Gaza
During a visit to Israel, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon toured a terror tunnel between Gaza and Israel. The UN leader called the underground passage “shocking”, saying that “No one needs live under the constant threat and fear of rockets and tunnels digging underground.” Ban also met with the family of Daniel Tragerman, a four-year-old Israeli child who was killed during a Hamas mortar attack. Ban also visited Gaza, talking to UN staff and touring the damage caused during Operation Protective Edge.
During a summit in Cairo, countries pledged $5.4 billion to the Palestinians, with over half of the funds specifically allocated to rebuild Gaza. Qatar promised $1 billion, EU states pledged $568 million, and the U.S., Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates will each donate approximately $200 million. It remains to be seen how much of the pledged money will actually materialize. Meanwhile, on October 15, Israel and Egypt both opened their commercial crossings, allowing construction materials and other goods to enter the enclave.
The Egyptian armed forces has sent 200 tons of food supplies to Gaza. (Photo: Egyptian Army) |
A daughter of Hamas Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, was admitted to an Israeli hospital in Tel Aviv for emergency treatment. Israeli and Palestinian officials declined to comment on the report or the girl’s condition. Israel also allowed 60 Palestinians from Gaza to visit jailed relatives in Israel for the first time since June.
Hamas’s official newspaper reported that the terrorist group’s Al-Qassam Brigades
exploited a humanitarian ceasefire to rebuild tunnels during Operation Protective Edge. Hamas has also broadcast video of its own fighters beginning to rebuild tunnels.
West Bank
An explosive device thrown by a Palestinian agitator lightly injured an Israeli border police officer on October 14 near a Bethlehem military post close to Rachel’s Tomb.
An Israeli vigilante group called “price tag” was suspected of setting fire to a mosque in Aqraba, a village east of Nablus. The group, which has carried out attacks since 2008, aims to “exact a price for any opposition to settlement building.” Israeli President Reuven Rivlin condemned the attack and urged Israeli police to investigate the incident.
Settlers from Tapuah attacked a Palestinian olive farmer on October 10, according to local police. Two minors, arrested by the IDF, are suspected of using a stick to beat the woman, who was taken to hospital.
Thousands of Palestinians attended the funeral for a 13-year old child killed by the IDF during clashes outside Ramallah. Bahaa Samir Badir died after Israeli troops shot at Palestinian demonstrators throwing firebombs on October 16.
Jerusalem
During several days last week, Israeli police confronted Palestinian demonstrations near Al-Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount. Following a visit to the site by Orthodox Jews, Palestinians accused Israel of limiting the access of Muslims to the site. Palestinian rioters threw firebombs and rocks at Israeli security forces before retreating into the mosque and initiating a stand-off. On October 15, police detained 17 Palestinians, as a crowd of approximately 400 people gathered at the site.
Palestinian protesters hurled firebombs and flares at an apartment building in the Silwan neighborhood of East Jerusalem. Jewish residents had recently moved into 25 units in the area.
Golan Heights
Rebels associated with the Free Syrian Army released a video showing them inside a military intelligence facility after they captured a government post in the border town of Quneitra, Syria.
Smoke rises as a result of fighting in Quneitra, Syria. (Photo: The Times of Israel) |
Hezbollah appointed a new commander to lead operations in the Syrian Golan Heights. Jihad Mughniyeh, son of the late Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh, promised to renew attacks along the Israeli border.
A stray mortar shell from Syria landed in the Israeli Golan on October 21. No injuries or damage were reported.
Sinai
Seven Egyptian troops were killed and another six seriously injured, by a roadside bomb on October 19 near the city of el-Arish. According to officials, the soldiers were heading to a natural gas pumping station to look for nearby militants. Earlier in the week, militants bombed a pipeline bringing gas to Jordan.
According to an unnamed military official, at least three Egyptian soldiers died when they were investigating a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza Strip collapsed on October 18th.
Sky News’ Arabic-language channel reports that Egyptian authorities arrested Walid Waqed Atallah, the leader of Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, a terrorist organization waging an insurgency in Sinai.
A court in Egypt recommended death sentences to seven men convicted in the killing of 25 policemen last year. A prominent Islamist militant, Adel Habara, was suspected of being involved in the attack near the Israeli border. The decision will now be referred to Egypt’s highest religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for a final sentencing.
Twenty-one militants were killed during raids conducted by the Egyptian security forces between October 3 and 10 according to a military spokesman.
