Tag: Hamas

It’s A Trap!

Sorry I had to get my rendition of Adm. Akbar of Star Wars famous warning….

Okay that out of the way…..has anyone considered that HAMAS is setting trap for Israel?

Could this ‘war’ be masterful plan to lure Israel into committing to a plan that will not end well?

Even the White House is concerned with the impending invasion and subsequent ‘occupation’ of Gaza.

As the world awaits what appears to be an imminent ground invasion of Gaza by Israel, President Biden sought to tread a fine line in regard to the Israeli response in a 60 Minutes interview. He supported Israel’s right to go after Hamas and said the group should be wiped out, but he also warned against an occupation of Gaza and worried about the fate of civilians.

  • Occupation: “I think it’d be a big mistake,” he said of the idea of Israel reoccupying the territory, per the New York Times. “Taking out the extremists … is a necessary requirement,” he added, but “I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.” Meanwhile, Israeli ambassador Michael Herzog told CNN that “we have no desire to occupy or reoccupy Gaza. We have no desire to rule over the lives of more than 2 million Palestinians.”
  • Hamas: Biden agreed when asked whether Hamas should be “eliminated entirely,” saying they had “engaged in barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust,” per Newsweek. “Israel has to respond. They have to go after Hamas. Hamas is a bunch of cowards.” Longer term, he said “there needs to be a Palestinian Authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.”
  • Civilians: The president did not call for a ceasefire when asked about one, and said he was confident Israel would abide by the “rules of war” in regard to protecting civilians. He also backed the idea of creating an evacuation corridor or “safe zone.” Axios offers a quick assessment: The president “has been full-throated in his support for Israel in the wake of the Hamas attack, but his remarks on 60 Minutes signal that he hopes to keep some guardrails on what is likely to be a massive Israeli operation in response.” More than 1 million have fled their Gaza homes in anticipation of the ground assault, per the AP.
  • Border: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters during a visit to Egypt on Sunday that a border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will reopen to allow in the shipments of humanitarian aid for Palestinians, per NPR. He added that the UN is helping Israel and Egypt coordinate the shipments through the Rafah crossing.
  • Militant leader: Israel said one of its missile strikes over the weekend killed a Hamas commander believed to have led one of the massacres on an Israeli kibbutz, per the Telegraph. The military says Billal Al Kedra led the attack on Kibbutz Nirim during the Oct. 7 raid.

A ground invasion and occupation could be just what the plan was the whole time.

The trap could draw in the US as well….

The Pentagon has selected 2,000 troops to prepare for a potential deployment to support Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Pentagon officials told the paper that the troops would be tasked with missions like advising and medical support and are not intended to serve a combat role. The personnel that have been selected are from across the US armed services, and some are already in the Middle East while others are outside the region.

The Associated Press also reported that the US is preparing for the potential deployment. One official told the AP that they would “not be sent to Israel but could be sent to countries in the region.”

It’s not clear what circumstances would lead to the deployment, but the prepare to deploy notice comes as Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip and is expected to launch a ground incursion. An Israeli military spokesman said Sunday that Israeli forces were “in formation” to launch an attack on Gaza City.

(antiwar.com)

Is this a prudent decision?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Butterflies Are Free

I remember a hippie-dippie movie with Goldie Hawn back in the “good old days”…..and this post has absolutely nothing to do with this post….

TECHNOLOGY…..My Friend…….as they say is the way of the future.  And drones is the technology leading the way into future warfare……..

This is a piece I found while surfing Middle East news sites…….I do not doubt that there are butterfly drones spying on people…..but is Israel capable of such techno stuff?

You decide.

 

Israel’s e-butterflies latest toy in hi-tech war.

Nepal: Whatcha Think?

The news coming out of Nepal is horrible….it seems that an early snow storm blew up and trapped many hikers on the Himalayas and then a tragic avalanche occurred killing many of the hikers and some are still missing……the search goes on……

But that is not what this post is about…well sort of…..it seems that some of those killed were Israelis…..

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has confirmed that three Israelis have died since a blizzard dumped snow and triggered avalanches on Tuesday along a mountain trekking route popular with backpackers in northern Nepal. A fourth Israeli is missing.

I bring this up for a reason….how long will it be before Hamas is blamed for the deaths?

Israel has been blaming Hamas for just about every bad thing that happens in the country…..logical progression would point to Hamas being at fault for the deaths of Israelis strolling around some random mountain in Nepal………

Why Israel’s bombardment of Gaza neighborhood left US officers ‘stunned’ | Al Jazeera America

Many people have questioned just why Israel continued to attack Gaza…the tunnel BS has been debunked……rockets are notoriously inaccurate and have killed less than 10 people…..then why?

My opinion is that it was to destroy as much of the infrastructure as possible before the ceasefire……would make a two state solution harder to enact….

Even the US is asking some of the same questions…….read it for yourself…..

 

Why Israel’s bombardment of Gaza neighborhood left US officers ‘stunned’ | Al Jazeera America.

Give Peace a Chance?

Opinion from the desk of the Editor:

We have a ceasefire in Gaza and it is holding, for now (Sadly, did not last very long)…….talks are going on in Egypt between Palestinians and Israelis and Hamas (talks have been suspended for the renewed attacks in Gaza)…….and Hamas has offered a 10 year truce if certain demands are met….these are:

1. Return of IDF tank positions so that farmers can work their lands

2. Freeing of all prisoners arrested since June 23 (when 3 Israeli teens were killed by Hamas operatives), and improving the conditions of those currently in prison.

3. Lifting of Israel’s naval blockade around Gaza along with the complete opening of the land border crossings.

4. Establishment of an international airport and seaport in Gaza.

5. Expansion of Gaza fishing zone by six miles.

6. Open the Israel-Gaza Rafah border crossing permanently under UN supervision, instead of under Israel’s watch.

7. 10 year truce with Israel along with the deployment of an international observer force on the border.

8. Israel must never enter Gaza under any circumstances and protect Palestinian Muslim worshippers at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

9. Israel must refrain from interfering with the newly created unity Palestinian  government between Fatah and Hamas.

10. Rehabilitation of Gaza Industrial Zones and allowance for Gaza to create a border protection force.

 Try to look at the requests/demands with an objective eye.  Of course they will be unacceptable to Israel.  However, read the list and tell me where there is a problem.
The UN needs to step into the action about here…….base member countries on the ground to keep the peace…….then Israel needs to approve most of them and then we will see who is scamming who.
What does Israel have to lose? They have enough firepower to do what they do best….destroy.  And the West will make sure that they are never without superior weapons systems.
If Israel wants to prove their claims about Hamas then this is the perfect way to expose their deception.  Of course the Zionists within the government will never allow this plan to go into effect.  And the reasons are obvious.
Now for Hamas….they need to accept this plan and hold true to their proposals….this will go along way of proving to the world that they are truly on the side of the Palestinian people and not just a cell of terrorists.
This will make the Palestinians happy and secure and it will make Israelis safe and secure…..where is the problem with either of those?
Hamas has offered…now it is Israel’s turn to prove that they truly want peace and not the destruction of the Palestinians.
How will this end?
My guess is with further airstrikes and more destruction……

 

Gaza Under Seige–Yet Again

Inkwell Institute

Middle East Desk

The attacks has one single goal………to stop the firing of Hamas rockets into Israel proper……that was in 2008 and is as it is today…….the problem is that NO amount of airstrikes and ground forces have stopped the rockets and their deadly intention…….I believe that Einstein had an observation on this type of action……

Israel says that they are not targeting civilians but rather are going after Hamas members….the problem with that statement is that the bombs cannot telling Hamas from a civilian…….

Recently Israel was magnanimous….they offered a cease fire….if Hamas will stop firing rockets they will stop bombing……that was the deal in 2008 also……of course Hamas would reject the deal and once they did Israel would have a clear path for escalation.  In 2008 with Egypt’s assistance a deal was offered……….the terms were this…….

Israel shall stop all hostilities in the Gaza Strip land, sea and air, including incursions and targeting of individuals.

All Palestinian factions shall stop all hostilities from the Gaza Strip against Israel, including rocket attacks and all attacks along the border.

Opening the crossings and facilitating the movement of people and transfer of goods and refraining from restricting residents’ free movements and targeting residents in border areas. Procedures of implementation shall be dealt with after 24 hours from the start of the ceasefire.

Once the deal was accepted then missiles no longer were fired into Israel…….that worked out well for Israel but they did not live up to terms….there were airstrikes, there incursions into Gaza and fishermen were harassed and arrested and the economic blockade remained…..of course the tried and true excuse for a continuation of violence is that they had intel that Hamas was planning something and they had to act…..

On the 24th of December 2012 the rockets resumed to target inside Israel…..and of course the condemnation of Hamas began all over again and the killing resumed……

Like I wrote Israel offered a deal for the hostilities to stop…..it was rejected by Hamas.  But why did Hamas reject the proposal?  Hamas remembers how well Israel accepted the terms of the last ceasefire…..not much changed other than Hamas was silent for a period of time…….Hamas sees this deal NO better than the screwing they took in the deal of 2008.  Plus since Hamas took over in Gaza there has been an economic blockade of the region that Hamas wants ended so the people of Gaza can have a normal life…..

Hamas did not like the deal the Egypt and Israel had come up with and has offered Israel a 10 year truce deal….a counter proposal……

The first demand, according to Maariv, is the withdrawal of Israeli military tanks from the border fence area to a distance that enables Gaza farmers to access their fields and tend them freely.

In addition, Israel must free all Palestinian prisoners detained after the abduction and killing of three Israeli teenagers in the southern West Bank including those who were freed as part of Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. This precondition also includes softening procedures against all prisoners in Israeli custody.

A third demand stipulates that Israel ends the crippling siege on the coastal enclave, which means reopening all border crossings and allowing the entry of construction materials and all requirements needed to run the Gaza Strip’s power station.

The fourth demand stipulates the opening of an international seaport and international airport in the Gaza Strip to be run and monitored by the United Nations.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad also demanded that Israel increases the Gaza fishing zone to 10 nautical miles and allows Gaza fishermen to use large fishing ships.

Furthermore, the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip should be monitored by international crews from friendly and Arab countries.

Israel must commit to a ceasefire for 10 years which includes closing Gaza airspace to Israeli aircraft, it added.

Moreover, Israel must give Gaza residents permission to visit Jerusalem and pray in the al-Aqsa Mosque.

Another stipulation demands that Israel abstain from any intervention in Palestinian internal affairs including political arrangements and the reconciliation agreement and all its consequences.

Finally, the Gaza industrial zone must be re-established.

A 10 year peace deal?  Why would Israel balk at the prospect?

About the only item that would appeal to Israel is the ceasing of rockets into Israel……there is NO way that either side is going to control themselves for 10 years…..

Any agreement regardless of who proposes it should include a couple conditions……

1. An agreement must be clear in terms of what constitutes a violation so that the actors will have to consider the ramifications of public condemnation before committing a violation.

2. An agreement must take into consideration the dramatic imbalance of power between the sides. If there is a Palestinian violation, Israel retains the capacity to hold them accountable independently and at will, often inflicting disproportionate causalities leading to escalation. But when Israel violates the cease-fire, Palestinians cannot hold them accountable. The absence of any mechanism for monitoring Israeli violations and holding them to account creates incentives for Palestinians to do so in other ways, like firing projectiles.

3. An agreement must ensure that Israel does not use its position of power to unilaterally change the terms. The previous cease-fire included an easing of restrictions as part of the detailed understanding between the parties negotiated through Egypt. This meant fisherman could fish up to six nautical miles from the coast instead of the previously imposed three nautical mile mark. It also meant Palestinians could access farm land up to 300 meters from the fence, previously Israel had fired at Palestinians as far as 1500 meters away. But during the course of the cease-fire, Israel unilaterally changed those terms, reinforcing the three nautical mile mark and going back to shooting Palestinians near the fence even as far away as 1500 meters.

4. An agreement must take into account the devastating human rights crisis and humanitarian situation in Gaza that lies at the foundation of discontent there. As mentioned above, when it came to “easing restrictions” the previous agreement was mostly about determining what would be the dimensions of the prison cell that is the Gaza Strip. For real progress, an agreement must challenge the very notion that Palestinians should be stuck in this prison at all and move toward ending the collective punishment that is Israel’s siege on the Strip.

There can be a sustainable peace in the region but all sides MUST sign on and hold up their end of the agreement……and ALL sides have got to want peace…….unfortunately I do not see that has a priority….and since it is not then this cycle will continue and the West will sit on their hands and wait…….and while they wait and do nothing more Palestinians will die.

 

Could This Be Peace?

A long-term truce between the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel may be announced within days, Hamas officials said in Cairo.

Moussa Abu Marzouk, a deputy leader of Hamas, said the truce would be announced within 48 hours.

“We have agreed to the truce with the Israeli side for one year and a half [in return] for the opening of all six passages between the Gaza Strip and Israel, and the halting of all military activity and aggression,” he was quoted as saying by the Egyptian state news agency Mena.

Hamas, he added, would first have to consult with other Palestinian factions.

Taher al-Nono, a member of Hamas’s negotiating team in Cairo, was earlier quoted by Reuters as saying that the deal would be announced within three days.

“Most of the obstacles that prevented us from reaching an agreement were resolved,” he said.

A step in the right direction…now if the two sides can just keep their fingers off the triggers then there could be a chance of real progress for a lasting peace…..we can only hope.

Hamas Thinks Peace?

Senior officials in the Islamic group Hamas are indicating a willingness to negotiate a long-term truce with Israel as long as the borders of Gaza are opened to the rest of the world.

“We want to be part of the international community,” Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad told The Associated Press at the Gaza-Egypt border, where he was coordinating Arab aid shipments. “I think Hamas has no interest now to increase the number of crises in Gaza or to challenge the world.”

That raises the question of whether Hamas, which receives much of its funding and weapons from Tehran, can be coaxed out of Iran’s orbit. That question looks less preposterous than it did before President Barack Obama began extending olive branches to the Muslim world and Israel’s Gaza offensive reshuffled Mideast politics.

Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister in Gaza, said in comments aired Thursday that the Palestinians must heal their internal rifts and he welcomed aid for Gaza from any source. He also seemed to leave a door open for better relations with the U.S.

The militants appear to be in the throes of an internal power struggle between hard-liners and pragmatists. Which group comes out on top will likely depend on who is able to garner the most benefits in postwar Gaza.

With hawks urging more violence, the window of opportunity to boost the voices of relative moderation is likely to be short.

Israel and the West appear to have leverage to get Hamas to moderate its stance. The group’s demand for an open border with Egypt, for instance, could be conditioned on allowing Fatah to help monitor it. And bringing funds and materials to begin repairing the estimated $2 billion in damage caused by Israel’s offensive could be conditioned on Hamas agreeing to stop its violence.

Truce Comes To Gaza–Day 3

Hamas is stronger now than before the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, with the war only serving to undermine moderate factions and galvanise Palestinians behind the Islamic Resistance Movement, according to a senior Hamas official.

He insisted that the group was well stocked with materials and had even received a shipment of smuggled weapons yesterday despite the siege.

And Hamas’s military wing would have no trouble resuming attacks on Israeli forces if they failed to withdraw completely from Gaza by Sunday, he said, when a week-long ceasefire is due to end.

Crucially for the reconstruction effort in Gaza, Mr Nassar confirmed Hamas would accept outside aid and would co-operate with Fatah, its main Palestinian rival, led by Mahmoud Abbas.

Humanitarian aid is being rushed into Gaza as Israel and Egypt open their borders temporarily to allow convoys of aid to pass through.

While Israeli drones circle the skies above, Hamas security men are back on the streets attempting to restore some semblance of law and order. Policemen are directing traffic. Several looters have been arrested.

Gazans who survived the battering inflicted by Israel’s 22-day military campaign, code-named Operation Cast Lead, are venturing out and trying to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Initial estimates state that 15 percent or 20,000 of the Gaza Strip’s buildings have been damaged, with nearly 30,000 Palestinians forced to find shelter in UN Relief and Welfare Agency (UNRWA) shelters and with family.

Nearly 1,300 Gazans lost their lives, around a third of these children, with a total of more than half of the deaths civilian. The number of injured is pushing 4,000.