03-Dec-15: Thursday morning north Jerusalem shooting attack - gunman is a PA officer

The PA shooter and his current-model Hyundai sedan from
which he launched this morning's attack [Source]

While we have been away from our desks and busy with life, the lethal Arab-on-Israeli violence has continued along lines similar to those of the past two months.

This morning (Thursday) around 11:00, at the Hizme security checkpoint on Jerusalem's north side, two Israeli men were injured in a shooting attack, each suffering moderate wounds. One was a male of 47, the other a uniformed IDF soldier.

Both were hit when a Palestinian Arab opened fire on them; according to Ynet's account, the shooting was done from a moving vehicle near the checkpoint, while Times of Israel, quoting IDF sources, says the gunman stopped his car at Hizme, got out and only then, standing on firm ground and presumably with his unsuspecting victims in his sights, opened fire. Both news sources agree that alert Israeli service personnel at the checkpoint shot back at him, and he was killed on the spot.

The more seriously injured of the two Israelis was rushed to the emergency room of Jerusalem's Hadassah Ein Karem hospital for treatment.

There has been considerable media attention here around the identity of the dead gunman. Haaretz, quoting Palestinian Arab sources, says

the assailant behind the attack is Mazan Hasan Ariva, an intelligence officer in the Palestinian Authority. Palestinian Authority and Palestinian security forces have yet to respond to the report.

Ma'an News Agency, an Arab press service based in Bethlehem, transliterating his name differently, says

The Palestinian liaison department identified the Palestinian as Mazin Hasan Ureiba from Abu Dis. Ureiba was an officer in the Palestinian Authority general intelligence service and a father of four, sources told Ma'an.

The headline of that report, in accordance with Palestinian Arab journalistic conventions ("Never own up to anything") calls this an "alleged shooting attack". And on Channel 2's 8:00 pm Thursday night evening news, a cousin of the shooter is interviewed, disputing that Ariva/Ureiba did any of the things that the Israelis have charged.

"Alleged" attack: For Ma'an, headlines are an integral
part of the war [Source]

Ma'an's Arabic edition gives his name as Oraiba Mazen Hassan [مازن حسن عريبة]. Searching the Arabic media via that search term, we learned [here] that Fatah - whose head is Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president - has declared three days of mourning and mass strike in Abu Dis, the gunman's home-town as well as asking for community support to help the widow and her children.

For anyone paying attention, initiatives like this make a mockery of Mahmoud Abbas' very public claims that his "Palestinian people adhere to the renouncement of violence and rejection and condemning of terrorism in all its forms" [mentioned in yesterday's post: "01-Dec-15: PA president: When the subject is terror, double-talk and blatant hypocrisy work"]. It's hard to blame the 80 year-old kleptocrat, who has devoted a lifetime to the dark science of speaking out of both sides of his very political mouth at the same time, for trying. After all, most of the time, it works. But why he is taken at face value by clever news reporting people - that, to our way of thinking, remains a real puzzle.

How unusual is it to find that salaried members of the PA armed forces are engaged in acts of terrorism like this morning's?

The answer, as the facts considered in a landmark ruling, Sokolow v PLO, in February 2015 show, is "not very". In that long-running litigation, started in 2004, the jury in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York, found the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization liable for damages suffered by American families whose relatives were injured or killed in attacks in Israel:

The plaintiffs argued that the two organizations supported the attacks—whether through direct involvement or assistance in the form of material support or training. They also allegedly paid those who carried out the attacks and continue to compensate perpetrators who were imprisoned, as well as the families of those who died. Since the plaintiffs are all U.S. citizens, the case was tried in this country under the Antiterrorism Act signed into law by then president Bill Clinton in 1996, which gives American courts jurisdiction over acts of terrorism that harm U.S. citizens abroad...  ["U.S. Jury Finds Palestinian Organizations Liable in Terrorism Case", Newsweek, February 23, 2015]

In the spirit of thinking about how badly the Palestinian Arabs have been served for decades by their own ruling class, it's worth noting that the gunman's bosses' bosses' boss, the head of the PA's general intelligence service, Majid Faraj, was charged in a January 2015 complaint to the International Criminal Court, with torture and crimes against humanity in violation of the Rome Statute. Naturally enough, his victims are not Israelis but fellow Palestinian Arabs.

12-Dec-12: Scenes from the front lines, courtesy of the Tayar Report

Palestinian Arab attackers, equipped with rocks and Molotov cocktails

The chronology below is a continuation of the reports we have published in recent months based on information received via the Tayar Security Report, with some editing and annotating by us. Yehudit Tayar produces her invaluable bulletins on the basis of first-responder, police and army reports.

Friday November 30, 2012

• Halhul Bypass Road adjacent to Highway 60: An Israeli vehicle is attacked by rock-throwing Arabs at the exact spot where Asher Palmer and his infant son Yonatan HY"D were murdered in September 2011 ["25-Sep-11: "Only" rock throwers - but now a father and his infant son are dead"] This time, one person is lightly injured and given medical care at the scene.

Sunday December 2, 2012

• Near Anbata, east of Tul Karem: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs; damage is limited this time to property loss.
• The Benjamin region close to Hizma: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.
• Between Hawara Checkpoint and Tapuah Junction: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock and Molotov cocktail attack by Arabs. There is resultant property damage.
• Between the community of Adam and the Hizma Crossing in the Benjamin region near the northern entrance to Jerusalem: Ongoing heavy rock attacks on Israeli vehicles result in a traffic accident
• South of Nablus/Shechem near Hawara: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.
• Route 443 in the Benjamin region, a major intercity highway running between the coastal plane and Jerusalem: In the vicinity of Bet Horon and the village of A-Tira: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.
• Between the Arab village of Azun and the Israeli community of Ma'aleh Shomron: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.

Monday December 3, 2012

• Between Shavei Shomron and Einav in the Shomron region: An Arab driver deliberately crashes his vehicle into an IDF military jeep, causing the jeep to crash and overturn. Four security personnel re injured.  The Arab driver, armed with an ax, approaches the Israelis and is shot and killed. [See also our post: "3-Dec-12 [UPDATED]: Ax-wielding Palestinian Arab is stopped by Israeli soldiers this morning"]

Tuesday December 4, 2012

• Near El Arub on the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway: Two Molotov cocktails are hurled at Israeli vehicles. No serious injuries or damage.

Wednesday December 5, 2012

• Near Beit El in the Benjamin region: Two Molotov cocktails are burled at an Israeli passenger bus. No serious injuries or damage.
• Massive rock attacks occur near Ma'aleh Shomron, and in the vicinity of Ariel.

Thursday December 6, 2012

• At Shavei Shomron Junction: An IDF jeep comes under attack by Arabs armed with Molotov cocktails.
• Near Hawara, an Israel bus carrying school students comes under rock attack by Arabs, causing property damage.
• At the Hizma Crossing in the Benjamin region: the driver of an Israeli bus reports his vehicle came under rock attack the communities of Rachelim and Eli.
• On the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway near Beit Ummar: Arabs subject Israeli vehicles, including buses, to sustained rock and boulder attacks. Though there are no injuries,there is significant property damage, including damage to vehicles.
• Hevron: In Kikar Hashoter ("Policeman's Square") IDF soldiers come under attack by a mob of some 150 Arabs armed with rocks and Molotov cocktails. The soldiers disperse the attackers.
• Hevron: An IDF patrol is attacked by police officers of the Palestinian Authority using their fists, while non-uniformed Arabs throw rocks. The IDF force retreats under a hail of rocks.

Friday December 7, 2012

• West of Nablus/Shechem: Violence directed at Israelis by Arabs. Two IDF soldiers are injured by rocks hurled at them; one suffers a suspected fracture of the arm. Another suffers facial injuries and lacerations. A third soldier suffers burn injuries from an exploding grenade thrown at him. IDF soldiers from the 76 Brigade of the Engineering Corps are evacuated to Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikvah for treatment.
• On the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway at Beit Ummar: Ongoing violent attacks by Arabs directed against Israeli vehicles result in one driver suffering head injury from rocks hurled at her vehicle; she manages to continue driving until she reaches Karmei Zur where she is treated by an IDF ambulance crew and taken to hospital by Magen David Adom. Damage is caused to Israeli vehicles including buses. IDF forces disperse the agitators into the village.

Saturday December 8, 2012

• North-west of Ramallah near El Moiyer: Explosive devices are found on the road and inside a pipe on the road. IDF bomb squad sappers are called in and they safely dispose of the threats. 
• On the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway at Beit Ummar: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs.

Sunday December 9, 2012

• Azun Junction: A Molotov cocktail is thrown by Arabs. No injuries or damage.
• The road running between Har Homa and Tekoa in Jerusalem's southern suburbs: An Israeli bus comes under rock attack by Arabs near Herodian Square, causing damage but no injuries.
• Near Azun: Israeli vehicles and buses are attacked by Arabs armed with rocks and Molotov cocktails.
• Near Hawara: Molotov cocktails is hurled at an Israeli vehicle.
• The tunnel road running south from Jerusalem and under Bethlehem: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs; no injuries but there is property damage.

Tuesday December 11, 2012

• Between Nili and Na'aleh in the Benjamin region: Molotov cocktail is hurled at an Israeli vehicle.

Wednesday December 12, 2012 (today)

• North of Ofra in the Mateh Binyamin region: Several Israeli vehicles come under rock attack by Arabs; no injuries but there is property damage.
• On the Gush Etzion-Hevron highway near Beit Ummar: Arabs subject an Israeli passenger bus to rock and boulder attack.

Postscript from Yehudit Tayar: "These reports are translated and publicized by Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron with the clearance and confirmation of the IDF. Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron is a voluntary emergency medical organization with over 500 volunteer doctors, paramedics, medics who are on call 24/7 and work along with the IDF, 669 IAF Airborn Rescue, the security officers and personal throughout Yesha and the Jordan Valley, and with MDA. We, the volunteers of Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron go out to rescue anyone who needs our emergency medical assistance; including civilians, military and Arabs also those within the PA territories. (with IDF presence) To us a life is precious and we go out at risk leaving home and family or stopping on the road to rescue anyone in need."