Reviews

2012 Annual Summary - Terrorism and CT Activity Data and Trends The number of deaths attributed to terror attacks in 2012 decreased by circa 55% compared to last year: Ten fatalities as opposed to 22 in 2011. Six were civilian deaths and four were military deaths. more › Israeli Negev Residents Trade in Weapons with Judea and Samaria Elements During 2009, we have witnessed an increase in weapons trade between Israeli Negev residents and Judea and Samaria elements. This phenomenon poses the risk of weapons falling into the hands of terror elements using it to execute attacks. more › 2010 Annual Summary – Data and Trends in Terrorism 2010 has displayed a drop in the scope of terrorism, much like in previous years. 2010 concludes with 798 terror attacks as opposed to 1,354 attacks in 2009 (378 of them were executed during Operation Cast Lead). more › The Itamar Massacre (11 March 2011) Investigation On Friday, March 11, 2011, at about 22:00 hours, five members of the Fogel family had been murdered in Itamar: the parents – Ehud and Ruth, and three of their little children – Yoav (11), Elad (4) and Hadas (3 months old). more › Smuggling Weapons from Iran into the Gaza Strip through Sudan and Sinai The protest events taking place around the Middle East in the past months, accompanied by waves of anarchy and lack of governance in several places, are exploited by the Palestinian terror groups for the purpose of smuggling arms into the Gaza Strip. Exposure of Judea and Samaria-based Hamas military terror infrastructures Since May 2011 ISA, with the cooperation of IDF and the police, exposed 13 Hamas military infrastructures in Judea and Samaria; these infrastructures were in various stages of planning for the execution of military activity: recruiting cells, obtaining weapons and planning attacks. Hamas: Striving for Military Buildup and Promoting Terrorism behind the Scenes Since Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, it has been operating in two parallel spheres. The movement has been establishing and shaping its authority in the Gaza Strip while attempting to achieve legitimization (including in the international arena). At the same time, Hamas was building up its military forces in preparation for a possible armed conflict with Israel, and / or with the purpose of creating a deterrence balance with Israel in order to prevent another round of fighting in the Gaza Strip, similar to operation "Cast Lead". more › Thwarted Hizballah Smuggling of Explosives and Charges into Israel Joint activity of Israel Security Agency and the Israeli Police led to the seizure of powerful IEDs infiltrated into Israel by Hizballah with the aid of drug dealers' networks operated by the organization. more › Operation Pillar of Defense On November 14-21 2012, in response to the major terror escalation from the Gaza Strip, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense. The escalation came as a result of series of attacks which targeted IDF operating on Israeli soil, near the border fence, and following a mount in the number of high trajectory launchings of rockets and mortar shells against Israel (over 170 launchings in only three days, November 10-12). more › Hamas – the increase of terrorism against Israel and the ongoing strengthening The recent round of escalation in southern Israel prior to Operation Pillar of Defense recorded over 170 rockets and mortar shells being fired from Gaza into Israel within a period of three days (November 10-12, 2012), thus showing Hamas has increasingly taken on tendency to act more aggressively against Israel. more › Hamas Ongoing Islamic Agenda Hamas still endeavors to bring Gaza to its desired course, slowly but surely, imposing an Islamic way of life on the population until Gaza turns into a "Sharia-lead state". more › Hizballa Activity involving Israeli Arabs Hizballa began focusing its activity towards inside Israel following Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000. In the past decade this activity has been thoroughly elaborated also among Israeli Arabs. more › Salafia-Jihadia: a Militant Movement Supporting Violent Struggle The Salafia-Jihadia movement supports violent struggle against "enemies of the Islam", particularly Israel and the US. Salafi-Jihadi thought is at the core of Al Qaeda's ideology. more › Islamization Processes in the Gaza Strip since Hamas Takeover After the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip (June 2007) and the establishment of its autonomy (after Fatah's opposition was brought down), a boost of islamization and radicalization process has been occurring within the Gaza Strip, and at the same time Hamas is gradually setting the stage for fundamentalist way of life. more › The Union of Good – Analysis and Mapping of Terror Funds Network Hamas is an Islamic movement established in the Gaza Strip in December 1987 by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The movement adheres to the Muslim Brotherhood's principles, but unlike the latter, Hamas sees Palestine a top priority (before striving to impose Islam over the Muslim world — a Muslim Brotherhood main stream belief); it supports Jihad (a holy war) as a way to achieve its goals, and believes that every Muslim is duty bound to execute Jihad. more › The Involvement of Illegal Aliens in Terror Terrorist organizations resort to the Palestinian community staying illegally in Israel (hereinafter: illegal aliens) to execute terrorist attacks in Israel. Terrorist organizations' use of illegal aliens is a join of forces of both sides that enables the organizations to overcome obstacles posed by the Israeli security forces. more › Exploitation of Israel’s humanitarian policies to carry out terrorist activity The buffer zone in the Gaza Strip, in addition to security checks and preventative measures carried out by security forces, present major obstacles for terror organizations attempting to bring terrorists into Israel from Gaza. In recent years, a trend has developed in which Palestinian terror elements have attempted to overcome these obstacles by bringing in terrorists and terror activists through the existing crossing points into Israel, presenting them as sick individuals in need of medical treatment and thus exploiting Israel’s humanitarian policy of providing medical treatment to all those in need. more › Involvement of East Jerusalem Residents in Terrorist Activity About 290,000 Palestinians who hold Israeli identity cards live in the Greater Jerusalem area (Central Bureau of Statistic1.6.2008), most of whom are residents. From 2008, there has been a marked increase in the number of East Jerusalem residents involved in terror. This is seen in the number of serious terror attacks committed in the city by Palestinian residents, and also in the number of arrests. more › Characteristics of High-Trajectory Fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel High-trajectory fire is a general term for ballistic fire, including rockets or mortar fire. Its advantage, from the enemy point of view, is the large distance between the launching site and the target. Mortars have a shorter range than rockets, and have been widely used by the terror organizations in the Gaza Strip throughout the uprising, beginning in 2001 (about 500 attacks per year). Every attack involving high-trajectory fire is likely to include a number of rockets or mortars, and for this reason a distinction must be made between the number of attacks and the number of launchings. The number of launchings is the number of rockets/mortars launched. more › Spotlight on Hamas – Ideology and Involvement in Terror Hamas – whose name means “Islamic Resistance Movement” – is a Sunni fundamentalist Islamic movement with the goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of the state of Israel. Hamas was founded by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin from the Gaza Strip and began to operate in the “territories” in December 1987, with the beginning of the first Intifada. more › Distribution of Fatalities from Palestinian-based terrorism in the second Intifadah Throughout the 2nd Intifadah which began on September 29, 2000, 1,177 people were killed as a result of Palestinian terrorism (current to August 12, 2009). more › "Dawa" – Hamas' Civilian Infrastructure and its Role in Terror Financing The Dawa network – Hamas socio-economic infrastructure – is a central element in Hamas activity and a principal method employed to achieve its goals. Prima facie, Hamas Dawa activity appears to bequeath Islamic education and values to the Palestinians in order to make them more religious. more › Use of Falsified Medical Certificates for Entering Israel The fence surrounding the Gaza Strip and the Israeli activity to prevent border-smugglings, pose a substantial difficulty for the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, in executing terror attacks. more › A Review of Al Qaeda and the Diffusion of its Ideas in Israel and the Palestinian Authority Al Qaeda was established by Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, and Ayman Al Zawahiri, second-in-command to Bin Laden. Like other Global Jihad organizations, it aspires to disseminate Islam and establish Islamic Caliphates worldwide – a religious regime in accordance with the laws of Islam. Al Qaeda ideology is based on the Salafi School in Sunni Islam. It perceives the dawn of Islam as the Islamic Golden Age which should be restored and recurred in modern times. According to Al Qaeda ideology, every Muslim is obligated to take part in Jihad so as to restore Islam to its rightful place. The struggle is directed against "infidels"; these include not only non Muslims, but also Muslims and Arab regimes which do not follow the correct Islamic path. That is, they favor the West (and Israel) and want to adopt its ways. Sentences to US-based Holy Land Foundation A long legal procedure in the US had been concluded towards the end of 2008, in which US citizens of Palestinian origin, heading the Holy Land Foundation, were convicted of providing financial support to terrorist activity. more › Hamas Exploitation of Medical Institutions Through out the last period we discern a Hamas soaring trend towards adopting a "defensive Modus Operandi" aiming to turn civilians into Hamas' "human shields". This trend existed earlier but was propelled again following the Gaza Operation (late 2008). more › The Jaljalat Phenomenon in the Gaza Strip Global Jihad ideas began spreading in recent years among terror organizations in the Gaza Strip. Under Hamas regime (starting June 2007) new groups began to appear in the Gaza Strip acting in the spirit of Al Qaeda and Global Jihad ideas; some of which are involved in terror attacks against both Israeli and foreign targets. Prominent among them are Army of Islam lead by Moumtaz Dighmush, Army of the Nation lead by Isamil Hamid, formed by dissidents from the Popular Resistance Committees, Fatah Al-Islam in Palestine ("on the land of ribat"), and other groups. more › Hamas Police "Dual Function" in the Gaza Strip Since Hamas has not taken the responsibility for the security apparatuses, Hamas established a policing force (The Tanfithia), assisting it in reaching total domination over the Gaza Strip (June 2007). The force was later on integrated into the Hamas police force in the Gaza Strip. more › Judea and Samaria Palestinian Students' Involvement in Terrorism Terrorist organizations perceive the universities in the Territories and their students as an attractive target for spotting and recruiting of activists, since the students are intellectual, politically aware, motivated young people who possess leadership skills, and thus, can lead operational activity. more › A Year since Cast Lead A year since Cast Lead operation, a marked decrease in the number of Gaza-Strip terror attacks is evident. It is especially prominent in the high-trajectory shooting outline (rockets and mortar shells) towards Israel and Israeli targets. more › 2009 Annual Summary – Data and Trends in Palestinian Terrorism 2009 displays a significant decline in the amount of attacks coming from the Palestinian Territories as opposed to previous years. The decline in the amount of attacks brought about a decrease in the number of casualties and injured people: 15 casualties, 9 of them died during the Gaza Operation (as opposed to 36 in 2008) and 234 injured people, 185 of them were wounded during the Gaza Operation (as opposed to 679 in 2008). more › Hamas Terror Policy from the Disengagement until Cast Lead Hamas terror policy, starting at the disengagement and until seizing control of the Gaza Strip, was characterized by an escalation culminating in December 2008, in spite of a relative calm in the past several years, due to a partial and tactical restraint policy exercised by Hamas. Following is a review of Hamas terror policy in varying periods of time. more › Hamas Strengthening and Force Buildup Since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip (June 16, 2007), it has exerted itself to establish its regime in the Gaza Strip and strengthen its military power. De facto, there is a significant increase in the number of Gaza Strip-based attacks. more › Hamas Use of Gaza Strip-based Subterranean Route Gaza Strip sandy soil enables relatively easy digging of tunnels and thus the use of the subterranean route by local terror organizations, mainly Hamas, is a prominent tool in the employment of terror against Israel. more › Two East Jerusalem Residents Arrested over Involvement in Military Hamas Activity A gag order lifted revealed that in November 2010 ISA and Israeli/Jerusalem police arrested several Palestinians residents of Jerusalem suspected of involvement in military Hamas activity. more › Rocket fire compared to rounds of escalation that took place in 2011 more › The Internet lure – the murder of Ofir Rahum, Jan. 17, 2001 Ofir Rahum, born in 1984, a high school student and resident of Ashqelon, developed a virtual romantic relationship over ICQ with a woman who went by the name of Sally. Ofir was lured by Sally to travel to Jerusalem, from where he was driven to Ramallah and murdered on January 17, 2001. His body was found on the next day and subsequently returned to Israel by the Palestinian security apparatuses. more ›