But top Hamas officials in the Gaza Strip did not issue a statement, leading to questions about whether Hamas sponsored the attack or was just claiming Abu Srour as an operative. “The firebomb miraculously bounced off the wall of the home, averting a major disaster”, the Shin Bet said. It also accused group members of throwing firebombs into a Palestinian home in November while family members slept, and lobbing Israeli army gas canisters into another home in December while a Palestinian couple and baby slept.
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A Palestinian man stands next to a graffiti reading “Revenge”, after a house was set on fire by Jewish settlers in the West Bank, July 31, 2015.
The Shin Bet added that those arrested had “confessed to carrying out widespread terror activities, which included attempts to harm inhabited Palestinian homes, attacking minorities, arson, and vandalising Palestinian vehicles”, and that the suspects had allegedly also hurled rocks from a passing vehicle at Palestinian cars.
According to the Shin Bet, the members of the group were behind a June 20, 2015, attack on a Palestinian farmer whom they had beaten with sticks and subjected to tear gas.
Reflecting the general mood among the public, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that “our soldiers are not murderers”.
In the last half year, Palestinian attacks have killed 28 Israelis and two visiting USA citizens.
One of the women, Shlomit Krigman, 24, later died from her wounds. No injuries were reported, but Ban condemned all attacks and called on all parties to avoid further escalation that would jeopardize the lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians. Police are still investigating the bus bombing, which wounded 21 people.
Israeli medical sources said six people wounded by the blast were still being treated in hospital, the rest had been released by late Wednesday. Bernie Sanders sparred on American policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The EU also asked that the Hamas authorities in Gaza abide by the decision of the Palestinian Authority, which only governs over Palestinian communities in Judea and Samaria and not in Gaza, to implement a moratorium on the death penalty.
Netanyahu also said Monday that a seaport would not be established in Gaza, adding that Gaza would only have access to Israel’s Ashdod port, enabling Israel to inspect any incoming cargo.
Israel says the violence is fueled by a campaign of Palestinian incitement compounded on social media sites that glorify and encourage attacks. Palestinians say the violence is due to a lack of hope for gaining independence after years of failed peace efforts.
“The creation of new facts on the ground through demolitions and settlement building raises questions about whether Israel’s ultimate goal is in fact to drive Palestinians out of certain parts of the West Bank, thereby undermining any prospect of transition to a viable Palestinian state”, he said.
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Hamas controls the Gaza Strip and has fought three wars with Israel, which alongside the United States, considers the resistance group a terror organization.
