U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2005 - Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza

Between August 15 and 22, Israel withdrew approximately 8,000 settlers from the Gaza Strip and four northern West Bank settlements, as well as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) units protecting them, thus implementing Prime Minister Sharon's disengagement plan. Responsibility for Gaza was turned over to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Following the Israeli disengagement, Egypt deployed 750 border guards along the Egyptian-Gaza border. Egypt also dispatched security advisers to Gaza to advise the Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) on their new security role along the border.

Palestinian terrorist groups conducted a significant number of attacks in Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip even after a "period of calm" was agreed in February. All of these groups used a variety of terrorist tactics, including suicide bombs, rocket attacks, pipe bombs, mortar attacks, roadside bombings and ambushes, and shooting at Israeli homes and military and civilian vehicles. The number of victims killed in Israel in terrorist attacks was less than 50, down from the almost 100 individuals killed in 2004. Israeli security forces successfully thwarted other planned attacks.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Fatah-linked al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade (AAMB), HAMAS, and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) were responsible for most of these attacks. Within Gaza, Palestinian militants engaged in occasional bloody skirmishes with PA police and security service officials, and periodically shot at polling stations, electoral offices, and PA security complexes.

According to claims by HAMAS, AAMB, and the PRC, a number of terrorist attacks were perpetrated by one or more organizations acting together, including the January 13 truck bombing of the Qarni cargo crossing terminal on the Israeli-Gaza border, which killed six Israeli civilians and wounded another five.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed credit for several terrorist attacks that occurred in Israel, including:

• The February 25 suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub.
• The July 12 suicide bombing near a mall in Netanya.
• The October 26 suicide bombing at the market in Hadera.
• The December 5 suicide bombing at the mall in Netanya.

HAMAS activity dropped significantly in 2005, in part because of its adherence to the ceasefire, but also because much of its leadership in the West Bank was arrested or killed. HAMAS claimed credit for the pre-ceasefire January 18 suicide bombing in Gaza that killed an Israeli security officer and injured eight other soldiers and security agents. Individuals linked to HAMAS were involved in the September 21 kidnapping and murder in the West Bank of an Israeli resident of Jerusalem.

Fatah's militant wing, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, claimed credit for the following terrorist attacks, after agreeing to the ceasefire:

• The October 16 drive-by shooting attack at Gush Etzion south of Jerusalem, and a shooting attack the same day in the West Bank in which an Israeli teenager was wounded.
• Qassam rocket launches from the Gaza Strip into the western Negev desert that destroyed property and injured Israeli civilians and soldiers.

The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) carried out a significant number of terrorist attacks from the Rafah area on the Gaza-Egyptian border, notably rocket attacks against Israel. The PRC was also responsible for armed attacks against construction teams and IDF forces in Gaza during the disengagement process.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) made no claims to perpetrating any terror attacks, though it continued to coordinate with other foreign terrorist organizations to carry out attacks.

Lebanese Hizballah continued to provide support to Palestinian terrorist groups to augment their capacity for conducting attacks against Israel. Hizballah also continued to call for the destruction of Israel and used Lebanese territory as a staging ground for terrorist operations. On November 21, Hizballah fighters launched a rocket barrage against border communities and IDF outposts. Acting on threat information that Hizballah intended to kidnap Israelis, the IDF stopped the incursion, killing four Hizballah fighters.

Israeli Government sources reported an upsurge in the PIJ's purchase and resale of goods. Israeli security forces and customs authorities seized containers at the port of Ashdod that contained thousands of dollars worth of merchandise suspected of having been purchased by the PIJ for resale. IDF and civil administration forces also shut down two illegal "Daawa" charity organizations in the West Bank to prevent their possible use as conduits for terror finance.

On August 4, an AWOL Israeli soldier opened fire on a bus, killing four Israeli Arabs and injuring ten. During the attack, he was killed by the angry crowd. Prime Minister Sharon publicly condemned the shooting as an act of terrorism.

After Israel's withdrawal from Gaza, IDF sources reported an increase in the number of explosive devices planted along the fence separating Gaza from Israel. In response to these terrorist attacks, Israel deployed forces along the perimeter of Gaza to prevent rocket and mortar attacks, delayed the expected transfer of West Bank towns to PA control, postponed planned meetings with Palestinian negotiators, and used aircraft to set off sonic booms over Gaza. In response to continuing mortar and rocket attacks against Israel, the IDF also fired rockets and artillery against sites in Gaza used for mortar and Qassam rocket attacks.

In response to continuing threat information, Israeli security forces launched frequent arrest and detention raids throughout the West Bank and Gaza, conducted targeted killings of suspected Palestinian terrorists, imposed strict and widespread closures and curfews in Palestinian areas, conducted airborne rocket attacks on buildings affiliated with designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) in Gaza, and continued the construction of an extensive separation barrier in the West Bank. Israel did not destroy the homes of any suicide bombers or their families.