Israel Matzav

Hamas can control the terror in Gaza when it wants to

When they want the Egyptians to open their border and the Israelis to stop bombing their facilities, Hamas knows whom to arrest and how to arrest them.

Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip, moving to ease border tensions and confront an internal challenge to their authority, have arrested the spiritual leader of an Islamist group that claims responsibility for firing rockets at Israel in defiance of a two-year-old truce.

The arrest of Hisham al-Suaydani, confirmed Sunday by Hamas officials, followed stepped-up Israeli air strikes against the Palestinian enclave. The latest round of strikes damaged three Hamas military bases late Saturday, causing damage but no casualties, officials in Gaza said.

Israel's army said it is retaliating against rocket fire and holds Hamas accountable. The army said more than 60 rockets or mortar rounds have been launched into southern Israel this year. Hamas has called on smaller armed factions active in Gaza to respect the informal truce, which took effect in January 2009 following a 23-day Israeli assault on the seaside territory.

Mr. al-Suaydani, whose nom de guerre is Shekh Abu Walid-al-Maqdasi, was arrested Wednesday in a beachside neighborhood of Gaza City. His group, Monotheism and Holy War, is one of several Salafist factions in Gaza that draw inspiration from al Qaeda and have challenged Hamas to act more aggressively against Israel and impose an extreme version of Islamic law.

Hamas, an Islamist movement backed by Iran, neither recognizes Israel's right to exist nor renounces violence as a political tool. But its leaders say they are committed to a long-term truce and appear eager to demonstrate to Egypt's new military leadership that they can enforce security along Gaza's borders with Egypt and Israel.

Wouldn't it be nice if Hamas were inclined to do the 'right thing' more often?

Labels: Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, Hisham al-Suaydani, Israel, Monotheism and Holy War, Salafists

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:31 PM