Palestinian Weapons Production and Smuggling: What's New

February 27, 2006:

A Qassam rockets lands in a kibbutz south of Askelon.

The rocket impacts in close proximity to residential homes and shatters several windows.

"Members of the Home Front Command experienced this terrible feeling themselves," kibbutz resident Ilana Mor told Ynet. "You cannot fully grasp the meaning of Qassam fire until you experience it yourself, that terrible fear that paralyzes you."

Mor said she was able to hear the loud explosion as the rocket landed.

"We saw the smoke, and because it landed right next to the homes, I told my kids I'm running over there to see if anyone got hurt...I got there and saw the rocket right next to the homes. It's a miracle there were no casualties. But it's clear to us the current situation cannot continue, and it's becoming more terrible every time."

(Shmulik Hadad, "Rocket Lands in Southern Kibbutz," YnetNews, February 27, 2006).

February 23, 2006:

Hamas activists may not be actively launching Qassam rockets at Israel from the Gaza Strip, but they are providing assistance to militants from other groups who are carrying out such attacks.

Most of the rocket fire is being carried out by Islamic Jihad activists, activists from Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and members of local factions such as the Popular Resistance Committees.

For all intents and purposes, Hamas has been in control of the northern branch of the PRC over the past few months. Since the Palestinian elections, the movement has not been involved in the Qassam rocket fire, but has provided direct assistance to the PRC.

Prior to the elections and despite an agreement on the "period of calm," Hamas played an active role in the rocket attacks, with military officials estimating that the movement was responsible for nearly 20 percent of all Qassams fired at Israel last year.

Despite recent concerted efforts by the Israel Defense Forces to curtail rocket fire from the Strip, Qassam attacks have significantly increased recently. At least 130 Qassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip fell in Israeli territory in January - more than double the 64 that landed in Israel in December 2005.

Senior IDF and political officials have reiterated warnings to the Palestinians that Israel will be forced to adopt harsh military measures if the rocket fire continues. Options being considered include the possibility of cutting off the power supply to the Strip, and using heavier artillery fire that will be directed not only at open areas.

Officials also have discussed the option of sending armored corps forces into the northern part of the Strip to push the rocket firers back. There also has been talk of adopting measures to cause residents of the northern Strip to flee their homes.

As part of its efforts to combat the rocket attacks, Israel Air Force planes have dropped warning leaflets over the area - apparently to no avail. Artillery fire and other IAF operations also have proved ineffective in dealing with the rocket attacks.

The current Qassam rockets have a range of just over 11 kilometers, but militants are working to increase this. For some time, Hamas has been trying to smuggle in Russian Grad rockets, which have a 24-kilometer range. Such rockets would be able to reach the Ashkelon power station and other strategic targets within Israel.

(Ze'ev Schiff, "Hamas Helping Militant Groups Carry out Qassam Attacks," Ha'aretz, February 24, 2006).

February 23, 2006:

Following an increase in the number of alerts for attempts to carry out terror attacks by the Islamic Jihad and Tanzim infrastructures originating in Nablus, IDF forces have been operating since Saturday night against terror infrastructure in Nablus.

Earlier today, February 23rd 2006, IDF forces surrounded a structure in which security forces information indicated that three wanted Palestinians were hiding. The Palestinians hiding in the structure opened fire and threw hand grenades at the forces, moderately wounding an IDF soldier and lightly wounding a second soldier. The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital, one of them by helicopter, to receive further medical treatment. The force retuned fire at the gunmen and identified hitting three armed gunmen. An M-16 assault rifle and an M-203 assault rifle with a grenade launcher assembled unto it were uncovered in subsequent searches of the structure.

The three wanted Tanzim operatives who were killed in the activity are: Muhammed Hamdan Abed El Hadi Shatiwi, Mahmad Hamis Hassin Amar and Fatah Hasan Hajaj. Muhammed Hamdan Abed El Hadi Shatiwi, 33, head of the Tanzim infrastructure in the Balata refugee camp. Shatiwi was responsible for carrying out the following attacks:

- A shooting attack on January 7th 2005 on Route 60, in which 2 Israeli soldiers on leave, Second Lieutenant Ariel Buda and Sergeant Yossef Atia were murdered, and three Israeli civilians were wounded.

- A shooting attack in which IDF company commander, Maj. Shahar Ben Ishai was killed in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, on May 29th 2004.

- The killing of a number of Palestinians in Nablus who were suspected of collaboration with Israel.

During the past few months, Shatiwi maintained close connections with the Hezbollah terror organization in Lebanon, and carried out various operations, including the purchase of weaponry, explosive device attacks and shooting attacks against Israeli targets in the Nablus area.

Mahmad Hamis Hassin Amar, 36, and Fatah Hasan Hajaj, 26, both Tanzim operatives, operated in close contact with Shatiwi and carried out a number of terrorist attacks under his direction. Under his direct guidance, they were also involved in the murder of Palestinians whom they suspected were collaborating with Israel. The two also received financial support from funds that Shatiwi received for funding terror activity.

("Three Wanted Tanzim Operatives Killed During an IDF Arrest Activity in Nablus," IDF Spokesperson's Office, February 23, 2006).

February 22, 2006:

Israel's military warns that the Palestinian Authority or aligned groups will acquire a range of rockets and anti-aircraft missiles over the next few months.

Military intelligence has determined that Palestinian forces in the Gaza Strip have or wo ld acquire such weapons as the Soviet-origin Katyusha rocket, SA-7 anti-aircraft missile and advanced variants of anti-tank missiles in 2006. The assessment said the weapons would be provided by Hizbullah and smuggled through Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.

In a lecture at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Zeevi-Farkash said Palestinian insurgents have managed to smuggle weapons from the Sinai Peninsula into the Gaza Strip. He said that despite Egyptian efforts, weapons and insurgents continue to move through the Gaza-Egypt border, Middle East Newsline reported.

Military intelligence has termed AAMs and Katyushas as weapons that could change the balance of power between Israel and the Palestinians. "We estimate that in 2006 anti-aircraft missiles or Katyushas will infiltrate the Gaza Strip and change the situation," outgoing military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash said.

[On Tuesday, Palestinians fired missiles from the northern Gaza Strip that landed in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. At least one missile struck the industrial zone, which contains such strategic sites as an oil terminal and water facility. Two cars were said to have been damaged.]

"I am worried about three things," Zeevi-Farkash, who left his post in January, said on Feb. 9. "They are anti-aircraft missiles, anti-tank missiles and Katyushas. Today, it's easier to smuggle to the Gaza Strip through Philadelphi [border zone]. This is a huge problem."

On Feb. 2, military sources reported that Islamic Jihad launched its first anti-aircraft weapon toward an AH-64A Apache attack helicopter in the northern Gaza Strip. The helicopter was not struck.

"We have to obtain Egyptian cooperation or else the situation will change," Zeevi-Farkash said.

("Israel: Influx of Missiles Via Gaza Could Change Balance of Power," World Tribune, February 22, 2006).

February 21, 2006:

A joint ISA-IDF operation on 8.12.05 resulted in the arrest of Nadim Awad, a member of the Palestinian General Intelligence from the Nablus area; Awad confessed to having perpetrated - along with an accomplice from the Palestinian security services - the 8.12.2000 shooting attack on the Jericho bypass road in which Sgt. Tal Gordon (http://tinyurl.com/m99ss) was murdered and a Israeli woman civilian was wounded. Two senior Palestinian General Intelligence officers directed the attack.

Nadim Muhammad Fawzi Awad, born in 1974, a resident of the Nablus area village of Salem, served in the Palestinian General Intelligence and resided in Jericho during the aforementioned terrorist attack. Awad confessed to perpetrating the attack along with Abdul Karim Hamed Ahmed Shatiyeh, born in 1974, from Salem, who also served in the Palestine General Intelligence. Awad and Shatiyeh formed a terrorist cell along with Hasin Abdul Alfahat Zabeidi, born in 1966, from Luban A-Sharkiyeh, who was killed in a February 2002 exchange of fire with IDF forces in Ramallah.

Awad confessed that the cell acted under the personal command of the commander of the Palestinian General Intelligence Special Unit in Jericho, Hasin Ali Muhammad Aoush, and under the personal direction of Musa Mahmud Muhammad Fadilat, a senior Palestinian General Intelligence officer in Jericho.

On 8.12.2000, Awad and Shatiyeh, under Aoush's direction, drove towards the Jericho bypass road in order to shoot at Israeli vehicles. Zabeidi, Aoush and Fadilat stayed behind at a Palestinian Force 17 checkpoint and acted as lookouts. They informed Awad and Shatiyeh by radio each time a vehicle approached. Aoush ordered them not to shoot at private cars or those vehicles with few passengers; when the #963 bus approached, he ordered them to open fire. Awad and Shatiyeh each emptied an entire magazine at the bus and then fled back to the Force 17 checkpoint, from where they were taken back to Jericho.

From the investigation of Awad and other Palestinian General Intelligence operatives, it arises that many of the shooting attacks that were perpetrated in the Jericho area during the first year of the current round of Palestinian terrorism and violence were directly guided by senior Palestinian security service officers and that the terrorists themselves were also security service operatives.

("PALESTINIAN GENERAL INTELLIGENCE TERRORIST CELL UNCOVERED IN JERICHO AREA," PMO's Office, February 21, 2006).

February 20, 2006:

Following an increase in security alerts regarding the intention of Tanzim and Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructures in Nablus to launch terrorist attacks into Israel, IDF forces have - in recent days - been conducting a wide-scale arrest operation in the Balata refugee camp and in the Old City of Nablus.

Due to the increased terrorist activity in the city, Nablus has become one of the primary producers of explosive belts and bombs, which are systematically manufactured and transferred to different terrorist infrastructures in Judea and Samaria, to be used against Israel.

During the night, IDF forces arrested seven wanted terrorists:

1. Ahmed Muhammad Zuhadi Araisha Marshoud, 22, a resident of the Balata refugee camp. Araisha is the head of the Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure in Nablus. He was directed by Islamic Jihad leaders in the Gaza Strip and was involved in many attacks, including the 19.1.06 suicide bombing at the old Tel Aviv Central Bus Station in which 30 Israeli civilians were wounded, and the attempted 8.1.06 infiltration into the Jewish community of Bracha in order to perpetrate a terrorist attack, which was thwarted by IDF forces. Araisha was recently involved in additional attempts to perpetrate terrorist attacks against Israel. Many of these attacks were prevented due to the arrest of potential suicide bombers recruited by him, who had intended to perpetrate attacks in the coming days.

2. Iyad Mahmad Mahmoud Massimi, 28, a resident of the Balata refugee camp and a senior Tanzim terrorist. Massimi is one of the top experts on explosives and bomb construction in Nablus, and was involved in preparing the explosive belts used in several attacks against IDF forces and in suicide bombings, including the 19.1.06 suicide bombing at the old Tel Aviv Central Bus Station.

3. Wa'al Shakhr Mahmoud Massah, 38, a resident of the Balata refugee camp. A senior Tanzim operative, Massah is also considered to be an explosives expert and one of the senior bomb makers in Nablus. As part of his activity in the organization, Massah was in regular contact with Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.

4. Ahmed Husseini Ali Khalil, 20, a resident of the Balata refugee camp, a member of the Tanzim terrorist organization. Over the past two years, Khalil has been involved in numerous terrorist attacks in which explosive devices were detonated against IDF forces in the Nablus area. He was currently involved in an attempt to perpetrate a suicide bombing.

5. Ibrahim Husseini Darwish Abu Dra'a, 19, a resident of the Balata refugee camp, a member of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization. On 8.1.06, he was dispatched by Araisha to infiltrate the Jewish community of Bracha in order to perpetrate a terrorist attack; the attack was thwarted when IDF forces prevented him from infiltrating into Bracha.

6-7. Qasem Awad Qasem Zaben, 20, and Mahmud Ali Mahed Mahamda, 30, residents of the Old City of Nablus, members of the Tanzim terrorist organization. The two are part of a Tanzim cell in the Old City involved in manufacturing and using explosive devices against IDF forces in Nablus. The cell was headed by wanted Tanzim terrorist Ahmed Mahmed Naif Abu Srah.

IDF forces operating in Nablus identified several armed terrorists and opened fire at them, killing Ahmed Mahmed Naif Abu Srah, 30, a resident of the Old City of Nablus, and a senior member of the Tanzim terrorist organization. Abu Srah was involved in the 19.1.06 suicide bombing at the old Tel Aviv Central Bus Station as well as dozens of additional attacks in the Nablus area. Recently, he had been operating under the direction of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization HQ in Syria. Abu Srah was considered an expert in complex explosive devices, of the kind that were used frequently against IDF forces in the past year. He was also involved in manufacturing explosive belts for the Tanzim and Islamic Jihad in Nablus.

("SEVEN WANTED PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS ARRESTED, AND ONE KILLED, IN IDF NABLUS AREA OPERATION," IDF Spokesperson's Office, February 20, 2006).

February 18, 2006:

Israel's military assesses that the Palestinian Authority or aligned groups will acquire a range of rockets and anti-aircraft missiles over the next few months.

Military intelligence has determined that Palestinian forces in the Gaza Strip have or would acquire such weapons as the Soviet-origin Katyusha rocket, SA-7 anti-aircraft missile and advanced variants of anti-tank missiles in 2006. The assessment said the weapons would be provided by Hizbullah and smuggled through Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to the Gaza Strip.

"We estimate that in 2006 anti-aircraft missiles or Katyushas will infiltrate the Gaza Strip and change the situation," outgoing military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Zeevi-Farkash said.

("Israel Braces For Katyushas, AAM's in 2006," Middle East Newsline, February 15, 2006).

February 17, 2006:

Israel needs to prepare for a large-scale disaster caused by Qassam rockets which could strike the Ashkelon power plant or chemical storage tanks in the nearby industrial zone, senior security and government officials warned on Thursday.

On Tuesday, eight Qassams were fired at the Western Negev, with one exploding close to a strategic installation in the Ashkelon industrial zone.

The attack was not the first time that Qassams landed in the industrial zone - home to a number of factories and strategic installations, including the Ashkelon power station, a desalination plant and sections of the Ashkelon-Eilat oil pipeline. The IDF censor has prevented the publication of the exact targets hit by the rockets so as not to "help" the Palestinians improve their accuracy.

National Infrastructure Ministry officials told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that while the Qassam was a small and relatively primitive rocket, if fired accurately it had the ability to shut down the Ashkelon power plant, which provides electricity to half of the country.

The police and the IDF's Home Front Command have drawn up plans to deal with a disaster caused by a Qassam strike in the industrial zone and have planned a massive exercise for next week to drill forces in preparation for an emergency.

"If fired accurately, a Qassam could cause a huge disaster in the industrial zone," a senior police officer who specializes in emergency situations told the Post. "It obviously depends where it falls, but there are places that, if hit, would cause severe damage to infrastructure and human lives."

The officer specifically referred to tanks of ammonia and other highly flammable chemicals in one of the factories as a sensitive target that needed to be protected.

"If a Qassam hits the power plant, we are probably just looking at a temporary shutdown," he explained. "The bigger problem is what happens if the Kassam falls on chemical tanks there. If that happens, we could be facing a large-scale disaster."

While the IDF said it was working to reinforce the roofs of the factories and to protect the industrial zone, senior officers admitted that the military did not have a 100-percent solution to what they called the "Qassam problem."

In recent weeks the army has stepped up its targeted assassinations of terrorists involved in the production and firing of Qassams.

"We are working around the clock trying to prevent the firing of Qassams," one officer said. "We are aware of our limitations and that we don't have a perfect solution, but we are doing everything we can to minimize the phenomenon, whether by targeting the people who are behind the Qassams or creating no-movement zones in the northern Gaza Strip."

But while the officer said the army viewed the Qassam as one of the "most serious threats" to southern Israel, he admitted that the Home Front Command had yet to fully implement its protection plan for the Ashkelon industrial zone.

"This is one of the most serious threats to southern Israel today," he said. "We are aware that it can cause disasters and it has killed people in the past."

The Home Front Command said it was in the process of implementing a protection plan for the industrial zone and stressed that while Qassam rockets have claimed lives in the past it was mostly a "stupid and primitive weapon" that was far less dangerous than a suicide bomber.

(Yaakov Katz, "Kassams at Ashkelon Pose 'Disaster' Threat," Jerusalem Post, February 17, 2006).

February 16, 2006:

The Russian government may sign an arms deal with Hamas during a scheduled visit by the terror group's leaders to Moscow.

The Hamas delegation, headed by Khaled Mashaal, is set to visit Russia sometime next month.

"The decision to sell arms to Hamas must be reached through the cooperation of both sides," the general said.

"We will have to wait and see what the meetings in Russia will produce."

Baluyevsky added that Russia is considering selling Hamas, among other things, of "two unarmed helicopters that would be used for transporting Palestinian leaders, in addition to armed vehicles to help preserve stability."

The Palestinians have expressed their willingness to purchase two M-17 helicopters and some 50 armored vehicles. However, the Palestinians will not be able to receive the equipment without Israeli consent.

("Russia to Consider Selling Helicopters to PA," YnetNews, February 16, 2006).

February 14, 2006:

The Aqsa 2 or Aqsa 207 (new 207mm Katyusha rocket), arrives in the Gaza Strip through northern Sinai. It extends the range of Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip to a maximum of 16-18 kilometers. Well within this range are Ashkelon and its port, power and oil pipeline installations, as well as the southern Israeli towns of Ofakim and Netivot.

In addition, the Al Aqsa Brigades have put into service short-range, 8-kilometer Arafat 1 and Arafat 2 rockets. Some 20 are reported to have been fired till now against Israeli locations across the Gaza border.

While the rockets are "imported," the launchers are assembled at Fatah foundries in the Gaza Strip.

The war materiel is smuggled in from Sinai - either through illicit tunnels running under the border or openly under the eye of the Egyptian border units. Last Saturday, Feb. 11, a tunnel linking the Rafah terminal with the Gaza sea shore caved in killing three Fatah operatives who were trapped inside.

It was sealed by Palestinian security teams last year straight after Israel�s pull-out from the border region, but like the rest of the sealed tunnels it is under restoration to be reactivated for a new surge of weapons smuggling.

("DEBKAfile�s Military Sources: Mahmoud Abbas�s Fatah Terrorist Arm, Al Aqsa Brigades Has Got Hold of New 207mm Katyusha Rockets," DebkaFile, February 14, 2006).

February 11, 2006:

Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades claims it has developed a lethal long-range rocket capable of striking central Ashkelon.

According to Islamic Jihad sources, the new rocket has a range of 13-16 kilometers (about 8-10 miles) and contains TNT.

Islamic Jihad spokesman Abu Hamza said the military wing's engineering unit was finally able to produce the new Quds rocket, which is an improved version of the Quds 101 rocket currently used by the group.

The spokesman added the new rocket, which he said is 2.3 meters long (about 7 feet,) has been successfully tested by the organization and was produced using great investment at special labs.

Abu Hamza warned the new rocket will be put into use soon and noted the previous Quds model was able to cause damages in the Ashkelon area, north of the Gaza Strip. The spokesman added Islamic Jihad will continue to undertake work aimed at improving its launching capabilities.

(Ali Waked, "Jihad: Our New Rocket More Lethal," YnetNews, February 11, 2006).

February 10, 2006:

Egyptian diplomat�s Gaza kidnappers demand release of all Palestinian prisoners in Egypt within 48 hours.

An unknown group called Ahrar Brigades used al Jazeera TV Friday night to threaten "tragic consequences" if its demands are not met.

According to DEBKAfile, military sources report extreme anxiety in Cairo over the Palestinian security services� failure to track the masked men who snatched Egyptian naval attache' Hossam al-Musselli from his car in Gaza City Thursday. All Cairo�s efforts to signal the hostage-takers and offer a large ransom have gone unanswered.

The day after the Hamas election victory last month, 50 Egyptian military instructors departed the Gaza Strip as a safety precaution and because they judged hopeless any chance of training or setting up any Palestinian unit that they could control. Left in place were only three Egyptian generals and security guards to protect them and the Egyptian Embassy staff.

("Egyptian Diplomat�s Gaza Kidnappers Demand Release of all Palestinian Prisoners in Egypt Within 48 Hours," DebkaFile, February 10, 2006).

February 9, 2006:

Hamas plans to form its own security agencies to operate parallel to those of the Palestinian Authority.

"The PA does not want us to enter the security agencies," a senior Hamas operative said. "So, we will create our own agencies."

The operatives said Hamas would not encounter a problem in funding its security programs. They said Iran has relayed commitments to help Hamas establish security agencies and fill any funding shortfall as a result of a cutoff from the West.

PA security officials said they would not accept Hamas fighters unless they fulfill requirement standards. The officials said even Hamas insurgency commanders must start at the entry level. "We will have final authority to accept who we allow in the security forces," a senior PA commander said. "If we give this up, then Hamas is in complete charge."

The Islamic movement has not conceded on plans to take over PA security agencies. They said Hamas expects to control several PA security agencies once it leads a government.

"We expect the Hamas-led government to control the security services which according to the law fall under the responsibility of the minister of interior," said Hamas spokesman Mushir Al Masri, said. [The Jerusalem District Court has awarded a $20 million judgement to victims of a Hamas attack in 2002. This was the first time Hamas was sucessfully sued in an Israeli court. It was not clear how the judgement would be implemented as Hamas does not have assets in Israel.] At the same time, Hamas operatives said thousands of trained fighters would be recruited for police and security positions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They said the Hamas troops would ensure internal security and defend against Israeli attacks.

The senior operative said the Islamic fighters would launch operations that have been avoided by the PA. He cited anti-crime missions as well as the battle against drugs and corruption.

Since the Jan. 25 Hamas victory in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, PA security agencies have fallen in disarray. Palestinian sources said the only security agency still operating as normal is the traffic police.

Hamas said commanders have been drafting plans to organize security intelligence agencies. Operatives said Hamas, which has weapons production facilities, could quickly assume control over the entire Gaza Strip.

"We don't need the PA weapons," another Hamas operative said. "We have enough factories to produce all the weapons and munitions we need."

("Chaos: Hamas to Form its Own Security Agencies," WorldTribune, February 9, 2006).

February 9, 2006:

Palestinian terrorists fire a Qassam rocket at kibbutzim Zikim and Karmiya in southern Israel.

There are no reports of injuries or damage. Earlier, the Red Dawn alert system identified a Qassam launching from the Gaza Strip toward the southern town of Sderot.

On Wednesday, a Qassam rocket landed in an industrial zone south of Ashkelon. There were no injuries or reported damage.

On Tuesday, two Qassam rockets landed in the south of Israel. The first rocket hit a house in the town of Sderot, causing damage to property and killing a cat that was hurt by shrapnel in the backyard. The rocket landed a few meters away from two kindergartens. Following the fall, the children were rushed into reinforced rooms. The second rocket landed in an open area at a western Negev community.

The Sderot Municipality launched a strike in response to the rockets, and IDF soldiers fired artillery rounds toward the Qassam launching site in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanun.

("Shmulik Hadad, 2 Qassam Rockets Land in South," YnetNews, February 9, 2006).

February 9, 2006:

The international observer force based in the West Bank city of Hebron left Wednesday under Israeli military protection after Palestinian rioters attacked its headquarters.

The rioters, many of them 14 to 20 years old, stoned the headquarters of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, damaged cars and broke into the building destroying property. Shouting Allahu Akbar (God is great) they were protesting cartoons published in some European newspapers that depicted the Prophet Mohammad.

The observers' urgent departure might signal the end of the decade old TIPH. Its spokeswoman, Gunhild L. Forselv of Norway, told United Press International that representatives of the six European countries that contributed observers -- Denmark, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey -- are to meet Thursday to discuss its future. Their capitals will guide them, she said in a telephone interview shortly before the TIPH convoy reached a hotel in Tel Aviv where they were going to stay.

The force was sent to Hebron to provide "a feeling of security to the Palestinians of Hebron," help promote stability and develop the economy...

Palestinians have been demonstrating outside TIPH's headquarters in recent days and the Danish observers were evacuated last week. However Wednesday the protests became dangerous.

According to Forselv a mob of stone throwers attacked the building and drove away the small Palestinian police contingent was supposed to guard the building. TV footage showed rioters throwing stones at the few armed policemen.

"I am not sure exactly how many (rioters) they were because (whenever) ... we were trying to look out of the windows to see who was there, the kids would throw stones at the windows and break everything so we basically had to hide in the back of our headquarters," Forselv said.

Several rioters jumped over the low gate, broke into the building, and damaged property.

That was the decisive element that eventually led TIPH's commander, Arnstein Oberkil of Norway, to leave the area. At that time he said their departure was temporary.

"We can't really protect ourselves against events like the one that happened this morning," Forselv said.

Palestinian Preventive Security men arrived after some 15 to 20 minutes, fired in the air, and then Israel soldiers arrived.

The Israelis sent over armored jeeps that led and closed the convoy of TIPH cars out of Hebron.

Forselv told UPI she hoped they would return to Hebron. "It's a very sad moment for us.... I really hope we'll be able to get back as soon as possible. Right now were not talking about that.... We'll have to wait," she said.

In March 2002 Palestinian gunmen shot and killed two observers and wounded a third who were driving out of town. There seemed to a good deal of skepticism as to how effective TIPH has been. An Israeli military source told UPI the army has been "quite indifferent" to it.

"We've been fighting terror as we do everywhere, in every Palestinian city," the source said.

A well-placed Defense Ministry source said TIPH's capabilities have been "limited from the very beginning... Their aim is not to enter conflicts, not to get into showdowns. None of them comes here to get killed and we do not expect them to do so....

(Joshua Brilliant, "TIPH Observers Leave Hebron After Riot," UPI, February 9, 2006).

February 7, 2006:

A Qassam rocket hits a house in the southern town of Sderot, causing damage to property and killing a cat that was hurt by shrapnel in the backyard.

The rocket landed a few meters away from two kindergartens. Following the fall, the children were rushed into reinforced rooms.

The Qassam was launched despite the fact that the army resumed its artillery fire toward launching sites in the northern Gaza Strip areas. The Israel Air Force launched a strike on seven targets in the northern Strip, including access routes and a bridge, in a bid to make it difficult for the launching groups to reach the sites.

Sderot resident Avner Dadon, whose house was hit by the rocket, told Ynet that "the Qassam hit the external wall of the children's room and then flew to the backyard. The window and wall were damaged and the great luck was that the children are at school."

Dadon said that he found out about the rocket from his brother, who had called him to say that a house in their neighborhood was hit. "I hurried home and was astonished to discover that the rocket hit my house. I'm trembling from the thought of what would have happened if the children were in the room," he said.

"This situation it absolutely terrible. We cannot continue living in such fear 24 hours a day. This town should be closed and we should be evacuated from here until a solution for the Qassams is found. What is happening in this town is inhuman, and what is more annoying is that no one cares about us..."

("Sderot: Qassam Lands Near Kindergarten," YnetNews, February 7, 2006).

February 4-7, 2006:

- Fourth Israeli strike in Gaza since Saturday kills two more Fatah al Aqsa missile operatives Tuesday night, Abu Sharaya and Suheil Al- Bakar.

- Palestinian terrorists fire Qassasm rockets at southern Israeli communities.

One damages a kindergarten in Sderot, two more explode in Netiv Ha�asara north of the Gaza Strip and a fourth lands in Kibbutz Carmieh.

The four missiles Tuesday are fired hours after the Israeli Air Force kills two Fatah-Al-Aqasa Qassam missile-men on their way to a launching in the northern Gaza Strip.

It was Israel�s third targeted attack in Gaza over a three day period to halt the Qassam offensive waged by all the Palestinian terrorist groups against Israeli locations outside the Gaza Strip.

Israeli helicopter-borne missiles struck the car in which Bahni Juda and Hassan Asfur were driving to a launching. Sunday night, Islamic Jihad�s top bomb-maker, Adnan Bustan, 28, and a second terrorist were killed in an Israeli air strike.

Bustan headed the Jihad Islami engineering and manufacturing unit that produces missiles and explosives.

(DebkaFile. January 7, 2006).

February 5, 2006:

On 27.12.05, a joint ISA-Border Police operation resulted in the arrest of Raed Salman Bakhit Zofi. Zofi, born in 1983, is a Hamas military activist from Rafah who infiltrated into Israel via Sinai after setting out from the Palestinian section of Rafah.

Zofi admitted that he had been located and recruited by Hamas's military infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in order to perpetrate a high-profile terrorist attack by kidnapping and hiding an Israeli civilian or soldier in order to bargain for the release of prisoners.

Before leaving the Gaza Strip, Zofi had been trained (inter alia) in the use of firearms in order to prepare him for carrying out his mission; several related items were found on Raed's person when he was arrested. He also said that he was instructed to recruit additional activists from Judea and Samaria, and from inside Israel, to assist him in perpetrating the attack; Raed also detailed the ramified military activities he took part in while in the Gaza Strip.

Raed's arrest is further proof of Hamas's continuing efforts to perpetrate high-profile attacks in Israel, including kidnappings, tahdia or not.

("Hamas Terrorist From Gaza Strip Arrested Inside Israel," Prime Minister's Office, February 5, 2006).

February 4, 2006:

The residents of Kibbutz Karmia/Carmia trailer site move en-masse to an IDF rest and recreation village in Ashkelon following Friday's Qassam rocket attack which injured three civilians, including an infant.

The residents, who were evacuated from Gush Katif during last summer's Gaza disengagement, are currently camped inside the village dining room.

"We have decided to move here because it is much safer," Evacuee Committee Chairman David Yamin said.

"They told us there are no vacancies. We are waiting for a Disengagement Authority official to come and provide us with a solution. In any case, we don't plan on leaving until they give us rooms. We will not return to the cara-villas in Karmiya until we are presented with a solution to the Qassam rocket fire."

"There was always the sense that people were waiting for disaster to strike, but now that it has, we still don't see the authorities waking up to help us out," Karmiya resident Anat Ben-Ami said.

"Our trauma is double that of Kibbutz Karmiya members, because every Qassam attack takes us back to that period (in Gaza).

("Mobile Home Site Residents Seek Shelter From Qassams," YnetNews, February 4, 2006).

February 3-4, 2006:

The IAF strikes Qassam rocket launchers in the northern Gaza Strip.

The air strikes come as a response to rocket attacks on Israel earlier in the day, in which four family members, including a toddler, were injured when a Qassam hit their home in Kibbutz Karmiya/Carmia, in the western Negev, on Friday afternoon.

The 7-month-old baby sustained moderate head wounds, while the other family members were lightly injured. The mother was in the first months of pregnancy.

The rocket directly hit the caravan, in which the family lived, bringing down a plaster wall. Many families evacuated during last summer's disengagement from the Gaza Strip live in this caravan nieghborhood.

The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Likud Party said Friday evening that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz are abandoning the citizens of the State of Israel.

MK Gilad Erdan (Likud) said Olmert's government must understand that the time has come to protect residents the south before lives are lost.

Palestinians fired two more Qassam rockets toward the coastal town of Ashkelon on Friday afternoon. One rocket hit the southern Ashkelon industrial zone, damaging a fence and a Mekorot water company structure.

(Amos Harel, "IAF Strikes Northern Gaza Qassam Launchers," Ha'aretz, February 4, 2006).

February 2, 2006:

Palestinian gunmen take up positions outside the EU Commission's office, stating they were closing it in protest over a newspaper cartoon featuring the prophet Muhammad. The workers in the offices had already abandoned the building before the gunmen arrived.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, gunmen said they were searching apartments for foreigners from several European countries to try to abduct them.

According to a Channel 2 report, West Bank gunmen gave an 8:00 p.m. (Israel time) deadline for European governments to apologize for the publications. Otherwise, they warned, European doctors and other European nationals would be targeted.

In a phone call to The Associated Press, a member of the Al Aksa Martyrs' Brigades, said members of his group are also asking hotel owners in the city not to host citizens of five European countries, including France and Denmark.

"Any citizens of these countries, who are present in Gaza, will put themselves in danger," a Fatah-affiliated gunman said Thursday, as he stood outside the EU Commission's office in Gaza. He was flanked by two masked men holding up their rifles.

The gunmen also demanded apologies from the governments of France, Denmark and Norway within 48 hours and called on Palestinians to boycott their products after newspapers in these countries printed the caricatures.

A leaflet signed by a Fatah militia and the Islamic Jihad said the EU office and churches in Gaza could come under attack and urged all French citizens to leave Gaza.

On Wednesday night, the Fatah-affiliated Aksa Martyrs' Brigades and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine threatened to blow up the Danish and Norwegian consulates in the Palestinian Authority, Army Radio reported.

The drawings first ran in a Danish paper in September and have stirred the Muslim world. The cartoons included an image of Muhammad wearing a turban shaped as a bomb with a burning fuse, and another portraying him holding a sword, his eyes covered by a black rectangle.

The newspaper issued an apology to the world's Muslims on Monday. The drawings "were not in violation of Danish law but have undoubtedly offended many Muslims, which we would like to apologize for," the Jyllands-Posten's editor-in-chief Carsten Juste said in a statement posted on the paper's Web site.

However, France Soir and several other European papers reprinted the cartoons on Wednesday, rallying to defend freedom of expression.

The front page of France Soir on Wednesday carried the headline "Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God" and a cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian gods floating on a cloud. However, the paper said on Thursday that its managing editor was fired, as debate over the drawings mounted among French Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Juste told The Associated Press on Wednesday night "The dark dictatorships have won."

(Khaled Abu Toameh, "Nablus Gunmen Threaten Europeans," Jerusalem Post, February 2, 2006).