Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and Jerusalem

Overview: Israel was a committed counterterrorism partner in 2016. Israel again faced terrorist threats from Iranian-support groups such as Hizballah in Lebanon. Other threats included Palestinian terrorist groups such as Hamas, the Popular Resistance Committees, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), particularly from Gaza but also from the West Bank; al-Qa'ida (AQ) and its affiliates, and ISIS and its affiliates along its borders, such as ISIL-Sinai Province (ISIL-SP) and the Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Waleed group (JKW, formerly the al-Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade) in the Syrian Golan Heights. In addition, since 2015, Israel has faced numerous incidents of terrorist attacks committed by individuals with no clear affiliation to terrorist organizations, termed "lone offender" attacks.

Israeli security officials and politicians remained concerned about the terrorist threat posed to Israel from Hizballah and Iran, highlighting that Iran, primarily through the efforts of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, continued to fund and supply Hizballah. Israeli experts believed that Iran has transferred to Hizballah advanced weapons systems such as anti-aircraft and anti-ship cruise missile systems, and was continuing to transfer long-range rockets into Lebanon. Also, Israeli officials were concerned about the proliferation of conventional and non-conventional weapons from Syria to terrorist organizations. According to the Government of Israel, Hizballah has stockpiled more than 130,000 rockets and missiles in Lebanon since the 2006 Lebanon War.

Israeli counterterrorism officials said Hamas and other Gaza terrorists made quantitative and qualitative advances in their military capabilities. Israel assessed that Hamas and PIJ have regained most of the military capabilities that were severely damaged during operation "Protective Edge" (July 7 to August 26, 2014), and have, in some cases, expanded their capabilities, including by constructing new offensive tunnels and acquiring other advanced capabilities such as an arsenal of medium-to-long range rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles. Gaza-based Palestinian terrorist organizations continued rocket and mortar attacks into Israeli territory, although no Israeli fatalities were reported.

While Israel was not involved in the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, it shared information to help track and stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters through information exchanges on counterterrorism issues with numerous governments. In support of the UN Security Council (UNSC) ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qa'ida sanctions regime, Israel regularly updated its list of foreign terrorist organizations and individuals involved in terrorism to better align with UNSC sanctions lists.

In 2016, Israel and the United States held numerous interagency counterterrorism dialogues to discuss the broad range of threats in the region and to determine areas of collaboration to address these challenges.

2016 Terrorist Incidents: Israel experienced numerous terrorist attacks in 2016 involving weapons ranging from rockets and mortars to small arms and knives. The wave of violence that began in late 2015, termed the "knife intifada," gradually decreased during the year; nonetheless, numerous Israelis and Palestinians were injured in these attacks. The following list details only a fraction of the total terrorist incidents that occurred during the year.

• In January, an Israeli Arab gunman opened fire on several businesses in downtown Tel Aviv, killing two people and wounding seven others. He subsequently killed a taxi driver while fleeing the scene of the attack. Israeli officials identified the attacker as 31-year-old Nasha'at Melhem from the northern Israeli town of Ar'ara. Following a week-long nationwide manhunt, Melhem was killed in an exchange of fire with Israeli security forces.

• In March, a Palestinian man went on a stabbing spree in Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv, killing a U.S. citizen and wounding 10 other people. The attack lasted approximately 20 minutes and ended after police shot and killed the assailant. Israeli authorities identified the assailant as 22-year-old Bashar Masalha, from the West Bank village of Kalandiya.

• In June, two Palestinian men opened fire on a popular market in downtown Tel Aviv, killing four people and wounding seven others. Responding police arrested both assailants, later identified as Muhammad and Khalid Mukhamra, cousins from the West Bank town of Yatta. An Israel Security Agency (ISA) investigation determined that ISIS online propaganda provided inspiration for the attack and friends of the assailants assisted them with preparations.

• In November, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) units responded to machine gun and mortar fire from JKW militants (an ISIS-aligned group) across the Syrian border. Israeli forces crossed the Israeli security fence, while remaining within Israeli territory, and called in an airstrike which killed four militants.

Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: Israel has a robust legal framework to counter terrorism and promote international legal assistance in the investigation and prosecution of terrorists.

The Israeli Knesset passed new counterterrorism legislation in 2016 that broadened the range of activities subject to enhanced criminal sentencing. These activities include tunnel-digging, stone throwing, incitement, and planning intended to assist terrorist organizations and individuals. The Combatting Terrorism Law was designed to empower law enforcement authorities to preempt the establishment of terrorist cells and attack planning. The new provisions contained in the law codified numerous military and emergency orders issued under general emergency powers in place since the founding of the State of Israel. They include: the Anti-Terrorism Ordinance of 1948, the Anti-Terrorist finance Law of 2005, and various regulations issued under pre-statehood emergency defense authorities of 1945.

Non-governmental human rights organizations protested the Law's broad definition of terrorism, arguing it serves to codify counterterrorism powers that critics compared to martial law. Additional concerns regarding the scope of Israeli counterterrorism legislation were directed towards the criminalization of activities related to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly that could affect the Arab population of Israel.

The ISA and Israel National Police (INP) continued to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement agencies on cases involving U.S. citizens killed in terrorist attacks. Elite Israeli units engaged in counterterrorism operations included Yamam (Israeli Border Police) and IDF special operations units, such as Sayaret Matkal and Duvdevan (Urban Warfare Counterterrorism Operations).

Israeli Border police have a "hot return" policy for visitors suspected of ties to terrorist or criminal organizations. The border fence constructed along the border with Egypt, and fences along the West Bank and Gaza, assisted Israeli security forces in preventing migrant inflows and mitigating security threats. The West Bank and Gaza barriers were augmented by cameras, sensors, and active patrols by Israeli Border Police and the IDF.

Israel's airport security was considered robust by international security experts, particularly with regard to its security screening and inspections program. The Israeli Ministry of Interior maintained a voluntary biometric passport control system at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport, which was available for Israeli passport holders over the age of 18 years. This system facilitated both entry into and exit from Israel via an automatic kiosk for Israeli citizens who successfully passed a background check and provided a scan of their hand.

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: The Israeli financial intelligence unit, the Israeli Money Laundering and Terror Finance Prohibition Authority (IMPA), is a member of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units. Israel was also welcomed as an observer to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) at the organization's plenary meeting in February 2016, and Israeli anti-money laundering (AML) experts have begun to participate in FATF peer reviews of other countries' anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism regimes.

Israel's counterterrorist finance regime continued to be enhanced through enforcement operations and the inclusion of new groups under national terrorist finance laws. The well-regulated Israeli banking industry worked to address suspected terrorist activity. Israeli experts and officials continued to raise concerns about the issue of state-sponsored funding of Hamas, and said that Hamas funded terrorists in the West Bank preparing to perpetrate terrorist attacks against Israel, Israelis, or Israeli interests.

Financing of Hamas through charitable organizations remained a concern for Israeli authorities, as did the funding of Hizballah through charities and illicit activity. In one high-profile case in August, Israeli police charged Mohammad al-Halabi – the Director of the NGO World Vision in Gaza – with diverting material and financial assistance to Hamas; the charity itself was not implicated in the case.

Israel regularly updates the list of foreign terrorist organizations and individuals involved in terrorism, to implement the UNSC ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qa'ida sanctions regime. Israel also has a domestic sanctions regime in place with the Anti-Terrorist finance Law of 2005, which allows the Israeli Security Cabinet to declare a foreign organization to be classified as a foreign terrorist organization in coordination with findings presented by a foreign country or by the UNSC.

The new counterterrorism law that entered into force on November 1 significantly reduced the time it takes to adopt international designations. The UN sanctions lists were registered in the formal government registry. Every domestic and UN designation was published in three languages (Hebrew, Arabic, English), and run in three different newspapers, as required by law. In addition, designations were published on the website of the IMPA and distributed by email to the IMPA's mailing list, which included banks, lawyers, and finance professionals.

For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2017 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume II, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.

Countering Violent Extremism: The Government of Israel supported several organizations that used educational and interreligious projects to build bridges between citizens of different religions and beliefs. These interfaith initiatives benefitted a wide range of age groups and were conducted in numerous fora, including from elementary schools to universities.

Israel's national program, "City without Violence," supported municipalities and local authorities conducting programs to counter violence, crime, and violent extremism.

Israeli politicians and the public were increasingly concerned about online incitement's role in exacerbating the recent wave of violent attacks by so-called lone offender terrorists. The Israeli government blamed social media companies and online platforms for not doing enough to prevent the proliferation of online content inciting terrorism. The Israeli government also considered legislation to obligate companies, such as Google and Facebook, to do more to prevent incitement. Israel's new counterterrorism law established a new criminal offense for demonstrating solidarity with a terrorist organization or with an act of terrorism, and incitement to terrorism, including via the internet and social media; the new criminal offense replaced and consolidated two existing penal code offenses for incitement to terrorism.

International and Regional Cooperation: Israel continued its counterterrorism cooperation with a range of regional and international institutions, including the United Nations, the Organization of American States, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Israel cooperated with numerous countries to thwart terrorist attacks and plots against Israelis or Israeli interests abroad.