IICC
Overview
This week, the lull has been upheld with no violations by the terrorist organizations. Israel has reopened the crossings to the Gaza Strip, which were closed down following last week's rocket fire. The Egyptians allowed the Rafah crossing to open for a short period of time as a gesture for the month of Ramadan. There has been no progress on the Gilad Shalit issue. Following PA Chairman Abu Mazen's meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert, the Palestinians reiterated that they would not agree to a partial settlement. Ehud Olmert announced that he sought to achieve a comprehensive agreement by late 2008, but that the agreement would not include the issue of Jerusalem .
Important Events
The Gaza Strip
This week, the lull has been upheld with no violations.
Judea and Samaria
During a routine security screening of a Palestinian who arrived at the Hawara checkpoint (south of Nablus ), he took out a knife and attempted to stab the commander of the checkpoint. The latter subdued the Palestinian and detained him (IDF Spokesman, September 1).
Counterterrorist Activities
The Gaza Strip
As in previous weeks, the Israel security forces avoided conducting counterterrorism activities in the Gaza Strip, continuing their routine activities along the border fence.
The Egyptian police forces announced that they had found some 200 lbs. of explosives, weapons, and ammunition in central Sinai, probably meant to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip (Reuters, August 27).
Judea and Samaria
Palestinian Islamic Jihad squad exposed in the Ramallah region
Working with the IDF and the Israeli police, the Israel Security Agency (ISA) exposed in August 2008 a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) squad in the Ramallah region. Two of its members were young Israeli Arabs from the northern town of Shfaram who raised funds for purchasing explosives. They even attempted to contact the PIJ headquarters in Syria . 1
The Lull Arrangement
The situation at the crossings
The border crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip were reopened on August 29. The crossings were closed on August 27-28 due to rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.
Brief opening of the Rafah crossing
On August 30-31, the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was opened for a short period of time. More than a thousand residents passed through, most of them moving from the Gaza Strip to Egypt . The opening was coordinated in advance by the Hamas administration and the Egyptian authorities, which jointly decided that those wishing to cross would be able to do so on designated buses and ambulances. Egyptian officials stressed that the Rafah crossing would not be kept open indefinitely and that opening it was just a gesture for the month of Ramadan (Middle East News Agency, August 30).
Hamas officials welcomed Egypt 's decision to open the crossing and its efforts to cooperate with the Hamas government in order to organize the traffic through the crossing.
Terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue their military buildup
The terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip continue taking advantage of the lull in the fighting for military buildup in the anticipation of a possible confrontation with IDF forces. 3 As part of the military buildup, the organizations hold intensive training programs, which also include women and teenagers. 4 Graduation ceremonies of several organizations' courses were held this week in the Gaza Strip, by terrorist organizations such as the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and the PIJ. Particular emphasis was placed in the training on abducting soldiers.
At a graduation ceremony of a PIJ course, various military skills were displayed: combat skills, detonating IEDs, abducting soldiers, etc. One of the organization's leaders, Abdallah al-Shami, gave a speech calling to “destroy Israel and wipe it off the face of the Earth” (Nidaa al-Quds, August 30). At a graduation ceremony of the Popular Resistance Committees (the Zakaria Dughmush network), armor-piercing charges were detonated, a mock-up of a military camp was stormed, abductions were carried out, and a tank model was blown up (Moqawama website, August 30). The Hamas graduation ceremony included demonstrations of abducting soldiers, firing RPG rockets while driving a motorcycle, and attacking IDF outposts (Palestine-info, August 26).
The training also includes children and teenagers, some of whom take part in summer camps held during the summer vacations. Eleven year old “Muhammad”, who took part in the children's training of the Salah al-Din Brigades, the PRC's terrorist-operative wing, was documented shooting a rifle. In an interview to Israeli news website ynet, he said he practiced “fighting Jews and killing Jewish children” (article by Ali Waqed, ynet, August 31).
The tunnel issue
Speaking at a government meeting, Yuval Diskin, head of the Israel Security Agency (ISA), addressed the issue of Gaza Strip tunnels during the lull in the fighting. He said that there has been an increase in the number of tunnels dug out in the Gaza Strip, which are designed to set mines, transfer forces, and smuggle weapons. “The extent of the tunneling is troubling”, Yuval Diskin said. However, he commended the enforcement activity of the Egyptian security forces, which resulted in a drop in explosives smuggling (ynet, August 31).
Senior figures in Hamas and the Gaza Strip security services held a workshop in Rafah about the tunnels. The national security chief in the border region reported that there were about 200 active tunnels between the Mediterranean Sea and Rafah. He said that the Hamas police prevented the opening of new tunnels and monitored those that already existed. The workshop participants suggested that new guidelines be drawn up and a national committee for tunnel monitoring be established (Felesteen newspaper, August 28).
Protest ships leave the Gaza Strip
On August 28, the two protest ships which had arrived in the Gaza Strip and stayed there for several days left for Cyprus . Nine of the passengers remained in Gaza , and the protesters took seven Palestinians on their way back. The organizers said they would organize a new voyage of protest ships next month (FreeGaza website, August 28). Jamal al-Khudari, chairman of Hamas's popular committee against the siege, said that the delegation members were trying to open a regular naval route between Cyprus and the Gaza Strip (Qudsnet, August 28).
The Egyptian authorities refused to let the pro-Palestinian activists remaining in the Gaza Strip to cross into Sinai through the Rafah crossing. That decision was met with protest by the activists, who said at a press conference that it was an Israeli-Egyptian plot (Al-Jazeera, September 1). At the same time, the activists who remained in the Gaza Strip said they intended to join the fishing boats leaving Gaza in order to document the Israeli navy's activity against them (FreeGaza website, September 1).
Al-Aqsa TV, August 25
The protest ships with fishing boats from the Gaza Strip (Al-Aqsa TV, August 25)
The abducted soldier Gilad Shalit
On August 26, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with the Egyptian President in Alexandria to discuss the release of the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. Following that meeting, Hamas senior activists commented on the issue:
• Moussa Abu Marzouq, Vice Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, said: “The Hamas movement will not change its position on the selection of the 450 [prisoners] who are on the list that Israel has. We stick to the need to release them in exchange for the release of Gilad Shalit…” (Al-Hayat, September 1).
• Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha stressed that the “prisoner swap” was not currently on Hamas's agenda (Qudspress, August 27).
• Abu Obeida, a spokesman for Hamas's terrorist-operative wing, reiterated Hamas's stance that it would not discuss any suggestion but the list of 450 prisoners communicated to Israel (Al-Sharq al-Awsat, August 30).
The Annapolis process
Abu Mazen: the Palestinians will not agree to a partial solution
Following his meeting with the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Abu Mazen said that the Palestinians were serious about finding a comprehensive agreement with Israel . However, he stressed that the Palestinians would not agree to a partial solution that did not include all the controversial issues (Al-Ayyam, August 27). In an interview given during his visit to Lebanon, Abu Mazen said that, during his meeting with Rice, he agreed to have foreign (not Israeli) force stationed in the Palestinian Authority-administered territories during the transition period that would follow the establishment of the Palestinian state (Al-Arabiyya TV, August 28). During the press conference, Abu Mazen said that an agreement with Israel must include all the core issues (NTV, August 28).
On August 31, Abu Mazen met with Israeli PM Ehud Olmert. During the meeting, the Israeli PM said that he wished to reach a comprehensive peace agreement by late 2008. However, he said that the agreement would not include the issue of Jerusalem . The Palestinians, on their part, reaffirmed their refusal to any agreement that did not include the issue of Jerusalem (AFP, August 31).
The internal Palestinian scene
Abu Mazen’s visit to Lebanon
The PA Chairman held a two-day visit to Lebanon during which he met with Lebanon 's President Michel Suleiman and other senior officials, with the leaders of Lebanese-based Palestinian terrorist organizations, and with Christian leaders. He also met with terrorist Samir Kuntar (the murderer of the Haran family, who was released in the prisoner swap with Hezbollah). In his meetings, Abu Mazen brought the Lebanese up to date on internal Palestinian developments and on the negotiations with Israel (Wafa News Agency, August 28).
PA Security services continue their activities against Hamas civilian infrastructure
The Palestinian Authority security services continued their vigorous activities against Hamas's civilian infrastructure ( da'wah ) in Judea and Samaria . This week the security services continued their activity in Hebron , where they detained several dozen suspects. Seized in the activity were weapons and documents pertaining to the funding of Hamas activities (Filastin al-Aan, Maan News Agency, August 30). In Tulkarm, a series of arrests took place after a shooting attack on the local Military Intelligence headquarters (Palestine-info, August 28). In Nablus , the Palestinian Authority security services uncovered bank accounts holding large sums of money which belonged to Hamas's Al-Tadamun (“Solidarity”) charitable association. Also, several businessmen suspected of involvement in money transfers for Hamas were detained for questioning (Maan, August 27).
Speaking at a government meeting, Yuval Diskin, head of ISA, noted the activity of the Palestinian Authority security services against the Hamas movement. He said that so far, that activity resulted in the arrest of 200 Hamas activists and the shutdown of 45 Hamas institutions (ynet, August 31).
Public workers' strike continues in the Gaza Strip
With the teachers' strike over and school back to normal, the public workers' union and the health care employees' union announced a four day strike starting August 30. The reason for the strike is that forty workers, including doctors, nurses, and x-ray technicians were laid off for allegedly not recognizing Hamas's legitimacy (Wafa, August 26). Senior figures in the Hamas movement which tried to derail the strike said that it was a “political strike” dictated by the Palestinian Authority whose goal was to “strengthen the siege on the Gaza Strip” (AFP, August 30).
The internal Palestinian scene
Hezbollah accidentally shot down a Lebanese military helicopter thinking
it was an Israeli helicopter
On August 28, Hezbollah operatives in the eastern sector of south Lebanon opened fire on a Lebanese military helicopter, forcing it to crash land and killing the pilot. The incident was probably a local initiative by Hezbollah operatives on the ground, perhaps driven by Hezbollah's concern over possible Israeli aerial activity.
Even though top Lebanese officials avoided directly criticizing the incident, it sparked strong criticism of Hezbollah. Hezbollah's opponents asked the Lebanese government to conduct a thorough investigation. Hezbollah, on its part, attempted to trivialize the incident and even handed over the operative responsible for it to the government. Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem issued a call to put the incident out of the political context. He said that Hezbollah had given over the investigation of that “painful and unfortunate” incident to the Lebanese legal system.
Referring to the incident, Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri issued a call to establish a joint Hezbollah-Lebanese military committee to coordinate their activities. Addressing Israel , Nabih Berri called it to stop its aerial incursions into Lebanon if it is concerned about the [anti-aircraft] rockets in Hezbollah's possession (Lebanese News Agency, September 1).
Jamil al-Niyabi, a commentator for the Lebanese London-based daily Al-Hayat, strongly criticized the shooting down of the helicopter and discussed its implications:
“On August 28, Hezbollah operatives shot down a Lebanese army helicopter on training over Iqlim al-Tuffah. According to all the rules and conventions in free, independent countries, military aircraft have every right to fly at any time, at any place, according to the military needs and provided that the place in question belongs to that country. The country does not need to have permission and coordinate those activities with other parties and factions. However, the situation in Lebanon is different, just like the nature of the people is different. Hezbollah has in fact occupied significant portions of Lebanese land and wants to force the country and the military command to coordinate their activities with it and to receive permissions to carry them out. Has it become necessary to draw a border between the state of Lebanon and the state of Hezbollah ? Is Hezbollah's domain off-limits, inaccessible by air and by land?...” (Al-Hayat, September 1).
1 An Information Bulletin dealing with this issue can currently be found in Hebrew on the Information Center 's website. It will soon be published also in English.
2 Not including rocket and mortar shell hits in Israel .
3 See our Information Bulletin: “Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist organizations are taking advantage of the lull in the fighting to promote their military buildup, which includes intensive training, in preparation for the day after” (August 21, 2008).
4 Information Bulletins dealing with these issues will soon appear in English on the Information Center 's website.
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