Dead teacher was a Gaza bomb-maker
The UN refugee organisation in Gaza reaffirmed yesterday its "zero tolerance policy" towards political and militant activities by staff after reports that a Palestinian teacher assassinated in an Israeli air attack was a rocket-maker.
Reuters quoted unnamed Palestinian militants and Israeli intelligence sources as saying that Awad al-Qiq, 33, acting headmaster at the UNRWA-run Rafah Boys' Preparatory School was by night secretly a rocket builder for Islamic Jihad.
A handwritten note outside the school posted on the metal gate at the entrance to the school declared that the teacher, killed in an air strike last week, was "the chief leader of the engineering unit", who would now find "paradise".
Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the UN Relief and Works Agency, which employs more than 9,000 local staff in Gaza, said that the agency was regularly instructed not to engage in political or militant activities of any kind. It has summarily sacked employees found to be in breach of the instruction.
Mr Gunness added: "We have a zero-tolerance policy towards politics and militant activities in our schools. Obviously, we ... cannot police people's minds." Family members and a student at the school said they had no idea that the dead man, a physics teacher with eight years' experience teaching at UN schools, was involved in militant activities.
UNRWA also announced that it now had enough fuel to distribute food aid for 20 days to the 700,000 refugees who need it. Earlier, the agency had warned that the shortage of fuel would mean it would have to halt food aid from last night.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Dead teacher was a Gaza bomb-maker
Showing posts with label squatters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label squatters. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
DAR AL HARB-ISRAEL: MOSLEM MUJAHADEEN DRESS AS WOMEN - - - COWARDS
Nitzanei Oz terrorist disguised as a woman
Al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas' military wing, have assumed shared responsibility for the shooting attack near Nitzanei Oz.
The organizations claimed that the attack’s executer is a terrorist wanted by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, who arrived at Qalansuwa village disguised as a woman.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Nitzanei Oz terrorist disguised as a woman
Al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing and the Izz al-Din al-Qassam, Hamas' military wing, have assumed shared responsibility for the shooting attack near Nitzanei Oz.
The organizations claimed that the attack’s executer is a terrorist wanted by Israel and the Palestinian Authority, who arrived at Qalansuwa village disguised as a woman.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Nitzanei Oz terrorist disguised as a woman
Thursday, April 24, 2008
DAR AL HARB-U.S.A.-WASHINGTON D.C.: ABBAS AT THE WHITE HOUSE
Bush seeks boost for Abbas and Mideast peace bid
President George W. Bush hosts Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Thursday to try to bolster him and shore up a fragile U.S.-backed peace effort with Israel.
President George W. Bush hosts Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Thursday to try to bolster him and shore up a fragile U.S.-backed peace effort with Israel.
With 10 months left in office, Bush will hold talks with Abbas in the face of deep scepticism over the chances for securing a Middle East peace deal before the U.S. president finishes his term early next year.
Abbas, weakened by Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in June, was expected to seek stepped-up U.S. pressure on Israel. Bush will visit the Jewish state in mid-May to join in celebrations of its 60th anniversary.
Negotiations between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have yielded little progress since a U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November, where they pledged to try to reach a peace agreement by the end of 2008.
The administration now appears to be picking up the pace of Middle East diplomacy again after Bush failed to achieve a breakthrough on his visit to the region in January.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Bush seeks boost for Abbas and Mideast peace bid
President George W. Bush hosts Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Thursday to try to bolster him and shore up a fragile U.S.-backed peace effort with Israel.
President George W. Bush hosts Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Thursday to try to bolster him and shore up a fragile U.S.-backed peace effort with Israel.
With 10 months left in office, Bush will hold talks with Abbas in the face of deep scepticism over the chances for securing a Middle East peace deal before the U.S. president finishes his term early next year.
Abbas, weakened by Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip in June, was expected to seek stepped-up U.S. pressure on Israel. Bush will visit the Jewish state in mid-May to join in celebrations of its 60th anniversary.
Negotiations between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert have yielded little progress since a U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November, where they pledged to try to reach a peace agreement by the end of 2008.
The administration now appears to be picking up the pace of Middle East diplomacy again after Bush failed to achieve a breakthrough on his visit to the region in January.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Bush seeks boost for Abbas and Mideast peace bid
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
DAR AL HARB-NETHERLANDS: THE DUTCH JIHAD NEWS NETWORK
Netherlands Sponsored 'Jihad News Agency'
The Netherlands has put 1.2 million euros of taxpayers money in Ma'an, a Palestinian news agency that glorifies terrorism and incites to hatred, according to newspaper De Telegraaf. The Party for Freedom (PVV) is demanding that Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders claim the money back.
Press agency Ma'an is according to Israeli organisation Palestinian Media Watch guilty of disseminating the Jihad ideology of Palestinian terrorists. Thus, Ma'an glorifies the terrorist that recently murdered eight Jewish yeshiva students in cold blood with the highest Islamic status of "martyrdom for Allah." The news agency denies Israel's right to exist by characterising the territory of the Jewish state as 'occupied Palestine', De Telegraaf revealed.
The propaganda of hatred only appears in the Arabic reports of the news agency and not in the English versions. The Dutch representative at the Palestinian Authority, Frans Makken, believes the use of terminology glorifying terrorism did not happen "deliberately," the Netherlands' biggest newspaper added.
PVV MP Raymond de Roon is furious and wants Koenders to distance himself from Makken. He is also demanding repayment of the 1.2 million euros to the Dutch state by the news agency.
Pertinent Links:
1) Netherlands Sponsored 'Jihad News Agency'
The Netherlands has put 1.2 million euros of taxpayers money in Ma'an, a Palestinian news agency that glorifies terrorism and incites to hatred, according to newspaper De Telegraaf. The Party for Freedom (PVV) is demanding that Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders claim the money back.
Press agency Ma'an is according to Israeli organisation Palestinian Media Watch guilty of disseminating the Jihad ideology of Palestinian terrorists. Thus, Ma'an glorifies the terrorist that recently murdered eight Jewish yeshiva students in cold blood with the highest Islamic status of "martyrdom for Allah." The news agency denies Israel's right to exist by characterising the territory of the Jewish state as 'occupied Palestine', De Telegraaf revealed.
The propaganda of hatred only appears in the Arabic reports of the news agency and not in the English versions. The Dutch representative at the Palestinian Authority, Frans Makken, believes the use of terminology glorifying terrorism did not happen "deliberately," the Netherlands' biggest newspaper added.
PVV MP Raymond de Roon is furious and wants Koenders to distance himself from Makken. He is also demanding repayment of the 1.2 million euros to the Dutch state by the news agency.
Pertinent Links:
1) Netherlands Sponsored 'Jihad News Agency'
DAR AL HARB-ISRAEL: "WE WILL DRIVE THE JEWS OUT OF PALESTINE"
PLO Rep: 'We will drive Israel out of Palestine'
JERUSALEM, Israel - In an interview on Lebanese television, Palestinian Authority (PA) official Abbas Zaki said the PLO phased plan will culminate by driving Israelis out of all of "Palestine."
Excerpts from NBN TV's interview with Zaki, the PA's representative in Lebanon, aired on April 9.
MEMRI provided translated excerpts from Zaki's remarks, which can be viewed here.
"We believe wholeheartedly that the right of return [of Palestinian refugees] is guaranteed by our will, our weapons and by our faith," Zaki said.
"The use of weapons alone will not bring results, and the use of politics without weapons will not bring results," said the PA representative.
"We act on the basis of our extensive experience. We analyze our situation carefully. We know what climate leads to victory and what climate leads to suicide," he said.
"We talk politics, but our principles are clear. It was our pioneering leader, Yasser Arafat, who persevered with this revolution when empires collapsed," Zaki said.
"Our armed struggle has been going on for 43 years, and the political struggle, on all levels, has been going on for 50 years," he said.
"We harvest UN resolutions, and we shame the world so that it doesn't gang up on us because the world is led by people who have given their brains a vacation -- the American administration and the neocons," he said.
"The important thing," the PA official said, "is that Israel will pay a price….I salute any operation that makes Israel pay a heavy price," he said.
"The PLO is the sole legitimate representative [of the Palestinian people] and it has not changed its platform one iota.... Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine," he said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) PLO Rep: 'We will drive Israel out of Palestine'
JERUSALEM, Israel - In an interview on Lebanese television, Palestinian Authority (PA) official Abbas Zaki said the PLO phased plan will culminate by driving Israelis out of all of "Palestine."
Excerpts from NBN TV's interview with Zaki, the PA's representative in Lebanon, aired on April 9.
MEMRI provided translated excerpts from Zaki's remarks, which can be viewed here.
"We believe wholeheartedly that the right of return [of Palestinian refugees] is guaranteed by our will, our weapons and by our faith," Zaki said.
"The use of weapons alone will not bring results, and the use of politics without weapons will not bring results," said the PA representative.
"We act on the basis of our extensive experience. We analyze our situation carefully. We know what climate leads to victory and what climate leads to suicide," he said.
"We talk politics, but our principles are clear. It was our pioneering leader, Yasser Arafat, who persevered with this revolution when empires collapsed," Zaki said.
"Our armed struggle has been going on for 43 years, and the political struggle, on all levels, has been going on for 50 years," he said.
"We harvest UN resolutions, and we shame the world so that it doesn't gang up on us because the world is led by people who have given their brains a vacation -- the American administration and the neocons," he said.
"The important thing," the PA official said, "is that Israel will pay a price….I salute any operation that makes Israel pay a heavy price," he said.
"The PLO is the sole legitimate representative [of the Palestinian people] and it has not changed its platform one iota.... Let me tell you, when the ideology of Israel collapses, and we take, at least, Jerusalem, the Israeli ideology will collapse in its entirety, and we will begin to progress with our own ideology, Allah willing, and drive them out of all of Palestine," he said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) PLO Rep: 'We will drive Israel out of Palestine'
Friday, March 14, 2008
DAR AL HARB-ISRAEL: AN ISRAELI ARAB SHOOTS SISTER, AN HONOR KILLING, IS CONGRATULATED BY HIS FAMILY
Man shoots sister then congratulated by family
by Sharon Roffe-Ofir
Police arrest 24-year-old man from Naura, an Israeli-Arab town in northern Israel, who shot his 19-year old sister to preserve 'family’s honor.' Family members arrived to congratulate shooter
...
The youth had informed his family members that he was going to murder his sister early Tuesday morning, and then set off to do just that. He headed to the entrance of the village in a vehicle which he had borrowed from his brother, and awaited his sister’s arrival.
The youth then shot his sister, who was startled to see him and proceeded to kick her repeatedly in order to ensure that she was no longer alive.
Chief Superintendent of the Afula Police Department, Orli Malka, stated that “the young woman was clever enough to play dead so that her brother would stop kicking her.” The shooter than called MDA medics and phone the police emergency hotline. "I just shot my sister,” he said, all the while keeping vigil over what he assumed was his sister’s lifeless corpse.
The young man than informed his family that he had shot his sister and was warmly greeted, hugged and congratulated by his brother and other family members.
The shocked father [Yeah, the father was shocked because his dishonored daughter wasn't dead & he had to pretend he cared...ed A.I.] rode along with his critically injured daughter to the Emek Medical Center in Afula, where she was initially treated before being transferred to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
A Rambam hospital spokesperson said that the young woman suffered head injuries, and had undergone surgery early Tuesday morning. She remains in recovery, and doctors are still uncertain as to the severity of her condition and whether or not her life remains in danger.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Man shoots sister then congratulated by family
by Sharon Roffe-Ofir
Police arrest 24-year-old man from Naura, an Israeli-Arab town in northern Israel, who shot his 19-year old sister to preserve 'family’s honor.' Family members arrived to congratulate shooter
...
The youth had informed his family members that he was going to murder his sister early Tuesday morning, and then set off to do just that. He headed to the entrance of the village in a vehicle which he had borrowed from his brother, and awaited his sister’s arrival.
The youth then shot his sister, who was startled to see him and proceeded to kick her repeatedly in order to ensure that she was no longer alive.
Chief Superintendent of the Afula Police Department, Orli Malka, stated that “the young woman was clever enough to play dead so that her brother would stop kicking her.” The shooter than called MDA medics and phone the police emergency hotline. "I just shot my sister,” he said, all the while keeping vigil over what he assumed was his sister’s lifeless corpse.
The young man than informed his family that he had shot his sister and was warmly greeted, hugged and congratulated by his brother and other family members.
The shocked father [Yeah, the father was shocked because his dishonored daughter wasn't dead & he had to pretend he cared...ed A.I.] rode along with his critically injured daughter to the Emek Medical Center in Afula, where she was initially treated before being transferred to Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
A Rambam hospital spokesperson said that the young woman suffered head injuries, and had undergone surgery early Tuesday morning. She remains in recovery, and doctors are still uncertain as to the severity of her condition and whether or not her life remains in danger.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Man shoots sister then congratulated by family
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
DAR AL HARB-ISRAEL: NO PEACE TALKS WITHOUT A HUDNA
Abbas Says No Talks Without Gaza Truce
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH Associated Press Writer
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he would not resume peace talks until Israel reaches a truce in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Abbas suspended U.S.-backed peace talks earlier this week to protest Israel's crackdown in Gaza.
"The negotiations must be started, but after the truce," Abbas said. "Once the truce is achieved, the road will be open for negotiations."
He said Rice told him she would send an envoy to Egypt, which often mediates between Israel and Hamas. "There are real efforts being exerted by Egypt for the truce," Abbas said.
Although Abbas did not mention Hamas by name, his aides said the Islamic group must clearly be part of any deal. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas' forces last year, and he wields little influence in the area.
...
***UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***
Palestinians Will Resume Peace Talks
By AMY TEIBEL
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he will resume peace talks with Israel, backing off a threat to boycott negotiations until Israel reaches a truce with Hamas militants in Gaza.
"The peace process is a strategic choice and we have the intention of resuming the peace process," he said in a statement. He did not say when talks would restart, but visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a U.S. general overseeing implementation of "the road map" peace plan would hold his first joint meeting with Israelis and Palestinians next week.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Abbas Says No Talks Without Gaza Truce
2) Palestinians Will Resume Peace Talks
By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH Associated Press Writer
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he would not resume peace talks until Israel reaches a truce in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
Abbas suspended U.S.-backed peace talks earlier this week to protest Israel's crackdown in Gaza.
"The negotiations must be started, but after the truce," Abbas said. "Once the truce is achieved, the road will be open for negotiations."
He said Rice told him she would send an envoy to Egypt, which often mediates between Israel and Hamas. "There are real efforts being exerted by Egypt for the truce," Abbas said.
Although Abbas did not mention Hamas by name, his aides said the Islamic group must clearly be part of any deal. Hamas seized control of Gaza from Abbas' forces last year, and he wields little influence in the area.
...
***UPDATE***UPDATE***UPDATE***
Palestinians Will Resume Peace Talks
By AMY TEIBEL
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday he will resume peace talks with Israel, backing off a threat to boycott negotiations until Israel reaches a truce with Hamas militants in Gaza.
"The peace process is a strategic choice and we have the intention of resuming the peace process," he said in a statement. He did not say when talks would restart, but visiting Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said a U.S. general overseeing implementation of "the road map" peace plan would hold his first joint meeting with Israelis and Palestinians next week.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Abbas Says No Talks Without Gaza Truce
2) Palestinians Will Resume Peace Talks
DAR AL HARB-ISRAEL: ISRAEL KILLS A LEADER OF ISLAMIC JIHAD, PROMISES OF REVENGE FOLLOW
Jihad claims Israeli assassination of one of its leaders
Al-Quds Brigade of the Islamic Jihad in Palestine accused Israeli forces Wednesday of executing one of its leaders in Gaza Strip during incursions last night.
The brigade said in a statement that Yousif Sulaiman Al-Sumairi, 47, one of its top leaders in Gaza Strip, was killed after Special Israeli Forces surrounded his home last night.
"Al-Sumairi clashed with Israeli forces who arrested him later on and executed him in cold blood, in addition to his son and several others," the statement said.
The brigade promised to resist and revenge the blood of those killed in Jihad.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter planes launched air raids earlier this morning, targeting several areas of northern Gaza Strip.
Palestinian security sources said, "There were three Israeli raids which included targeting empty areas with missiles in Bait Lahai and Bait Hanoun, but they caused no casualties." On the other hand, the Israeli Army said that its helicopters launched three raids earlier today on northern Gaza Strip areas.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jihad claims Israeli assassination of one of its leaders
Al-Quds Brigade of the Islamic Jihad in Palestine accused Israeli forces Wednesday of executing one of its leaders in Gaza Strip during incursions last night.
The brigade said in a statement that Yousif Sulaiman Al-Sumairi, 47, one of its top leaders in Gaza Strip, was killed after Special Israeli Forces surrounded his home last night.
"Al-Sumairi clashed with Israeli forces who arrested him later on and executed him in cold blood, in addition to his son and several others," the statement said.
The brigade promised to resist and revenge the blood of those killed in Jihad.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter planes launched air raids earlier this morning, targeting several areas of northern Gaza Strip.
Palestinian security sources said, "There were three Israeli raids which included targeting empty areas with missiles in Bait Lahai and Bait Hanoun, but they caused no casualties." On the other hand, the Israeli Army said that its helicopters launched three raids earlier today on northern Gaza Strip areas.
Pertinent Links:
1) Jihad claims Israeli assassination of one of its leaders
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
DAR AL HARB-ISRAEL: HAMAS ATTACKING ISRAEL WITH AMERICAN WEAPONS STOLEN DURINGS ITS CONQUEST OF GAZA
'Hamas using US weapons against IDF'
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
According to Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip, most of the gunmen who have been fighting the IDF over the past few days are members of Hamas's armed wing, Izaddin Kassam.
"At least 2,000 Hamas gunmen have been deployed in the northern Gaza Strip to take part in the fighting," the sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The sources estimated that Izaddin Kassam has at least 15,000 members divided into four brigades in the Gaza Strip.
They added that the Hamas gunmen were using many American-made arms seized from the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority security forces in June.
Hamas says it captured thousands of M-16 and Kalashnikov rifles, and large supplies of ammunition during its weeklong conquest of Gaza. Hamas is also believed to have acquired weapons capable of penetrating armor and stockpiles of rocket-propelled grenades.
A senior Hamas official said Sunday that his movement had smuggled hundreds of rockets and mortars and tons of explosives into the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the past few months.
...
Other groups that are involved in the fighting include Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and some splinter factions belonging to Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades.
These three groups, which according to Palestinian sources are operating in coordination with Hamas, have also been behind many of the rocket attacks on Israel in the past few days. Altogether, the three groups have fewer than 1,500 gunmen in Gaza.
But Hamas has sought to play down the role of the other armed groups in the fighting in the hope that it will score points on the "Palestinian street" as the major force that fought "courageously" against Israel. Hamas is hoping that once the fighting is over, it will be able to declare "victory, as Hizbullah did after the war in 2006."
Pertinent Links:
1) 'Hamas using US weapons against IDF'
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
According to Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip, most of the gunmen who have been fighting the IDF over the past few days are members of Hamas's armed wing, Izaddin Kassam.
"At least 2,000 Hamas gunmen have been deployed in the northern Gaza Strip to take part in the fighting," the sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The sources estimated that Izaddin Kassam has at least 15,000 members divided into four brigades in the Gaza Strip.
They added that the Hamas gunmen were using many American-made arms seized from the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority security forces in June.
Hamas says it captured thousands of M-16 and Kalashnikov rifles, and large supplies of ammunition during its weeklong conquest of Gaza. Hamas is also believed to have acquired weapons capable of penetrating armor and stockpiles of rocket-propelled grenades.
A senior Hamas official said Sunday that his movement had smuggled hundreds of rockets and mortars and tons of explosives into the Gaza Strip from Egypt in the past few months.
...
Other groups that are involved in the fighting include Islamic Jihad, the Popular Resistance Committees and some splinter factions belonging to Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades.
These three groups, which according to Palestinian sources are operating in coordination with Hamas, have also been behind many of the rocket attacks on Israel in the past few days. Altogether, the three groups have fewer than 1,500 gunmen in Gaza.
But Hamas has sought to play down the role of the other armed groups in the fighting in the hope that it will score points on the "Palestinian street" as the major force that fought "courageously" against Israel. Hamas is hoping that once the fighting is over, it will be able to declare "victory, as Hizbullah did after the war in 2006."
Pertinent Links:
1) 'Hamas using US weapons against IDF'
DAR AL HARB-ISRAEL: THE SHELLING OF ASHKELON
Hamas Pursues Dangerous Strategy with Ashkelon Attacks
By Ulrike Putz in Gaza City
With its rocket attacks on Ashkelon, Hamas has chosen a very risky strategy. Israel cannot tolerate a big city coming under daily rocket fire. Jerusalem must now decide whether to negotiate or go to war.
The "Hot Winter" has started to cool down a bit. After four days of heavy ground assaults and aerial bombardments, Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip Sunday night.
Attacks in the other direction slowed as well -- on Monday just a few rockets made their way through the air from the Palestinian territory to Israel. Operation Hot Winter, as Israel dubbed this latest campaign in the Gaza Strip, is now just lukewarm. But both the Israelis and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip assume that the temperatures will climb again in the coming days and weeks.
...
The bloody events of the last week are a result of Hamas raising the stakes dramatically. With the targeted regular rocket attacks on the 120,000-person town of Ashkelon, they crossed a line. The Israeli government would never accept attacks on a large city from Gaza -- and Hamas knew it. Hence it was a conscious decision on the part of the radical Islamic party's leadership to take their rockets with a range of over 20 kilometers, some of which are home-made, others of which are made in Iran, out of their hiding places.
The question is why Hamas chose to escalate the situation. The most likely theory is desperation -- namely that they are trying to stave off a popular coup. The situation in the Gaza Strip has gotten decidedly worse in the last few weeks. In January, tens of thousands of Palestinians enjoyed a bout of unexpected freedom when they broke through the Egyptian border -- with Hamas' encouragement.
But the happiness over shopping trips to Egypt didn't last long: Egypt closed the border again, even tighter than before. Combined with the ongoing blockade from Israel, that means less fuel, medicine and food can reach the Gaza Strip. The populace there is now grumbling and its anger at the Hamas government is growing steadily.
The fact is that Hamas was looking for a way out when it attacked Ashkelon -- the move is a roundabout attempt to come to a ceasefire with the Israelis. "For weeks, there have been signals from Hamas that they are prepared to offer Israel a 10- or 15- year 'hudna,'" says Mkhaimar Abu Sada, one of the most respected political analysts in Gaza.
A hudna would be an elegant solution for the Islamists: it is a ceasefire under religious law, in which neither of the opponents backs down, but rather in which two enemies, despite a continuing dispute, agree to a "cold" peace. A hudna would allow Hamas to preserve its principles and therefore not lose face. On paper, the armed struggle against Israel would remain its lifeblood, while in practice it could agree on open borders with its arch-enemy. In return, Hamas would stop the shelling of Israeli towns and villages.
"In terms of politics, Hamas' ultimate goal is to build on and expand their position of power in Gaza," says Abu Sada. Hamas wants a hudna in order to be able to govern effectively. "They want to prove to the population in the Fatah-dominated West Bank that they can achieve something and that they are the better party -- when they are allowed to act."
In firing rockets at Ashkelon, Hamas has taken a considerable risk. It has put Israel into a situation from which there are only two ways out: negotiations or war. Hamas hopes that sooner or later Jerusalem will find itself compelled to enter into direct or indirect negotiations with the Islamists in order to protect its population from new, longer-range rockets. According to recent polls, 64 percent of the Israeli population is in favor of such talks. What is lacking is a heavyweight politician who would make negotiations with the enemy his concern, knowing that the smallest setback could cost him his career.
The second option which would stop the shelling in the long term would be the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip. Most of the political heavyweights in Jerusalem, especially Defense Minister Ehud Barak, support this alternative. The fact that the supposedly already prepared invasion plans are still on ice for the time being has to do with the immensely high price that an invasion of the Gaza Strip would entail. The Palestinian militias have had months to prepare for house-to-house fighting on their own territory. The Palestinians are reported to have created tunnel systems and prepared hiding places for landmines. Hamas' arsenals are probably well-stocked, and their appeal is still big enough to induce tens of thousands to take up arms on their side.
Given all this, Israeli losses in an invasion would most likely be very high -- too high, hopes Hamas. In addition, Israel cannot count on the West Bank remaining peaceful in the event of a battle for the Gaza Strip. The decision-makers have to take into account the dangers of a conflict on two fronts.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Hamas Pursues Dangerous Strategy with Ashkelon Attacks
By Ulrike Putz in Gaza City
With its rocket attacks on Ashkelon, Hamas has chosen a very risky strategy. Israel cannot tolerate a big city coming under daily rocket fire. Jerusalem must now decide whether to negotiate or go to war.
The "Hot Winter" has started to cool down a bit. After four days of heavy ground assaults and aerial bombardments, Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip Sunday night.
Attacks in the other direction slowed as well -- on Monday just a few rockets made their way through the air from the Palestinian territory to Israel. Operation Hot Winter, as Israel dubbed this latest campaign in the Gaza Strip, is now just lukewarm. But both the Israelis and the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip assume that the temperatures will climb again in the coming days and weeks.
...
The bloody events of the last week are a result of Hamas raising the stakes dramatically. With the targeted regular rocket attacks on the 120,000-person town of Ashkelon, they crossed a line. The Israeli government would never accept attacks on a large city from Gaza -- and Hamas knew it. Hence it was a conscious decision on the part of the radical Islamic party's leadership to take their rockets with a range of over 20 kilometers, some of which are home-made, others of which are made in Iran, out of their hiding places.
The question is why Hamas chose to escalate the situation. The most likely theory is desperation -- namely that they are trying to stave off a popular coup. The situation in the Gaza Strip has gotten decidedly worse in the last few weeks. In January, tens of thousands of Palestinians enjoyed a bout of unexpected freedom when they broke through the Egyptian border -- with Hamas' encouragement.
But the happiness over shopping trips to Egypt didn't last long: Egypt closed the border again, even tighter than before. Combined with the ongoing blockade from Israel, that means less fuel, medicine and food can reach the Gaza Strip. The populace there is now grumbling and its anger at the Hamas government is growing steadily.
The fact is that Hamas was looking for a way out when it attacked Ashkelon -- the move is a roundabout attempt to come to a ceasefire with the Israelis. "For weeks, there have been signals from Hamas that they are prepared to offer Israel a 10- or 15- year 'hudna,'" says Mkhaimar Abu Sada, one of the most respected political analysts in Gaza.
A hudna would be an elegant solution for the Islamists: it is a ceasefire under religious law, in which neither of the opponents backs down, but rather in which two enemies, despite a continuing dispute, agree to a "cold" peace. A hudna would allow Hamas to preserve its principles and therefore not lose face. On paper, the armed struggle against Israel would remain its lifeblood, while in practice it could agree on open borders with its arch-enemy. In return, Hamas would stop the shelling of Israeli towns and villages.
"In terms of politics, Hamas' ultimate goal is to build on and expand their position of power in Gaza," says Abu Sada. Hamas wants a hudna in order to be able to govern effectively. "They want to prove to the population in the Fatah-dominated West Bank that they can achieve something and that they are the better party -- when they are allowed to act."
In firing rockets at Ashkelon, Hamas has taken a considerable risk. It has put Israel into a situation from which there are only two ways out: negotiations or war. Hamas hopes that sooner or later Jerusalem will find itself compelled to enter into direct or indirect negotiations with the Islamists in order to protect its population from new, longer-range rockets. According to recent polls, 64 percent of the Israeli population is in favor of such talks. What is lacking is a heavyweight politician who would make negotiations with the enemy his concern, knowing that the smallest setback could cost him his career.
The second option which would stop the shelling in the long term would be the reoccupation of the Gaza Strip. Most of the political heavyweights in Jerusalem, especially Defense Minister Ehud Barak, support this alternative. The fact that the supposedly already prepared invasion plans are still on ice for the time being has to do with the immensely high price that an invasion of the Gaza Strip would entail. The Palestinian militias have had months to prepare for house-to-house fighting on their own territory. The Palestinians are reported to have created tunnel systems and prepared hiding places for landmines. Hamas' arsenals are probably well-stocked, and their appeal is still big enough to induce tens of thousands to take up arms on their side.
Given all this, Israeli losses in an invasion would most likely be very high -- too high, hopes Hamas. In addition, Israel cannot count on the West Bank remaining peaceful in the event of a battle for the Gaza Strip. The decision-makers have to take into account the dangers of a conflict on two fronts.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Hamas Pursues Dangerous Strategy with Ashkelon Attacks
Saturday, March 01, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM-ISRAEL/PALESTINE: HAMAS TO UNLEASH A 3RD INTIFADA
Third Intifada in sight
With political negotiations going nowhere, Hamas is preparing to unleash mass popular action to end the Gaza siege and reconfigure the strategic balance with Israel, writes Saleh Al-Naami
It is sometimes difficult for Ghazi Hamad, former spokesperson of the dismissed Ismail Haniyeh government, to recall all the international parties that have taken an interest in mediating between Palestinian factions -- and also between Hamas and Israel -- in order to reach an agreement resulting in a ceasefire and a lifting of the siege on Gaza. The Norwegians, Germans, British, Turks and South Africans, in addition to traditional Arab parties, are all enthusiastic about landing such an agreement, though Egypt seems the most committed. This level of interest, however, has not yet succeeded in breaking the political deadlock or mitigating the humanitarian disaster created by Israel.
"The Hamas movement conveyed its vision of a comprehensive agreement to several foreign diplomats so that they could convey this vision to Israel. Yet all indicators show that Israel has not exhibited any enthusiasm for treating this vision in a positive manner," Hamad told Al-Ahram Weekly. Undeterred, Hamas is intensifying its initiative efforts in order to embarrass Israel and is exposing it as a party intent on maintaining tension. At the same time, protest activity within the movement against the siege is growing, climaxing recently in the organisation of a global day for breaking the siege observed in 90 countries and the organisation of the world's longest human chain, at 40 kilometres long, stretching from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas sources stress that the combination of political initiatives and protest activities is a necessary precursor to "dramatic steps" Hamas is planning to take should the siege continue. They point out that Hamas realises all too well that the chances of Israel agreeing to its proposals are near zero, and that Hamas is planning to lead the Gazan people to the border with Israel and cross it. The idea is that this would shake the foundations on which Israeli propaganda rests, especially regarding its siege on Gaza.
Sources have further indicated that among the political steps taken, Hamas has submitted proposals for a comprehensive agreement to one British diplomat and to Omar Suleiman, chief of Egyptian General Intelligence. This proposal contains the following points:
- A mutual ceasefire in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, on which basis Israel must halt assassinations, invasions and arrests, and resistance movements must halt firing rockets on Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip.
- A lifting of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since mid-June of last year, including a re- opening of border and commercial crossings, and foremost the Rafah border crossing.
- Completion of the prisoner swap deal by which Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit would be released in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners named by Hamas.
Hamas sources have confirmed that in order to give its proposal more weight, Hamas met with representatives of all other resistance movements active in the Gaza Strip and reached an agreement to halt the launching of rockets on Israeli settlements should Israel agree to stop assassinations and lift the siege. In particular, Hamas rushed to inform the Egyptian government about this agreement.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Third Intifada in sight
With political negotiations going nowhere, Hamas is preparing to unleash mass popular action to end the Gaza siege and reconfigure the strategic balance with Israel, writes Saleh Al-Naami
It is sometimes difficult for Ghazi Hamad, former spokesperson of the dismissed Ismail Haniyeh government, to recall all the international parties that have taken an interest in mediating between Palestinian factions -- and also between Hamas and Israel -- in order to reach an agreement resulting in a ceasefire and a lifting of the siege on Gaza. The Norwegians, Germans, British, Turks and South Africans, in addition to traditional Arab parties, are all enthusiastic about landing such an agreement, though Egypt seems the most committed. This level of interest, however, has not yet succeeded in breaking the political deadlock or mitigating the humanitarian disaster created by Israel.
"The Hamas movement conveyed its vision of a comprehensive agreement to several foreign diplomats so that they could convey this vision to Israel. Yet all indicators show that Israel has not exhibited any enthusiasm for treating this vision in a positive manner," Hamad told Al-Ahram Weekly. Undeterred, Hamas is intensifying its initiative efforts in order to embarrass Israel and is exposing it as a party intent on maintaining tension. At the same time, protest activity within the movement against the siege is growing, climaxing recently in the organisation of a global day for breaking the siege observed in 90 countries and the organisation of the world's longest human chain, at 40 kilometres long, stretching from the north to the south of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas sources stress that the combination of political initiatives and protest activities is a necessary precursor to "dramatic steps" Hamas is planning to take should the siege continue. They point out that Hamas realises all too well that the chances of Israel agreeing to its proposals are near zero, and that Hamas is planning to lead the Gazan people to the border with Israel and cross it. The idea is that this would shake the foundations on which Israeli propaganda rests, especially regarding its siege on Gaza.
Sources have further indicated that among the political steps taken, Hamas has submitted proposals for a comprehensive agreement to one British diplomat and to Omar Suleiman, chief of Egyptian General Intelligence. This proposal contains the following points:
- A mutual ceasefire in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, on which basis Israel must halt assassinations, invasions and arrests, and resistance movements must halt firing rockets on Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip.
- A lifting of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since mid-June of last year, including a re- opening of border and commercial crossings, and foremost the Rafah border crossing.
- Completion of the prisoner swap deal by which Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit would be released in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners named by Hamas.
Hamas sources have confirmed that in order to give its proposal more weight, Hamas met with representatives of all other resistance movements active in the Gaza Strip and reached an agreement to halt the launching of rockets on Israeli settlements should Israel agree to stop assassinations and lift the siege. In particular, Hamas rushed to inform the Egyptian government about this agreement.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Third Intifada in sight
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM-ISRAEL/PALESTINE: A UNILATERAL DECLARATION OF STATEHOOD BY 'ARABS OF PALESTINE' POSSIBLE, SAYS ABBAS
Look what the Pandora's Box of unilateral declaration of independence has unleashed:
Abbas aide says declaring independence a possibility
A top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday the Palestinians should consider declaring an independent state unilaterally if peace talks with Israel continue to falter.
A top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday the Palestinians should consider declaring an independent state unilaterally if peace talks with Israel continue to falter.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team with the Israelis, told Reuters that if they could not reach a deal with the Jewish state, the Palestinians could consider declaring independence like Kosovo did on Sunday.
"If things are not going in the direction of actually halting settlement activities, if things are not going in the direction of continuous and serious negotiations, then we should take the step and announce our independence unilaterally," he said.
So whom will be next?!?
LA RAZA in Californistan?!? Or should it be called MEXIFORNIA?!?
How about the greater metropolitan area of Detroit?!? What will happen when the ummah of Michigan decide to declare their independence from the United States?!?
How about Tampa?!?
The GOD of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob will punish the United States of America for its stupidity just as He will punish Europe for what it did to the Jews in the 20th century...
Islam will be the whip...
Pertinent Links:
1) Abbas aide says declaring independence a possibility
Abbas aide says declaring independence a possibility
A top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday the Palestinians should consider declaring an independent state unilaterally if peace talks with Israel continue to falter.
A top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday the Palestinians should consider declaring an independent state unilaterally if peace talks with Israel continue to falter.
Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the Palestinian negotiating team with the Israelis, told Reuters that if they could not reach a deal with the Jewish state, the Palestinians could consider declaring independence like Kosovo did on Sunday.
"If things are not going in the direction of actually halting settlement activities, if things are not going in the direction of continuous and serious negotiations, then we should take the step and announce our independence unilaterally," he said.
So whom will be next?!?
LA RAZA in Californistan?!? Or should it be called MEXIFORNIA?!?
How about the greater metropolitan area of Detroit?!? What will happen when the ummah of Michigan decide to declare their independence from the United States?!?
How about Tampa?!?
The GOD of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob will punish the United States of America for its stupidity just as He will punish Europe for what it did to the Jews in the 20th century...
Islam will be the whip...
Pertinent Links:
1) Abbas aide says declaring independence a possibility
Friday, February 15, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM-PALESTINE: 'MODERATE' MOSLEM ARABS OF PALESTINE (PALESTINIANS) BLOW UP A CHRISTIAN YOUTH CENTER LIBRARY
Christian youth centre's library blown up
Gaza City, 15 Feb.(AKI) - Unknown assailants blew up a local Christian youth organisation's library in central Gaza City early on Friday, the Palestinian news agency Maan reported.
One of the library's security guards told Maan that 10 armed men had broken into into the library, overpowering and abducting the guards. They then returned and detonated explosives that razed the building, the guard said.
The Christian Youth Organization provides many activities for young people in Gaza, as well as a kindergarten for Muslim children.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Christian youth centre's library blown up
Gaza City, 15 Feb.(AKI) - Unknown assailants blew up a local Christian youth organisation's library in central Gaza City early on Friday, the Palestinian news agency Maan reported.
One of the library's security guards told Maan that 10 armed men had broken into into the library, overpowering and abducting the guards. They then returned and detonated explosives that razed the building, the guard said.
The Christian Youth Organization provides many activities for young people in Gaza, as well as a kindergarten for Muslim children.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Christian youth centre's library blown up
Thursday, February 14, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM-ISRAEL/PALESTINE: BIBLICAL JOSEPH IS REALL A MOSLEM
Biblical hero Joseph 'was really a Muslim'
Palestinians make astonishing claim, deny they'll help restore burned tomb
By Aaron Klein
Building at Joseph's Tomb site after Palestinian Authority took control in 2000 .
In the wake of an attempt by Palestinians to burn down Joseph's Tomb – Judaism's third holiest site – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction issued a statement denying it will help restore the shrine, referring to both the shrine and the biblical patriarch as "Muslim."
"Pay no attention to the rumors that we will work with Israel to restore the burial site of the holy Muslim Joseph," said the statement, issued from Nablus, the biblical city of Shechem. "We are going to guard this holy Muslim site."
Joseph's Tomb is the believed burial place of the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became viceroy of Egypt.
...
Pertinent Links:
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM-ISRAEL/PALESTINE: 'MODERATE' MOSLEMS [ARABS OF PALESTINE] ATTEMPT TO BURN DOWN JOSEPH'S TOMB FOR THE 2ND TIME
Palestinians burn Joseph's Tomb
Judaism's 3rd holiest site regarded as burial place of biblical patriarch
By Aaron Klein© 2008 WorldNetDaily
JERUSALEM – Palestinians yesterday tried to burn down Joseph's Tomb – Judaism's third holiest site – according to Palestinian security officials speaking to WND.
It marks the second time the Palestinians attempted to burn down the tomb, located near Nablus, the biblical city of Shechem.
Joseph's Tomb is the believed burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became viceroy of Egypt.
Palestinian security officials in Nablus said yesterday they were called to the tomb to find 16 burning tires inside the sacred structure.
A Palestinian police official who inspected the site told WND today there was some fire damage to the tomb. He said the Palestinian Authority, fearing embarrassment, immediately formed a joint committee from the PA's Force 17, Preventative Security Services and Palestinian intelligence, to find out who was behind the fire.
He said patrols were stepped up around the site.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Palestinians burn Joseph's Tomb
Judaism's 3rd holiest site regarded as burial place of biblical patriarch
By Aaron Klein© 2008 WorldNetDaily
JERUSALEM – Palestinians yesterday tried to burn down Joseph's Tomb – Judaism's third holiest site – according to Palestinian security officials speaking to WND.
It marks the second time the Palestinians attempted to burn down the tomb, located near Nablus, the biblical city of Shechem.
Joseph's Tomb is the believed burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob who was sold by his brothers into slavery and later became viceroy of Egypt.
Palestinian security officials in Nablus said yesterday they were called to the tomb to find 16 burning tires inside the sacred structure.
A Palestinian police official who inspected the site told WND today there was some fire damage to the tomb. He said the Palestinian Authority, fearing embarrassment, immediately formed a joint committee from the PA's Force 17, Preventative Security Services and Palestinian intelligence, to find out who was behind the fire.
He said patrols were stepped up around the site.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Palestinians burn Joseph's Tomb
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - ISRAEL/PALESTINE: 9 MEMBERS OF HAMAS BITE THE DUST
9 dead as Israel strikes Gaza after suicide bombing
GAZA CITY - Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed nine Hamas militants on Tuesday as the Jewish state went on high alert a day after the first suicide bombing on its soil by Palestinian militants in a year.
An Israeli air raid hit a police station near the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis hours after an early morning incursion by soldiers in the nearby border town of Rafah left two Hamas men dead.
Medics said seven militants from the Islamist movement were killed in the late afternoon air strike and another two were wounded.
‘The men were in afternoon prayers inside the police station when the missile struck,’ said a security official for Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since violently seizing it in June.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 9 dead as Israel strikes Gaza after suicide bombing
GAZA CITY - Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed nine Hamas militants on Tuesday as the Jewish state went on high alert a day after the first suicide bombing on its soil by Palestinian militants in a year.
An Israeli air raid hit a police station near the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis hours after an early morning incursion by soldiers in the nearby border town of Rafah left two Hamas men dead.
Medics said seven militants from the Islamist movement were killed in the late afternoon air strike and another two were wounded.
‘The men were in afternoon prayers inside the police station when the missile struck,’ said a security official for Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since violently seizing it in June.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) 9 dead as Israel strikes Gaza after suicide bombing
DAR AL HARB - ISRAEL: THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE
The Israeli Lesson
The news about yesterday's suicide bombing in the Israeli town of Dimona is that it's news. In 2002, at the height of the second intifada, 451 Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks, including 14 suicide bombings. By contrast, yesterday's attack, which killed one and injured 11, was the first of its kind in more than a year.
This didn't happen by accident, or because Palestinian radicals have somehow become less hostile to Israel. Responsibility for yesterday's attack was claimed by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, which is affiliated with President Mahmoud Abbas's ostensibly moderate Fatah party. Islamist Hamas remains even more ardently dedicated to Israel's destruction, a point it emphasizes with its rocket barrages at southern Israeli cities close to the Gaza Strip.
Instead, the difference has come because of Israel's increasingly successful antiterrorist efforts. Key to that success has been the construction of its ostensibly "illegal" security fence, its equally "illegal" targeted assassinations of key terrorist leaders, its "disproportional" attacks on terrorist enclaves in Jenin and elsewhere, and other actions that saved innocent lives but which much of the international community deplored.
One of the most common arguments against Israel's actions is that it would feed a "cycle of violence." It's fair to say that what happened is closer to the opposite. As Israel put pressure on terrorist leaders, they were forced to spend their time running for their lives rather than planning the next attack.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) The Israeli Lesson
The news about yesterday's suicide bombing in the Israeli town of Dimona is that it's news. In 2002, at the height of the second intifada, 451 Israelis were killed in terrorist attacks, including 14 suicide bombings. By contrast, yesterday's attack, which killed one and injured 11, was the first of its kind in more than a year.
This didn't happen by accident, or because Palestinian radicals have somehow become less hostile to Israel. Responsibility for yesterday's attack was claimed by the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, which is affiliated with President Mahmoud Abbas's ostensibly moderate Fatah party. Islamist Hamas remains even more ardently dedicated to Israel's destruction, a point it emphasizes with its rocket barrages at southern Israeli cities close to the Gaza Strip.
Instead, the difference has come because of Israel's increasingly successful antiterrorist efforts. Key to that success has been the construction of its ostensibly "illegal" security fence, its equally "illegal" targeted assassinations of key terrorist leaders, its "disproportional" attacks on terrorist enclaves in Jenin and elsewhere, and other actions that saved innocent lives but which much of the international community deplored.
One of the most common arguments against Israel's actions is that it would feed a "cycle of violence." It's fair to say that what happened is closer to the opposite. As Israel put pressure on terrorist leaders, they were forced to spend their time running for their lives rather than planning the next attack.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) The Israeli Lesson
DAR AL HARB - ISRAEL: A SUICIDE (HOMICIDE) BOMBING - ONE SUCCEEDS IN KILLING A SINGLE WOMAN, THE OTHER IS SHOT DEAD
Suicide bomber kills woman in Israeli town
By Yehuda Peretz
DIMONA, Israel (Reuters) - A Palestinian suicide bomber killed a woman in southern Israel on Monday, the first such attack in the Jewish state in a year, but Israeli officials said peace talks would not be derailed.
Police said they prevented a second blast in the shopping centre in the town of Dimona by shooting dead another attacker before he could detonate an explosives belt.
"It was like a war. People were running like crazy. I saw a piece of a human being right there, next to my leg," witness Rosa Enberg told Israel's Channel Two television.
Hamas's armed wing said it was responsible for the Dimona bombing, the first such attack inside Israel claimed by the group since 2004, a Hamas source in the Gaza Strip told Reuters.
The source said the two attackers came from the West Bank city of Hebron, rather than from the Gaza Strip, which the Islamist Hamas group seized in June after routing secular Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The last time Hamas, which opposes Abbas's peace talks with the Jewish state, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing inside Israel was August 2004, when 16 people were killed and 100 wounded in explosions on two buses in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Suicide bomber kills woman in Israeli town
By Yehuda Peretz
DIMONA, Israel (Reuters) - A Palestinian suicide bomber killed a woman in southern Israel on Monday, the first such attack in the Jewish state in a year, but Israeli officials said peace talks would not be derailed.
Police said they prevented a second blast in the shopping centre in the town of Dimona by shooting dead another attacker before he could detonate an explosives belt.
"It was like a war. People were running like crazy. I saw a piece of a human being right there, next to my leg," witness Rosa Enberg told Israel's Channel Two television.
Hamas's armed wing said it was responsible for the Dimona bombing, the first such attack inside Israel claimed by the group since 2004, a Hamas source in the Gaza Strip told Reuters.
The source said the two attackers came from the West Bank city of Hebron, rather than from the Gaza Strip, which the Islamist Hamas group seized in June after routing secular Fatah forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The last time Hamas, which opposes Abbas's peace talks with the Jewish state, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing inside Israel was August 2004, when 16 people were killed and 100 wounded in explosions on two buses in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Suicide bomber kills woman in Israeli town
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - ISRAEL/EGYPT/PALESTINE: ADVANCED WEAPONS SMUGGLED IN BY HAMAS DURING BORDER BREACH
Diskin: 'Hamas smuggled advanced arms'
By HERB KEINON AND YAAKOV KATZ
Long-range rockets and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles are some of the weapons smuggled into the Gaza Strip over the last 12 days, Yuval Diskin, head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), told the cabinet Sunday.
Diskin also said numerous terrorists from Iran, Syria and Egypt affiliated with various organizations were smuggled into Gaza and - using training they received in Iran - would try to "upgrade" attacks against Israel.
Defense officials said the IDF would need to study the new types of weaponry that were smuggled into Gaza in recent weeks and, if needed, alter its deployment around and within the Strip.
"If, for example, Hamas now has anti-ship missiles, the navy might need to operate slightly differently when patrolling off the Gaza coast," a defense official said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Diskin: 'Hamas smuggled advanced arms'
By HERB KEINON AND YAAKOV KATZ
Long-range rockets and anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles are some of the weapons smuggled into the Gaza Strip over the last 12 days, Yuval Diskin, head of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), told the cabinet Sunday.
Diskin also said numerous terrorists from Iran, Syria and Egypt affiliated with various organizations were smuggled into Gaza and - using training they received in Iran - would try to "upgrade" attacks against Israel.
Defense officials said the IDF would need to study the new types of weaponry that were smuggled into Gaza in recent weeks and, if needed, alter its deployment around and within the Strip.
"If, for example, Hamas now has anti-ship missiles, the navy might need to operate slightly differently when patrolling off the Gaza coast," a defense official said.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Diskin: 'Hamas smuggled advanced arms'
Friday, February 01, 2008
DAR AL HARB/ISLAM - EGYPT/ISRAEL/PALESTINE: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF HAMAS CONQUERED EGYPT?!?
Cairo has more to fear from Hamas than Israel
by Bret Stephens
WHAT if Gaza were to conquer Egypt? The possibility is not as remote as it may seem just by glancing at the map.
Egypt has more than 50 times the population of its former colony and 2800 times the landmass.
But Gaza is sovereign Hamas territory, Hamas is the Palestinian branch of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and Egypt - not Israel - is the country that has most to fear from a statelet that is at once the toehold, the sanctuary and the springboard of an Islamist revolution.
No wonder liberal Egyptians are reacting with near-hysterical alarm to the demolition of the border fence between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai last month.
The Brotherhood organised at least 70 demonstrations throughout Egypt early last week to protest Israel's economic blockade of Gaza, itself a reaction to Hamas's frequent rocket barrages into Israel.
"Arm us, train us and send us to Gaza," chanted the demonstrators, along with "O rulers of Muslims, where is your honour, where is your religion?"
The independent Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum also described conversations between Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Mohammed Mahdi Akef, the Brotherhood's supreme guide, to co-ordinate their activities. "We will take to the streets and defend our brothers in Gaza, even if we are all tried in military courts," Mr Akef was reported as saying.
As Middle Eastern power plays go, Hamas's decision to dismantle the Gaza-Sinai border was a masterstroke.
Gaza's economic woes are almost wholly self-inflicted, but they are real. Dynamiting and bulldozing the border of a neighbouring country is legally an act of war, but it was made to seem like a humanitarian necessity and a bid for freedom. Flooding that neighbour with hundreds of thousands of desperate people is a massive economic burden on Egypt, but one that it shirks at its political peril.
Above all, Hamas exploited the myth of pan-Arab solidarity with the Palestinians in order to explode it.
Having whipped itself into its usual frenzy over Israel's "siege" of Gaza, it was a delicate matter for the state-run Egyptian press to make the Government's case for deploying truncheon-wielding police to turn back the Palestinian human tide. It's an equally delicate matter for the Egyptian Government to arrest Brotherhood protesters peacefully demonstrating "for Palestine", even if the Brotherhood's real target is Hosni Mubarak's regime and the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty it supports.
For Palestinians who have spent squalid decades in the refugee camps of Lebanon (which forbids Palestinians from owning property or having any sort of gainful employment), or been systematically abused as labourers in the Gulf sheikdoms (Kuwait expelled its Palestinian population en masse following its 1991 liberation from Iraq), or had a country denied to them by a Hashemite regime in Jordan, the lies of the Arab world are well-known.
Still, it must have seemed to Palestinians an especially galling contrast that Israel announced the resumption of fuel supplies to Gaza just as Egypt was cutting its deliveries of fuel and foodstuffs to its border towns of Rafah and El Arish in the Sinai, in order to keep the Palestinians out. For good measure, Egyptian sources tell me the Government also arrested 3000 Gazans this week who had made their way to Cairo - yet another betrayal that will surely linger in Palestinian memory for a long time.
For the Brotherhood, all this is excellent news.
This week, Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian minister in President Mahmoud Abbas's cabinet, reportedly sought a meeting in Cairo with supreme guide Akef in order to negotiate a new border arrangement.
Mr Akef declined to see him, a telling indicator of the Brotherhood's newfound political confidence. It can now lay firm claim to the Palestinian cause, never mind that its "brothers" in Hamas are the real source of current Palestinian misery.
By contrast, the Egyptian Government faces a serious quandary, and not just as a matter of rhetoric.
By its treaty with Israel, it is forbidden from deploying its army in large numbers to the Sinai. In previous years, it used this restriction as an alibi in its lacklustre efforts to prevent the arms flow from Sinai to Gaza. Now that flow threatens to go in the opposite direction, endangering not just Israel but also Egyptian tourist resorts such as Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh.
The Egyptian-Israeli treaty may ultimately have to be revised to take account of the changing facts on the ground. Israel, too, will have to rethink some basic assumptions.
Supporters of Ariel Sharon's "disengagement" plan can take a measure of satisfaction in noting Gaza is increasingly becoming an Arab problem rather than an Israeli one.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Cairo has more to fear from Hamas than Israel
by Bret Stephens
WHAT if Gaza were to conquer Egypt? The possibility is not as remote as it may seem just by glancing at the map.
Egypt has more than 50 times the population of its former colony and 2800 times the landmass.
But Gaza is sovereign Hamas territory, Hamas is the Palestinian branch of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, and Egypt - not Israel - is the country that has most to fear from a statelet that is at once the toehold, the sanctuary and the springboard of an Islamist revolution.
No wonder liberal Egyptians are reacting with near-hysterical alarm to the demolition of the border fence between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai last month.
The Brotherhood organised at least 70 demonstrations throughout Egypt early last week to protest Israel's economic blockade of Gaza, itself a reaction to Hamas's frequent rocket barrages into Israel.
"Arm us, train us and send us to Gaza," chanted the demonstrators, along with "O rulers of Muslims, where is your honour, where is your religion?"
The independent Egyptian daily Almasry Alyoum also described conversations between Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and Mohammed Mahdi Akef, the Brotherhood's supreme guide, to co-ordinate their activities. "We will take to the streets and defend our brothers in Gaza, even if we are all tried in military courts," Mr Akef was reported as saying.
As Middle Eastern power plays go, Hamas's decision to dismantle the Gaza-Sinai border was a masterstroke.
Gaza's economic woes are almost wholly self-inflicted, but they are real. Dynamiting and bulldozing the border of a neighbouring country is legally an act of war, but it was made to seem like a humanitarian necessity and a bid for freedom. Flooding that neighbour with hundreds of thousands of desperate people is a massive economic burden on Egypt, but one that it shirks at its political peril.
Above all, Hamas exploited the myth of pan-Arab solidarity with the Palestinians in order to explode it.
Having whipped itself into its usual frenzy over Israel's "siege" of Gaza, it was a delicate matter for the state-run Egyptian press to make the Government's case for deploying truncheon-wielding police to turn back the Palestinian human tide. It's an equally delicate matter for the Egyptian Government to arrest Brotherhood protesters peacefully demonstrating "for Palestine", even if the Brotherhood's real target is Hosni Mubarak's regime and the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty it supports.
For Palestinians who have spent squalid decades in the refugee camps of Lebanon (which forbids Palestinians from owning property or having any sort of gainful employment), or been systematically abused as labourers in the Gulf sheikdoms (Kuwait expelled its Palestinian population en masse following its 1991 liberation from Iraq), or had a country denied to them by a Hashemite regime in Jordan, the lies of the Arab world are well-known.
Still, it must have seemed to Palestinians an especially galling contrast that Israel announced the resumption of fuel supplies to Gaza just as Egypt was cutting its deliveries of fuel and foodstuffs to its border towns of Rafah and El Arish in the Sinai, in order to keep the Palestinians out. For good measure, Egyptian sources tell me the Government also arrested 3000 Gazans this week who had made their way to Cairo - yet another betrayal that will surely linger in Palestinian memory for a long time.
For the Brotherhood, all this is excellent news.
This week, Nabil Shaath, a Palestinian minister in President Mahmoud Abbas's cabinet, reportedly sought a meeting in Cairo with supreme guide Akef in order to negotiate a new border arrangement.
Mr Akef declined to see him, a telling indicator of the Brotherhood's newfound political confidence. It can now lay firm claim to the Palestinian cause, never mind that its "brothers" in Hamas are the real source of current Palestinian misery.
By contrast, the Egyptian Government faces a serious quandary, and not just as a matter of rhetoric.
By its treaty with Israel, it is forbidden from deploying its army in large numbers to the Sinai. In previous years, it used this restriction as an alibi in its lacklustre efforts to prevent the arms flow from Sinai to Gaza. Now that flow threatens to go in the opposite direction, endangering not just Israel but also Egyptian tourist resorts such as Taba and Sharm el-Sheikh.
The Egyptian-Israeli treaty may ultimately have to be revised to take account of the changing facts on the ground. Israel, too, will have to rethink some basic assumptions.
Supporters of Ariel Sharon's "disengagement" plan can take a measure of satisfaction in noting Gaza is increasingly becoming an Arab problem rather than an Israeli one.
...
Pertinent Links:
1) Cairo has more to fear from Hamas than Israel
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