issue no 40

Issue No: 40 23rd April, 2013

Palestinian Cultural Organization Malaysia (PCOM) 1



Read in this report:

Samer Issawi to end his hunger strike (P.4) Palestinians mark Prisoners Day (P.5)

US allocates $220 million for Israeli

missile defence system (P.5) Hamas: Jerusalem under real danger

(P.6)

Hamas denounces US effort to set back

Erdogan's visit to Gaza (P.6)

Israel and the electronic war (P.8)



CONTENTS

NEWS OF PALESTINE

Samer Issawi to end his hunger strike........................................................................................ 4

Russian newspaper: Israelis infect prisoners before their release .............................................. 4

Palestinians mark Prisoners Day ................................................................................................ 5

US allocates $220 million for Israeli missile defence system ................................................... 6

Hamas: Jerusalem under real danger ......................................................................................... 6

Hamas denounces US effort to set back Erdogan's visit to Gaza .............................................. 7

Haniyeh meets with the Crown Prince of Qatar in Doha........................................................... 7

ARTICLES & ANALYSES

Israel and the electronic war ...................................................................................................... 8



After imposing his conditions on Israeli negotiators

Samer Issawi to end his hunger strike

23/04/2013

Long term hunger striker Samer Issawi has agreed on a deal with the Israelis to end his hunger strike in exchange for his release before end of the year, the Palestinian Prisoners Society revealed yesterday. “Issawi accepted an offer presented by the Israeli negotiators, on the condition that a written agreement is signed in the presence of lawyers and Red Cross representatives. The deal would entail serving six months in prison in exchange for ending his hunger strike” the source added.

Israel's Ofer military court has held an "urgent" hearing for Samer Issawi on Monday

after he decided to stop taking vitamin supplements to protest dissatisfaction with ongoing negotiations with the Israelis about his release. Israeli negotiators have been visiting Issawi at Kaplan Medical Center and pressuring him to accept proposals to end his hunger strike, lawyer Jawad Boulos said last week. Issawi has been on hunger strike for over 265 days and has so far refused all offers by Israel to be exiled, insisting on being released to his home in Jerusalem.

Source: Agencies

________________________________________________________________

Russian newspaper: Israelis infect prisoners before their release

19/04/2013

The Israeli prison service gives Palestinian prisoners prostatitis-infected injections before they are released, Russian newspaper Pravda revealed on Friday.

Pravda reported former female prisoner Rania al-Saqqa saying that prisoners suffer from

NEWS OF PALESTINE



"serious and chronic diseases like bladder cancer and liver disorders," likely caused by the unknown injections prisoners receive before they are released. The newspaper also pointed to the policy of deliberate medical neglect and torture adopted by the Israeli prison administration against the Palestinian patient prisoners inside jails.

"A suspiciously large number of Palestinian prisoners are suffering from incurable diseases or permanent disabilities as a result of the critical situation in prisons that they suffer at the hands of Israeli regime," the paper revealed.

In a related context, the Israeli Occupation Authorities released the sick Palestinian prisoner Muhammad al-Taj on Thursday after a serious deterioration in his health.

Al-Taj told the media from his bed in the medical complex in Ramallah that the Israeli Authorities decided to release him only when they realized that he would die any moment.

Source: Agencies

__________________________________________________________________________________

Palestinians mark Prisoners Day

18/04/2013

Rallies have been planned in West Bank and Gaza to mark Palestinian Prisoners' Day in honor of the thousands of Palestinians who are being detained in Israeli jails.

Central to the demonstrations is the fate of at least five of the prisoners, including Samer Issawi, who have been on hunger strike.

As Palestinians commemorate Prisoners' Day, the statistics show that Israel is holding almost 5,000 political prisoners in its jails. According to the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in “Israel” (Adalah), the actual number of "security prisoners" is 4,804; this includes 14 women, 235 children, 170 with

Israeli citizenship, 177 from occupied East Jerusalem, 2 from the occupied Golan Heights, 536 from Gaza and 4,099 from the occupied West Bank.

A report issued by Adalah confirms that the data was supplied by the Israeli Prison Service on 10th April 2013. This shows that 1,224 prisoners are being held in custody pending legal action; 159 are being held without charge or trial under so-called "administrative detention"; and 546 are serving life sentences.

Meanwhile, head of Hamas's political bureau Khaled Mashaal said that his Movement would keep working hard to liberate all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, renewing his Movement vow to uphold the resistance as an option to restore the usurped land and rights.

Mashaal made his remarks in a speech he gave over the phone during a festival held on Wednesday evening by the Hamas Movement in the Gaza Strip on the anniversary of the prisoner day and the assassination of its leader Abdul-Aziz Al-Rantisi.

Source: Agencies



US allocates $220 million for Israeli missile defence system

17/04/2013

At a time of serious economic crisis in America, the US government has allocated $220 million to Israel for its "Iron Dome" missile defence system. Documents linked to the US Department of Defence budget, reviewed by Agence France Presse yesterday, reveal that the US allocation will be made in the 2014 fiscal year despite budget cuts.

Moreover, the Department of Defence, which spent $204 million in 2011 and $70 million in 2012 on Iron Dome, also wants to allocate an additional $167 million in the 2015 fiscal year.

Recently-appointed Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel promised the former Israeli Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak, last month that Washington would continue to fund Israel's anti-missile systems, including Iron Dome, despite America's severe budget constraints. The US Senate, dominated by Republicans, approved the funding of the Iron Dome system in March 2012 for up to $680 million.

US military aid to Israel amounts to $3 billion a year, and, according to US law, aims to provide Israel with a "qualitative military edge" over other countries in the region.

Source: MEMO

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Hamas: Jerusalem under real danger

18/04/2013

A report issued by the Information Office of Hamas on Thursday stressed that the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem are exposed to a real danger aimed to obliterate their landmarks.

The report said that the international silence has encouraged the occupation to intensify its excavations in the Magharba Gate, which is an integral part of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Hamas also

pointed to the confiscation of the land of the historical cemetery of Ma'man- Allah.

The report, which monitors Israeli attacks in the period from March 16 to April 15, revealed that the occupation has started establishing a biblical garden, a landfill and a network infrastructure on a confiscated Jerusalemite land that has an area of 1232 dunums, near Al-Aqsa Mosque from its eastern side. Hamas' report monitors the Israeli continued campaign of confiscation of Palestinian lands. It also documented the continued escalation of the settlers' attacks on Palestinian citizens, lands, properties and holy places, adding that these attacks include physical abuse, confiscation of lands, provocative marches and repeated raids into Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Source: PIC



Hamas denounces US effort to set back Erdogan's visit to Gaza

22/04/2013

The Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine - Hamas - denounced on Sunday the American call on Turkish Prime Minister Recpep Tayyip Erdogan to postpone his visit to the Gaza Strip. "This is clear evidence of the American involvement in reinforcing the siege on Gaza," Hamas spokesman Sami abu-Zuhri said.

While in Istanbul, Kerry suggested on Sunday that the Turkish Prime Minister postpone his visit to Gaza scheduled next month. After meeting Erdogan, Kerry told reporters: "With

respect to the Prime Minister's potential visit to Gaza, we have told the Prime Minister that we really think it would be better delayed and that it shouldn't take place at this point in time for a number of different reasons.

PA's Abbas was in Istanbul over the weekend to also ask Erdogan to cancel his planned visit to Gaza. Abbas and Fatah believe that a visit of any officials to Gaza is a step that reinforces internal division.

Member of Hamas’ politburo, Dr. Mousa Abu Marzook said that anyone who, perversely, believes that the continuation of the blockade of Gaza by stopping important visitors will somehow help the reconciliation process is "very much mistaken". He pointed out that Erdogan's visit to Gaza will contribute to breaking the blockade and putting an end to Israeli aggression.

Source: MEMO

__________________________________________________________________________________

Haniyeh meets with the Crown Prince of Qatar in Doha

21/04/2013

The Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh met on Sunday with the Crown Prince of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in the Qatari capital Doha.…………………………… The Palestinian government spokesman Taher

al-Nunu confirmed that Haniyeh discussed with the Qatari Crown Prince the issues of reconciliation, Jerusalem, prisoners and the reconstruction of Gaza. Nunu said in a statement that the Qatari crown prince announced that his country is to donate $11 million to build the Palace of Justice in Gaza, in addition to the Qatari grant for the reconstruction.

Haniyeh has also welcomed the Qatari initiative to hold a mini-summit for national reconciliation in Cairo, and hailed Qatar's attitudes towards the Palestinian case and people.

Source: PIC



Israel and the electronic war

By: Saleh Al-Na’ami *

Despite the wide scale reaction caused by recent electronic attacks on Israel

which targeted ministry websites and government facilities on the internet, it

may be asserted that this attack is far from being electronic warfare of

significant concern to the government and its strategic think tanks which

work around the clock to protect the country from harm.

What stirs fear in Israel is facing an electronic

attack that directly targets its strategic facilities

connected to the internet, such as infrastructure

(electricity, water, transportation, and banking ...

etc.), leadership committees, military control

networks and satellites as well as all advanced

technologies connected to the internet.

Scenario of Israeli panic

Israel believes in a hypothesis that says the

higher the level of technology that is used in its

infrastructure facilities and sensitive civil and

military institutions, the higher the chances of

them becoming susceptible to "hostile"

electronic attack. This, it is believed, will not

only bring to a standstill the functioning of these

facilities and institutions and lead to paralysis in

the life of the state, but could even lead to the

death of a large number of civilians and

militants.

It is very important that we give a small example

that explains the size of damages that Israel is

afraid it may incur as a result of an electronic

attack on its infrastructure such as the damage

that could result from attacks on the

computerized control that manages traffic lights.

A number of Israeli officials warned that any

hostile side that had the ability to access

electronic control panels in the traffic system

could cause the death of hundreds of Israelis in

minutes; settings of these controls could be

changed activating green lights in opposite

directions at the same time, which would lead to

the death and injury of a large number of people

in sure-to-happen traffic accidents.

Damages resulting from attacks on the

computerized controls that manage traffic lights

are considered little as compared to possible

damage that would result from targeting more

vital facilities. For example, Israel is afraid that

"hostile" entities may be able to access

computerized controls at Ben Gurion airport and

cause crashes between planes that are taking off

and others that are landing, or to jam systems

that control the height of planes through take off

so they would crash with each other or with

natural obstacles.

Using the same mechanisms, Israel's supply of

electricity, water and various communications

services could also be disturbed. What applies to

civil facilities can also apply to various military

facilities which are controlled by computers,

specifically military manufacturing facilities.

For example, Israel fears that the monitoring

system at a factory that manufactures military

armour would be disturbed in a manner that

could lead to its explosion, in addition to

influencing control units tied to air defence in

order to target Israeli military or civil planes.

Israel is also panicking about the possibility of

"catastrophic" results due to electronic war in

which "hostile" parties could access

computerized systems which mange

petrochemical factories leading to unwanted

reactions that could result in clouds of poisonous

gases and lead to large numbers of people dying,

in addition to the environmental catastrophes that

could result.

ARTICLES & ANALYSIS



Offensive strategy

Israel realizes that the scenario of terror

mentioned above could be realized if someone

possessed the electronic abilities that could allow

it to carry out this level of hacking, and it

believes such abilities are only available to

countries that have major capabilities in the

electronic field.

Thus, it thinks that initiatives taken by hackers

usually do not succeed in accessing

computerized control boards that are associated

with infrastructure or the different military

systems because hackers are not qualified to

hack into the defence mechanisms linked to such

systems.

Israel's sensitivity and fear regarding the dangers

of an electronic war are mainly due to the fact

that it understands the hidden potential in

electronic war, as it practices this kind of war on

a significant scale in an attempt to achieve

tactical and strategic goals.

It is no longer a secret that Israel, in cooperation

with the United States, managed in 2009 to

disable the centrifuge on which Iran depends for

enriching uranium by using the "Stuxnet" virus.

Israeli Minister of War, Moshe Ya'alon, did not

hesitate to admit that Israel was responsible for

the electronic attack which sensitive Iranian

computerized systems were subjected to in June

2012 via the "Flame" virus.

Moreover, in September 2006 Israel hacked into

the control panels responsible for directing

Syrian air defences the night Israeli planes

launched an air attack against the Syrian nuclear

facility near Deir ez-Zor in north-eastern Syria. It

disabled these systems which lessened the

chances of exposing raiding planes to Syrian air

defences.

In addition to this violent use of it capabilities,

there is also the "smooth" use of electronic

warfare which Israel has been working on for

years. Members of Israeli intelligence employ

social networks to recruit agents by using false

identities. Data provided by Palestinian security

services confirm that based on the interrogations

of people who confessed to collaborating with

Israel, it was found that they were recruited to

work for Israel after having virtual relationships

with Intelligence members who pose as

Palestinians on social networks.

It is clear that electronic warfare has become one

of the main tools used by Israel to achieve its

strategic goals without getting involved in an

open confrontation with targeted sides. An

example of this is the attacks on computers at

Iranian nuclear facilities as it would not be easy

to provide concrete evidence that proves the

responsibility of a certain side for hacking into

these systems.

Cyberspace has become a major part of Israel's

offensive strategy and is now employed in the

military efforts adopted by Tel Aviv as part of its

comprehensive strategy. The Israeli army took a

major step in 2009 when it announced that

cyberspace had become one of its strategic

operational fields.

Thus, the army established an "electronic

warfare committee" which is part of the Israeli

staff army leadership and whose task it is to

coordinate and plan electronic warfare

operations, and in doing so, is copying the US

which has already established an "electronic war

committee".

Defence strategy

Israel, which pays so much attention to

employing electronic warfare in its military

efforts, has realized that one day it could be

attacked by the same mechanisms. To avoid such

a scenario of terror, Israel has formed a

comprehensive defence strategy to use in

cyberspace.

On May 18th, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin

Netanyahu, announced the establishment of "the

national committee for electronic warfare" with

the main aim of taking defence measure which

can provide protection for cyberspace and

protection for infrastructure and civil and

military facilities connected to cyberspace.

According to the announcement, the aim of

establishing this committee was to expand the

defence capabilities for dealing with any type of

electronic warfare launched by either countries

or organizations.

This committee is responsible for all military and

civil wings participating in this effort and works

in coordination with Shabak's "official authority

for protecting information" and the "Tehilla"

company which provides web browsing services

to the ministries and their institutions.



Those working in the committee realize that the

biggest challenge facing them is designing a

comprehensive electronic defence system

knowing that formulating such a system requires

prior coordination and full cooperation between

civil and military institutions, unlike in the

traditional military field which is controlled

solely by the security institution.

The new committee works on the principle that

coordination and cooperation between civil and

security institutions is very important, because it

is difficult to differentiate between civil and

military infrastructure in cyberspace. At the

same time, and even though the security

institution is the one directing electronic warfare

against external sides, it realizes that improving

defensive abilities requires cooperation and

coordination with the private sector, especially

advanced technical companies considering that

they have large skills and capabilities in the field

of cyberspace.

Interest in electronic warfare in Israel has

reached the point that there are now calls within

the security institute and the external and

security committee of the Knesset to re-

formulate Israeli security doctrine, which was

first formulated in the early fifties, so as to fit

with cyberspace warfare now.

Finally, the outperformance of some parties in

the field of electronic warfare depends mainly on

Israel's ability to employ and use its own

resources, mainly human resources. So if there

was an Arab or Islamic party concerned with

retaliation against Israel in the field of electronic

warfare, it would have to invest in the

preparation of suitable human teams in suitable

learning environments so as to guarantee the

required outcomes.

Needless to say, the national democratic political

regimes are those keen on doing all they can to

employ the internal resources of their countries.

* The author is a Palestinian writer. This article was translated by MEMO from the Arabic which first appeared on Al Jazeera, 12/4/2013

issue no 40

Documents

palestinian prisoners

israeli prison service

israeli missile defence

us effort

russian newspaper pravda

real danger

electronic war

articles analyses israel