The Israel Air Force launched three aerial strikes against Arab terrorists in northern Gaza Sunday morning killing five and wounding two others. In all three strikes, the army scored direct hits on Arabs who beforehand were directly involved in launching Kassam rockets against Jewish towns in the western Negev.
Three rockets landed outside the town of Sderot and one hit a home in the town. No injuries were reported.
Scores of rockets and mortar shells have rained down on the western Negev in recent weeks, with thousands absorbed since Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005.
Hevron Attack Thwarted, Rock-Throwing, Shootings
IDF Soldiers in Hevron arrested an Arab man carrying a 10-centimeter knife Saturday near the Machpelah Cave, the burial site of Judaism's biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs. Several thousand Jews were present at the time in honor of the reading of the “Chayei Sarah” Torah portion over the Sabbath, which documents the patriarch Abraham’s purchase of the Cave and surrounding area.
Border Police also arrested an Arab who arrived at the Cave of Patriarchs with a concealed knife Friday.
Earlier this week, border guards at the Machpela Cave arrested an Arab who was carrying two knives and a pistol.
PA Arabs threw rocks at Jewish cars Saturday near Kalkilya, 12 miles northeast of Tel Aviv. No injuries were reported. At least one car was damaged.
Terrorists opened fire on IDF soldiers in Tul Karem Saturday. The terrorists also threw a bomb at the soldiers. No soldiers were injured in either of the attacks.
Both Kalkilya and Tul Karem, once under Israeli military rule, were transferred to Palestinian Authority jurisdiction by the Rabin government in 1995 under the Oslo Accords.
Fatah Men Joining Al-Qaeda
Scores of Fatah policemen who used to serve in the Palestinian Authority's security forces in Gaza have now joined an al-Qaeda-affiliated group calling itself the Army of Islam, sources in Gaza's Hamas-controlled Interior Ministry told The Jerusalem Post Thursday.
Meanwhile, Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigades claimed responsibility for firing 20 rockets at Israeli civilians from Gaza recently. The group said the attacks signaled the beginning of a military campaign dubbed "Operation Gaza Autumn," in the course of which it would fire hundreds of rockets at Israel, and said Sderot's Jewish residents had two choices: leave or die.
"We don't know what's happening in the Gaza Strip," a senior Fatah official told the Post. The official did not rule out the possibility that disgruntled Fatah activists were behind recent rocket attacks, or that some former Fatah-affiliated policemen had joined the Army of Islam.
Hamas Poised For Takeover
In other Fatah news, a “former senior member” of the Fatah terrorist group was quoted in Yediot Acharonot warning that Hamas is lying in wait to take over Judea and Samaria. Hamas is not operating openly in Judea and Samaria because it has chosen not to, the source said, adding that the group is “sitting there quietly, organizing, rearming, and waiting.”
The Fatah official, who is from Gaza, warned that Hamas has a large civilian infrastructure that remains hidden. In Gaza, many of those who took senior positions following the Hamas takeover had appeared to have no connection to the group, he said.
The financial backing for Hamas' terrorist infrastructure in Gaza came from foreign donors, the source said. “It was the charity apparatus that did it, using money that arrived from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran, and charity foundations from the US, England, Belgium, and Germany, with money transfers from Switzerland.”
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