Posted tagged ‘IDF’

Hamas Sinks to Child Sacrifice in Thirst for Jewish Blood

August 23, 2014

Hamas terrorists are so callous that their thirst for blood means more than the lives of their own children.

By: Rachel LevyPublished: August 23rd, 2014

via The Jewish Press » » Hamas Sinks to Child Sacrifice in Thirst for Jewish Blood.

 

Terror rockets fired at Israeli civilians from a United Nations (UNRWA) girls school in Beit Lahiya, Gaza, on August 23, 2014.
Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit / satellite imagery
 

A new IDF intelligence report declassified last week has made it clear that Hamas terrorists have sunk to a new low — child sacrifice — in its thirst for Jewish blood.

Human shields, and particularly those who are most vulnerable (read: children) make the best headlines when they are photographed by horrified international reporters after they are bloodied and dead following a firefight or an IDF air strike.

How can that best be staged?

Of the more than 3,600 rockets and missiles fired from Gaza at Israeli civilians since the start of Operation Protective Edge on July 8, 1,600 were fired from civilian areas, according to the report.

Video footage of attacks fired from civilian areas were included.

he Gaza City neighborhood of Shujaiyya, as well as the areas of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun were found to be the most densely populated terrorist strongholds in the enclave.

There were rocket launches from within the El Azhar Islamic College as well, specifically at 2:45 a.m. on July 8, and three rockets launched from the Abu Nur School, also video taped.

Numerous other schools were also found to be terrorist bases — including several belonging to the ‘neutral’ United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

On August 1, 2014, rockets were launched at 7:23 pm from the UNWRA elementary school for girls in Beit Lahiya. Photographic evidence is available in an IDF aerial snapshot.

The next day, rockets were launched next to the UNRWA Shahada Al-Manara elementary school for boys in the Zeitoun district of Gaza City.

Beyond that, Gaza terrorists have also hidden behind the institutional “neutrality” of the United Nations, taking advantage of the international agency to fire rockets from inside an UNRWA distribution center and and UNWRA health center in Jabalya on August 2, 2014.

The terrorists also fired rockets from an UNWRA facility in a residential neighborhood in Gaza City.

Nor was the International Committee of the Red Cross, another “neutral” international aid organization, immune.

Rockets were fired at Israel just five meters away from a Red Cross Ambulance Station in Gaza; the launch was photographed by satellite.

Patients in hospitals, also made convenient shields for terrorists, who set up rocket launchers next to the Wafa Hospital in Shujaiyya and Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

In addition, clinics and mosques were found to be favored spots for terrorist activity as well. One mosque was used as a weapons storage facility in Nuseirat. In Gaza City, another house of worship concealed the entrance to an attack tunnel. Rocket launchers were also placed around mosques.

Even the dead were not respected, or safe: terrorists have launched rockets from within cemeteries in the enclave.

Curiously, terrorists also fired rockets from within a hotel where journalists were staying: on August 1, 2014, rockets were fired at Israel from the Al-Mashtal Hotel in Al Shati. Due to intimidation and threats, no journalist reported it: but satellite imagery caught the launch. Likewise, Hamas terrorists have prepared and launched rockets next to a hotel used by international media — but none have reported it. Their lives are at stake if they do.

Only after leaving the enclave have some had the courage to “tell.”

Perhaps the most self-destructive of all: on July 30, 2014, Gaza terrorists fired rockets at Israeli civilians from within the Gaza power plant itself, at 8:39 am, either believing the launch would not be seen or documented (it was, by satellite photography).

The tactics of Hamas and other Gaza terrorists are a flagrant violation of international law. Essentially, the terrorists have dropped to the level of child sacrifice not seen since the days of the pagan worship of the false god Ba’al Peor.

The responsibility for “collateral damage” that occurs during IDF attacks on terrorists as Israeli soldiers return fire in defense of civilians living in the Jewish State lies solely with Hamas, which controls Gaza.

DUNETZ: Obama’s Strategy For Fighting Terrorism: ‘Except When The Terrorists Are Targeting Jews’

August 23, 2014

DUNETZ: Obama’s Strategy For Fighting Terrorism: ‘Except When The Terrorists Are Targeting Jews

8.22.2014 Commentary Jeff Dunetz

via DUNETZ: Obama’s Strategy For Fighting Terrorism: ‘Except When The Terrorists Are Targeting Jews’ | Truth Revolt.

 

 

he pundits on both sides of the political spectrum are confused about President Obama’s strategy for fighting terrorism. He seems to say one thing and then a few days later orate something quite different. Ye his recent actions have made his strategy clear. As a service to readers of TruthRevolt and the political punditry of America, we will explain Obama’s terrorism-fighting strategy, which in his administration seems to be outspoken “except when the terrorists are targeting Jews.”

This is how it works.

While talking about ISIS and the murder of Jim Foley on Wednesday, President Obama said:

They have rampaged across cities and villages — killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children, and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. They have murdered Muslims — both Sunni and Shia — by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can for no other reason than they practice a different religion. They declared their ambition to commit genocide against an ancient people.

A few hours after Obama’s speech, Israeli Prime Minster Netanyahu gave one of his own, accurately explaining that Hamas is guilty of the same horrific acts as ISIS.

Hamas is ISIS. ISIS is Hamas. They’re the enemies of peace, they’re the enemies of Israel, they’re the enemies of all civilized countries, and I believe they’re the enemies of the Palestinians themselves.

Netanyahu explained that the Foley beheading “shows you the barbarism, the savagery of these people,” He added:

We face the same savagery. People who wantonly rocket our cities and conduct mass killings, and when they can, they murder children, teenagers, shoot them in the head, throw people from the sixth floor, their own people, and use their people as human shields.

During the daily State Department briefing that same day, Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf was asked about Netanyahu’s comparison. Harf refused to concede that the two terrorist groups were similar.

I think by definition, they are two different groups. They have different leadership, and I’m not going to compare them in that way. I’ll let him [Netanyahu] speak for himself, but I’m not going to use that comparison.

Why would the Obama administration refuse to accept the Netanyahu comparison? There is one major difference between ISIS and Hamas. As the President said above, ISIS attacks people of all religions including their own. On the other hand, Hamas’ primary target is the Jewish people. Their stated objective is killing all of the Jews in Israel and once that is done, killing all of the Jews in the rest of the world.

Civilian casualties are another example of the “Except when the terrorists are targeting Jews” strategy.

Since the start of the Gaza war, President Obama has constantly attacked Israel for the tragedy of civilian casualties despite the fact that Israel goes even further than the U.S. to avoid civilian casualties and that Hamas uses its population as human shields.

During an interview with the New Yorker this past January, Obama told David Remnick that he “wrestle[s]” with civilian casualties. But he also said he has

“a solemn duty and responsibility to keep the American people safe. That’s my most important obligation as President and Commander-in-Chief. And there are individuals and groups out there that are intent on killing Americans — killing American civilians, killing American children, blowing up American blowing up American planes. That’s not speculation. It’s their explicit agenda.”

Why would Obama go out of his way to criticize this country’s number one ally in the Middle East about civilian casualties when he knows that Hamas puts non-combatants in the line of fire and the lengths Israel goes to avoid killing civilians? That’s because the President believes Netanyahu’s “solemn duty and responsibility” to keep his citizens safe is different than Obama’s. Each of the countries has pluralistic societies recognizing the freedom of its people, but only one of them is comprised mostly of Jews.

Obama believes the civilized world should weed out and fight terrorism wherever they may find it, except, of course, if the terrorists are targeting Jews.

During that same Wednesday speech the President said:

From governments and peoples across the Middle East there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer, so that it does not spread. There has to be a clear rejection of these kind of nihilistic ideologies. One thing we can all agree on is that a group like ISIL has no place in the 21st century.

Since the start of the Gaza operation, Obama has allowed Israel to go only so far in trying to destroy Hamas before demanding a cease-fire. Contrary to America’s ally Israel, Obama’s strategy is to bring Hamas to the negotiating table as opposed to extracting “this cancer, so that it does not spread.”

Why is Obama’s goal to eradicate ISIS but only to bring Hamas to the bargaining table? There can be only one answer, as there is only one difference between the two terrorist groups: unlike ISIS which targets everyone, Hamas’ primary target is the Jews, not only in Israel, but in America, and indeed across the world.

Talking heads on both sides of the aisle have declared their consternation about President Obama’s strategy for fighting terrorism. It’s quite easy to understand when one realizes there is one rule for the terrorists who want to kill the Jews and a different rule for the terrorists who target a broader range of people.

PA forces clash with Hamas protesters in West Bank

August 23, 2014

PA forces clash with Hamas protesters in West Bank

Palestinian security personnel thwart demonstrators’ attempt to advance on IDF checkpoint in Hebron

By Times of Israel staff August 22, 2014, 8:05 pm

via PA forces clash with Hamas protesters in West Bank | The Times of Israel.

 

Palestinian demonstrators throw stones towards Palestinian security forces blocking the road to an Israeli checkpoint in the center of the West Bank town of Hebron on August 22, 2014, following a demonstration to show support for Hamas. (Photo credit: AFP/ Hazem Bader)
 

alestinian Authority security forces clashed with hundreds of Hamas supporters in the West Bank city of Hebron on Friday. Tear gas was used by the forces to disperse the crowd, which was advancing on an IDF checkpoint near the city, Israel Radio reported.

Earlier, demonstrators threw a firebomb at IDF troops manning a checkpoint near Hebron. The structure sustained damage but there were no injuries.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum heavily condemned the Palestinian Authority security forces for breaking up the Hebron demonstration, calling the dispersal a “disgraceful and disrespectful” act designed to serve Israel, Ynet reported.

Violent clashes between Palestinian protesters and IDF forces also took place near Bethlehem, the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported.

Supporters of the Gaza-based terror group held a series of demonstrations across the West Bank in solidarity with the terror group and the people living in the coastal enclave.

 

A Palestinian boy, along with supporters of Hamas, holds a representation of a rocket as others shout slogans to protest against Israel and to support people in Gaza, during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Friday, Aug. 22, 2014 (photo credit: AP /Majdi Mohammed)
 

According to Palestinian news channel Wattan, protesters were shouting slogans denouncing Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi and the Egyptian stance in the conflict, accusing it of serving Israel. Other demonstrators, including children, were holding cardboard models of rockets.

On Monday, Israel’s Shin Bet security service claimed it had thwarted a Hamas coup attempt in the West Bank aimed at toppling Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and starting a third intifada uprising.

The Shin Bet said it arrested more than 90 Hamas operatives in May and June, confiscated dozens of weapons that had been smuggled into the West Bank, and seized more than $170,000 aimed at funding attacks. It produced photos of the confiscated weapons and cash and a flowchart of the Hamas operatives who had been questioned, and said they planned a series of massive attacks on Israeli targets, including the Temple Mount, in order to start a widespread conflagration. Indictments are expected to be filed against at least 70 of the suspects.

Abbas said later Monday that the revelation was “a grave threat to the unity of the Palestinian people and its future.”

Smuggling between Sinai and Gaza still thriving

August 22, 2014

Smuggling between Sinai and Gaza still thriving

Bedouin guide claims there are 500 tunnels that can shuttle weapons, goods, building materials and people into Strip

By Spencer Ho August 22, 2014, 9:26 am

via Smuggling between Sinai and Gaza still thriving | The Times of Israel.

 

A Palestinian worker inside a smuggling tunnel, beneath the Egyptian-Gaza border
in the southern Gaza Strip, in February 2013 (photo credit: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
 

ith Israel’s attention focused on Hamas’s cross-border attack tunnels into Israel, the smuggling of arms and goods from the Sinai Peninsula has continued and gained a boost from the flare-up of hostilities in the Gaza strip, according to Egyptian and Bedouin sources.

“During the Gaza war, business has flourished,” a Bedouin guide, who requested anonymity, told Reuters.

The fighting and humanitarian crisis has increased the demand for weapons and humanitarian supplies that only skilled smugglers can provide. However, while their business is still thriving, it is not what it used to be just two years ago, the report said.

The crackdown on smuggling came amid accusations by Egypt that Hamas had colluded with the Muslim Brotherhood in carrying out “terror attacks” on its territory in the past few years.

In March of this year, Egypt’s military said that it had destroyed 1,370 smuggling tunnels under its border with the Gaza Strip. Coupled with the frequent closure of the Rafah border and Israel’s effective security blockade, the destruction of so many of the tunnels has left the Hamas-run coastal enclave almost completely isolated.

“The situation is much more controlled,” a senior Egyptian official told Reuters, noting that since mid-2012 the army had managed to seriously curtail the smuggling of weapons, fuel, food and drugs. “It’s not 100 percent, but we are trying to reach this percentage.”

For their part, the Bedouin smugglers acknowledge that the Egyptian crackdown has forced them to think smaller. The massive tunnels that used to accommodate cars and trucks have been destroyed, but many of the one- to two-meter-wide corridors have survived. One Bedouin guide told Reuters that smugglers had built up to 200 more such tunnels in the last two years, bringing the total of working tunnels up to 500. Comparatively, before the crackdown, there were some 1,500.

“Each day, about three or four people cross with weapons, and each one carries about six or seven guns,” the guide said, without specifying what type of arms were being transported.

A peek into a derelict house in Egypt where a tunnel opening is located — concealed only by a shower curtain — offers a glimpse into how the system works.

“This tunnel is a partnership between us,” the Egyptian tunnel owner said, referring to his Palestinian counterpart on the Gaza side. “Building it cost us $300,000. He paid half and I paid half. The profit is split between us 50-50.”

On average, the two men net about $200 per day by charging varying rates for different supplies, according to the owner. For instance, a one-square-meter crate of medicine or food would cost $12, while weapons, building supplies, or fuel might cost as much as $150.

When Egypt cracked down on smuggling between its territory and Gaza in 2012, it charged that militant forces were using the tunnels to shuttle weapons and fighters to the groups that were frequently attacking its military forces and causing unrest amongst the population in Sinai. While its campaign may have struck a blow to the enterprise, this tunnel operation proves that the threat still exists.

Much like goods, people can also pass, with the price starting at $50 per person; extra if they are carrying weapons.

“If someone is passing with one or two guns, we charge $60 to $70. But if someone has more weapons, it’s a special operation and might cost as much as $1,000 or $2,000 depending on the type of weapon,” the Egyptian was quoted by Reuters as saying, adding that he has no interest in who they are or their intentions, as long as his Palestinian partner says they are alright.

“As long as they give me $50, I let them through, he said. “I just deliver the weapons and take the money. I’m not concerned with where they’re going.”

Message From President Abbas’ Fatah Party—It’s OK To Slaughter Jews In Settlements

August 22, 2014

Message From President Abbas’ Fatah Party—It’s OK To Slaughter Jews In Settlements”Our political decision is resistance in the occupied territories in order ‎to bring an end to the occupation [using] all forms of resistance.”

8.21.2014 News Jeff Dunetz

via Message From President Abbas’ Fatah Party—It’s OK To Slaughter Jews In Settlements | Truth Revolt.

 

Are this the people where Israel wants to work with, like safeguarding border crossings ?

 

Once again proving that Palestinian leadership talks peace in English but war in Arabic, Jibril Rajoub, the Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee for President Mahmoud Abbas’ “Moderate” Fatah Party, appeared on independent Palestinian TV Station​ Awdah announcing that Fatah has made a “political decision” to support slaughtering of Jews who live in settlements.

I’m telling everyone: Fatah has decided that our relations with the Israelis are relations between enemies. There is no kind of coordination between the Israelis and us. Everyone can be certain that any form of mutual coordination ended a day after they declared war on the National Unity Government… OK, brother, ‎here is the occupation, am I stopping you from slaughtering a settlement? No one is stopping anyone. ‎Don’t lie and tell me: ‘the [PA] Security Forces and Mahmoud Abbas,’ and so on [stop you]. Drop it, ‎OK? No one is stopping anyone. Our political decision is resistance in the occupied territories in order ‎to bring an end to the occupation [using] all forms of resistance.

Source: Palwatch

Hamas buries commanders killed by Israel

August 21, 2014

Hamas buries commanders killed by Israel

Funerals held for three al-Qassam Brigades leaders in Rafah, as Israel calls up fresh troops for extended Gaza campaign.

Last updated: 21 Aug 2014 18:54

via Hamas buries commanders killed by Israel – Middle East – Al Jazeera English.

 

Hamas said the deaths of the three commanders was a “big Israeli crime” [AFP]
 
So much innocent civilians !
 

Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets as funerals were held for three Hamas commanders killed in the latest round of Israeli air raids in the Gaza Strip that left a total of 29 Palestinians dead.

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, said Mohamed Abo Shamaleh, Raed al-Attar and Mohamed Barhoum were killed in an attack in Rafah on Thursday, little more than a day after an attempt on the life of its leader Mohammed Deif.

Their supporters later took over the streets as their funerals processions snaked through Rafah, which bears scars of Israeli bombing from previous days.

Another 26 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza since Wednesday evening, raising the overall death toll to 2,077 in 45 days of conflict.

Israel meanwhile said it was rotating 10,000 troops – meaning fresh soldiers were being prepared for possible future operations – a day after the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel’s offensive may be an extended operation.

Hamas condemned the assasinations, with Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman, calling them a “big Israeli crime” for which it would pay.

Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, reporting from West Jerusalem, said Israel had turned to its historical tactic of targeting senior figures.

“This could be seen as an acknowledgement that military tactics have not been delivering on several levels,” she said, including damage to its international reputation.

Al Jazeera’s Jane Ferguson, reporting from Gaza, said the Hamas commanders killed on Thursday had been implicated in the kidnapping of its soldier Gilad Shalit, who was freed in 2011 under a prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

Ferguson said that Hamas and other Palestinian factions were still open to talks, an “indicator of how both sides … are aware that while they say they’re prepared to fight, they also know that they need a political solution at some stage”.

Hamas is seeking an end to a seven-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade that has battered Gaza’s economy, while Israel wants guarantees that Hamas will disarm.

Mashal to Mahmoud Abbas in Qatar: “We Are Ready For a War of Attrition of Years”

August 21, 2014

Mashal to Mahmoud Abbas in Qatar: “We Are Ready For a War of Attrition of Years

The head of the political bureau of Hamas and Palestinian Authority Chairman met in Emirate, the goal of the latter to bring a quick cease-fire between the two sides, after it emerged that the truce was broken when rockets were fired at Be’er Sheva on Tuesday by members of Hamas.

Aug 21, 2014, 06:00PM | Jerusalemonline Staff

via Israel News – Mashal to Mahmoud Abbas in Qatar: “We Are Ready For a War of Attrition of Years” – JerusalemOnline.

 

5 minutes ago a mega rocket attack on Israel

 

Now another mega attack direction Dimona, and continuing, BIBI has to stop this NOW !

 

Abbas and Mashal Channel 2 News/Reuters
 

Due to the continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, the IDF targeted three senior Hamas military wing officials and the absence of a cease-fire agreement on the horizon, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Khaled Mashal are meeting today in Qatar. The goal: Mahmoud Abbas is attempting to stop the fire between the two sides.

This afternoon their first meeting between the two ended when the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Ben Hamad Aal Thani, met with Abbas and then after were joined by Mashal and his entourage. Abbas tried to get Mashal to understand that he must first arrive at an agreement in Cairo. Mashal on the other hand, told Abbas that Hamas is prepared for a long war of attrition, which could last years.

However, Abbas is expected to discuss with Mashal’s future government of national reconciliation. Among the issues to be discussed: whether elections will be held, and if so – when, and how the PLO will be integrated and what will be the political leadership role of Hamas in the West Bank. Now, the chairman of the Palestinian Authority must recruit Qatar in orer to convince Mashaal that Hamas must arrive at a cease-fire agreement.

U.S. Has Not Expressed Concerns Over Hamas Leader in Turkey

August 21, 2014

U.S. Has Not Expressed Concerns Over Hamas Leader in Turkey

Turkish official says no ‘concerns’ expressed to Turkey following Hamas coup plot

BY:

August 20, 2014 5:00 am

via U.S. Has Not Expressed Concerns Over Hamas Leader in Turkey | Washington Free Beacon.

 

AP
 

he Obama administration has not expressed to Turkey any concerns over recent reports indicating that a senior Hamas operative operating in Turkey had been implicated in a coup plot to overthrow the Palestinian government in the West Bank and wage war on Israel, according to a Turkish official.

The State Department on Monday defended new missile sales to Turkey just hours after news emerged that Ankara is hosting a senior Hamas operative who Israel accused of hatching a plan to violently overthrow the Palestinian Fatah government in the West Bank.

State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf did not respond yesterday to Free Beacon requests for comment on whether the Obama administration had related any concerns to Ankara over its reported sheltering of Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri, who is said to have been responsible for planning the kidnapping of three Israeli teens who were killed by Hamas.

A Turkish official confirmed to the Free Beacon late Tuesday that the Obama administration has not reached out to express concerns over the reports about the alleged coup and rejected allegations that Turkey may be aiding Al-Arouri.

“Turkey strongly condemns and rejects such allegations. As a matter of fact Turkey’s strong support to the National Unity Government in Palestine and to the President [Mahmoud] Abbas himself is self-explanatory and refutes such accusations,” the official said.

The Turkish official further noted that “U.S. authorities are well aware” of Turkey’s support for Abbas and his government.

“Since U.S. authorities are well aware of Turkey’s aforementioned position, there has been no such concern [expressed by the Obama administration] as you mention in your email which has been conveyed to the Turkish side,” the official said.

Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also addressed the controversy in a statement issued Tuesday in Turkish.

“Turkey is at the top of the list of countries that have supported the Palestinian reconciliation” between Hamas and Fatah, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in the statement, which was translated for the Free Beacon by Merve Tahiroglu, a research associate for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). “In this regard, our country has welcomed and supported the Palestinian unity government that was formed on June 2.”

Turkey views this unity government as “an indispensible element” for peace in the region and “the welfare of the Palestinian people,” the statement adds.

Turkey maintains that is has not “overlooked any attempts to overthrow the Palestinian national unity government,” according to the statement. “We strongly reject and condemn such slander. Turkey’s close contact and strong cooperation with the Palestinian administration will, just as it has been in the past, continue with determination in the future.”

A heated back-and-forth between reporters and Harf broke out at the State Department’s daily briefing on Monday and Tuesday when questions emerged about why the administration is going through with the transfer of U.S. missiles to Turkey while simultaneously holding up similar weapons shipments to Israel.

Harf again on Tuesday ducked questions by reporters asking if the U.S. government had conveyed concerns to Turkey over the plot.

“Do you have any concerns at all about the apparent role of Turkey in this?” AP reporter Matt Lee asked Harf.

“I don’t have any more details on this, Matt. I’m happy to check with our team,” Harf responded.

“Okay. Because I did ask this yesterday. You weren’t aware of the incident, but … now, the Israelis say that this is all being planned and funded from Turkish territory,” Lee followd up.

“Well, as I said, I think it involves some Hamas militants and cash, but let me check on that piece of it. I certainly have nothing to confirm that,” Harf told Lee.

“I’m most curious to know if you guys are planning to raise any concerns with the—I don’t know, maybe you don’t have any concerns … if you’ll raise them with the Turks,” Lee responded.

Harf responded that she would “check on that.”

Harf maintained on Monday that the Turkish and Israeli arms shipments are completely separate matters.

“Turkey is also a NATO ally,” she told reporters. “So for all of us who are—talk a lot about the importance of the NATO alliance, particularly when it comes to Russia and Ukraine and what’s happening there, we think it’s important to provide our NATO allies with resources. We think that’s an important use of our resources. The two [cases] aren’t comparable, but those are the facts behind them, I would say.”

Additionally, Harf could not explain to reporters the exact process taking place behind the scenes regarding the hold up in Israeli arms shipments.

“I don’t know how the process specifically works in that granularity,” she said, when faced with questions about who in the government holds veto power over the arms shipments.

When asked later in the briefing to comment on reports about the Turkey-backed Hamas coup, Harf could not provide much information.

“I don’t have anything to confirm those [reports],” she said. “I hadn’t heard about that otherwise. I can check,” she told reporters.

Israel ‘Closer than Ever’ to Full Gaza Invasion

August 21, 2014

Minister: Israel ‘Closer than Ever’ to Full-Scale Gaza Invasion

Communications Minister and Security Cabinet member Gilad Erdan appeals to Israelis for patience, says Hamas will reach ‘breaking point.’

By Shlomo Piotrokovski

First Publish: 8/21/2014, 9:36 AM

via Israel ‘Closer than Ever’ to Full Gaza Invasion – Defense/Security – News – Arutz Sheva.

 

Minister Gilad Erdan Flash 90
 

Communications Minister and Security Cabinet Member Gilad Erdan (Likud) has appealed for Israelis to be patient and to allow the IDF time to complete Operation Protective Edge, adding that the army was closer than ever to launching a full ground invasion of Gaza.

Speaking in an interview with Army Radio on Thursday morning, Erdan revealed that Israel did not yield to Hamas’s demands during recent negotiations in Cairo.

“Hamas did not receive a single one of its demands and so it appears they have resumed firing,” he stated.

Echoing sentiments shared by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu late last week, Erdan said that Israel was not prepared to concede its position of strength by suddenly capitulating to Hamas demands. He also noted that the negotiations were not expected to have achieved any major achievements for Israel apart from a period of calm, and added that

“Israel is the stronger party, it is the party in control here, and so there wasn’t much for Israel to receive apart from a long-term period of quiet. That is the achievement that we will receive, but in return we do not need to give anything more than humanitarian affairs.”

“When will Hamas reach breaking point? There’s no scientific formula,” he continued. “At first Hamas wanted to come (to the table) with preconditions and at the end it came without preconditions – in the end it will reach breaking point.

He added that Israel was closer than ever to launching a full-scale ground operation, but cautioned “Will this happen tomorrow? It’s not certain, since the price for this will be high, but we are closer today to a ground operation than we have been at any point since the start of the operation.”

Hamas fighters show defiance in Gaza tunnel tour

August 19, 2014

Hamas fighters show defiance in Gaza tunnel tour

Terrorists say they feel at home in tunnels, vow to restock arsenal: ‘In peace we make preparations, and in war we use what we have readied,’ says one of them.

ReutersPublished: 08.19.14, 19:13 / Israel News

via Hamas fighters show defiance in Gaza tunnel tour – Israel News, Ynetnews.

GAZA – Hamas fighters, clad in black and armed with assault rifles, navigated the dimly lit tunnel with ease, saying they felt at home in their network of underground passages in the Gaza Strip.

A rare tour that Hamas granted to a Reuters reporter, photographer and cameraman appeared to be an attempt to dispute Israel’s claim that it had demolished all of the Islamist group’s border infiltration tunnels in the Gaza war.

“We are speaking to you today from inside one of those tunnels, which Israel said it had destroyed. Our men are still operating in those tunnels prepared for all options,” said a masked fighter from Hamas’s Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

But driven, blindfolded, to the secret location in a Hamas vehicle that made a series of turns, it was impossible for the Reuters crew to tell whether it was close to the frontier or further inside the Gaza Strip in tunnels untouched by Israeli bombing. It was not clear where the tunnel led.

 

Photo: Reuters
 

By Israel’s own account, its ground forces focused only on destroying tunnels within 2 to 4.5 km of the border, while ignoring more distant connecting passages. During the Gaza offensive, Israel’s military took reporters through tunnels it discovered at the frontier.

Chatting in soft voices and laughing at times, Hamas men guided the Reuters crew through corridors less than a metre (3.3 feet) wide that are reached by descending a thin metal ladder through a tiny shaft.

“It feels just like home,” their commander said. “Fighters dug these tunnels with their own hands just like they built their houses, so they live here at comfort and assurance like they do at home.”

Sound of silence
The ceiling in parts of the tunnel was high enough so we could walk through – alternately on dry, concrete floors and muddy ground – without having to bend our heads.

It was impossible to gauge the tunnel’s length, but it had offshoots leading in different directions. Once inside, the sounds of traffic and Israeli drones that routinely fly over the territory of 1.8 million people could not be heard.

Israel said the tunnel network is used by Hamas to move and store weapons and keep fighters out of sight of Israeli aircraft.

It is separate from smuggling conduits that ran under the Egypt-Gaza border. Egypt, which regards Hamas as a security threat, destroyed those tunnels before the current war.

 

Photo: Reuters
 

Israel launched its Gaza offensive on July 8 after a surge in Hamas rocket fire across the border. Israeli ground forces invaded on July 17 with the declared aim of destroying infiltration tunnels and left on August 5 after saying that mission had been accomplished.

Egypt is trying to finalize a long-term ceasefire after a five-day truce was extended by 24 hours into Tuesday, a truce that was broken several hours before it was set to expire when Palestinian factions in Gaza resumed rocket fire on Israel.

On the battlefield, Hamas met Israeli forces with an array of tactics, including the use of tunnels to launch surprise attacks. The IDF lost 64 soldiers, more than six times the number of troops killed in its previous invasion of Gaza in early 2009. Three civilians in Israel were also killed.

Israel says it has killed hundreds of Hamas fighters and destroyed more than 30 tunnels. Funeral marches were held for several members of the Qassam Brigades but there has been no official word from the group on its losses.

The Palestinian Health Ministry puts the Gaza death toll at 2,016 and says most were civilians in the small, densely populated coastal territory.

 

Photo: Reuters
 

In the tunnel, a Hamas fighter said the group would press on with restocking its arsenal or rockets and other weaponry and shoring up its underground network.

“In peace we make preparations, and in war we use what we have readied,” he said.