Israel Matzav

Hamas 'didn't expect such a massive attack'

Get out the world's smallest violin.

For weeks now we've been hearing threats from Hamas about how 'thousands' of suicide bombers were going to kill thousands of Israeli soldiers if Israel ever dared to invade Hamastan to put a stop to the rocket fire on its civilians. Now, not only is Hamas suing for 'peace,' they are claiming that they never expected this in the first place. I guess they thought their threats were a deterrent.

Beleaguered Hamas leaders on Sunday signaled their willingness to reach a cease-fire with Israel, sources close to Hamas said.

The sources said Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh sent urgent messages to the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia urging them to work toward ending the IDF military operations in the Gaza Strip.

The sources told The Jerusalem Post that Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders also appealed to Turkey to intervene and convince Israel to halt its offensive.

Hamas's apparent readiness to reach a cease-fire with Israel is seen by some Palestinians as evidence of the Islamist movement's concern that it may lose control over the Gaza Strip should the military operations continue.

But lose control to whom? I would hate to see Israel finally do what has to be done and then turn Gaza over to NATO or to another 'international force' so Hamas can build itself up all over again (as Hezbullah has done in Lebanon). Turn it over to Abu Mazen? No chance. And no chance he will take it from Israel either because it will make him a 'collaborator.' That leaves one other option - reoccupation. To be followed by de-Nazification. Just like in Germany and Japan after World War II.

"Hamas is nervous," remarked a senior Palestinian Authority official in Ramallah. "All their leaders have gone underground. They didn't expect such a massive attack from Israel."

What the heck were they expecting? A picnic?

Other Palestinians, however, said Hamas's call for a cease-fire at this stage of the fighting was aimed at showing that Israel had failed in achieving its primary goal of toppling the Hamas regime.

All the more reason not to agree to a cease fire. The Arabs would have to be awfully dumb to actually believe this. But a 'cease fire' would allow them to save face (in addition to allowing them to rebuild) and one thing we cannot allow them to do now is save face. That has huge implications across the Arab world where people kill for 'honor.'

Taher a-Nunu, a spokesman for the Hamas government, confirmed that the Hamas leadership had sought the intervention of a number of Arab countries in reaching a cease-fire with Israel.

He said Hamas had also invited Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa to visit the Gaza Strip in solidarity with the Palestinians.

And I'm sure Moussa is just plotzing to come. I'll bet he'll be there tomorrow even if they're still shooting. /sarc.

"Hamas wants to end the genocide and holocaust in the Gaza Strip," the spokesman said. "We have urged a number of Arab and Muslim leaders to exert pressure on the Americans and Europeans to save the Palestinians."

I cannot tell you how much anger I feel and how much more contempt I have for these b*****ds when I hear them use words like 'genocide' and 'holocaust' about their fake ''Palestinian people.'

He also accused Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas of providing Israel with an excuse to attack the Gaza Strip by declaring that al-Qaida had established bases there. "Some of the leaders of the Mukata [presidential compound] in Ramallah gave Israel a green light to launch its aggression on the Gaza Strip," he added. "The Americans have also given their blessing to the attack."

They're wrong about Abu Mazen - he's more scared of Hamas than of Israel (Hamas will kill him, Israel won't). But Olmert doesn't do anything without Condi's approval these days, and since Hamas are the 'bad terrorists,' I'm reasonably sure that Condi has given some limited approval.

Hamas leaders and spokesmen expressed deep concern over the failure of the Arab and Islamic governments to put pressure on Israel and the US to stop the IDF operations. "The Arabs and Muslims are not only sleeping," said a Hamas official. "They are actually partners to the Israeli aggression."

The Arab countries couldn't give a damn about the 'Palestinians' so long as no one calls on the Arab countries to solve the problem. That's why they've been 'refugees' for sixty years.

He said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah II were the only Arab leaders who were actively working toward reaching a cease-fire between Hamas and Israel.

And they're the only ones with peace treaties with Israel.

The Egyptians and Jordanians are clearly worried that the violence in the Gaza Strip would trigger unrest in their countries. Over the weekend, thousands of Palestinians, Jordanians and Egyptians demonstrated in protest against the IDF raids and the "continued silence" of the Arab leaders.

Mubarak on Sunday decided to reopen the Rafah border crossing to allow Palestinians to be brought into Egypt for medical treatment. Some 200 Palestinians were transferred immediately from the Gaza Strip to different hospitals in Egypt. Jordan also decided to open its hospitals to Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

They should be going in one direction only. Out of Gaza. The 'Palestinians' in Gaza are really Egyptians from the same Bedouin tribes as the Egyptians. And the 'Palestinians' in Jordan are really Jordanians from the same Bedouin tribes as the 'Jordanians.'

Meanwhile, PA officials in Ramallah voiced concern over growing protests in the West Bank in the aftermath of the IDF military operations. The officials warned that the ongoing offensive and the growing number of casualties in the Gaza Strip could spark a "new intifada" in the West Bank.

According to a PA official, Palestinian policemen refused Sunday to confront demonstrators in many West Bank cities out of fear of being branded "collaborators" with Israel. "The Israeli military escalation is weakening the Palestinian Authority," the official warned. "Israel is rallying more and more Palestinians behind Hamas."

The only intifada being sparked here is against Abu Mazen and his corrupt 'Palestinian Authority.' The 'Palestinians' in the 'West Bank' know that Israel can do the same thing there that it is now doing in Gaza.

There is only one cease fire that is acceptable. An unconditional surrender by Hamas and 24 hours for its leadership and any other Arab not willing to live in peace with Israel to leave the Gaza Strip permanently. I could care less where they go. Anything less than that is a failure for Israel.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:20 AM