MESOPOTAMIA NEWS INTEL BY MEIR AMIT CENTER / ISRAEL – News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 26 – June 1, 2021)

• Operation Guardian of the Walls: Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas are negotiating to stabilize the ceasefire declared on May 22, 2021. Hamas objects to creating a linkage between the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip and the return of Israel’s MIAs and prisoners. Despite the loss of life and destruction of the Gazan infrastructure, Hamas continues branding the operation a victory for Hamas, claiming it changed the “equation” with Israel and returned the Palestinian cause to the international agenda. Iran and Lebanon related to Iranian and Hezbollah involvement in the most recent round of hostilities after Yahya al-Sinwar, head of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip, claimed the rockets fired and UAVs launched had been coordinated by the “resistance” [i.e., terrorist organizations] in the Gaza Strip with the “resistance” [i.e., Hezbollah and Iran] in Lebanon.
• The Gaza Strip: This past week no rockets or mortar shells were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory. On May 30, 2021, a Palestinian infiltrated into Israel from the Gaza Strip and stabbed a security guard in one of the Israeli settlements near the border.
• Judea and Samaria: The number of rocks and Molotov cocktails thrown by7 the Palestinians at Israeli vehicles this past week was larger than usual, apparently triggered by the recent tensions and violence. Hamas called on the Palestinians in Jerusalem intensify their activity, especially at al-Aqsa mosque.
• Rebuilding the Gaza Strip: Senior Hamas figures do not look favorably upon the idea of PA involvement in rebuilding the Gaza Strip. Three ministers in the PA government, including the prime minister, visited the Gaza Strip to assess the extent of the damage in preparation for rebuilding with PA involvement. In the meantime, Gazans have been removing rubble, repairing roads, cleaning the streets and returning to routine life.
• Palestinian boycott campaign: In the wake of recent events in east Jerusalem and Operation Guardian of the Walls in the Gaza Strip, the PA has launched a campaign to boycott Israeli-manufactured goods, led by local BDS operatives.
• The coronavirus: Dr. Samer al-Assad, head of preventive medicine in the ministry of health in Ramallah, reported a significant decline in the extent of coronavirus infection in the PA territories. The minister of health reported that 102,960 doses of the Pfizer vaccine had been delivered to the PA by COVAX, of which 46,800 were transferred to the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian mediation for a ceasefire

• Egypt is continuing contacts with Israel, the PA and Hamas to put the ceasefire declared on May 22, 2021 on a firm footing. A delegation from Egyptian General Intelligence headed by Ahmed Abd al-Khalq, who holds the Palestinian portfolio, visited the Gaza Strip three times for talks with the Hamas leadership to prepare the ground for indirect negotiations with Israel in Cairo, most recently after the visit of the American Secretary of State. The Egyptians and Hamas leadership discussed stabilizing the ceasefire and rebuilding the Gaza Strip, which will be conducted under Egyptian supervision, and the exchange of prisoners.
• Quoting a “source in the Hamas leadership,” the Egyptian negotiating team promised Hamas that in the coming week Israel would reverse the recent “punishments” imposed on the Gaza Strip during the operation, i.e., reopen the crossings, increase the fishing zone, allow the delivery of fuel for the power station, repair damaged electric lines and allow the delivery of the money from Qatar (al-Akhbar, May 29, 2021).
•   On May 31, 2021, a delegation led by Abbas Kamel, head of Egyptian General Intelligence, arrived in the Gaza Strip after visiting Israel and the PA. The delegation entered through the Erez Crossing and spoke for several hours with Yahya al-Sinwar, head of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip and other members of the Hamas leadership. They focused on stabilizing the ceasefire, an oversight mechanism for rebuilding the Gaza Strip, and the issue of the prisoners and MIAs held in Gaza. Abbas also went to inspect several sites earmarked for reconstruction.

    
Abbas Kamel, head of Egyptian General Intelligence, visits the Gaza Strip and meets with Yahya al-Sinwar, head of the Hamas political bureau in the Gaza Strip (QudsN Facebook page, May 31, 2021).

UN Human Rights Council appoints commission to investigate Operation Guardian of the Walls

• On May 27, 2021, the UN Human Rights Council voted to appoint an independent [sic] international commission to gather evidence about violations of international law in Israel and the “occupied” territories, including east Jerusalem, carried out as of April 13, 2021 (about a month before Operation Guardian of the Walls). The commission will collect, analyze and publish all information indicating such violations. The resolution was passed with 24 countries voting in favor, 14 abstaining and nine voting against. The American delegation to international institutions in Geneva said in an announcement that it “deeply regretted” the decision (American delegation website, May 27, 2021).
•  According to Michelle Bachelet, UN high commissioner for human rights, Israeli forces may have committed “war crimes” during the most recent operations by attacking densely populated areas from the air, causing a disproportionally high number of civilian casualties and extensive damage to the civilian infrastructure. She also related to Hamas’ system of locating military assets in densely populated civilian areas and launching rockets from such sites. She said the rockets were fired without discriminating between civilian and military targets and were clearly in violation of international humanitarian law. She said neither side absolved the other under international law (AP, May 27, 2021).

• The Palestinian foreign ministry welcomed the Human Rights Council resolution, stressing that the investigation would relate to events beginning on April 13, 2021, and would include the “root causes” [i.e., Israel’s actions in east Jerusalem]. The foreign ministry thanked the countries that voted in favor of the resolution and criticized those that opposed it, claiming their position was “immoral” and warning they were on the wrong side of history. The ministry also urged the rapid appointment of the commission and called for cooperation from the international community (Wafa, May 27, 2021).
• Muhammad al-Shalaldeh, the PA minister of justice, said the resolution was a “victory” for the civilian victims of the hostilities and for the Palestinian cause, adding that all the reports brought before the Human Rights Council would also serve as criminal evidence and legal proof for the International Criminal Court (ICC) (Wafa, May 28, 2021). Shaawan Jabarin, head of the Ramallah-based al-Haq organization, welcomed the resolution, claiming it set a “precedent” that would serve the Palestinians politically, “morally” and legally. He also said it was a statement from international legal authorities and contained specific recommendations that would be transmitted to the ICC. The Ramallah-based al-Mezan Center for Human Rights also welcomed the resolution and called for the rapid appointment of the commission.

Iranian and Hezbollah involvement in the Gaza Strip hostilities

• After Yahya al-Sinwar said the rocket barrages and UAV launches during Operation Guardian of the Walls were “coordinated” by the “resistance” in the Gaza Strip and the “resistance” in Lebanon, various commentators said the following:
  • Ibrahim al-Amin, editor of the Hezbollah-affiliated newspaper al-Akhbar in Lebanon, said in an interview that a joint operations room was established in Beirut which included officers from Hezbollah, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Qods Force, Hamas and other Palestinian organizations. He claimed the joint operations room was responsible for coordination. He also claimed that Esmail Ghaani, commander of the IRGC’s Qods Force, had visited Beirut twice and stayed at the joint operations room (al-Manar, May 29, 2021). A source in the Qods Force issued a denial, claiming the “Palestinian resistance” had waged the war itself, efficiently and in a praise-worthy fashion. However, according to the source, the “resistance in Lebanon” had managed to transfer “items” to the Gaza Strip that the “resistance” needed.
  • Na’im Qassem, deputy Hezbollah secretary general, said there had been a high level of collaboration between Iran, Hezbollah and the Palestinian “resistance,” making the “resistance’s” achievements possible (al-Manar, May 29, 2021).
  • Al-Arabiya TV reported that Iranian and Palestinian engineers had recently cooperated to make the range of the rockets more precise and improve the capabilities of Hamas military wing’s UAVs. The rockets safely arrived in the Gaza Strip and [allegedly] Hamas used them to attack Tel Aviv (al-Hadath, May 29, 2021).
  • The Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar claimed that Israel’s plan to destroy Hamas’ tunnels (the “metro”) and kill hundreds of operatives had failed because of joint Hamas and Lebanese Hezbollah surveillance and intelligence collaboration. According to al-Akhbar, the Palestinians in Gaza used Hezbollah’s accumulated experience and placed false targets, such as rocket launchers, communications centers and control rooms for Israeli Air Force to attack (al-Akhbar, May 31, 2021).