2010 Palestinian militancy campaign
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Palestinian militancy campaign is a coordinated effort by 13 Palestinian
militant groups, led by Islamist group Hamas
, to derail peace talks
between Israel
and the Palestinian Authority. The campaign consists of attacks against Israel in which, according to a Hamas declaration in early September, "all options are open". The participating groups also include Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees
and an unnamed splinter group of Fatah
.
Some Israeli and Palestinian officials and analysts familiar with Hamas believe that the true target of the campaign is the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Mahmoud Abbas
of Fatah.
Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar
was reported by CBS News as saying that Muslims have a moral and religious duty to liberate the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, and that armed resistance is the way to achieve this. Al-Zahar has urged Mahmoud Abbas
to immediately pull out of peace talks with Israel, asserting that "armed struggle was the only way to deal with the Jewish state."
Hamas leader Abu Ubaida told the Washington Post in September that the Hamas military wing is operating "in harmony with the attitude of the political wing," based in Damascus
, Syria
. Abu Ubaida, who is a spokesman for the military wing of Hamas, further said that resistance will be stepped up and that all options were open. “We declare that the actions of resistance have gone into a new and advanced stage of co-operation in the field at the highest levels in preparation for more effective attacks against the enemy.” According to the Palestinian Authority and Israeli security officials, Hamas has the capacity to carry out more attacks in the West Bank
, particularly drive-by shootings since these require little planning or manpower, but probably lacks the ability to carry out attacks on Israel inside the Green Line
due to surveillance activities and the effectiveness of the Israeli West Bank barrier
.
Khaled Mashaal has said the "resistance" will continue if Israel doesn't withdraw to the 1967 borders and that Hamas will resume to "kill illegal settlers on our land."
According to Jonathan Fighel, a senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, the campaign constitutes a decision by Hamas to begin a new wave of terrorism aimed at Israeli settlers. "It's a strategic, political decision from the Hamas leadership in Damascus to express their dismay and rejection of the peace talks taking place in Washington... They are showing they have operational capabilities and a willingness to act in Judea
and Samaria
," he said. According to the Israeli news site Debka.com
, in late September Hamas was preparing to expand its "terror campaign."
The Palestinian news agency paltimes.net praised the attacks and linked them to the negotiations:
The attacks caused embarrassment to the Palestinian Authority, and the attacks in Hebron and Ramallah were condemned by Mahmoud Abbas
. The Palestinian Authority minister Mahmoud Habbash accused Iran
of responsibility for the Hamas attacks in attempts to derail the peace talks, and insinuated that Hamas leader Haled Mash'al was guilty of heresy.
In an interview on October 2010, the Palestinian reformist Zainab Rashid criticized Syria and Iran, which she says deliberately attempted to derail the peace process in order to divert attention from their own domestic problems and suppress initiatives of democratization
. She said, "The most convincing proof is the attempts of these regimes to make deceitful and callous use of the Palestinian cause and to manipulating Palestinian elements in order to spark disputes. They miss no opportunity to sabotage peace efforts, as we saw at the outset of the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, when Hamas received a directive from the Syria
n and Iran
ian regimes which control it to carry out two attacks in the West Bank
, shortly before the first session of peace talks, with the intent of undermining the negotiations. This is what all the dictatorships have done throughout the history of this struggle in order to prevent its resolution.
West bank
on 14 June, Israeli police
officer Yehoshua Sofer was killed and three others were wounded.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
, an armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
's Fatah
party, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was a response to the recent Gaza flotilla raid
.
reported that an Israeli security official said that this was one of a series of “terrorist attacks” designed to foil the 2010 peace talks. Khaled al-Batsh, a leader of Islamic Jihad
, endorsed the Hamas killings, asserting that "“negotiations can only be stopped by a barrage of bullets."
Journalist Daoud Kuttab
described the August 31 attack as "clearly timed to disrupt the talks and weaken the position of the Palestinian delegation." United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
stated the day after the incident that "this attack must be recognized for what it is: a cynical and blatant attempt to undermine the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations starting tomorrow."
On October 8th, Israeli special forces killed a senior West Bank Hamas operative responsible for the attack. IDF soldiers entered several buildings in Hebron where Palestinian militants were holed up inside, killing two of the suspects and arresting six others.
in the Jordan Rift Valley, were shot in their car by Palestinian gunmen while driving on Highway 60 between the Rimonim Junction and the Jewish community of Kochav Hashachar
. The man was moderately hurt from shrapnel wounds to his legs and a bullet in the shoulder, and the woman was lightly hurt from blows as result of the vehicle overturning.
The victims jumped out of their car into a ditch after one of the assailants' automatic rifles jammed, where they used a cellphone to call for help. The vehicle veered off the road and plunged down an embankment. Magen David Adom
paramedics treated them at the scene before evacuating them to Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem.
Rabbi Morano said a car tailgated them for about five minutes, blinding them with its headlights. "I signaled to the driver that he was bothering me and that he should pass me, but he took a long time to respond. Then, as we came around a bend, he came past me and the shooting started... One of the guns seemed to jam and that gave us the chance to roll away and take cover. I knew if they reached us, they would spray us with bullets at point blank range. I unlocked the door and pulled my wife out, and we rolled into the ditch."
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Spokesman Abu Ubaida stated that "The attack was a message to those who pledged to the Zionist enemy there would be no more attacks."
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas did not condemn the attack, but said: "We are not interested in spilling Israeli blood. We want the two peoples to live regular lives in real peace." A PA official blamed Hamas for "trying to return the West Bank into a state of anarchy, in order to thwart the political process." The following week, PA security officials announced that they had arrested two Hamas operatives in connection with the attack.
in the West Bank
. Nine-month pregnant Israeli woman Neta Schoker and her husband Sharon, both 35, were in their vehicle when gunmen in a passing Palestinian car opened fire on them. Both the husband and wife sustained gunshots to their legs, and managed to drive themselves to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba
. The woman gave birth by Cesarean section to a healthy baby boy, and received treatment for her wounds. A second car was also fired at in the same attack, but none of its passengers were injured.
The attack took place close to where the August 2010 West Bank shooting
occurred. According to Israeli police
, the assailants' vehicle fled the scene southwards. Israeli soldiers set up roadblocks at the entrance to the adjacent Palestinian village of Dahariya and searched homes.
The military wings of Fatah
(the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. The groups declared in a statement that "the attack was carried out to mark the 15th anniversary of the killing of the Islamic Jihad's founder Fathi Shaqaqi
." However, some members of both organizations denied having any knowledge of the statement.
In October, the Israel Security Agency arrested three members of Fatah al-Intifada
, a Fatah
splinter group, on suspicion of carrying out the attack. The suspects told investigators that they were given $25,000 with which to buy weapons and that they planned on carrying out more attacks. The suspects were charged in a military court on 29 November.
increased in September. On September 14, senior Hamas operative Ahmed Jaabari threatened to increase attacks against Israel to derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. "With the power of faith, weapons and missiles, tunnels and commandos we will achieve victory for Palestine and we'll end the occupation in Gaza too," he said. The next day, two mortar shells containing white phosphorus were fired into Israel from Gaza. Ten rockets landed in the Eshkol
region during the day. A 122-mm. Katyusha rocket landed north of Ashkelon
. The IDF understood the rocket attacks to be part of a Hamas attempt to torpedo the peace talks.
Palestinian people
The Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with origins in Palestine. Despite various wars and exoduses, roughly one third of the world's Palestinian population continues to reside in the area encompassing the West Bank, the Gaza...
militant groups, led by Islamist group Hamas
Hamas
Hamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
, to derail peace talks
Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in 2010
Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority have been taking place since September 2010, between United States President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and ended when Netanyahu refused to extend...
between Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Palestinian Authority. The campaign consists of attacks against Israel in which, according to a Hamas declaration in early September, "all options are open". The participating groups also include Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees
Popular Resistance Committees
The Popular Resistance Committees are a coalition of various armed Palestinian factions that oppose the conciliatory approach adopted by the Palestinian Authority and Fatah towards Israel...
and an unnamed splinter group of Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
.
Some Israeli and Palestinian officials and analysts familiar with Hamas believe that the true target of the campaign is the Palestinian Authority, which is led by Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
of Fatah.
Hamas statements and responses
Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar
Mahmoud al-Zahar
Mahmoud al-Zahar is a co-founder of Hamas and a member of the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip. Since the formation of the Hamas/"Change and Reform" government in the Palestinian National Authority in March 2006, al-Zahar has served as foreign minister in the government of prime minister Ismail...
was reported by CBS News as saying that Muslims have a moral and religious duty to liberate the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River, and that armed resistance is the way to achieve this. Al-Zahar has urged Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
to immediately pull out of peace talks with Israel, asserting that "armed struggle was the only way to deal with the Jewish state."
Hamas leader Abu Ubaida told the Washington Post in September that the Hamas military wing is operating "in harmony with the attitude of the political wing," based in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. Abu Ubaida, who is a spokesman for the military wing of Hamas, further said that resistance will be stepped up and that all options were open. “We declare that the actions of resistance have gone into a new and advanced stage of co-operation in the field at the highest levels in preparation for more effective attacks against the enemy.” According to the Palestinian Authority and Israeli security officials, Hamas has the capacity to carry out more attacks in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, particularly drive-by shootings since these require little planning or manpower, but probably lacks the ability to carry out attacks on Israel inside the Green Line
Green Line (Israel)
Green Line refers to the demarcation lines set out in the 1949 Armistice Agreements between Israel and its neighbours after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...
due to surveillance activities and the effectiveness of the Israeli West Bank barrier
Israeli West Bank barrier
The Israeli West Bank barrier is a separation barrier being constructed by the State of Israel along and within the West Bank. Upon completion, the barrier’s total length will be approximately...
.
Khaled Mashaal has said the "resistance" will continue if Israel doesn't withdraw to the 1967 borders and that Hamas will resume to "kill illegal settlers on our land."
According to Jonathan Fighel, a senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, the campaign constitutes a decision by Hamas to begin a new wave of terrorism aimed at Israeli settlers. "It's a strategic, political decision from the Hamas leadership in Damascus to express their dismay and rejection of the peace talks taking place in Washington... They are showing they have operational capabilities and a willingness to act in Judea
Judea
Judea or Judæa was the name of the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century CE, when Roman Judea was renamed Syria Palaestina following the Jewish Bar Kokhba revolt.-Etymology:The...
and Samaria
Samaria
Samaria, or the Shomron is a term used for a mountainous region roughly corresponding to the northern part of the West Bank.- Etymology :...
," he said. According to the Israeli news site Debka.com
Debka.com
DEBKAfile is a Jerusalem-based English language Israeli open source military intelligence website with commentary and analyses on terrorism, intelligence, security, and military and political affairs in the Middle East...
, in late September Hamas was preparing to expand its "terror campaign."
The Palestinian news agency paltimes.net praised the attacks and linked them to the negotiations:
"There, in Washington, Abbas is rewarding the occupation by improving its image through futile negotiations, while in Hebron the Al-Qassam Brigades, despite Abbas's whining and attacks on the resistance, agreed to nothing but vengeance for the blood of the shahids. Today, heads and body parts are scattered in all directions. Today, the Al-Qassam Brigades negotiate with their enemies by means of rifles and blood...
The attacks caused embarrassment to the Palestinian Authority, and the attacks in Hebron and Ramallah were condemned by Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
. The Palestinian Authority minister Mahmoud Habbash accused Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
of responsibility for the Hamas attacks in attempts to derail the peace talks, and insinuated that Hamas leader Haled Mash'al was guilty of heresy.
In an interview on October 2010, the Palestinian reformist Zainab Rashid criticized Syria and Iran, which she says deliberately attempted to derail the peace process in order to divert attention from their own domestic problems and suppress initiatives of democratization
Democratization
Democratization is the transition to a more democratic political regime. It may be the transition from an authoritarian regime to a full democracy, a transition from an authoritarian political system to a semi-democracy or transition from a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic...
. She said, "The most convincing proof is the attempts of these regimes to make deceitful and callous use of the Palestinian cause and to manipulating Palestinian elements in order to spark disputes. They miss no opportunity to sabotage peace efforts, as we saw at the outset of the latest round of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, when Hamas received a directive from the Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian regimes which control it to carry out two attacks in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
, shortly before the first session of peace talks, with the intent of undermining the negotiations. This is what all the dictatorships have done throughout the history of this struggle in order to prevent its resolution.
June 14
In a drive-by shooting attack near HebronHebron
Hebron , is located in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judean Mountains, it lies 930 meters above sea level. It is the largest city in the West Bank and home to around 165,000 Palestinians, and over 500 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter...
West bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
on 14 June, Israeli police
Israel Police
The Israel Police is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism...
officer Yehoshua Sofer was killed and three others were wounded.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is a coalition of Palestinian nationalist militias in the West Bank. The group's name refers to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem...
, an armed wing of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
's Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
party, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was a response to the recent Gaza flotilla raid
Gaza flotilla raid
The Gaza flotilla raid was a military operation by Israel against six ships of the "Gaza Freedom Flotilla" on 31 May 2010 in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
August 31
The first notable attack in the Hamas campaign, in which 4 Israelis were shot to death. Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said, "this attack is a chain in a series of attacks, some have been executed, and others will follow". Ma'an News AgencyMa'an News Agency
Ma'an News Agency is a large wire service created in 2005 in the Palestinian Territories. It is part of the Ma'an Network, a non-governmental organisation media network created in 2002 in the Palestinian Territories among independent journalists throughout the West Bank and Gaza and including...
reported that an Israeli security official said that this was one of a series of “terrorist attacks” designed to foil the 2010 peace talks. Khaled al-Batsh, a leader of Islamic Jihad
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine known in the West as simply Palestinian Islamic Jihad , is a small Palestinian militant organization. The group has been labelled as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and Israel...
, endorsed the Hamas killings, asserting that "“negotiations can only be stopped by a barrage of bullets."
Journalist Daoud Kuttab
Daoud kuttab
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He is considered to be a moderate voice among the Palestinians. He is the director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University and founder/general director of "AmmanNet", the Arab world's first internet radio station...
described the August 31 attack as "clearly timed to disrupt the talks and weaken the position of the Palestinian delegation." United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
stated the day after the incident that "this attack must be recognized for what it is: a cynical and blatant attempt to undermine the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations starting tomorrow."
On October 8th, Israeli special forces killed a senior West Bank Hamas operative responsible for the attack. IDF soldiers entered several buildings in Hebron where Palestinian militants were holed up inside, killing two of the suspects and arresting six others.
September 1
Rabbi Moshe and Shira Morano, an Israeli couple in their 30s from Ma'ale EfraimMa'ale Efraim
Ma'ale Efrayim is an Israeli settlement and local council located along the eastern slopes of the Samarian mountains in the Jordan Valley, within the West Bank. Founded in 1978, the town's municipal status was upgraded to local council in 1981. Over 1,400 people now live in the yishuv...
in the Jordan Rift Valley, were shot in their car by Palestinian gunmen while driving on Highway 60 between the Rimonim Junction and the Jewish community of Kochav Hashachar
Kochav HaShachar
Kokhav HaShahar is an Israeli settlement in the Binyamin region of northern West Bank. It is located on a mountain ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley, and is accessible via the Allon Road. Kokhav HaShahar falls under the municipal jurisdiction of the Matte Binyamin Regional Council...
. The man was moderately hurt from shrapnel wounds to his legs and a bullet in the shoulder, and the woman was lightly hurt from blows as result of the vehicle overturning.
The victims jumped out of their car into a ditch after one of the assailants' automatic rifles jammed, where they used a cellphone to call for help. The vehicle veered off the road and plunged down an embankment. Magen David Adom
Magen David Adom
The Magen David Adom is Israel's national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. The name means "Red Star of David"...
paramedics treated them at the scene before evacuating them to Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem.
Rabbi Morano said a car tailgated them for about five minutes, blinding them with its headlights. "I signaled to the driver that he was bothering me and that he should pass me, but he took a long time to respond. Then, as we came around a bend, he came past me and the shooting started... One of the guns seemed to jam and that gave us the chance to roll away and take cover. I knew if they reached us, they would spray us with bullets at point blank range. I unlocked the door and pulled my wife out, and we rolled into the ditch."
Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. Spokesman Abu Ubaida stated that "The attack was a message to those who pledged to the Zionist enemy there would be no more attacks."
Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas did not condemn the attack, but said: "We are not interested in spilling Israeli blood. We want the two peoples to live regular lives in real peace." A PA official blamed Hamas for "trying to return the West Bank into a state of anarchy, in order to thwart the political process." The following week, PA security officials announced that they had arrested two Hamas operatives in connection with the attack.
September 26
The 26 September 2010 West Bank shooting took place near Teneh Omarim, on Route 60Highway 60 (Israel)
Highway 60 is a north-south intercity road in Israel and the West Bank that stretches from Beersheba to Nazareth.-Route:The route is also known as the "Route of the Patriarchs" since it follows the path of the ancient highway that runs along the length of the central watershed, and which...
in the West Bank
West Bank
The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...
. Nine-month pregnant Israeli woman Neta Schoker and her husband Sharon, both 35, were in their vehicle when gunmen in a passing Palestinian car opened fire on them. Both the husband and wife sustained gunshots to their legs, and managed to drive themselves to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba
Beersheba
Beersheba is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the seventh-largest city in Israel with a population of 194,300....
. The woman gave birth by Cesarean section to a healthy baby boy, and received treatment for her wounds. A second car was also fired at in the same attack, but none of its passengers were injured.
The attack took place close to where the August 2010 West Bank shooting
August 2010 West Bank shooting
The August 2010 West Bank shooting attack was an attack near Kiryat Arba, carried out by Hamas militants. Four Israeli settlers were killed after gunmen attacked their vehicle...
occurred. According to Israeli police
Israel Police
The Israel Police is the civilian police force of Israel. As with most other police forces in the world, its duties include crime fighting, traffic control, maintaining public safety, and counter-terrorism...
, the assailants' vehicle fled the scene southwards. Israeli soldiers set up roadblocks at the entrance to the adjacent Palestinian village of Dahariya and searched homes.
The military wings of Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
(the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. The groups declared in a statement that "the attack was carried out to mark the 15th anniversary of the killing of the Islamic Jihad's founder Fathi Shaqaqi
Fathi Shaqaqi
Fathi Shaqaqi , alternatively spelled Fathi Shqaqi or Fathi Shiqaqi , was the Palestinian who founded and led the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organisation and was the initiator of suicide bombings....
." However, some members of both organizations denied having any knowledge of the statement.
In October, the Israel Security Agency arrested three members of Fatah al-Intifada
Fatah al-Intifada
Fatah al-Intifada is a Palestinian militant faction founded by Col. Said al-Muragha, better known as 'Abu Musa'. The group is often referred to as the 'Abu Musa Faction'...
, a Fatah
Fatah
Fataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the left-wing of the spectrum; it is mainly nationalist, although not predominantly socialist. Its official goals are found...
splinter group, on suspicion of carrying out the attack. The suspects told investigators that they were given $25,000 with which to buy weapons and that they planned on carrying out more attacks. The suspects were charged in a military court on 29 November.
Rocket attacks
Palestinian rocket attacks on IsraelPalestinian rocket attacks on Israel
Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks on Israel from the Gaza Strip have occurred since 2001. Between 2001 and January 2009, over 8,600 rockets had been launched, leading to 28 deaths and several hundred injuries, as well as widespread psychological trauma and disruption of daily life.The weapons,...
increased in September. On September 14, senior Hamas operative Ahmed Jaabari threatened to increase attacks against Israel to derail the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. "With the power of faith, weapons and missiles, tunnels and commandos we will achieve victory for Palestine and we'll end the occupation in Gaza too," he said. The next day, two mortar shells containing white phosphorus were fired into Israel from Gaza. Ten rockets landed in the Eshkol
Eshkol Regional Council
The Eshcol Regional Council is a regional council in the north-western Negev, in Israel's Southern District. The regional council's territory lies midway between Ashkelon and Beersheba, bounded on the west by the Gaza Strip while the eastern border abuts the territory of the Bnei Shimon Regional...
region during the day. A 122-mm. Katyusha rocket landed north of Ashkelon
Ashkelon
Ashkelon is a coastal city in the South District of Israel on the Mediterranean coast, south of Tel Aviv, and north of the border with the Gaza Strip. The ancient seaport of Ashkelon dates back to the Neolithic Age...
. The IDF understood the rocket attacks to be part of a Hamas attempt to torpedo the peace talks.
See also
- Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in 2010Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians in 2010Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority have been taking place since September 2010, between United States President Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and ended when Netanyahu refused to extend...
- Tapuah Junction stabbingTapuah junction stabbingThe Tapuah junction stabbing occurred on February 10, 2010 in the West Bank when Palestinian Authority police officer Muhammad Hatib stabbed Druze Israeli soldier Ihab Khatib to death as the latter was sitting in a jeep at a traffic light.-Incident:...
- Itamar killings
- Second Intifada