tagged w/ Hamas
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Haddad: Israel's prisoner exchange with HAMAS will release much of the Palestinian political leadership.Haddad: Israel's prisoner exchange with HAMAS will release much of the... more
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Israel is likely to face advanced Iranian weaponry, long-range rockets, large missile silos and dozens of kilometers of underground tunnels connecting open fields with urban centers in the event of a future conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, according to the latest Israeli assessments.
Since Operation Cast Lead ended almost a year ago, Hamas has increased its weapons smuggling and today operates hundreds of tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor. It has smuggled in dozens of long-range Iranian-made rockets that can reach Tel Aviv as well as advanced anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank missiles.
Hamas is believed to have a significant number of shoulder-launched anti-tank missiles and 9M113 Konkurs, which have a range of four kilometers and are capable of penetrating heavy armor.
In addition, Hamas is believed to have today a few thousand rockets, including several hundred with a range of 40 kilometers and several dozen with a range of between 60 and 80 km. Intelligence assessments are that Hamas smuggled the missiles into the Gaza Strip through tunnels, possibly in several components.
Iran already supplies Hamas with 122mm Katyusha rockets that are smuggled into Gaza in several pieces and then assembled by Hamas engineers.
One of the main lessons Hamas learned from Cast Lead was the need to reinforce its defenses and as a result has invested efforts in digging additional tunnels, which connect open fields with homes belonging to key operatives as well as command centers.Israel is likely to face advanced Iranian weaponry, long-range rockets, large missile... more
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America's leading human rights organization has accused Israel and its supporters of an "organized campaign" of false allegations and misinformation in an attempt to discredit the group over its reports of war crimes in Gaza. The campaign against Human Rights Watch has included accusations that the group's reports on the Jewish state are written by "anti-Israel ideologues" and that it has sought funds from Saudi Arabia.America's leading human rights organization has accused Israel and its supporters... more
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A senior U.N. official said this past week that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza made homeless by Israel’s invasion nine months ago face a cold and rainy winter unless Israel allows building supplies in.A senior U.N. official said this past week that thousands of Palestinians in Gaza made... more
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Palestinian leaders are saying that the Obama administration’s backing of Israel’s refusal to halt Jewish settlement expansion has killed any hope of reviving peace negotiations soon.Palestinian leaders are saying that the Obama administration’s backing of... more
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Israel's military is claiming that Hamas has a new rocket capable of reaching Tel Aviv and other Israeli population centers. Hamas apparently test-fired their new rocket, believed to be Iranian-made, out into the sea. Hamas denies having a new rocket, saying Israel is trying to turn world opinion against them.
(FROM THE NEWS BLOG: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/11/03/hamas-has-a-new-rocket/)
Most of the rockets fired from the Gaza Strip are very short range and have notoriously unreliable aim. Collective Journalism contributor Zouheir al-Najjar had incredible access to a militant group constructing rockets - and they walked him through how they're made. As you'll see at the end of the video - the rockets aren't very precise weapons.
Gaza Rockets (Video) - http://current.com/items/89666922_gaza-rockets.htm
On the other side of the fence, Israelis in the city of Sderot live in constant siege from the haphazard firing of these unpredictable rockets. The rockets can't hit specific targets but their unpredictability makes them more of a menace to the civilian population.
City in the Crosshairs (Video) - http://current.com/items/88817521_city-in-the-crosshairs.htm
If Hamas does have this new rocket that Israel claims it does - then the fear is that many more cities would become like Sderot, living in constant fear of wanton rocket fire. Of course the other question will be how many rockets could Hamas get its hands on. They are, after all, under an extensive blockade with just a trickle of supplies coming through their tunnels. Blogger Ibn Larry has a great write-up of the tunnels and blockades - and gives us a shout out as well (thanks!)
Ibn Larry's Blog: http://ibnlarry.blogspot.com/2009/10/gaza-tunnels-and-rockets-part-1.html
The Hamas story from AFP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hP0g_RSxzVszzw8xGAegiQo9GeuwIsrael's military is claiming that Hamas has a new rocket capable of reaching Tel... more
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UN Watch statement, delivered by Col.Richard Kemp on October 16th, 2009, UN Human Rights Special Session on Goldstone Report.UN Watch statement, delivered by Col.Richard Kemp on October 16th, 2009, UN Human... more
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When Israel unleashed Operation Cast Lead in Gaza almost all Italian newspapers and tv showed a strong pro-Israel bias. When news show Annozero dared to dedicate an episode to the suffering of children caught in the war in Gaza, almost all political forces and journalists in the country wanted to crucify its host Santoro. Yet now there is a UN report that says clearly how things went.When Israel unleashed Operation Cast Lead in Gaza almost all Italian newspapers and tv... more
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(CNN) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session Thursday to reopen discussion of Israel's three-week offensive against the Islamic militant group Hamas in Gaza.
According to a statement from the council, the meeting request came from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and is co-sponsored by 18 members of the 47-member body based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The council commissioned South African Judge Richard Goldstone to lead a fact-finding mission into the hostilities in Gaza that lasted from December 27, 2008, to January 18, 2009.
Goldstone's group issued a report last month which concluded that both Israel and Hamas had committed "actions amounting to war crimes, possibly crimes against humanity."
The council received the report September 29, but took no action, after a request by the Palestinian Authority to defer discussion for six months.
The Palestinian Authority government of Mahmoud Abbas came under withering criticism by Gaza Palestinians for the move.
Abbas defended his request in a televised speech Sunday and vowed to work "to punish everyone who was responsible for the hideous crimes committed against our children, our men and women -- especially in our dear Gaza."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a speech Monday at the opening session of the Knesset, called the war crimes charge "an absurd claim."
...More...(CNN) -- The United Nations Human Rights Council will hold a special session Thursday... more
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For the last few days clashes have broken out in Jerusalem near the complex known to Jews as Temple Mount and to Muslims as Haram-al-Sharif.
"On Monday, minor clashes broke out at the mosque, although tens of thousands of Jewish worshippers attended a blessing ceremony at the Western Wall for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot without major incident. Police said they closed the mosque to male worshippers under 50 after finding wheelbarrows full of stones inside the complex. Elsewhere in Jerusalem, an Israeli policeman was stabbed in the neck while carrying out an inspection on a bus. Reports said youths began throwing stones after a Palestinian was arrested in connection with the attack."For the last few days clashes have broken out in Jerusalem near the complex known to... more
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UK, September 17, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Could anyone imagine as a result of your own actions you are killing your own troops and your own population? This is now the case in Israel.
Many weapons used by the IDF in Gaza contained uranium components and upon impact set off huge volumes of aerosol particles that then drifted back over the border into Israel with devastating results.
It has been some time since the Israelis bombed Lebanon and the Gaza Strip and in both cases the weapons used left behind a trial of misery for all those that lived downwind. We can now start to see the results of those actions and I must say the term "What goes around comes around" rings true in the ears of the residents of Israel. Some interesting health statements have been released that prove when you play with dirty weapons it can all come back to you. It would now appear that we have a situation whereby Israelis are killing Israelis.
In May this year we saw the following headline appear in the Haaretz:
"Quality of Israeli sperm down 40% in past decade" The quality of Israeli sperm has declined alarmingly in the last decade, according to recent research conducted at Jerusalem's Hadassah University Hospital, Mount Scopus. The cause for the decline is not known, but it's believed by some researchers to be connected to the exposure of children and pregnant women to hormones and other contaminants in food and water.
This month started to see some more statistics appear out of Israel which again indicates that contamination by DU may well be the cause. The next headline was even more alarming: "More women diagnosed with cancer in Israel than in Europe" Israel's health ranking is dropping compared to those of developed European nations, the Israel Medical Association said yesterday. Israel lags behind the European average in disease prevention.
The report gave a clear message that something in the environment may be causing these dramatic increases. The comparison gave the number of new female cancer patients as follows: 290 per 100,000 compared to an average of 179 in Europe. The report went of the say that for men the average was much the same but again was showing a steady rise since 2005.
When you think you have heard the last of the bad news you are then confronted with another shocking headline from the IMA: Hodgkin's lymphoma is a distinct primary solid tumour of the immune system that shows wide variation in incidence among different geographic regions and among various races. It was previously suggested that susceptible people living in certain parts of Israel had a higher risk of HL because of exposure to unidentified environmental factors in these regions. Compared with other parts of Israel, these regions were characterized by a higher proportion of Israeli-born Jews.
A total of 4812 Jewish cases of HL were reported to the Israel Cancer Registry during the study period 1960-2005. There has been a persistent increase in the age-standardized incidence rate of HL, all subtypes pooled, in Israeli-born Jews in both men and women. The age distribution pattern in both genders was bimodal in all periods. The highest incidence was observed in the 20-24 year age group: for women (9.13 per 100,000 per year) during the period 1988-1996, and for men (6.60 per 100,000 per year) during the period 1997-2005.UK, September 17, 2009 (Pal Telegraph)- Could anyone imagine as a result of your own... more
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Many thought it was impossible for Gilad Shalit to still be alive and well after years being a captured soldier in Gaza. Needless to say, we can all be relieved that there is a chance that he will go home and be with his family again. We should all call upon the Israeli government and Hamas to make an agreement to get Shalit home safe and sound.
Watch the clip here on Youtube - Hebrew only.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDAsGS_gOeI
He explains that he is being treated well, that he hopes Netanyahu will do what he need to do to get him home, that he misses his whole family (at which point his voice cracks a bit). Most importantly, he shows the camera a Palestinian newspaper dated in September, so we know that this is not an old video, that he is really still alive. He walks to the camera to show that he is in one piece.Many thought it was impossible for Gilad Shalit to still be alive and well after years... more
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Believe it or not, one of these two photographs is real.
Masked Palestinian Hamas militants speak to the press during a press conference in Gaza City, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Israel and Hamas militants announced a deal Wednesday that will see Israel release 20 Palestinian women from prison this week in exchange for a videotape proving that a captive Israeli soldier held in the Gaza Strip is still alive. The decision was the first tangible sign of movement in more than three years of talks over the release of the soldier, Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who has not been seen since he was captured by Hamas-linked militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
For the first time in a while, the press has decided that it's safe to run glamor shots from a Hamas press conference again.
What is plain and true and good is lost on the erudite barbarians in the press:
So, again I raise the same questions as before to the morally-challenged members of the press who allow this to continue:
Would you have attended these press conferences if the Ku Klux Klan was hosting one about the evils of the civil rights movement? Would you be going out of your way to provide the Nazi German point of view during coverage of World War II?
And editors, would you allow glowing coverage of either of those two groups to dominate your news coverage?
Because Hamas, an organization which has genocide written into its constitution, is no better than either of those two groups—and yet, you seem to think that the news consumers of the world are dying to know what Hamas has to say.
Coverage of these disgusting murderous thugs must stop. Unless you don't mind destroying every last shred of your credibility, that is.Believe it or not, one of these two photographs is real.
Masked Palestinian Hamas... more
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This past week, The New Statesman interviewed Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, in which he clearly states that the Palestinian struggle is anything but a conflict between Muslims and the Jewish people. He insisted that the Palestinians were fighting against an occupier who had dispossessed them of their homes and lands, regardless of religion, creed or race. He also went on to confirm that the concept of coexistence was largely present in the Palestinian psyche, and that genocide, as suffered by Jews in Europe (and which he described as "horrible and criminal") was alien not only to the Palestinians but to the inhabitants of the region as a whole.This past week, The New Statesman interviewed Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, in which he... more
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I write to you, America, as a Muslim-American who is frustrated at seeing both sides of my identity spreading myths about each other. In part one of this two part article, I address America from a Muslim perspective. In part two, which will follow in the coming weeks, I shall write to the Muslim community, from an American perspective.
Dear America,
Our world today is assaulted with myriad headlines describing rising extremism and terrorism, and political instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Middle East. Despite the plethora of bad news, most recently we have seen a day of hope marked by the end of Ramadan, where Muslims from all nations, social classes, and sects openly united in the spirit of humility, brotherhood, thankfulness, and peace.
As human beings, you and me have a tendency to let the negative marginalize the good and the true. But in this Ramadan the unity and the message of peace and humility that nearly a billion Muslims have exhibited should not go unnoticed, nor should it be underestimated.
America, even though you are part of us (Muslims) and we are a part of you, you often fear and misunderstand the one thing that unites the billion of us around the world is peace, love, and spiritual strength. You fear our religion, Islam. I write the following to not accuse anyone or apologize on behalf of any group. In part one of this article, I speak to you America, as one Muslim who is part of the majority of Muslims standing against the Ahmedinijads, Bin Ladens, and Taliban and Al Qaeda. These men have stolen my voice... our voice. The actions of a violent minority have for too long trumped the selfless and righteous actions of the moderate majority who do good in the name of Islam.
Firstly, Muslims are not a violent people and Islam is not a violent religion. I fear you overlook the fact that the faith of Muslims has been monopolized by the corrupt despots of Muslim countries and Muslim extremists. And it is the extremists whose power is bolstered by a media that has paralyzed the voice of the Muslim majority, who in fact abhor violence and terrorism.
It can be confusing even to me because on one side we only see Muslim extremists on the TV preaching hate in the name of Islam and we barely hear the majority. As I will touch on in part two of this article, Muslims have even marginalized themselves. But America, Muslims are a community of over a billion people, most of whom live in poverty within developing countries governed by oppressive, abusive, authoritarian regimes. These very regimes remain bunkered against an alienated group of extremists who are taking to the gun instead of a potentially rigged ballot. It is our mothers and daughters and sons who are being killed on a daily basis by either violent extremists or botched missile attacks by NATO. We are against violence and terrorism America, be it from Muslim extremists or NATO bombs. We are against violence because it is we who are the primary target of most terrorist attacks today. And while we may disagree with your military actions and policies, we look up to the principles that make up America... I speak of the freedom to be critical of yourself as a society and government; the opportunities awarded by the most comprehensive education system in the world; and your effortless ability to adapt in an ever transforming world.
Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mohsin-mohiud-din/dear-america-letter-from_b_299362.htmlI write to you, America, as a Muslim-American who is frustrated at seeing both sides... more
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"Hamas teaches kids to kill Jews," by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik for Palestinian Media Watch, September 23 :
The bear puppet host, Nassur, of a Hamas children's TV program used different words for "slaughter" to describe how to rid Israel of Jews.
First the bear explains that all Jews must be "erased from our land." Later in the conversation he adds, "We want to slaughter them, Saraa, so they will be expelled from our land." He repeats, "...We'll have to [do it] by slaughter."
He first uses the Arabic expression for "slaughter," "Nidbah-hom," and later on uses the word "Shaht."
The following is the transcript from the children's program Tomorrow's Pioneers:
Nassur: "There won't be any Jews or Zionists, if Allah wills. They'll be erased."
Saraa: "Chased away."
Nassur: "And just like we will visit the Qaaba [in Mecca]... everyone will visit Jerusalem."
[Seven-year old Palestinian child on phone tells how his father, a member of the Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades, "died as a Shahid (Martyr)."]
Nassur to child on phone: "What do you want to do to the Jews who shot your father?"
Child on phone: "I want to kill them."
Saraa: "We don't want to do anything to them, just expel them from our land."
Nassur: "We want to slaughter (Nidbah-hom) them, so they will be expelled from our land, right?"
Saraa: "Yes. That's right. We will expel them from our land using all means."
Nassur: "And if they don't want [to go] peacefully, by words or talking, we'll have to [do it] by slaughter." (Shaht)
[Al-Aqsa (Hamas) TV, Sept. 22, 2009"Hamas teaches kids to kill Jews," by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques... more
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“So why did the Israeli government boycott the commission? The real answer is quite simple: they knew full well that the commission, any commission, would have to reach the conclusions it did reach.”
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The important points come near the end: that the rather conservative findings of the report (and its acceptance of Israel’s dubious right to self-defense–dubious because Gaza is effectively occupied), have acted as a "bombshell" in Israel because Goldstone calls for action, and because the report contributes to the fraying of Jewish support for Israel and to the "Legitimacy War" that Israel has been losing in the eyes of the world. "A historic contribution" to the Palestinian struggle for justice, Falk concludes.
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Uri Avnery (Israeli peace activist, and former Knesset member), “On the Goldstone Report” 19 Sept 2009
Richard Goldstone, former judge of South Aftica’s Constitutional Court, the first prosecutor at The Hague on behalf of the International Criminal Court for Former Yugolavia, and anti-apartheid campaigner reports that he was most reluctant to take on the job of chairing the UN fact-finding mission charged with investigating allegations of war crimes committed by Israel and Hamas during the three week Gaza War of last winter. Goldstone explains that his reluctance was due to the issue being “deeply charged and politically loaded,” and was overcome because he and his fellow commissioners were “professionals committed to an objective, fact-based investigation,” adding that “above all, I accepted because I believe deeply in the rule of law and the laws of war,” as well as the duty to protect civilians to the extent possible in combat zones. The four-person fact-finding mission was composed of widely respected and highly qualified individuals, including the distinguished international law scholar, Christine Chinkin, a professor at the London School of Economics. Undoubtedly adding complexity to Goldstone’s decision is the fact that he is Jewish, with deep emotional and family ties to Israel and Zionism, bonds solidified by his long association with several organizations active in Israel.
Despite the impeccable credentials of the commission members, and the worldwide reputation of Richard Goldstone as a person of integrity and political balance, Israel refused cooperation from the outset. It did not even allow the UN undertaking to enter Israel or the Palestinian Territories, forcing reliance on the Egyptian government to facilitate entry at Rafah to Gaza. As Uri Avnery observes, however much Israel may attack the commission report as one-sided and unfair, the only plausible explanation of its refusal to cooperate with fact-finding and taking the opportunity to tell its side of the story was that it had nothing to tell that could hope to overcome the overwhelming evidence of the Israeli failure to carry out its attacks on Gaza last winter in accordance with the international law of war. No credible international commission could reach any set of conclusions other than those reached by the Goldstone Report on the central allegations.
In substantive respects the Goldstone Report adds nothing new. Its main contribution is to confirm widely reported and analyzed Israeli military practices during the Gaza War. There had been several reliable reports already issued, condemning Israel’s tactics as violations of the laws of war and international humanitarian law, including by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and a variety of respected Israeli human rights groups. Journalists and senior United Nations civil servants had reached similar conclusions. Perhaps, most damning of all the material available before the Goldstone Report was the publication of a document entitled “Breaking the Silence,” containing commentaries by thirty members of the Israel Defense Forces---continued below“So why did the Israeli government boycott the commission? The real answer is... more
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