- 20 dec 2010
IDF to deploy super-armored tanks along Gaza border
Decision comes amid concerns over Palestinians' growing arsenal of anti-tank missiles in the Gaza Strip.
The Israel Defense Forces decided on Sunday that it will begin deploying tanks equipped with an active armor protection system known as Windbreaker to the border area along the Gaza Strip.
The deployment will begin next month following intelligence assessments that the threat of anti-tank missile attacks in the area is on the rise.
Two weeks ago an IDF tank was hit in the northern portion of the border with the Gaza Strip by an anti-tank missile. The tank was damaged but the crew was not injured.
Security sources had said at the time that there are strong indications that the Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip have upgraded their anti-tank missile capabilities.
Discussions were held with the Southern Command, the General Staff operations department and the Ground Forces Command about making changes to IDF forces in the area.
Originally a battalion from the 401st Brigade was to have deployed its armored units in the area. However, a different battalion from the same brigade, the 9th, will now be deployed with its Windbreaker-equipped tanks.
The Rafael produced system, which is marketed abroad as Trophy, is capable of neutralizing advanced anti-tank missiles at different ranges. Following the Second Lebanon War, the IDF decided to procure the system because of the many incidents in which anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah guerrillas managed to damage IDF tanks.
Four years after the war, only a single battalion has been equipped with the system - the 9th. The battalion is also equipped with the most modern type of Merkava battle tank, the Mark IV. At the current rate of procurement it will be several years before significant numbers of battalions are equipped with the system.
A number of Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip hold hundreds of anti-tank missiles, of different types and sophistication - from the relatively simply RPG to advanced anti-tank missiles.
The IDF may be forced to react to Gazans' upgrading of anti-tank missiles by changing tactics along the border and limiting exposure of tanks.
The main focus of IDF ground activity in the Gaza Strip is the buffer zone of several hundred meters inside the Strip from the fence along the border. During the past two years Gazans have avoided engaging IDF forces entering the area - operations mainly aiming to identify mines laid by militants.
However, there have also been cases of sniper fire, anti-tank missile fire and the detonation of improvised explosive devices against the IDF patrols. Even though there have been low key altercations, there is concern that a Palestinian strike against an Israeli armored vehicle will spark a greater conflagration which will expand and end with massive rocket fire against civilian communities in Israel.
Two rockets fired from the northern Gaza Strip hit southern Ashkelon last night. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
It is believed that the rocket fire came in response to an air strike on Saturday night against a cell of militants preparing to launch rockets into Israel.
Five Palestinians were killed in the attack, members of the Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance groups.
http://bit.ly/hDbTSj
29 oct 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 29 oct 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 21 dec 2010
Israeli troops seriously wound Palestinian young man near Ramallah
RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- A Palestinian young man was seriously wounded on Monday near Ramallah city when Israeli troops opened fire at him.
Eyewitnesses said that the young man, 23, was shot by Israeli troops during his participation in a protest against the apartheid wall in Badu area.
They added that the troops detained the young man before taking him to Hadassah hospital.
In a separate incident, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) made a wide sweep Monday evening in the vicinity of Ramallah city looking for three Palestinians at the pretext they tried to capture an Israeli soldier near Pisgat Ze'ev, north of occupied Jerusalem.
According to Ha'aretz newspaper, the soldier, who made the claims about his attempted capture, said that Palestinians stopped their car near him and asked him to get in, but they drove away when he pointed his weapon at them.
Later on Tuesday, the IOF kidnapped four Palestinian citizens during raids on homes in the cities of Ramallah and Nablus.
http://bit.ly/dFTul7 29 oct 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 21 dec 2010
Israeli air raids wound four citizens
RAFAH, (PIC)-- Israeli warplanes launched a new raid on Hashashin area in Rafah city, south of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday evening targeting a training camp for the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman of medical services, told the PIC that the warplanes fired three missiles wounding four citizens, describing their conditions as slight.
He appealed to all parties concerned to urge the Security Council and the UN to end Israel's programmed aggression on the Palestinian people.
Three Palestinians were injured at a late hour on Monday night in a series of air strikes launched by the Israeli air force targeting different areas in the Strip.
http://bit.ly/gSgdLP 29 oct 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 21 dec 2010
Israeli jets hit Gaza for 2nd time in day
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- No injuries were reported Tuesday afternoon when Israeli warplanes dropped a single missile on an area used by members of Hamas' armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, medics confirmed.
The strike was the second round of the day, with jets striking eight sites across the Gaza Strip shortly before sunrise on Tuesday morning. The earlier strikes injured two fighters and one civilian, a security guard in a nearby dairy factory.
The latest strike hit west of the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, along the border with Egypt.
The Israeli military said it would not immediately comment on the incident.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=344173
Israel jets pound Gaza Strip, injure 3
Israeli fighter jets have bombed different areas across the Gaza Strip, leaving at least three Palestinians injured and causing damage to a number of buildings.
Israeli F-16 aircraft hit multiple targets in the impoverished territory, including the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah, a Press TV correspondent reported on Tuesday. Two other areas in the north of Gaza were also targeted in the attack.
One of the wounded is reported to be in critical condition.
A Palestinian medical source as well as witnesses also stated early Tuesday that the sliver strip came under four Israeli airstrikes.
On Saturday, at least five people were killed by an Israeli aerial assault on the town of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
The attack marked one of the deadliest carried out by the Israeli military since Tel Aviv's December 2008-January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 1,400 and inflicted heavy damages on the enclave's economy, estimated at above $1.6 billion on the enclave's economy.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/156413.html
Palestinian sources: Israel warplanes raid Gaza
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli warplanes staged four attacks in Gaza overnight, injuring two Palestinian fighters, a Palestinian medical source and witnesses said early Tuesday.
The raids came after Palestinian combatants fired nine mortar shells into southern Israel on Monday that fell on open ground and caused no casualties, the army said.
Three raids targeted the town of Khan Younes in the south of the territory controlled by Hamas, wounding two fighters -- one of them seriously, the sources said.
The other raid occurred in a northern town and did not cause any casualties or damage.
Approached by Ma'an, the Israeli military did not deny or confirm the reports.
Two mortar rounds were fired at Israel from Gaza on Sunday, hours after Israeli warplanes Saturday night hit central Gaza, killing five operatives as they were about to launch a rocket attack, according to the army and witnesses.
The raid was one of the deadliest since Israel's December 2008-January 2009 war on Hamas, codenamed Operation Cast Lead, which cost the lives of 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
Since Operation Cast Lead, the number of rocket attacks has dropped considerably but the Israeli army says more than 200 rockets or shells have been fired this year
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=343939
Israeli military says no immediate comment, but aware of reports.
Jnoubiyeh Bombs from Israeli F16s have taken the electricity off in Khan Younis, southern Gaza; 2 Palestinians wounded, one critically (V @From_Gaza)
AmoonaE GAZA - UPDATE: So far, many explosions all over the Strip, 2 Palestinians injured in Khan Yunis (South), one critically.
BREAKING - GAZA: Another explosion hits Gaza City. So far, more than 10 airstrikes have hit the Strip.
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 21 dec 2010
Livni: We need to respond to any attack from Gaza
There is a need to respond to any kind of attacks from Gaza, Opposition leader MK Tzipi Livni (Kadima) said Tuesday evening, referring to the continuing attacks on the settlements around Gaza.
"The rocket fire today was very close to a kindergarten and it doesn't matter to Israel which one of the terrorist organizations was responsible, it is Hamas who controls Gaza and they need to react,"she said.
Livni added that "no dialogue should be conducted with Hamas, except with regards to Gilad Schalit."
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=200476
Ashkenazi: The Gaza border situation is volatile
OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- Israel's military chief of staff Gaby Ashkenazi warned Tuesday that the current situation on the border with Gaza is fragile and volatile.
This year saw a sharp rise in resistance attacks from the Gaza Strip in the border area, Ashkenazi said, with 118 strikes recorded. He admitted that his men killed around 60 Palestinians amid attacks on the region.
Ashkenazi instructed the night before his army to target elements from the Gaza-governing Hamas group through a series of the strongest air strikes since the last war on Gaza, one Israeli soldier said.
Israeli military officials believe Hamas leaders are behind the security escalation of the past two weeks, the source went on to say. Hamas leaders are urging other organizations to fire missiles for different internal and strategic reasons, he claimed.
Ashkenazi said Palestinian resistance forces launched a missile two weeks ago at an Israeli tank along the Gaza Strip border, piercing the tank and entering the cockpit. But luckily it didn't explode, he said.
According to Ashkenazi, Hamas has gained possession of new advanced anti-tank missiles that they were unable to get hold of before, similar to those obtained by Hezbollah during the 2006 war in Lebanon.
http://bit.ly/eMj2kE 29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 21 dec 2010
Overnight raids target Nablus, Al-Khader
Tappuah checkpoint closed following chase
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 22 dec 2010
Soldier assaults B'Tselem worker on latter's land
(3:43) Soldier assaults B'Tselem worker on latter's land
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 22 dec 2010
Two Palestinians injured in explosion
GAZA, (PIC)-- Two Palestinian citizens were badly injured when an explosion ripped through their home in Gaza city on Wednesday morning, local sources reported.
They said that the blast took place in Sheikh Radwan suburb north of Gaza city and was heard from a long distance.
The sources noted that the explosion took place as Israeli warplanes were hovering in the skies.
http://bit.ly/elxeHk
Hamas to raise Israeli strikes with UN
The Palestinian resistance movement of Hamas says it is planning to file a complaint with the United Nations against Israel's deadly airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.
Hamas, the democratically-elected ruler of Gaza, said on Wednesday that it planned to raise the issue of repeated instances of Israeli violation of the Palestinian territory with the UN, arguing that there was a threat of further aggression against the Palestinians."
Hamas will submit "a complaint to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council and all relevant agencies about ... the threat of further aggression against the Palestinians", Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu said.
"We will be in contact with several countries to explain the aggressive behavior of the occupation forces and have been in touch with Egyptian officials to discuss these threats," he added.
Since the end of the 2009 war on Gaza, a large number of Palestinians have been killed or wounded as a result of Israeli air attacks on the besieged coastal sliver. Many Palestinian structures have also been destroyed in the raids.
Earlier on Saturday, at least five people were killed by an Israeli aerial assault on the town of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials said they ordered the attack because they had received reports that the men were planning to fire rockets into southern Israel.
The attack marked one of the deadliest carried out by the Israeli military since Tel Aviv's December 2008-January 2009 war on the Gaza Strip, which left more than 1,400 dead and inflicted heavy damages -- estimated to be above USD 1.6 billion -- on the coastal territory's economy.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/156693.html
Chief Palestinian negotiator: PA fears ramifications of an Israeli attack on Gaza
Saeb Erekat warns that IDF attack on the Hamas-ruled territory would only elevate anarchy, bloodshed in area; Deputy PM Meridor says Israel won't tolerate rocket fire from Gaza.
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority is wary of an Israeli attack on Gaza, warning that such a move would only complicate matters further, Israel Radio reported.
Erekat said that an Israel Defense Forces attack on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip would only elevate the anarchy and the bloodshed in the area.
"Military solutions such as these won't attain a thing and would only complicate the situation," Erekat warned.
Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor (Likud) told Army Radio on Wednesday that Israel will not tolerate occasional rocket fire from Gaza and said he hoped there would be no need for an additional military operation such as Operation Cast Lead.
Meridor said that lately Hamas has not been doing enough in order to prevent other organizations in Gaza from firing rockets into Israel's Negev towns. He said that Israel will continue responding aggressively until all rocket fire from Gaza ceases.
Meanwhile, IDF officials said Wednesday that Israel will deploy tanks equipped with a miniature missile-defense system along the Gaza Strip border in the coming weeks now that Palestinian militants are using a sophisticated, tank-piercing missile.
Violence has been escalating along the Gaza border in recent weeks, and IDF chief Gabi Ashkenazi disclosed on Tuesday that militants from the Palestinian coastal strip had for the first time fired a Kornet missile earlier this month and that it penetrated an Israeli tank.
Gaza's Hamas rulers have not confirmed or denied possessing the missiles.
Israeli officials say the Iranian-backed Gaza militants who once relied on crude, locally made projectiles, have steadily acquired more powerful and accurate missiles produced overseas.
The IDF officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss such matters publicly, alleged the laser-guided Kornet had come from Iran.
They provided no proof and it was not clear how the missiles were delivered. Hamas, which has close ties with Iran, controls a network of smuggling tunnels along Gaza's southern border with Egypt.
http://bit.ly/hJpCTO
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 22 dec 2010
Israeli troops kidnap Mazin Qumsiyeh and 7 villagers from Al-Walajah
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 23 dec 2010
Israeli gunfire injures three Gazans
An Israeli trooper directs a tank just outside the southern Gaza Strip.
Forces enlisted with Israel's military have opened fire on an unidentified number of Palestinians in northern Gaza Strip, leaving three people injured.
One victim was a farmer and the two others were other civilians collecting debris, a Press TV correspondent reported on Thursday.
Tel Aviv occupied Gaza during large-scale military offensives in 1967 that also resulted in the capture of more Palestinian territories and expanses of other Arab lands.
Israel reportedly withdrew its troops from the coastal sliver in 2005, but has been keeping the land under recurrent military offensives.
An Israeli-ordered war on Gaza at the turn of 2009 killed more than 1,400 Palestinians and inflicted a damage of above USD 1.6 billion on the sliver's economy.
Many Palestinians, including women and children, usually search throughout the debris at the sites of the former Israeli settlements in the strip.
The scavengers sell the gleaned materials to contractors and factories in Gaza as a coping strategy against Tel Aviv's blockade on the enclave.
Tel Aviv has declared a "restricted" zone in the border area, occasionally opening fire on the debris collectors.
The all-out land, aerial and naval restrictions have been depriving 1.5 million Gazans of food, fuel and other necessities since mid-June 2007.
Highlighting the recurrent shootings, an August study by the United Nations said, "Palestinians have been totally or partially prevented from accessing land located up to 1,000-1,500 meters" from the border.
The enclave's medics say 60 scavengers have been wounded and two killed in the zone since January 2009.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/156778.html
Israeli gunfire injures three Gazans
Israeli forces have opened fire on a number of Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip, injuring three people in the blockaded territory.
Israeli forces regularly target Palestinians inside the Gaza Strip beyond its border fences with the coastal sliver.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/156778.html
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 23 dec 2010
IOF soldiers wound Palestinian teen worker, round up 3 brothers
GAZA, (PIC)-- Israeli occupation forces (IOF) fired at and wounded a Palestinian teen worker while collecting gravel in northern Gaza Strip on Thursday morning, medical sources reported.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for the medical services, said that the 18-year-old youth was hit with a bullet in his foot, describing his wound as "slight".
Meanwhile, IOF soldiers rounded up three brothers in Kufr Ra'ee village, south of Jenin city, at dawn Thursday, local sources reported.
Eyewitnesses said that the soldiers wreaked havoc in the three brothers' home.
IOF troops also raided nearby Arrabe and Fahme villages but no arrests were reported.
http://bit.ly/epDEDZ
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 23 dec 2010
Israeli gunboats fire at Palestinian fishing boats
RAFAH, (PIC)-- Israeli gunboats opened heavy machinegun fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the southern Gaza Strip coast of Rafah on Wednesday night, press sources reported.
The sources said that the gunboats repeatedly targeted the fishing boats at a close distance, forcing fishermen to return to the beach fearing for their lives.
Israeli navy boats routinely chase and harass Palestinian fishermen along the shoreline of the Strip, one of whom was killed last Friday when his boat capsized while trying to escape the Israeli navy chase off Rafah coast.
Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes were seen increasing their flights over the Strip, Palestinian security sources reported, warning that they might be preparing for attacking certain targets.
The sources told the PIC that reconnaissance planes, army choppers, and other types of warplanes were intensifying their over flights on Wednesday evening.
http://bit.ly/h3d2JY
'Israel rallying for another Gaza war'
A Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official has warned that Israel has been rallying the international community for launching another war on the Gaza Strip.
"Israel is preparing the internal and international opinion using the same scenario" like the Gaza war, Ahmed Majdalani, an official with the group which includes most of the Palestinian factions, said on Thursday, Xinhua reported.
The Gaza war at the turn of 2009 killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, inflicting a damage of above USD 1.6 billion on the coastal sliver's economy.
Tel Aviv launched the offensive under the pretext of responding to alleged Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel.
The home-made projectiles are seldom known to have caused any casualties or considerable damage to Israeli properties.
The PLO official also said Israel claims that Gaza is a source of threat to its security, and tries to promote "these claims" locally and globally, adding "this proves there is a planned intention to wage a wide aggression on Gaza."
The United Nations fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict has found Tel Aviv guilty of committing war crimes and possible crimes against humanity during the deadly operation.
The report by the UN mission blamed Israel for deliberate targeting of civilians and "systematically reckless" way of using white phosphorus in residential areas, notably on the UN Relief and Works Agency compound in the Gaza City as well as two Gaza-based hospitals.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/156802.html
29 oct 2012, 12:13 , Respect -
Maria 23 dec 2010
Two Palestinians critically injured in IOF shooting in Al-Khalil
AL-KHALIL, (PIC)-- Two Palestinian citizens were critically injured on Thursday morning in Al-Khalil city at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces (IOF), witnesses reported.
The sources said that the IOF soldiers fired at a vehicle in which two Palestinian young men in their twenties were riding on the road leading to Kiryat Arba settlement.
The sources said that one of them was hit with multiple bullets in his chest and feet while the other sustained a gunshot wound in his head, describing their condition as "very serious".
The soldiers earlier today stormed Tarqumia town west of Al-Khalil and installed road barriers north and southwest of Al-Khalil city.
http://bit.ly/eiQ3x8
Two Palestinians Injured in Hebron
Israeli army shot at two young men in city of Hebron on Thursday morning, the PNN claimed.
Israeli military opened fire on two Palestinians in the area of Wadi al-Gharous, in Hebron, on a road leading to the Kiryat Arba settlement.
Live ammunition was reportedly fired at two men identified as Isma'il Salah Ali al-Jabari, aged 20, wounded in his chest and legs, and Muhammad Amer Sabahi al-Jabari, also 20, in his head. The two were traveling in a car at the time of the firing.
No other information is known about the shooting. It is the first incident of this kind in the West Bank in over a month time.
Meanwhile, it was also reported that Israeli troops invaded the village of Tarqumiya, west of Hebron, and set up checkpoints at the entrance of Deir Samat village.
http://bit.ly/hBUTJ3