the opening ceremony (Wafa, November 27, 2022).

Shtayyeh continues pressing for independent Palestinian electricity

• On November 23, 2022, Muhammad Shtayyeh held a meeting in the offices of the Palestinian water authority in Ramallah. Present were senior Palestinian figures, including those responsible for electricity and water, and representatives of the Palestinian companies providing electricity to the territories. Zafer Milhem, chairman of the PA energy commission, explained the problems plaguing the electrical branch, mainly the increase in the number of electric companies: one in the Gaza Strip, another in east Jerusalem and a third in Judea and Samaria. The recommendation of the meeting was to establish one Palestinian electric company for all residents. Shtayyeh said a team of experts would present the government with its recommendations by December 30, 2022 (Wafa, November 23, 2022).

Preparations for Christmas

• On November 26, 2022, Kamel Hamid, governor of the Bethlehem district, and Rula Maayah, PA minister of tourism, held a press conference where they announced the beginning of the Christmas season. The mayor of Bethlehem called on everyone to visit the city, which, he said, would strengthen their firm stance (Ma’an, November 26, 2022). Mahmoud Abbas received a formal invitation to participate in the Christmas ceremony in Bethlehem. The invitation was issued by Friar Francesco Patton, the Custos (Guardian) of the Holy Land^[6] (Mahmoud Abbas’ Facebook page, November 16, 2022). Mahmoud Abbas and Muhammad Shtayyeh will participate in the lighting of the Christmas tree at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on December 3, 2022 (Ma’an, November 26, 2022).

   
Right: The governor of the Bethlehem District holds a meeting in his office to discuss Christmas (Bethlehem district governor’s Facebook page, November 14, 2022). Left: Preparations at the Church of the Nativity (Wafa, November 27, 2022).

Rocks, Molotov cocktails and other attacks

• In Judea, Samaria and east Jerusalem Palestinians continued throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at Israeli vehicles driving on the roads. The more prominent events were the following:^[7]
  • November 27, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Naveh Daniel (southwest of Bethlehem). No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged.
  • November 24, 2022: Molotov cocktails were thrown at an IDF jeep and an Israeli vehicle in Hawwara (south of Nablus). No casualties or damage were reported.
  • November 24, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Ni’lin (northwest of Ramallah). No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged. IDF forces identified the Palestinian throwing the rocks and opened fire. He was detained and taken for medical treatment and interrogation (IDF spokesman’s Twitter account, November 24, 2022).
  • November 24, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Dir Qadis (northwest of Ramallah). No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged.
  • November 23, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli bus near Beit El (north of Ramallah). The bus driver was injured by flying glass and the bus was damaged.
  • November 23, 2022: A Molotov cocktail was thrown at an IDF post near Beit Hagai (south of Hebron). No casualties or damage were reported.
  • November 23, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli bus between Hizma and Anatot (north of Jerusalem). No casualties were reported; the bus was damaged.
  • November 23, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle south of the settlement of Beka’ot (Jordan Valley). No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged.
  • November 22, 2022: Rocks and a bottle of paint were thrown at a police patrol car and IDF jeep near al-Fawwar (southwest of Hebron). No casualties were reported; vehicles were damaged.
  • November 22, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Aboud (southwest of Salfit). No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged.
  • November 22, 2022: Rocks were thrown from a passing car at an Israeli bus at the Shiloh Junction (northeast of Ramallah). No casualties were reported; the bus was damaged.
  • November 22, 2022: Rocks were thrown from a passing car at an Israeli vehicle near Turmus Aya (northeast of Ramallah). No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged.
  • November 22, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli bus near Beit El. The bus driver was injured by flying glass and the bus was damaged.
  • November 22, 2022: A rock was thrown at an Israeli vehicle between the Amtin Junction and Qadumim. No casualties were reported; the windshield of the vehicle was shattered.