Country Reports on Terrorism 2007 - Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza

Israeli civilians were killed in six separate terrorist attacks during the year, the lowest number since the first Intifada broke out. While the lethality of individual terrorist attacks declined in comparison to 2006, Israel nevertheless continued to suffer from terrorist threats emanating from the West Bank and Gaza. Israeli security sources continued to express concern that AQ and other external Sunni extremists might infiltrate the West Bank and Gaza, especially after Palestinian gunmen claiming affiliation with AQ blew up a vacant resort in Gaza in January. Claims of actual AQ presence in the West Bank and Gaza have not been substantiated.

Israel responded to the terrorist threat as it has in recent years, with targeted operations directed at terrorist leaders and weapons experts, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) incursions into the West Bank and Gaza to conduct roundup operations, and other efforts designed to increase pressure on Palestinian terrorist organizations and their supporters. The Israeli security services also imposed strict and widespread closures and curfews in Palestinian areas, and continued constructing an extensive security barrier in the West Bank and Jerusalem that Israeli officials believe has played an important role in making terrorist attacks more difficult to undertake.

Perceiving the need to restore deterrence vis-à-vis Lebanese Hizballah and its backers in Syria and Iran, the IDF conducted extensive military exercises in northern Israel and the Golan Heights. Diplomatically, Israel continued to make the case at the UN, in its bilateral relations, and through public diplomacy that it faced threats from Hizballah, which was re-arming with Syrian and Iranian help, and from Palestinian terrorist groups receiving financial support from Iran. Israel contended that Egypt did not do enough to stop the smuggling of arms and explosives from the Sinai into Gaza through tunnels under the Gaza-Sinai border. In October, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study of the situation, and Egypt agreed to utilize $23 million of its Foreign Military Funding budget this year to purchase anti-tunneling equipment. Egypt has also agreed to discuss coordination and constructive ways to address this problem with the United States, Israel, and the Palestinian Authority.

While rocket fire against Israeli civilian targets from Gaza by HAMAS and other terrorist organizations continued during the year, HAMAS did not otherwise take responsibility for terrorist attacks pursuant to a unilateral conditional cease-fire it announced in 2005. HAMAS likely aided other terrorist organizations in Gaza, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (AAMB), and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), particularly after HAMAS seized power and expelled the legitimate Palestinian Authority government from Gaza in June.

Terrorist attacks that resulted in injuries and the Israeli responses included:

• On January 29, in the resort city of Eilat, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a bakery. Three Palestinian groups, PIJ, AAMB, and an unknown group calling itself "The Army of the Faithful", claimed responsibility for the attack.
• On February 25, the body of an Israeli settler was found in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc in the West Bank. The Israeli National Police said that he had been stabbed to death in a terrorist attack. No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Two young Palestinian men were subsequently arrested in a joint IDF-Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet) operation, and reportedly admitted to carrying out the attack based on religious grounds.
• On May 21 and 28, two Israeli civilians were killed when Qassam rockets launched from Gaza landed near them in the border community of Sderot.
• On November 19, an Israeli civilian was killed in a shooting incident near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim. The AAMB took responsibility for the attack. Two suspects were arrested the following day in a joint IDF-ISA operation. Palestinian security forces arrested a third suspect, who reportedly served previously in the Palestinian National Security Forces.

These incidents reflected an overall decrease in the number of successfully perpetrated terrorist attacks in comparison to previous years. Israeli security officials maintained that the decrease was not for lack of terrorists' efforts, but because the security services were able to keep terrorist planners and operators off balance. Throughout the year, Israel's security services publicly reported several foiled attempts.

Three nearly successful attempts, in particular, could have had disastrous consequences if they had been carried through to completion. The first attempt occurred on February 20 and involved a PIJ militant who carried an explosive backpack onto an Israeli bus in Tel Aviv. After failing to detonate the backpack, the man fled the scene. The man, his PIJ accomplices, and the backpack were subsequently found by the Israeli security services. The PIJ commander who ordered the failed attempt was killed by IDF forces the following day in the West Bank. The second involved a truck bomb in Tel Aviv in March. For unknown reasons, the driver did not detonate the truck. The operation was discovered by the Shin Bet and suspected operators were subsequently detained. Press reports cite Shin Bet sources as alleging that HAMAS was behind the foiled attack. HAMAS never responded to the allegations. The third attack involved an explosive belt discovered in an apartment in Tel Aviv on September 22. According to Israeli security sources, the belt was intended to be used in an attack on the Yom Kippur holiday, to be carried out by a suicide bomber who had been arrested three days earlier in a joint IDF-ISA operation in the West Bank. A joint HAMAS-Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) cell in the West Bank reportedly planned the attack.

On the law enforcement front, in March, a Tel Aviv court sentenced three Israelis to 13 years in jail for assisting a Palestinian who killed five Israeli civilians and wounded 30 in the July 2005 suicide bombing of a shopping mall in Netanya. Another Israeli was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in May for transporting a Palestinian suicide bomber to a Tel Aviv cafe, where the bomber carried out his attack in 2002, killing an Israeli civilian and wounding 28 others.

Despite the fact that Palestinian terrorists were relatively unsuccessful in carrying out suicide bombings and other attacks within Israel, they were nevertheless able to harass Israel throughout the year with mortar attacks against the Israeli-manned crossings between Gaza and Israel, and with Qassam rocket launches from Gaza towards Israeli communities abutting Gaza, the majority of which were targeted at the town of Sderot in the southern Negev desert. The Israeli Foreign Ministry claimed that from mid-June through mid-December, 428 Qassam rockets and 590 mortar shells were fired from Gaza towards Israeli civilians and soldiers. On October 7, militants fired a 122 mm Grad missile into Israel. It struck the town of Netivot, 15 kilometers inside Israel. PIJ, HAMAS, the AAMB, and the PRC claimed responsibility for the rocket and mortar attacks. On the eve of the November 27 Annapolis Conference, attended by the United States, Israel, the Palestinians, and representatives of other Middle Eastern countries, the PRC announced that it would begin "Operation Autumn Storm" and launch hundreds of rockets towards Sderot and western Negev communities during and after the conference. This threat was not carried out.

The Israeli security services assessed that the use of rockets and mortars reflected recognition by the groups launching them that their best chances for success were through asymmetrical warfare. The reliance on rockets also reflected technological advancements that allowed the groups to manufacture the rockets cheaply, stockpile them, and launch them greater distances. Prior to HAMAS' takeover of Gaza in June, Israeli security experts also assessed that rocket attacks were being carried out in order to draw Israel into Gaza, and force PA President Abbas' Fatah party to cooperate with HAMAS. Mortars were used mainly against Israeli targets within or on the very edge of the Gaza, to include crossings, which had the effect of closing the crossings to the detriment of Gaza's residents.

During the first half of the year, Israel undertook small-scale military operations against suspected launch teams and sites in Gaza. After HAMAS' June seizure of control in Gaza, the IDF sought to prevent launches by carrying out aerial attacks against vehicles it had identified as carrying rockets en route to launch sites in Gaza. The Israeli government also authorized targeted operations against terrorist leaders and operatives and the expansion of a buffer zone within Gaza wherein the IDF could carry out counterterrorist operations. Throughout the year, the IDF struck at areas used for launch sites in northern Gaza to deter launches. Israeli Air Force (IAF) helicopters also deliberately struck HAMAS military headquarters and other HAMAS installations in response to Qassam rocket attacks that HAMAS claimed it carried out.

Press reports also highlighted numerous attempts by Palestinians to kidnap Israeli citizens or high-value targets of interest, including foreign diplomats and journalists. In January, a French diplomat and his two bodyguards were kidnapped by AAMB gunmen in the West Bank. On March 12, BBC reporter Alan Johnston was abducted in Gaza by gunmen belonging to a Palestinian group calling itself "The Army of Islam" and was held for 114 days until his release on July 4. While in captivity, an AQ-affiliated Palestinian organization calling itself "The Palestinian Jihad and Tawheed Brigades" claimed that it executed Johnston, and blamed the Palestinian Authority and the British government for his death. Two videos were also released that showed Johnston dressed in an explosive vest, and threatened his death unless Palestinian prisoners in the UK and Jordan were released. HAMAS brokered his release in an apparent bid to demonstrate its control over Gaza.

Deterring the Threat from Hizballah and Syria

Israel's security establishment remained concerned about the terrorist threat posed to Israel in the north by Hizballah and its Iranian and Syrian backers. Israeli security officials said that Hizballah continued to provide support to select Palestinian groups to augment their capacity to conduct attacks against Israel. Israeli politicians and security officials pointed to Hizballah's efforts to rebuild and re-arm after the previous summer's war as evidence that Hizballah remained a threat to Israel. Throughout the rest of the year, Israeli officials claimed publicly that Hizballah had completely replenished its ranks, possessed even more short and medium-range rockets than it had before the 2006 war, had moved arms back into southern Lebanon, and was providing training to HAMAS operatives from Gaza.

During the summer, Israeli officials and media outlets also filled Israel's airwaves with dire predictions of a summer war between Israel and Syria that was likely to be started by a kidnapping or terrorist operation in the vicinity of the Golan Heights. With a view to deterring such a provocation, the IDF carried out large-scale, comprehensive military exercises for several weeks in the Golan Heights, in clear view of UN Disengagement Observer Force observers, the Syrian military, and Hizballah. While some observers feared that the exercises themselves might lead to a misunderstanding and a subsequent conflict, Israel's northern border remained comparatively quiet.

Increasing Pressure on HAMAS and Raising the Tunnel Problem

Israel continued to face the problem of terrorists in Gaza receiving funds and supplies through cross-border smuggling either through the Egypt-Gaza border, or under the border via tunnels, or by sea. In June, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert publicly stated that the smuggling problem had become so serious that the international community should consider deploying a multinational force between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula. HAMAS said it would treat such a force as an occupying power.

Israeli security sources claimed in August that arms smuggling into Gaza had reached a peak since HAMAS' June takeover of Gaza. Specifically, officials said that since June, 40 tons of explosives, as well as large quantities of ammunition and over 150 RPG launchers had been smuggled into Gaza from Egypt. Israeli security sources also alleged that HAMAS had smuggled hundreds of terrorists from Gaza to Iran for advanced training across the Gaza-Sinai border and through tunnels underneath. They claimed that HAMAS was amassing an arsenal of sophisticated anti-tank missiles and long-range rockets of the type used by Hizballah in the Summer 2006 Israel-Hizballah conflict.

Israel responded to the ongoing tunnel problem by taking unilateral military action to root out and destroy the tunnels, and by increasing diplomatic pressure on Egypt to enhance security on its side of the Egypt-Gaza and Egypt-Israel border. Throughout the year, small IDF units, backed by helicopters and armored combat vehicles, entered southern Gaza on missions to search for terrorist suspects and tunnels. By the end of the year, more than 40 tunnels had been discovered and destroyed.

At the same time, the Israeli government increased pressure on the Egyptian government to encourage it to address the problem of smuggling through tunnels and the Rafah crossing. On December 26, Israeli Defense Minister Barak met with Egyptian President Mubarak and his aides about the arms smuggling problem and the flow of Palestinians between Gaza and Sinai.

West Bank and Gaza

The Palestinian Authority's (PA) counterterrorism efforts improved in 2007, with a new PA Cabinet under PM Salam Fayyad undertaking serious efforts to fight incitement and terror in the second half of the year. Nevertheless, additional efforts will be required to dismantle terrorist groups and infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza. In the first half of the year, PA counterterrorism efforts and USG assistance to support these efforts were greatly complicated by HAMAS' control of the PA government and by the creation of rival security forces in Gaza. In June, HAMAS militants captured PA offices and security bases in a violent takeover of Gaza. Subsequently, President Mahmud Abbas dismissed HAMAS Prime Minister Ismayil Haniyah and his cabinet. A new cabinet, appointed and led by PM Salam Fayyad, and USG security assistance to PA security forces in the West Bank, created new opportunities for PA action against terrorism.

The primary PA security forces (PASF) are the National Security Forces (NSF), police, Preventive Security Organization (PSO), Presidential Guard (PG), General Intelligence (GI, or Mukhabarat), and civil defense. While the GI, PG, and NSF are subordinate to the President, under Palestinian law all are under the jurisdiction of the Interior Minister. In Gaza, HAMAS has established separate police, coastal patrol, border guard, and "Executive Force" organizations under the former HAMAS Prime Minister's control. HAMAS military-wing members were often integrated into their ranks. Militias such as the HAMAS and PIJ military wings, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and clan-based armed groups (especially in Gaza) also exercised significant control and carried out vigilante justice in areas where PASF were not present or were ineffective at delivering basic law enforcement.

There were no terrorist attacks against American citizens in the West Bank or Gaza during the reporting period. The PA made no progress in apprehending, prosecuting, or bringing to justice the perpetrators of the October 2003 attack on a U.S. Embassy convoy in Gaza that killed three USG contractors and critically injured a fourth.

While cooperation between the PA and Government of Israel security services improved in the second half of the year, local counterterrorism coordination remained weak. The PA protected and returned several Israelis, including IDF soldiers, who had entered Palestinian cities, including Jenin and Bethlehem.

In the West Bank, the PASF were hindered by a lack of resources and trained personnel, and an unclear chain of command and guidance. PASF officials frequently raised concerns about operational difficulties imposed by the Israeli government on PASF movement. Efforts to arrest and prosecute terrorists were also impeded by a disorganized legal system, a weak security apparatus, and inadequate prison infrastructure.

President Abbas and PM Fayyad put their weight behind a security program that included disarming fugitive militants and eventually dismantling armed groups. PM Fayyad has condemned violence against Israelis in harsh terms and has taken rapid action against those involved in attacks. Since becoming Prime Minister, Fayyad has condemned every attack against Israelis as contrary to Palestinian interests and commitments and has ordered immediate action, including planned prosecutions against the perpetrators.

The Fayyad-led PA government instituted stricter controls on media outlets and religious figures to reduce incitement. The Fayyad government's political platform was the first to omit language concerning "the right of resistance," and he and the PA government have actively criticized violence and terror as contrary to Palestinian interests.

The Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) continued building a Financial Follow-Up Unit (FFU) and developing capacity to track and deter financial transactions used to fund terrorist activity. The new PA Cabinet, formed in July, improved efforts to counter terrorist financing, and the Finance Ministry worked effectively with the Justice Ministry, Attorney General, and (as appropriate), with the Interior and Waqf Ministries to shut down illegal NGOs and charities. The PMA drafted an Anti-Money Laundering Law that was enacted as law by Presidential decree in November.