Hamas explains terms of the ceasefire deal

27 August 2014
Source: Middle East Monitor

 Deputy Head of Hamas's Political Bureau Musa Abu Marzouk explained on Tuesday the terms of the ceasefire deal agreed between the Palestinian resistance and the Israeli occupation.

According to Arabs48 news website, Abu Marzouk said the deal fully ended the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, halting all Israeli, American and EU restrictions on money transfers, included holding an international conference on the reconstruction of the Strip and stopping Israel's tracking and assassination of Palestinian resistance fighters.

Abu Marzouk added that the deal is based on the understandings that ended the Israeli war against the Gaza Strip in 2012. But this time, the Israeli occupation is to stick to opening the crossings for the entrance of humanitarian and relief aid, as well as all reconstruction materials.

Following are the terms according to Abu Marzouk:

Gaza Crossings

Only two out of the five Gaza crossings are presently functioning. The deal stipulates Israel's commitment to opening the other three crossings.

Regarding the Rafah Crossing, Abu Marzouk said there would be a Palestinian-Egyptian meeting to specify the demands for its full re-opening and called for this meeting to happen as soon as possible.

Fishing and buffer zone

The fishing zone is to be expanded to six nautical miles and to be gradually expanded to 12 miles at a later date, but before the end of this year.

The buffer zone was cancelled.

Money transfers and Gaza employees

Israeli, American and European restrictions on money transfers into the Strip were lifted and the ball is now in the court of the Palestinian unity government to pay Gaza employees' salaries.

Reconstruction of Gaza

Abu Marzouk explained that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip would be discussed at a conference slated to be held next month in Egypt. Preparations for this conference are to start after inviting all the related parties to take part in the reconstruction process. The Palestinian unity government is to run the reconstruction dossier.

The Hamas official, who participated in the Palestinian delegation to the indirect talks in Cairo, said Egypt is the only guarantor for the deal, and that a new round of talks are to start within a month to discuss the other issues, like prisoners, the seaport and airport.

He said that the Israeli occupation would stop targeting senior Hamas commanders, and would allow them free movement throughout the Gaza Strip, stressing that this is the point that had postponed reaching a deal at an earlier stage.

Link:  www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/13754-hamas-explains-terms-of-the-ceasefire-deal.

Hamas, the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and the Saudi terrorist designation

11 March 2014
Abdel Bari Atwan 
Source: Middle East Monitor

Saudi Arabia's decision to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood and place it on a terrorism watch list will undoubtedly have serious implications. The Saudi designation will be a new chapter marked by hostility for the group, which has over 20 branches spread across 17 countries where it is considered a legitimate political party by state authorities. The group's branches in Jordan and the Gaza Strip are bound to be affected.

The government in Riyadh is not capable of taking any punitive action against Hamas, the Brotherhood offshoot in the Gaza Strip, because there is no communication or connection between the two sides to begin with. Not a single official in Hamas has ever received a Saudi official. In fact, the only time that Saudi officials have invited Hamas members to go to Saudi Arabia was when Riyadh tried to encourage reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah at the Makkah Conference in February 2007. That conference resulted in an agreement for national reconciliation through the formation of a new government headed by Ismail Haniyeh; it did not last long as clashes broke out between Fatah and Hamas. The Islamic Resistance Movement gained full control of the Gaza Strip in June of that year.

Since that day, no official from Hamas has visited Saudi Arabia on official business; if anyone did go, it was to perform the lesser pilgrimage, Umrah. Hamas officials are prohibited from contacting any Saudi officials throughout the duration of their stay in the Kingdom when on pilgrimage.

Saudi pressure on Hamas comes in the form of pressure exerted on the organisation by the Egyptian authorities, which placed the Palestinian group on a terrorist watch list some time ago. The Egyptians have banned all of the organisation's activities, shut down its offices, frozen all of its assets, destroyed its underground tunnels and enforced a political and economic siege based on charges that it supports the Muslim Brotherhood and is actively interfering in Egypt's internal affairs.

In a phone call with a senior official in Hamas I was told of his deep concern over the worsening dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia. He confirmed to me that the Hamas leadership held a secret meeting to discuss the matter and the potential implications for the movement. He pointed out that Saudi's efforts to force Qatar to cut ties with the Muslim Brotherhood would have disastrous repercussions on Hamas because Qatar functions as its backbone, lifeline and sole financial and political supporter.

It is interesting to note that Hamas met Saudi Arabia's designation of the Brotherhood with absolute silence. In fact, no official comments have been made by Hamas's senior officials on either the Saudi decision to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood or the Saudi-Qatari dispute. In contrast, the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood was courageous enough to declare its opposition to the Saudi move.

Spokesman Zaki Bin Irsheid declared that he considered the Saudi decision to be hasty and emotional. "I am surprised that Saudi Arabia would make such a decision at this time, especially as it is being threatened by American and Zionist actions concerning the Iranian nuclear programme in the region," he said. "Is it possible that the Saudi authorities are cooperating with Bashar Al-Assad in his anti-Brotherhood sentiments and repression of the group?" Strong words indeed. In Egypt, meanwhile, a spokesman for the now illegal Brotherhood pointed out that the movement does not have any branches in Saudi Arabia.

Two systems of government in the region were established and run on agreements between ruling families and religious movements. The first ruling family is that of Al-Saud and the second is the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan. The former gained power based on a social and political contract with the fundamentalist Wahhabi movement while the latter established an understanding with the Muslim Brotherhood. The critical question that arises now is to what degree Saudi Arabia's actions toward the Brotherhood will shape the Jordanian government's actions towards the group. Will it follow in Riyadh's footsteps by prohibiting Brotherhood activities or will it prefer to distance itself from the decision altogether?

The alliance and relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its Jordanian counterpart is very strong. It is no secret that this relationship is the reason behind the deteriorating relations between Jordan and Qatar and the reason why the government in Doha refuses to provide any economic aid to Amman. This also explains Qatar's refusal to hire anyone holding Jordanian citizenship within its economic institutions.

Jordan's decision to keep up with Saudi Arabia and Egypt's decisions to criminalise the Muslim Brotherhood could have unpredictably horrendous repercussions, especially now as Jordan finds itself in a political minefield with an explosive geographic perimeter. The Syrian crisis grows more complex day by day in light of America's, Saudi Arabia's and Qatar's failed bets to topple the Assad regime. The situation in Iraq is also extremely volatile as the country stands on the edge of a volcano that could erupt at any second. As for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, they are on the verge of a third intifada due to the Palestinian Authority's failed attempts to negotiate peace with the Israelis.

The Jordanian authorities must now make some very difficult decisions and any decision that they make, in any direction, will cost them a great deal. In this case, the safest option is no option. It is safer not to do anything at all.

Translated from Alarab Alyawm newspaper, 10 March, 2014

Link:  /www.middleeastmonitor.com/articles/middle-east/10236-hamas-the-jordanian-muslim-brotherhood-and-the-saudi-terrorist-designation.

Hamas to help Egypt find Sinai terrorists

Aug. 17, 2012
Source:UPI

GAZA, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Hamas said it is dedicated to helping Egypt find the those responsible for killing 16 Egyptian border guards in the Sinai Peninsula.

The announcement came Thursday as rumors surfaced that Hamas and Egypt formed a joint security committee to investigate the Aug. 5 attack, The Jerusalem Post reported.

"We are doing everything we can to help Egypt in gathering information and carrying out other security measures to reveal the identity of the perpetrators of the massacre," said Ehab Ghissin, spokesman of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry.

Hamas and Egyptian authorities are working together "on all levels" to solve the case and bring the perpetrators to trial, Ghissin said.

Hamas sets new terms for reconciliation with Fatah

Feb 23, 2012
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
Source:Reuters

(Reuters) - Hamas has set new terms for implementing a reconciliation deal with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rival Fatah group, an official said Thursday, dimming even further chances the accord will be put into effect.

Abbas and Khaled Meshaal, Hamas's political chief in exile, agreed in Qatar earlier this month to form a unity government led by the Western-backed president.

But in a rift with the Islamist group's leadership outside the Gaza Strip, officials in the Hamas-ruled enclave swiftly criticized the accord, particularly its call for Abbas to serve as prime minister as well as president.

At an internal meeting chaired by Meshaal in Cairo on Wednesday, Hamas officials united behind new demands, said a Palestinian official involved in the talks. The terms seemed certain to be rejected by Abbas.

"Hamas demanded to keep the key ministries in the new government, including the ministry of interior," said the official. "It also demanded no change in the structure of security services in the Gaza Strip."

The interior ministry oversees the Hamas-run security services, and Palestinian political analyst Samir Awad said the new terms proved the group "was not prepared to abandon control of Gaza," territory it seized from Fatah in fighting in 2007.

Abbas has been seeking a unity government staffed by independents and technocrats to ensure it would not be boycotted by the West, which donates essential funds to his Palestinian Authority and refuses to deal with Hamas over it hostility toward Israel.

Other demands that emerged from the Cairo meeting included naming a Gaza-based deputy to Abbas and making his appointment as prime minister conditional on a vote of confidence in the Palestinian parliament.

The legislature has not been in session since the collapse five years ago of a short-lived Palestinian unity government.

Public rift as Hamas strongman in Gaza rejects unity deal

February 13, 2012
By Mohammed Daraghmeh
Source: The Daily Star

RAMALLAH: A rare public rift broke open Sunday in the usually tightly disciplined Islamic movement Hamas over a reconciliation deal that would require it to relinquish key areas of control in the Gaza Strip.The deal, brokered by Qatar, was signed last week in Doha by Hamas’ top leader in exile, Khaled Meshaal, and the chief of the rival Fatah party, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The agreement is to end nearly five years of separate governments – Hamas in Gaza and Abbas in the West Bank – by establishing an interim unity government headed by Abbas that would prepare for Palestinian elections.

Senior Hamas figures in Gaza, who stand to lose most from the deal, said it was unacceptable, while top Hamas loyalists in the West Bank defended the agreement. The argument raised new questions about the ability of Abbas and Meshaal to implement the deal, seen as their best shot yet at healing the rift following Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza in 2007.

Meshaal might be able to put down the unprecedented rebellion against him, but would need the good will and cooperation of Hamas leaders in Gaza to make the agreement work.

Gaza strongman Mahmoud Zahar, one of the masterminds of the Gaza takeover, said Meshaal did not consult with others in the movement before signing the deal. Giving Abbas the post of interim prime minister is “wrong” and “strategically unacceptable,” Zahar was quoted as telling the Egyptian news agency MENA Saturday.

On Sunday, the head of the bloc of Hamas legislators in Gaza, Ismail al-Ashkar, alleged that Fatah has not carried out promised confidence building measures, such as releasing Hamas loyalists held in the West Bank.

“If the elections are to heal all our chronic, complicated problems, how can we have transparent and fair elections under such conditions,” Ashkar said. “If this agreement is to work, we need to improve it.”

Last week, Ashkar’s parliament bloc came out against the agreement.

In contrast, Hamas lawmakers from the West Bank supported the Doha agreement across the board, according to statements and interviews published on Hamas’ official website. Such public debate is rare in the secretive, tightly organized Hamas.

The criticism of the Hamas leaders in Gaza highlights the vulnerability of the Doha agreement.

Abbas needs to satisfy international demands that the interim government – to consist of politically independent technocrats – is not a front for Hamas, shunned as a terror group. If it is seen as too close to Hamas, the Palestinians would likely lose hundreds of millions of dollars in Western aid. At the same time, he risks sabotage from Hamas leaders in Gaza if he tries to strip them of too much of their power.

“If Abbas forms his government with one color, it won’t work in Gaza,” said Raed Naerat, a West Bank analyst close to Hamas.

Fatah and Hamas Announce Outline of Deal

April 27, 2011
By ETHAN BRONNER and ISABEL KERSHNER

JERUSALEM — The two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas, announced Wednesday that they were putting aside years of bitter rivalry to create an interim unity government and hold elections within a year, a surprise move that promised to reshape the diplomatic landscape of the Middle East.

The deal, brokered in secret talks by the caretaker Egyptian government, was announced at a news conference in Cairo where the two negotiators referred to each side as brothers and declared a new chapter in the Palestinian struggle for independence, hobbled in recent years by the split between the Fatah-run West Bank and Hamas-run Gaza.

It was the first tangible sign that the upheaval across the Arab world, especially the Egyptian revolution, was having an impact on the Palestinians, who have been losing faith in American-sponsored peace negotiations with Israel and seem now to be turning more to fellow Arabs. But the years of bitterness will not be easily overcome, and both sides warned of potential obstacles ahead.

Israel, feeling increasingly surrounded by unfriendly forces, denounced the unity deal as dooming future peace talks since Hamas seeks its destruction. “The Palestinian Authority has to choose between peace with Israel and peace with Hamas,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared in a televised statement. The Obama administration warned that Hamas was a terrorist organization unfit for peacemaking.

The deal brings with it the risk of alienating the Western support that the Palestinian Authority has enjoyed. Azzam al-Ahmad, the Fatah negotiator, said that Salam Fayyad, the prime minister in the West Bank who is despised by Hamas, would not be part of the interim government. It is partly because of Mr. Fayyad, and the trust he inspires in Washington, that hundreds of millions of dollars are provided annually to the Palestinian Authority by Congress. Without that aid, the Palestinian Authority would face great difficulties.

The announcement was sure to fuel a debate on whether Mr. Netanyahu had done enough in his two years in power to forge a deal with the Palestinian Authority led by President Mahmoud Abbas and Mr. Fayyad, widely considered the most moderate leaders the Palestinians have ever had.

The deal also highlighted Egypt’s evolving foreign policy, its increasing regional influence and the challenges that posed for Israel. The new Egyptian government pursued Palestinian negotiations aggressively; has recognized the Muslim Brotherhood, which has deep ties to Hamas; and is reconsidering a natural gas deal with Israel.

Relations between Fatah, the mainstream secularist movement led by Mr. Abbas, and Hamas, the Islamic militant group, have deteriorated since Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006. They ruptured a year later when Hamas seized full control of Gaza, the coastal enclave, after a brief factional war, routing Fatah forces there and limiting the influence of Mr. Abbas and his Palestinian Authority to the West Bank.

A desire for unity has been one goal that ordinary Palestinians in both areas have consistently said they sought. Until now it has proved elusive and leaders of the two factions have spoken of each other in vicious terms and jailed each other’s activists.

But with the Palestinians seeking international recognition of statehood at the United Nations by September, Mr. Abbas has repeatedly said that unity must be restored for a credible case to be made. Other recent developments also played a role.

As Mr. Ahmad said after the news conference in Cairo: “The changes in the Arab region and the political upheaval contributed to reducing the pressure on the Palestinian factions, and by pressure I mean the negative kind of pressure.” He said that he was referring to “the changing rules of the game in the region.”

Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, said that the Palestinian Authority’s failure to reach an agreement with Israel and the anger following an American veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution against Israeli settlement construction in February encouraged Fatah to come to an agreement with Hamas. The Islamic group, he said, was motivated to get closer to Fatah by regional changes, especially the protests in Syria, where Hamas’s politburo is based. If President Bashar al-Assad of Syria were to fall, Hamas might no longer be able to use Syria as a base or enjoy the protection, money and arms the country has extended.

“We have ended a painful period in the history of the Palestinian people where Palestinian division had prevailed,” Moussa Abu Marzouk, a representative of Hamas who negotiated the deal, said at the Cairo news conference. “We gave the occupation a great opportunity to expand the settlements because of this division. Today we turn this page and open a new page.”

When he spoke at the news conference, Mr. Ahmad of Fatah recalled the chants of young Palestinian demonstrators mimicking the Tunisian and Egyptian chants: “The people want to bring down the regime.”

“To all the Palestinian youth who went out saying, ‘The people want to end the division’ and ‘The people want to end the occupation,’ we say what you demanded was achieved today,” he said, adding that the period of division had taught both sides “a hard lesson in confronting the occupation.”

He said that Israeli officials had warned Mr. Abbas not to collaborate with Hamas but that “he did not heed the warning, and he responded, ‘Yes, we want Hamas.’ ”

The Fatah-led Palestinian Authority has negotiated for a two-state solution with Israel, whereas Hamas says Israel has no right to exist and continues to fire rockets at Israeli towns.

The Palestinian negotiators offered few details of the proposed transitional unity government, saying that it would be composed of neutral professionals and that the leaders of each side would work out details. All the Palestinian factions are to meet next week to sign the agreement.

Mahmoud al-Zahar, a Hamas leader, told Al Jazeera Television from Cairo the sides had agreed to changes in the interim leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a tribunal for elections and a date for the elections. The P.L.O. excludes Hamas, which has long sought entry.

Hamas and Fatah will together nominate members of the technocratic government and a 12-judge election tribunal. He also said that an agreement was reached to set up an oversight committee to regulate security.

In November, officials from the two movements met in Damascus but failed to reach an agreement because of differences on security. It seemed likely that Fatah security forces, which work closely with the Israeli Army, would continue to rule in the West Bank, and that Hamas security would continue in Gaza with a tacit agreement not to arrest each other’s activists.

The last round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks broke down soon after they started last September when an Israeli moratorium on construction in West Bank settlements expired. The international powers have been working to get the sides to resume negotiations, and Mr. Netanyahu has recently been considering making an offer to the Palestinian Authority to try to pre-empt a United Nations vote. He is due to address a joint session of Congress in a month.

But with this latest shift in Palestinian politics, Mr. Netanyahu may also shift tactics. “I think the very idea of the reconciliation shows the weakness of the Palestinian Authority, and leads one to wonder whether Hamas will take control over Judea and Samaria, as it did over Gaza,” he said in his statement, using the biblical names for the West Bank.

Earlier Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu instructed the Israeli security establishment to take all necessary measures to ensure the enforcement of Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza amid reports of plans for another international flotilla. Mr. Netanyahu met with his senior ministers and security officials and said that diplomatic efforts should continue to prevent the flotilla from setting out.

Last May, Israeli naval commandos raided a flotilla trying to breach the blockade of Gaza and killed nine pro-Palestinian activists on a Turkish vessel after violence broke out. The episode stirred international outrage and caused a crisis in relations between Israel and Turkey.

Source: The New York Times

British MPs visit Hamas lawmakers

08-11-2010
Al Qassam website/Agencies - Two British MPs visited on Saturday two Palestinian lawmakers who are holed up in the Red Cross center in Jerusalem facing expulsion from the city by Israeli authorities.

MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Andrew Slaughter, both members of the Labour Party, met with Palestinian Legislative Council members Muhammad Totah and Ahmad Atoun in the Red Cross headquarters, along with members of the press and peace activist Lubna Masarwa.

The British officials said their visit was intended to express solidarity with the Palestinian people and rejection of Israel's violation of Palestinians' human rights.

The PLC members updated the two MPs on their situation and also condemned what they said was an "international silence" over Israel's violations of international law.

Totah and Atoun were elected to the PLC in 2006 as members of Hamas' Change and Reform list. Immediately following their election Israel ordered them to resign or have their Jerusalem residency revoked.

When they refused to step down, they were sentenced to prison terms, and upon their release, had their residency cards confiscated. Israel has ordered them to leave Jerusalem the city that has been their families' home for generations. Two other Hamas lawmakers, Muhammad Abu Tir and Khaled Abu Arafah, were also ordered to leave the city this year.

Totah and Atoun refuse to leave the city, and are remaining in the Red Cross compound in defiance. If they exit the compound they face immediate arrest and expulsion by Israeli authorities.

Asked about the MPs' visit, Fadi Adeeb, a spokesman for the British Consulate in Jerusalem said: "They [the MPs] came here own their own. They don't represent the government."

Britain, like the US, European Union, and Canada, regards Hamas as a terrorist organization and refuses official contact with the group.

Hamas to PA: End negotiations, now and forever

25/10/2010 20:48

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- Hamas demanded on Monday that the Palestinian Authority cease negotiations with Israel.

"The PA should stop negotiations now and forever. Israel does whatever it wants without a thought to Palestinian rights," Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said in a statement.

"What is needed from the PA is a declaration of their withdrawal from negotiations and encouragement of resistance, which is the only means through which Palestinian will regain their rights."

Barhoum added that Israel's settlement policy was aimed at making the Palestinian territories Jewish. He called on all Palestinians and especially those from Jerusalem to oppose the occupation and settlements.

He also called on Arab and Islamic nations to support Palestinians.

Hamas: Israel seeks International battlefields

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:31:34 GMT

Following the assassination of a Hamas members in Dubai by Israeli agents, the Palestinian resistance movement warned that Tel Aviv seeks to take the conflict between the two sides to a new phase.

"We have maintained that the confrontation between us and the Israeli enemy be within the occupied land," Xinhua quoted Senior Hamas member Mahmoud al-Zahar as saying on Saturday said.

However, he added that "Israel wants to change the rules of the game and to open the international field for battles so it will be responsible for this, "

The comments came after the last week assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the co-founder of Hamas' armed wing Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades in Dubai. The resistance movement said in a statement that "we hold Israel responsible for the assassination of our brother and leader."

Commenting on the incident, in remarks quoted by the Israeli news website Ynet, al-Zahar said that the perpetrators could have accompanied Israeli Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau's convoy into the United Arab Emirates.

He called on Arab states, which maintain diplomatic ties with Israel, to respond to the incident in order to keep "the region from becoming an assassination field," Ynet reported.

Al-Zahar warned such states to "assess and rearrange these relations over the crimes that Israel commits against the Palestinian people," Xinhua reported.

Hamas pledges loyalty to Arabs

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has assured Saudi Arabia his movement is loyal to Arab states, the kingdom's foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said on Tuesday.

"I asked Khaled Meshaal whether the movement stood with Arabs or with others," Prince Saud said, referring to Iran, a strong regional backer of Hamas, the Islamist group that rules Gaza.

"Meshaal insisted that Hamas was an Arab movement and that the Palestinian question was an Arab issue," the Saudi minister said at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The exchange between Prince Saud and Meshaal occurred on Sunday during a visit by the Hamas leader to Saudi Arabia.

Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite non-Arab Iran have been traditional rivals in the Middle East.

Tensions have recently mounted between the two as Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of supporting Huthi rebels in northern Yemen, which the kingdom has fought along its border with Yemen.

Prince Saud's visit to Egypt is part of a string of regional meetings aimed at reviving peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, which have been stalled for a year.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Jordan's King Abdullah II were in Egypt on Monday for talks with Mubarak, a week after a visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

On Sunday in Riyadh, Meshaal said Egyptian-led talks aimed at reconciling the Palestinian Islamist movement and its rival Fatah were close to bearing fruit.

US President Barack Obama has repeatedly called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume peace talks, but the Palestinians have demanded Israel first freeze all settlement activity and commit to a framework for the talks.

The Palestinians have insisted the borders of their promised state encompass all of their land Israel occupied in 1967, including mostly Arab east Jerusalem -- which Israel later annexed in a move not recognised by the international community -- as their capital.

Hamas's takeover of Gaza in 2007, which shrank Abbas' powerbase to the West Bank and deepened Palestinian divisions, has also hampered peace talks with Israel.

Hamas vows to win Palestinian rights by resistance

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:38:46 GMT

Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal vows of planning a new political initiative that would discard vain negotiations and instead adopt resistance to redress Palestinian rights.

"Not much hope could be upheld for a future Palestinian state as long as the Zionist occupation persists; Israel pushes ahead with plans to build more homes for Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem Al-Quds as well as the West Bank; and Palestinians are shorn of the right to free decision-making," Meshaal told al-Jazeera TV network on Wednesday.

The Hamas also noted that it was no surprise to hear that the so-called peace process with Israel has completely failed due to the 'Zionist obstinate refusal' to withhold commitments, the unswerving US support for Israel, and the bitter rifts among Palestinian factions and Arab weaknesses .

"The only way out of the current ordeal is the unanimous Palestinian factions' adoption of the resistance option," Meshaal said, describing the declaration of a Palestinian state as deceptive since there could be no independent state until the occupied lands are entirely liberated.

Speaking at a televised speech in the West Bank City of Ramallah on November 5, the 74-year-old acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas blamed Israel for the collapse of the political process, saying that the Palestinian Authority has carried out all its commitments and obligations while Israel continues to steal Palestinian land and build Jewish settlements.

This is while Israel gave approval on Tuesday for the construction of hundreds of new housing units in illegally annexed East Jerusalem Al-Quds, drawing international criticism as it drove another stake into troubled Middle East 'peace' efforts.

Calling the plan for construction of 900 new units in Gilo settlement as 'illegal', UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed to Israel to respect its commitments to cease all settlement activity under the Road Map.

Under the 2002 Roadmap for a 'Peace plan' brokered by the united States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, Israel has to 'dismantle settlement outposts erected since 2001 and also freeze all settlement activities.'

It is estimated that there are almost 200,000 illegal Jewish settlers in the twelve or so Israeli settlements in Jerusalem Al-Quds. There are also about 300,000 more illegal Jewish settlers living in settlements across the occupied Palestinian territory of West Bank.

MP/MB

Hamas says Israel lobbying against Gaza

14:19, November 15, 2009

Islamic Hamas movement on Saturday accused Israel of lobbying against the Gaza Strip to launch a military operation in the Hamas-controlled enclave.

"There are escalating Israeli intentions toward aggressive act against Gaza," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, in a written statement sent to the press.

His remarks were made after an Israeli newspaper on Friday reported that Hamas has test-fired another long-range missile that could fly for 75 kilometers, putting farther Israeli communities at risk.

"These reports come as part of the incitement against Gaza and the searching for pretexts to commit new crimes here and cover the crimes Israel had committed in the past," Barhoum added.

Barhoum called on the Arab and Muslim states "to sever all their ties with Israel in response to its threats against Gaza."

Members of the military wing of Hamas' movement fired the rocket to the sea from northern Gaza Strip Friday afternoon and the test has succeeded, Maariv daily reported on its website.

The rocket is the second one to be tested this month. Earlier, Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin revealed that Hamas had fired what it seemed to be an Iranian-made rocket. 　

Source: Xinhua

ANALYSIS / Israel preparing public for a new war in Gaza

By Avi Issacharoff and Amos Harel

Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin, director of Military Intelligence, announced Tuesday that Hamas launched a rocket some 60 kilometers into the sea, apparently as an experiment. Such a rocket, if fired from the northernmost point of the Gaza Strip, could strike the southern cities of the Gush Dan area - including Rishon Letzion, Holon and Bat Yam - and possibly reach as far as Tel Aviv itself.

Although Yadlin didn't specify the type of the weapon used, it appears to be a standard, foreign-made rocket smuggled into Gaza. Yadlin told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that Hamas has accumulated an arsenal of rockets slightly larger than the arsenal it possessed before last winter's Operation Cast Lead.

The experiment hardly caught Israeli intelligence by surprise, as it had assumed Hamas had acquired a similar type of rocket several months ago. However, the importance of Yadlin's report should not be underestimated as this is the first tangible piece of evidence that Hamas holds a weapon capable of striking Gush Dan. It would seem Hamas has used the lull in fighting with Israel to not only restore, but improve its capabilities. Still, and similar to Hezbollah, restoring the arsenal hardly testifies to restoring motivation to confront Israel militarily.
Advertisement

The rocket was fired in rough weather, apparently in an attempt to hide the experiment from Israeli eyes. But Israel's radar installations registered the launch, even if the exact spot where the missile hit the sea is unknown. Israel believes Hamas considers the new rocket a strategic asset, a "doomsday weapon" of sorts, and therefore avoided publicizing the experimental launch, in the hope of using the weapon as a surprise during some later confrontation.

If the rocket has in fact been smuggled through a tunnel, a test launch may have been aimed to see whether the weapon survived the journey - by sea from Iran to Egypt, and then to Gaza.

Since Cast Lead, a huge international effort - involving Israeli, American, European and Egyptian cooperation - has been underway to prevent smuggling into Gaza. International media has reported that the Israel Air Force bombed weapon convoys in Sudan. Be that as it may, the Gaza siege is not airtight. The smuggling market there employs over 15,000 people working in over 600 tunnels.

Smuggling longer-range rockets into the Strip does somewhat alter the balance of deterrence. Hamas is also busy improving its own production capabilities, as well as equipping itself with new anti-tank missiles and older anti-aircraft missiles.

Preparing the public

Yadlin's announcement should be seen as part of an attempt by the military to prepare the public for a new attack against the Strip. The General Staff is not remotely eager for another round, especially with the Goldstone report conclusions still haunting commanders of the previous operation when they travel abroad.

Hamas, for it's part, is in no hurry for a confrontation either. Gaza has not yet recovered from the devastation of Cast Lead, and the organization knows it would pay in heavy casualties if the conflict reignites.

What Israel should be doing in the meantime is improving its anti-missile defense systems. Iron Dome, the Israeli answer to the Katyusha and Qassam rockets, is moving along satisfactorily, and the first battery of its interceptor missiles should be deployed in the second half of 2010.

The official response from Hamas has been somewhat confused. At first, a spokesman for the organization's military wing, Abu Obeida, refused to confirm Yadlin's statement on the missile launch. Obeida remarked that "the occupation can say whatever it likes, and whatever it says is dubious." While this statement might improve Hamas deterrence against Israel, such an opaque statement carries a political price for Hamas: A perceived threat can only improve Israel's position ahead of the UN General Assembly discussion of the Goldstone report.

A few hours later, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum issued a new statement saying the Israeli announcement was aimed to influence world public opinion ahead of the UN debate. Barhum said the diplomatic crisis triggered by the report "has led the Zionist enemy to make up excuses in an attempt to instigate public opinion against Hamas."

Israel Air Force drill simulates war with Arab states, terror groups

By Amos Harel

The Israel Air Force held a major drill yesterday simulating a war between Israel and Arab states and terrorist groups. As part of the drill, the air force tested readiness against attacks, including rockets and missiles targeting the home front from multiple directions.

Even though the plan was not substantively different from drills in previous years, it drew international media attention because of recent developments in Iran's nuclear program and Iran's test-firing Wednesday of a ballistic missile with an estimated 2,000-kilometer range - which would put Israel within reach.
Advertisement

Most air force squadrons participated in the drill, including interceptors, attack aircraft, helicopters, transport and refueling aircraft, the air defense system and air force intelligence. The drill also involved ground forces.

The scenario being tested, most of whose details remain classified, involved fighting on multiple fronts: against Hamas and Hezbollah, but also Syria and Iran to some degree.

Unlike the summer 2008 drill, which the New York Times reported involved a test flight for a long range attack on Iran, carried out in Greek airspace, there was nothing of the sort this time.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said yesterday that the drill "was a very important one. What we witnessed bolsters our confidence that we have people we can rely on."

The air force drill is part of broad Israeli preparations for a potential regional war, including attacks by Iran, or a conflict limited to the northern front - Lebanon and Syria.

Palestinians: Abbas betraying martyrs' blood

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:41:18 GMT

The Palestinian Authority has come under fire from other factions including Hamas over its request from the UN Human Rights Council to defer a UN vote over Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

Taher Al-Nouno, a Hamas spokesperson in Gaza, said the PA's request constitutes "a serious crime against our people, a betrayal to the blood of our martyrs and collaboration with the Zionist enemy and cooperation with it in the war and aggression on Gaza."

"Not adopting the report means giving the green light to the occupation forces to carry out more war crimes against the Gaza Strip as long as it will not be held accountable for its actions with a Palestinian cover", Arab news quoted him as saying.

Palestinian Economy Minister Bassem Khuri resigned on Saturday to protest the "Palestinian Authority's agreement not to discuss the Goldstone Report," an official close to him said.

The adoption of the report, which looked into Israel's military campaign in the Gaza Strip earlier this year, was deferred by six months after the Palestinian Authority on Thursday decided to drop its draft resolution condemning Israel's conduct during the offensive.

The PA had originally planned to present the draft to the council for a vote in Geneva on Friday.

Mohammed Al-Hindi, a senior Islamic Jihad official, said: "While we are celebrating the release of our prisoners from the Zionist prison, the PA continues to cooperate with the Israeli plot to erase signs of the massacre against the Palestinian people."

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Palestine People Party also condemned the PA's decision and called for the PLO's executive committee to convene to discuss the issue.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has described Fatah's decision as an instance of "capitulation to Israeli dictates."

For their part, 14 Palestinian human rights organizations said the PA's request "deprived the Palestinian people of an effective judicial investigation and from the protection of the law."

Schools all over the Gaza Strip went on strike in protest at the PA's decision.

Sources say the administration of U-S President Barack Obama has forced the decision on Fatah.

The report issued by UN human rights investigator Richard Goldstone has strongly criticized Israel over its 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip and called for the prosecution of Israeli officials.

Israel 'destined' to fall, says Mashaal

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:33:43 GMT

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal hails the release of 19 Palestinian detainees, describing the prisoner swap as a prelude to liberation of all Palestinians in Israeli prisons.

In a televised speech late on Friday in Damascus, Hamas' political leader called the release of the Palestinian women held by Israel a 'bright spot' in the history of the Palestinian resistance against the Israeli occupation.

He congratulated the Palestinian nation on the freedom of 19 detainees in return for a one-minute video of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was captured by the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, in June 2006.

Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders, Mashaal said resistance fighters were able to capture more Israeli soldiers to exchange for more Palestinian prisoners.

The Palestinian leader said the Israeli occupation was "destined to end" and the Zionists would have to leave.

Mashaal called for a united front of the Arab nations and the Muslim community to confront 'the Zionist scheme and the greed of foreign powers'.

He strongly rejected divisions within the Islamic Ummah as against Islamic teachings and said that all Muslims from North Africa through the Middle East to Malaysia must unite into a single bloc.

The senior Hamas official condemned Israeli efforts to give al-Quds a Jewish identity and smother its Palestinian and Islamic sanctities through establishment of numerous synagogues in the area and closing the al-Aqsa mosque on Palestinian worshippers.

The liberation of al-Quds, which Tel Aviv tries to hold back from any negotiations, will not be achieved by holding talks with Israel, but will be accomplished through sustained resistance, he said.

Mashaal further vowed that his movement would not compromise on the Palestinian territory and continue its struggle for the return of all Palestinian refugees and prisoners to their homes, stressing that Hamas reserved the right to resistance.

The Palestinian leader urged reconciliation between all Palestinian factions and called on rival Fatah leaders to voice their support for the Palestinian cause.

MRS/MMN

PNA, Hamas warn of worldwide tension over Jerusalem standoff

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and Islamic Hamas movement on Sunday warned that "Israeli attacks on holy places" could spark tension across the world.

The warning was made after tens of Palestinians were wounded by Israeli riot police in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Witnesses said that some 150 Palestinian prayers and a group of Jews clashed in the campus which contains al-Aqsa mosque and the Western Wall, they are Muslim and Jewish holy cites.

The Israeli police, which accompanied by the Jewish worshippers, fired tear gas and sonic blasters at the Muslim crowds and beat them with sticks, witnesses said.

"This is a new Israeli aggression on a pure part of the Muslims' belief and this alerts of unfavorable consequences, not only on the Palestinian people, but also on the entire world, including Israel," said Mahmoud al-Habbash, Palestinian minister of religious affairs.

He accused Israel of using excessive force "to blow up the peace process, evade from the political obligations and gets its government out from impasse after the international community knew that government's intentions against peace and stability in the region."

"If the international community did not intervene, everyone will repent," al-Habbash, who is also an aide to president Mahmoud Abbas, told Xinhua.

Meanwhile, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said that "the continuation of attacks on Islamic sacred places may open a round of confrontation against the Israeli occupation."

Ismail Radwam, a Hamas spokesman, told Xinhua that the consequences of the Israeli measures in Jerusalem "would be reflected in the Palestinian, Arab and Islamic nations."

On Sept. 28, 2000, former Israeli premier Ariel Sharon, an opposition leader then, broke into the complex of al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, fueling the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising which is still glowing.

Radwan accused the PNA, which holds sway in the West Bank, of cracking down against the Palestinian militant groups in the West Bank, adding that "the Israeli occupation would never have dared to carry out such an aggression if the PNA were not uprooting the resistance."

Abbas has finally met Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this week, in protest against the continued Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

Most of the Palestinian factions slammed the U.S.-sponsored Israeli-Palestinian meetings in New York, saying they annulled the PNA's stances not to resume the peace negotiations before the settlement stops.

Source:Xinhua

Hamas, Fatah slam hardline Netanyahu's speech

Hamas says Israel carrying out Holocaust against Palestinians, PA delegate walks out on Netanyahu speech.


GAZA CITY - Hamas on Thursday accused Israel of carrying out a Holocaust against Palestinians, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a speech at the UN General Assembly.

"Israel is the one carrying out a Holocaust against the Palestinians," Sami Abu Zahri, a spokesman for the democratically elected Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Although Israel was created by a UN resolution over 60 years ago, it is known for its defiance of the international community, especially when concerning UN resolutions on it's illegal occupation of Arab land.

The hardliner used his address to the annual meetings of heads of state and government to blast the United Nations for its report criticizing Israel for using excessive force in its assault on the Gaza Strip eight months ago.

He unleashed a tirade against the findings of the UN probe into the Gaza assault, and warned it could affect how Israel reacts in the future towards the Palestinians.

He linked Israel's willingness to make future concessions to the Palestinians, to how other nations react to the report.

While the UN investigation found that both Israel and Palestinian groups had committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, it reserved some of its harshest language for the actions taken by Israel against the civilian population in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu also addressed Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, saying again that he would accept a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside Israel, in reference to what is seen by critics as a 'non-State'.

However, he offered no olive branches to the Palestinians and did not refer to calls by the Palestinians and the US to freeze illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and annexed Palestinian East Jerusalem.

A lone Palestinian delegate walked out as Netanyahu defended Israel's December-January assault on the Gaza Strip that killed 1,400 mainly civilian Palestinians.

Palestinian factions blast Netanyahu UN speech

Palestinians from both Hamas and Fatah factions have criticized the speech of Israeli Prime Minister Binjamin Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly as 'bogus and unacceptable'.

"Netanyahu spoke of the Holocaust but Israel committed the largest massacre of the century," Hamas spokesperson, Sami Abu Zuhri, said in reference to Operation Cast Lead which resulted in the death of over 1,500 Palestinians and the injury of about 5,450 people in the impoverished Gaza Strip.

He added the Israeli Prime Minister is seeking to justify the massacres in the blockaded coastal sliver, and that such falsehood cannot reverse confirmed war crimes against Gazans.

Abu Zuhri further highlighted that Palestine is the homeland of the Arabs, the Palestinians and the Muslims, and will never be a Jewish land no matter what.

Hamas legislator Mushier Al Masri, meanwhile, stated that Netanyahu does his utmost to cover up the Gaza manslaughter in the hope to twist the world logic and gain support for 'Zionist terrorism”.

The Palestinian Authority's chief negotiator with Israel, Saib Erekat, also called Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state 'unacceptable'.

During his UN General Assembly speech on Thursday, Netanyahu referred to the Holocaust and the decision to annihilate the Jewish people during the Nazi era. He also reiterated his demands that the Palestinians must recognize Israel as a Jewish State as a precondition to resuming the stalled peace process.

Netanyahu accuses Sweden of trying to reach out to Hamas

By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent and Agencies

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has complained over Sweden's attempting to establish contact with Hamas, Haaretz has learned. His allegation could worsen Israel's already tense relationship with the Scandinavian country following the publication there of an inflammatory news article accusing Israeli soldiers of harvesting the organs of Palestinians.

Netanyahu complained about Sweden's alleged attempts to start a dialogue with Hamas 10 days ago in a meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos. Spain will replace Sweden as president of the European Union in January.

Netanyahu reportedly told Moratinos the Swedes are "reaching out to Hamas." Netanyahu did not specify through which sources he had learned of this. Moratinos, according to a source in the Prime Minister's Bureau, said he was not aware of such intentions, but said he would inquire about the subject with Swedish diplomats.
Advertisement
Though Hamas is defined as a terrorist organization by the EU, parliamentarians from European countries meet occasionally with Hamas representatives. According to Hamas' representative in Lebanon, Usamah Hamdan, MPs from Sweden, the Netherlands and three other West European nations consulted with Hamas representatives over the past months.

Meanwhile, the Swedish chancellor of justice has decided not to launch an investigation into a newspaper that alleged Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian civilians to harvest their organs, Army Radio reported Saturday.

Swedish judicial authorities ruled that the report in the tabloid Aftonbladet did not constitute racism and was therefore legal. The ruling came in response to two requests submitted to Swedish justice officials.

According to Swedish law, a publication may be considered illegal if it is threatening or expresses contempt toward a person or group of people based on their race, ethnicity, or nationality.

The newspaper story sparked an outcry in Israel, with its author accused of disseminating "a blood libel" against the Jews. Much of the controversy was due to the article's attempts to tie Jewish criminals who trafficked in organs in New Jersey to the alleged harvesting of Palestinian organs by Israel Defense Forces soldiers.