Terrorism

The Palestinians were killed when the explosive device they were trying to place along the security fence during a border riot detonated prematurely.

(JNS)

Six Palestinians were killed in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday evening when a homemade explosive device they had been attempting to place on the Gaza security fence detonated prematurely during mass riots along the border with Israel.

Hundreds of Palestinians participated in the riot, hurling bombs and grenades at the security barrier.

Israeli troops responded with riot control measures.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza claimed that two dozen additional Palestinians were injured.

“Ultimately, terrorism ends up harming everyone involved,” tweeted the IDF in response to the incident.

Wednesday’s riot took place east of Gaza City to commemorate the anniversary of Israel’s 2005 unilateral withdrawal from Gaza.

The border riot was the second in as many weeks. On Sept. 6, Palestinian rioters set off several explosive devices next to the security fence in the northern Gaza Strip.

Violent demonstrations have taken place regularly along the frontier since reports emerged late last month that Hamas had decided to restart the “Great March of Return.”

The decision was made by the “Supreme National Authority for the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege” to begin to rehabilitate the “return camps” near the security fence in the eastern Gaza Strip.

The “Great March of Return” campaign lasted from March 30, 2018, until Dec. 27, 2019, during which period thousands of rioters, prompted by Hamas, committed acts of violence at the border on a near-weekly basis, including throwing rocks, firebombs and explosives at the security fence and IDF soldiers, as well as burning tires, yelling anti-Israel slogans and waving Palestinian flags.

On Tuesday, Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza fired rockets toward the Mediterranean Sea as they marked 18 years since Israel’s 2005 “defeat” and the uprooting of the coastal enclave’s Jewish communities.

The Hamas-led Joint Operations Room, which includes a dozen U.S.-designated terror groups that coordinate attacks on the Jewish state, said the rocket fire was part of a military exercise that also included guerrilla warfare simulations.

“The defeat of the occupation from Gaza establishes its defeat from [Judea and Samaria] and heralds the liberation of Jaffa, Haifa, Jerusalem and the rest of the country, inshallah [God-willing],” said Muhammad Deif, head of Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday likewise stated that former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s disengagement plan had brought about a “new equation” in the conflict with Israel. “This defeat marked a new dawn for the Palestinian people,” said Haniyeh, calling it the “start of the comprehensive liberation phase.”

Magen David Adom personnel treated two victims in their 30s at the scene.

(JNS)

Two Israelis were moderately wounded on Tuesday night in a shooting attack on Route 60 in Huwara, located just outside Nablus in Samaria.

The victims came under fire while driving through town and were wounded by glass shards when bullets shattered the windows of their vehicle.

Magen David Adom emergency medical personnel treated the victims in their 30s who were then evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah.

“Both victims are classified as moderately wounded,” Dr. Yoni Mendel, a doctor in the hospital’s emergency department, told journalists, adding that the two are “currently undergoing evaluation and imaging.”

Israeli forces launched a manhunt for the terrorist or terrorists.

Last month, a Palestinian terrorist killed Shay Silas Nigrekar, 60, and his 28-year-old son Aviad Nir in Huwara.

That attack took place after the two men had stopped at a car wash in the Palestinian Authority-controlled village.

The terrorist walked up to the car wash on foot, opened fire at close range with a handgun and fled in a vehicle.

Huwara has emerged as a center of Palestinian terrorism, prompting Israeli authorities to heighten security there.

In June, an Israeli driver was lightly injured by glass shards in a shooting near the town, a day after two IDF soldiers were wounded when a terrorist rammed into them with his vehicle there.

The IDF recently upgraded the road infrastructure in Huwara to increase security for drivers on Route 60, the main north-south highway in Samaria that passes through the village.

The changes followed a series of terrorist attacks there, including the murder of brothers Hallel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 19, as they sat in traffic on Feb. 26.

Seventy-one percent of Palestinians supported the terrorist murder of the brothers, according to a Palestinian public opinion poll. Only 21% of those surveyed were against the attack.

Dual Israeli-U.S. citizen David Stern, 41, narrowly survived a shooting attack on March 19 as he drove through Huwara with his wife on their way to Jerusalem.

In addition to the infrastructure changes, a large number of IDF soldiers have been deployed to the area and 13 new defensive positions were built to discourage attacks and to reduce security forces’ response times.

The IDF’s Samaria Brigade has bolstered security inspections, including the deployment of additional checkpoint barriers.

The main section of a road that bypasses Huwara will open after the High Holidays, which begin on Friday with Rosh Hashanah.

Israeli Transportation Minister Miri Regev recently toured the site together with the head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan. The two leaders announced that the road would open two months ahead of schedule due to the danger facing Judea and Samaria residents, who—without an alternative—are forced to drive through Huwara.

Image: The scene of a shooting attack in Huwara, near Nablus in Samaria, Sept. 12, 2023. Credit: Magen David Adom.

The border incident was the second in as many days; no casualties were reported on either side.

(JNS)

Palestinian rioters on Tuesday set off several explosive devices next to the Israeli security fence in the northern Gaza Strip, according to the IDF. A number of grenades were also thrown at the barrier.

Israeli forces responded with crowd dispersal means, and in a few cases, sharpshooters.

No casualties were reported on either side.

On Tuesday, several Gaza residents were injured during a violent riot along the border with Israel.

Hundreds of Gazans descended on the security fence, launching explosive devices toward Israeli territory, according to the IDF. Some of the rioters also attempted to cross the border into Israel.

The military responded with sharpshooters and non-lethal dispersal means. The IDF reported that several hits were identified, but provided no further detail. A number of Gazans were arrested.

Violent rioting at the border was also reported on Friday.

The border incidents come after the Hamas terrorist group which rules the Gaza Strip restarted the “Great March of Return” protests.

Initially organized in March 2018, the violent border protests, staged nearly every week, lasted until Dec. 27, 2019.

Image: Screenshot of video purportedly showing a large explosion at the Gaza border barrier on Sept. 5, 2023. Source: X/Twitter.

The IDF identified the suspect as Muhammad Nanghiyeh, an operative of Tanzim, the armed wing of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party.

(JNS)

Israeli security forces arrested a wanted terrorist in the Jenin refugee camp in northern Samaria on Wednesday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces. It was the second such arrest raid in the camp in 48 hours.

The IDF identified the suspect as Muhammad Nanghiyeh, an operative of Tanzim, the armed wing of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah Party. The IDF said that he assisted in carrying out several recent shooting attacks in Judea and Samaria.

During the activity, terrorists fired at Israeli forces, who responded with live fire. Hits were detected.

Nanghiyeh was transferred to security forces for further questioning.

As of 10 a.m., IDF forces were already exiting the area, according to reports. The IDF said that no troops were hurt during the raid.

On Monday, troops entered the camp for the first time since the IDF’s large-scale 48-hour operation in the city in July. During Monday’s operation, three wanted Hamas operatives were arrested, one of them a senior operative, identified as Abdullah Sobah. The IDF also engaged Palestinian gunmen, deploying a “Maoz” suicide drone.

Nine terrorists captured overnight

Overnight Tuesday, Israeli forces arrested nine wanted terrorists throughout Judea and Samaria.

One suspect was arrested and several detained for questioning in the Al Aroub refugee camp, according to the Israeli military. Israeli forces were attacked with an explosive device and stoned; no Israeli casualties were reported.

The remaining eight suspects were arrested in the villages of Nahalin, Bayt Rima, Sa’ir, Abu Dis and Surif.

During the operation in Surif, Israeli forces were attacked with firebombs, and in Bayt Rima a military vehicle overturned. The vehicle was damaged and one soldier was sent for medical testing.

Image: Israeli forces enter Jenin in northern Samaria, on July 3, 2023. Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90.

The Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders agreed on “the importance of daily and permanent coordination and communication.”

(JNS)

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah hosted Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror chiefs on Saturday in Beirut, according to Arab media reports.

Hamas deputy politburo head Saleh al-Arouri and PIJ secretary general Ziyad al-Nakhala joined the secretary general of the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group to discuss “the latest political developments, especially with regard to the Palestinians,” according to a joint statement.

“During the meeting, there was a joint assessment of the situation in the West Bank and the escalation of the resistance movement there, as well as the recent Israeli threats,” the statement read.

The statement added, “The firm position of all the forces of the axis of resistance in confronting the Zionist enemy, its occupation, and its arrogance was emphasized.”

During the meeting it was agreed on “the importance of daily and permanent coordination and communication between resistance movements, especially in Palestine and Lebanon, to follow up on all political, security and military developments and make the appropriate decisions.”

The meeting was held nearly a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Iranian terror proxies in the region that they would “pay the full price” for terror acts against Israelis.

“Hamas, and the other Iranian proxies, understand very well that we will fight with all means against their attempts to use terrorism against us—in Judea and Samaria, Gaza and everywhere else. Whoever tries to hurt us, whoever finances and organizes, whoever dispatches terrorists against Israel—will pay the full price,” Netanyahu said last Sunday.

Image: Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah (right) meets the head of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Ziad Al-Nakhalah, Aug. 24, 2022. Credit: Hezbollah Media Relations Office.

The National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Division (NSCCTD), today (Thursday, 31 August 2023), has issued its terrorist threat assessment for Israelis abroad and the travel warnings for the 2023 fall holidays, in order to raise the awareness of the Israeli public regarding terrorist threats to it in various places around the world and the taking of appropriate actions. It should be emphasized that this is an updated summary of the main trends in terrorist activity around the world and its influence on the threat level to Israelis abroad and not new travel warnings.

To this end, an updated list of travel warnings for Israelis abroad in all countries is herein submitted as well as recommendations for conduct in countries with various levels of risk. This list is current and will be continuously updated; it is accessible 24/7 throughout the year both on the National Security Council website and at 02-6667444.

Main trends:

Iran

1. Iran still constitutes the main global terrorist threat and is continuing to promote attacks on Israeli nationals around the world both directly and via proxies that it operates, in various countries while violating their sovereignty.

2. Iranian terrorists are continuing their attempts to contact Israeli nationals, in Israel and abroad, under business covers or by impersonating other elements, in order to attack or abduct them. Several Iranian attempts to attack Israeli and Jewish targets have been thwarted in the past year.

Global Jihad

3. The various global jihad and radical Islamic organizations are continuing to carry out attacks at various sites around the world. These organizations have recently shown greater interest in attacking Israelis and Jews and has called on its supporters to attack such targets around the world. Lone wolf terrorists, who are inspired by these organizations and who are liable to carry out attacks against Israelis and Jews, are a principal threat.

4. It should be noted that these organizations are currently focusing their activity in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe alongside more sporadic efforts in additional countries.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad

5. Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives have recently shown high motivation to carry out abductions in Israel in order to obtain bargaining chips vis-à-vis Israel. These organizations aspire to carry abductions of Israelis and / or Jews abroad especially given Hamas’ notion that the contacts on the captive and missing are at a stalemate become stuck and pressure on the organization to resolve the issue. Hamas Chairman Ismail Haniye has even publicly declared that, “Hamas will not hesitate to carry out abductions,” and that, “We hold four prisoners and if this is not enough to persuade Israel to make a deal, we will carry out more abductions through our arms which reach everywhere.”

The extreme Right

6. Jewish communities (as well as other minorities) have been a principal target with religious and community institutions being a preferred target, especially during holidays. In recent years, religious institutions have been attacked throughout Europe and [North] America for ideological and anti-Semitic motives.

Threatened areas

7. Areas with the highest likelihood of Iranian terrorist activity are those countries in proximity to Iran (such as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Türkiye and the Kurdish area), the Mediterranean Sea basin, Africa and Latin America.

8. Given that Sinai is still a threat area, the NSCCTD recommends that Israelis in Sinai stay only in recognized tourist areas (the secured beaches and Sharm el-Sheikh) where the Egyptian security forces maintain a presence and avoid traveling in the interior or staying in isolated and unrecognized sites.

9. There has recently been an increase in the potential terrorist threat in Sweden and Denmark due to incidents of Quran burning. Sweden has raised domestic threat level to high. Please monitor events (also in light of possible spillover to additional countries).

Prohibition on the Entry of Israelis to Enemy Countries

10. According to Israeli law, Israelis are absolutely prohibited from traveling to enemy countries (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran), even for dual nationals who hold additional passports. Israelis in these countries are at veru high risk of abduction or attacks on their lives.

11. In this context, it will be noted that academic researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli citizen who also holds a Russian passport, was abducted by a Shiite militia while she was illegally present in Iraq.

The NSCCTD calls on the Israeli public to continue to travel abroad but to be alert, to act responsibly as per the threat level in the country they are in, and to strictly adhere to the recommendations detailed below. In high-risk countries, Israelis must show greater caution and avoid external indicators of their being Israelis and / or Jews. The NSCCTD recommends that the public monitor the status of the NSCCTD travel warnings. As has been shown in the past year, these warnings are based on, and reflect, concrete and valid potential threats. The NSCCTD again calls on those planning to travel abroad to check the status of the travel warnings to their intended destinations before purchasing tickets.

https://www.gov.il/he/departments/news/nsc-news-september (Hebrew link)

The National Security Council is responsible for travel warnings vis-à-vis terrorism only. Other issues (consular matters, warnings to Israelis regarding combat zones, political instability and crime) are dealt with by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; travelers should also check the relevant sites.

The Palestinian terrorist fled the scene, but was neutralized by security forces.

(JNS)

An Israeli was killed and two others injured on Thursday morning when a Palestinian terrorist rammed them with a truck at the Maccabim Crossing along Route 443, close to the central city of Modi’in.

The victims, all in their 20s, were treated by Magen David Adom emergency medical personnel before being evacuated to hospital. According to Channel 12, one was in serious condition and one suffered only minor injuries.

The terrorist fled the scene but was tracked down and neutralized at the Hashmonaim Crossing some 10 kilometers (6 miles) away, according to the Israel Police.

The Defense Ministry said its security guards operating the Hashmonaim checkpoint received a description of the terrorist’s truck from the IDF moments after the attack, and subsequently opened fire at the vehicle after identifying the assailant.

Israel Police Deputy Commissioner Avi Biton said the terrorist was a 41-year-old Palestinian who was known to security forces and had a work permit to enter Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was receiving updates on the attack, according to his office.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was set to hold an assessment with security brass later Thursday.

“This is an attack with serious consequences; [my] full appreciation to the security forces for their resolute action that quickly led to the elimination of the terrorist,” Gallant said in a statement.

Overnight Wednesday, an Israeli officer and three soldiers were wounded during an operation to secure entry for civilians to the Joseph’s Tomb compound in Shechem (Nablus).

An improvised explosive device was set off as the soldiers passed by.

The wounded soldiers were evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah. The officer and two of the soldiers were lightly wounded, and another fighter was in moderate condition, the IDF said.

Nablus Battalion, part of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, reportedly claimed responsibility.

Hours earlier, an Israeli man was moderately wounded in a stabbing at the Shivtei Yisrael light-rail stop outside Jerusalem’s Old City.

The alleged assailant, identified by local media as a 14-year-old Arab resident of Beit Hanina in northern Jerusalem, was shot and killed by a Border Policeman who witnessed the attack.

Separately on Wednesday evening, two Israeli bus drivers were lightly injured when their vehicles were stoned by Palestinians on a highway in western Samaria.

The attacks occurred on Route 55 near the Arab village of Nabi Ilyas, located close to the Israeli community of Alfei Menashe.

One of the drivers was wounded in the eyes by shrapnel, while the other suffered a shoulder injury, according to Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria). Both were evacuated to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba.

Earlier Wednesday, an Israel Defense Forces soldier was lightly injured when a Palestinian terrorist rammed his car into a military post near Beit Hagai, close to Hebron in Judea.

Image: Police at the scene of a car ramming terror attack near Maccabim, Aug. 31, 2023. Photo by Jonathan Shaul/Flash90.

A member of Shimon HaTzadik’s “neighborhood committee,” Saleh Diab has been arrested numerous times for assaulting Jews.

Akiva Van Koningsveld

(JNS)

An Arab convicted of attacking his Jewish neighbor is set to address students at Tel Aviv’s prestigious Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium high school on Sunday, according to Jewish advocacy group Btsalmo.

Saleh Diab, an Arab resident of eastern Jerusalem’s Shimon HaTzadik/Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, was invited to the Sept. 3 event by the radical left-wing Youth Against Dictatorship group, which has been rallying teenagers to refuse to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.

The event is being held to protest against the government’s judicial reform effort.

“Starting in the afternoon [of Sept. 3], Youth Against Dictatorship activists will take over the Herzliya Gymnasium in Tel Aviv,” the organization announced earlier this week. “Open classes will be held on the subject of activism and social struggles, led by representatives of Breaking the Silence and residents of Sheikh Jarrah.”

Seventeen-year-old Tal Mitnick from Tel Aviv, one of the organizers, was quoted by local media as saying, “We must stop the judicial revolution and we must stop taking part in a military that serves settlements and the occupation.”

A member of Shimon HaTzadik’s “neighborhood committee,” Diab has been arrested numerous times for assaulting Jews, most recently in June on suspicion of attacking Shabbat worshippers with an iron rod. In 2014, he served eight months in prison for aggravated assault on a Jewish neighbor.

Last year, Diab was caught chanting slogans lauding violence, with one video showing him praising Palestinian Udai Tamimi, the Hamas terrorist who shot and killed Military Police Sgt. Noa Lazar, 18.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir previously called Diab “a terrorist responsible for harassing and bullying the Jews of the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood.”

Btsalmo CEO Shai Glick has called on Education Minister Yoav Kisch to cancel the “delusional” on-campus demonstration, adding that the State Education Law mandates schools to prepare pupils for “a meaningful service in the Israel Defense Forces or national service.

“The time has come once and for all to check the delusional behavior of [headmaster] Mr. [Ze’ev] Degani and whether he is fit to lead students,” Glick wrote in a letter copied to a handful of national politicians and local officials.

Responding to a question from Israel National News on Tuesday, the Education Ministry said it would “check the complaints and the facts” and take action “in accordance with the legal means at its disposal.”

Glick told JNS, “There is nothing to check; there’s a terrorist and an organization that calls for refusals [to serve]. Just prohibit this unlawful event from taking place already.”

He added that he was disappointed that Kisch did not personally respond to his missive.

Right-wing politicians and activists similarly decried the failure to take swift action.

“The terrorist Saleh Diab, who served prison time for attacking Jews on nationalistic grounds, was invited to give a speech at the opening day of the Herzliya Gymnasium alongside representatives of Breaking the Silence. Kudos to the ‘right-wing’ government,” Likud Party lawmaker MK Tali Gottlieb sarcastically proclaimed in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium was founded in 1905 as the first Hebrew high school in what was then Ottoman-controlled Palestine. Its current headmaster, Ze’ev Degani, who has headed the institution for the past 15 years, has clashed with successive right-wing governments in Jerusalem.

In 2016, Degani invited members of Breaking the Silence to speak with students, defying calls from the Education Ministry to cancel the lecture. He also stopped sending delegations from his school on state-sponsored trips to the Auschwitz extermination camp, claiming they contributed to a “process of fascisization taking over politics in this country.”

Herzliya Gymnasium graduate Lt. Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, a former IDF chief of staff who went on to become the Jewish state’s foreign minister in a short-lived unity government in 2020-2021, has said that he is “ashamed” of his alma mater.

Image: Saleh Diab during a protest in Jerusalem’s Shimon HaTzadik/Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Photo by Aryeh King.