Fresh Gaza hostilities likely Wednesday. IDF to expand counteraction for Hamas rockets, DEBKAfile, August 12, 2014

IDF mobile artillery ready for resumed Gaza warfare

The seventh truce in the ongoing Israel-Hamas passage of arms is generally expected to end Wednesday night Aug. 13, with a fresh outbreak of hostilities triggered by resumed Hamas rocket fire. The indirect Egyptian-brokered talks between the parties in Cairo have never got off the ground. From the start, all three realized that the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians were unbridgeable and, moreover, that Hamas and the Palestinian Authority were totally at odds on a common negotiating stance.

DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources report exclusively that Egyptian intelligence mediators presented separate papers to the Israelis and Palestinians, knowing – as they acknowledged informally – that the two papers were miles apart.

A source close to the talks told DEBKAfile Tuesday night that the Israeli envoys had nothing to do all day in Cairo except to drink hot cups of strong tea in the hotel room assigned them by their Egyptian hosts.

In any case, the Egyptian mediators were in no hurry to push for results and, in fact, appeared fairly unconcerned by the prospect of hostilities resuming in a day or two.

This indifference was also noticeable at the joint news conference addressed by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and President Vladimir Putin at the Russian resort of Sochi, Tuesday, when neither made any reference to the Gaza conflict.

The Palestinian team is in no shape to hold practical negotiations on any sort of resolution in Gaza, because it is deeply divided two ways.

For one, Hamas rejects the PA-PLO group as not fit to represent its interests because they say PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas is locked onto the Egyptian side.

The rancor between the two Palestinian factions came to the fore Tuesday night, our sources disclose, when PA security forces began detaining Hamas activists on the West Bank for the first time since the current conflict broke out in July. The arrests took place in the Qalqilya and Tulkarm refugee camps.

And for the second, the Hamas team itself was split between the envoys from Gaza and the delegates from Qatar. The Gaza group want the Cairo talks to lead off by setting conditions for a prolonged ceasefire, during which their political and military demands would be negotiated.

The Qatar envoys insist on reversing this order: first agreed solutions for the long term and only then a deal for extending the ceasefire.

Our Washington sources report that the US tried interceding with the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and also with Israel and Egypt, to persuade them to accept another extension of the three-day truce. This effort fell on deaf ears because the Obama administration has not carved out a role or gained levers of influence in the Gaza conflict.

The coming issue of DEBKA Weekly, out next Friday, Aug. 15 will examine the process leading up to the US administration’s loss of standing in the Gaza crisis. If you are not a subscriber, you may click here to sign on.

The one thing that can avert a fresh outbreak of violence Wednesday night is a declaration by Hamas’ military wing, Ezz e-Din al-Qassam, unconditionally halting further rocket fire and other aggressive activity.

Israel is not holding its breath for this to happen. Our military sources say that Israel’s government and military leaders are ready for the next stage of the confrontation with Hamas. This time, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon are preparing action a lot tougher than limited air strikes in response to Palestinian rocket fire of any intensity. They know that public patience has run out and will no longer tolerate a return to the situation that leaves Hamas holding the initiative to shoot rockets or not.

Not only the public, but the army too will no longer put off with half-measures and is ready to fight Hamas until it is no longer capable of harassing Israel with threats of violence.

UK says to suspend some Israel arms exports if Gaza truce fails

After reviewing all licenses to Israel last week, Britain announces sale of 12 military items would be temporarily halted pending further investigation if fighting resumes.

ReutersPublished: 08.12.14, 21:51 / Israel Business

via UK says to suspend some Israel arms exports if Gaza truce fails – Israel Business, Ynetnews.

Britain said on Tuesday it would suspend 12 licenses to export military items to Israel, including tank, aircraft and radar parts, if hostilities with Hamas in Gaza resumed, citing concerns the exports may be used to breach international laws

Britain said last week it was reviewing all arms export licenses to Israel after fierce fighting which has resulted in heavy civilian casualties in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

That review concluded on Tuesday that 12 licenses would be temporarily suspended pending further investigation if the current truce breaks down and heavy fighting resumes.

“The UK government has not been able to clarify if the export license criteria are being met,” Business Secretary Vince Cable said in a statement.

“In light of that uncertainty, we have taken the decision to suspend these existing export licenses in the event of a resumption of significant hostilities.”

Israel says its operation in Gaza is self-defense, aimed at stopping rockets being fired from the enclave by Islamist militants.

According to a report by a British parliamentary committee last month, outstanding government-approved contracts for export of dual use or military goods to Israel are worth more than 7.8 billion pounds ($13 billion). These include contracts to supply body armor, drone components and missile parts.

Cable’s department said the vast majority of export licenses were not for items that could be used by Israeli forces in its operations in Gaza, but it was unable to immediately confirm the value of the licenses that could be suspended.

Britain said that the suspensions would not include components for Israel’s “Iron Dome” system which protects the country from rockets fired by Hamas.

Last week Sayeeda Warsi, a senior Foreign Office minister, resigned, accusing Prime Minister David Cameron’s government of taking a “morally indefensible” approach on Gaza.

IDF successfully tests system designed to detect terror tunnels

Senior army officer says system passed lab tests, currently undergoing field testing; could be deployed around Gaza within 1 year; system will cost at least NIS 1.5 billion.

Hamas: This will be last truce; Israel: No progress in talks
Mati Tuchfeld, Yoav Limor, Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters August 12, 2014

(If this is the last, then what?-LS)

Israeli official says gaps between Israel’s and Hamas’ positions are big • Palestinian delegation consents to Palestinian unity government of technocrats overseeing reconstruction in Gaza, official says • Israeli cabinet meeting on truce talks canceled.

Talks to end a month-long war between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip have made no progress so far, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, as a 72-hour cease-fire in the Palestinian coastal enclave held for a second day.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were expected to reconvene later Tuesday in Cairo where Hamas and its allies are seeking an end to an Israeli and Egyptian blockade of Gaza.

“The gaps between the sides are big and there is no progress in the negotiations,” said an Israeli official who declined to be named.

Meanwhile, Hamas deputy political bureau chief Moussa Abu Marzouk told the Palestinian news agency Maan that “we are facing difficult negotiations, the first truce passed without any notable achievement, and this is the second and last truce. Its gravity now is clear. The delegation must achieve the people’s wishes.”

Hamas also seeks a seaport for Gaza, a project Israel says should be dealt with only under the framework of future talks on a permanent peace agreement with the Palestinians.

Israel has resisted lifting its blockade on Gaza out of fear that Hamas would restock with weapons from abroad if access to Gaza was eased. Neighboring Egypt also sees Hamas as a security threat.

Israel pulled ground forces out of Gaza last week after it said the IDF had completed its main mission of destroying more than 30 tunnels dug by terrorists for cross-border attacks. Israel now wants guarantees Hamas will not use any reconstruction supplies sent into Gaza to rebuild those tunnels.

A Palestinian official said Tuesday that the Palestinian delegation had consented that reconstruction in Gaza should be carried out by the unity government of technocrats set up in June by Hamas and the more secular Fatah party of Western-backed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who is based in the West Bank.

Israeli representatives are not meeting face-to-face with the Palestinian delegation because it includes Hamas, which Israel regards as a terrorist organization. Hamas for its part is sworn to Israel’s destruction.

Israel’s cabinet was scheduled to convene on Tuesday to discuss the details of the potential cease-fire agreement, but the meeting was canceled in the morning.

Hamas and the Islamic State: Why the World’s Double Standard? Clarion Project, Ryan Mauro, August 12, 2014

Islamic State’s intended genocide of Yazdis alarming, but Hamas’s desire of genocide against 6 million Jews in Israel given a pass.

ISIS fighters execute in cold blood(left); a Hamas fighter raises his hand in a Nazi salute (right)

The double standards in dealing with Hamas and IS are logically incoherent. Both implement sharia governance, deliberately target civilians, have genocidal beliefs and seek the establishment of a caliphate.

The calculated restraint of Hamas is mistaken for moderation. Hamas engages in negotiations and ceasefires only to strengthen its hand. It should not be interpreted as a reluctant acceptance of Israel’s existence.

**************

The world agrees that the Islamic State (IS) is morally repugnant and must be stopped from wiping out 40,000 mountain-bound Yazdis, but Hamas is able to escape the same condemnation. Why is IS’s sudden genocide of Yazdis alarming, but Hamas’s agenda of genocide against six million Jews in Israel given a pass?

The double standards in dealing with Hamas and IS are logically incoherent. Both implement sharia governance, deliberately target civilians, have genocidal beliefs and seek the establishment of a caliphate.

Hamas would love nothing more than to put Israelis in the position that the Yazidis are in today. Article 7 of its founding charter quotes from a commonly quoted hadith:

“The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! there is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him! This will not apply to the Gharqad, which is a Jewish tree (cited by Bukhari and Muslim).”

Hamas not only want to eliminate the state of Israel — a genocidal aspiration in its own right — but Hamas explicitly believes it is required by Allah to wage war against Jews until the end of time. Just as IS believes that the Yazdis are apostates deserving of death, Hamas sees Jews as the incarnation of evil.

The potential massacre of the 40,000 Yazdis is an imminent crisis warranting immediate action, but IS’s assault is not more egregious than Hamas’s desire to massacre millions of Israelis. To argue otherwise is to argue that a Yazdi life is worth more than that of an Israeli Jew.

Governance under IS and Hamas would be virtually indistinguishable because of their shared Islamist ideology. Their differences merely lie in tactics towards the same end.

Hamas’s parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, rejects IS’s declaration of a caliphate – but only on technical grounds. In November 2013, Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad explained that his group’s aspirations to “uproot the Jews” are part of a larger project.

“We shall liberate our Al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem], and our cities and villages [in Israel], as a prelude to the establishment of the future Islamic caliphate,” he said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, of which Hamas is a subset, has always had the same agenda. However, the Brotherhood and its offspring follow a doctrine of gradualism towards establishing Sharia governance and the caliphate. IS terrorists use all means necessary to immediately implement sharia and have already declared a caliphate.

The Brotherhood and Hamas believe this should be done by an Islamist government that comes to power incrementally. IS rejects the democratic process entirely, viewing voting as an act of heresy, whereas Hamas believes voting is permissible within Islamist confines.

“Democracy itself also can make what it wants as lawful, or prohibit anything it does not like. In comparison, the sharia as a political system has limits. If we are to adopt democracy, we should adopt its best features,” preaches Sheikh Yousef Qaradawi, the spiritual leader of the Brotherhood.

The recent arrest of IS supporter Donald Ray Morgan on August 2 in New York shows the overlap between the two groups. He declared his loyalty to IS, but supported Hamas’s terrorism against Israel on Twitter. Under the name of “Abu Omar Al-Amreeki,” he tweeted, “I say Hamas is doing what they should, defending itself.”

Hamas and IS are cut from the same cloth. This raises the question of why many view IS as irreconcilable extremists but Hamas as a potential peace partner whose terrorism is an act of desperation against a superior adversary.

The calculated restraint of Hamas is mistaken for moderation. Hamas engages in negotiations and ceasefires only to strengthen its hand. It should not be interpreted as a reluctant acceptance of Israel’s existence.

Hamas’s victory in the 2006 Palestinian elections is often upheld as its certification of “legitimacy,” but democracy is much more than elections; it requires pluralism, human rights and freedoms that Hamas regularly stomps out.

Further, whatever “legitimacy” Hamas earned in 2006 has long since expired. That was eight years ago. There have been no elections since. The latest polls show the group’s support has collapsed among Gazans.

IS and Hamas violate every standard of morality. They stand together, shoulder-to-shoulder, waging the same overall jihad – only in different battlefields.

Mideast powers endorse new Iraqi prime minister-designate

By MICHAEL WILNER 08/12/2014 20:23

via Mideast powers endorse new Iraqi prime minister-designate | JPost | Israel News.

Pentagon broadens air campaign on the Islamic State; car bombs kill twelve in Baghdad; UN, Vatican call for greater mobilization against terrorist group.

WASHINGTON — Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia joined an international chorus of praise for Iraq’s nomination of a new prime minister on Tuesday, spurning the current premier, Nouri al-Maliki, who is refusing to leave his post.

The encirclement leaves Maliki with few allies, as his party colleague, Haider al-Abadi, prepares to form a new unity government.

Iran’s state-run news agency reported that the head of its National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, congratulated Abadi on his appointment. Iran wields significant influence within Iraqi political circles, in particular within Maliki’s Shi’ite Dawa Party.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said the naming of a new prime minister was a “positive and important development,” and wished Abadi success in his new post. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah prayed to God that Abadi might “restore cohesion” to the fractured state of Iraqi politics.

Maliki also lost support from the once-loyal Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, which has provided security for the veteran leader in the past. Al-Haq leaders endorsed Abadi’s nomination on Tuesday.

Abadi was elected deputy speaker of Iraq’s parliament only weeks ago, and beforehand served in communications for his party.

Hoping for a smooth transition, US President Barack Obama called on Abadi to form the new coalition “as quickly as possible” on Monday afternoon. The White House seeks a new Iraqi government that can help it confront the fast-moving advance of the Islamic State through eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

The extremist Sunni army continued its military operations this week, targeting the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional forces fighting to protect Iraqi citizens seeking to escape religious persecution.

Aiding the Kurds, the American navy and air force broadened its air campaign against the Islamist group over the last 48 hours. US warplanes struck checkpoints, mortar positions, vehicle convoys and US-made humvees operated by the Islamic State at the base of Mount Sinjar, a refuge for fleeing religious minorities, for the first time, possibly clearing a path of escape for those perched on the mountaintop.

Men and women of the Yazidi faith, an ancient ethno-religious minority, face slaughter at the hands of the Islamic State unless they choose to convert to Sunni Islam. The Obama administration fears the Islamic State would commit genocide against the Yazidis without international protection.

The US military conducted a fifth airdrop of aid overnight to those stranded on Sinjar without food, water or shelter, a population estimated in the tens of thousands. In total, the US has now delivered 85,000 ready-to-eat meals and 20,000 gallons of fresh drinking water.

The United Kingdom has committed its own cargo planes to the delivery of aid, and fighter jets to accompany them. Germany on Tuesday suggested it might be willing to provide the Iraqi government with military equipment in its fight against the terrorist group.

But United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon suggested he was unsatisfied with the pace of the international response, calling the Yazidi crisis “harrowing” and urging more haste from the global community.

The Vatican also renewed its condemnation of the Islamic State on Tuesday, calling on leaders in the Muslim world to speak out against the brutality.

Egypt’s chief religious authority did just that, according to MENA, the country’s state-run news media, in a first from the grand mufti, Shawqi Allam.

“An extremist and bloody group such as this poses a danger to Islam and Muslims, tarnishing its image as well as shedding blood and spreading corruption,” said Allam, Egypt’s most influential Muslim cleric.

Car bombings in Baghdad killed twelve people throughout the day, though it was not immediately clear who was responsible, or why the acts occurred.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Opposition to Netanyahu strengthens after Gaza war

By GIL HOFFMAN08/12/2014 21:20

PM also faces criticism from right-wing MKs inside Likud ahead of a potential agreement with Hamas to formally end the standoff.

via Opposition to Netanyahu strengthens after Gaza war | JPost | Israel News.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was not honest to the people of Israel regarding the fate of the Gaza Strip, opposition leader Isaac Herzog said in a speech to residents of Nativ Ha’asara, a moshav near the Gaza border.

Herzog backed Netanyahu throughout Operation Protective Edge, but he has been increasingly critical since IDF troops  pulled out last week.

“Whoever said they would topple Hamas from power lied,” Herzog said. “The real victory will only come in a diplomatic agreement and not in any other way. The problem is that the citizens are not being told the truth, which is that it could take weeks but in the end there will be a deal that will lead to quiet.”

Shas leader Arye Deri said Netanyahu’s governing coalition had already fallen apart before the operation. He accused the leaders of Bayit Yehudi and Yisrael Beytenu of “cynically” using the operation to build up their right-wing credentials instead of supporting Netanyahu during a security crisis.

“The opposition gave full support to the government since the kidnappings of the boys, but inside the coalition, since the war started, they forgot that during a war you don’t criticize a prime minister,” Deri told Israel Radio. “They are giving a big victory to Hamas, which sees the coalition and the government crumbling. When ministers say the prime minister did not achieve anything, for what did we fight, lose 64 soldiers, lose billions and make residents of the South suffer?”

Netanyahu also faced criticism from right-wing MKs inside Likud ahead of a potential agreement with Hamas to formally end the standoff.

“The agreement would cancel out all the achievements of Operation Protective Edge and crown Hamas the victor,” warned Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely. “Any situation in which Hamas gets benefits would shame the heroism of our soldiers.”

MK Danny Danon said that if Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Mahmoud a-Zahar are granted immunity in such an agreement it would significantly harm Israel’s deterence.

“You don’t make deals with a terrorist organization,” Danon said. “The apparent understandings would enable Hamas to rehabilitate its standing on the Arab street and its military capabilities, which will be turned on us whenever Hamas leaders choose.”

MK Miri Regev added that “any deal with Hamas would jump start them to the next attack, which will be even worse for both sides.”

Netanyahu summons senior ministers for ‘prep’ talks

Prime minister to speak with Lieberman, Lapid, Bennett, Livni, and Erdan on latest developments in Cairo negotiations for extended truce.

Attila Somfalv Published: 08.12.14, 20:53 / Israel News

via Netanyahu summons senior ministers for ‘prep’ talks – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summoned senior ministers for private consultations Tuesday night to update them about the negotiations in Cairo and the latest developments regarding a truce agreement.

Avigdor Lieberman, Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, Tzipi Livni, and Gilad Erdan will speak to Netanyahu tonight in what one minister defined as “preparation” for the news expected from Cairo, where the Israeli and Palestinian delegations have been negotiating with the aid of Egyptian mediators.

Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich was not summoned, but was expected to vote in the Cabinet based on the position of Yisrael Beiteinu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman.

Earlier on Tuesday Bennett went on the offensive against the agreement developing in Cairo. Bennett slammed one potential concession by Israel – the transfer of salaries to Hamas officials in the Strip – as a “dangerous euphemism.”

Bennett compared the concession with a protection racket. “Pay us – we’ll shoot at you later, don’t pay us – we’ll shoot at you now.”

Likud MK Danny Dannon also criticized the expected agreement. “We do not negotiate with terror organizations, the developing agreement will allow Hamas to rehabilitate its image on the Arab street and its military capabilities, which will be turned on us at a date determined by Hamas.”

He emphasized that if “Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar receive immunity as part of the agreement, it will be a significant hit to our deterrence capability.”

The Israeli delegation to Cairo includes Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen, Amos Gilad, Yitzhak Molcho, Maj. Gen. Nimrod Sheffer, and Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai.

Israel has agreed to ease the closure on the Gaza Strip, according to information obtained by Ynet regarding an apparent agreement between

Hamas and Israel, achieved via Egyptian mediation at the negotiations currently underway in Cairo. In contrast, there is no agreement to demilitarize Gaza, as demanded by Israel.

Ynet has learned that Israel will agree to transfer the Hamas government salaries through a third party – facilitating the payment of Hamas officials’ salaries. It was further agreed that Israel would gradually expand the fishing area off the Gaza coast, initially expected to be six nautical miles. It was also decided that construction materials will enter Gaza under close supervision.