Posted tagged ‘Operation Protective Edge’

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

Exclusive: Militants, weapons transit Gaza tunnels despite Egyptian crackdown

August 22, 2014

Exclusive: Militants, weapons transit Gaza tunnels despite Egyptian crackdown

AL-SARSOURIYA Egypt Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:55pm BST

via Exclusive: Militants, weapons transit Gaza tunnels despite Egyptian crackdown | Reuters.

 

A Palestinian fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, gestures inside an underground tunnel in Gaza August 18, 2014.Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Salem
 

(Reuters) – A third of the houses on the main street of this Bedouin town near Egypt’s border with Gaza look derelict, but inside they buzz with the activity of tunnel smugglers scrambling to survive a security crackdown by the Egyptian army.

Smugglers and tunnel owners, who once publicly advertised their services, have taken over the nearly two dozen single-storey concrete structures and boarded up their doors and windows to avoid the attention of the authorities.

While tunnels used by Gaza’s dominant Hamas militants to infiltrate Israel were a priority target of an Israeli offensive in the Palestinian enclave this summer, many smuggling conduits into Egypt have skirted detection.

That has allowed transports of weapons, building materials, medicine and food to continue to and from the small, coastal territory that is subject to blockade by both Israel and Egypt, tunnel operators say and Egyptian security sources acknowledge.

“During the Gaza war, business has flourished,” said a Bedouin guide who gave Reuters access to one of the tunnels and a rare look at how the illicit, lucrative industry has evolved since Egypt began trying to root out the passages in 2012.

Egypt sees a halt to the flow of weapons and fighters as important to its security, shaken in the past year by explosions and shootings by an Islamist insurgency based mainly in the Sinai Peninsula bordering Gaza and Israel.

Humanitarian supplies and building materials headed in the other direction have provided a vital lifeline to the 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza who have been living under the Israeli-imposed blockade since Hamas seized the enclave in 2007.

Cairo mediated talks this month between Israel and Palestinian factions led by Hamas to try to end the war in Gaza but refused to discuss easing its tight control of the Rafah border crossing as part of the deal Hamas seeks.

A 10-day ceasefire expired on Tuesday without a deal to extend it indefinitely, with Israel resuming air strikes on Gaza and Hamas and other Islamist militants their rocket salvoes into the Jewish state.

The guide who accompanied Reuters and requested anonymity estimated the total number of functional tunnels in about 10 border villages like Al-Sarsouriya at nearly 500 – down from about 1,500 before the Egyptian clampdown began.

Most of the bigger tunnels – the kind that can accommodate cars and even trucks – have been destroyed by the Egyptians, but smaller ones ranging 1-2 meters (yards) in diameter survive.

The guide said that as many as 200 new tunnels had been built in the past two years, dodging Egyptian security sweeps, with new ones coming onboard each week.

The smaller tunnels are still big enough to allow weapons, building materials and humanitarian supplies to pass under the heavily guarded land crossing.

“Each day, about 3 or 4 people cross with weapons, and each one carries about 6 or 7 guns,” the Bedouin guide said, without specifying what type of arms were being transported.

A senior Egyptian security officer confirmed that while the biggest and longest tunnels were no more, smaller ones remain operational.

“The situation is much more controlled. It’s not 100 percent but we are trying to reach this percentage,” he told Reuters. He said the army had achieved a noticeable reduction in smuggling of weapons, fuel, food and drugs over the past two years.

Egypt accuses the Islamist Hamas of supporting the Sinai insurgents, which Hamas denies. For its part, Israel has long wanted Egypt to end arms smuggling from Sinai to Gaza militants.

LUCRATIVE TUNNEL BUSINESS BEHIND SHOWER CURTAIN

A shower curtain is all that conceals the entrance ramp to the tunnel which Reuters visited. Two sheep and a cart in an adjacent room gave the impression that the house was abandoned, should security forces come searching.

The tunnel owner and his teenage son sat on cushions around a small wooden table beside the curtain. A photograph of the pair hung on the wall overlooking their cash cow.

The concrete-lined entrance to the 600-metre (0.37 miles) tunnel turns to dirt after a few steps. Posts support a wooden ceiling as deep as 10 meters (33 feet) below the surface, and energy-saving bulbs every few meters light the way.

The Egyptian owner accompanies passengers to the midpoint where a sentry checks on the security situation on the other side and then brings them to meet the Palestinian co-owner.

“This tunnel is a partnership between us,” said the Egyptian. “Building it cost us $300,000. He paid half and I paid half. The profit is split between us 50-50.”

The tunnel regularly brings the men profits of $200 a day. Shipping rates vary, starting at $12 for one-metre crates of medicine or food and topping out at $150 for weapons, building supplies or fuel.

People can pass for $50 each but the rate increases if they are armed. Most of the passengers are men, the owner said, but women and children also use the tunnels. Farm animals occasionally make the journey as well.

“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 owner told Reuters.

He said he does not check the identification of people who pass and even allows masked men to use his tunnel if his Palestinian partner vouches for them. “As long as they give me $50, I let them through,” he said.

The owner said he also does not seek to know the affiliation or destination of militants and weapons for fear that displeased customers will use another tunnel or report him to the security forces. “I just deliver the weapons and take the money,” he said. “I’m not concerned with where they’re going.”

In Gaza, Hamas has disputed Israel’s claim that it demolished all of the militants’ infiltration tunnels during the current conflict, and granted a rare tour to a Reuters news team last week to back up its assertion.

(The name of the correspondent is being withheld for security reasons; Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh in Cairo; Writing by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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.”

Is it Israel vs Hamas, or Egypt vs Qatar?

August 20, 2014

Is it Israel vs Hamas, or Egypt vs Qatar?

Wednesday, August 20, 2014 | Ryan Jones

via Is it Israel vs Hamas, or Egypt vs Qatar? – Israel Today | Israel News.

 

he ongoing Gaza war is presumably a localized conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas. But contentious truce talks in Cairo reveal that the violence that is costing so many their security and lives is rooted further afield.

When Hamas predictably broke the tenuous ceasefire on Tuesday, most assumed it was simply doing what terrorist organizations do. Palestinian Authority officials involved in the Cairo talks said that in reality, Hamas’ patrons in Qatar were pulling the strings.

A senior member of the ruling Palestinian faction Fatah told the pan-Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat that Qatar had coerced Hamas into resuming the war so that the Gulf state could “teach a lesson” to its rivals in the Egyptian regime.

Qatar has long been a sponsor of the Muslim Brotherhood, and is currently playing host to Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal (Hamas is a direct descendant of the Muslim Brotherhood). Egypt recently ousted its own Muslim Brotherhood rulers, and has no love for the movement or anyone connected to it.

According to Al-Hayat, when Hamas demanded that Qatar be party to the truce talks, Egypt flatly refused, much to the satisfaction of Israel, which was flabbergasted late last month when US Secretary of State John Kerry consulted with Qatar in formulating his own Gaza ceasefire proposal.

 

 

Qatar, in turn, put the screws on Hamas, threatening to expel Mashaal if the group agreed to anything tabled by Egypt. An Israeli security source told Walla News that it was only hours later that Mashaal bypassed the local Hamas leadership in Gaza and ordered militant cells to resume fire on Israel.

The Muslim Brotherhood hijacking of the “Arab Spring” and the subsequent advance of the Islamic State have redrawn regional alliances, bringing some Arab states like Egypt and Saudi Arabia much closer to Israel as they face down a common enemy with global aspirations.

In reality, the Gaza conflagration is merely a minor sideshow of a much wider and more serious struggle.

 


Veiled Palestinian women demonstrate in Gaza while holding the Qatari flag.