1) At the JISS, Dr Uzi Rubin examines the question of ‘Will the Rocket Threat from Jenin Match the Threat from Gaza?’.
“The recent wave of Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israelis in Judea and Samaria that commenced a year ago includes an old/new tactic: the attempted launching of homemade rockets from the Jenin area toward Israeli communities in the neighboring Gilboa district. […]
The first incident occurred on June 26, when the local Hamas cell in Jenin announced the launching of two rockets targeting Moshav Ram On, a nearby Israeli community. […] Seven similar incidents were reported since then, the latest on August 15.”
2) MEMRI documents Palestinian Authority media presentation of terrorists as ‘children’.
“In reporting about young Palestinians who were involved in terror activity against Israel and were killed by the Israeli security forces, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its media – and following them also media in the world and in Israel – often presents them as innocent children or youths who were murdered or executed in cold blood. The Palestinian media obscures the fact that they were members of terror organizations like the Lion’s Den, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) or even Fatah’s own military wing, and deliberately omits any mention of the circumstances in which they were killed, namely, while carrying out armed operations against Israelis.”
3) At the JCPA, Yoni Ben Menachem reports on internal Fatah politics.
“Following a series of delays, the Fatah movement’s Revolutionary Council has set December 17, 2023, as the date for the movement’s 8th conference in Ramallah. […]
The decision comes amid a heated leadership transition phase, with Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary-General of the PLO Executive Committee, actively consolidating his standing within the movement. Concurrently, he seeks to secure regional backing to position himself as the primary contender to succeed PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas after his exit from the political stage.”
4) At the INSS, Eden Kaduri, Yehoshua Kalisky and Tal Avraham provide analysis on ‘Rebuilding the Syrian Military: The Threat to Israel’.
“Over the past year, the Syrian military, which was severely weakened due to the civil war, has undergone accelerated reconstruction processes. This coincides with the civilian reconstruction in Syria, and necessarily proceeds at its expense. Although the Syrian military faces many challenges and is far from posing an immediate threat to Israel, these reconstruction efforts demand attention; some have already created potential strategic threats to Israel: on the conventional side – missiles, UAVs, and air defense systems; and on the nonconventional side – chemical weapons offensive capabilities and, potentially, the drive to develop nuclear capabilities.”
