Doc's Talk: News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Thursday, July 15, 2010

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

(July 7-14, 2010)

Overview

This past week there was quiet in the western Negev and no rocket hits were identified.

Events focused on the launching of an aid ship to the Gaza Strip by a Libyan charitable society called the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation. There were conflicting versions regarding its final destination, however, it sailed to El-Arish.

Besides the Libyan ship various European and Arab groups are planning to organize aid flotillas and convoys to the Gaza Strip, without definite dates. The Gaza Strip

Rocket Fire

During the past week no rocket hits were identified in the western Negev. Several rockets fell inside the Gaza Strip.

In isolated incidents IDF forces patrolling the security fence were shot at with light arms. There were no casualties.

*Rocket hits identified in Israeli territory. A similar number misfire and
customarily land inside the Gaza Strip.
** As of July 13, 2010.

Judea and Samaria

Counterterrorism Activities

This past week Judea and Samaria were relatively quiet. The Israeli security forces continued their counterterrorism activities this past week, detaining Palestinians suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and seizing weapons. Riots continued near the security fence.

On July 11 a plank of wood was thrown at an Israel vehicle near the Tapuah junction south of Nablus. An Israeli civilian sustained minor injuries.
Flotillas and Convoys to the Gaza Strip

Flotillas and Convoys Update

Libya

At 1900 hours on July 11 the Amalthea (whose name has been changed to Amal ("hope") set sail from the Greek port of Lavrio (50 kilometers, or 31 miles, from Athens) en route to the Gaza Strip. The voyage was organized by a Libyan charitable society called the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, directed by Saif al-Islam ("the sword of Islam") Gaddafi, son of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi.2 There were conflicting reports regarding its final destination, however, in the end it sailed to El Arish.

Hamas sources continued to call for the ship to reach the Gaza Strip. That is in line with the movement's basic desire for a media-covered confrontation (modeled on the Mavi Marmara), not for an arrangement which will make it possible to bring humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip. For example:

*

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said every alternative suggestion should be rejected, including sailing the ship to the port of El Arish, because "the goal is not only to bring humanitarian assistance but the complete lifting of the siege of the Gaza Strip and the establishment of a sea lane to break the continuing maritime blockade." He said that the arrival of the ship meant bringing "the intifada of the ships" to life (Al-Aqsa TV, July 11, 2010).
*

Ahmed Yussuf, deputy foreign secretary in the de facto Hamas administration and a member of Hamas' Popular Committee to Break the Siege, said that the committee had completed preparations to receive the ship in the Gaza port (BBC and Hamas’ Palestine-info website, July 13, 2010).
*

According to the media, the United States exerted pressure on Libya to avoid a confrontation with Israel. P. J. Crowley, a spokesman for the American state department said that "We, along with our partners in the in the Quartet, urge all those wishing to deliver goods to do so through established channels so that cargo can be inspected by the government of Israel, and transferred via land crossings into Gaza. We have urged the Libyan government to avoid unnecessary confrontations. We call on all parties to act responsibly in meeting the needs of the people of Gaza"3 (ITIC italics) (VOA News, July 13, 2010).

Other Initiatives

There are other initiatives to organize aid flotillas and convoys to the Gaza Strip, some of which plan to transfer the goods through Egypt:

*

Lebanon: The sailing of the Lebanese flotilla is still delayed, the result of administrative and logistic difficulties. The organizers have currently lowered the high media profile which accompanied the preparations. So far no definite date has been set for the ships to sail.
*

Europe

• The so-called European Campaign to Lift the Siege, which participated in the Mavi Marmara flotilla, said in an announcement that following the large number of requests to join Freedom Flotilla 2, its sailing may be postponed slightly until the beginning of August 2010. According to the announcement, so far 9,000 people have signed up to participate, and a large number of ships can be assumed. The organization also claimed that the flotilla would bring "surprises" for Israel (Hamas’ Palestine-info website, July 6, 2010). One of the ships will carry 400 women activists from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Arab world, and its cargo will consist of humanitarian assistance for the women of the Gaza Strip (Al-Alam TV, July 7, 2010).

• The Miles of Smiles convoy, carrying medial and possibly other aid, is expected to reach Egypt on July 25 or 27 and to enter the Gaza Strip two days later. Apparently there are 30 representatives from European institutions participating in the convoy (Hamas’ Palestine-info website, July 13, 2010).

*

Libya: The so-called Libyan Coordinating Committee in Support of the Palestinian People said in an announcement that at the beginning of next week it would send an aid convoy overland from Libya to the Gaza Strip. The convoy would include 20 trucks carrying basic foodstuffs, drugs and medical equipment, and representatives from various organizations and doctors would participate (Libyan News Agency, July 13, 2010).
*

Yemen: The so-called Popular Yemeni Authority to Support the Palestinian People began collecting donations to organize a flotilla of four ships. They are supposed to set sail from Yemen at the beginning of August. Muhammad al-Hamzi, a member of the Yemeni Parliament who participated in the Mavi Marmara flotilla (and was photographed aboard the ship brandishing a dagger), claimed that the Yemeni people had responded enthusiastically and had a strong desire to participate in the flotilla. He said that the Turkish flotilla "strengthened our faith that our objectives will only be achieved by sacrifice, a firm stand and patience."
*

Jordan: On July 13 a farewell ceremony was held for the Jordanian convoy Ansar 1, which is supposed to leave Jordan for Egypt. According to the organizers, the convoy is planning to go to Egypt and enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. Abd al-Fatah, convoy chairman, said that there would be 150 participants, some of them members of the Muslim Brotherhood. Sixteen women will ago participate. The convoy will carry medical equipment, drugs, building materials and the cornerstone for a children's hospital which will be built in the town of Dir al-Balah (Al-Jazeera TV, July 12, 2010).

Germany Outlaws the Turkish Islamic Organization IHH

The German interior minister announced that the Turkish IHH operating in Germany has been outlawed because of its ties to Hamas. He said that IHH was registered in Frankfurt, transferred large sums of money to Hamas, and since 2003 had been designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union. He noted that the decision to outlaw the organization had been made after a year-long investigation (Agence France-Presse and other media, July 12, 2010).

The American State Department is also examining the inclusion of IHH in its list of terrorist organizations. According to a question at the July 7 State Department briefing, a bipartisan group of 87 senators sent a letter to the President regarding his support for Israel. In the letter, they called on him to consider putting the Turkish group, the IHH, on the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations after an examination of the intelligence community, the State Department, and the Treasury Department. Mark C. Toner, acting Department spokesman, said he believed they were looking at the IHH, but that it was a long process to designate an organization as a foreign terrorist organization.4
Developments in the Gaza Strip

The Crossings

In June 3,072 trucks carrying merchandise entered the Gaza Strip from Israel.

Easing Restrictions Leads to Gazan Fears of Israeli Competition

According to reports in the Arab media, Israel's policy of easing the restrictions on goods which can be imported into the Gaza Strip will lead to a glut of products on the Gazan markets and a fall in prices. A clothing dealer claimed that there was an "unprecedented abundance of goods" in the Gaza markets. He also claimed that clothing sold in the Gaza Strip arrived both through the tunnels and the Israeli crossings (Al-Ayam, July 5, 2010). However, there are relatively few buyers, perhaps because Hamas has not yet paid the salaries of public sector employees.

Sources in the Gaza Strip's private sector said they were afraid Israel's policy of easing restrictions would lead to competition with goods from Israel, and called for limiting imports from Israel. For example, the wood industry claimed that imports of furniture had to be limited. Soft drink manufacturers in the Gaza Strip said they feared they would have to close their factories because of the new Israeli policy, which allowed soft drinks to be imported. They claimed that they could meet the needs of the local market but could not compete with the prices of Israeli products, and called on the de facto Hamas administration to keep Israeli soft drinks out of the Gaza Strip (Hamas’ daily Felesteen, July 4, 2010).

Hamas Criticizes Possible Implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access

The de facto Hamas administration reacted strongly to statements made in the Palestinian Authority regarding the possible implementation of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access, known as the Gaza crossings agreement. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri claimed that Israel's desire to restore the crossings agreement with the Palestinian Authority was "part of an Israeli, Arab and European plot to restore the rule of the Palestinian Authority to the Gaza Strip." Atef Adwan, a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, claimed that the Palestinian Authority was motivated by the desire to profit from the taxes on goods entering the Gaza Strip and emphasize its part in "lifting the siege" (Al-Risala, July 9, 2010).

Tension Between Egypt and the Hamas Regime

Its continuing tension with the de facto Hamas administration has led Egypt to make efforts to end the crisis: Hamas’ daily Felesteen reported that a high-ranking "senior Egyptian" is expected to visit the Gaza Strip in the near future. During his visit he will deal with relations between the sides, the internal Palestinian reconciliation and the deal for the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (Felesteen, July 5, 2010).

In the meantime, Egyptian security forces continue their efforts to prevent weapons from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian authorities reported they had located and destroyed 400 tunnels since the beginning of the year, nine of them recently, and that a large quantity of merchandise for smuggling into the Gaza Strip had been confiscated (Qudsnet, July 4, 2010). It was also reported that Egyptian security forces discovered a weapons stockpile ready to be smuggled into the Gaza Strip, which included half a ton of standard explosives, mortar shells and anti-tank rockets (Ma’an News Agency, July 5, 2010).
The Peace Process

Responses to the Possible Renewal of Direct Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations

In response to statements that direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations would be renewed on August 1, Saeb Erekat, head of the Palestinian negotiating team, said that they would be renewed only when Israel announced a freeze on building in the settlements and its readiness to renew the talks from where they left off in December 2008. He also said that they had to be held according to a pre-determined time table (Voice of Palestine Radio and Ma’an News Agency, July 12, 2010).

Saeb Erekat added that in a telephone conversation between Mahmoud Abbas and American President Obama, the president asked for direct negotiations and said that George Mitchell, American envoy to the Middle East, would elaborate. Erekat said that after the Mitchell-Mahmoud Abbas meeting on July 17, the PLO and Fatah leadership would put together recommendations to be presented to the Arab monitoring committee, which would decide whether or not to enter into direct negotiations (Voice of Palestine Radio and Ma’an News Agency, July 12, 2010).

1 The statistics do not include the mortar shells fired at IDF soldiers patrolling the border fence which fell inside the Gaza Strip.

2 For further information see the July 11, 2020 bulletin, “A Libyan charitable society headed by the son of Muammar Gaddafi organized an aid ship to the Gaza Strip. It set sail on July 10 and is expected to reach the region in four days” at http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/ipc_e105.pdf.

3 http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/US-Urges-Libya-to-Avoid-Gaza-Aid-Confrontation-with-Israel-98362979.html

4 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2010/07/144116.htm.

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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.

Doc's Talk