In face of truce bids, Hamas' Deif gives Gaza war fresh impetus, makes it a religious jihad - http://www.debka.com/article/24143/In-face-of-truce-bids-Hamas'-Deif-gives-Gaza-war-fresh-impetus-makes-it-a-religious-jihad-
Despite the rush of diplomats and analysts declaring that a ceasefire in the Gaza fighting is imminent, the war refuses to end. Wednesday, July 30, the commander of Hamas' military wing, Mohammed Deif gave the conflict fresh impetus by injecting a religious dimension that cannot be ignored.
The conflict was sparked essentially by the June 12 abduction and murder of the Israeli teens Gilad She-ar, Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrach. Forty-nine days later the crisis is evolving into the longest and toughest of Israel's wars, with the exception of its War of Independence.
As fierce as the fighting is on the battlefield, and as arduous the diplomatic wrangling, the emerging and largely overlooked jihadist element is the most troubling.
The wars raging in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq have demonstrated that armies bigger than the IDF - like the US military and a coalition of nearly all the NATO countries - were not able to end wars against Islamist fighters. This may be that, because of political machinations and self-interest, none of the statesmen and military commanders leading those wars ever sought a decisive end. They gave up on victory on the principle that "Modern wars have no winners."
But Islamist religious and military leaders do not subscribe to this principle: The Afghan Taliban's Omar Mullah, the Islamic State's Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and Hamas' Deif all seek all-out victory over the enemy.
Deif did not leave this in doubt in the pre-recorded statement he released on June 30 from his hidden Gaza bunker.
"What the planes, artillery, and warships haven't achieved, the defeated [Israeli] forces will not achieve in the field for, thanks be to Allah, they have become prey for the guns and ambushes of our jihad fighters," promises Deif in the tape.
"IDF soldiers are facing soldiers who are eager for death and factions that are united," Deif goes on. "The firm resolve of the Palestinian people will bring victory on the battlefield. The enemy is sending its soldiers to a certain holocaust."
To Israel, this war has been primarily defensive as implied in its name, Operation Protective Edge. But for Hamas and perhaps a large portion of the Palestinian people, it is Mohammed Deif's personal accounting with the Zionist enemy.
Israel has tried to have this dangerous terrorist mastermind killed several times - and failed, earning Deif the moniker "the man with nine lives." On August 22, 2001, Deif and his deputy Adnan al-Awal escaped a targeted assassination attempt. On September 26, 2002, an IDF Apache helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at Deif's car as he returned home from a visit of condolence in the Sheikh Rawan district of Gaza. After hours of conflicting reports about the terrorist leader's fate, Deif turned out to have cheated death once again, although he lost an eye and the use of one hand.
The IDF gave it another go in August 2003, bombing an apartment building where the Hamas military leadership, including al-Awal, Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, Deif and the movement's spiritual leader Ahmad Yassin were meeting. Although intelligence had correctly pinpointed the conclave's time and place, the men were on the building's bottom floor and escaped with light injuries.
For some years, Deif has not shown his face in public. In a recorded communiqué some eleven years ago, he boasted: "God wanted to make the Jews mad, so He saved me. I believe that only what God wants is what will happen."
The notorious Islamist sees the war as an opportunity to repolish his personality cult. It must therefore go on unabated wtihout the let-up of a ceasefire until all the truce brokers, including US President Obama and Egyptian President Fattah El Sisi, force Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to cave in and meet his demands.
When UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Jerusalem on July 28, Netanyahu warned him about the troubling similarities between Deif's Hamas and extremist Islamist groups like the Taliban, ISIS and Boko Haram.
Israel's counter-terror offensive, Netanyahu explained, is part and parcel of the war on fundamentalist Islam. As self-appointed commander-in-chief, ensconced in his subterranean lair, Mohammed Deif couldn't agree more.
And so the not-so-secret contacts between Washington, Cairo, Riyadh, Doha, Jerusalem and Ramallah are doomed to go nowhere, because they take place on one level, whereas a fanatical religious war is taking place on a completely separate one.
So long as the IDF does not breach Hamas' main lines of defense to the east of Gaza City, and has not destroyed its underground command system and terror offshoots, Deif will cling to his belief that victory is his. And so long as that belief is not shaken, the war will go on.
Israeli Air Force takes out 40 mosques-cum-rocket stores, brings new drone into Gaza operation - http://www.debka.com/article/24146/Israeli-Air-Force-takes-out-40-mosques-cum-rocket-stores-brings-new-drone-into-Gaza-operation
The Israeli Air Force bombed 40 mosques in Gaza Tuesday night, July 30, in the most extensive operation against Hamas' religious institutions-cum-military bases so far. In total, at least 50 mosques have been blown up along with their stockpiles of rockets and arms caches.
These concentrated air strikes on rocket arsenals are as integral to Operation Protective Edge as the ground work in destroying tunnels. They have been stepped up in advance of the preparations launched by the government on Wednesday for the possible termination of the IDF ground operation in the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of troops.
debkafile's sources say that the order to end the ground operation in Gaza would not mean that the war is over. There are no illusions about the Palestinian extremist groups laying down their arms. In practical terms, therefore, Israeli troops will regroup and spread out along the border as a barrier against future Hamas attempts to keep up its terror offensive by means of cross-border commando raids using undiscovered tunnels and firing rockets and mortars into Israel.
Israel's war planners believe the IDF ranged outside the Gaza border is capable of repelling these assaults by means of tank and artillery fire and air force drones.
The confrontation with Hamas will thus morph into an ongoing war of attrition.
This past week has also seen the first deployment in action of the Air Force's brand new Hermes 900 UAV, an unmanned aircraft also known as the Star. Never before used in wartime operations, the drone's debut was rushed forward because of its useful properties: The aircraft can fly nonstop for 30 hours at an altitude of 30,000 feet, the while conducting surveillance, gathering intelligence and relaying communications to and from military personnel in the field.
Star carries 300 kg of attack weaponry. Its cockpit and operating systems are superior to previous models, enabling commander, operator and crew to work together seamlessly.
It has been functioning almost nonstop in the Gaza operation with great success.
Manufactured by Elbit Systems, the drone had until this week only flown test flights and was not scheduled to become operational until 2015. But Operation Protective Edge called for an upgraded version of the Air Force's Hermes 450 - a UAV that flies similar missions -- and so the 900 was fast-tracked into the fleet.
As it is relatively untested in battle, the Star is only being used for certain types of missions. When the current war ends, the air force will resume further study of its performance in emergency situations and diverse altitudes and weather conditions.
Hamas Planned Massive Surprise Tunnel Attacks on Rosh Hashanah 2014 - Jim Nash - http://watchmansview.com/Commentary.html
JERUSALEM - Hamas had been preparing a murderous massive assault on Israeli civilian targets during the upcoming Jewish New Year holiday, Rosh Hashanah - according to anonymous sources in the Israeli security services cited by the Israeli daily Maariv. Hamas had been planning a surprise attack where 200 fighters would have been dispatched through the dozens of tunnels dug by Hamas under the border from Gaza to Israel. The terror organization aimed to seize kibbutzim and other communities while killing and kidnapping Israeli civilians. In total, thousands of Hamas terrorists would have been swarming across Israel, wearing IDF uniforms, which would have further complicated an Israeli response. Reports further indicate that Hezbollah may have planned to join the attack as well, opening another front in the north. The source stressed that the current unplanned war with Hamas inadvertently thwarted a catastrophic event on an apocalyptic magnitude such as the Yom Kippur War, which would have 'brought the State of Israel to its knees.' The destruction of these tunnels takes away from Hamas a strategic weapon it has been working on and investing in heavily for years according to the source... http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/hamas-planned-rosh-hashana-tunnel-surprise/2014/07/27/
...and this from the For Zion's Sake Ministries Newsletter, July 30, 2014...For twelve years we have been building these tunnels and waiting for the right moment, when we were trained and ready. We decided that the time would be this year on Rosh Hashana, 2014. We chose Rosh Hashana because most of the soldiers get leave to go home and there aren't a lot on guard duty, and it's a two day holiday. All of Hamas would go through the tunnels we've built over twelve years and capture Israel. In every tunnel we'd send two, three dozen armed terrorists and kidnap civilians, women, children and bring them back to Gaza through the tunnels. And then Israel couldn't bomb the tunnels because of all the Israeli civilians inside them. And in this way we would occupy the entire country and rule Israel and kill all the Zionists. For years we were planning this and it was going to happen in two months. Your attacks on Gaza destroyed our plans."
The person who sent this to me added this:
Many religious people asked after our three boys were found dead what happened to all our prayers? So you see, this is what happened. God heard us. And because of these three martyred boys, all of Israel was saved from a terrible massacre. All the things that we have seen this summer are one miracle after the next.
Continue to pray and strengthen each other. And give thanks to God who watches over the Jewish people in the land He promised them forever! ... http://www.forzion.com/yea-though-i-walk-through-the-valley-of-the-shadow-of-death-i-will-fear-no-evil
Israel, War and Tisha b'Av - Amy Joy Hess - http://www.khouse.org/enews_article/2014/2276/print/
Israel put a Gaza power plant out of commission on Tuesday, while the UNRWA announced it found a rocket cache in a third school in Gaza. The Hebrew month of Av began Sunday night, and as rockets continued to shoot at Israel, the Jews will mourn through the final nine days that began with the Fast of Tammuz and end with Tisha b'Av-the day commemorating the destruction of the Jewish Temple.
All public transportation will be silenced, all restaurants will remain closed in Jerusalem the evening of August 4th as the sun sets. The Hebrew day of great tragedies, Tisha b'Av, will begin at sundown. In remembrance of the destruction of both the First and Second Temple on the 9th of Av hundreds of years apart, tens of thousands of Jews will gather at the Western Wall to pray and petition the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. Jewish hearts around the world will long in unison for the future Temple, the one to be established when the Messiah comes.
Then an air raid siren will likely blare out and force everybody to hustle to safely.
As thousands of missiles shoot at Israel from Gaza and children have to hide in bomb shelters, the Jews gaze at the Temple Mount with even more longing than normal. The Iron Dome protective shield had successfully shot down most of the rockets raining on Israel, but there is always the fear some will slip through. Los Angeles resident Edmon J. Rodman wrote recently, "[W]atching the news one night and seeing a video of an Iron Dome missile intercepting a Gaza rocket, I found myself saying, 'God, don't let it miss.' Then I thought that Jews around the world were probably saying that simple prayer, too. I began to get some insight into why we mourn on the Ninth of Av."
This year, the Three Weeks of Mourning have been particularly meaningful to the Israelis as they hear air raid sirens and flee to underground hiding places. They read from Lamentations, the traditional book used to prepare their hearts for Tish B'Av:
"How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!"
- Lamentations 1:1
While the United States and United Nations have called for a truce to allow aid into Gaza, Cairo's efforts to broker a ceasefire have so far been stymied. Nearly 1200 Palestinians have been reportedly killed during the recent conflagration, while 53 Israeli soldiers are dead along with three Israeli civilians.
UNWRA, the United Nation's main relief agency in Gaza, has reported that hundreds of thousands of Gaza refugees have sought safety in schools after Israel warned neighborhoods to evacuate before being bombed. A major part of the danger for civilians in Gaza is that Hamas has hidden rockets and other weapons in hospitals and schools, putting their own people in danger and garnering world sympathy when Israel bombs these weapons sites anyway.
UNRWA reported it found another weapons cache in a Gaza school Tuesday. According to Reuters, UNWRA spokesman Chris Gunness said, "This is yet another flagrant violation of the neutrality of our premises. We call on all the warring parties to respect the inviolability of U.N. property."
Israel has said it needs another week to destroy the tunnels that Hamas terrorists have dug under the border for potential invasions of Israeli towns.
The Temple
Many Jews look forward to the day when the Messiah will come, when the Temple will once again rise up on the Temple Mount, and the Messiah will bring justice to the Holy Land and the whole world. Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute has long promoted this as a time of expectation for the Temple, rather than a time of mourning.
Many disasters have befallen the Jews on the 9th of Av throughout history. According to Jewish tradition, this was the day that God told the Children of Israel they were prohibited from entering the Promised Land because of disbelief. They were forced to wander in the desert forty more years until that adult generation had died out. That tragic day was just the beginning...
On the 9th of Av in
*586 BC, Solomon's Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and the Babylonian captivity began;
*AD 70, the Second Temple, which stood during Christ's ministry, was destroyed by the Romans precisely as Jesus predicted in Luke 19;
*AD 135, the famous Bar Kokhba revolt was squelched when Bethar, the last Jewish stronghold, fell to the Romans;
*AD 136, the Roman Emperor Hadrian established a heathen temple to Jupiter on the site of the Jewish Temple. Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem as a pagan city, and renamed the land as Palestina, to distance its Jewish heritage. The date when the Temple area was plowed under by the Romans was the 9th of Av.
Thus the 9th of Av, Tisha B'Av, has become a symbol of all the persecutions and misfortunes of the Jewish people, for the loss of their national independence and their sufferings in exile. Above all, it is a day of intense mourning for the destruction of the Temple.
A Day of Mourning... And Future Joy
Tisha b'Av is marked with sadness and fasting from food and drink. Observant Jews avoid bathing or washing clothes or enjoying entertainment like music or movies. On this day the Jews are reminded of their tragic history. Yet, this day is also expressly linked with Israel's glorious destiny. The Jews also look forward to the ultimate rebuilding of the Temple, to a time when Tisha b'Av will become a day of joy and gladness (as it was foretold in Zechariah 8:19).
We do know that the Temple will be rebuilt because Jesus, John, and Paul all make reference to it (Matt 24:15; Rev 11:1, 2; 2 Thess 2:4). We also know that a future Temple will be desecrated by the Coming World Leader when he sets himself up to be worshiped (2 Thess 2:3-4). It is possible this prophetic event will also take place on Tisha b'Av - and may happen in the not-too-distant future.
Meanwhile, may we continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
The Importance of Israel: Indefensible Borders - Nathan Jones - http://www.lamblion.us/2014/07/the-importance-of-israel-indefensible.html
If Israel were to go back to pre-1967 borders, wouldn't that leave Israel indefensible?
To answer that question, Dr. David Reagan and I on our television program Christ in Prophecy invited Jim Fletcher, the founder and director of a ministry in Arkansas called Prophecy Matters. Jim has been an author and book editor for many years, and when in the 1990's took his first trip to Israel to do some book research, he became hooked on the nation and people. Jim is now a strong advocate for Israel.
Indefensible Borders
Nathan Jones: If Israel were to go back to pre-1967 borders, wouldn't that leave Israel almost indefensible? There's only like a nine mile stretch between Tel Aviv and what would be Palestinian territory. To go back would basically be committing suicide, right?
Jim Fletcher: Yes, they would be strategically indefensible. Last year I was driving to the north part of the country and I passed Tulkarm, which is a Palestinian city, where a suicide bomber in 2002 had bombed a place in Netanya on the coast. Those two cities are so close to each other. It's a very narrow band and so the borders would be very indefensible. I'm afraid that a lot of our Western diplomats are aware of that.
Dr. Reagan: That reminds me of a funny thing that happened to me one time on a flight from Egypt to Israel. I had gotten on the plane and this guy sitting next to me saw me reading. He asked, "What are you reading?" I answered, "I'm reading about Israel." Then we got into a huge discussion. He said to me, "I just don't understand those Jews. I don't understand why they are so implacable. Why don't they just give the West Bank to the Arabs and be done with it and have peace." I asked him if he knew where the West Bank was because I sensed he didn't know what he was talking about. He confirmed it with, "It's the West Bank of the Nile."
Nathan Jones: What?! He actually said that?
Dr. Reagan: Yes, this guy had no idea where the West Bank was, and yet he was pontificating about the Jews needing to give that piece of land away. The West Bank is the very heart of their land.
Jim Fletcher: Yes, it's the biblical heartland. But, you are right, geographically people have no understanding how tiny Israel is.
Nathan Jones: We saw what happened when they gave up Gaza in 2005. It became a launching point for attacking Israel constantly, even to this day. Almost every day a missile comes flying over the border, and now for a second time Israel has had to go in and deal with the thugs who control the Gaza Strip with an iron fist - the terrorist group Hamas.
Jim Fletcher: Absolutely! Israel giving up Gaza imperiled Israel's southern population, and yet the illogic of what they do continues. If they make another concession by giving up the West Bank, we'll have the same Gaza scenario all over again.
Dr. Reagan: I like how Clarence Wagner who used to be head of Bridges for Peace puts it, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." The Israeli's keep doing the same thing over and over. For example, they release murderous prisoners thinking it'll make them okay with the Arabs. They'll understand they want peace. And, in 1967, the Jews took the Old City and immediately turned the Temple Mount over to the Arabs. They thought that would appease them, but the Arabs took that as a sign of weakness.
Jim Fletcher: As you rightly point out, there have been several times since the Six Day War that the Israeli's attempted to give back the West Bank, but the Arabs rejected their offer every time.
Dr. Reagan: In the year 2000 at Camp David, the most liberal Prime Minister in the history of Israel, Ehud Barak, who I think would have even given away his own shirt, said to Arafat like, "You can have it all. Everything you ever asked for. Here it is." Instead, Arafat got up, walked out of the room, and went back and started an Arab uprising. The reason for his odd behavior is because he knew if he settled for anything less than the annihilation of Israel, it would mean his own life at the hands of his followers.
Jim Fletcher: Mahmoud Abbas did the exact same thing in 2008.
Dr. Reagan: As Abba Eban, who was one of Israeli's greatest Diplomats once said, "The Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity." Their own leaders have been their worst enemies. There is so much corruption there today.
Jim Fletcher: Absolutely, and he also called the shrunken Jewish state "Auschwitz borders."
In the fifth and last part of our series on the importance of Israel, Jim Fletcher why it's outrageous for our politicians to label Israel apartheid.
Nine out of 10 Israel's war dead Monday died on Israeli soil - a microcosm of the IDF operation - http://www.debka.com/article/24141/Nine-out-of-10-Israel's-war-dead-Monday-died-on-Israeli-soil---a-microcosm-of-the-IDF-operation
That nine of the 10 Israeli servicemen who died in the counter-terror operation against Hamas Monday, July 28, were killed on Israeli soil was a wake-up call for Israel's war leaders. It meant that Hamas had used the 22 days of combat to carry the contest from its own home ground into Israel by grabbing the tactical advantage of surprise.
The Nahal Oz encounter was a tragic microcosm of the current face of Operation Defensive Edge.
The tunnel, from which a band of Hamas infiltrators jumped out - and about whose existence the IDF admits to have known - ran app. 150 meters from Shejaiya in Gaza to the military pillbox guarding Kibbutz Nahal Oz. Between five and seven terrorist nonetheless were allowed to reach their destination armed to the teeth with automatic and anti-tank and explosives.
This brought two facts to light: First, the battle for Shejaiya was not over, although it had slipped out of sight. According to debkafile's military sources, the shattered town has become a no-man's land where Hamas gangs hide out for attacks on Israeli troops.
Second, while the IDF and government officials issue upbeat communiqués claiming that the entire tunnel problem will be disposed of in a matter of days - one officer asserted that the IDF is in control of all the terror tunnels - the Nahal Oz episode told a different story.
That it was allowed to happen shows that: -
1. Although the secret passage used for attacking Nahal Oz was known to the military command, the unit charged with its defense was taken by surprise with tragic results: five Israeli combatants lost their lives. The single defender who survived opened fire on the infiltrators and put them to flight, so stopping them snatching the bodies of the fallen men as bargaining counters.
2. Even if the IDF had decided to leave the tunnel shaft open for operational use, such as a secret route for Israeli troops to steal into Gaza behind enemy lines, it must still be asked why not fit it with sensors and cameras for tracking invaders and sounding the alarm?
3. One Hamas terrorist was killed in the encounter; the rest made their escape back to Shejaiya. It ended in an appalling score of 5 to 1 dead.
4. The IDF spokesman claimed that Hamas was bent on a terrorist raid on the kibbutz. The truth was they had come to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
debkafile's military experts outline the obstacles facing the destruction of Hamas' underground passage system:
a) Explosions cannot reach their entire length, which often runs to a kilometer or more with a web of multiple branches which fork off in uncharted directions. So when the IDF reports that 15 or 17 of the 31 tunnels uncovered have been destroyed, this means that explosions have demolished a section that runs from a point under the Israeli surface to a point controlled by IDF troops in the Gaza Strip.
b) Explosions that run further and deeper are technically feasible, but only at the risk of setting off earth tremors strong enough to topple buildings on both the Gazan and Israeli sides of the border.
c) Israel will never be rid of Hamas' multi-branched underground empire and its threat of surprise raids for murder and kidnaps, without first physically demolishing the war rooms hidden in the deeply buried branches forking off from the main passages. Even then, some of those passages may remain undiscovered.
A senior IDF officer commented Tuesday: "We were surprised to find an elaborate system which connected the tunnels with Hamas' chain of command."
d) Some officers are saying that too much focus may have been placed by official spokesmen on the tunnel problem, possibly in order to distract attention from the extent to which the heads of government have held the armed forces back from gaining any serious advantages in the war on Hamas - or even terminating its rocket blitz.
The Need for Moral Clarity on the Israel-Hamas War - Irwin Colter - http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/07/28/opinion-the-need-for-moral-clarity-on-the-israel-hamas-war/
The latest Israeli-Hamas war, with its evocative images of human suffering, has engaged hearts and minds the world over, particularly in this digital age of social media and instant communication.
Indeed, the death of any innocent - Israeli or Palestinian - is a tragedy, and no one can fail to be moved by the human suffering and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
But, while Hamas has rejected cease-fires proposed by Egypt and the UN, including a humanitarian cease-fire, it has continued its relentless rocket assaults and tunnel invasions, the proximate triggers for this immediate conflict.
If we want to prevent further tragedies, it is important to go beyond the "fog of war" - to go behind the daily headlines that cloud understanding and the clichés (the "cycle of violence") that corrupt it - and ask some fundamental questions about root causes and the basis for its resolution.
1. Are you aware that the Hamas charter and declarations call for the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews wherever they may be?
2. Are you aware that the Hamas charter and declarations refer to Jews as "inherently evil," as a "cancer" as responsible for all evils in the world and as defilers of Islam?
3. Are you aware that Hamas - not only during the present hostilities, but before them- has propagated a state-sanctioned culture of hate in the mosques, in the schools, in the broadcasting system, in the summer camps and training camps?
4. Do you agree that such statements promote hatred and contempt for Jews and constitute an obstacle to peace?
5. Do you agree that Israel, like any other state, has the right to live in peace and security, free from any threats or acts of force?
6. Are you aware that since Israel withdrew all its citizens, uprooted all its settlements, and completely disengaged from Gaza in 2005, Hamas has deliberately - and indiscriminately - launched over 11,000 rockets and missiles, terrorizing Israeli cities, towns and villages?
7. Are you aware that Hamas' deliberate strategy of targeting Israeli civilians constitutes an armed attack under the UN Charter in violation of customary international law?
8. Do you agree that Israel- like any other state - has both the right and obligation to protect its citizens, and a right to self-defence against such armed attack as set forth in Article 51 of the UN Charter?
Indeed, in a recent joint statement, the European Union's 28 foreign ministers called on Hamas to "immediately . . . renounce violence," while recognizing Israel's "legitimate right to defend itself against any attacks."
9. Do you agree that, while Israel has the right to self-defense, its exercise must comport with the principles of international humanitarian law, including the principle of proportionality and the prohibition against the infliction of unnecessary suffering?
10. Do you agree that Palestinians in Gaza have the same right as Israelis to live in peace and security? Are you aware of the domestic repression by Hamas of Palestinians in Gaza, of the use and abuse of Palestinian civilians as human shields and that Hamas has converted the civilian infrastructure to an underground terrorist city?
11. Are you aware that Hamas is designated a terrorist entity by Canada, the United States and the European Union, and that UN Security Council resolutions require Palestinian governing authorities to deny safe havens to terrorists?
12. Are you aware that Hamas squandered the opportunity offered by Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005 to divert resources from state building to the building of a terrorist infrastructure at the expense of its own people?
13. Do you agree that the cease-fire must be durable and sustainable to protect the peace and security of both Israelis and Palestinians?
14. Do you agree that a comprehensive and enduring cease-fire should include: the recognition of Israel's right to live in peace and security; the cessation of all acts of terror and violence against Israeli civilians; the demilitarization of Gaza; the dismantling of its weapons infrastructure and the disbanding of its terrorist militias; the establishment of an international protection and stabilization force to enforce the cease-fire and to protect against the rebuilding of any terrorist infrastructure; the deployment of a massive humanitarian undertaking to ensure assistance reaches those in need; the initiation of a comprehensive program for the reconstruction of Gaza and the rehabilitation of its citizens; and the freeing of Palestinian society from the cynical and oppressive culture of hate and incitement fueled by Hamas.
I close on a personal note. I write not only as a law professor and MP, but as one who has family in Israel and friends in Palestine, and who has lived and worked in the region and been engaged in the struggle for peace.
The overriding truth of these past 40 years for me has always been clear and remains the same. I will stand with those who support the right of peoples in the Middle East - Israelis and Palestinians alike - to live in peace and security, free from any threats or acts of force, a cornerstone of UN principle and Canadian foreign policy; and I will oppose all those, like Hamas and its patron Iran, who seek the destruction of any people or state in violation of the UN Charter and all civilized norms.
IDF set for electronic and signals control of Hamas, Islamic Jihad command centers, after rocket fire - http://www.debka.com/article/24133/IDF-set-for-electronic-and-signals-control-of-Hamas-Islamic-Jihad-command-centers-after-rocket-fire
Before it ended with Hamas rocket fire Saturday night, July 26, the 12-hour ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was used by both parties for regrouping, re-arming, strengthening fortifications and digging in current lines and positions while the sights and sounds of devastation in the Gaza Strip came fully to light.
The pause in hostilities also offered Israeli forces a valuable opportunity for collecting intelligence. In the heat of the fighting, the IDF and its clandestine arms were unable despite strenuous efforts to obtain electronic and SIGINT access to the hidden Hamas and Islamic Jihad command and control centers.
From the way they were constructed in deep, well-furnished bunkers, these centers are presumed to be well equipped with complex tactical and encrypted communications systems at a high algorithm level, with likely capabilities to perform dual functions: Linking the fighting, medium command and staff levels; and electronic interference and possible jamming of the signals of the IDF's drones, or even their interception, as well as eavesdropping on the IDF's communications and signals networks and visual devices.
It is highly likely that, deep under ground, Hamas has concealed in its bunkers a sophisticated intelligence production processing system. This breaks surface in the form of sensors and antennas which are installed on roofs and in residential apartments for monitoring IDF signals and feeding the data to the operational production staff underground.
According to, debkafile's military sources and cyber experts, an IDF plan to use those tunnels and their many turn-offs and offshoots to reach Hamas headquarters has not so far worked. The subterranean terrorist empire built by Hamas is estimated to run to more than 5,000 tunnels and sub-passages under the surface of the Gaza Strip. Their course and exits have never been fully mapped.
In the eight days of its ground operation, the IDF and combat engineers focused on finding and destroying the "terror tunnels" leading under the border into Israel. They can never be certain they have found them all.
On the Palestinian side, it must be said that many veterans of the extremist Hamas and Islamic Jihad campaigns of terror are familiar with Israeli social mores and modes of operation. Many spent years inside Israeli prisons and experienced many hours of interrogation; many more had jobs in Israel for long periods. They have fluent Hebrew. And so, with their help, Hamas can skip the time-consuming and expensive work of translating and processing the raw data falling into its hands and be sure that no distortions have crept in along the way. Hamas planners are therefore well equipped for going straight to the insights they need for striking the Israeli enemy.
For the Palestinians, the truce is a chance for respite, for sending intelligence and other key personnel up to the surface to assess the horrendous damage caused by the war, regroup and replenish their weapons and ammunition stores
But it also provides the IDF with a rare opportunity to see what Hamas is up to, decipher its plans and observe any changes in its operational and behavioral modes. These are pinpointed as vulnerabilities for future use in destroying the enemy.
Israel's intelligence effort is hugely supported by the questioning of the hundreds of Palestinians taken prisoner in the eight days of ground combat and held at the Sde Teiman detention center in the Negev, northwest of Beersheba.
Some of these captives may jump at the chance to return to the Gaza Strip and work against the leaders who caused them to lose all their possessions and ditched them and their families. For guarantees of rewards in cash, medical aid or even asylum in Israel or other countries, these detainees may be willy to furnish Israeli intelligence with invaluble services as informants and active collaborators on the other side, provided they are carefully selected.
Long lines of prisoners in their underwear with bound eyes may have a momentary impact on Hams morale, but in the long term, as incentives for the enemy to surrender, these methods cause more harm than good.
Hamas and North Korea in secret arms deal - Con Coughlin - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/10992921/Hamas-and-North-Korea-in-secret-arms-deal.html
Hamas has paid North Korea for missiles and communications equipment in arms deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars
Hamas militants are attempting to negotiate a new arms deal with North Korea for missiles and communications equipment that will allow them to maintain their offensive against Israel, according to Western security sources.
Security officials say the deal between Hamas and North Korea is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and is being handled by a Lebanese-based trading company with close ties to the militant Palestinian organisation based in east Beirut.
Hamas officials are believed to have already made an initial cash down payment to secure the deal, and are now hoping that North Korea will soon begin shipping extra supplies of weapons to Gaza.
"Hamas is looking for ways to replenish its stocks of missiles because of the large numbers it has fired at Israel in recent weeks," explained a security official. "North Korea is an obvious place to seek supplies because Pyongyang already has close ties with a number of militant Islamist groups in the Middle East."
Using intermediaries based in Lebanon, Hamas officials are said to be intensifying their efforts to sign a new agreement with Pyongyang to provide hundreds of missiles together with communications equipment that will improve the ability of Hamas fighters to coordinate operations against Israeli forces.
Like other Islamist terror groups in the region such as Hizbollah, Hamas has forged close links with North Korea, which is keen to support groups that are opposed to Western interests in the region.
The relationship between Hamas and North Korea first became public in 2009 when 35 tons of arms, including surface-to-surface rockets and rocket-propelled grenades, were seized after a cargo plane carrying the equipment was forced to make an emergency landing at Bangkok airport. Investigators later confirmed that the arms cache has been destined for Iran, which then planned to smuggle the weapons to Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.
Following Israel's latest military offensive against Hamas operatives based in Gaza, Western security officials say Hamas is now trying to persuade North Korea to provide fresh supplies of rockets to replace the thousands of missiles that have been fired at Israel since the commencement of hostilities two weeks ago.
Israeli military commanders supervising operations against Gaza believe North Korean experts have given Hamas advice on building the extensive network of tunnels in Gaza that has enabled fighters to move weapons without detection by Israeli drones, which maintain a constant monitoring operation over Gaza.
The North Koreans have one of the world's most sophisticated network of tunnels running beneath the demilitarised zone with South Korea, and Israeli commanders believe Hamas has used this expertise to improve their own tunnel network.
The Hamas arsenal has become increasing sophisticated with foreign assistance and now boasts five variants of rockets and missiles. Its basic weapon is the Iranian-designed Qassam rocket with a range of less than ten miles but it also has a large stockpile of the 122mm Katyushas which boast a range of up to 30 miles.
The introduction of the M-75 and Syrian-made M0302 missiles means Hamas boast offensive weapons with a longer range of up to 100 miles and a much greater explosive impact.
Since the 2012 eight-day war, Hamas has increased the size and strength of its rocket arsenal. Israeli military intelligence puts its stockpile at around 10,000 rockets and mortars, including long-range rockets capable of reaching Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the northern port city of Haifa.
Two IDF soldiers killed in Hamas attack in which officer feared captured - Gaza 72-hour truce folds - http://www.debka.com/article/24153/Two-soldiers-killed-in-Hamas-attack-in-which-officer-feared-captured-Gaza-72-hour-truce-folds-
Israel has withdrawn from the 72-hour truce in the Gaza Strip in the wake of gross Hamas violations just two hours after the lull went into effect Friday at 8 a.m. The IDF spokesmen said that an Israeli soldier was feared kidnapped by Hamas while dealing with a tunnel in Rafah. He has been identified as Givati officer, 1st Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba. Deputy head of the Hamas politburo Mussa Abu Marzuk claimed in Cairo that "an Israeli officer was taken prisoner." Military sources said later the abduction was not certain, placing the Hamas claim in doubt in the absence of evidence. His family has been informed. Israel forces are scouring the area for the missing officer. The apparent abducton occurred when a team of Israeli soldiers working on a terror tunnel in Rafah came under Hamas and Islamic Jihad fire and a suicide terrorist jumped out of the tunnel and blew himself up. Firday, southern Israel was back on high alert from the early hours of the ceasefire as Hamas let loose with more than a score of rockets and mortar shells. IDF tanks, artillery, air force and special forces retaliated with heavy artillery fire and air strikes against Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Rafah sector of southern Gaza. The Palestinians report many dead and casualties. Israel has informed the US, UN and Egypt it is suspending its consent to the 72-hour truce in the Gaza Strip and participation in the Cairo talks in the wake of gross Hamas violations just two hours after the lull went into effect Friday at 8 a.m. They peaked in an attack on an IDF tunnel team in Rafah in which two soldiers were killed and Israeli Givati officer, 1st Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba, was abducted. The IDF reported two Israeli soldiers killed in the same Hamas attack in which an Israeli soldier was feared captured while disarming a tunnel in Rafah. The missing officer was identified as Givati officer, 1st Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, from Kfar Saba. Deputy head of the Hamas politburo Mussa Abu Marzuk confirmed in Cairo that "an Israeli officer was taken prisoner." Military sources said later the abduction was not certain, placing the Hamas claim in doubt. His family has been informed that the officer is missing. The two soldiers were killed when Hamas and Islamic Jihad attacked the IDF team working on the terror tunnel, after the truce went into effect. A suicide terrorist jumped out of the tunnel and blew himself up. Southern Israel is back on high alert since in the early hours of the ceasefire, since when Hamas has let loose a score of rockets and mortar shells. IDF tanks, artillery, air force and special forces retaliated with heavy fire against Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in the Rafah sector of southern Gaza. The Palestinians report 90 dead and many wounded. A senior Israeli officer warned that the on-again off-again truces place Israeli servicemen in harm's way.. The Israeli cabinet has scheduled a special session for 5.30 p.m. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu briefed US Secretary of State John Kerry on the violations of the humanitarian ceasefire by Hamas and other terrorist organizations and vowed they would pay dear for their actions. The White House condemned the Hamas attack in the course of an agreed truce as "barbaric." debkafile reported Thursday night: The 72-hour hour unconditional, humanitarian ceasefire announced by the US and UN, was scheduled to begin at 8 pm local time Friday. The US State Department said that military forces will stay in place. The US and UN said they had assurances that all parties to the conflict had agreed to an unconditional cease-fire during which there would be negotiations on a more durable truce. This was confirmed early Friday by a source in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. The Paletinian Hamas and Jihad Islami also confirmed acceptance of the ceasefire, following which they fired two rockets into Israel. Israeli and Palestinian delegations will "immediately" be going to Cairo for negotiations with the Egyptian government to try at reach a more permanent cease-fire, the State Department said. "During this period, civilians in Gaza will receive urgently needed humanitarian relief, and the opportunity to carry out vital functions, including burying the dead, taking care of the injured, and restocking food supplies. Overdue repairs on essential water and energy infrastructure could also continue during this period." During the cease-fire, Israel will be able to continue its defense operations to destroy tunnels that are behind its territorial lines. "We hope this moment can be grabbed by both parties, but no one can force them to do that," US Secretary of State John Kerry said. The Palestinian delegation is expected to include members of Hamas, which the United States and Israel consider a terrorist organization and cannot be negotiated with directly. So if the Israelis and Palestinians meet face to face, the Hamas members will not participate in those talks. The Egyptians will be the go-between for all of this and will help coordinate, a senior State Department official said. |
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