Hamas says Palestinian Authority gov't in Ramallah has stopped delivery of milk and medicine to Gaza Strip.— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) May 9, 2017
Labels: Fatah, Gaza, Hamas, Palestinian Authority
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 9:40 PM
1 comments
Prisoners affiliated to the Palestinian People's Party (PPP) announced they would undertake what has come to be known as the “Freedom and Dignity” strike, according to jailed PPP leader and member of the PPP Central Committee Bassem Khandaqji.
"After consultations with prisoners of various factions, PPP-affiliated prisoners decided to join the battle for freedom and dignity on April 17, which coincides with Palestinian Prisoner's Day." Khandaqji said in a statement.
The Palestinian Popular Struggle Front (PPSF) also said on Sunday that prisoners affiliated to the group would join the Fatah-led strike.
The PPSF statement went on to warn of a potential “serious escalation by Israeli authorities against prisoners after they launch the battle for freedom and dignity, which will mark a turning point in the life of Palestinian prisoners.” The group said it "urged the Palestinian people to organize actions to support the hunger strikers in their battle, both at popular and official levels."
Hamas meanwhile confirmed in an official statement on Sunday that prisoners affiliated to the movement held in Hadarim prison would join the strike.
The higher leading committee of Hamas-affiliated prisoners in Israeli custody said it “completely supports the Freedom and Dignity hunger strike, which an elite group of brave prisoners will start tomorrow in order to forcibly obtain our stolen rights.”
“We warn the Israel Prison Service against bringing any harm to the hunger strikers. Any delay in answering their just demands will explode the situation inside all prisons. All prisoners will unite in the face of all those who might harm prisoners and their dignity,” the Hamas statement said.
It was previously reported that all prisoners in Hadarim and Nafha prison would join, regardless of their political affiliation, including those affiliated to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad.
However, the left-wing PFLP later said that despite its “appreciation” for Barghouthi, it was not in fact undertaking the hunger strike, because it was organized by Fatah without coordinating with all other Palestinian political factions.Hopefully, this time, Israel will not force feed the 'prisoners' (as it has been forced to do by its 'Supreme Court' at times in the past). If they want to starve themselves to death, let them. This isn't about prison conditions. It's about politics.
מרוואן ברגותי העביר מסרים בחשאי להנהגת חמאס מחוץ לכלא ובהם הוא קורא ללחוץ על אסירי חמאס בכלא להצטרף לשביתת הרעב שהוא מתכנן להוביל ממחר>>— Gal Berger גל ברגר (@galberger) April 16, 2017
חמאס הודיע כי יתמוך בשביתה, וכי אסירי חמאס בכלא הדרים יצטרפו עליה, אך לא הודיע על השתתפות כוללת של אסיריו בכלל בתי הכלא בשביתה>>— Gal Berger גל ברגר (@galberger) April 16, 2017
ברגותי מצפה מהנהגת חמאס להצטרף לשביתת הרעב בהמשך אחרי שתצבור נפח. מעריכים כי בשלב 1 ישתתפו יותר מ-1,000 אסירים; לא כל אסירי הפת"ח מצטרפים— Gal Berger גל ברגר (@galberger) April 16, 2017
Marwan Barghouti sent secret messages to the Hamas leadership outside the mail calling on them to pressure Hamas prisoners in jail to join the hunger strike that he plans to lead starting tomorrow.
Hamas announced that it will support the strike and that Hamas prisoners in the Hadarim jail will join it, but did not announce general participation of its prisoners in all prisons in the strike.
Barghouti expects Hamas' leadership to join the strike later after it gathers volume. It's estimated that in the First Phase more than 1,000 prisoners will participate; not all of Fatah's prisoners are participating.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Fatah, Hamas, Marwan Barghouti, Palestinian prisoners, Palestinian terrorists
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:19 PM
8 comments
According to the statement, Liberman protested that the UN is ignoring a number of killings and executions that have happened in recent days among the Palestinians in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon, as well as in Gaza.Who does he think will raise it? Does anyone really care?
“The international community’s ignoring dozens of dead and wounded shows again the hypocrisy and the double standard that the world employs by ignoring these grave incidents, while on the other hand condemning Israel’s justified actions against terrorism,” he said.
Liberman, according to the statement, expects that the issue of intra-Palestinian killings will be raised at the next meeting of the UN Security Council.
Mladenov’s office issued a “no comment” when asked about the phone call.
...
On Saturday, Mladenov issued a statement saying that he was “deeply concerned” by growing tensions in Gaza.'Unprecedented Israeli restrictions'? Really? That would be news to East Germans, Hungarians, Czechoslovaks and ordinary Russians.
He said that over the past decade the Palestinians in Gaza “have lived through four conflicts, with no freedom, unprecedented Israeli restrictions, a dire humanitarian crisis, high unemployment, an ongoing electricity crisis and the lack of political perspective.”
Mladenov called on all Palestinian factions to allow the Palestinian Government to assume its responsibility in Gaza. “Gaza is an integral part of the future Palestinian state and no efforts should be spared to bring about real national reconciliation that ends the division. Leaders have a responsibility to avoid escalation and bridge the growing divide between Gaza and the West Bank that further fragments the Palestinian people.”
Labels: Avigdor Lieberman, Fatah, Gaza, Gaza blockade, Gaza plenty, Hamas, hypocrisy, Russia
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:00 PM
4 comments
The Islamist group said the video from the event, hosted by the king of Bahrain and attended by members of the local Jewish community, was “humiliating” after it was posted on YouTube.
In the clip, Muslim and Jewish men wearing keffiyehs and kippahs were seen performing a traditional Hasidic dance during a candle-lighting ceremony.
“In light of the increasing pace of international sympathy for the Palestinian cause… and the growing boycott of the Zionist movement in all forms, a group of dignitaries and traders in the State of Bahrain hosted a Zionist, racist and extremist Jewish delegation and danced with them in a humiliating and disgraceful spectacle,” Hamas officials said in a statement.
“Hamas calls on Bahrain to fully stop any form of normalisation with the Zionist enemy.”But John Kerry thinks it's all about 'settlement' construction.
Labels: Bahrain, Chanuka, Hamas
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:26 AM
1 comments
Israel in recent years has discovered and is developing enormous natural gas reserves, and has installed air defenses around platforms, including a sea-based Iron Dome system.
Ynet News reports:Read the whole thing.
Chief Hamas engineer Mohammad al-Zawahri, who was killed in Tunisia earlier this month, was reportedly working on drones and “remote-controlled submarines” for the Islamic terror group. A TV station in Tunisia recently aired footage allegedly presenting these projects.AL Monitor further reports:
Talk show Labes aired photos from al-Zawahri’s lab with host Rashed al-Hiyari claiming one of them shows remote-controlled “submarines” developed by the Tunisia engineer.
“Israel knew he was a real threat and that is why it assassinated him,” al-Hiyari said of al-Zawahri. “There was a failed attempt to assassinate him several months ago as well.”
Alzoari was an aeronautical engineer who specialized in the manufacture of drones. For the last few years, he was employed by Hamas and Hezbollah. According to sources in Tunis, he also designed an unmanned naval vessel, apparently submersible and capable of attacking targets at sea.According to the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronoth (the Hebrew language version of Ynet), al-Zawahari was involved specifically in targeting the natural gas platforms.
Labels: drone, Hamas, Hezbullah, Palestinian terrorism, targeted killings
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:05 PM
1 comments
Fires from an estimated 220 points of origin have broken out throughout central and northern Israel since Wednesday and assessments by police have strengthened suspicions that many were deliberately set and were nationalistically motivated.
Boaz Ganor, founder and executive director of the International Institute for Counter- Terrorism, told The Jerusalem Post that, “even if a portion are intentional, it is not organized.
It’s not that you have a terrorist organization giving orders to their members to carry out fire attacks, though maybe in a few hours you can have groups like Hamas claiming the fires.”
But “one thing is clear,” Ganor said. “It is not a new form of terrorism. Arson attacks and setting fires in populated areas or forests are a well known modus operandi of terrorist groups, and not only in Israel.
In the ninth issue of the English-language Inspire magazine, released by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in 2012, a significant portion was dedicated to attacking the United States by starting wildfires. The magazine listed instructions on how to ignite forest fires and the materials required, and instructs readers to look for two factors needed for a successful wildfire: dry conditions and high winds.
“When we define this phenomenon as ‘fire intifada’ – words used by the media, politicians and laypeople – we are overestimating the phenomenon,” Ganor told the Post. Nevertheless, Ganor explained that the pictures on social media networks of flames in the center of Haifa and surrounding Jerusalem are “heaven for those who may want to join the so-called ‘fire intifada,’ especially if you add the false reasoning of revenge for banning the call to prayer.”
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Ganor says “we should not exaggerate the terrorist motivation behind the wildfires,” stressing that “the conditions right now are perfect for fires, with an extended period of dry weather and strong winds.”Earlier this evening, there were reports on Israel of 'Palestinians' celebrating the massive fires, many of which are now burning out of control around the country. Stay safe, especially those of you up north.
Michael Horowitz, director of intelligence at Prime Source, a Middle East-based geopolitical consultancy firm, agreed. “It is too early to conclude that this is a “new form of terrorism,” but it definitely can turn into that because of the virality of the trend,” he told the Post, adding that “it’s been praised by Hamas, and the hashtag “Israel is burning” is trending in Arabic. The mere perception of success can be enough to encourage copycat attacks.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday visited the Fire and Rescue Service’s coastal district forward command center, where was briefed on the efforts to put out the fires, many of which he said are “deliberate acts of arson.”
In Haifa, senior firefighter Shimon Ben Ner, told Army Radio that “I know for a fact that they tried to set fire to the department’s station in Haifa deliberately, to cause the Haifa fire department to be paralyzed.”
Labels: firefighting equipment, firefighting planes, Haifa, Hamas
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:36 AM
1 comments
For those who read Arabic (I don't), you can find the full story here. (Hat Tip: MFS - The Other News).Trump adviser @WalidPhares says next president will move to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist group: https://t.co/hFcPvBByx8— Eric Trager (@EricTrager18) November 10, 2016
Labels: designated terror organization, Hamas, Islamic terrorism, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestinian terrorism, Walid Phares
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:59 PM
2 comments
2006 audio emerges of Clinton proposing election rigging in Palestine; censored by Israeli press for past 10 years https://t.co/LsMYcUzJR4— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 28, 2016
The Jewish Press: Israel recently concluded its war against Hizbullah in what many consider to be a stalemated position. How do you see things right now?
Sen. Clinton: First, I don’t think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake. If we were going to push for an election, we should have made sure we did something to determine who was going to win instead of signing off on an electoral system that advantaged Hamas.
That, to me, was a first step that led Hizbullah to take the actions that it took [killing and kidnapping Israeli soldiers and firing missiles into Israeli population centers]. What has concerned me is that I don’t think our or Israel’s intelligence was very good at uncovering what Hizbullah had developed in the last six years.
Frankly, the American intelligence didn’t know how dug in Hizbullah was, how many rockets they had, where they were going to be launched from and what the range was.
I think, based on what I know, that a lot of damage was inflicted on Hizbullah’s capacity. But that capacity is not destroyed and has not disappeared. Thus, Hizbullah, the Syrians and the Iranians have been emboldened.
This was a problem of situational awareness and about what we were up against. This is a longer-term issue for us and for Israel as we try to figure out how we’re going to get a better grasp of what we’re up against.The question relating to Gilad Shalit where Clinton equated Israel and Hamas (see previous post) didn't even appear in the 2006 story.
Labels: Fatah, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, Palestinian elections 2006, US presidential campaign 2016
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:42 PM
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The tape is 45 minutes and contains much that is no longer relevant, such as analysis of the re-election battle that Sen. Joe Lieberman was then facing in Connecticut. But a seemingly throwaway remark about elections in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority has taken on new relevance amid persistent accusations in the presidential campaign by Clinton’s Republican opponent Donald Trump that the current election is “rigged.”
Speaking to the Jewish Press about the January 25, 2006, election for the second Palestinian Legislative Council (the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority), Clinton weighed in about the result, which was a resounding victory for Hamas (74 seats) over the U.S.-preferred Fatah (45 seats).
“I do not think we should have pushed for an election in the Palestinian territories. I think that was a big mistake,” said Sen. Clinton. “And if we were going to push for an election, then we should have made sure that we did something to determine who was going to win.”The sentiment is not surprising. In 2011, former Bush National Security aide Elliott Abrams told the Jerusalem Post that the 'Palestinian Authority' sought to call off the 2006 'Palestinian' elections, and the reason it didn't happen was that they insisted on blaming Israel.
According to Abrams, the Palestinians seized on the voting in Jerusalem as a possible pretext to cancel the elections, since this issue has been debated amid questions of how and where Palestinians would vote.Of course, it was 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President
“The Palestinians said to Sharon, ‘Why don’t you say no voting in Jerusalem. Zero. Not in the post offices [where voting was allowed in 1995]. Zero. And this will be a reason to call off the election.’”
Sharon, according to Abrams, “said he was not going to take the blame for this. He said, ‘If you want to call off the elections, call off the election, I don’t care. If you want to have an election, great; if you want to call off the election, great. But you do it – I’m not taking the blame for it.’” The Palestinians, Abrams said, then came to the Americans with a request that they call off the elections.
The American reaction was that the US doesn’t call off elections just a few days before they are scheduled, “because it looks like you’re not going to win anymore. That’s ridiculous.
Your job is to win the election, go out and work, and get your people to the polls and win the damn election. So the election was held, and Hamas won.”
Regarding capturing combatants in war—the June capture of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit by Hamas militants who came across the Gaza border via an underground tunnel was very much front of mind—Clinton can be heard on the tape saying, “And then, when, you know, Hamas, you know, sent the terrorists, you know, through the tunnel into Israel that killed and captured, you know, kidnapped the young Israeli soldier, you know, there’s a sense of like, one-upsmanship, and in these cultures of, you know, well, if they captured a soldier, we’ve got to capture a soldier.”
Equating Hamas, which to this day remains on the State Department’s official list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, with the armed forces of a close American ally was not what many expected to hear in the Jewish Press editorial offices, which were then at Third Avenue and Third Street in Brooklyn. (The paper’s office has since moved to the Boro Park section of Brooklyn.) The use of the phrase “these cultures” is also a bit of a head-scratcher.In other words, Hillary equates Israel with Hamas. That ought to bother you all a lot more than whether she thought the 'Palestinian election' should be rigged.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Elliott Abrams, Fatah, George W. Bush, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, Palestinian elections 2006
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:57 PM
1 comments
According to an initial police investigation, a terrorist driving in a car came to a nearby junction, opened fire and hit a civilian. The suspect fled the scene, driving in the direction of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. Police motorcycle forces chased after the suspect's vehicle, stopping him in Sheikh Jarrah. When the terrorist saw the officers, he opened fire in their direction. The officers shot back at the suspect, successfully neutralizing him.The terrorist is Misab Abu Sbeih, a resident of the Silwan neighborhood just outside Jerusalem's Old City, and a Hamas 'activist.' The picture below is from Hamas' social media.
Three others were in moderate condition following the attack. One was taken to Hadassah University Medical Center on Mount Scopus, the second was taken to Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem while a third was taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
An additional three people were lightly wounded, with two of them going to Shaare Zedek and one going to Hadassah's campus on Mount Scopus.
Labels: Abu Mazen, Fatah, Hamas, Palestinian terrorism, Palestinian terrorists
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:55 PM
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On the day after former Israeli President Shimon Peres passed away, Fatah demonized Peres as a murderer about to enter Hell. In a cartoon on Fatah's official Facebook page (shown above) Peres is shown trembling and handcuffed as the Grim Reaper shows or reads to Peres from an English language scroll the long list of "crimes" that the PA-Fatah accuse Peres of committing. In the background flames are seen, representing the fires of Hell that, according to Fatah, are awaiting Peres.
Likewise, official PA TV's "Israeli affairs expert" spoke about Peres. The "expert," an Israeli Arab named Fayez Abbas, described Peres as a man of war who should have been tried in the International Criminal Court, and as "the greatest fraud in the history of the Zionist movement." The essence of his message about Peres was that he succeeded in deceiving the entire world when he talked about peace:
The Hamas terror group urged Palestinians to hold a “Day of Rage” on Friday, coinciding with the state funeral of former Israeli president Shimon Peres, which will be held in Jerusalem on that day.
The call is meant to mark the one-year anniversary of the beginning of a wave of terror attacks, including stabbings and car-rammings throughout the West Bank and in Jerusalem, that launched in September 2015.
Hamas’s call follows a Wednesday statement by the group’s spokesman in Gaza that expressed happiness at Peres’s death.
A spokesman for the group, Sami Abu Zuhri, told AP on Wednesday that “the Palestinian people are very happy at the passing of this criminal who caused their blood to shed.”
Meanwhile, Abu Mazen expressed sorrow over Peres' death... at least in English.He added, “Shimon Peres was the last remaining Israeli official who founded the occupation, and his death is the end of a phase in the history of this occupation and the beginning of a new phase of weakness.”
In a statement, Abbas said he has sent a condolence letter to Peres’s family expressing “sorrow and sympathy.”
He called Peres a partner in reaching a “peace of the brave” with the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. The three men shared the 1994 Nobel Peace prize for reaching the Oslo interim peace accord.
Once again the 'Palestinian Authority' is speaking from both sides of its mouth.Abbas said Peres “exerted persistent efforts to reach a just peace from the Oslo agreement until the final moments of his life.”
Labels: Abu Mazen, day of rage, Fatah, Hamas, Oslo accords, Palestinian Authority, Shimon Peres, Yitzchak Rabin
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:53 PM
1 comments
The United States on Friday added a senior Hamas official, the Islamist group's former interior minister Fathi Hammad, to its "global terrorist" list.
Hamas, the Palestinian party controlling the Gaza Strip, has already itself been proscribed by the United States as a "foreign terrorist organization."
Under the new designation, U.S. citizens and companies will be banned from doing business with Hammad and any property he holds in areas under U.S. jurisdiction will be frozen.
According to the U.S. State Department, which issued the designation, as interior minister Hammad used his position to "coordinate terrorist cells."
What took them so long?The statement also said Hammad founded al-Aqsa TV, "with programs designed to recruit children to become Hamas armed fighters and suicide bombers upon reaching adulthood."
Labels: designated terror organization, Farfour, Fathi Hamad, Hamas, Hamas Television
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:44 AM
0 comments
Hours after his security officers lynched a detainee, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas urged Palestinian businessmen living abroad to support the Palestinian economy by investing in the Palestinian territories. The Palestinian Authority (PA), he asserted, was "working to provide security and safety to encourage investment."
According to Abbas, "The Palestinian territories are living in a state of security stability, which we are working to provide for residents and investors alike by enforcing the rule of law and enhancing transparency and accountability."Funny that he never speaks that way in front of the 'international community.' And this time it's really a lie.
In his speech before the businessmen, Abbas neglected any reference to the latest wave of "security chaos" in PA-controlled areas in the West Bank, specifically Nablus, the largest Palestinian city.
Five Palestinians, including two PA police officers, were killed in the worst scenes of internecine violence to hit the West Bank in recent years. Abbas was either playing the businessmen for fools or hoping that they share his deaf and blind state.
The violence in Nablus did not come as a surprise to those who have been monitoring the situation in the West Bank in recent months.
In fact, scenes of lawlessness and "security chaos" have become part of the norm in many Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps -- a sign that the PA may be losing control to armed gangs and militias. Palestinians refer to the situation as falatan amni, or "security chaos." An article published in Gatestone in June referred to the growing instances of anarchy and lawlessness in PA-controlled areas in the West Bank, first and foremost Nablus.The chickens of years of Western-backed 'Palestinian' intransigence and weapons supplies are coming home to roost. And the 81-year old 'Abbas' - the 'moderate' hope of the Leftist West - may not last much longer.
The Palestinian Authority is now paying the price for harboring, funding and inciting gang members and militiamen who until recently were hailed by many Palestinians as "heroes" and "resistance fighters." Unsurprisingly, most of these "outlaws" and "criminals" (as the PA describes them) are affiliated in one way or another with Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction.
Nablus, the so-called Mountain of Fire, is now threatening to turn into a volcano that is set to erupt in the face of Abbas and his PA government.
The situation in Nablus the past few days raises serious questions about the ability of the PA to perform basic security measures and rein in armed gangs and militiamen.
Moreover, the unprecedented violence has further shattered Palestinian confidence in the PA and its leaders ahead of the local and municipal elections, scheduled to take place on October 8.And guess who is stepping into the vacuum....
Hamas's dream of extending its control to the West Bank now seems more realistic than ever. Under the current circumstances, Abbas would be offering the West Bank to Hamas on a silver platter -- unless he wakes up and realizes that he made a big mistake by authorizing the local and municipal elections.Sounds like 2006 all over again, doesn't it?
Labels: Fatah, Hamas, Nablus, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian elections, Palestinian elections 2006, Palestinian police
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:36 PM
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The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas announced that one of its operatives was electrocuted to death while working on a tunnel in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Israel Army Radio reported. The news comes as residents of Gaza who seek to rebuild their homes face difficulty in securing the necessary electricity and other resources, which are routinely appropriated by Hamas.
Israel was forced to increase the amount of electricity it sends to Gaza in June after repeated shutdowns at Gaza’s only power plant due to a payment dispute between Hamas and Fatah. Because of this infighting, Gaza residents usually only have six to eight hours of electricity per day. The lack of power has also caused failures at Gaza’s new $100 million sewage treatment facility, which was built with financing from the World Bank.It's nice to be able to laugh at Hamas once in a while, but really this is not such a joke.
Brig. Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser, formerly the head of the research division of Israeli military intelligence and later the director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, told reporters in May that the discovery of the tunnels was a sign that Hamas was preparing for another war against Israel. He added that the tunnel digging means that “they definitely invest a lot in making the necessary preparations so that in the next round, when they decide to start it, they will be able to inflict the heaviest damage on Israel, including through those tunnels.”
Commenting on the efforts Hamas was putting into its terror tunnels at the expense of Gazans, long time Palestinian affairs correspondent Khaled Abu Toameh observed, “the last thing Hamas cares about is the welfare of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,”
Haaretz’s defense correspondent Amos Harel wrote in January that “Hamas is investing great efforts and huge sums in the tunnel project. It is reasonable to assume that the number of tunnels crossing under the border is close to that on the eve of Protective Edge,” or the 2014 Gaza war.But give them a 'state' and the 'Palestinians' will know exactly what to do. The Euroweenies will help them. Oh... wait... Hamas HAS a state in Gaza, and this is what they are doing with it.
Labels: Darwin Award, Gaza, Hamas, Palestinian state, terror tunnels
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:28 PM
0 comments
Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency said 38-year-old Waheed Borsh has worked as an engineer for UNDP, the U.N. development agency, for 13 years. It said he was arrested in July and confessed to using his position to help Hamas.
The Shin Bet said Borsh used UNDP resources last year to build a jetty for Hamas' naval forces and that he persuaded his managers to prioritize the reconstruction of houses damaged in conflicts with Israel in areas where Hamas members lived.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said it has informed U.N. officials of the arrest and the allegations and expects the U.N. to "take concrete measures to ensure that humanitarian activities actually assist those in need in Gaza instead of assisting the terrorist leaders of Hamas."
Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said he was concerned about a "worrying trend of U.N. exploitation by Hamas."
A U.N. spokesman in Jerusalem could not immediately be reached.Imagine what would happen if Israel didn't have a 'blockade' of Gaza in place.
Labels: Gaza, Gaza blockade, Hamas, terror funding, UN terrorist funding, United Nations
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:36 PM
0 comments
But don't worry - that won't stop the Europeans from organizing 'flotillas' to Gaza while ignoring the thousands dying by barrel bombs in Assad's Syria because... priorities.Gaza residents hold up signs "Shukran Hamas -- Thank You Hamas"— Jerusalem Center (@JerusalemCenter) August 9, 2016
Labels: Gaza, Gaza Palestinians, Gaza plenty, Hamas
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:23 AM
0 comments
Mohammad El Halabi, the manager of Gaza operations for World Vision, the Christian charity group, was arrested in June at the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza while on his way home from meetings in Israel. He spent the next nearly two months in Israeli detention. Israel charged Halabi on Thursday with providing support to Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and which Israel and the U.S. regard as a terrorist organization.
Haaretz has more on the case based on a briefing given to reporters by an official from Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security service, and because a gag order imposed in the case was lifted Thursday. Here’s more from the Israeli newspaper:
The charge sheet says that Halabi, with a masters degree in engineering, joined Hamas's armed wing Izzedin al-Qassam in 2004 and was asked a year later to infiltrate a humanitarian organization so as “to be close to decision makers in a foreign organization, to be involved in the group and operate secretly to advance al-Qassam's interests.”
The Shin Bet accuses Halabi of joining World Vision and sending its funds to Hamas’ military wing, some of it to fund digging military-related tunnels and to purchase weapons.
The government of Australia doesn't think there's a problem with the evidence: They immediately suspended all aid to World Vision projects in the 'Palestinian territories.'The Shin Bet alleges that a sum of $80,000 contributed by British donors to assist needy families, and support civilian projects in Gaza were used to build a Hamas position in the Gaza town of Beit Hanun, to pay Hamas activists’ salaries and bonuses members who had fought against Israel in the 2014 war.Halabi’s attorney rejected the charges, telling Haaretz the fact the World Vision official was detained for 55 days before charges were announced proves, in the words of the newspaper, “there’s a problem with the evidence.”
A Shin Bet official cited by The New York Times said there was no evidence that World Vision had been aware of Halabi’s alleged activities. But Tim Costello, the head of World Vision Australia, which is heavily involved in the Gaza project, told the Times the organization was “very worried” about the impact of the allegations. Indeed, the Australian government said Thursday it was suspending funding to the group’s projects in the Palestinian territories.On Friday, Germany joined Australia in suspending aid to World Vision projects in Gaza.
World Vision announced on Friday that it will not receive funds from the German government because of the allegations Hamas misused funds, according to a report in the Berlin-based Tagesspiegel.But all of that isn't enough for the New York Times' Diaa Hadid. Although she didn't write this in the newspaper (which perhaps might have had the integrity not to publish it), on her personal Twitter page, she was busy making excuses for el-Halabi.
“The 3.6 million euro, which we received from the [German] Federal Development Ministry and [German] Foreign Affairs Ministry for new projects in the region will no longer be provided until the accusations are clarified,” said a spokeswoman for the World Vision.
Volker Beck, the German Green Party MP and head of the German-Israel parliamentary group in the Bundestag, said in a statement: “World Vision massively damages the trust necessary for aid work for the people in Gaza,” adding that “Hamas is a terrorist organization, which should not be financed with tax-payer funds.”
The paper reported that as much as 1.1 million euro from Germany was transferred to World Vision in Gaza since 2010. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that it welcomed Australia and Germany’s suspension of funds.
That excuses everything, doesn't it?The man Israel accuses of diverting @WorldVision funds to Hamas lost 7 relatives in 2014 war, incl pregnant cousin https://t.co/sPOnhkfpHd— Diaa Hadid ضياء حديد (@diaahadid) August 4, 2016
Labels: Diaa Hadid, Gaza, Hamas, New York Times, World Vision
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:45 PM
1 comments
Labels: Gaza, Hamas, Palestinian education to hatred, Palestinian incitement, Shejaiya, terror tunnels
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:42 PM
0 comments
In 2007, Kaine was the Governor of Virginia and, of all people, chose Muslim American Society (MAS) President Esam Omeish to the state’s Immigration Commission. A Muslim organization against Islamism criticized the appointment and reckless lack of vetting.
Federal prosecutors said in a 2008 court filing that MAS was “founded as the overt arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in America.” A Chicago Tribune investigation in 2004 confirmed it, as well as MAS’ crafty use of deceptive semantics to appear moderate. Convicted terrorist and admitted U.S. Muslim Brotherhood member Abdurrahman Alamoudi testified in 2012, “Everyone knows that MAS is the Muslim Brotherhood.”
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According to Omeish’s website, he was also President of the National Muslim Students Association (click there to read our profile about its Muslim Brotherhood origins) and served for two years on the national board of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), which the Justice Department also labeled as a U.S. Muslim Brotherhood entity and unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas-financing trial.
His website says he was Vice President of Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center, a radical mosque known for its history of terror ties including having future Al-Qaeda operative Anwar Al-Awlaki as its imam and being frequented by two of the 9/11 hijackers and the perpetrator of the Fort Hood shooting. Omeish’s website says he remains a board member.
It says he was chairman of the board of Islamic American University, which had Hamas financier and Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yousef Al-Qaradawi as chairman of its board until at least 2006. Omeish was also chairman of the board for the Islamic Center of Passaic County, a New Jersey mosque with heavy terrorist ties and an imam that the Department of Homeland Security wants to deport for having links to Hamas.
Omeish directly expressed extremism before Kaine appointed him. He claimed the Brotherhood is “moderate” and admitted that he and MAS are influenced by the Islamist movement. In 2004, Omeish praised the Hamas spiritual leader as “our beloved Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.” Videotape from 2000 also surfaced where Omeish pledged to help Palestinians who understand “the jihad way is the way to liberate your land” (he denied this was an endorsement of violence). [Emphasis mine. CiJ]
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In September 2011, Kaine spoke at a “Candidates Night” dinner organized by the New Dominion PAC that presented a Lifetime Achievement Award for Jamal Barzinji, who the Global Muslim Brotherhood Watch describes as a “founding father of the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood.”
He first came on to the FBI’s radar in 1987-1988 when an informant inside the Brotherhood identified Barzinji and his associated groups as being part of a network of Brotherhood fronts to “institute the Islamic Revolution in the United States.” The source said Barzinji and his colleagues were “organizing political support which involves influencing both public opinion in the United States as well as the United States Government” using “political action front groups with no traceable ties.”
Barzinji had his home searched as part of a terrorism investigation in 2003. U.S. Customs Service Senior Special Agent David Kane said in a sworn affidavit that Barzinji and the network of entities he led were investigated because he “is not only closed associated with PIJ [Palestinian Islamic Jihad]…but also with Hamas.” Counter-terrorism reporter Patrick Poole broke the story that Barzinji was nearly prosecuted but the Obama Justice Department dropped plans for indictment.
Barzinji played a major role in nearly every Brotherhood front in the U.S. and was vice president of the International Institute of Islamic Thought, which came under terrorism investigation also. Barzinji’s group was so close to Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative Sami Al-Arian that IIIT’s President considered his group and Al-Arian’s to be essentially one entity.
The indictment of Al-Arian and his colleagues says that they “would and did seek to obtain support from influential individuals, in the United States under the guise of promoting and protecting Arab rights” (emphasis mine).
The quotes about Brotherhood operative Barzinji’s aspirations to use civil rights advocacy as a means to influence politicians are especially relevant when you consider that video from the event honoring Barzinji shows Kaine saying that it was his fourth time at the annual dinner and thanked his “friends” that organized it for helping him in his campaign for Lieutenant-Governor and Governor and asked them to help his Senate campaign.
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Barzinji’s organization, IIIT, donated $10,000 in 2011 to the New Dominion PAC, the organization that held the event honoring Barzinji that Kaine spoke at. The Barzinji-tied New Dominion PAC donated $43,050 to Kaine’s gubernatorial campaign between 2003 and 2005. That figure doesn’t even include other political recipients that assisted Kaine’s campaign.
The PAC has very strong ties to the Democratic Party in Virginia, with the Virginia Public Access Project tallying almost $257,000 in donations. This likely explains why Barzinji’s grandson served in Governor McAuliffe’s administration and then became the Obama Administration’s liaison to the Muslim-American community.And I see people writing every day on social media about how Trump is an anti-Semite. Read the whole thing.
Labels: Hamas, Hillary Clinton, Holy Land Foundation, Muslim Brotherhood, Sami al-Arian, Tim Kaine, US presidential campaign 2016
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:02 PM
1 comments
A joint Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), Israel Police Southern District and IDF operation resulted in the arrest on June 16 of 65-year-old Faiz Atar from Bet Lahia in Gaza, who had a permit to enter Israel to conduct trade.It's not just Hamas that uses civilian infrastructure as a weapon in battle in order to create civilian casualties and international sympathy. You might recall that five years ago, Israeli intelligence published a map of southern Lebanon which showed where Hezbullah was doing the same thing. Israel is then left with the choice of allowing its own civilians to come under fire or being depicted as causing civilian casualties.
The suspect was taken into custody at the Tarkumia crossing between Israel and the West Bank.
The Shin Bet said the suspect hid cash in his shoes for Hamas, and smuggled tens of thousands of euros to terrorist operatives in the West Bank.
As the investigation continued, the domestic intelligence agency gleaned valuable information on Atar’s family in Gaza and their activities on behalf of Hamas, including tunnel digging.
“It emerged that his sons made use of his home to meet with Hamas operatives. The investigation revealed information on tunnel openings, which are partly located underneath civilian structures – including innocent civilian residential buildings and mosques – and rocket launch locations, which are located near civilian structures in a manner that endangers the civilian population in the Strip,” the Shin Bet said in a statement.
Meanwhile, a second investigation launched by the Shin Bet, Israel Police, and IDF forces also began with a terrorism-financing suspect and ended with additional intelligence on Gazan tunnels.
Security forces nabbed a Gazan resident at the Erez Crossing in June with 10,000 euros stuffed in his shoes, intended for Hamas operatives in the West Bank. When the suspect, identified as Jabaliya resident Itallah Sarahan, 37, was questioned, security forces learned that he received a permit to enter Israel for trade purposes two weeks prior to his arrest.
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The suspect works as a truck driver in Gaza, clearing sand from Hamas and Islamic Jihad tunnel digging sites. “Sarahan passed on much information about the tunnels he was exposed to, including which terrorist organization was responsible for digging which tunnels, their exact locations, and the status of the digging work,” the Shin Bet said.
The investigation underlines Hamas’s cynical use of Israeli efforts to ease economic conditions for the Gazan civilian population. Thousands of Gazans enter Israel every month for humanitarian, medical, and trade purposes, and Hamas often attempts to exploit these entries to transfer terrorist finances, the Shin Bet said.
Labels: Hamas, Hezbullah, smuggling, terror tunnels
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:21 PM
2 comments
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
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