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

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The Meir Amit
Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center

(September 27-October 5, 2010)

Bülent Yildirim, head of the Turkish Islamist organization IHH, behind the microphones at a reception for the Viva Palestina aid in Istanbul. Next to him (black suit) is George Galloway, declared persona non grata in Egypt. Fourth from left is convoy spokesman and British-based Hamas activist Zaher Birawi. Third from left (light suit) is British-based Hamas activist Muhammad Sawalha (insanvakfi.com.tr website, October 4 2010).

Overview

This past week two rocket hits were identified in the western Negev. In Judea and Samaria Molotov cocktails were thrown at an Israeli vehicle and an IDF roadblock. A mosque in Bethlehem was torched and sprayed with graffiti in Hebrew, apparently by Jewish extremists. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak strongly denounced the event.

The Viva Palestina aid convoy reached Syria after a stay in Turkey. Convoys and activists from Jordan, the Gulf States and North Africa are expected to join it in the Syrian port of Latakia. The convoy intends to sail to El Arish (if permitted by the Egyptian authorities) and from there to enter the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing. Important Terrorist Events

The Gaza Strip

Rocket Fire

This past week two rockets fell in Israeli territory in the western Negev. There were no casualties and no damage was done.

On September 27 the Israeli Air Force attacked a squad of armed Palestinians who were about to fire rockets into Israel. Three of them, Palestinian Islamic Jihad military wing operatives, were killed. The organization denied it had attempted to fire rockets (Ynet and the Jerusalem Battalions website, September 28, 2010).

Rockets and Mortar Shells Fired into Israeli Territory 1

Rocket and mortar shell fire into Israeli territory

Rocket Fire 2010, Monthly Distribution *
Rocket Fire 2010, Monthly Distribution

* Rocket hits identified in Israeli territory. A similar number misfire and customarily land inside the Gaza Strip. **As of October 5, 2010.

Judea and Samaria

Several Palestinian terrorist organizations claimed responsibility for the September 26 terrorist attack carried out near the village of Teneh Omarim, south of Hebron. The military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Imad Mughnieh Squads of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed joint responsibility for the attack (PIJ's Jerusalem Battalions website, September 27, 2010).

Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas' political bureau in Damascus, claimed that Hamas' killing of settlers is legitimate and carried out in defense of the Palestinian people. He accused the settlers of killing Palestinian children, burning trees, and "destroying the holy places [of Islam]." He added that Hamas was only defending the Palestinians from violence "which comes from both the IDF and the settlers" (CNN, September 27, 2010).

On October 4 a mosque was torched in Bethlehem and sprayed with Hebrew graffiti. It was apparently the work of extremist Jewish elements. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said in an announcement that whoever was responsible was a terrorist in every respect and his only intention was to undermine the chances for peace and dialogue (Haaretz, October 5, 2010).

On September 28 a Molotov cocktail was thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Qalqilya. Three Molotov cocktails were thrown at the IDF roadblock in Qalandia. On September 27 stones were thrown at an Israeli vehicle near Hebron (IDF Spokesman).

IDF forces detained twenty wanted Palestinians (IDF Spokesman's website, October 5, 2010).
The Peace Process

This past week marked the end of the moratorium on construction in the settlements. Direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians have not been renewed. Statements made by participants were the following:

*

Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu called on the Palestinians to continue the talks despite the renewal of construction, saying that "…In the previous 17-year period, the Palestinians held direct talks with Israeli governments while construction was being carried out in Judea and Samaria, including in the last year of the previous government. I hope that they will not now turn their backs on peace, and will continue the talks in order to reach a framework agreement within one year." 2
*

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas responded to Prime Minister Netanyahu by reiterating that the Palestinians would not return to the negotiating table unless the moratorium was clearly continued. On another occasion he claimed that the decision to continue construction in the settlements equaled a decision to end the negotiations (FTV and Agence France-Presse, September 28, 2010).

Senior Hamas figures continued their denunciation of the negotiations and praised the so-called "resistance" (i.e., violence and terrorism):

*

Ismail Haniya, head of the de facto Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip, claimed that a Palestinian state with the 1967 borders and Jerusalem as its capital and the "return" of the refugees were the "minimum" requirement for tranquility and security in the region. He added that "our people will not abandon their weapons and will not stop the resistance because it is our legitimate right as long as the occupation crouches over our land, until our people enjoy freedom" (Hamas' Al-Quds TV, September 28, 2010).
*

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a member of the Hamas political bureau representing the Gaza Strip, claimed that "the Palestinian street supports the resistance [i.e., the terrorist organizations], not the negotiations." He said Hamas began opposing the negotiations when they began harming the "resistance" and that "an intifada can begin at any moment" (Al-Jazeera TV, September 28, 2010).

Developments in the Gaza Strip

The Crossings

This past week between 66 and 230 trucks entered the Gaza Strip every day.

Hamas Reportedly Building Airfield in Southern Gaza Strip

Anonymous Hamas sources clamed that Hamas was building an airfield in the southern Gaza Strip to accommodate light aircraft and helicopters. It would reportedly be completed in the middle of 2011 (World Tribune website, September 29, 2010). It is unclear whether the field in question is the abandoned one in Dahaniya or a new, improvised field. Note: Various pro-Palestinian organizations recently declared their intention to send aircraft to the Gaza Strip.
Flotillas and Convoys to the Gaza Strip

Flotillas and Convoys Update

The Viva Palestina aid convoy:

*

George Galloway's Viva Palestina convoy is currently in Syria, en route to the Gaza Strip. On October 7, 2010, it is expected to set sail from the Syrian port of Latakia for El Arish (Hamas' Al-Quds TV, October 4, 2010). The convoy, headed by George Galloway, expects to meet the leaders of the Palestinian terrorist organizations operating in Damascus (Al-Watan, October 4, 2010).
*

According to reports, Turkish participation in the convoy has been reduced to ten vehicles. In Istanbul the convoy was received by IHH activists, and at a ceremony held in its honor, IHH leader Bülent Yildirim called on Egypt to allow it to pass through its territory (IHH website, September 29, 2010; Al-Quds Al-Arabi, October 2, 2010).
*

The convoy from Jordan and the Gulf States is currently also in Syria and expected to join the British convoy in Latakia. It apparently includes 52 vehicles and 134 activists (Al-Watan and Hamas' Al-Quds TV, October 4, 2010). The convoy from North Africa is having difficulties finding a ship to carry it to Syria, and it is unclear if its activists and equipment will arrive. A group from Algeria announced its intention to leave for Syria by air and is expected to arrive on October 5 (Al-Quds Al-Arabi, September 28, 2010).

Convoy vehicles enter Syria (Viva Palestina website, October 5, 2010).

Another IHH convoy: IHH announced it intended to organize another aid convoy, this one to leave India on December 2 and travel overland with activists from 17 Asian countries. It would pass through Pakistan, Iran, Syria and Turkey and from there travel by boat to the Gaza Strip, reaching it on or about December 27 (IHH website, October 4, 2010). On another occasion, IHH head Bülent Yildirim said that the organization planned to send more convoys to the Gaza Strip, both overland and by sea, and that it was even considering buying aircraft (Al-Jazeera TV, September 29, 2010).

Freedom Flotilla 2: Rami Abdo, a member of the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG) said that on September 27 a meeting was held in Athens of the preparatory committee of the upgraded Freedom Flotilla 2, which also had participants from Canada and the United States, as well as from Switzerland, France and Italy. He said that "the flotilla's organizers are working to make its results match those of the first Freedom Flotilla" (Hamas’ Al-Aqsa TV, September 29, 2010).

The "Jewish Flotilla:" IDF forces took over the Irene on September 28 without confrontation or casualties.

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

2 http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/Spokesman/2010/10/spokepeace021010.htm.

2 comments:

Bob The Builder said...: Resistance doesn't automatically = terrorism.By your logic the heroic Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto resisting the Nazis were terrorists. Mandela's resistance was not terrorism. But he was labelled as such. Mandela remained on the U.S. list of terrorists until he was 89 yrs old. Name any resister a terrorist and, BINGO! it's ok to kill the resister. Many Israelis now in power,by their deeds not that long ago, should be considered terrorists (by your definition). You know, bombs, killing, and stuff. International law (signed and ratified by Israel) rules it legal for an occupied state to resist their occupier. There is no justification for attacking civilians. Israel and Palestine are both guilty of this. Palestinians, legally according the Hague Convention and the 4rth Geneva Convention (which Israel signed and ratified) can demand the land illegally seized by Israel. Lastly, I don't, nor does anyone I know, support Hamas. But, Hamas was elected by a landslide in a free, fair, legitimate vote - according to 900 international monitors. The U.S., Israel, and others, don't like who Palestinians voted for. Therefore, Palestinians must be punished for choosing the wrong government. The next election was mandated, by law, to be 4 yrs from the last. Abbas, the U.S., Israel, and others won't let the people vote. They know Hamas may win an even stronger majority. Therefore, Abbas has not been elected. He does not have the mandate from Palestinians to lead. Democracy is a wonderful thing unless voters choose the wrong government. Bad citizens, bad citizens. Vote for the government we want. If you vote for whom you want, we will punish you severely.; 3:02 AM
GS Don Morris, Ph.D./Chana Givon said...: Mr Hawke, thank you for reading my blog and for taking time to respond to an article prepared by one of our best terror investigation groups. With respect I do not know where you are getting your information. You either have been terribly misinformed or you have a specific agenda.Contrary to what you wrote Israel does not intentionally target civilians, Hamas, Fatah et al do so. Furthermore, you mention the Geneva Convention,you should study the international legal explanations for its implementation. Let's for a moment say that the Conventions apply, Hamas and the Palestinians are in violation of so many aspects it is disingenuous of you and others to focus its application only upon Israel. Civilians are used as human shields, violation; not allowing Red Cross to visit a prisoner, violation. You obviously are unaware of the rules of engagement for the Israeli military or you would recant some of your comments. Please, occupied land-please read material by international legal scholars before repeating the mantra of the politicos and msm.Fianlly, Hamas, "free,fair,legitimate vote"-ask the people of Gaza what really happened. For you to say that Israel is not allowing the next vote gave away your true position on ME matters but I gave you your time to share your slanted or misinformed point of view.; 6:36 AM

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