Overview
1. On August 22, 2013, two barrages of two rockets
each were fired into the western Galilee. Two landed in Israeli
population centers, one in an open area and one was intercepted by the
Iron Dome aerial defense system. There were no casualties but property
damage was reported. It was the first incidence of rocket fire from
south Lebanon in two years.
2. Responsibility for the attacks was attributed by sheikh Zariqat to
the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, a global jihad organization with ties to
Al-Qaeda, which has a branch in Lebanon (See Appendix A for information
about the organization and its Lebanese branch). However, the Lebanese
government condemned the rocket fire and the Lebanese foreign minister
claimed that those who carried out were trying to drag Lebanon into a
confrontation with Israel. Hezbollah did not issue a formal comment.
3. Since the Second Lebanon War there have been eight instances of rocket fire targeting Israel,
most of them directed against communities in the western and eastern
Galilee. In our assessment at least some of the rockets were fired by
Lebanese networks affiliated with global jihad, including the Abdullah
Azzam Brigades, an organization established in 2009. In our assessment the
recent rocket fire was motivated by the Abdullah Azzam Brigades' desire
to challenge Hezbollah (which has shown restraint along the
Israeli-Lebanese border) by provoking Israel. It can be assumed
that their motivation increased recently following Hezbollah's military
involvement in the Syrian civil war on the side of the Syrian regime,
its victory in the campaign for Al-Qusayr and the leaking of the
confrontation between the Sunni jihadists in Syria and Shi'ite Hezbollah
into the Lebanese arena.
Rocket Fire – The Situation on the Ground (as of August 25, 2013)
4. At 16:30 and 16:45 hours on the afternoon of August 22, 2013, four
rockets were fired from the western sector of south Lebanon attacking
Israeli population centers in the western Galilee. According to the
claim of responsibility issued, they were medium-range rockets (40
kilometers, or about 25 miles). The Lebanese media reported that the
rockets had been launched in two separate barrages from orange groves
between the village of Al-Hush and the Rashidiya refugee camp in south
Lebanon (Al-Jadeed TV, August 22, 2013).
5. Two rockets fell in Israeli communities in the western Negev (see
pictures), a third fell in an open area and the forth was intercepted by
the Iron Dome aerial defense system deployed in northern Israel. There
were no casualties, with the exception of four civilians who were
treated for shock, but seven buildings and three cars were damaged
(Haaretz, August 23, 2013). One of the rockets hit Kibbutz Gesher Haziv
and damaged several buildings and cars. Another hit a guest home for
Holocaust survivors in the communal settlement of Shavei Zion (Ynet,
August 23, 2013)
The rockets fired south of Tyre in the attack on the western Galilee (Soursawa.com and Yasour.org websites, August 22, 2013)
Claim of Responsibility
6. The Twitter account of the Salafist-jihadi Lebanese sheikh Siraj al-Din Zariqat reported that the Ziyad al-Jarrah Battalions of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades
were responsible for the rocket fire (See Appendix A). According to the
announcement, the rockets had a range of more than 40 kilometers, or 25
miles, meaning that the responsibility of the "Iranian party" [i.e.,
Hezbollah] for "guarding the Jews" would become difficult. That is
because with such rockets the jihad fighters would be able to reach Haifa and the other "strategic areas" of the Jewish enemy (Twitter account of sheikh Siraj al-Din name, August 22, 2013).
7. According to the Lebanese media, sheikh Siraj al-Din Zariqat is
a senior figure in the Abdullah Azzam Brigades in Lebanon (Al-Akhbar,
August 14, 2013). He is one of the preachers who deliver the Friday
prayers in the mosques in Beirut, belongs to the Dar al-Fatwa
Institution (a Sunni religious institution under the control of the
Mufti of Lebanon) and supports the revolt against the Syrian regime. In
the past he was detained and is closely monitored by Lebanese
intelligence (YouTube, August 8 2013).
IDF Response
8. In response to the rocket fire on August 23, 2013, the Israeli Air
Force (IAF) struck a terrorist target south of Beirut. A direct hit was
reported (IDF spokesman, August 23, 2013). The target, located in the
region of Al-Naameh south of Beirut, is a base belonging to the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), a
Syrian-oriented Palestinian terrorist organization headed by Ahmed
Jibril. However, according to the Lebanese media, there were no
casualties and no damage was reported (Al-Nashra New Agency, Lebanon,
August 23, 2013).
9. Hezbollah condemned the IAF attack, claiming it "showed the enemy's
evil intentions toward Lebanon" (Website of the Lebanese Resistance
[Hezbollah], August 24, 2013).
Reactions in Lebanon
10. So far Hezbollah had not formally issued a reaction to the rocket
fire. Hassan Fadlallah, a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament,
claimed that Hezbollah had no connection or information about the rocket fire from south Lebanon into northern Israel. However, he added that Hezbollah did not condemn any action directed at the Israeli enemy (Al-Ahed, August 22, 2013).
11. The Lebanese government strongly condemned the rocket fire, claiming that its objective was to drag Lebanon into a confrontation with Israel:
1) Michel Suleiman, Lebanese president, condemned the
rocket fire and demanded the exposure of those responsible. He said it
was a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and violated
Lebanon's sovereignty (Al-Nashra News Agency, Lebanon, August 22, 2013).
2) Adnan Mansour, the Lebanese foreign minister,
accused the terrorist operatives who launched the rockets of trying to
drag Lebanon into a confrontation with Israel (Al-Nashra News Agency,
Lebanon, August 22, 2013).
3) Tammam Salam, nominated as Lebanon's next prime
minister, condemned the rocket fire, describing it as "questionable." He
said it was liable to harm Lebanon and set it on a path that would lead
to Israeli aggression (Al-Nashra News Agency, Lebanon, August 22,
2013).
12. The UNIFIL force in Lebanon issued a condemnation following the attack. Major-General Paolo Serra,
commander of the force, said it endangered the local civilian
population. He said it only proved that there were people who wanted to
violate the regional calm and endanger the success of the Lebanese army
and UNIFIL in recent years in preserving the tranquility. He added that
UNIFIL strongly condemned the attack (Mivzaklive website, August 23,
2013).
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