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* Iran-backed Hamas says it killed four Israeli civilians on. Aug. 31, 2010
* Two more civilians were wounded in another attack on the West Bank on Sept. 1, 2010.
* Attacks intended to derail Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that began Sept. 2, 2010.

Hamas seized control of Gaza in June 2007 in a bloody battle against PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah Party. Hamas and other terror groups then promptly turned Gaza into a launching pad for attacking Israel with thousands of rockets, missiles and mortars.

In late 2008, Hamas and its allies fired hundreds of rockets and mortars at Israeli cities and towns for several weeks, prompting Israel to launch a defensive operation from December 2008-January 2009. Since then, the number of Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks against Israel has fallen dramatically.

Timeline of terror attacks perpetrated by Hamas since its violent takeover of Gaza:

2007
Aug. 21: Hamas claims responsibility for firing 25 mortar shells at Gaza-Israeli border crossings.

2008:

Jan. 15-28: 170 rockets and 83 mortars launched from Gaza into Israel’s western Negev.
Feb. 4: Two suicide bombers kill one woman, wound 10 others in Dimona.
Feb. 8: Hamas claims responsibility for rockets that targeted Ashkelon power station, which provides the Gaza Strip with most of its electricity.
Feb. 27: Israel kills five Iran-trained Hamas operatives as they planned a major terrorist attack. Hamas then fires 50 rockets at western Negev towns and villages.
Feb. 28: 20 rockets land in and around Sderot. Father of four is killed.
Feb. 29: A three-year-old Gaza girl killed when rocket launched falls short of Israeli target.
March 2: Iranian-made Grad missile hits Ashkelon, more than 10 miles from Gaza.
June 5: – Amnon Rosenberg, 51, killed, four co-workers wounded when mortar bomb explodes outside factory in Kibbutz Nir-Oz.
June 12: Three Grads, 18 Kassam rockets, and 22 mortars fired. Two Israelis wounded.
June 16: Man wounded when rocket lands near Ashkelon’s city market.
Nov- Dec 2008: Hamas, affiliated terror groups, fire 190 rockets, 138 mortar shells into Israel.
December 2008: Dozens of rockets hit Israel daily, prompting Israel to launch defensive operation on Hamas in Gaza on December 27.
Dec. 27: 58-year-old Netivot resident killed when rocket hits apartment.
Dec. 29: Hani al-Mahdi, 27, a Bedouin killed, 16 wounded when Grad lands in Ashkelon.
Dec. 29: 39-year-old woman killed, several wounded when Grad hits Ashdod, 23 miles north of Gaza
Dec. 29: Resident of the Druze town Daliat el-Carmel killed by mortar round near Nahal Oz.

2009:

The following attacks were carried out by a variety of Gaza-based terror groups following Israel holds Hamas responsible as the governing authority of the Gaza Strip.

Feb.1: Some12 rockets, mortar bombs fired from Gaza wound three Israelis.
Feb. 3: Grad launched at Ashkelon.
Feb. 28: Advanced Grad hits school in Ashkelon. Two civilians wounded.
March 1: Twelve Kassams fired at Sderot from Gaza cause property damage.
May 19: Several Kassam rocket explode outside Sderot home.
May 22: Two Palestinian gunmen killed after planting explosives near Gaza’s security fence.
June 8: Palestinians fire at IDF force patrolling Israeli side of Gaza’s security fence.
Sept. 20: IDF kills two Palestinian gunmen planting explosives along Gaza’s security fence.

2010

June 14: Israeli police officer shot dead in West Bank, two others wounded.
March 18: 34-year-old Thai worker killed when Kassam hits moshav Netiv Ha’asara.
March 26: Two Israeli soldiers killed in exchange of fire with terrorists planting explosives.
July 30: Grad fired from Gaza lands in Ashkelon, damaging building.
Aug. 31: Palestinian terrorists opened fire on Israeli car in West Bank killing four.
Sept. 1: Two Israelis shot and wounded in ambush in West Bank.

www.TheIsraelProject.org

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

“We believe, Prime Minister and President, that you can succeed and we understand that this is in the national security interest of the United States that you do so, but we cannot and we will not impose a solution. Only you can make the decisions necessary to reach an agreement and secure a peaceful future for the Israeli and Palestinian people.

“And I want to conclude by just saying a few words directly to the people of the region. Your leaders may be sitting at the negotiating table, but you are the ones who will ultimately decide the future. You hold the future of your families, your communities, your people, this region in your hands. For the efforts here to succeed, we need your support and your patience. Today, as ever, people have to rally to the cause of peace and peace needs champions on every street corner and around every kitchen table.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

“President Abbas … I see in you a partner for peace. Together we can lead our people to a historic future that can put an end to claims and to conflict.

“Just as you expect us to be ready to recognize a Palestinian state as the nation state of the Palestinian people, we expect you to be prepared to recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. There are more than a million non-Jews living in Israel, the nation state of the Jewish people, who have full civil rights. There is no contradiction between the nation state that guarantees the national rights of the majority and guaranteeing the civil rights, the full civil equality, of the minority.

“President Abbas, I am fully aware and I respect your people’s desire for sovereignty. I’m convinced that it’s possible to reconcile that desire with Israel’s need for security.”

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas:

“Once again, we want to state our commitment to follow on all our engagements including security and ending incitement. And we call on the Israeli government to move forward with its commitment to end all settlement activity and completely lift the embargo over the Gaza Strip and end all form of incitement.

“Also, with respect to security, you do know, ladies and gentlemen, that we have security apparatuses that are still being built, that are still young, but that are doing everything that is expected from them. Yesterday we condemned the operations that were carried. We did not only condemn them, but we also followed the [perpetrators], and we were able to find the car that was used and to arrest those who sold and bought the car. And we will continue all our efforts to take security measures in order to find the [perpetrators]. We consider that security is of essence, is vital for both of us. And we cannot allow for anyone to do anything that would undermine your security and our security. And we therefore do not only condemn, but we keep on working seriously. Security is fundamental and very sensitive.”

www.TheIsraelProject.org

* Fears grow after two attacks this week killed four, wounded two
* Hamas, backed by Iran, tries to sabotage talks

JERUSALEM, Sept 2, 2010 – As Israeli and Palestinian leaders begin direct peace talks for the first time in almost two years, many of those who live and work in the Jerusalem area are expressing concern about their future security.

Most in Israel’s capital believe the negotiations will focus on settlements rather than guarantee their safety, The Israel Project found in a straw poll.

By entering the talks, Israel risks putting its security at risk, said taxi driver Victor Voroshinov.

“During the talks, our government will ask for aid from other nations but at the end of the day that money will go to the Palestinians, not to our security,” he said.

Israeli fears grew this week after two terror attacks left four Israeli civilians dead and two wounded. Iran-backed Hamas claimed responsibility.

“Two attacks against completely innocent people who just want to live in the Land of Israel. Now there are seven orphans. Will [Palestinian Authority President] Mahmoud Abbas care for them?” said Moshe Elyakim, an immigrant from France.

“No one can dictate to Israel what its security policy should be. The government must be able to defend its own citizens,” he added

Hamas’s role must be factored in when talking to the Palestinian Authority, according to Keren Nissan, a young Jerusalemite who works in higher education.

“Our partner here isn’t just the Palestinian Authority but also Hamas, which for some reason they’re choosing to sideline and not refer to, but it’s Hamas that’s causing us the problems at the same time,” said Nissan.

For Naomi Ziegenseil there is no question the talks will collapse.

“Hamas does what it wants and we can’t trust the Palestinian Authority,” said Ziegenseil, who volunteers at a Jerusalem charity.

www.TheIsraelProject.org

* Two Israelis shot as direct Palestinian-Israeli talks began on Thursday
* Abbas promises “to make these negotiations successful”
* Israeli deputy premier: latest terror attacks reminder of need to get peace talks on track

Two Israelis were shot in a second terror attack in as many days as the first direct peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians in almost two years began in Washington on Thursday, September 2. Iran-backed Hamas said it carried out the attack against Israeli civilians.

Gunmen opened fire on a young couple as they drove close to Ramallah. The husband was moderately wounded, his wife sustained minor injuries. The incident followed the killing of four Israelis in another roadside shooting on Tuesday, August 31.

The attacks were roundly condemned by Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, who spoke to reporters at a briefing organized by The Israel Project on Thursday in Israel. However, he said, they only reaffirm the need for a lasting peace deal.

“This is another illustration of the fragility of the situation here and another reminder of the need to get all of us on the track to peace,” said Meridor.

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chaired Thursday’s meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Both leaders spoke of their hopes ahead of the parley during a working dinner hosted by President Barack Obama and also attended by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah.

“We assure you, in the name of the PLO, that we will draw on years of experience in negotiations and benefit from the lessons learned to make these negotiations successful,” said Abbas.

He was responding to Netanyahu’s commitment “to find solutions… direct our courage, our thinking, and our decisions at those historic decisions that lie ahead.

The Israeli leader reminded his interlocutors that first and foremost for Israelis is their security and that “defensible peace requires security arrangements that can withstand the test of time and the many challenges that are sure to confront us.”