Doc's Talk: News of the Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation-March 4-11, 2008

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

News of the Israeli-Palestinian Confrontation-March 4-11, 2008

Overview

On March 6, 2008, as the latest round of escalation from the Gaza Strip began to fade, two deadly terrorist attacks were carried out: in one, a mass-casualty attack in Jerusalem, a terrorist from East Jerusalem shot eight students to death at Yeshivat Mercaz Ha'Rav. In the other, which occurred near the security fence around the Gaza Strip, two IDF soldiers were killed by an IED detonated by remote control.

During the past few days there has been a shaky, fragile lull in the fighting on the ground, manifested by a sharp decrease in rocket fire (although a few isolated rockets are launched daily) and by the IDF's avoidance of initiating air and land attacks within the Gaza Strip. The lull is not anchored in a formal agreement , which the Egyptians are trying to broker. According to Palestinian media reports, the agreement the Egyptians are trying to mediate would be based on a mutual ceasefire, opening the Gaza Strip crossings and the release of Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier abducted in June 2006. Important Events

Post- Escalation Calm

Since the end of the last round of escalation (February 27-March 3) there has been a gradual but significant decrease in rocket fire targeting Israeli population centers, although isolated rocket fire continues .

Between March 4 and 6, 22 rocket hits were identified on Israeli territory. In one instance, on March 6 there was a direct rocket hit on a house in Sderot, seriously wounding a grandfather who was watching over his two granddaughters. Three other civilians were slightly wounded and a number were treated for shock (Ynet, March 6).

Beginning March 7 there was a significant drop in the number of rockets fired , with only a few isolated instances for which no organization has claimed responsibility . 1 During the past week a total of 26 rocket hits were identified in Israeli territory. In addition, 20 mortar shells were fired at population centers and at IDF forces operating close to the Gaza Strip security fence.

On March 6 a terrorist from East Jerusalem used a Kalashnikov assault rifle to carry out a mass-casualty attack at Yeshivat Mercaz Ha'Rav in Jerusalem . Eight yeshiva students were killed in the attack and ten wounded, four of them critically. So far it is unclear which organization was behind the attack, and the Palestinian terrorist organizations have yet to claim responsibility it.

The terrorist who carried out the attack was Alaa Hashem Abu Adhim , a resident of Jabel Mukaber, southeast of Jerusalem . He worked driving students around Jerusalem and held an ordinary Israeli identity card, making it easy for him to move in Israeli territory. In our assessment the site of the attack was not chosen randomly and the terrorist's preparations included collecting information about the yeshiva's daily routine. 2

IED Kills Two IDF Soldiers

On March 6 two IDF soldiers were killed by a IED attack against a jeep on a routine patrol along the Gaza Strip security fence near Kissufim. One of the soldiers, a professional scout, was killed outright when the IED was detonated. The other, Liran Banai , an Ashqelon resident, was mortally wounded and died in the hospital on March 9. Two other soldiers were slightly wounded. The IDF assessment is that the IED weighed several dozen kilograms and was detonated by remote control (Ynet, March 6).

Counterterrorist Activities

The Gaza Strip

The IDF Lowers Its Counterterrorist Activity Profile

In recent days, with the lull in the fighting on the ground, the IDF has avoided initiating attacks in the Gaza Strip (incursions and air strikes). IDF forces have engaged only in pinpoint activities against terrorist squads trying to attack.

Before March 6 the IDF continued its intensive activities in the Gaza Strip:

• March 6 – A squad was seen placing an IED near the site of the attack on the IDF jeep in which two soldiers were killed. An IDF force attacked and three PIJ terrorist operatives were killed (Ma'an News Agency, March 6).

• March 5 – In the northern Gaza Strip the IDF hit stationary rocket launchers ready for firing.

• March 4 – Yusuf Samiri , a senior PIJ operative, was killed by the IDF in the central Gaza Strip. During the action an IED was detonated to attack the soldiers and shots were fired from inside nearby buildings (IDF Spokesman's Website, March 4).

Judea and Samaria

Increase in Stones and Molotov Cocktails

The increase in stones and Molotov cocktails thrown throughout Judea and Samaria continues :

Throwing stones :

• March 9 – Stones were thrown at an Israeli bus southwest of Nablus . There were no injuries but the bus was damaged.

• March 8 – An Israeli woman was slightly wounded when stones were thrown at her car, north of Ramallah. Near Jelazoun, northeast of Ramallah, Palestinian rioters threw stones and rolled burning tires at an IDF force and at the security fence. No one was injured and no damage was reported. One Palestinian who had participated in the events was detained.

• March 8 – An IDF soldier was slightly wounded when a stone was thrown at the vehicle he was riding in south of Ramallah. In addition, north of Hebron two Israel civilians were slightly wounded in a traffic accident caused by stones thrown at their vehicle.

• March 5 – Southeast of Nablus, an Israeli woman was slightly wounded when stones were thrown at her car.

Throwing Molotov cocktails:

• March 7 – A terrorist squad drove up to the gate of the settlement of Migdal Oz, south of Bethlehem , and threw an IED and a Molotov cocktail at it. There were no injuries and no damage was reported. An IDF force identified the terrorist operatives and shot at them. A search was conducted which located the terrorist vehicle and three of the squad were detained (IDF Spokesman's Website, March 8).

• March 7 – A Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Israeli bus southeast of Qalqilya. There were no injuries and no damage was reported. In a separate incident, a Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Israeli vehicle southeast of Qalqilya. There were no injuries but the vehicle was damaged.

• March 5 – A Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Israeli vehicle west of Bethlehem . There were no injuries and no damage was reported.

Israeli Civilian Shot At Near Hebron

On March 5 a wounded Israel civilian came the Tarqumia checkpoint west of Halhoul. He had been wounded by shots fired at his car in the village of Idna , northeast of Hebron (IDF Spokesman's Website, March 5). Investigation revealed that he had entered Palestinian territory accompanied by a Palestinian man who was killed in the shooting. The two may have had business dealings (Ynet, March 6). Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack. According to its announcement, the squad planned to abduct the civilian, but an IDF patrol arrived on the scene, preventing the abduction (Ma'an News Agency, March 5).
The Gaza Strip Crossings

Humanitarian Aid Passes into the Gaza Strip from Israel

This past week as well humanitarian aid continued passing into the Gaza Strip through the Israeli crossings:

• Nahal Oz Terminal – Fuel and cooking gas

• Karni Crossing – Wheat and animal feed

• Sufa Crossing – Food and humanitarian equipment

• Erez Crossing – Humanitarian equipment and Palestinians with humanitarian problems

• Kerem Shalom Terminal – Food and humanitarian equipment

Humanitarian Aid passes into the Gaza Strip from Egypt

The Egyptians continue providing authorization for the passage of Palestinians delayed in Egypt since the Rafah Crossing was breached. On March 5, 200 Palestinians returned to the Gaza Strip from the Sinai peninsula . On the same day, 55 patients went from the Gaza Strip to Egypt (Ma'an News Agency, March 5).
Egypt Tries To Broker an Agreement for a Lull in the Fighting

Egypt Tries to Broker an Agreement between Hamas (and the Other Terrorist Organizations) and Israel

The Arab and Palestinian media gave broad coverage to Egypt 's attempts to broker an agreement to stop the violence between Israel and Hamas (and the other terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip). It is based on a mutual ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organizations, the reopening of the Gaza Strip crossings and the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, abducted and held in the Gaza Strip since June 2006.

On March 6 another round of talks began between the Hamas delegation, headed by Mahmoud al-Zahar , the PIJ delegation, headed by Muhammad al-Hindi , and senior Egyptian figures led by the chief of Egyptian intelligence, Omar Suleiman . At the meeting, held in El-Arish, the ceasefire with Israel, the situation in the Gaza Strip and the issue of the crossings between the Gaza Strip and Egypt were discussed (Pal-today Website, Reuters, Agence France Presse, March 6). The chief of Egyptian intelligence was supposed to arrive in Israel to meet with highly-placed political and security figures, but he cancelled after the mass-casualty shooting in Jerusalem (Ynet, March 8). On March 9 Amos Gilad, head of the national security staff of the Israeli defense ministry arrived in Egypt for talks (AP, March 9).

Hamas's Approach to the Agreement for a Lull in the Fighting

Senior Hamas figures recently spoke about an agreement for a lull in the fighting with Israel , stating that it would be possible only if the IDF stopped its activities in the Gaza Strip and West Bank and the blockade of the Gaza Strip were lifted. The spokesmen said that at the present time there was no agreement and stressed that it was Hamas that determined the rules of the campaign against Israel .

Hamas figures said the following:

• Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya praised the Egyptian efforts to bring about an end to the violence, saying that it had to be mutual, simultaneous and fully implemented and had to lead to the rehabilitation of internal Palestinian relations and an end to the blockade of the Palestinian people (Filastin al-‘An Website, March 10).

• Abu Obeida, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades spokesman , said that his men would not grant Israel a lull in the fighting if they received nothing in return. He said that “the lull in the fighting we might agree to would be restricted in time and conditional on the end of Zionist aggression in the West Bank and Gaza Strip …” He also demanded an end to the blockade of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (Palestine-info Website, March 10).

• Ayman Tahe, Hamas spokesman , said there was no agreement to a lull in the fighting. He added that Hamas would decide the time and place to wage fighting it would initiate based on its tactical considerations on the ground, and not within the framework of an agreement. He said that the lull in the fighting with Israel depended on its being mutual and on the end of the blockade of the Gaza Strip (BBC Arabic Radio, March 10).

1 According to a report, on the afternoon of March 11 a rocket was fired at Ashqelon and fell in the industrial zone to the south of the city. It was fired a short time after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's visit to the city ended.

2 For further information see our March 9 Bulletin entitled “Terrorist shooting at Yeshivat Mercaz Ha'Rav in Jerusalem leaves eight students dead”

Thanks to:
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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