Israel Matzav

Hamas to breach Gaza - Rafah border again?

Hamas is once again planning to breach the apartheid wall that separates the Gazan and Egyptian sides of the town of Rafah according to the 'official' Egyptian daily al-Ahram. The last time that happened, the result was an orgy of imported cigarettes, television sets and weapons arriving in Gaza from Egypt (have to keep those priorities in order, you know). Here's a web translation of the al-Ahram report:

Hamas organization continued incitement of religious, political and media against Egypt at a time when Palestinian sources revealed on reliable militias that Hamas had prepared a plan to storm the Egyptian border.

وقالت هذه المصادر ـ في اتصال هاتفي من قطاع غزة مع مندوب الأهرام ـ إن هذه الخطة تشمل أولا قصف المواقع المصرية بقذائف الهاون‏,‏ حيث قامت منظمة حماس يوم الأحد الماضي بتوزيع قذائف هاون عيار ستين‏,‏ ونشرت ميليشيات تابعة لها علي الحدود‏.‏ The sources said in a telephone call from the Gaza Strip with Al-Ahram that the plan includes first bombing sites Egyptian mortar fire, where the organization Hamas last Sunday distribution of sixty-mm mortar shells, and its affiliated militias deployed on the border.

وتشمل هذه الخطة ثانيا إطلاق نيران الرشاشات علي الجنود المصريين‏,‏ وجاء ذلك مترافقا مع إصدار حماس فتوي يوم الجمعة الماضي تبيح قتل الجنود المصريين‏.‏ The plan includes second firing machine guns at soldiers Egyptians, and that was coupled with the issuance of an advisory opinion Hamas last Friday allows soldiers killed Egyptians. [That's a fatwa - a Muslim religious law opinion that permits Hamas terrorists to kill Egyptian [soldiers?] despite the fact that they too are Muslims. CiJ]

وتتضمن الخطة ثالثا القيام بعملية التفاف خلف التحصينات المصرية عبر الأنفاق‏,‏ بالإضافة إلي تفجير بعض هذه التحصينات عبر تلغيم الأنفاق العابرة من أسفلها‏.‏ كما يترافق هذا مع تفجير الجدار الحدودي‏,‏ وذلك لمنع مصر من صد مجموعات من أهالي غزة تعتزم حماس الدفع بهم لاجتياز الحدود‏.‏ The plan includes a process III rallying behind fortifications across the Egyptian spending, in addition to the explosion of some of these fortifications across the mining expenditure of cross underneath. Also associated with the explosion of border wall, in order to prevent Egypt to repel groups of Gazans intends Hamas pay them to cross the border. [In other words, Hamas, which is supposedly broke, is going to pay its own 'people' to cross the border, and they have explosives planted underneath the apartheid wall to blow it up. CiJ].

وفي هذا الإطار‏,‏ قامت حماس بتجهيز وزراعة ما يقرب من أربعة كيلومترات من الحدود مع مصر بالمتفجرات‏,‏ وعلي مسافات متفاوتة لعمل ثغرات في الجدار الحدودي‏,‏ وذلك في المنطقة الواقعة بين نقطتي تل زعرب غربا‏,‏ وحتي منطقة البرازيل وحي السلام شرقا‏.‏ In this context, the Hamas processing and cultivation almost four kilometres from the border with Egypt explosives, and the varying distances to work gaps in the border wall, in an area between Tel Zo'rob points west, and even the inspired Brazil Peace east.

وأوضحت المصادر نفسها أن حماس وضعت إشارة تنفيذ التفجير رهن موافقة بعض الدول العربية والإقليمية المتحالفة معها‏.‏ وأشارت هذه المصادر إلي اتصالات جرت بين منظمة حماس وجماعة الإخوان المحظورة تتولي بمقتضاها الجهة الأخيرة قيادة حملة سياسية وإعلامية داخل مصر‏,‏ تشمل الدعوة إلي تنظيم مسيرات ومؤتمرات لإحراج الحكومة المصرية‏,‏ ومنعها من صد هجوم حماس علي القوات المصرية‏,‏ واقتحام الحدود‏.‏ The same sources said that Hamas has a reference implementation explosive subject to the approval of some Arab and regional allies. The sources pointed out contacts between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood is banned whereby the recent leadership campaign of political and media in Egypt, including the call to organize marches and conferences to embarrass the Egyptian government, refusing to repel an attack by Hamas Egyptian forces, and storming the border.

As many of you already know, I translate professionally from Hebrew to English. This looks like a first rough translation that needs to be turned into proper English by someone whose first language is English and who speaks Arabic well. If anyone out there speaks Arabic, please feel free to comment, especially to correct any of my impressions. Here's some of what JPost has to say about it.

The paper quoted "reliable Palestinian sources" as saying that Hamas activists were planning to fire mortar shells at Egyptian forces during the first stage of the operation.

After that they intend to fire directly at the Egyptian troops, and ultimately destroy Egyptian battlements with explosives, some of them planted in tunnels beneath the guard posts.

Meanwhile, the Hamas intends to breach the border with Egypt and allow the general populace to flood into the Sinai.

The sources also told the paper that the organization had planted explosives along four kilometers of the border.

According to the plan, the operation would be assisted by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the sources said.

Heh.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:21 AM