Home Frontline Defense July 7th Edition

July 7th Edition

Jewish Policy Center
SOURCE

Gaza

Egypt reopened the Rafah border crossing with Gaza for Ramadan, and according to Ynet News, Hamas has taken advantage of the open checkpoint by smuggling concrete into the enclave.

The Israeli military carried out an airstrike on June 24th, targeting a rocket launching device in Gaza after it was used by militants to attack Israel. Extremists inspired by Islamic State took responsibility for the rocket fire, but no casualties were reported.

The Israeli Navy intercepted the Swedish-registered trawler Marianne on June 29th without incident. The vessel, bound for Gaza, was taken to Ashdod Port and the Israeli government plans to deport the activists onboard.

Hamas-run police forces arrested 10 people following a gunbattle that injured 11 Palestinians on June 19th in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City.

West Bank

A terrorist cell claiming ties to Hamas has taken credit for the killing of Danny Gonen, an Israeli citizen, in a shooting attack near the West Bank town of Dolev on June 19th.

Danny Gonen, 25, from Lod was killed Friday, June 19, 2015. (Photo: Times of Israel)

On June 17th, the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced he had decided to end the Fatah-Hamas consensus government, further solidifying the dysfunctional nature of Palestinian politics. On July 3rd, PA security forces arrested over 100 Hamas members in the West Bank. A spokesman for Ramallah said “we will not let Hamas undermine our security” or carry out attacks.

A Palestinian man attacked Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint in the Jordan Valley on June 26th. No Israeli forces were injured. The assailant was shot and there was no immediate report of the Palestinian’s death.

On June 29th, a Palestinian gunman shot four Israelis in the West Bank, killing one person and injuring three.

Jerusalem

A Palestinian man stabbed an Israeli police officer in Jerusalem’s Old City on June 21st before being shot by other policemen. Both men were severely wounded.

Egypt

On June 24th, State of Sinai, the local Islamic State affiliate, launched simultaneous attacks on five Egyptian military installations, killing 17 and injuring 30. The militants used assault weapons and grenade launchers but by the end of the night the Egyptian military claimed it retook “100% control” of the area.

State of Sinai claimed responsibility for launching three Grad rockets into southern Israel on July 3rd. No damage or injuries were reported.

Egypt’s top prosecutor, Hisham Barakat, was killed in a bombing on June 29th. According to Egypt’s Health Ministry, a remote controlled bomb detonated in the wealthy Heliopolis neighborhood of suburban Cairo, as Barakat traveled to work.

Egyptian security forces killed 63 suspected terrorist in the North Sinai Province during a raid on four military hideouts on July 5th.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi pardoned 165 people as a way to thaw tensions with the public due to rising friction between secular and Islamic groups. Most of those pardoned were youths convicted of violating protest laws.

Golan Heights

Israeli security forces arrested nine Israeli-Druze on June 24th, following the mob killing of a Syrian rebel being transported to hospital near Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. The IDF is investigating the possibility that one of their soldiers leaked information that led to the attack.

Policemen stand guard in front of the scene of the bombing that killed Hisham Barakat. (Photo: Reuters)

Syrian rebels surrounded a government-held Druze village in Syria. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has issued a veiled threat that he will directly intervene in Syria’s civil war in order to help Syria’s Druze against Islamic militants. The IDF has created a contingency plan for a safe zone inside Syrian territory for Druze refugees running from attacks by the Islamic State, al-Nusra, and other Islamic extremist groups. In a move to stop Druze in Israel from crossing into Syria to aid their coreligionists, the IDF briefly declared a closed military zone on the border. The military lifted the restriction once the area on the border was under “full control,” according to an IDF spokesman.

On June 16th, the Czech military announced it will deploy up to 30 soldiers to UN peacekeeping missions in Mali and the Golan Heights.

Syrian rebels associated with the Southern Front Alliance launched a wide-ranging offensive near government-occupied positions in Quneitra and other towns neighboring the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing 33 people.

Police detained 16 Jewish settlers, all of whom were minors, for questioning following a fire at a church near Galilee.

Lebanon

Israel carried out an airstrike near the Eastern Lebanese city of Saghbine to destroy a drone that crashed in the area. Arab language media published photos of the supposed drone, but the IDF refused to comment on the incident.

Jordan

The Israeli government has approved a plan to build a 30-kilometer security fence, north along the Jordanian border from the Red Sea city of Eilat. Prime Minister Netanyahu said the security barrier would be similar to others along Israel’s border with Egypt and Syria.