Hamas establishes special force to hinder rocket fire
Hamas establishes special force to hinder rocket fire | The Times of Israel.
Prodded by Egypt, Gaza rulers task 600 men with preventing cross-border attacks; Cairo clamps down on weapons smuggling
Hamas has fielded a 600-strong military force in the Gaza Strip that operates 24 hours a day in order to prevent rocket fire at Israel, a senior Arab source told The Times of Israel on Monday.
Since Egypt stepped up its involvement in Gaza and began to pressure Hamas to not allow rocket fire, the Islamic organization has diligently worked to keep the peace in Gaza, even when that came at the price of confrontations with the smaller Islamic groups such as the extremist Salafists, the source said.
Thus, Hamas has reestablished a special force to “safeguard public order” that numbers around 600 soldiers and operates mostly along the Gaza-Israeli border.
The past few months have seen a dramatic decline in the number of rockets fired at Israel as compared to a year ago, a trend that has been confirmed by Israeli security sources. According to Israeli figures, since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense in November, some 20 rockets or mortar shells have been fired into Israel, compared to about 150 over the same period last year.
At the same time, there has been a drop in the amounts of weapons smuggled into the Gaza Strip, due to Egypt’s efforts in the Sinai Peninsula and the prevention of smuggling from Libya.
The Egyptians have fielded a relatively large force to fight terror cells operating in the Sinai and to prevent the smuggling of “game-changing” long-range missiles. Still, Israel claims that the Egyptian activity is insufficient to dismantle terrorist infrastructure in the peninsula, despite being a significant improvement over the days of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who during his rule did not conduct massive operations against terrorists in the Sinai.
Over the last few days, a delegation of senior Hamas officials has been holding consultations in Cairo, sponsored by the Egyptian government. According to Arab media reports, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi gave special permission to three Hamas men wanted by Egyptian security to join the proceedings.
Egyptian security forces, including 24 senior officers, have been deployed around the Intercontinental Hotel in Cairo where the Hamas delegation is staying, fearing demonstrations by secular activists who oppose Hamas due to reports that the Islamic group has attempted to intervene in Egyptian politics and has been involved in attacks on Egyptian soil, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported.
Meanwhile, Cairo has apparently deployed a considerable military force in the Sinai Peninsula, especially around Rafah, el-Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, in anticipation of potential demonstrations and riots on June 30, the date chosen by the “National Salvation Front,” the umbrella opposition group, to stage massive nationwide protests.
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WarSclerotic 
June 17, 2013 at 10:50 AM
”Hamas has fielded a 600-strong military force in the Gaza Strip that operates 24 hours a day in order to prevent rocket fire at Israel”…And someone have just seen the Messiah buying a plane ticket and is going to land here very soon.
June 17, 2013 at 11:20 AM
And now, in a more serious manner: IDF is not responding to accusations made by an official Syrian state news station, regarding the explosion yesterday night, which they are clamming was to big for the rebels or Syrian army to produce it. At the locations it seems that advanced weapons and radar were destroyed; the rebels took the responsibility for the action in a very clever move, in our opinion.
June 17, 2013 at 11:31 AM
Reshet Bet has just confirmed the previous entry.
June 17, 2013 at 2:43 PM
If Israel waits a little longer, there will be 4000 new Iranian targets in close range just across the border.
June 17, 2013 at 2:48 PM
I don’t believe Israel can even allow the 4000 Revolutionary Guards to set themselves up in Syria. Those 4000 will only create a environment that would allow Iran to bring in 40,000 more. Air traffic between iran and Syria must be halted in the near future no matter the consequences.
June 17, 2013 at 2:58 PM
I would expect that this week
June 17, 2013 at 4:59 PM
OK, 40000 then….and no refueling necessary.
June 17, 2013 at 3:08 PM
Reports are saying that Saudi Arabia is presently arming the rebels with anti-aircraft missiles. Perhaps, the rebels will be able to close down the airports all by themselves.
June 17, 2013 at 4:58 PM
If enough of those AA’s get out there, commercial air travel in the Mideast and most everywhere else will be a thing of the past.
June 17, 2013 at 6:36 PM
Who cares i have a yacht
June 17, 2013 at 7:59 PM
The one question that really bothers me is who besides me and Justice DO NOT have shoulder fired AA’s? Seems these ultimate terror machines are everywhere.