What is Hamas Part III
2003 to 2005, a road map and withdrawal
Last time I profiled the history of Hamas from 1997 to 2003. Today it is 2003 to 2005. a very busy two years. If you would like to read Part II just click below.
The early 21st Century started a period of transition for Hamas. They were still heavily involved in the terror campaign against Israel. The PLO was still the defacto representative of the Palestinian people and had promised Israel that they would crack down on terror attacks coming from Gaza and the West Bank. The Quartet on the Middle East, (comprised of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations), had put forth a plan called the “roadmap for peace” and were negotiating with both sides to get it implemented. Ariel Sharon, who’s visit to the Temple Mount started the Second Intifada, became Israeli Prime Minister in 2001. After his election he cancelled talks of any kind with any militant group. Then began to conduct extensive military operations to destroy the ability of Hamas and the other militant groups to conduct operations inside Israel. As we have seen, after Operation Defensive Shield, Hamas attacks were down in 2003.
2003
On April 30, 2003, the Quartet on the Middle East announced their plan for the “Road Map for Peace”, the plan consisted of three phases:
Phase I- Mutual recognition and an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. The ending of armed activity and all acts of violence against Israelis. Palestinian political-institutional reform and Palestinian elections. An Israeli withdrawal to the positions of September 28, 2000, (the start date of the Second Intifada). Israel must refrain from attacks against civilians, demolition or destruction of Palestinian buildings and deportations. Israel must reopen Palestinian institutions in East Jerusalem, improve the humanitarian situation, fully implement the Bertini reporteases movement; freezes settlement expansion and dismantles settlement outposts since 2001.
Phase II- An international summit to support Palestinian economic recovery and launch a process leading to establishment of an independent Palestinian state with provisional borders. Revival of multilateral engagement on issues including regional water resources, economic development, refugees, and arms control issues. The Arab states must restore pre-intifada links to Israel.
Phase III- A second international conference where a permanent status agreement, an end of conflict; agreement and an agreement on final borders are reached. Clarification of the question of the fate of Jerusalem, refugees and settlements. All Arab states must agree to peace deals with Israel.
On May 25, 2003, the Prime Minister's Cabinet approved the Roadmap with 14 reservations:
The Palestinians will dismantle their current security organizations and reform any new organization.
The Palestinians must cease violence and incitement and educate the populace for peace.
The Palestinians must complete the dismantling of Hamas and other militant groups, including their infrastructure, and destroy all illegal weapons.
No progress to Phase II before all of the above-mentioned conditions are fulfilled.
Pursuant to the Roadmap, Israel is not obliged to cease violence against the Palestinians
No progress to the next phase before a complete cessation of terror, violence and incitement. No timelines are to be set for carrying out the Roadmap.
The replacement and reform of the current leadership in the Palestinian Authority (including Yasser Arafat). Otherwise no progress to Phase II.
The process will be monitored by the United States (not the Quartet).
The character of the provisional Palestinian state will be determined through negotiations. The provisional state will be demilitarized, with provisional borders and "certain aspects of sovereignty", and subjected to Israeli control of the entry and exit of all persons and cargo, plus its airspace and electromagnetic spectrum (radio, television, internet, radar, etc.).
The Palestinians must declare that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, and must waive any right of return of Palestinian refugees to Israel.
There will no talks regarding settlements, Jerusalem and the borders of the Palestinian state, prior to the final settlement talks in Phase III.
There will be no references to any other peace initiatives, other than the key provisions of UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. It was unclear if the Oslo Accords are included in this ban).
Withdrawal to the September 2000 lines will be conditional.
Israel is not bound by the Bertini Report with respect to improving Palestinian humanitarian issues.
In November 19, 2003, the United Nations Security Council passed United Nations Security Council Resolution 1515. Which endorsed the Roadmap and called for an end to all violence including "terrorism, provocation, incitement and destruction". However, by the end of 2003, the Palestinian Authority had not prevented Palestinian terrorism, and Israel had neither withdrawn from Palestinian areas occupied since September 28, 2000, nor frozen settlement expansion. Thus the requirements of Phase I of the Roadmap were not fulfilled, and the Roadmap was essentially dead in the water.
2004
This lack of movement on the Roadmap seems to have emboldened Hamas, to increase their attacks. In 2004 there was eleven attacks that killed 58 and wounded 255, and also 882 mortar shells and 276 Qassam rockets fired into Israel, which caused a further eight deaths and 99 injuries. However, at the same time Ariel Sharon still hoped for some kind of peace plan. He even began to think about a unilateral plan to withdraw from the Occupied Territories. Sharon first suggested his disengagement plan on December 18, 2003, at the Fourth Herzliya Conference. In his address to the conference, Sharon stated that:
″settlements which will be relocated are those which will not be included in the territory of the State of Israel in the framework of any possible future permanent agreement.”
On January 12, 2004, over 100,000 people rallied in Tel Aviv to protest any withdrawal from either the West Bank or Gaza. Hamas was not content to sit by and let the PLO lead the effort to secure a peace deal with the Israelis, and after seeing the opposition to any type of peace deal inside Israel itself, they thought there was an opportunity to derail the deal before it got off the ground. In fact, they were and have always been against any kind of agreement with Israel. As mentioned before, the Hamas charter calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. On January 26, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, one of the founders of Hamas, offered a ten-year truce if Israel would pull out of all lands occupied since the 1967 Six Day War. He knew that the proposition was one Israel would reject out of hand and that was exactly what happened. Hamas was also concerned about the Arabs, at least the ones from Hamas, in Israeli jails, and on January 30, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, leader of Hamas announced that Hamas is making an all-out effort to kidnap Israeli soldiers to use as bargaining chips to trade for Arabs in Israeli prisons. This idea came after the January 29, deal between Hezbollah and Israel, where 400 prisoners were released in exchange for the remains of three Israeli soldiers and an Israeli businessman.
Even after two Hamas attacks in January that killed 15 and wounded 63, including one just two blocks from his official residence, Sharon was intent on proceeding with a peace plan with or without the Palestinians. On February 2, he told the Ha’aretz newspaper that he plans to dismantle 17 Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and that he foresees a time when there are no Jews in Gaza at all.
Israel was still conducting military operations in the Occupied Territories, even while making plans for peace. On March 22, they finally rid themselves of their old enemy, Ahmed Yassin. While he was being wheeled the 300 feet from the Sabra mosque to his house, after early morning prayers in Gaza City, an IDF AH-64 Apache helicopter gunship fire two Hellfire missiles at Yassin in his wheelchair and his two bodyguards. Before the attack a flight of Israeli Air Force F-16s flew overhead to mask the approaching helicopter. Yassin and his bodyguards were killed instantly, along with nine bystanders, another 12 people were injured, including two of Yassin's sons. Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, Yassin's Deputy, was announced as the new leader of Hamas.
On April 14, 2004, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon wrote a letter to President George W. Bush, in which he reconfirmed his commitment to the Roadmap. He also accused the Palestinian Authority of not carrying out its part of the responsibilities under the Roadmap. Stating that
"there exists no Palestinian partner with whom to advance peacefully toward a settlement".
In the letter Sharon announced his Unilateral Disengagement Plan. It called for the removal of all Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the West Bank. His plan embarked on a course of unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, while maintaining control of its coastline and airspace. Sharon's plan was welcomed by both the Palestinian Authority and Israel's left wing as a step towards a final peace settlement. However, it was greeted with opposition from within his own Likud party and from other right wing Israelis.
On April 17, 2004, killed the newly appointed head of Hamas, Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, when an IDF helicopter fired three Hellfire missiles into his car. His 27-year-old son Mohammed and his bodyguard were also killed and four bystanders were wounded. The IDF announced that this was the first opportunity, since he became leader, to target al-Rantisi, without causing significant collateral damage. After al-Rantisi was killed, Hamas decided that they would no longer publicly announce their leadership. The leader became Khaled Mashal, the man Israel had to save after poisoning him in 1997. Mashal had been expelled from Jordan in 1999 and was now living in Damascus, Syria. A place he felt, was beyond the reach of the Israelis.
In late April after failing to gain public support from senior ministers, Sharon agreed that the Likud party should hold a referendum on the plan in advance of a vote by the Israeli Cabinet. The referendum was held on May 2, 2004. At the same time as the voting was an terror attack that would have a significant impact on the voting as word spread. Tali Hatuel, who along with her family were residents of the settlement of Katif, picked up her three oldest daughters from school and drove them and their 2-year-old sister in the family station wagon to her husband's workplace in Ashkelon to campaign against the disengagement plan. While traveling in the vicinity of the Kissufim Crossing at 12:40 pm, two armed Palestinian militants, who had prepared an ambush near the highway, opened fire on the car, causing the car to spin off the road. A CNN film crew working in the area who had come under fire by the militants earlier, had attempted to stop or warn Israeli civilian vehicles in the area. In fact, Hatuel’s car was one of the vehicles that drove past the armored CNN car and failed to heed the warning. The attackers, who were armed with AK-47s, then approached the vehicle and fired from close range at Hatuel, who was eight months pregnant, and her daughters, killing all four as well as the unborn son she was carrying. The gunmen also opened fire on an Israeli traveling in a separate car. He managed to reverse and drive away injured. Two IDF soldiers who were in a vehicle behind the Hatuel car were also injured during the gunfire. An explosive device was also set off near the attack site but it did not result in any injuries.
Twenty minutes before the attack, the IDF had received information about a possible attack and were gathering forces in the area to investigate. Later in the day, the IDF killed both of the gunmen, identified as Hamas members, Ibrahim Mohammad Hammad (22), and Faisal Abu Naqira (26), from the Rafah refugee camp. Hamas stated that the attack was carried out in reprisal for the assassinations of Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmad Yassin and Abdelaziz Rantisi and described the attack as "heroic".
As voting on the referendum continued, word about the attack spread among the voters, and the referendum, which had already been on shaky ground, was doomed. At the close of voting, 65% of the voters, voted against the disengagement plan. This was despite polls showing approximately 55% of Likud members supporting the plan before the referendum. Word of the Hatuel massacre greatly contributed to this shift in voting. Commentators and the press described the rejection of the plan as a blow to Sharon, but Sharon himself announced that he accepted the results and would take time to consider his steps. He ordered Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Defense, to create an amended plan which Likud voters could accept.
In response to the Hatuel massacre, the IDF launched Operation Rainbow, a large offensive in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip from May 12 to June 1. The stated aim of the operation, was to clear terrorist infrastructure, to find smuggling tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip and Egypt and kill Hamas members. The IDF closed the only road between Rafah and Khan Yunis and initiated a total siege of Rafah. Tanks, armored personnel carriers and armored bulldozers entered Rafah from the east through the Sofa Crossing, effectively cutting off Rafah from the rest of the Gaza Strip. The IDF did not find any tunnels but did kill 41 Hamas members and detained 94 more. Twelve Arab civilians were also killed.
On June 6, 2004, Sharon's government approved an amended disengagement plan, but with the reservation that the dismantling of each settlement should be voted on separately. The plan was approved with a 14–7 vote, but only after cabinet members Avigdor Liberman and Binyamin Elon were dismissed from the cabinet, and a compromise offer by Tzipi Livni was agreed to.
This agreement in the Israeli cabinet made little difference to Hamas as they continued terror attacks. On June 28, two people, one who was just four years old were killed when a Qassam rocket struck near a nursery school in Sderot. On July 9, a bomb left in the bushes behind a bus stop in Tel Aviv detonated, killing one and wounding 34.
The disengagement plan was still very unpopular with the Israeli public as well, and on July 25, over 100,000 opponents of the disengagement plan formed a human chain that stretched from Gush Katif to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a distance of 56 miles.
On August 31, Hamas carried out two simultaneous bus bombings in the city of Beersheba. 16 people are killed and 107 wounded. Hamas distributed leaflets in Hebron which stated that the attack was in revenge for the assassination of Hamas leaders Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. Following the bombing, 20,000 Hamas supporters in Gaza took to the streets to celebrate. The Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom placed the blame on Yasser Arafat for not preventing the attacks, and for bringing nothing but "terror and evil" since his return to the Occupied Territories. He and the majority of the leadership of the PLO had been in Tunis from 1983 to 1994.
On September 24, one person was killed when a Qassam rocket fell on her home in the Gush Katif settlement in the Gaza Strip. Just five days later on September 29, on the eve of the Sukkot holiday, two infants were killed and 33 people were wounded by three Qassam rockets fired from Gaza into Sderot. In response to the killings, the IDF launched Operation Days of Penitence. The operation lasted between September 29, and October 16, 2004 and focused on the town of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia and the Jabalia refugee camp. These were being used as launching sites for Qassam rockets against the Sderot and Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip. On October 17, the IDF withdrew from the populated areas and redeployed to positions nearby. They announced the operation was a success but warned that the troops would return if the rocket attacks resumed. The causalities during Operation Days of Penitence were one IDF soldier killed five wounded, eight members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad and 42 Arab civilians were killed 150 wounded and 212 arrested. The IDF announced that at least 12 Qassam launchings had been thwarted and many terrorists hit during the operation. Capt. Jacob Dallal, an IDF acclaimed the operation's success:
"We really impaired the ability to shoot Qassams from the operation zone. We engaged many cells and now there are fewer Hamas members to shoot rockets. We dealt a hard blow to the whole Hamas infrastructure in Jabalia."
On October 21, an IDF helicopter fired a Hellfire missile into the car of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades second in command Adnan al-Ghoul, killing him and another Arab. It was al-Ghoul who replaced Yahya Ayyash as Hamas’ best bombmaker, after Ayyash took the phone call that ended his life. Click below to read Part I that contains that story.
al-Ghoul was also responsible for the development of the Qassam rocket as well as masterminding the development of weapons made from raw material and equipment smuggled into the Gaza Strip using tunnels in Rafah.
On November 11, 2004, the entire complexion of the Arab-Israeli conflict changed, when, after a short illness, Yasser Arafat died in Paris. Mahmoud Abbas was appointed Chairman of the PLO after Arafat’s death and now the Israelis had a partner to negotiate with. However, Hamas was unwilling to deal with Abbas because he was in favor of negotiations with Israel and his calls for an end to violence against Israeli civilians. Hamas could not ignore the challenges posed by the Palestinian Authority and Abbas and they clashed with the Palestinian security forces. Under heavy pressure from Israel and the United States to gain control, Abbas tried to squeeze Hamas out of the picture. The peace process offered some opportunities for Hamas, and they gained a bit more freedom to maneuver, especially in non political affairs and social services. In contrast, the PA’s standing in Palestinian society sometimes placed limits on what PA security officials felt comfortable doing.
Escalation in Gaza began amid a visit of Abbas to Syria attempting to achieve a truce between Palestinian factions and convince the Hamas leadership to halt attacks against Israelis. Hamas vowed to continue the armed struggle, sending numerous Qassam rockets into open fields near Nahal Oz and hitting a kindergarten in Kfar Darom with an anti-tank missile.
On December 9, five Arab weapon smugglers were killed and two were arrested in the border between Rafah and Egypt. Later that day, Jamal Abu Samhadana, chief of the Executive Force, and two of his bodyguards were injured by a missile strike. In the first Israeli airstrike against militants in weeks, and the first using a drone carrying missiles, one missile was launched at Abu Samhadana's car as it travelled between Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. It was the fourth attempt on Samhadana's life by Israel. Samhadana was also one of two leaders of the Popular Resistance Committees, and one of the main forces behind the smuggling tunnels.
On December 10, in response to Hamas firing mortar rounds into the Neveh Dekalim settlement in the Gaza Strip and wounding four Israelis (including an 8-year-old boy), Israeli soldiers fired at the Khan Younis refugee camp (the origin of the mortars) killing a seven-year-old girl. An IDF source confirmed troops opened fire at Khan Younis, but said they aimed at Hamas mortar crews.
The largest terrorist attack since the death of Yasser Arafat claimed the lives of five Israeli soldiers on December 12, wounding ten others. Approximately 1.5 tons of explosives were detonated in a tunnel under an Israeli military-controlled border crossing on the Egyptian border with Gaza near Rafah, causing several buildings to collapse and damaging others. The explosion killed three soldiers, Arab militants then penetrated the outpost and killed two other Israeli soldiers with gunfire. Credit for the attack was jointly claimed by Hamas and a new Fatah faction, the "Fatah Hawks".
2005
Palestinian presidential elections were held on January 9, 2005 but were boycotted by both Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian Authority (PA). His platform was of a peaceful negotiation with Israel and non-violence to achieve Palestinian objectives. Although Abbas called on militants to halt attacks against Israel, he promised them protection from Israeli incursions and did not advocate disarmament by force. Therefore, violence continued in the Gaza Strip and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon immediately suspended all diplomatic and security contacts with the PA. Spokesman Assaf Shariv declared that
"Israel informed international leaders today that there will be no meetings with Abbas until he makes a real effort to stop the terror."
The freezing of contacts came less than one week after Mahmoud Abbas was elected, and the day before his inauguration. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, when confirming the news, declared
"You cannot hold Mahmoud Abbas accountable when he hasn't even been inaugurated yet."
Following international pressure and Israeli threat of extensive military operation in the Gaza Strip, Abbas ordered Palestinian police to deploy to northern Gaza to prevent rocket and mortar attacks on Israeli settlements. Although attacks on Israel did not stop completely, they decreased sharply.
On February 8, 2005, at Sharm el-Sheikh, Ariel Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas shook hands and declared a mutual truce at a conference which also include King Abdullah II of Jordan and Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. However, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), said the truce is not binding for their members. Israel has not withdrawn its demand to dismantle terrorist infrastructure before moving ahead in the, all but dead, Roadmap for Peace. On February 13, 2005, Abbas entered into talks with the leaders of Hamas and the PIJ, to attempt to rally behind him and respect the truce. Ismail Haniyah, a senior leader of Hamas said that
"The position of Hamas regarding calm, will continue unchanged and Israel will bear responsibility for any new violation or aggression."
On February 16, 2005, after much debate, the Knesset finalized and approves, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s unilateral disengagement plan from Gaza. The vote was 59 in favor, 40 opposed, 5 abstaining.
On February 21, Israel releases 500 Palestinian prisoners, as a gesture of goodwill to the PA. Israel plans to release another 400 Palestinian prisoners within the following three months.
On February 25, a Hamas suicide bomber wearing hidden explosives attached to his body, detonated himself in a crowd of young Israelis who were waiting outside a beachfront nightclub near the promenade of Tel Aviv. Five Israelis are killed, and 53 are wounded.
On March 16, Israel hands over control of Jericho to the Palestinian Authority.
On March 17, the IDF Southern Command issued a order prohibiting Israeli citizens not living in the Gaza Strip settlements from taking up residence there.
On March 19, after a three day meeting, Fatah, Hamas, PIJ, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and seven other Palestinian factions signed the Palestinian Cairo Declaration. It contained six points:
The Signatories confirmed their adherence to Palestinian principles, without any neglect, and the right of the Palestinian people to resistance in order to end the occupation, establish a Palestinian state with full sovereignty with Jerusalem as its capital, and the guaranteeing of the right of return of refugees to their homes and property.
The Signatories agree on a continuation of the atmosphere of calm in return for Israel's adherence to stopping all forms of aggression against our land and our Palestinian people, no matter where they are, as well as the release of all prisoners and detainees.
The Signatories agree that the continuation of settlement and the construction of the wall and the Judaization of Jerusalem are explosive issues.
The Signatories agree to explore the internal Palestinian situation and agree on the necessity of completing total reform in all areas supporting the democratic process. They agree to hold local and legislative elections at their determined time according to an election law to be agreed upon. The conference recommends to the Legislative Council that it take steps to amend the legislative elections law, relying on an equal division (of seats) in a mixed system, and it recommends that the law for elections of local councils be amended on the basis of proportional representation.
The Signatories agree to develop the Palestine Liberation Organization in order to include all the Palestinian powers and factions, as the organization is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. To do this, it has been agreed upon to form a committee to define these steps. The committee will be made up of the president of the National Council, the members of the PLO's Executive Committee, the secretaries general of all Palestinian factions and independent national personalities. The president of the executive committee will convene this committee.
The Signatories unanimously agree that dialogue is the sole means of interaction among all the factions, as a support to national unity and the unity of the Palestinian ranks. They were unanimous in forbidding the use of weapons in internal disputes, respecting the rights of the Palestinian citizen and refraining from violating them, and that continuing dialogue through the coming period is a basic necessity toward unifying our speech and preserving Palestinian rights.
This was a momentous meeting as all the Palestinian faction had never coming together on any issue before. It wouldn’t be long, however, that the words of this agreement rang hollow.
On March 22, Israel hands over control of Tulkarm to the PA.
On March 28, the Knesset rejected a bill to delay the implementation of the disengagement plan for a second time, by a vote of 72 to 39. The bill was introduced by a group of Likud representatives who wanted to force a referendum on the issue.
On June 2, Israel hands over another 398 prisoners to the PA.
On June 15, Hamas intensified the bombardment of Sderot with Qassam rockets. The attacks killed five people, two Arabs, two Israelis and one Chinese national.
On June 20, A Hamas female suicide bomber is caught at the Erez Crossing, carrying explosives and a detonator in her underwear. She planned to carry out a attack in the Soroka hospital, in the Israeli city of Beersheba, where she had previously received medical treatment and was scheduled for a follow-up appointment. The woman was identified as Wafa Samir Ibrahim Bass.
On July 12, a Hamas suicide bomber approached the popular HaSharon Mall in the center of Netanya. The bomber was wearing 22 pounds of explosives, along with nails and ball bearings underneath his clothes. He detonated himself as he approached a group of four young women, who were crossing the road. Five people were killed and 93 people were injured in the attack.
On July 14, Hamas started firing rockets at Israeli towns both inside and outside the Gaza Strip, killing one person.
On July 15, Israel resumed its "targeted killing" policy, killing seven Hamas militants and bombing four Hamas facilities. The continual rocket attacks and street battles between Hamas and PA policemen threatened to shatter the Sharm el-Sheikh truce. The IDF also moved armored units to the area in response to the shelling.
After the end of the Second Intifada (which is considered to be the end of July 2005), Hamas emerged with enhanced political credentials among the Palestinian people. The organization was far healthier than any of its rivals, and had avoided being tainted by association with the Palestinian Authority. Which was widely seen as not only irrelevant but impotent and venal as well.
On August 9, Israel orders Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip to leave their settlements or face eviction.
On August 11, 62,000 Israelis march in Tel Aviv to protest the proposed removal of Israeli settlers from Gaza.
On August 15, on the day of the the implementation of the disengagement plan, Ariel Sharon said that, while he had hoped Israel could keep the Gaza settlements forever, reality simply intervened. "It is out of strength and not weakness that we are taking this step", repeating his argument that the disengagement plan has given Israel the diplomatic initiative. The disengagement began with Operation Yad l'Achim (Giving Brothers a Hand). During the pullout of the 21 civilian settlements in Gaza, hundreds of people were arrested for rioting, and criminal charges were filed against 482 of them. (On January 25, 2010, the Knesset passed a bill granting a general amnesty to around 400 of them, mostly teenagers. While most had by then finished serving their sentences, their criminal records were expunged. The people who were not pardoned as part of this amnesty had either been convicted of crimes that involved endangering human life, and involved the use of explosives or serious violence, or had a previous criminal record).
On August 23, the evacuation of the 25 settlements is completed.
On August 28, a Hamas suicide bomber detonates himself outside the Central Bus Terminal in Beersheba. According to intelligence the bomber was trying to make his way to the Soroka hospital. There are no deaths or injuries.
On August 31, the Knesset voted to withdraw from the Gaza-Egypt border and allow Egyptian deployment of border police along the demilitarized Egyptian side of the border, revising the previously stated intent to maintain Israeli control the border.
On September 12, Israel withdraws the last of its troops from the Gaza Strip , effectively completing the disengagement plan. Following Israel's withdrawal, Palestinian crowds entered the settlements waving PLO and Hamas flags, firing gunshots into the air and setting off firecrackers, and chanting slogans. Radicals among them desecrated four synagogues. Homes that had been destroyed by the settlers as they left, were ransacked. Hamas leaders held celebratory prayers in Kfar Darom synagogue as mobs continued to ransack and loot synagogues. Palestinian Authority security forces did not intervene, and announced that the synagogues would be destroyed. Less than 24 hours after the withdrawal, PA bulldozers began to demolish the remaining synagogues. Hamas took credit for the withdrawal, and one of their banners read:
Four years of resistance beat ten years of negotiations.
On October 26, a Hamas suicide bomber who wore an explosive belt hidden underneath his clothes approached the open market place in the small Israeli coastal town of Hadera. He detonated himself in the market place which was busy with shoppers in advance of a Jewish Holiday. The blast killed seven and injured 55 people.
On December 5, a Hamas suicide bomber approached the entrance to the HaSharon Mall in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya; he detonated explosives hidden under his clothes when he approached the guards at the entrance for security inspection. Five people were killed and 42 injured in the attack.
On December 29, a Hamas suicide bomber blows himself up as he reached the checkpoint at the West Bank city of Tulkarem. One IDF soldier and two Palestinian civilians are killed and two soldiers are injured.
2005 ended with a complete withdrawal of the entire Israeli presence from the Gaza Strip. However, this did not stop the attacks by Hamas. There were eight bombings that killed 31 people and injured another 290 that year. Ariel Sharon thought that a pull out from Gaza would end the attacks in Israel but as we can see, in our Monday morning quarterback chairs, this did not happen. Next time I will cover 2006 to 2009, a period of transition for Hamas, where they went from a terrorist organization to a terrorist organization that had been “democratically elected” and held power in an entire region. I hope you find these posts as educational and interesting to read as I do when I write them. Please share this post as often as you can. It is still very important to bring the truth into the light. I would bet that 90% of these “pro-Palestinian” protestors out there have no idea whatsoever what Hamas really is, and while I don’t have a huge reach, together maybe we can change in mind or two.
Chris