BICOM

What happened: Overnight at least nine rockets were fired towards southern Israel from the Gaza Strip.

• Eight of the rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome anti-missile defence system, with one landing in an open field.
• In response the IDF “struck three sites and a number of military posts” belonging to Hamas, among the targets were weapons manufacturing and storage sites.
• The rocket fired was preceded by clashes on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, when police entered al Aqsa mosque to arrest and remove over 350 young men who had locked themselves inside the mosque. Police described how “masked juveniles smuggled fireworks, clubs and stones into the mosque and violently barricaded themselves inside.”
• On Tuesday an IDF soldier was severely injured and a second soldier lightly injured in a stabbing attack at Tzrifin Junction, in central Israel. During a physical struggle the assailant tried to steal the weapon of one of the soldiers. He was eventually overpowered by civilians and taken into police custody.
• In a separate incident an IDF soldier was moderately injured after being shot during riots in Beit Ummar near Hebron early Wednesday morning.

Context: The rockets were most likely fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), however Israel responded by striking Hamas positions, as it is Hamas that has overall control and responsibility for the Gaza Strip.

• For further background, please see our recent anaylsis.
• Conventional thinking remains that while Hamas supports attacks emanating from the West Bank, it has a vested interest in keeping the Gaza Strip relatively quiet.
• So far this year there have been at least 24 rockets fired out of the Gaza Strip on seven separate occasions.
• At a traditional pre Passover toast yesterday, the head of Shin Bet Security Service Ronen Bar revealed that the Shin Bet has prevented more than 200 “significant” terrorist attacks since the beginning of the year. Bar said, “only 3 months have passed and this year over 200 significant attacks have been thwarted, including about 150 shooting attacks, 20 bomb attacks, car-rammings, suicide bombings, kidnappings and more. Unfortunately, we’ve also suffered 15 painful losses.”
• The police entered the al Aqsa mosque for the second time this Ramadan after an agreement had been reached with the Islamic Waqf that no one would be permitted to remain in the mosque overnight.
• The disturbances on the Temple Mount and rocket fire from Gaza add to an already tense security outlook. Earlier this week Israel’s sovereignty was breached by two unmanned ariel vehicles (UAV) penetrating Israeli air space. One UAV, suspected of being Iranian, was downed after crossing from Syria. A second UAV was launched out of the Gaza Strip in the south.
• There is growing concern that Israel’s enemies sense an opportunity to attack in the light of the internal divisions over the proposed judicial reform.  The concern is compounded by Iran directing improved coordination between Hezbollah, Hamas and PIJ.
• This last week has seen extensive activity in Syria, with four separate air strikes attributed to Israel.  The targets included several components of Iran’s military network including weapons storage and facilities involved in their precision guided missile programme.

Looking ahead: With Passover beginning tonight coinciding with the beginning of the third week of Ramadan, security forces remain on high alert.