The Last Month Without a Rocket or Mortar Fired from Gaza into Israel Was...

Following Operation Pillar of Defense, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Maariv that "When there are deaths, public opinion changes. The wisdom is to know when the prolongation [of an operation] will not really bring about real additional gains. In this case, the Hamas received a harsh blow, and it will take a long time before it and the [Islamic] Jihad will have an appetite to repeat the experience they have just undergone. I'm not saying that there won't be someone launching rockets here and there against us, but we have the Iron Dome for that."

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I recently dug through old Shabak (Shin Bet) reports and have reached the following conclusion, which I find astonishing.

There has not been a single month since at least 2007 in which the # of rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israel was 0.
— Challah Hu Akbar (@ChallahHuAkbar) December 15, 2012

Unfortunately, I am not able to obtain month-by-month breakdowns for 2006 and before (See Update).

Thus far in December, there have been no rockets or mortars fired from Gaza into Israel. Will this be the first month in 5 plus years without a rocket or mortar being fired from Gaza into Israel?

UPDATE: I have just reviewed old reports from the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. As can be seen, there was at least one rocket or mortar fired from Gaza into Israel in every month between at least February 2005 and December 2006. While Meir Amit did not appear to have data for January 2005, in early January 2005 an Israeli citizen was wounded in a mortar attack and eventually succumbed to his wounds.

Thus, it appears that the last month without a mortar or rocket being fired from Gaza into Israel was at some point in 2004, if not further back.

Last month without a mortar or rocket being fired from Gaza into Israel was at some point in 2004, if not further back bit.ly/U3tRpx
— Challah Hu Akbar (@ChallahHuAkbar) December 18, 2012

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Hamas Holds Major Rally in Nablus, Fatah Officials Join

CHALLAH @ Ma'an News Agency

Thousands of Hamas supporters rallied in the West Bank on Thursday for the first time since the movement's violent split from Fatah in 2007. The festival in Nablus celebrated the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas under the banner "Sijjil stones are the path to freedom," in reference to a Quranic verse. The secretary-general of Fatah's revolutionary council Amin Maqboul, Nablus governor Jibrin al-Bakri and other Fatah officials joined the rally, which began at the al-Nasr Mosque in the Old City of Nablus.

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Here are photos.

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Hamas Teaches Students About Chivalry, Teacher Holds Gun

These two tweets are all the commentary that is needed.

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Event at Bir Zeit University Near Ramallah Shows Off Mock Rockets

A Hamas affiliated student group at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah is currently holding an event to celebrate Hamas’ “victory” in Operation Pillar of Defense.

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Here are some photos as posted on Hamas’ website.

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60 Samples Taken from Arafat

CHALLAH @ Agence France Presse

Around 60 samples were taken from the remains of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for a probe into whether he was poisoned by polonium, a Swiss newspaper reported Sunday, quoting a lead investigator.The samples were distributed among three teams doing separate analyses eight years after Arafat's death in a French hospital, Patrice Mangin told Le Matin Dimanche.

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A Palestinian pathologist was the only person allowed to touch the body when Arafat's grave was opened on Tuesday in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He was able to "take all the samples that were wanted, around 60 in total," said Mangin, the director of the Swiss University Center of Legal Medicine in Lausanne.

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Meet 15 Hamas Terrorists Killed During Operation Pillar of Defense

The other day, I posted photos of ten members of Islamic Jihad that were killed during Operation Pillar of Defense. In another post, I provided photos of a Salafi Jihadist who died during the conflict. A few hours after that post, I posted photos of another Islamic Jihad terrorist and 2 Popular Resistance Committees members killed during Operation Pillar of Defense.

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Now, I provided you with photos of 15 Hamas terrorists (there are many more) killed during Operation Pillar of Defense.

Ahmed Saeed Khalil al-Jaabari

Mohammed Hamed Subhi al-Hams

Rani Hammad

Khaled Abdul Rahman Abu al-Nasser

Wael Haidar Saeed al-Ghalban

Amjad Mohammed Jaddou Abu Jalal

Ismail Khatab Qandil

Ahmed Mohammed Jaddou Abu Jalal

Khaled Khalil al-Shaer

Ali Hassan Bin Saeed

Ali Abdul Halim al-Manaama

Ussama Mousa Abdul Jawad

Ashraf Darwish

Mohammed Sabri al-Owaidat

Abdul Rahman Salem al-Masri

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Islamic Jihad Terrorist Dies in Work Accident

CHALLAH @ Ma'an News Agency

A Palestinian fighter affiliated to the military wing of the Islamic Jihad died Saturday morning in what the group described as “Jihadist mission.”

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The al-Quds Brigades said in a statement that Ramadan Abu Hasanein, in the artillery division, died in the central Gaza Strip as a “martyr” while carrying out his duties. The announcement did not elaborate on the precise cause of his injury, which came over a week after Islamic Jihad and other groups agreed to a ceasefire with Israel.

Photos from the funeral are available here.

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Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh Makes His Most Moderate Statements Yet

Hamas’ Ismail Haniyeh recently gave an interview to Today's Zaman, a Turkish paper.

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I have pulled a number of the quotes from the interview for you, but I recommend you read the entire article.

“This stage forms a turning point from the stage of preparation and development to the stage of defending and liberating the land and Jerusalem.”

“When we say that things will calm down for days or years, this is part of a broader vision. Our strategy will and shall remain on both armed resistance and politics.”

“We should all fight against the enemy, rather than being preoccupied with intra fighting and debates.”

“Haniyeh pointed out the latest “victory” constituted a starting base and golden opportunity for unification and a new intifada to “defeat the occupier and liberate all Palestine, including Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.” He further defined the Palestinian borders as “Palestine as we know it, whose borders were drawn by our heroes from Ras Al-Naqoura to Rafah and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.””

“The West Bank will form the center of the decisive battle against the occupation. Every stone thrown from the West Bank at Israel brings us closer to victory.” 

“Palestine is a trial for the Muslim world, which will demonstrate whether we are strong or weak.”

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Meet 3 Members of the PRC & Another Islamic Jihad Terrorist Killed During Operation Pillar of Defense

Yesterday, I introduced you to ten members of Islamic Jihad that were killed during Operation Pillar of Defense. This morning I introduced you to a Salafi Jihadist who died during the conflict.

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Now, I introduce you to three members of the Popular Resistance Committees who died during the conflict as well as a member of Islamic Jihad who has succumbed to his wounds.

Arkan Harbi Abu Kmail

Ibrahim Mahmoud al-Hawajri

The third member of the PRC to have died during Operation Pillar of Defense was Mohammed Abdul Rahman Amer Aayesh. 

Mahmoud Sami Shaat

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Meet Ahmed Nahal, A Salafi Jihadist Killed During Operation Pillar of Defense

Yesterday, I introduced you to ten members of Islamic Jihad that were killed during Operation Pillar of Defense.

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Today, I introduce you to a single terrorist - Ahmed Nahal. Nahal, who I am fairly certain was formerly a member of Hamas, is a Salafi-Jihadist.

Here is video from the IDF of the airstrike that eliminated Nahal.

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Posters in Gaza Thank Iran for Weapons and Money

PalToday reports that posters are being put up in Gaza thanking Iran for giving money and weapons to Hamas and Islamic Jihad

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In related news, Hamas officials are meeting Sudanese officials in Lebanon.

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Yasir Arafat Exhumed, Results to Come in Months

I was a skeptic that this would actually happen, but it has.

Swiss, French and Russian forensic experts took samples from the remains of the late leader Yasser Arafat on Tuesday morning without having to remove the corpse from the grave, according to a statement by Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the official committee investigating Arafat’s death.

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“Procedures to take samples from the corpse of the martyr Yasser Arafat went as planned,” said the statement. “The Russian, French and Swiss experts took the required samples from the corpse without having to remove the remains from its place and with the approval of all the experts,” it added.

DPA reports that “The results of the tests are expected to be known by the end of the year at the latest.” Other reports suggest that it will take around three months for the results to come out.

Update: Palestinian officials say that if they determine that Arafat was murdered then they will take Israel to the ICC.

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Meet 10 Islamic Jihad Terrorists Killed by Israel During Operation Pillar of Defense

During Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel killed at least 10 members of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

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The terror group has since released a number of posters for those killed. Below these posters are individual photos of the terrorists.

Ayman Rafiq Hassan Eslim

Mohammed Mahmoud Yassin

Tamer Khaled al-Himri

Saif al-Din Mahmoud Sadiq

Mohammed Riad Asad Shamallakh

Ramez Najeeb Harb

Mohammed Abed Rabbu Yousef Bader

Mohammed Mousa (Imad) Abu Eisha

Hassan Yousef al-Ostaz

Ibrahim Shihada

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