Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (September 7 – 13, 2022)

• On September 8, 2022, a man aroused the suspicions of Israeli police Special Patrol Unit fighters near the landmark clocktower in the center of Jaffa, south of Tel Aviv, and he was detained. Investigation revealed he was a Palestinian terrorist from Nablus, in Israel illegally, and a Carlo submachine gun, an ammunition magazine and two nail-filled pipe bombs were found in his duffle bag (Israel Police Force Twitter account, September 8, 2022).
• He was identified as Muhammad Minawi, 20 years old, from Nablus. It was not the first time he was suspected of planning a terrorist attack. During Ramadan in April 2022, he was apprehended on the Temple Mount with a knife in his possession and sentenced to four months imprisonment. He was recently released and returned to terrorist activity. He said he had taken a taxi to the area of the hotels in Tel Aviv and from there walked to Jaffa (Israel’s news network, Kan Hadashot, September 8, 2022). During interrogation he confessed he was planning to carry out a terrorist attack in a crowded site in Tel Aviv in revenge for Israel’s killing an acquaintance of his in Samaria (Mako website, September 8, 2022).

  
Right: The weapons found in the terrorist’s possession (Israel Police Force Facebook page, September 8, 2022). Left: Hyeadband found in the terrorist’s possession. It reads, “Lion Cubs,” the name of a terrorist network in Nablus (Israel Police Force Twitter account, September 8, 2022).

Terrorist attack at the Jalameh Crossing

•  On September 13, 2022, terrorists opened fire at a defense ministry engineering vehicle on the border near the Jalameh Crossing in the Jenin area. No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged. About 30 shell casings were retrieved (Israeli media, September 13, 2022). The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades (Fatah’s military-terrorist wing) in Jenin claimed responsibility for the attack. The Palestinian media issued a video of selected portions of the attack (Amad, September 13, 2022).

Drive-by shooting attack in Hawwara

• On September 9, 2022, there was a drive-by shooting attack near Hawwara, south of Nablus. An Israeli civilian was injured by flying glass and evacuated to a hospital for treatment. The vehicle was damaged. IDF forces carried out a search and retrieved shell casings (IDF spokesman’s Twitter account, September 9, 2022).

IDF soldier attacked near the village of Baytin

•   On September 8, 2022, a Palestinian used a hammer to attack a soldier at an IDF post near the village of Baytin, northeast of Ramallah. Another soldier at the site shot and killed him. A knife was found on the terrorist’s body. The soldier who had been attacked was evacuated for medical treatment (IDF spokesman, September 8, 2022).

   
Right: The hammer used to attack the soldier. Left: The knife found on the terrorist’s body
(IDF spokesman, September 8, 2022).

• On September 8, 2022, the ministry of health in Ramallah reported the Palestinian who had been killed by IDF soldier near the village of Baytin was Haytham Hani Mubarak, 17 years old, from the village of Abu Falah, east of Ramallah. The education department of the Ramallah-al-Bireh district issued a mourning notice for him; he was a student in the 11^th grade at the boys’ high school in Bitunia (Wafa, September 8, 2022). The Fatah movement in Abu Falah issued a mourning notice for him, claiming he was a Fatah operative (Abu Falah DC Facebook page, September 8, 2022). Senior PA and Fatah figures paid condolence calls at the mourning tent erected by the family. They included Laila Ghannam, Ramallah and al-Bireh district governor, and Tawfiq al-Tirawi, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee (Jamal Shuman’s Facebook page, September 9, 2022).

   
Right: Laila Ghannam, Ramallah and al-Bireh district governor, pays a condolence call (Jamal Shuman’s Facebook page, September 8, 2022). Left: Tawfiq al-Tirawi, a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, pays a condolence call (Jamal Shuman’s Facebook page, September 9, 2022).

Stabbing attack prevented at the al-Jib Crossing

•  On September 11, 2022, Border Police fighters at the al-Jib Crossing, northwest of Jerusalem, detained a Palestinian woman who walked toward the crossing using the lane reserved for vehicles, holding a knife. When she did not heed calls to halt the fighters fired shots into the air. She then halted and threw the knife on the ground; she was detained for questioning (Israel Police Force spokesman’s unit, September 11, 2022).

Significant Terrorist Attacks in Judea and Samaria since January 2020^[1]

IDF posts and vehicles attacked

• This past week there was an increase in the number of IDF posts and vehicles attacked in Judea and Samaria (all events reported by Rescue Without Borders in Judea and Samaria):
  • September 11, 2022: Three Molotov cocktails were thrown at an IDF post on the road between Hebron and Kiryat Arba. No casualties or damage were reported.
  • September 11, 2022: Five Molotov cocktails were thrown at IDF vehicles between the al-Hader Junction and Beitar, west of Bethlehem. No casualties or damage were reported.
  • September 11, 2022: A pipe bomb exploded near an IDF post in the Aboud area, northwest of Ramallah. No casualties or damage were reported.
  • September 10, 2022: Molotov cocktails were thrown at an IDF pillbox at the entrance to Bayt Ummar and tires were burned near the post. No casualties or damage were reported.
• On September 10, 2022, senior Hamas figure Abd al-Rahman Shadid called using Molotov cocktails to burn the pillbox in Bayt Ummar an “act of heroism that proved the fragility of the occupation’s fortifications.” He called for Molotov cocktails to be rained down on “occupation targets,” military watchtowers [sic] and the flocks of the settlers. He claimed Hebron was a reservoir of “revolutionaries” who should turn their weapons against the “Zionist enemy” (Shehab, September 10, 2022).
• Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) spokesman in the West Bank Tareq Izz al-Din praised the burning of the military watchtower [sic] near Bayt Ummar. He called it the continuation of “resistance” activities [terrorist attacks] and the “natural and legitimate product” of the “resistance” to the occupation that harmed Palestinian prisoners and attacked Palestinian villages and cities. He said the “response to the occupation” had to be like that used against the Palestinians, since the occupation understood “only the language of force” (PIJ website, September 10, 2022).

Counterterrorism activities

• This past week the Israeli security forces continued intensive counterterrorism activities in locations in Judea and Samaria, detaining Palestinians suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and confiscating large quantities of weapons:
  • On September 13, 2022, IDF forces operating in the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, detained a Palestinian wanted for involvement in terrorist activities. IEDs were thrown at the forces. IDF forces also detained two Palestinians wanted on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities in the villages of Illar, northeast of Tulkarm and Irtah, south of Tulkarm. Two suspects were detained by Israeli security forces in the village of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah and in the Dheisheh refugee camp, southwest of Bethlehem (IDF spokesman’s Twitter account, September 13, 2022).
  • On September 12, 2022, Israeli security forces operating in Jenin detained four Palestinians suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and confiscated weapons. The forces were shot at and IEDs and Molotov cocktails were thrown at them; they   responded with live fire (IDF Twitter account, September 12, 2022).

   
Confiscated weapons (IDF spokesman’s Twitter account, September 12, 2022)

• • On September 11, 2022, Israeli security forces operating in Hebron detained two Palestinians suspected of involvement in terrorist activities (IDF Twitter account, September 11, 2022).
  • On September 11, 2022, Israeli security force operating near the Tapuah Junction, south of Nablus, detained two wanted Palestinians from Nablus. A Carlo submachine gun and bullets were found in their vehicle (Israel Police Force spokesman’s unit, September 1, 2022).

• • On September 10, 2022, Israeli security forces operating in the village of Bir al-Basha, southwest of Jenin, detained three wanted Palestinians and confiscated weapons (IDF Twitter account, September 10, 2022).
  • On September 9, 2022, stones, Molotov cocktails and IEDs were thrown at IDF soldiers operating in the al-Aza refugee camp in the center of Bethlehem, and in Bartas, south of Bethlehem. The soldiers responded with riot control measures and live fire (IDF spokesman’s Twitter account, September 9, 2022).
  • On September 8, 2022, the Palestinian media reported that IDF forces operating in Jenin detained both parents of Muhammad Walid Turkman (Ghawadra) and Maher Turkman’s wife and son. They were two of a three-man terrorist squad that attacked a bus carrying IDF soldiers in the Jordan Valley on September 4, 2022. They shot at the bus and tried to set fire to it, and were themselves burned in the process. Also detained was Abd al-Salam Turkman and his wife Ansharah, both from the Jenin Turkman clan (Ultra Palestine, September 8, 2022). All were relatives of the Palestinian terrorists who carried out the September 4, 2022 shooting attack.
  • On September 7, 2022, Israeli security forces detained 25 Palestinians wanted on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities in Judea and Samaria, also confiscating an M-16, a handgun and three ammunition magazines. An IED was thrown and shots were fired at IDF forces operating in the al-Faraa refugee camp, southwest of Tubas, to detain a wanted Palestinian. The forces returned fire (IDF spokesman’s Twitter account, September 7, 2022).
• The PIJ reported that Younes Ghassan Taya, 21, years old, from the al-Faraa refugee camp, a PIJ operative, was killed by IDF fire in the al-Faraa refugee camp in the Tubas district (PIJ website, September 7, 2022). The Palestinian social networks reported he belonged to the Jerusalem Brigades [the PIJ’s military-terrorist wing] and posted a picture of the IED he was planning to throw at the IDF forces when he was shot and killed (Shabakat Tubas al-Jihadiya Telegram channel, September 7, 2022).
• On September 8, 2022, PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas called Younes Taya’s brother, Khaled, to offer his condolences. Mahmoud Abbas asked that his condolences be offered to the rest of the family and all the residents of the al-Faraa refugee camp (Wafa, September 8, 2022).

     
Right: Mourning notice issued by the PIJ for the death of Taya (Daffa-media [PIJ in the West Bank] Telegram channel, September 7, 2022). Left: IED Taya was planning to throw at the soldiers (Shabakat Tubas al-Jihadiya Telegram channel, September 7, 2022).

Palestinian killed in the Jenin refugee camp

• On September 11, 2022, the ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Hamad Mustafa Abu Jalda, 24 years old, from the Jenin refugee camp, died after having been wounded on September 6, 2022, during the destruction of the apartment of Palestinian terrorist Raad Hazem in the Jenin refugee camp. [Note: On April 7, 2022, Raad Hazem carried out a shooting attack on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv.] He was an operative in the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military[-terrorist] wing (Watan, September 11, 2022). The al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades reported his death, calling him “Abu Mustafa” and stating he belonged to its Shaheed Battalion (al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades Twitter account, September 11, 2022).

   
Right: al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades terrorist operative Hamad Mustafa Abu Jalda holds an M-16 (al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades Twitter account, September 11, 2022). Left: Mourning notice issued by the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades for the death of Hamad Abu Jalda (Masdar News, September 11, 2022).

Israeli worshippers enter the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus

• IDF forces operated after midnight on September 8, 2022, to secure Israeli worshippers entering the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus (IDF spokesman, September 8, 2022). Local sources in Nablus reported that large IDF forces entered the eastern part of the city, the Balata refugee camp and its surroundings to protect the entrance of the Jewish worshippers into the Tomb of Joseph. For the first time [in the specific location and under the circumstances] the IDF operated a UAV which dropped tear gas canisters near Palestinian residents and their houses. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported four people had been wounded by rubber bullets, one   man suffered burns and 12 inhaled tear gas (Quds Press, September 8, 2022).

   
Riots in Nablus after Israeli worshippers enter the Tomb of Joseph
(Paldf Twitter account, September 8, 2022).

Rocket and mortar shell fire into Israel

• Since the ceasefire of August 8, 2022, 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

Isma’il Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, visits Moscow

• On September 10, 2022, Isma’il Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political bureau, arrived in Moscow for an official visit, heading a delegation of the movement leadership. With him were Saleh al-‘Arouri, deputy chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, and Musa Abu Marzouq and Maher Salah, both political bureau members. Taher al-Nunu, Haniyeh’s media advisor, said the delegation had been invited by the Russian foreign ministry and the visit would last a number of days (Hamas website, September 10, 2022). Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem called it “an extremely important visit, especially at such a sensitive time.” He said Hamas was “conducting extensive visits with all those dealing with the Palestinian cause to enlist support,” adding that the movement wanted to expose the [alleged] “crimes of the occupation,” especially those involving al-Aqsa mosque (Hamas website, September 10, 2022).
• On September 12, 2022, the delegation met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They discussed political developments in the Palestinian arena, especially in Jerusalem, the ongoing “invasions” of the PA territories, the “siege” of the Gaza Strip, the “unjust policies” regarding Israeli Arabs and the violation of the rights of the Palestinians in Israeli jails. They also discussed ways to close Palestinian ranks.
• The members of the delegation stressed the “right of the Palestinians to resist the occupation with all means until the liberation and return” [to employ violence and terrorism until the destruction of the State of Israel] and the rights of the Palestinians to their natural resources, especially natural gas, and the problem of resistance to the “enemy’s theft of Palestinian and Lebanese natural resources.” They stated Hamas’ refusal to accept the American attempts to integrate the “Zionist entity” into the Middle East, warning of the “dangers” that would follow. They claimed that American global hegemony harmed the Palestinian cause, adding that changing the polarized international situation in accordance with just and fair principles would benefit the Palestinians and their cause.
•   Later, the delegation also met with deputy foreign ministry Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian envoy to the Middle East, to discuss topics of mutual interest. The members of the delegation expressed their esteem for Russia’s support of the Palestinians’ rights, its praise-worthy role in Palestinian internal affairs and its efforts for Palestinian unity (Hamas website, September 12, 2022).

   
Right: The Hamas delegation meets with the Russian foreign minister. Left: The Hamas delegation with Bogdanov (center) (Hamas website, September 12, 2022).

“Popular naval activity” near the port of Gaza

• Hamas spokesman Abd al-Latif al-Qanua said the Palestinian organizations were planning to hold a “popular activity” at the port of Gaza on September 13, 2022. Its objective was to demand that the residents of the Gaza Strip be allowed a naval passage to the world and to realize their rights to the natural gas field off the Gaza Strip coast. He said the event was meant to exert pressure on Israel to lift the naval siege of the Gaza Strip (alresala.net, September 11, 2022).
• The first natural gas field off the coast of the Gaza Strip, called Gaza Marine, was discovered in 1999, and included gas reserves estimated at 32 million cubic meters, but so far no gas has been produced because of Israeli limitations. In 2014 experts were of the opinion that there was a gas field 300 meters off shore from the Nuseirat refugee camp (alresala.net, September 11, 2022).

Ministry of labor in the Gaza Strip opposes the new employment model for Gazan workers in Israel

• On September 10, 2022, the ministry of labor in the Gaza Strip stated the reasons for its opposition to work permits issued to Gazans by Israeli employers, which was “its desire to protect Palestinian civilians from financial extortion by intermediaries and Israeli security (ministry of labor in the Gaza Strip website, September 10, 2022).
• Note: On July 25, 2022, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) issued an announcement to Gazans employed in Israel, stating that as of August 1, 2022, they would receive work permits for Israel instead of the “economic needs permits” they had received until then. They had to appeal to their employers in Israel for them to ask the Population and Immigration Authority for employment requests. Even Gazans who did not yet work in Israel had to ask an employer in Israel have an employment request issued. According to the COGAT’s announcement, the new work permit had many advantages: direct rather than mediated employment, social benefits and pension rights, a paycheck and a pension (COGAT Facebook page in Arabic, July 25, 2022).

Scouts march in the Gaza Strip to mark the 17th anniversary of Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip.

• The ministry of education in the Gaza Strip held a large march of Scouts in the center of the Gaza Strip with theme, “Gaza, the beginning,” to mark the 17^th anniversary of the Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip (“the liberation”). The head of the department of educational activity in the ministry of education gave a speech at the end of the march. He said it was part of the ministry’s program to instill and promote “national and Islamic values” (website of the ministry of education in the Gaza Strip, September 12, 2022).

   
Pictures from the march
(website of the ministry of education in the Gaza Strip, September 12, 2022).

Al-Saiqa course held in the ministry of the interior college in the Gaza Strip

•   The Hamas ministry of the interior issued pictures of naval training for “level 3 students” of the third al-Saiqa (Arabic for “storm, thunderbolt”) course given at the al-Ribat Academy, which is subordinate to the ministry. The course is required for students at the academy studying police science for a BA degree. Its objective is to raise the level of the students’ physical fitness, to train them under very harsh conditions, and prepare them to deal with various topographical conditions and military tactics. It is also meant to give them command of military disciplines such as engineering, familiarity with the enemy’s weaponry, intelligence, communications and sniping, as well as developing leadership. The course includes physical training, field skills, self defense, military tactics, combat first aid skills, urban fighting military communications and sniping. There were 68 participants in the course and it lasted for 32 days (ministry of the interior in the Gaza Strip website, September 12, 2022).

   
Pictures from the al-Saiqa naval training course
(website of the ministry of the interior in the Gaza Strip)

Mahmoud Abbas plans to speak at the next UN General Assembly session

• Majed al-Khaldi, Mahmoud Abbas’ diplomacy advisor, told Voice of Palestine Radio that Mahmoud Abbas expects to give an important speech before the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2022. He said the speech would deal with the importance of finding ways to protect the two-state solution by forcing Israel to stop all its unilateral measures, and his push for the PA’s status as a full UN member state (Dunia al-Watan, August 16, 2022).
• Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki told Voice of Palestine Radio that Mahmoud Abbas’ speech before the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2022, would be comprehensive, reflecting the worries, demands and expectations of every Palestinian civilian and would deal with all the issues, including the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, the [alleged] “deliberate killing” of the Palestinian people and the non-implementation of international agreements. He added that Mahmoud Abbas would elaborate on all the issue in his speech and would say, in effect, that if the General Assembly and member states did not take action, the PA would find itself at a crossroads and would have to make the appropriate decisions to protect the interests of its people and strengthen their firm stand on their land (Khabar, September 8, 2022).
• Azzam al-Ahmed, a member of the PLO’s Executive Committee and Fatah’s Central Committee, and the general supervisor of the Palestinian arena in Lebanon, told the Lebanese newspaper al-Liwaa that Mahmoud Abbas would explicitly say: “We can no longer suffer, we cannot wait, legitimate international resolutions have to be implemented, especially stopping the settlements and expanding them according to Resolution 2234, stopping the invasions [sic] of Jerusalem and the religious sites, especially al-Aqsa mosque and the Church of the Sepulcher, stopping Israel’s oppressive [sic] measures and providing international protection until the end of the ‘occupation’ ” (Ma’an, September 3, 2022).

The Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) meeting in New York

• On September 7, 2022, PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh met in his office in Ramallah with Hilde Haraldstad, Norway’s envoy to the Middle East, who was accompanied by the Norwegian representative in the PA. They discussed the AHLC meeting which will be held in New York on September 22, 2022 and examined roads to [ensuring] its success and the enlistment of political support to preserve the idea of the two-state solution. He also demanded she exert pressure on Israel during the upcoming meeting to make it stop deducting funds from the tax revenues it collects for the Palestinians. They also discussed the renewal of financial aid to the PA to help it overcome its current financial crisis (Wafa, September 7, 2022).

• On September 7, 2022, the Japanese legation in the PA signed an aid package of $1.5 million for the UN’s World Food Program in the PA. Present at the signing was Ahmed al-Majdalani, minister of social development. The aid will provide food for 73,000 Palestinians in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip for three months. Since 2006 Japan has provided $50 million to fund the activities of the World Food Program in the PA and Gaza Strip (Wafa, September 7, 2022).

The PA continues to attack Israel and warns of a “great explosion”

• At the weekly PA government meeting on September 12, 2022, PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh focused on what he called “the Israeli escalation,” claiming it was a recipe for a “great explosion” which Israel was feeding through its political parties and election propaganda. He claimed it was unacceptable that declarations regarding the lack of a political horizon close to the elections in Israel and the world’s preoccupation with the war in Ukraine would be a coverup for “the [alleged] crimes of the occupation.” He called on the world to wake up and look at what Israel was doing to the Palestinians, who would not surrender until the defeat of the “occupation.”
• Regarding the 29^th anniversary of the Oslo Accords, Shtayyeh claimed Israel had left nothing of the agreement, had cancelled most of its provisions, even the political, economic and geographical parts, and had avoided negotiations for a final arrangement. He claimed Israel continued its unilateral actions by means of the settlements, continued deducting money from the tax revenues it collected for the Palestinians, violating the agreement, and halted the release of Palestinian prisoners, the fourth installment of which was supposed to include Karim Yunes and ailing Palestinians. He attacked Israel for claiming to the world that it wanted to reinforce the PA but in reality acted to destroy it and its institutions (Wafa, September 12, 2022).
•   An online public opinion poll conducted by the Palestinian newspaper al-Quds found that 59% did not think the PA territories were on the brink of a third intifada and 41% thought it was (Wafa, September 12, 2022).

   
Right: Muhammad Shtayyeh attacks Israel during the weekly government meeting (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, September 12, 2022). Left: The massive building in the settlements in Judea and Samaria and the artificial dove of peace (al-Quds, September 7, 2022).

Palestinians continue condemning Israel’s actions in Jerusalem and the visits of Jews to the Temple Mount

• On September 4, 2022, Fadi al-Hidmi, PA minister for Jerusalem affairs, met with Issam al-Bodour, the Jordanian ambassador to the PA, updating him on “Israel’s [alleged] dangerous escalation” in Jerusalem and discussing recent developments in the city. He claimed the “escalation” harmed every aspect of life in Jerusalem, and that the destruction of houses and construction in the settlements would end the two-state solution. He pointed to Israel’s activities in al-Aqsa mosque, which included “invasions [sic], prayers, excavations and Judaization,” in addition to posing obstacles to the renovations being carried out by the Jerusalem waqf (al-Mamlaka, September 4, 2022).

• Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the mufti of Jerusalem and the PA, condemned the visits of Israelis to the Temple Mount compound. He warned Israel not to damage the holy places of Islam, saying that al-Aqsa mosque would remain Islamic and any damage done to it would rain destruction on Israel (Shasha.net, September 7, 2022).

The PA continues to fight Israel’s closing of seven Palestinian NGOs

• On September 6, 2022, Muhammad Shtayyeh, accompanied by ambassadors and consuls from the EU and other countries visited the office of the al-Dameer NGO in Ramallah. The organization deals with prisoners and human rights, and was one of seven Palestinian NGOs Israel recently designated as terrorist organizations and closed. Shtayyeh held a press conference at the site where he again noted the Palestinians’ objections to the closing of organizations, claiming Israel actions were null and void, as well as illegal. He claimed the organizations operated within Palestinian law and were authorized by the PA, which was responsible for them. Therefore, Israel did not have the right to attack the freedom of Palestinian NGOs.
• In addition, Shtayyeh expressed his esteem for the EU, especially the nine countries which had objected to Israel’s decision to close the offices of the seven NGOs. He accused Israel of human rights violations and attacked it for its “illegal” [sic] entrance into Palestinian cities. He claimed the PA was fully responsible for the NGOs, not Israel. The EU representative to the PA strongly condemned Israel’s decision and its activity against the NGOs. He said the EU would continue supporting and financing the NGOs and help them in their fight against Israel’s decision.
• Shtayyeh also related to the publication of the results of Israel’s investigation into the death of al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh and demanded the international community make Israel responsible for her death and bring the IDF and the soldier who [allegedly] shot her to   court (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, September 6, 2022).

   
Muhammad Shtayyeh visits the al-Dameer NGO in Ramallah accompanied by EU consuls and ambassadors (Muhammad Shtayyeh’s Facebook page, September 6, 2022).

Campaign to free terrorist operative Nasser Abu Hamid because of his illness

• On September 8, 2022, the Palestinian prisoners’ club and the family of Palestinian terrorist Nasser Abu Hamid held a press conference. His brother, Naji, said Nasser Abu Hamid’s most recent medical assessment, conducted at Assaf Harofeh Hospital on September 7, recommended the possibility of releasing him to enable him to spend his last days with his family. They also called for his release because he was dying (Wafa, September 8, 2022). That led to demonstrations of support and solidarity in the PA territories, including Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem, calling for his release from jail. In August 2022 his condition began to deteriorate (Wafa, September 8, 2022).
• Nasser Abu Hamid is considered the founder of the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Fatah’s military-terrorist wing, and the right-hand man of Marwan Barghouti, who was detained in 2002 and sentenced to seven terms of life imprisonment plus 50 years (as responsible for terrorist attacks in which seven Israelis were murdered plus 12 counts of attempted murder plus conspiracy to commit murder and terrorist organization activities).

    
Right: Protest demonstration held in Ramallah in solidarity with Nasser Abu Hamid attended by his mother, Umm Nasser Hamid (Paldf Twitter account, September 10, 2022). Left: Demonstration held in Nablus by al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades operatives in solidarity with Nasser Abu Hamid (Twitter account of photojournalist Hassan Aslih, September 10, 2022).

Palestinians mark the first anniversary of the escape of prisoners from the Gilboa Prison

• On September 6, 2022, Palestinians marked the first anniversary of the escape of six prisoners from the Gilboa Prison. Palestinian cartoonist Alaa’ al-Laqta published cartoons marking the day with caption, “The Gilboa tunnel.” The cartoons glorified and praised the escaped prisoners (all of whom were recaptured), and one cartoon noted that the next tunnel would be the “armed resistance” [terrorist attacks] for the sake of al-Aqsa mosque (Alaa’ al-Laqta’s Facebook page, September 6 and 7, 2022).
• PIJ leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in a communiqué issued for the day, claimed the escape was an amazing action, which had “ignited a new revolution and gunshots from one end of the country to the other, which has not surrendered to the occupation.” He called September 6 a “day of freedom,” praising shahada [death as a martyr] and saying that all those who believed in Allah should meet in Jerusalem (Jerusalem Brigades website, September 6, 2022).
• Note: Before dawn on September 6, 2021, four security prisoners serving life terms and two other security prisoners escaped from the Gilboa Prison through a tunnel. Four of them were recaptured four days later in Israel, and the remaining two in Jenin on September 21, 2021 (Wikipedia).

  
The Arabic reads, “One year since the Gilboa tunnel” (Alaa’ al-Laqta’s Facebook page, September 6, 2022). Left: The Arabic reads, “To the memory of the Gilboa tunnel…The next tunnel” (Alaa’ al-Laqta’s Facebook page, September 7, 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:^[2]
  • September 13, 2022: Rocks were thrown at Israeli vehicles in the village of Funduq near Qadumim, west of Nablus. No casualties were reported; the vehicles were damaged.
  • September 12, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle on route 55, near Karnei Shomron, east of Qalqilya. Two Israel were wounded; no damage was reported.
  • September 12, 2022: Rocks were thrown at Israeli vehicles south of Maon, southeast of Hebron. No casualties were reported; the vehicles were damaged.
  • September 11, 2022: Rocks were thrown at Israeli vehicles in the village of Teqoa, southeast of Bethlehem. No casualties or damage were reported.
  • September 11, 2022: Rocks were thrown from a passing truck at Israeli vehicles between Tapuah and Migdalim, south of Nablus. No casualties were reported; the vehicles were damaged.
  • September 11, 2022: Rocks were thrown at Israeli vehicles near al-Aroub, northeast of Hebron. No casualties were reported; the vehicles were damaged.
  • September 11, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Sinjil, northeast of Ramallah. No casualties were reported; the vehicle was damaged.
  • September 10, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli bus and other vehicles between Qiryat Arba and Einun. No casualties were reported; the vehicles were damaged.
  • September 10, 2022: A Molotov cocktail was thrown from a passing vehicle at the fence of Beit El, north of Ramallah. No casualties were reported; underbrush caught on fire.
  • September 10, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli ambulance between Bayt Ummar and al-Aroub No casualties or damage were reported.
  • September 9, 2022: Rocks were thrown at Israeli vehicles in Hawwara, south of Nablus. No casualties were reported; the vehicles were damaged.
  • September 9, 2022: A Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Turmus Aya, northeast of Ramallah. No casualties or damage were reported.
  • September 8, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle in Hawwara. No casualties were reported; the windshield of the bus was damaged.
  • September 7, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Turmus Aya. No casualties were reported; the windshield of the bus was damaged.
  • September 7, 2022: Rocks were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near the smaller Yitzhar Junction, south of Nablus. No casualties were reported; the windshield of the vehicle was damaged.
  • September 7, 2022: Molotov cocktails were thrown at an Israeli bus and other vehicles on route 55 near Azoun, east of Qalqilya. No casualties or damage were reported.