Israeli forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip on April 12 after a three day strike which reportedly killed 16 Palestinians and wounded nearly 40. The assault on the Gaza Strip was in response to the shooting of Israeli civilians Oleg Lipson [37] and Lev Cherniak [53] on April 9 by Palestinian activists. Islamic Jihad, who claimed responsibility for this attack along with the Popular Resistance Committee, stated that the “unique and complicated operation” was aimed at kidnapping Israeli soldiers.
The infiltration into Israeli territory came only hours after a Hamas activist and an Israeli soldier had been killed during clashes in Khan Younis. Early in the morning of April 9, four Palestinian gunmen managed to breach the border with Israel near the Nahal Oz terminal - the only place where restricted amounts of fuel supplies are transported to the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials state that under the cover of mortar fire, the assailants killed the two Be’er Sheva residents in a “failed abduction attempt”.
Two of the Palestinian attackers were killed as they attempted to flee back to Gaza while the immediate reprisal from Israel involved three air strikes wounding nine people. One of the strikes hit a car in the Sajaia neighborhood of Gaza City which is thought to have killed a third member of the Nahal Oz operation.
In co-ordination with the IAF, tanks quickly entered the Gaza strip which killed four Palestinian civilians, including a 15-year old boy when an artillery round slammed was launched into a house.
Although Hamas did not claim responsibility they praised the operation as “heroic and courageous” with the al-Qassam Brigades [Hamas’ military wing] stating that they had fired three rockets into Israel – the first time they had admitted to such an act for a month.
The infiltration of Palestinians into Israel on April 9 again called into question Israel’s security and proved that Israel is not impenetrable and can be breached. In addition, the attack sent a message to Israel that Hamas continue to be influential, competent and not to be underestimated, indicating that no Israeli deal can be made with Hamas’ counterparts in the West Bank without their consent.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak confirmed that even though they did not claim to have a role in the attack, Hamas is the governing body in Gaza and “will be held accountable”.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arye Mekel added that “Israel sends food, gas and medical supplies and humanitarian assistance every day and the terrorists who attacked the crossing today are trying to harm this operation and are harming mostly the well-being of the people”.
As the international community was contemplating how Israel would retaliate, fearing an escalation in violence and further restrictions on fuel, food and medical supplies to the strip as result of the attack, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declared on April 10 that “the response against Hamas will be such that Hamas will no longer be able to act against Israeli citizens”. Furthermore, Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai asserted that Israel would “settle the score” with Hamas but announced that the closing of the Nahal Oz terminal would be temporary as Israel “cannot afford to provoke a humanitarian crisis…we will supply enough fuel to ensure the vital minimum for the Palestinian population”. With this said, the director of Gaza’s only power plant Rafiq Maliha has informed the public that the power plant may have to be shut down in the next few days unless Israel resumes fuel shipments to Gaza.
A brief demonstration of the premier’s words were evident on April 11 when tanks and armored bulldozers, backed by assault helicopters, entered one kilometer into Gaza and exchanged fire with Palestinian resistance groups. The day’s violence killed three members of al-Qassam Brigades with a further five fatalities near the central Gaza Bureij refugee camp. The dead were identified as Riad al-Awesi [12], Yusuf Sirhan [13], Jihad Abu Zbeid [19], Shihab Abu Zbeid [17] and Yusuf al-Ma'ari [17]. 28 Palestinians were also wounded in the Israeli offensive.
While Hamas proclaimed on April 11 that Israel could soon approve a full scale invasion of the Gaza Strip, two of the top political figures in US politics voiced their opinions regarding former US President Jimmy Carter’s plans to meet with Hamas officials in Damascus. Jimmy Carter, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, famously mediated the 1978 Camp David Accords between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The former US President has not confirmed his meeting with Hamas, who welcome the request, but wishes to promote the “ongoing effort to support peace, democracy and human rights” in a region he has always been heavily involved in. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, however, reiterated that Hamas is viewed as a “terrorist” organization by the US and bewilderingly expressed her reservations about the potential meeting saying that “I find it hard to understand what is going to be gained from having discussions with Hamas about peace when Hamas is, in fact, the impediment to peace”. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama, who is currently locked in a long battle with Senator Hilary Clinton for the Democratic nomination has been careful not to criticize super delegate Carter, knowing that the Democratic candidacy may come down to super delegate votes. Instead the Senator for Illinois, while admitting that he wouldn’t initiate dialogue with Hamas as he doesn’t see how “conversations with them would be fruitful”, at the same time mentioned that it is not his place to judge the former president.
These comments were made a couple of days after Hamas had warned that it would recreate the events of January 23 when it forcibly opened the Rafah crossing, which resulted in thousands of Palestinians flooding into Egypt to replenish their supplies. Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya told reporters that the situation is no longer bearable prophesizing that “what will happen next will be greater than what happened before, not only against the Egyptian border, but against all the crossings”. In order to prevent this from happening and deter Palestinians from attempting to go through with it, Egypt has sent reinforcements to Cairo as well as to border towns while additionally stopping trucks at the Suez Canal transporting goods to those towns most at risk from a Gaza stampede.
On a week which saw imprisoned Fateh leader Marwan Barghouti declare that the Palestinian people “are ready for a historic reconciliation based on international resolutions that will result in the establishment of two states”, the facts on the ground prove that progress is yet to transpire or materialize.
April 7 marked the first meeting between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert in six weeks and the first since US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged both parties to be more committed to reaching a peace agreement by the end of 2008. A spokesperson for the Palestinian president referred to the meeting as “bad and very tense” describing that although the “two sides have been talking regularly for months now and they still haven’t started drafting. The gaps are wide”. The only positive alluded to was the hope that peace can be achieved while the US continues to exercise their dedication to the cause.
It was implied this week that peace talks may soon be given a well needed boost. It was revealed by an aide of President Abbas that the Palestinian president will meet US President Bush after that latter visits Israel to celebrate its 60th year of independence. The agenda of the meeting, which will supposedly be held at Sharm el-Sheikh on May 18, and invitees are still to be discussed.
Concerning the “gestures of good will” Israel was willing to extend to Palestinians following Condoleezza Rice’s trip two weeks ago, it seems as if Israel has failed or, in some instances, delayed their obligations. Israel promised to remove 50 out of the 580 obstacles hindering Palestinian movement and access in the West Bank. However, it has been reported by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [OCHA] that Israel has in fact removed only 44 [not 61 as Israel attests to]. In addition, out of the 44 removed, 11 were obstacles where there was no evidence to suggest that something was there in the first place, 17 were “movements of earth with no significance” and 9 were “removals of closures with minimal effect”.
While Condoleezza Rice was in the region, Israel also pledged to allow 5,000 Palestinian construction workers to be given permits to work in Israel. Defense Minister Ehud Barak will deliver the proposal to the cabinet on April 13 which, if successful, will increase the number of Palestinians working in Israel to 25,000.
In other news this week, Rauhi Fattouh, who was Palestinian president for a brief period in 2005 between Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, confirmed on April 7 that he will resign after being caught at a border crossing with 3,000 contraband mobile phones. The previous speaker for the Palestinian parliament maintains that he was unaware of the existence of the phones but stated that he has a moral responsibility to resign as President Abbas’ envoy.
While 16 Palestinians died following the attack in Israel, two more Palestinians were killed earlier in the week. Eight- year old Abdullah Buhar was killed on April 6 when he was struck by shrapnel from an explosion near the border with Israel in central Gaza. It is unsure whether Israel or a Palestinian political group was responsible for the explosion. Awad al-Dahrawi [37], a member of the Popular Resistance Committee, also died this week when an Israel missile hit Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
UN Resolution 1325
Date posted: February 03, 2021
By MIFTAH
Kerry talks peace while Israel bars UNESCO mission [May 19 - May 25]
Date posted: May 25, 2013
By MIFTAH
President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both met with US Secretary of State John Kerry this week in the latter’s fourth visit to the region since he assumed office.
After meeting with the two to ostensibly find ways to restart stalled negotiations between the two sides, Kerry urged on May 24 both Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take "hard decisions" to revive the peace process.
"We're getting toward a time now when hard decisions need to be made," he said at the end of his visit.
Kerry admitted a day before after meeting with the two leaders that there was skepticism and cynicism about his efforts to revive talks.
"I know this region well enough to know there is skepticism, in some quarters there is cynicism, and there are reasons for it. There have been bitter years of disappointment," he said. Still, he maintained: "It is our hope that by being methodical, careful, patient, but detailed and tenacious, that we can lay on a path ahead that can conceivably surprise people and certainly exhaust the possibilities for peace."
British foreign secretary William Hague was also in the region visiting with leaders on both sides and even visited the Bedouin community of Khan Al Ahmar between Jerusalem and Jericho, whose residents are under the threat of displacement.
On May 23, Hague was poignantly clear on where his country stands on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "Israel has lost some of its support in Britain and in other European countries over time - this is something I've often pointed out to Israeli leaders -because of settlement activity, which we condemn,” he said.
"We strongly disagree with settlements on occupied land. Israel is a country we work with in many ways but we do disapprove of settlements,” he maintained, adding that: "We want to see both Israelis and Palestinians really commit themselves to the peace process while there is still a chance of a two-state solution."
In Khan al Ahmar, Hague listened to the residents’ grievances from Israeli efforts to push them out to make way for more settlement expansion. "We (in Britain) strongly condemn the building of settlements and recognise they are a severe threat to a two-state solution,” he told the people there.
On March 21, Israeli forces demolished two residential buildings in the Jabal al-Mukabbir in East Jerusalem. Earlier, they demolished two Palestinian homes in al-Tur, all under the pretext of unlicensed construction. Dozens of people have been left homeless from the demolitions.
A UNESCO fact-finding mission was supposed to arrive this week to look into Israeli measures in the Old City of Jerusalem and their impact on the archeological, cultural and heritage significance of the place, but was denied entry by Israel on May 20. Israel justified its decision by saying Palestinians were trying to politicize the visit.
"The Palestinians were not respecting the understandings,” an Israeli foreign ministry official said. “The visit was supposed to be professional, (but) they were taking measures that showed they were politicizing the event and not letting the delegation focus on professional sides of it," the official said.
UNESCO maintained that the mission was not cancelled, but postponed, the agency’s spokeswoman Sue Williams said.
The Palestinians said they expected Israel to pull something like this. “We weren't surprised by this decision because we believed that Israel's agreement to (allow the mission) was not convincing," minister of foreign affairs Riyad Al Malki said.
The Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt was reopened on May 22 after a five day closure. Egyptian soldiers and policemen closed the crossing following the kidnapping of seven Egyptian soldiers in Sinai, only reopening it after the soldiers were freed. Over 2,400 Palestinians had been stranded on both sides of the crossing during the days of the closure.
Extremist Israelis extended their attacks this week all the way to the Negev desert. On May 19, residents of the Retamim Kibbutz attacked the nearby Bedouin village of Bir Hadaj and set fire to a tent, according to head of the local village council, Salman Ibin Hamid
"The setters of Retamim are acting like they are in the West Bank," Ibn Hamid said. "These people have the mentality of the occupying settler to attack every Arab."
Finally, on May 23, the US appointed Gen. John Allen as special envoy on security issues in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. According to a US official, Allen will deal with the U.S. position on Israeli security needs and the security arrangements that would accompany the establishment of a future Palestinian state.
Al Nakba commemorated amid increasing settler attacks [May 12 - May 18]
Date posted: May 18, 2013
By MIFTAH
This week Palestinians commemorated the 65th anniversary of the Nakba, the catastrophe of 1948 on May 15, with a variety of activities, demonstrations and events throughout the Palestinian territories and outside of its borders. Festivals were held in Ramallah and Nablus in addition to several protests and confrontations with Israeli occupation forces. In Jerusalem, clashes broke out between protesters and Israeli police and border guards when Palestinians commemorating Al Nakba, raising Palestinian flags and facing off with Jewish settlers and soldiers. Thirty people were wounded or arrested during the clashes in addition to six Israelis.
The Jerusalem clashes come at a time when settler break-ins to Al Aqsa have been on the rise amid increasing calls by extremist Jewish groups to make a presence at the compound. The break-ins have become a near daily event. Muslim worshippers and Palestinian youths have kept constant vigil at the mosque to stave off the break-ins which included settler groups who used children as a cover to enter the compound on the occasion of Shavuot.
Settlers in the West Bank have wreaked havoc this week as well. On May 17, three Palestinians were injured in clashes in Urif south of Nablus when dozens of settlers set fire to lands in three area-villages: Urif, Einabus, and Asira al-Qibliya. The settlers also attacked citizens and threw burning tires at people’s homes.
Jewish extremists attacked inside the Green Line as well. On May 14, extremists set fire to three cars and sprayed racist graffiti on a mosque south of Haifa, according to Israeli media reports.
"Price-tag" and "Eviatar," which is thought to refer to the name of a settler stabbed to death last week, were found on the mosque’s walls in addition to the Star of David. In Safed, even farther north, racist graffiti with the words "Arabs out" was found on walls in the city.
On May 13, Israeli settlers exhumed a number of graves and sprayed racist graffiti in the Sawiya village in Nablus. Ghassan Daghlas, head of the PA settlement activity file, said settlers from the Alia settlement were responsible for the damage.
On the same day settlers from Tel Hatimar begin building a religious school for children on Al Khader lands in the Bethlehem area.
The Israeli army meanwhile, uprooted over 1,200 olive tree saplings on May 16 and razed land Palestinian farmer in the northern West Bank, according to Daghlas. He said the army dug up over 40 dunums of farm land and demolished a water tank and stone walls in Ras Karker, near Nablus.
On May 17, three Palestinian laborers were wounded in Beit Ula northwest of Hebron after Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets and unleashed police dogs at them according to Issa al-Amla, coordinator for the popular struggle committee. He said Omar Al-Amla, 31, and Abdulkadir Al-Amla, 28, suffered multiple dog bites to the neck and hands. A third laborer, Jihad Saleem, was shot in the leg.
In Jerusalem on May 17, Israeli forces raided the home of Iyad al-Awar and insisted on taking his two children 6-year-old Qassam and 5-year-old Nasrallah for “interrogation”. While their father prevented the forces from arresting his boys, Israeli soldiers handed him a warrant ordering him to bring his children to the Russian Compound for questioning.
"We arrived to the Russian Compound and the troops wanted to take my kids for investigation; I refused and they beat me in the ear and the leg. My kids started crying and were so scared from the troops. They took my kids by force," al-Awar said.
Israeli Intelligence officers apparently questioned the children about their detained cousin Shadad, and asked if they had seen him throwing stones or Molotov cocktails at Israeli forces, Al Awar said.
On the same day however, Palestinians scored a tiny victory in the Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis when they were able to tear a hole through part of the separation wall. Protesters marking the Nakba anniversary ripped a 4-meter hole in it, eyewitnesses said. Clashes ensued between the protesters and Israeli soldiers who fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel bullets. Several injuries were reported.
Peace Now reported on May 16 that the Israeli government planned to grant retroactive approval to four West Bank settlement outposts it had previously pledged to at least partially demolish.
The Israeli state attorney's office said that settlers had purchased the private Palestinian land on which they built, thus paving the way for the government to give its blessing.
"In the response, the government declares its intention to legalize four outposts, in isolated areas," Peace Now said in a statement, adding that the strategy was an affront to US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to revive dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. "The intention to legalize outposts as new settlements is no less than a slap in the face of Secretary Kerry's new peace process," Peace Now said.
On May 14, Hamas and Fatah agreed in Cairo to form a national unity government within three months during which they would finalize and approve the Palestine National Council elections law. The two sides, represented by Fatah leader Azzam Al Ahmad and Hamas politburo member Mousa Abu Marzouq, came to the agreement under Egyptian sponsorship and said President Abbas would immediately begin talks on the new government formation. Once the government is formed, general elections can be held.
