February 2, 2009

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Hamas Security Caravan, Gaza Smuggling Tunnels Hit By Israel

Israel hit Hamas targets in Gaza on Sunday, including some of the terrorist group’s security caravans in the central Gaza village of al-Mughraqa (see map below):


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According to Haaretz, the caravans served as Hamas’ security headquarters.


The IDF says that the attack on Hamas was a response to “the barrage of Qassam rockets and mortar shells fired at Israel today, which wounded an Israeli civilian and two IDF soldiers.”

Also hit were Hamas smuggling tunnels coming from Egypt into Gaza. Last year, Hamas reportedly took in $20 million U.S. dollars per month from Gaza tunnel smuggling operations.

A Japanese reporter and his cameraman shot this video of a Gaza smuggling tunnel operation between Rafah and Egypt:

February 1, 2009

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Hamas’ Meshal, Iran’s Ahmadinejad Meet in Iran

Hamas terror chief Khaled Meshal and Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met in Iran on Sunday, February 1, 2009.

Iranian ‘Supreme Leader’ Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei told Meshal in Tehran that “the Islamic resistance (Hamas) should be prepared for any possible situation, including a fresh war in Gaza,” according to Iran’s state-controlled media outlet, Fars.

Last Spring, Iran promised the Hamas terrorist group advanced missiles, other weapons, financial support, and military training.

January 3, 2009

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Israel Ground Offensive Against Hamas in Gaza Starts

The IDF launched a much anticipated ground offensive in Gaza against Hamas on Saturday evening, January 3, 2009.


Some Israelis are hoping that the military operation will be able to finish what Israel’s Air Force started. Alex Fishman writes in Yedioth Ahronot that “Hamas’ military wing was not destroyed, it was simply destabilized for the first 48 hours of the operation, at least.”

Ophir Falk warns that:

“the IDF’s victory over the Hamas must be conclusive, leaving no room for commentary as to the triumphant side. Anything short of this will serve as another Hamas, Iranian and Hizbullah building block.”


* *  *
A ceasefire that does not achieve the dismantlement of Hamas’ military capabilities would be counterproductive and eventually lead to another round of bloodshed. New rules of engagement must be set, whereby Hamas is disarmed and a sustainable truce is achieved. If this mainstay of Sunni terrorism remains capable of attacking Israel, a renewed assault will be inevitable.

Therefore, after the unconditional return of the abducted Israeli soldier [Gilad Shalit], the immediate objective of Israel and the international community must be a permanent disarmament of Hamas and organizations of its ilk. The only way to achieve this goal is to pound Hamas until it is forced to disarm, and then reinforce the truce with effective international force.

It is predictable that Hamas will continue to use civilians as human shields, firing from mosques and U.N.-run schools.

Will this U.N. do anything to disarm Hamas? It seems unlikely, especially given the amount of heavy weaponry that Hamas has brought into Gaza’s U.N.-operated institutions.

The same thing occurred when militant Sunni group Fatah al-Islam installed itself inside U.N.-run Palestinian camps last year in Lebanon. What did the U.N. do to prevent, stop, and disarm Fatah al-Islam? Absolutely nothing. Fatah al-Islam reportedly brought battle-hardened terrorist fighters to Gaza where they likely taught Hamas military skills and terror techniques.

With Iran’s military, financial, and technical training, Hamas has remained not a strong terrorist group with its operational base in Gaza. Its practices of torturing and assassinating Palestinians are not the stuff from which democracies are made.

August 30, 2008

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Hamas Reportedly Rejects Proposal for Arab Troops in Gaza

A new report says that Hamas rejected a joint Egyptian and Jordanian proposal to send Arab troops to Gaza to train Palestinian police forces.


Not surprisingly, Hamas immediately rejected the proposal, according to the Jerusalem Post’s Khaled Abu Toameh.

Why? It seems that such a plan would have involved some oversight into of weapons in Gaza, as well as efforts to prevent Hamas’ ongoing smuggling of arms, anti-tank weapons, anti-aircraft weapons, missiles, and other contraband from Egypt into Gaza.

Here is a diagram showing how weapons smuggling operations operate from Rafah inside Egypt to Gaza. The diagram depicts how Israel had maintained a security corridor between Egypt and Gaza before ceding control of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority several years ago.

Hamas Smuggling Tunnels from Rafah, Egypt to Gaza

Diagram: Israel News Agency

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