Response to ADL propaganda, “Major Attacks Against Israel”

Last update: 6.10 am [+10 GMT] 20th May 2008

A correspondent has posted in comments an ADL list of “major attacks” by Palestinians against Israelis. The list is intended to demonstrate the genocidal intentions of “the Palestinians” (not any particular organization/s among Palestinians, but “the Palestinians” and “the Palestinian government” (whatever that means). The list is used as evidence that Israelis are the hapless victims of unprovoked and unjustified Palestinian terrorism. I certainly agree that all terrorism is unjustifiable — whether formal state terror carried out at an internationally recognized government’s directions to its uniformed armed forces, or privatized terror, or anything in between.

But I also believe that it is important to understand any and all criminal acts in order to best understand ways to minimize them.

I am not justifying terrorism here. But over the years (after being a staunch supporter of Zionist Israel in my early adult years) I have come to a fuller understanding of the facts on the ground in the Israel-Palestine conflict, both through extensive reading and many fortunate contacts with Israeli Jews, Palestinian Arabs, and non-semitic white Americans and Australians who have had the opportunity to live and work on both sides of “the green line”.

I believe that Zionism is a betrayal of the real interests of the Jewish people and even of the state of Israel both now and in the long term. Until people begin to appreciate the experiences of the Palestinians (rarely reported in the same graphic first hand way that Israeli experiences are reported) they will never be able to understand what is going on there and will be susceptible to Zionist ADL propaganda.

As I get time I will add comments to more of the ADL descriptions of each attack on this page. The purpose is by no means to justify any sort of criminal act or terror, Palestinian any more than any other. I understand that many Palestinians rightly despise those who organize and plan suicide attacks. But I also believe that if we can accept both sides of a story, not just one sided and racist propaganda, then we have a chance of plying pressure on those who have some clout where it really does count. Peace won’t come just by standing back and watching the current situation take its inevitable course.

Anyone who thinks they have helpful info on any of the following, feel free to comment.

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Meanwhile, to allow a Palestinian right of reply to some of the new anti-semitic (anti-arab) propaganda, some other relevant links:

• A minister in the Hamas government writes an article: Hamas Condemns the Holocaust
• The Program of the Hamas government
• Why Palestinians should never recognize Israel’s right to exist — read this one carefully. I am not endorsing every word of it, but it does put this claim in the real-world context. It also, believe it or not if read with understanding and not intestines, points to a way for peace between the Jews of Israel and the Palestinians.
• Jewish anti-semitism against Islam
• Distorting anti-semitism
• Criticisms of the Anti-Defamation League

And a death toll comparison for anyone who is confused about who is inflicting “genocide” on whom:

• Israeli and Palestinian Deaths, 1987-2007
• Israelis and Palestinians killed since 2000

(A quick amateur calculation of these figures vis a vis total populations suggests that an Israeli has had a 1 in 6000 chance of being killed by a Palestinian while a Palestinian has had a 1 in 900 chance of being killed by an Israeli. So to go completely over the top for a moment, one has to conclude that the smaller population taking 6 times the hits as the larger population is the one facing the real threat of extermination.)

And an Amnesty International report on the children and civilian death tolls in the current Gaza killings:

• Children and civilian bystanders in Gaza death toll.

This one is worth reading in full by anyone who is convinced that ADL is the model of fair and balanced reporting. The ADL could learn a lot from the AI article about the meaning of “fair and balanced”. It almost appears that the call by Likud Knesset member for Israel, Yisrael Katz, to bomb Gaza the way Russia bombed Grozny really is being carried out.

I have also collated a list of (self) annotated Palestinian news sources here.

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The ADL list of so-called “Major Terrorist Attacks Against Israel” — “so-called” because one will quickly see that many of those listed are not “against Israel” at all but against Israelis in the occupied territories — , with my comments (to be updated bit by bit as opportunity presents itself):

“# April 9, 2008: Two Israeli civilians were killed and two wounded when Palestinian terrorists attacked an Israeli-controlled border crossing where fuel is piped into Gaza. The attack at the Nahal Oz depot was carried out by members of various terrorist movements, including the Popular Resistance Committees.

Vridar response:
Haaretz reports that Palestinians forewarned Israelis manning the Nahal Oz terminal that an attack was imminent, and that the Palestinian attackers were aiming to kidnap Israeli soldier/s. I checked a CNN report on the web where this stated motive for the attack was again reported. This seems highly credible given the Israeli press report that the civilians in the target area were given advance warning, and that there was a getaway car waiting for the attackers, and that a source for the claim was an Israeli commander.

This is cited as the first of many attacks that Palestinians only kill civilians as part of a genocide campaign against Israel while Israelis only kill Palestinian civilians by accident and only as a by-product of “a military context” — or as part of a military operation.

I submit that the first example cited here is a case of death of civilians “in a military context”, from the military forces (such as they are) on one side against the military forces of their occupying enemy.

March 6, 2008: Eight men, seven of them teenagers, were killed when a Palestinian gunman entered the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem and opened fire. The terrorist also wounded nine in the attack before he was killed at the scene.

Vridar response:
While I abhor violence, and both official state and privatized terrorist attacks on both sides, understanding who the targets were in this horrific act goes a long way to helping one understand the root causes of the violence. By refusing to know the full facts we will ignorantly continue to support policies that are guaranteed to continue bloodshed and torment in both Israel and Palestine.

The school attacked here is the educational wing of a group that might be described as a Jewish Taliban, the Gush Emunim. It was founded by Rabbi Kook who was a leading ideologue of the Gush Emunim. This settler organization believes the Palestinians are mere temporary aliens in “the biblical lands” of Greater Israel and that it is their responsibility to treat them as such according to the commands given to Joshua. That is, expulsion and servitude, until they eventually die out. That is, the same genocidal vision another European race once had for the Slavs. Despite the findings of the Karp Report, the Israeli government has winked at their violence, including murder, against Palestinians.

That does not justify the massacre, but it does put it in a context that, if heeded and taken seriously, can go a long way to the international community beginning to ply pressure where it is really needed to end this tragedy. (Indeed, the successors of Gush Emunim are currently divided over just “how violent” they should be in practice against the Arabs.)

P.S. I have linked a Palestinian source re the Karp Report. Anyone not satisfied with that, and I urge all to consult the homepage of that article to assess exactly who the Palestinian authors actually are and whom they represent, can find a similar discussion of the Karp Report in a New York Times article here. — do a word search on the page for “karp” and then scroll to the article.

February 4, 2008: A 73-year-old woman was killed and 40 people were wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in a shopping center in the southern city of Dimona. A second bomber was shot by a police officer who noticed him reaching for his explosive belt. Both Hamas’ armed wing, Izaddin Kassam, and Fatah’s armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Vridar comment:
According to a BBC news report this was the first suicide attack on a town inside Israel in over a year. The same BBC news source quoted Hamas military wing spokesman as saying it was “a natural reaction to months of killing” of Palestinians by the Israeli army. The Palestinian President condemned the attack, and he also condemned an Israeli attack in the West Bank earlier that killed Palestinians. Al Jazeera reported that the suicide attack came in the wake of Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza that were launched in response to 4 of their policemen being killed by an Iraeli bombing raid.

By retaliating against Israeli terror with their own murderous terror the culpable Palestinians, in my view, show themselves no better than the Israelis. But what is important to note in this context is that the ADL/Joseph Wallack use of this attack is misleading by giving only part of the story. By stripping out from the account the Palestinian voice expressing their rationale, and hearing only Israeli rationales in the meantime, this ‘attack’ can be used as ADL propaganda to support their racist claims against the Palestinians. When the full story is told, one sees the situation in a way that is no longer so black and white, and least of all some sort of effort to commit “genocide” against Israelis.

January 24, 2008: Two terrorists entered the Mekor Hayim High School Yeshiva in Kfar Etzion, south of Jerusalem, and stabbed two students. The terrorists were killed by two of the counselors in the room. The Izaddin al-Kassam’s Martyrs Brigades, the Hamas military wing, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Vridar comment:
This is a curious one to add to the list of “only the major attacks”. One of those killed was armed with a fake gun. The reports I have uncovered inform me that one, maybe two, counsellors, not students, were only lightly stabbed as they grappled with the two, and that the two were relatively easily overpowered very quickly. I have not been able to find any evidence at this stage that anyone claimed responsibility. In fact The Jerusalem Post in an updated report 2 days later claimed that no-one had claimed responsibility for the two 17 year old youths responsible, while a Haaretz article earlier claimed Hamas claimed responsibility, but gave no source for that information. One report here, another here, and one here.

It was certainly a horrible attempted crime. But part of an act of genocide?

But given the reason that this particular attack is listed, that is, the argument it is intended to support, there is one thing missing from this ADL account. The settlement where the attack occurred is one of the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. That by no means excuses violence of any kind, but if one wishes to understand the violence nonetheless, one must come to terms with what the Israelis were doing settled there in the first place, and the ethnic cleansing that had preceded this event.

January 24, 2008: Rami Zoari, 20, from Beersheba, a border police officer, was killed and another female officer was seriously wounded after terrorists approached the entrance to Shuafat refugee camp in northern Jerusalem and opened fire on a group of Israelis. The Battalions of Struggle and Return, a previously anonymous offshoot of Fatah’s Al Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades, claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is not irrelevant to note that the Shuafat refugee camp is not so much in “northern Jerusalem” as in occupied east Jerusalem. If a “previously anonymous offshoot of” a French resistance movement claimed responsibility for killing German guards at a checkpoint in occupied Paris in 1940, how would that be reported? I am not by any means justifying the killing — it was a vicious crime. But I am challenging how this murder has been used to further racist propaganda reporting and how it is spun to deny the reality and fact of “the occupation”. One report here.

December 28, 2007: Two Israelis were killed by Palestinian terrorists while hiking outside of Hebron. A third hiker managed to escape.

Vridar comment:
Since the ADL insists on distinguishing attacks that are in “a military context” it would only be fair to at least mention that these two hikers killed were at the time armed soldiers, albeit on leave. But the fact that they were armed, and walking around an illegal settlement in Palestinian territory, one that had experienced a particularly nasty dose of ethnic cleansing (murders), is also relevant.

If this context is taken into focus then one begins to see a war between a state that denies the rights of Palestinians to their land, and Palestinians who are retaliating, like the American Indians did, as they are forced out of their homes. My source for this is the Israeli media. Note in this source account that the settlers claimed that by walking around Hebron they were in a sense hallowing the ground as “theirs” and no longer belonging to the Palestinians who had been evicted.

January 29, 2007: Three people were killed in a suicide bombing in a bakery in Eilat, the first suicide bombing in the city. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

This is a sickening murder. I have no time for terrorism. But I also despise the ADL’s exploitation of crimes like this to further the same prejudices and ignorance that are at the root of the violence in the first place. ADL wants us to believe, on their own authority, that this crime is part of a genocide campaign against the Jews. If we believe this is what Palestinians want then maybe we will even be persuaded to support the recent threats by Israeli government officials to wage another — even bigger! — “Holocaust” against the Palestinians. But before going there, maybe it would be informative to hear from those claiming responsibility what the motive really was. The motive is spelled out here very clearly. Why does ADL claim to speak for the Palestinians while denying the real voices of Palestinians from being heard? Someone might even coin a phrase: “It’s the occupation, stupid.”

June 25, 2006: Eliahu Asheri, 18, of Itamar, was kidnapped by Palestinian terrorists from the Popular Resistance Committees while hitchhiking from Betar Illit, southwest of Bethlehem, to Neveh Tzuf, where he was studying. His body was found on June 29 in Ramallah. Israeli Authorities believe Asheri was murdered by his captors shortly after his kidnapping.

Another sickening murder. Location? Itamar, another illegal settlement in the occupied West Bannk — check the link and see what a veritable “holy place” this is for the Jews. Read a moving eulogy for Eliahu and see who he was, or rather, the community to which he belonged. Without in the least justifying his murder (I would personally not want anything to do with anyone capable of killing him like that) it nonetheless IS relevant that he was part of one of the most extremist Zionist sects who have no time for Palestinians — not because of what they(Palestinians) have done, but because they (these Zionist settlers) believe the Bible commands Jews today to drive out and even kill Palestinians as Joshua did the Canaanites. I base this view on the eulogy’s attacks on the Olmert Likud government of Israel for being weak and soft on the Palestinians, and for betraying the Jewish biblical heritage! The community of Eliahu actually blamed the Olmert Likud government for his death!

What would any sane person expect to happen to anyone from such a community if the more vicious of those displaced ever had a chance?

To list this atrocity as evidence that Palestinians are waging a genocidal campaign against Jews is in fact a betrayal of Eliahu Ahseri, his family, and all Jews. Such lying exploitation of his murder can only serve to fuel the Zionist bigotry that is acted out in ongoing ethnic cleansing and displacement of Palestinians. God ordered Joshua to drive them all out, preferably slaughter them all. It is unspeakable that those today being treated like “biblical Canaanites” are presented through ADL lists like this as the genocidal maniacs.

In a court of law a judge may listen to mitigating circumstances, details of provocation and such, before passing sentence on a convicted murderer.

April 17, 2006: Nine people were killed and at least 40 wounded in a suicide bombing near the old central bus station in Tel Aviv. The blast ripped through Falafel Rosh Ha’ir, the same restaurant that was hit by an attack on January 19. The Islamic Jihad and Fatah’s Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades both claimed responsibility for the attack. The Hamas led PA government defended the suicide bombing, calling it an act of “self-defense.” Hamas official spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the attack “a natural result of the continued Israeli crimes against our people”.

Here ADL has included enough information to contradict their own claim that this attack is evidence of a genocidal intent against the Jews. Perhaps ADL felt confident enough that no-one would ever believe a Palestinian murderer who confessed his motives for his crime.

This is understandable where deeply embedded racism has so dehumanized the other, and where one’s sense of righteousness and exceptionalism blinds one to any sense of self doubt, even — or perhaps especially — in the acts of invasion, occupation and “ethnic cleansing”.

CNN story is here, and in the same one can read what is actually said and also what is not said — ADL impressions notwithstanding. Even if Hamas were not responsible for this particular attack (I don’t know if they were or not involved in any way — another group whose members were soon afterwards in violent conflict with Hamas claimed responsibility) they are inexcusably aggravating Israeli indignation by publicly reminding them of their cause at such a moment. I am not justifying the crime, nor those who seek to use it for political point-scoring, whether Hamas or ADL. But we DO need to understand the facts on the ground from both sides.

The CNN report linked above also makes an interesting reading exercise. Note how many of the claims made in it are supported and how many not. Note also how the story is structured to convey messages that are not actually said or supported by the actual evidence cited. And also note the descriptions of groups who were not directly responsible for the attack and how these are intended to give the reader an impression of direct cause and effect.

Note also that the report relies exclusively on an Israeli soldier to assure readers that the suicide bombing was definitely not in retaliation against Israeli attacks in Gaza. The implication is, of course, that Arab murderers do not have normal human emotions and are only interested in unprovoked genocide of Jews. No amount of killing, displacement, terror by Israeli forces could ever motivate them to actually retaliate against such treatment.

It should also be noted that President Abbas condemned the attack. So it is fatuous to argue that it was part of a genocidal agenda of “the Palestinians”. For Olmert to accuse Abbas of responsibility for failing to prevent the attack is also as fatuous as attempting to place the blame for any mass killer anywhere (even in the U.S.) on authorities who are responsible for “law and order”.

March 30, 2006: Four people were killed in a suicide bombing outside Kedumim in the northern West Bank. The Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades took responsibility for the attack.

Again, in any murder investigation the scene of the crime is always a vital source of information. So where and what is Kedumim, and by whom is it settled today? Surprise surprise, it is another illegal settlement in occupied territory settled by the Gush Emunim. See the March 6 2008 item listed above for other links and information relating to the background of Gush Emunim. One can get an idea of Kedumim/Qedumim’s atmosphere here — and here. (It might be interesting to investigate the source of the water that has been used to green one of the photographed areas — and how that has further impacted displaced Palestinians, and what the long term risks are of irrigation caused salinity turning the land into a salt waste.)

Again, we have the murder of 4 members of a community that has ethnically cleansed their home area because of their biblical beliefs, and also because of their religious ideology they have treated the original inhabitants as a non-people. According to Israeli press the people of Kedumim blame their Israeli Likud government for these murders for not being violent enough with the Palestinians to begin with.

One is reminded of suicide terror attacks by red Indians against white settlements displacing them in the nineteenth century, and how such atrocities were interpreted by the white settlers as signs that it was they, the whites, who were threatened with genocide!

March 15, 2006: This date is not listed, but it is a convenient spot to bring to attention one example of news reporting on the Israeli side vis a vis the actual facts of what happened in which three Palestinian security guards were killed. Read the article, and its links, here.

January 19, 2006: At least 30 people were injured in a suicide bombing near the old central bus station in southern Tel Aviv. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

Is this evidence of a genocidal intent of Palestinians and their government against Jews of Israel? That is how ADL and many others who have used this list of theirs interpret it. A look at the facts tells a different narrative:

• There had been a truce between Hamas and Israel for about a year up to this time. See the ADL notes in the items below to confirm Hamas’s commitment to this truce.
• Islamic Jihad, a wing of Fatah who had held power since Arafat, claimed responsibility for nearly all the terror attacks in that time.
• Islamic Jihad was opposed to the possibility of a Hamas election victory and chose to boycott the elections. It was acting against Hamas and the truce.
• This attack was only a week or so prior to the elections which Hamas was expected to win.
• It is also worth noting that the election which brought Hamas to power was probably more honest and fair than the last American presidential elections.
• Given the above, President Abbas probably very rightly claimed that this murderous attack by the rivals of Hamas was an attempt to derail the elections.
• Note also that about a year later that many members of Islamic Jihad were at war with Hamas in Gaza.

Conclusion: unspeakably horrific as the crime is, it is clear that it was not the work of Hamas or “the Palestinians” or the Palestinian government. Hamas had every reason and motive to avoid any such attack at this time. It is not evidence of “the Palestinians” attempting genocide against Israeli Jews.

December 29, 2005: Three people were killed – two Palestinian civilians and an Israeli soldier – in a suicide bombing at a checkpoint near Tulkarm. The suicide bomber was apparently planning to target one of the many children’s events taking place in Tel Aviv for the Hanukkah holiday, but was stopped at the checkpoint. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

Tulkarm has suffered acutely under the occupation and from surrounding illegal settlements. See also Destroyed Villages. No wonder that a BBC news report describes it as a “stronghold of Islamic Jihad”.

The attack was carried out by Islamic Jihad, a group who has refused to acknowledge the truce between Hamas and the Israeli government. (See the January 19th 2006 entry above for the truce.) It was condemned by the Deputy Palestinian Prime Minister, Nabil Shaath (see the BBC news report link here for details.) So it can hardly be described as evidence of a genocidal campaign by “the Palestinians”.

In fact, I don’t think murderers generally hide their criminal motivations. According to the BBC they made their reasons very plain: it was because they refused to be cowed by Israeli bombing of certain territory in Gaza, and vowed retaliation. A predictable response, one would have thought, from anyone whose country is under occupation by an invading power, and especially when that power continues to bomb part of their lands. The remarkable thing is that Hamas and the Palestinian deputy PM appeared to hold their peace.

A child could see what is provoking these Palestinian attacks. One cannot think the Israelis so stupid as to continue a course they know will provoke such a response unless they believed it was a necessary price to pay for something else — ongoing occupation of territory conquered in 1967 and ethnic cleansing of that land.

I don’t mean to sound glib. This sort of terrorist attack appears modeled on the Algerian terror campaigns to rid that country of French occupation. If so, the attack is not only criminal, but it will achieve nothing but negatives for the Palestinians, since Palestine does not have the same dynamics at play as did Algeria. But at the same time it is clearly not a “genocidal” attack.

December 5, 2005: Five people were killed and more than 50 others injured in a suicide bombing at the entrance of a shopping mall in Netanya. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

A Jewish Voice for Peace editorial comments:
What can one say about yet another attack in a long string of violence against civilians? We say the same things every time. We remind people who hear of suicide bombings that Palestinian civilians are injured or killed consistently in Israeli “operations”, we express abhorrence and outrage at the deaths of civilians, we discuss how pointless violence is when it only deepens the quagmire both sides are in.

In the wake of today’s attack in Netanya, however, I saw an interesting “analysis” from a right-wing news source, which calls itself Independent Media Review and Analysis (IMRA). In that analysis, they state that the “fence [sic] hasn’t stopped terror”. They credit Israeli military operations in the West Bank for that, although one should immediately question why such operations failed to stop attacks in the past and do so now despite having been slightly scaled back in recent months. We at Jewish Voice for Peace, along with many colleague groups have been warning from the beginning of the construction of the separation wall that it would not stop attacks, and that only a just peace can do that. The considerable diminishment in attacks in Israel this past year would be attributed by us to the cease-fire commitment that Mahmoud Abbas brokered among most of the Palestinian armed groups, to general Palestinian exhaustion with the intifada and to an increased focus on building a representative Palestinian governing structure and other Palestinian institutions and infrastructure. JVP thus advocates a just peace as the best measure to prevent attacks on Israeli civilians (as well as against Palestinians), while IMRA believes that more repressive measures are the best way to prevent such attacks (they seem to believe that Israeli violence against Palestinians is either unavoidable or unimportant), but both agree that the wall is not going to do it.

Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz is preparing the army to invade the Gaza Strip again, in response to the rocket attacks over the weekend and today’s attack is likely to provide more momentum for going ahead with this. For Mofaz, it is a way to enhance his own standing in his race with Benjamin Netanyahu for the leadership of the Likud. In fact, there is already a good deal of commentary about how this attack affects Israeli politics. . . . . . . .

But what is important here is not the impact on Israeli politics, but the cost, in blood, that is being paid today and is likely to be greatly escalated if Israel re-invades Gaza. That it would be futile for any hopes for peace or even for greater protection for Israelis is obvious–such measures have been consistently proven, time and time again, to increase the bloodshed for both sides. To some extent, this is just another example of lives sacrificed for internal politics; To a greater extent, it is simply another chapter in the ongoing madness of this conflict. — MP

Interestingly Israeli Jews living right beside Palestinians and who do not see any genocidal campaign against them are called left-wing vandals by the Jewish News Agency staff. A descriptor reminiscent of the polarization of left and right in a central European country in the 1920’s-30’s?

October 26, 2005: Six people were killed and 55 wounded in a suicide bombing in an outdoor market in the town of Hadera. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

Another attack by Islamic Jihad. I recall being amazed at the time these attacks were happening that the other groups, especially Hamas, were not drawn into this violence but indeed abided by their truce agreement with Israel. Nonetheless, Israeli government spokesmen continued to call for the complete disarmament even of “all” groups, presumably including even those abiding by the truce. See a British media report by a Jerusalem correspondent.

Despite the facts (according to this report) that

1. the Palestinian leadership condemned the Islamic Jihad attack,
2. most militant groups, including Hamas, were abiding by the truce,
3. and Islamic Jihad admitted that their motive was revenge for an Israeli extrajudicial murder

the ADL lists this maverick crime as further evidence of a Palestinian agenda of genocide against the Jews.

October 16, 2005: Palestinian gunmen killed three Israelis and wounded as least 5 others in two separate drive-by shootings in the West Bank. The Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades claimed responsibility for both attacks.

A Washington Post article and a Council on Foreign Relations online page explain that the Al Aqsa Brigade’s goals are to liberate the West Bank from Israeli occupation. Nor do we have to guess or fantasize what might have prompted these particular shootings. According to the Age the Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades explained their motive was “to avenge a series of Israeli army arrest raids that netted hundreds of their comrades in the West Bank since the Gaza pullout.”

There is no evidence that these attacks were part of a genocidal plan. All the evidence points to them being part of a campaign to end the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

August 28, 2005: A suicide bombing outside the Central Bus Station in Beersheba severly injured two security guards who stopped the bomber from entering the bus station. Islamic Jihad and Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

The New York Times reported that Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, condemned the bombing as “a terrorist attack.” . . . . .

“But Mr. Abbas pointed to an Israeli Army raid in the West Bank town of Tulkarm on Wednesday night that killed five Palestinians as “a provocation,” after having earlier said that the raid “intentionally seeks to renew the vicious cycle of violence” at a time “when the Palestinian Authority is trying to maintain calm.”

“The raid was aimed, Israel said, at a cell of Islamic Jihad that had planned the two most recent suicide bombings, in Tel Aviv on Feb. 25 and in Netanya on July 12, in which 10 Israelis died. But the raid was controversial in its timing; the main target, Ribhi Amara, escaped; and at least one innocent teenager was killed in the gunfire, according to an article about an internal army investigation in the newspaper Maariv on Sunday.

“The army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, reportedly criticized the “lack of sensitivity” of the timing of the operation, saying, according to Maariv, “In timing like this we must be much more sensitive, to act only against ticking bombs and do everything possible to refrain from killing wanted people.” He was not informed of the operation in advance to approve it, as he should have been, the newspaper said.

“A Palestinian witness, Abdelkarim Dalbah, told The New York Times last week that the Israelis had fired first and used heavy firepower, an account supported in the Maariv report. Palestinians say three teenagers who were killed had only loose ties to militant groups; the Israelis say four of the dead were militants.

No, I’m not suggesting murder is justified by murder. But every parent knows to teach a child that one must not hit others if one doesn’t want to be hit back.

I am always curious when I read that Israel justifies its attacks on the grounds that its targets are alleged terrorists yet in the same breath it condemns a Palestinian authority for not doing anything about the terrorists. (See the NYTimes article). If Israel has information about the location of a wanted terrorist then why does it not pass this on to the Palestinian authorities to see if they will indeed act? Given the well documented history that the Palestinian Authority has largely acted as Israel’s policeman, without the technological resources available to the Israelis, this would seem to me to be a real test of Israel’s sincerity in wanting to see the Palestinian government really “crack down” on terrorists. But as the report above strongly suggests, the unnecessary Israeli attack only had the effect of making their job impossible. Such actions only lend credence to the views of some analysts that Israel does not want peace, because peace will mean an end to occupation and their continued expansion of Jewish settlements and ongoing displacement (ethnic cleansing) of the Palestinians.

August 4, 2005: An AWOL Israeli soldier killed four Israeli Arabs and wounded 12 on a bus in town of Shfaram. The shooter was killed by a mob that boarded the bus after the shooting.

I don’t know why this is included in a list cited as evidence of a genocidal intent by Arabs to destroy Jews. This is of a Jew killing Arabs. What is interesting is that the author of the list appears to think Arab civilian deaths are only worth recording if they are also Israeli citizens living in Israel. The list chooses not to cite Jewish civilians or AWOL soldiers killing Palestinians outside Israel proper (ie the pre-1967 boundaries). Compare this BBC report, a Media Monitors report, a New York Times report, an IMEMC report, Al Jazeera and MaanNews reports, a WRMEA background report, a USAToday report, an Amnesty International report on settler violence and another on settler poisoning of Palestinian farmlands, a Haaretz report on Jewish settler desecration of Palestinian graves. The USAToday report is particularly illuminating in this context: a Jewish settler, Shapiro, is quoted as saying as he planned to ambush and murder Palestinians:

Shapiro, the leader of the group, gave the settlers orders: Surround any taxi, “open fire” and kill as many of the “blood-sucking Arab” passengers as possible. “We are doing what (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon promised but has failed to do: drive these sons of Arab whores from the land of Israel,” said Shapiro, 42, who moved here with his wife and four children three years ago from Brooklyn. “If he won’t get rid of the Muslim filth, then we will.”

Now that to me, coming from a settler on land illegally seized from Palestinians, sounds like a genuine intent to wage genocide against Palestinian Arabs. This contrasts starkly with the proclaimed motives of Palestinian murderers as testified throughout my comments on this list: they are wanting to liberate the occupied territories. But what of this particular attack by an Israeli AWOL soldier in Shfaram?

The Jerusalem Post reported that culprit, Eden Tzuberi, lived in an illegal West Bank settlement and was associated with an extremist party that believes Jews have a responsibility to cleanse the land of all Arabs. This Kahane Chai party is outlawed by Israeli courts as openly racist. The irony is that their policies — notably transfer of Palestinians from the occupied territories — are embraced and fully supported among many Knesset members, such as those of the Tehiya, Tzomet and Moledet parties, as well as former followers of Kahane who have dispersed among far right parties, who have learned to espouse them with more diplomatic language and not in shrill tones.

Also interesting is that the Israeli political leadership condemned the attack, and reports favourably asserted that it would have been impossible for the government to have prevented it from happening. I say “interesting” because Palestinian leadership condemnations of “their” terrorist attacks are often dismissed as meaningless and their leadership is castigated for not being able to stop the attacks.

Conclusion. The evidence of this particular attack points to the possibility of a lurking intent among many Israelis to commit genocide, but no evidence of the same among the Palestinians.

July 23, 2005: Two people were killed and three others wounded in a drive-by shooting near the Kissufim crossing in the Gaza Strip. Islamic Jihad and Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

Curiously this and many other attacks in this list are headed by ADL as “Major Terrorist Attacks in Israel”. Yet this attack is clearly said to have been in Gaza, not Israel. Not the extent of “cleared areas” here. It’s this sort of confusion of names that is really a symptom of the whole reason for the killings in the first place. The Palestinian Arabs are presumably expected to submit gracefully to another people occupying their land and forcing them out of the homes and farms that have been theirs for generations.

As for the reason for the attacks, we again do not have to guess. Those claiming responsibility made their reasons clear, even if cynically reported by the Israeli document:

“Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the Jerusalem Battalions (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) and the Popular Resistance Committees claimed joint responsibility for the terrorist attack, presenting (as usual) their activity as retaliation to the policy of the Israeli government and arguing that they continue to be committed to the lull in the fighting.”

and we also know from the same source that attacks against Israelis had been greatly reduced at this time — voluntarily:

“Following an agreement achieved on July 20 (see below), the intensity of the attack weakened. It peaked on July 15 and gradually subsided until it almost stopped (see chart).” — this refers to page 4 of the Israeli document.

The impact of the Israeli government’s policies and Israeli violations of the ceasefire (including the random “accidental” killings of Palestinian civilians) should be noted too: see PCHR report here, and another list in Occupation Magazine here.

To further assess the situation and numbers of attacks against Palestinians in the days prior to these murders, see the UN briefings for week 13-19 July 2005 and for week 20-26 July 2005 here. A similar list to give the context is found in an FMEP document here.

In the context of those linked reports one is left speechless at ADL’s audacity to list this Palestinian crime as evidence of a Palestinian intent to murder all Israeli Jews.

July 12, 2005: Five people were killed and 90 wounded in a suicide bombing outside of a shopping mall in Netanya. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

June 24, 2005: Two teenagers were killed and three others wounded in a drive-by shooting near Hebron. The Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack.

February 25, 2005: Five Israelis were killed and 50 other civilians were wounded in a suicide bombing outside a Tel Aviv nightclub. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

January 13, 2005: Six Israelis were killed and five other civilians were wounded in a double suicide bombing at the Karni crossing between Israel and the Gaza Strip. The two suicide bombers used a very large explosive device to blast through a defensive wall that separates the Israeli and Palestinian sides at the crossing. Following the blast, the bombers crossed into the Israeli side, carrying explosives on their bodies, which they detonated. Hamas and the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades claimed joint responsiblity for the attack.

January 4, 2005: Two adults were lightly injured when a mortar shell, fired from Gaza Strip, hit a school bus near Nissanit. None of the children were wounded.

December 15, 2004: Five motorists, an officer, three soldiers and a civilian were wounded from gunshots fired by a terrorist at Israeli vehicles on the Kissufim road in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Fatah claimed joint responsibility for the attack.

November 1, 2004: Three people were killed when a suicide bomber exploded in Tel Aviv’s busy Carmel market. At least 32 were wounded. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility.

September 22, 2004: Two police were killed and at least sixteen people were injured when a suicide bomber detonated a bag packed with explosives at a crowded bus stop in the French Hill neighborhood of Jerusalem. The Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade, affiliated with Yasir Arafat’s Fatah, claimed responsibility. The slain police had stopped the 18-year old woman, Zainab Abu Salem from the Askar refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus, from approaching the bus stop, and she detonated the explosives.

August 31, 2004: Sixteen people, including a 3 year old, were killed and about 100 injured when two buses in Beersheba were attacked within minutes of each other by suicide bombers. Hamas claimed responsibility.

July 11, 2004: One woman was killed and 32 people were injured when a bomb exploded next to a Tel Aviv bus stop. Fatah’s El-Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

June 28, 2004: A Kassam rocket fired by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip struck near a nursery school in the northern Negev town of Sderot, killing an Israeli man and a 4-year old Israeli child.

May 2, 2004: An Israeli woman, in her eighth month of pregnancy, was shot dead along with her four daughters when two Palestinian terrorists fired on their car at the entrance to the Gaza Strip settlement bloc of Gush Katif. After the car spun off the road after the initial attack, the terrorists approached the vehicle and shot the occupants at close range. Fatah and Islamic Jihad claimed joint responsibility for the attack.

March 14, 2004: Ten people were killed and 16 wounded in a double suicide bombing in the area of the Ashdod Port. Hamas and Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack.

February 22, 2004: A suicide bomber attacked a bus in the center of Jerusalem, killing 8 people and wounding 70. The Palestinian terrorist group Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

January 29, 2004: A suicide bomber attacked a bus in Jerusalem’s Rehavia neighborhood, killing 11 people and wounding 50. The Palestinian terrorist group Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

January 14, 2004: A female suicide bomber killed four people and wounded 20 at the Erez Crossing in the Gaza Strip. Hamas and the Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

January 13, 2004: An Israeli motorist was shot dead and three of his passengers were wounded when their car was fired upon by Palestinian terrorists near Talmon, west of Ramallah. The Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

December 25, 2003: A suicide bomber killed four people and wounded more than 20 in an explosion near a bus stop at Geha Junction in Petah Tikvah, a suburb of Tel Aviv. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility.

October 15, 2003: Three Americans were killed and one wounded at the Beit Hanoun junction in the Gaza Strip when a massive bomb demolished an armor-plated jeep in a convoy carrying U.S. diplomats and CIA personnel. Both the militant Islamic Jihad and Hamas movements denied responsibility for the attack.

October 4, 2003: Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the Maxim restaurant in Haifa killing 20 people and wounding more than 60.

September 26, 2003: Eyal Yeberbaum, 27, and 7-month old infant Shaked Avraham were shot dead by a Palestinian terrorist who knocked on the door of a home in Negohot, south of Hebron, during a celebratory Jewish New Year holiday dinner. Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attack.

September 9, 2003: Hamas claimed responsibility for two suicide bombings, the first at an entrance to the Tzrifin army base near Rishon Lezion and the second at Café Hillel in the German colony neighborhood of Jerusalem, which killed a total of 15 people and wounded at least 80.

August 19, 2003: Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a bus in Jerusalem killing at least 18 people and wounding nearly 100.

August 12, 2003: Suicide bombers killed two Israelis and wounded more than a dozen people in two attacks within a half hour of each other, one at a shopping mall in the Tel Aviv suburb of Rosh Ha’ayin and the other at the entrance of the West Bank town of Ariel. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the Rosh Ha’ayin bombing and Hamas claimed to have carried out the Ariel attack.

July 7, 2003: Mazal Afari, 65, of Moshav Kfar Yavetz was killed in her home and three of her grandchildren lightly wounded in a suicide bombing. The Jenin-based cell of Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

June 20, 2003: An Israeli motorist was shot dead and three of his passengers were wounded when their car was fired upon by Palestinian terrorists near Ofra, north of Ramallah. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

June 19, 2003: A suicide bombing in a grocery store in Sede Terumot in northeastern Israel, south of Beit Shean, killed the owner of the store. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

June 17, 2003: A shooting attack near the Kibbutz Eyal junction of the Trans-Israel Highway killed a 7-year-old girl and wounded three members of her family, including her 3-year-old sister. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility.

June 11, 2003: Sixteen people were killed and more than 80 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up a Jerusalem city bus during the afternoon rush hour. The bomber was disguised as an ultra-orthodox Jew. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

May 19, 2003: A suicide bomber attacked the Shaarei Amakim shopping center in Afula, in northern Israel, killing at least four and wounding 15. Islamic Jihad and Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades both claimed responsibility.

May 19, 2003: A Palestinian suicide bomber on a bicycle attacked an Israeli checkpoint on the Gaza Strip, wounding three Israeli soldiers. Hamas claimed responsibility.

May 18, 2003: Seven people were killed and more than 20 wounded when a suicide bomber blew up a Jerusalem city bus at the start of the Israeli work week. The bomber was disguised as an ultra-orthodox Jew. Soon after, a suicide bomber carrying explosives and dressed in the garb of an ultra-orthodox Jew was stopped at a roadblock. The Palestinian detonated his explosives, killing only himself. Hamas claimed responsibility in both attacks.

May 17, 2003: A pregnant Israeli woman and her husband were killed when a suicide bomber detonated himself next to them in a public square in Hebron. Hamas claimed responsibility.

April 30, 2003: Three people were killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a beachfront pub in Tel Aviv. The Fatah Tanzim and Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack, carried out as a joint operation.

April 24, 2003: One Israeli was killed and 13 were wounded in a suicide bombing outside the train station in Kfar Saba. Groups related to the Fatah Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 30, 2003 – A suicide bombing in the pedestrian mall entrance of a cafe in Netanya wounded more than 40 people. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, calling it a “gift to the Iraqi people.”

March 7, 2003 – Two Israelis were killed and five were wounded when armed terrorists infiltrated the community of Kiryat Arba and attacked during Shabbat. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 5, 2003: Sixteen people were killed and more than 30 wounded when a terrorist detonated a powerful bomb on a bus en route to Haifa University. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

January 5, 2003: Twenty two people were killed and about 120 wounded in a double suicide bombing near the old Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad and Hamas all claimed responsibility for the attacks.

January 2, 2003 – The charred body of an Israeli from Menahemiya in the Lower Galilee was found in the northern Jordan Valley in his burned out car. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

December 27, 2002 : Terrorists broke into a dining hall at a yeshiva in Otneil, south of Hebron, and killed 4 students who were working in the yeshiva kitchen, and injured ten others. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.

December 20, 2002 – An Israeli rabbi was shot and killed on the Kissufim corridor road in the Gaza Strip while driving with his wife and six children to attend a pre-wedding Sabbath celebration in Afula. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

November 28: A suicide car bombing of the Israeli-owned beachfront Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 3 Israelis and 10 Kenyans, and wounded at least 80 people. Al Qaeda is a main suspect in the attack.

November 28 – Two terrorists opened fire and lobbed grenades at the Likud polling station in Beit Shea’an, Israel, killing 6 people and wounding at least 40 people. Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

November 28: Two surface-to-air missiles narrowly missed an Israeli airliner as it lifted off from the runway at Moi International Airport in Kenya.

November 21: Eleven people were killed and 47 injured when a Palestinian suicide bomber exploded on a bus filled with passengers, including schoolchildren, in the Kiryat Menahem neighborhood in Jerusalem. The bus was traveling toward the center of the city during the morning rush hour. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

November 18: An Israeli mother of seven from Kochav Hashahar was killed Monday in a shooting attack on the Allon Road, just north of Ramallah. Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

November 15: Twelve Israelis were killed and 15 others wounded in Hebron when Palestinian terrorists opened fire and threw grenades at a group of Jewish worshippers and their guards as they were walking home from Sabbath prayers at the Cave of the Patriarchs. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attacks.

November 10, 2002: Five Israelis were killed, including two children, at Kibbutz Metzer, near Tulkarm. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

November 7, 2002: Two Israelis were killed when a Palestinian worker fired on them at the Pe’at Sadeh settlement in the southern Gaza Strip.

October 27: Two Israeli police officers and a soldier were killed, and 20 bystanders were wounded in a suicide bombing at a gas station near the settlement of Ariel in the West Bank. The two officers and soldier were killed while trying to prevent the terrorist from detonating the bomb. Hamas and the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

October 22, 2002: Domazlice — An old Jewish cemetery was desecrated in a southwestern Czech town. Five tombstones were toppled at the cemetery in Domazlice, 94 miles southwest of Prague, and five copper lanterns stolen. Copper plaques with Hebrew inscriptions were removed from two tombstones.

October 22: At least 14 Israelis were killed and more than 45 injured when an explosives-laden sport utility vehicle driven by a Palestinian suicide bomber rammed a bus near Hadera in northern Israel. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

September 19: Six people were killed and 60 wounded when a terrorist detonated a bomb on one of Tel Aviv’s busiest streets, in a bus opposite the Great Synagogue. Many of the wounded were in critical or serious condition. Both Islamic Jihad and Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

September 18: An Israeli police officer was killed, and three others were wounded, in a suicide bombing at a bus stop near the Umm al Fahm junction in northern Israel. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

August 10: One Israeli was killed and another was seriously injured when a Palestinian terrorist infiltrated Moshav Mechora in the Jordan Valley, and opened fire. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack

August 5: A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated himself in the vehicle of a resident of Nazareth. The driver, who tried to flee, was injured in the explosion.

August 5: A husband and his pregnant wife were killed, and one of their children, aged 3, was injured, when terrorists opened fire on their car as they were traveling on the Ramallah-Nablus road in the West Bank. A Fatah-affilated group claimed responsibility for the attack

August 4: Four people were injured – one seriously – when shots were fired at a bus near the West Bank town of Tulkarem. In addition, three Israelis were seriously wounded by a bomb blast while traveling in vehicle north of Ramallah in the West Bank.

August 4: Two men were killed and 17 wounded when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire with a pistol shortly before noon near the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City. The Fatah al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

August 4: Nine people were killed and about 50 wounded in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus at the Meron junction in northern Israel. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

July 31: Eight people were killed and 86 injured, 14 seriously, when a bomb went off at the Frank Sinatra Cafeteria on the Hebrew University Mt. Scopus campus during the busy lunchtime rush. Israeli authorities reported that the explosive device had been planted ahead of time, with the terrorist possibly detonating it by remote control. Five Americans were among the dead. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

July 30: Two Israeli brothers from the Israeli settlement of Tapuah were shot and killed by masked Palestinian gunmen while delivering diesel fuel to a neighboring Palestinian village. Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

July 30: Five people suffered light to moderate injuries in a suicide bombing at a falafel stand on Hanevi’im Street in central Jerusalem.

July 30: A husband and wife were injured overnight in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, when a Palestinian terrorist entered their bedroom while they were sleeping, armed with two knives. The terrorist was killed by security forces.

July 26: Four Israelis were killed, three from one family, and three were injured in a drive-by shooting attack near Hebron. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

July 25: One Israeli was killed and another injured in a shooting attack near the West Bank settlement of Alei Zahav. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

July 21: The driver of an Israeli commuter train was moderately injured when an explosive device, detonated by remote control, went off on the tracks between Rehovot and Yavneh. No passengers were injured and the train, which was travelling from Binyamina, near Hadera, to Ashdod in the south, was not derailed.

July 17: Three people were killed, and 40 more were injured, six seriously, in a double suicide bombing near the old central bus station in Tel Aviv. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack

July 16: Seven people were killed and 20 injured, several seriously, in a terrorist attack on a bus traveling from Tel Aviv to the West Bank. An explosive charge was detonated next to the bullet-resistant bus and three terrorists waiting in ambush opened fire on passengers who fled the bus in search of safety. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

June 30: Four people were lightly injured when a bomb placed on the railroad tracks went off just after a crowded train passed over the spot, just north of the city of Lod in central Israel.

June 20: Five Israelis, including a mother, three children and a neighbor who came to aid the family, were killed, when a Palestinian terrorist entered a home and opened fire in the West Bank settlement of Itamar. Two other children and two soldiers were also injured in the attack. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack

June 19: Seven people were killed and more than 50 were injured – three of them in critical condition – when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem’s French Hill neighborhood. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

June 18: Nineteen people were killed and more than 70 were injured, in a suicide bombing on a bus just outside of Jerusalem. The bus, which was completely destroyed, was traveling from Gilo to Jerusalem and had many students on board. In addition to the bus, at least two other vehicles were severely damaged in the attack. Hamas claimed responsibility.

June 11: A 15-year-old Herzliya girl was killed and 15 others were wounded when a Palestinian suicide bomber set off a pipe bomb at a restaurant in the coastal city of Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

June 11: Three junior high school youths were injured in a roadside bombing near Hebron.

June 8: Three Israelis, including a pregnant woman, were killed, and five were injured when an armed terrorist inflitrated the community of Carmei Tzur, south of Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsiblity for the attack.

June 5: Sixteen people were killed and 38 injured – 7 seriously – when a car packed with explosives struck a bus at the Megiddo junction near Afula, in northern Israel. The bus, which burst into flames, was completely destroyed. The militant Palestinian group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

May 28: Three yeshiva high school students were killed and two others wounded in Itamar, a settlement southeast of Nablus, when a Palestinian gunman opened fire, before he was shot dead by a security guard. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

May 28: An Israeli man was killed in an ambush on the Ramallah bypass road. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

May 27: A baby girl and her grandmother were killed when a suicide bomber detonated himself near an ice cream parlor outside a shopping mall in Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv. The attack injured 40 others, some seriously. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

May 23: A suicide bomber, disguised as an Israeli with his hair dyed blond, killed at least two people and wounded more than 25 after detonating a powerful explosive in an outdoor market in Rishon Le Zion. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a militant faction of Yasir Arafat’s Fatah movement, claimed responsibility.

May 19: Three Israelis were killed and more than 50 injured in a suicide bombing at an open-air market in Netanya. A Palestinian disguised as an Israeli soldier carried out the attack. Both Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility. Two of the victims were identified as Yosef Haviv, 70 and Arkadi Wiselman, 40, both of Netanya. Wiselman, a chef at the Park Hotel, survived the Passover bombing on March 27.

May 8: A Palestinian terrorist detonated a suitcase packed with explosives in a crowded gambling and billiards club near Tel Aviv, killing at least 15 people and wounding 58. The attack apparently was timed to coincide with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s visit to the United States, where he met with President George W. Bush and other administration officials to discuss a new proposal for ending the conflict.

April 27: Three Palestinian gunmen disguised as Israeli Army soldiers cut through the perimeter fence of Adora, a settlement on the West Bank, and entered several homes, firing on residents in their bedrooms. Four people, including a 5-year-old girl, were killed in the attacks. Another seven were injured, including one seriously. Both Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility.

April 12: At least six people are dead, and more than 60 are reported wounded, in the wake of a Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem. The terrorist was attempting to board a bus near Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda open-air market when the explosives detonated. The Fatah Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades reportedly has taken responsibility for the attack.

April 10: An Egged bus was blown up in a suicide bombing near Kibbutz Yagur, located close to Haifa, killing 10 people and wounding 17.

April 1: An IDF reserve soldier, Sgt.-Maj. Ofir Rot, 22, of Gan Yoshiya was killed at a roadblock near Jerusalem’s Har Homa neighborhood by a Palestinian sniper firing from Beit Sahur, near Bethlehem.

April 1: Eight Israelis were wounded in a terrorist shooting attack at the entrance to Beit El in Samaria. Two were in critical condition, the other six were in light to moderate condition.

March 31: A Magen David Adom paramedic was very seriously injured along with three other people in a suicide bombing at the emergency medical center in Efrat, in the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem.

March 31: Fourteen people were killed and more than 40 injured in a suicide bombing in Haifa, in the Matza gas station restaurant near a shopping mall. Several of the injured were in serious to critical condition. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 30: Tomer Mordechai, 19, of Tel Aviv, a police officer, was killed in Jerusalem, when a Palestinian suicide bomber heading toward the city center blew himself up in his car after being stopped at a roadblock. The Fatah Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 30: About 30 people were injured, one critically and five seriously, by a powerful explosion in a cafe on the corner of Allenby and Bialik streets in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 29: Two people were killed and more than 20 were injured when a 16-year-old female Palestinian suicide bomber attacked a Jerusalem supermarket. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 27: Twenty-two people were killed and 140 injured – 20 seriously – in a suicide bombing at the Park Hotel in the coastal city of Netanya, in the midst of the Passover holiday seder with 250 guests. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 24: Esther Klieman, 23, of Neve Tzuf, was killed in a shooting attack northwest of Ramallah while traveling to work in a reinforced Egged bus.

March 24: Avi Sabag, 24, of Otniel was killed in a terrorist shooting south of Hebron.

March 20: Seven people, including four soldiers, were killed and 30 people were wounded in a suicide bombing of an Egged bus traveling from Tel Aviv to Nazareth. Two of the injurerd are in critical condition. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 19: 1st Lt. Tal Zemach, 20, of Kibbutz Hulda, was killed and three soldiers were injured when Palestinian terrorists opened fire at the paratroop training compound in the Jordan Valley. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 19: Two Border Police volunteers were lightly wounded when terrorists opened fire and threw a grenade at Moshav Aviezer, south of Beit Shemesh, on the Israeli side of the Green Line border. The gunmen were killed by Border Police

March 17: Twenty-five people were lightly injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself near an Egged bus at the French Hill junction in northern Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon. Many of the passengers were high school students on their way home from school. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 17: Noa Auerbach, 18, of Kfar Sava, was killed and 16 people were injured when a terrorist opened fire in the center of Kfar Sava on Sunday. The gunman was shot and killed by police.

March 12: Eyal Lieberman, 45, of Tzoran in Samaria was killed and one person was wounded in a shooting attack on Tuesday morning at the Kiryat Sefer checkpoint, east of Modi’in.

March 12: Terrorists opened fire, ambushing Israeli vehicles traveling between Shlomi and Kibbutz Metzuba near the northern border with Lebanon late Tuesday morning. Six Israelis were killed and at least 6 others suffered injuries. Two terrorists were also killed. Israeli forces are still conducting aerial and land searches for other members of the terror cell.

March 10: Shots were fired at a bar mitzva celebration in the coastal city of Ashdod. A 13-year-old boy suffered moderate-to-serious injuries in the attack. The terrorist was apprehended when his rifle jammed.

March 10: St.-Sgt. Kobi Eichelboim, 21, of Givatayim died from wounds suffered in the morning when a Palestinian gunman disguised as a worker opened fire at the entrance to Netzarim in the Gaza Strip.

March 9: An infant girl and a 27-year-old man were killed and about 50 people were injured, several seriously, when two Palestinians opened fire and threw grenades at cars and pedestrians in the coastal city of Netanya, close to the city’s boardwalk and hotels. The terrorists were killed by Israeli border police. The Fatah Al Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 9: Eleven people were killed and 54 injured, 10 of them seriously, when a suicide bomber exploded at in a crowded cafe at the corner of Aza and Ben-Maimon streets in the Rehavia neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 8: Staff Sargeant Edward Korol, 20, of Ashdod, the medic of the Golani’s Egoz unit, was killed by a Palestinian sniper in the Tulkarem refugee camp. The Israel Defense Forces incursion in the Tulkarem camp led to the discovery of two weapons-making facilities, a weapons arsenal, and a large quantity of explosive materials, including 10 Kassam-2 missiles. The 1,300 Palestinian men who turned themselves in were detained for questioning.

March 7: A suicide bomber blew himself up shortly after 3:30 P.M. in the lobby of a hotel in the commercial center on the outskirts of Ariel in Samaria. 15 people were injured, one seriously. The PFLP claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 7: Aharon Krogliak of Beit El, Tal Kurtzweil of Bnei Brak, Asher Marcus of Jerusalem, Eran Pikar of Jerusalem, and Ariel Zana of Jerusalem, all aged 18, were killed and 23 people were injured, four seriously, when a Palestinian gunman penetrated a highschool that combines religious studies and military training in the Gush Katif settlement of Atzmona late Thursday night. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 7: A suicide bombing was prevented Thursday afternoon, when a man carrying an explosive device was blocked from entering a cafe on Emek Refaim Street in the German Colony section of Jerusalem.

March 7: A suicide bomber blew himself up shortly after 3:30 P.M. Thursday afternoon in the lobby of a hotel in the commericial center on the outskirts of Ariel in Samaria. Four injuries have been reported.

March 6: Cpl.(res.) Alexander Nastarenko, 37, of Netanya was killed when Palestinian gunmen crossed the fence and ambushed an army jeep on the patrol road near Kibbutz Nir Oz.

March 6: 1st Lt. Pinhas Cohen, 23, of Jerusalem, was killed overnight near the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis, in the course of anti-terrorist activity following the rocket attack on Sderot. Another soldier, whose name has not yet been released, was killed and three others were wounded when Palestinians attacked them with gunfire and grenades while on routine patrol along the border with Egypt

March 5: Palestinians fired two Kassam II rockets at the city of Sderot shortly before 18:00 PM on Tuesday. One of the rockets hit a residential building, moderately wounding a 16-month-old infant. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 5: Police officers Salim Barakat, 33, of Yarka; Yosef Abey, 52, of Herzliya; and Eli Dahan, 53, of Lod were killed and over 30 people were wounded in Tel-Aviv when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on two adjacent restaurants shortly after 2:00 AM. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 5: Devorah Friedman, 45, of Efrat, was killed and her husband injured Tuesday morning in shooting attack on the Bethlehem bypass “tunnel road”, south of Jerusalem. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 5: One person was killed and 5 injured when a suicide bomber exploded in an Egged No. 823 bus as it entered the Afula central bus station at 8:30 Tuesday morning. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 2: The bullet-ridden body of Jerusalem police detective Chief-Supt. Moshe Dayan, 46, of Ma’aleh Adumim, was discovered Saturday evening next to his trail motorcycle, near the Mar Saba Monastery in the Judean Desert. Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 2: Ten people were killed and over 50 were injured in a suicide bombing at 7 pm on Saturday evening near a yeshiva in the ultra-Orthodox Beit Yisrael neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem where people had gathered for a bar-mitzva celebration. The terrorist detonated the bomb next to a group of women waiting with their baby carriages for their husbands to leave the nearby synagogue. Six children were among the victims. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade took responsibility for the attack.

March 3: Sgt. Steven Koenigsburg, 19, of Hod Hasharon was killed and 4 soldiers injured Sunday morning when a Palestinian gunman opened fire near the Kissufim crossing in the Gaza Strip. The Islamic Jihad and Tanzim claimed responsibility for the attack.

March 3: Ten Israelis, including 2 IDF officers and 5 soldiers, were killed and 5 were injured when terrorists opened fire at 7:00 Sunday morning at an IDF roadblock north of Ofra in Samaria. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claimed responsibility for the attack.

February 25: Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli civilians and wounded two others – a pregnant woman and a small girl – in a shooting attack south of Jerusalem.

February 22: Valery Ahmir, 59, of Beit Shemesh, was killed by terrorists in a drive-by shooting on the Atarot-Givat Ze’ev road north of Jerusalem as he returned home from work. Fatah claimed responsibility for the attack.

February 19: Six soldiers were killed and one wounded in an attack near a roadblock west of Ramallah. Several terrorists opened fire at soldiers at the roadblock, including three off-duty soldiers inside a structure at the roadblock, killing them at point-blank range. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

February 19: A suicide bomber was prevented from boarding an Egged bus traveling from Jerusalem to Tiberias in the Jordan Valley. The terrorist was killed when, fleeing pursuit, he detonated the charge.

February 18: Ahuva Amergi, 30, of Ganei Tal in Gush Katif was killed and a 60-year old man was injured when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire on her car on Monday evening. Maj. Mor Elraz, 25, of Kiryat Ata and St.-Sgt. Amir Mansouri, 21, of Kiryat Arba, who came to their assistance, were killed while trying to intercept the terrorist. The terrorist was killed when the explosives he was carrying were detonated. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

February 18: Policeman Ahmed Mazarib, 32, of the Bedouin village Beit Zarzir in the Galilee, was killed by a suicide bomber who he had stopped for questioning on the Ma’ale Adumim-Jerusalem road on Monday afternoon. The terrorist succeeded in detonating the bomb in his car. The Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility.

February 10: A drive-by terrorist shooting at the entrance to the IDF Southern Command base in Be’er Sheva killed two female soldiers and injured four others. One of the Palestinian terrorists was killed at the scene; the second, wearing an explosives belt, fled in the direction of a nearby school when he was shot and killed by a soldier and police officer. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

February 9: A drive-by shooting on the Trans-Samaria Highway killed a 78 year old woman. Palestinian gunmen opened fire on the car, apparently from an ambush, between Ariel and the Tapuah Junction.

February 8: A 25-year-old Israeli woman was stabbed to death by four Palestinians, ages 14-16, while strolling with her boyfriend in the Peace Forest, below the Sherover Promenade in Jerusalem’s Armon Hanatziv neighborhood.

January 27: A suicide bombing in the center of Jerusalem killed one person and wounded more than 150. The terrorist, armed with more than 10 kilos of explosives, was apparently a female student from Nablus.

January 25: A suicide bombing outside a cafe on a pedestrian mall in Tel Aviv injured 25 people. The Lebanese television station Al-Manar reported that the bomber was an Islamic Jihad activist sent by the organization’s cell in Tulkarm and Israeli security services are investigating whether the Fatah organization in Tulkarm and Hezbollah may also have been involved.

January 22, 2002: A Palestinian terrorist opened fire with an M-16 assault rifle near a bus stop in downtown Jerusalem, killing two women and injuring about 40 others. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the shooting.

January 17, 2002: A Palestinian gunman burst into a bat mitzvah celebration in a banquet hall in Hadera, opening fire on the 180 guests with an M-16 assault rifle, killing 6 people and injuring 35 people. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

December 12, 2001: Palestinian gunmen attacked a No. 189 Dan bus and several passenger cars near the entrance to the settlement of Emmanuel, killing 10 people and injuring about 30 people.

December 2, 2001: A suicide bombing on a No. 16 Egged bus in Haifa killed 15 people and injured about 40 people. Hamas claimed responsibility for the Haifa blast, while Hizbullah’s radio and television stations expressed support for the attacks.

December 1, 2001: A double suicide bombing at the Ben-Yehuda pedestrian mall in Jerusalem at 11:30 p.m. on a Saturday night killed 11 people, aged 12-21, and injured 188 people. A car bomb exploded 20 minutes later. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

November 29, 2001: A suicide bombing of a bus on its way from Nazareth to Hadera killed three people. Fatah and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

November 27, 2001: Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a crowd of people near the central bus station in the city of Afula, killing two people. Fatah and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack.

October 28, 2001: Two Palestinian gunmen killed four Israeli women at a crowded bus stop in the city of Hadera. Although Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, the two gunmen who carried out the attack were members of the Palestinian police force.”

Joseph Wallack had more to say at the end of this list. One can see his comments and our dialogue at the post linked below:

From A Palestinian Christian’s perspective on the Israeli occupation and suicide bombing, 2008/05/11 at 12:58 AM

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