WarSclerotic

Hamas terrorists died as the explosives they were smuggling detonated when their tunnel was hit by the IDF

By: Lori Lowenthal MarcusPublished: July 7th, 2014

via The Jewish Press » » Massive Explosion When IDF Struck Explosives Laden Terror Tunnel.

The massive explosion in Gaza early Monday morning which resulted in the death of seven Hamas terrorists was caused both by the IDF and Hamas.

When the IDF targeted and hit one of the smuggling tunnels built by Hamas which connects underground to Israel, it caught terrorists who were in the tunnel carrying and working with explosives which they had intended to use to murder Israeli civilians. Instead, the explosives detonated, causing the deaths and additional damage to the structure of the tunnel.

Because those explosives were destroyed, they could not be used to wreak terror and potential harm to Israeli citizens.

“Terror tunnels such as this one demonstrate Hamas’ constant attempts to violate Israel’s sovereignty and carry out complex attacks,” said IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner. “We are committed to fulfil our duty with preemptive precision and extensive intelligence in order to safeguard Israelis under threat. Gaza terrorists will not be free to scheme, plot and conspire. They will face the repercussions of their loathsome intentions.”

The rocket attacks which began escalating since the time when Palestinian Arabs kidnapped and murdered three Israeli teenagers, terrorists in Gaza have launched more than 240 rockets at Israel.

Op-Ed: Arab Riots Made for TV (and Beware the Deceptions), Israel National News, Jack Engelhard, July 7, 2014

Blame Israel first. Then seek the facts. That is how it works among reporters covering the Middle East. Better yet, forget the facts. Appeal to the emotions. This means, play it up for the cameras. So believe this — without the cameras there would be no riots, other than the usual Arab anger about everything worldwide.

The rioters know when it’s Showtime. Lights, camera, action – and now let the stampede begin. Ready whenever you are, Mr. DeMille.

To get the latest from overseas, America switched to CNN where, on the heels of what is alleged to be a revenge murder that offered pretext to Arab unrest, we found reporter Ben Wedeman thrilling his viewers to the next gotcha image  — of a Palestinian Arab taking a beating from what appear to be Israelis, emphasis on “appear to be.”

Ben Wedeman got what he wanted. The world got what it wanted. That picture is now playing to the same delighted crowds that bought the al-Dura hoax.

Ordinarily, people would say that in war stuff happens. But as the world trembles at the encroachment of one violent strain of Jihad worse than another, Israel gets no currency, no respect, no leniency for taking up the same fight inside its own borders. Make no mistake. ISIS is coming and it has arrived inside the Jewish State.

This is ISIS that’s behind the locust-like Arab rioting that stops at nothing and devours everything in its path.

Perhaps it’s time for a new sheriff in town, or Bibi better get wise quick.

ISIS is ready for its close-up.

As for me, I trust none of this coverage and none of these images. I trust nothing that comes from journalists covering the Middle East and when it comes to locusts, the Land of Israel swarms with hundreds of reporters who await their moments of dubious glory – while virtually none, zero, nil, are to be found anywhere in the Arab world.

Against Israel news is packaged, pre-planned, coordinated, calculated and manipulated. See how quickly the three kidnapped and murdered Israeli teens vanished from the headlines…to be replaced by a narrative far more satisfying to correspondents who arrive in Israel with a grudge and stay with a grudge.

They spy the Land to bring back false reports.

I saw how it works. Journalists from America and from around the world are trained to behave and to serve the Arab cause.

They are urged to report Israeli wrongdoing but must never reveal a single Arab atrocity. Hamas and Fatah “editors” see to this with guns. Palestinian Arab fixers are always on the prowl at the American Colony Hotel where reporters are told when the next riot will begin – and it won’t begin until the cameras are in place to prove the justification for Arab Rage.

The trick of the trade is to deceive. Even when they tell the truth it is still a lie.

I saw reporters asking for “another take” when an Arab woman wasn’t weeping properly. I saw reporters “directing” the mobs for the perfect shot.

I saw a kid who was supposed to be dead from Israeli bullets get up and walk after the filming stopped, so do not blame me if I believe in nothing.

I know that Hamas and Fatah school reporters on how best to present the “cause” and how readily those reporters comply. Here’s BBC reporter Fayad Abu Shamala speaking at a Hamas rally: “Journalists and media organizations are waging the campaign shoulder-to-shoulder together with the Palestinian people.” (I have all this documented in the novel “The Bathsheba Deadline,” regrettably out of print for the moment.)

It’s an open and shut case:

In Israel, terrorists and journalists work as a team. I will go so far a to say that therefore many of these journalists are themselves terrorists.

Anything that comes from them ought to be peppered with skepticism and suspicion. Their motives are impure.

Palestinian society is the problem, Israel Hayom, MK Yariv Levin, July 7, 2014

[N]othing unites Palestinians more than their shared hatred of Jews and Israel and their desire to establish a Palestinian state in the entire land of Israel, which runs contrary to the self-delusions of many Israelis who are trying to resuscitate the fallacious peace process.

On one hand, before cameras and in international forums, Palestinian leaders condemn violence against Israelis. On the other hand, internally, they continue to promote violence, as exhibited by the monthly salaries Abbas gives to families of terrorists imprisoned in Israel, with the salary scale based on how severe the attack was.

Let’s not delude ourselves that only Hamas was to blame for the recent kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens. Palestinian society as a whole was responsible, even if the attack was carried out by Hamas.

The news of the attack was received by the Palestinian public, both in the Gaza Strip and Judea and Samaria, with great joy and celebration. This was not shocking, given the fact that nothing unites Palestinians more than their shared hatred of Jews and Israel and their desire to establish a Palestinian state in the entire land of Israel, which runs contrary to the self-delusions of many Israelis who are trying to resuscitate the fallacious peace process.

While Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas may have belatedly appeared before the cameras and condemned the kidnapping, the Fatah organization, which is led by Abbas, has continued to show support for the murderers of the teens. Over the past several weeks, official Fatah Facebook pages have been filled with messages of support for the kidnappers. One cartoon uploaded to the pages shows three mice, with Stars of David on their backs, biting at the end of a fishing line. The title of the cartoon is “Masterstroke.”

This pattern of behavior by Palestinian leaders is nothing new. On one hand, before cameras and in international forums, Palestinian leaders condemn violence against Israelis. On the other hand, internally, they continue to promote violence, as exhibited by the monthly salaries Abbas gives to families of terrorists imprisoned in Israel, with the salary scale based on how severe the attack was.

It is not hard to discern that Fatah and Hamas have nearly identical identities. Anyone examining the positions of these groups would immediately find that there is no fundamental difference in their attitudes toward Israel. They are divided on only two points: the nature of the state to be established in place of Israel, and the tactics of how to take over all of Israel.

On the question of tactics, Fatah has abided for years by the strategy of stages, under which diplomatic agreements are used as a means to achieve the ultimate defeat of Israel. Fatah’s final goal remains the “liberation” of the entire land of Israel and the elimination of the State of Israel. Fatah avoids making any basic ideological concessions, as manifested by its refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Hamas, meanwhile, refuses to make any agreements with Israel. It rejects the strategy of stages, believing that only armed struggle will lead to the “liberation” of the entire land of Israel.

Given this, it is no wonder that there is widespread cross-societal support among Palestinians for terrorist attacks, as well as support for harboring terrorists and turning them into cultural heroes. The Palestinian Authority is the entity which demands the release of terrorists, greets them with celebrations and names city squares and streets after them.

Moreover, the PA education system teaches the next generation of Palestinians to hate Israel, using anti-Semitic motifs. The PA educates children to continue the armed struggle, until Israel is completely destroyed. This is the clear reality that many still refuse to see. We all want peace and we all hope there is someone to make peace with. But the desire for peace must not blind us from reality and prevent us from acting to protect the interests of Israel and the security of its citizens.

Hamas is our enemy, and it must pay. But this will not be enough the solve the problem posed by a Palestinian society that supports and encourages terrorism.

Israeli society must stand firm. We should strengthen the settlement enterprise in a way that will prove to the Palestinians that we are here to stay and that terrorism will not achieve anything.

MK Yariv Levin (Likud) is coalition chairman and a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Strategic Affairs Ministry head blames PA education for kidnapping, Jerusalem Post,  Sam Sokol, July 7, 2014

(Some of the blame can reasonably be directed at the Palestinian indoctrination education system. Much blame is also properly directed at other elements within the Palestinian society of hate. — DM)

Palestinian children attend a Hamas-run summer camp in Gaza. Photo: FACEBOOK

“The Palestinians have a full system of indoctrination” including government-sponsored television programs, PA youth magazines and summer camps, Kuperwasser told the press during a briefing last year.

At that briefing he showed reporters an image culled from the Facebook page of the Palestinian Authority Education Ministry in which a snake with a star of David on its forehead could be seen strangling a young Palestinian. On another such page, a Palestinian teacher had posted a picture of a suicide bomber and challenged students to identify her in exchange for chocolate.

The blame for the recent kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers can be placed at the feet of the Palestinian Authority’s education system, Strategic Affairs Ministry Director-General Yossi Kuperwasser said on Monday.

Speaking to Jewish educators from around the world at the a conference on Israel education organized by the government, the World Zionist Organization and iCenter, Kuperwasser differentiated between the Israeli educational system and that of the PA, asserting that each promoted a radically different worldview.

“When we see the kidnapping of three Israeli children, youngsters, and they are murdered, we can easily attribute this act to the messages delivered to the Palestinian State in the education system,” he said.

Israelis, he continued, “teach our children to look for peace, to seek peace” and to “respect the right of the other.”

Given that Israeli education is “totally different” from that of the Palestinians, he continued, last week’s murder of Israeli-Arab teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir was “a strategic surprise for anybody living in Israel.”

Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and burned alive in what police believe to be a revenge attack in response to the murder of Israeli teenagers Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-Ad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah by Palestinians.

“Not only to condemn it, we are totally shocked,” Kuperwasser said. “We have to say what went wrong here and repair it.

However, he continued, condemnations are insufficient and must be accompanied by strong efforts to educate against such behavior.

“What is most important in our education is to educate to think,” he asserted.

Kuperwasser is outspoken in his critiques of what many see as incitement in the Palestinian media and educational curricula, having previously stated that it creates an “ethos of conflict and encourages” continued hostility to Israel.

“The Palestinians have a full system of indoctrination” including government-sponsored television programs, PA youth magazines and summer camps, Kuperwasser told the press during a briefing last year.

At that briefing he showed reporters an image culled from the Facebook page of the Palestinian Authority Education Ministry in which a snake with a star of David on its forehead could be seen strangling a young Palestinian. On another such page, a Palestinian teacher had posted a picture of a suicide bomber and challenged students to identify her in exchange for chocolate.

Speaking to the educators, who represented a number of Jewish denominations and ideological groupings, Kuperwasser added that the issue Jewish education is of more long-term strategic concern to Israel than either Iran or the Palestinians.

“We have to educate ourselves here in Israel and in the Diaspora to understand this issue of legitimacy, this issue of why we should have and why we are eligible to have a nation state for the Jewish people here in the ancestral home of the Jewish people,” he said.

“Now, one may say that for Jews this is obvious. Well let me tell you something it is not.”

More than 60 rockets in steady stream from Gaza to expanded targets. Sirens in Modiin, Rehovot, Abu Ghosh.

Hamas broadened its massive rocket blitz Monday night, July 7 – edging further north and east to locales hitherto unscathed, after warning that its response to the deaths of seven operatives in Israeli air strikes would be “unprecedented.”

Iron Dome intercepted at least 10 of the scores of rockets aimed at new urban areas – Lachish, Gan Yavneh, Kiryat Malachi, Beer Tuvia and Ashdod. Eleven rockets hit Gan Yavneh alone. The last rocket targeted Rehovot. Sirens sounded in the towns of Modiin, Ness Ziona, Gedera, Beit Shemes and Abu Ghosh indicating the approach of rockets. There was one casualty – a man in Ashdod injured by shrapnel.

The IDF Homeland Command has ordered towns and villages up to 40-km from Gaza to open public shelters, including Beersheba and Ashkelon. Closer to the border, dozens of events have been cancelled and summer schools shut down for the emergency.

The IDF mobilized another 1,500 reservists Monday, July 7, in readiness for a broad operation to curb the escalating rocket fire. A troop buildup at the Gaza border is about to be backed by intensified air strikes against Palestinian rocket launchers. The Palestinians have also redoubled their missile blitz against Israel from day to day these last three weeks. By Monday sundown, 40 rockets had been slammed into Israel, causing damage in several locales – both near the Gaza border and further away up to the outskirts of Beersheba. The IDF is getting set to counter Hamas’ plans to bring its rocket offensive as far north as central Israel. Israel’s military planners have to take into consideration that, while the IDF is fighting in Gaza to knock out Hamas’ missile capability, the country’s heartland may well be beset by an upsurge of violent Palestinian and Israeli disturbances.

debkafile reported Monday morning:

There is not the slightest chance of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas halting its three-week barrage of rockets against Israel in the foreseeable future,  high-placed sources in Cairo, Washington and the IDF told debkafile’s military sources Sunday night, July 6. They all agreed that Israeli-Gaza border tensions would continue to escalate in the absence of serious Israeli military punishment for cutting Hamas down
Following this assessment, the Israeli Air Force went into its first serious action against terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip during Sunday night – not just bombing empty buildings, but hitting Hamas operatives. Seven were killed in Rafah and another two in Al Bureij.

The Hamas spokesman said that this was the biggest single Israeli hit against the Islamist group since the 2012 Pillar of Defense operation and “The enemy would pay dearly.”

A senior US intelligence official familiar with the sector offered the view that, so long as Israel did not show it was serious about a military reprisal – like for instance positioning two whole IDF armored divisions right up to the Gaza border – Hamas would not feel pressured enough to stop firing rockets and accept a truce. Every passing day without real punishment for kidnapping and murdering the Israeli teenagers, Gil-Ad Shear, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrach, leaves the Islamists certain they have got away with it and in no mood to talk terms.

The source reported that, as far as he knew, Cairo had given up on its earlier effort at brokering a Gaza ceasefire. Cairo sources confirmed that Hamas had made unacceptable demands of the Egyptian government as its price for halting rocket attacks on Israel. The list was presented to Gen. Mohammed Farid el-Tohamy, head of Egyptian intelligence, who had been acting as the intermediary between Hamas and Israel in the truce effort.
One of those demands was for Egypt to reverse its six-month crackdown for reducing Hamas’ aggressive capabilities for terror in and from Sinai, including the reopening of the smuggling tunnels Sinai which long furnished the Hamas regime with arms, smuggled goods and revenue.

Cairo lashed out against Hamas as a terrorist group harmful to Egyptian security and a helpful offshoot of the proscribed Muslim Brotherhood.

There is no sign that President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has any intention of meeting Hamas demands.

Indeed, all the parties following the conflict agree that the ball is now in Israel’s court and not, as it is presented by Israeli officials, up to Hamas to take the initiative. The Islamist group has already made its decision, which is to continue shooting rockets, in line with its unswerving commitment to fight Israel.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz must decide if and how to fight back.

Contrary to Israeli media reports, the chief of staff and the high IDF command have clearly informed the government that they are fully prepared to undertake any military operation without delay if so ordered. The elimination of seven Hamas members of its fighting army Sunday night may be the first step.

Officials: Rocket Fire Could Reach Tel Aviv

Residents of Beersheva and Ashdod have been asked to limit public gatherings and prepare bomb shelters.

By Yaakov LeviFirst Publish: 7/7/2014, 8:36 PM

via Officials: Rocket Fire Could Reach Tel Aviv – Defense/Security – News – Arutz Sheva.

As Israel prepares for a possible military action in Gaza, residents of Ashdod and Beersheva have been told to not to conduct public gatherings of more than 500 people, while residents of Gaza border communities have been told to remain within 15 seconds of protected areas, in order to take cover in the event the Red Alert missile warning system goes off.

In addition, the Homefront Command ordered that bomb shelters in towns and cities within 40 kilometers of the Gaza border be cleaned out and prepared for use. This is the first time such orders have been given since 2011’s Pillar of Defense operation against Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

Dozens of rockets fell in Israel throughout the day Monday, and the Red Alert missile warning system sounded throughout the day in southern Israel. One building was reported damaged in the barrages.

On Monday, the security cabinet authorized the IDF to increase its military pressure on Hamas. The IDF intends to add more troops to the brigades it already has poised on the borders of Gaza, officials said. So far an additional 1,500 reserve troops have been called up, to free up regular soldiers in case of need.

Sources at the meeting said that regardless of Israel’s actions, it was possible that Hamas would expand the range of attacks against Israel. Officials at the meeting were said to discuss the possibility that Tel Aviv and other cities in central Israel could come under attack as well.

In a statement Monday, a Hamas spokesperson said that “we have made it clear that we do not seek to increase tensions. But if Israel wants a cease fire, it must release the terrorists it jailed that had previously been released in the Shalit deal, and stop its criminal activities in the West Bank.”

On Monday, the IDF said that it targeted several terror smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza. The action, the army said, prevented “a steady stream of terrorists into Israel. We recently found a significant terror tunnel leading out of Gaza, which we are gathering intelligence about to prevent further terror attacks and to prevent [the tunnel] from being used [again],” an IDF official said. “We are also investing significantly in gathering our security forces,” he added. “Until now we have had two full staffs working on the situation and we are readying ourselves for escalation [with Hamas].”

Overnight Sunday, the IAF launched airstrikes against nine terror targets in Gaza.According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the targets included concealed rocket launchers and terrorist centers in central Gaza. “The IDF is prepared to defend the citizens of Israel from any threat and will continue to act decisively and as long as necessary until quiet is restored,” the statement said, placing the responsibility for the constant rocket fire on the Hamas terrorist group.

The airstrikes come several hours after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza killed two terrorists from the Islamic Jihad group.

Thirty Rockets Fired into Israel in Ten Minutes – Defense/Security – News – Arutz Sheva.

Hamas terrorists fire rockets at Israel

Flash 90

Hamas fired over 30 rockets in a ten-minute period into Israel on Monday, with hits reported in Sha’ar HaNegev, the Eshkol Region, Netivot, Sderot, and Be’er Sheva between 8:00 – 8:10 pm IST.

No buildings were reportedly damaged. One Ashkelon resident is being treated for shrapnel injuries.

“Code red” sirens have reportedly been sounded as of 8:30 pm as far as Tel Aviv and in Gush Etzion; rockets could be seen from as far away as Beit Shemesh, just West of Jerusalem, eyewitnesses told Arutz Sheva.

The barrage follows the Security Cabinet decision to prepare for escalation in the South, including a possible military campaign.

At least 1,500 reserve soldiers had been called up for preparatory training for a possible operation, security officials stated earlier Monday. Hours earlier, photos surfaced showing tanks and IDF forces gathering close to the Gaza border.

“We are also investing significantly in gathering our security forces,” the official stated to Arutz Sheva Monday afternoon. “Until now we have had two full staffs working on the situation and we are readying ourselves for escalation [with Hamas].”

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) struck multiple terror targets earlier Monday, including a “significant” terror tunnel.

Cabinet Gives IDF Green Light for Harsher Gaza Action

The cabinet on Monday authorized the IDF to increase its military pressure on Hamas – but to avoid escalation of tensions, if possible

By Yaakov LeviFirst Publish: 7/7/2014, 7:06 PM

Harsher Gaza Action and avoid escalation of tensions !!!

via IDF Gets Green Light for Harsher Gaza Action – Defense/Security – News – Arutz Sheva.

As rocket fire from Gaza shows no sign of letting up, the cabinet on Monday authorized the IDF to increase its military pressure on Hamas. The IDF intends to add more troops to the brigades it already has poised on the borders of Gaza, officials said. So far an additional 1,500 reserve troops have been called up, to free up regular soldiers in case of need. Meanwhile, the Israel Air Force will increase its targeting of terrorist facilities in Gaza, the army said.

With that, the government decision said that the aim of the IDF operation was not to enter into a wide-ranging military action against Gaza Arab terrorists, but to ensure quiet in the south. In addition, the IDF is to ensure that rocket fire does not spread to cities other than the ones that Hamas and terror groups have been targeting, mostly in the Gaza border area. In addition, extra batteries of the Iron Dome system will be set up throughout southern Israel, officials said.

“Quiet will be answered with quiet,” the government said, adding that it demanded “a cease-fire with no preconditions.”

On Monday, the IDF said that it targeted several terror smuggling tunnels in southern Gaza. The action, the army said, prevented “a steady stream of terrorists into Israel. We recently found a significant terror tunnel leading out of Gaza, which we are gathering intelligence about to prevent further terror attacks and to prevent [the tunnel] from being used [again],” an IDF official said. “We are also investing significantly in gathering our security forces,” he added. “Until now we have had two full staffs working on the situation and we are readying ourselves for escalation [with Hamas].”

Overnight Sunday, the IAF launched airstrikes against nine terror targets in Gaza.According to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, the targets included concealed rocket launchers and terrorist centers in central Gaza. “The IDF is prepared to defend the citizens of Israel from any threat and will continue to act decisively and as long as necessary until quiet is restored,” the statement said, placing the responsibility for the constant rocket fire on the Hamas terrorist group.

The airstrikes come several hours after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza killed two terrorists from the Islamic Jihad group.

Despite the total collapse of security in the south and the constant threat of rockets on a large civilian population, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday indicated he would not order a wide-scale operation in Gaza for the time being.

“Experience has proved that at moments like this, we have to act responsibly and with a cool head and not with harsh words and impetuousness,” Netanyahu said. “We will do everything in our power to restore peace and security to the south.”