Hamas, the Palestinian Terror Group Who Has Received Over $500 Billion From America In Aid, Condemns the U.S. Killing of Bin Laden

I swear, if I EVER see one more dollar of American aid go to Gaza, which means it goes to the ruling party there, Hamas, well...I'm gonna lose it, seriously. Even the piece of shit terror organization of the Muslim Brotherhood mildly applauded the death of bin Laden but for Hamas....hell no...they are denouncing his death.

From the article at The Telegraph:

The Hamas prime minister of the Gaza strip, Ismail Haniya, said: “We condemn the assassination of a Muslim and Arab warrior and we pray to God that his soul rests in peace.

“We regard this as the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs.”

The Hamas reaction put it immediately at odds with Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, with which it is due to sign a unity deal today to join the Palestinian government.

Since I'm talking about Hamas and all of the pigs that live in Gaza, this is a good time to remind America of the celebration the Palestinians had in 2001 when bin Laden killed 3,000 of our brothers and sisters. Here's the video from that day the Palestinians celebrated the blood of thousands of Americans:




So, the next time you see the college kids in your town holding a pro-Palestinian rally....or you see a "Free Palestine" protest in front of your city hall, park your damn car and confront the little bastards and show them this video. Show them the fact that Hamas has condemned the justice America has deserved for 10 years.

As for Hamas, I say this is the last straw. This group has put the world in jeopardy for years...they are one of the most vile islamic terror groups in the world and my question is simple: Why are they allowed to exist?

It's high time that the U.S. teams with Israel to wipe Hamas out - from top leadership down to the peons that carry the water for 'em. Believe me, between the IDF and U.S. special ops, it would be over in less than a week. The world will be a better place.

Osama bin Laden dead: Hamas condemns killing of bin Laden


While many Middle East leaders welcomed America’s military action, the mixed reaction across the region cast a shadow over both the “Arab Spring” and the future of talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Many Arab leaders facing popular uprisings, including Col Gaddafi of Libya, have claimed the protests are backed by al-Qaeda. Those claims have largely been rejected by protest groups but many in the West are concerned at the possibility that greater freedom of expression will allow more room for Islamic militants to operate.

The Hamas prime minister of the Gaza strip, Ismail Haniya, said: “We condemn the assassination of a Muslim and Arab warrior and we pray to God that his soul rests in peace.

“We regard this as the continuation of the American oppression and shedding of blood of Muslims and Arabs.”

The Hamas reaction put it immediately at odds with Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, with which it is due to sign a unity deal today to join the Palestinian government.

The intransigent tone will confirm Israeli and American fears that the reconciliation between the two feuding Palestinian factions will make a peace deal impossible.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, which is linked to Hamas but has renounced violence at home, was more ambiguous but its response also suggested it opposed the action. It issued a statement saying it was “against violence in general, against assassinations and in favor of fair trials.”

“With bin Laden’s death, one of the reasons for which violence has been practised in the world has been removed,” Essam al-Erian, one of its spokesmen, said.

With both Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by both Britain and the US, and the Brotherhood set to play a greater role - Hamas in the Occupied Territories and the Brotherhood in post-revolutionary Egypt - their words mark the latest clear step away from the automatic support for counter-terror operations the West has come to expect.

Although al-Qaeda was thought to have been beaten in most of the heartland nations of the Arab world, the threat jihadism still poses was reflected in government statements and in numerous expressions of sympathy on the street and radical websites.

Saudi Arabia, bin Laden’s homeland and the country whose royal family he had pledged to overthrow, issued an unqualified welcome. “Saudi Arabia hopes that the elimination of the leader of the terrorist Al-Qaeda organisation will be a step towards supporting international efforts aimed at combating terrorism,” a statement said.

Yemen, which is fighting its own branch of the organisation, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, also welcomed the news. One AQAP member told a reporter for Agence France Presse that the news, which had been confirmed by fellow operatives in Pakistan, was a “catastrophe”.

One commentator well-known on jihadist websites by the pseudonym “Assad al-Jihad2” pledged revenge. “Woe to his enemies,” he wrote. “By God, we will avenge the killing of the sheikh of Islam. Those who wish that jihad has ended or weakened, I tell them: let us wait a little bit.”

Tellingly, staunch western allies such as the United Arab Emirates kept silent. Analysts said they feared provoking retaliatory attacks, despite the high levels of security in the region.

Even in Dubai, some ordinary residents expressed regret at bin Laden’s death.

Ironically, the death of bin Laden may prompt Al-Qaeda cells throughout the region to take a more active role in Arab Spring uprisings as a way of proving their strength, said Theodore Karasik, of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.

“Because of bin Laden’s death they are going to be working more in tandem with each other,” he said.

Why Is It That America's Convicts Are All Flocking To Stand By Hamas?

David Gilbert.

One of the trends in the terrorism scene in America is that dozens of convicted felons in America are busy beating the war drums for support of Hamas and the Palestinians and some of these criminals are actually pretty well known...in fact, some of them even used to work side by side with the current President of the United States of America.

But this article at Family Security Matters points out the disturbing amount of support for Hamas that is coming from some of the most dangerous figures in all of America.

From the article:

In the present situation in Gaza with its current government run by HAMAS, designated a terrorist organization by the US State Department, it seems that some convicts from America’s past have run to support it with political statements and funds.

Several domestic terrorists currently serving life sentences for killing law enforcement officers are attempting to inject themselves into the current situation in the Middle East including calling for the end to Israel.

Inmates such as Herman Bell, Anthony Bottoms, James Dixon York, and Clark Edward Squire who were members of the Black Liberation Army as well as David Gilbert, a member of the Weather Underground, have in the recent past posted statements on the Internet calling for the end of “US/Zionist Imperialism in Palestine.” They also encouraged the use of any means necessary - including violence - to achieve the goal of “driving the Zionist oppressors out of your land.”

These same convicts have also come out in opposition to the US involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Africa.

They consider themselves political prisoners in a corrupt regime, not criminals.

The article does a good job of pointing out what these scum actually are - they are Communist revolutionaries just like William Ayers and Bernadette Dohrn. These are the highest on the food chain of misfits in America. These, quite simply, are people that should have gotten the hell out of our country long ago and I'm all in favor of shipping them out now.

Look above at that list of miscreants and then consider all of the college kids across this country who wrap themselves in Hamas flags and walk their campuses in favor of a "Free Palestine." How comforting it must be for our 18 year olds to know they are in the company of people who have conspired to and have killed numbers of innocent Americans.

And I should add, isn't it ironic how a blood thirsty terrorist organization like Hamas gains the support of blood thirsty criminals in America? Does Keith Ellison want his name on this same list? Does your "rebellious" college student want to be grouped with these killers? Oh, sorry, I forgot. It's all about "The Movement"...pay no attention to those IN the Movement, just focus on the pristene goals OF The Movement.

HAMAS and the Convict Connection


There is an old saying “War and Politics Makes for Strange Bedfellows” Now it seems we may add a third part to the equation: Prisons.

In the present situation in Gaza with its current government run by HAMAS, designated a terrorist organization by the US State Department, it seems that some convicts from America’s past have run to support it with political statements and funds.

Several domestic terrorists currently serving life sentences for killing law enforcement officers are attempting to inject themselves into the current situation in the Middle East including calling for the end to Israel.

Inmates such as Herman Bell, Anthony Bottoms, James Dixon York, and Clark Edward Squire who were members of the Black Liberation Army as well as David Gilbert, a member of the Weather Underground, have in the recent past posted statements on the Internet calling for the end of “US/Zionist Imperialism in Palestine.” They also encouraged the use of any means necessary - including violence - to achieve the goal of “driving the Zionist oppressors out of your land.”

These same convicts have also come out in opposition to the US involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, and North Africa.

They consider themselves political prisoners in a corrupt regime, not criminals.

Their view of the United States was articulated most accurately in this recent statement;

"The real terrorist is the American government, state terrorism unleashed against the world."

Who said it? If you would have guessed Al Qaeda spokesman Anwar Al Awlaki or Osama bin Laden’s chief lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahri, you would have been wrong. The statement comes from Bernadette Dohrn. Dohrn you may recall is the former member of a domestic terrorist organization who along with her husband, Bill Ayers, admitted to setting bombs at several government buildings during the turbulent 60’s and early 70’s .. Although charges against Ayers were dropped, Dohrn pled guilty to aggravated battery in exchange for a sentence of probation. Over the years they have maintained their relationship with the other members of their group, now incarcerated, through visiting and talking on the prison telephone. The inmate they most frequently communicate with is David Gilbert. He is currently serving seventy five years to life in Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York near the Canadian border. Gilbert’s lenghty sentence was meted out after he was found guilty in the murder of two police officers and a Brinks guard during a botched hold up attempt.

In addition to Ayers and Dohrn, Gilbert has also received visits from several advocates for the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, a HAMAS sympathizer. While the Movement states that it is nonviolent, we must remember that many of the 60’s domestic terrorists began in non violent protest organizations only to become completely commited to violence and any means necessary to achieve their objectives. Dohrn, Ayers, and Gilbert were all members of the Students for a Democractic Society (SDS), a non-violent student activist organization begun in 1962. The SDS expressed a desire to use civil disobedience and other nonviolent means to cause change with social, political, and economic policy within the government However , after several years of non-violent protest, a segment within that group, which included Dohrn, Ayers, and Gilbert, became disillusioned with the results and wanted to take action -- violent action -- against the United States government.

They called themselves the Weather Underground or the Weathermen, after a line in a Bob Dylan Song; “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”[1]

Dohrn loudly announced the objective of the new organization with this communiqué [2]:

"Hello, I'm going to read a declaration of a state of war...Within the next 14 days we will attack a symbol or institution of American injustice."

The connection between 60’s radicals and radical Islamic organizations such as HAMAS and Hezbollah began many years ago when several of the 60’s radicals were in prison with a number of Palestinian inmates in New York State. The Palestinians were in prison at the time for violent crimes including kidnapping, firebombing a Jewish Deli in New York City, and opening fire with automatic weapons on a vanload of Hasidic students. Three of them had active ties to HAMAS, Hezbollah, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. This melding of the minds to identify a common enemy, that being “the corrupt US / Zionist Imperialism” was formed over the years in prison together. They exchanged ideas on such topics as safe houses, demonstration tactics and financing. They also shared friends and contacts and some shared visitors with David Gilbert. Others attended the prison mosque with members of the Black Liberation Army who had converted to Islam. The prison chaplain at the time was himself a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship. The chaplain made national headlines in 2003 when he was indicted (pdf) by the United States Attorney General’s Office for funneling funds into a suspicious charity suspected of providing support to Sunni insurgents in Iraq in violation of the War Powers Act.

These were not the only funds to be misdirected. Other inmate donations were sent to the Holy Land Foundation, which was found guilty in 2008 of sending millions of dollars, raised through donations under the guise of helping with relief efforts in Gaza, to HAMAS .

Viva Palestina, an organization founded in the UK by British Member of Parliment George Galloway , uses the same method, stating that it “is a charity that seeks to take practical steps needed to help the people of Palestine and especially the besieged in the Gaza Strip.”

However a large portion of the the resources raised were given in the form of cash directly to HAMAS leaders.

In addition to fund raising Viva Palestina has organized several convoys of vehicles loaded with supplies attempting to enter into Gaza through the Egyptian border crossing at Rafah. Participating in the convoy was New York City Councilman Charles Barron. Barron is a former 60’s radical and member of the Black Panther Party who still maintains contact with members of the Black Liberation Army currently in prison for the killing of four New York City Police officers.

Following the truck convoy, Galloway announced that he would next attempt to enter Gaza directly by sea with ships. Viva Palestina joined with several other groups in this endeavour including the Free Gaza Movement.

Ayers and Dohrn were both involved, along with others, in helping to organize the Free Gaza Movement shipments sent from Turkey. The flotilla ships attempted to by pass an Israeli blockade of Gaza in May 2010 and were met by Israeli naval vessels. In the ensuing confrontation nine people were killed and seven Israeli commandos were injured.

Four months prior to that Ayers and Dohrn were in Egypt attempting to enter the Gaza Strip and meet with HAMAS leaders. During this much publicized demonstration several indivduals required medical attention after a confrontation with Egyptian police when they attempted to stop traffic. Ayers’ recounting the event in the Rag Blog was giddy and euphoric using words like “spirited, or gallant effort” as he described the demonstrators commitment to disrupt social order.

Concievably he was recalling his past violent conflicts with police in Chicago in 1969 during the “Days of Rage” perhaps sighing to himself; “oh if only David could be here.” While Gilbert in his prison cell reponds, “We stand with you in the fight!”

Alas old radicals’ memories die hard or are gilded by nostalgia. The names of the police officers
killed in the line of duty by these so called activists or political prisoners are forever etched in our memory. Indivduals like Rocco Laurie, Gregg Foster, Waverly Brown, Edward O’Grady, Werner Foerster, [3] and others must not be forgotten when it comes to dealing with the old 60’s radicals and their new causes. For HAMAS, becoming a cause célèbre for the old radicals is a tactic they will use to their advantage.

History can be a cruel teacher if we fail to learn from it.

Israelis Send Letter To Government Urging NO Palestinian Terrorist Be Released

With more and more talk of further negotiations to free Gilad Shilat, I wanted my readers to see this letter from members of a coalition in Israel who have felt the personal sting of islamic terror in their personal lives.

The letter comes from Israel National News.

Just read it.

On the 30th day since the slaughter in Itamar, I and my fellow active bereaved members of Almagor, who are acting against the release of terrorists, are calling on those senior government and security officials who called this week to release terrorists and make a deal with Hamas: Stop!

In the past you were partners to gestures and deals in which terrorists were released. You did not pay the price for those deals, but rather our loved ones did. You won’t pay for the risk you called to take this week, but Israeli families like ours will.

Stop with your repeated suggestions that not only bring up for us the memories of your past failures, but also encourage Hamas and frighten us about the future.

Here is the math: 183 Israelis have lost their lives since 2000 by terrorists who were released. Many others died in the years before that, including by terrorists released in the Jibril deal, which is the exact same deal as what you are offering now. There are many who were murdered and whose names we do not know, since their stories are hidden in the ISA interrogation files and have not been made public.

A notable exception is the two released Fatah terrorists who murdered Zehava Ben Ovadia and Paul Appleby after being released as part of the Jibril deal. They will again be released if G-d forbid your recommendation is accepted.

And we still have not talked about the 1,000 victims of the 2000 intifada who were murdered - though indirectly - in a very organized manner by former prisoners of Hamas and Fatah, among them Barghouti (Fatah) and Sheikh Yassin (Hamas).

Yassin was also released on the recommendation of some of you, in exchange for two security men detained in Jordan, with an evaluation that he is a disabled man and is thus not dangerous.

At that time you said, as you do now, that if he acts against us we will act against him, but until we were able to kill him, he initiated and commanded from his wheelchair a slew of mass terror attacks which killed and wounded hundreds of Israelis.

Barghouti is in prison a third time - after previous arrests and releases – and again is a candidate for release in your eyes.

We urge you to not only look at what’s popular, populistic and publicized, but rather at the whole picture, and the whole picture, if G-d forbid the Prime Minister answers your call, will be bleak.

On the 30th day since the murder of the Fogel family, we ask you to look into the future. What will happen if these terrorists, these predators, are released from their cages? All the deterrence that we created after the arrests and killings in recent years - after you left your posts – will be destroyed and what happened a month ago in Itamar may become a tsunami of terror. The images of the mass terror attacks will come back and chaos will rule our streets again.

We who already paid the price, some of us during your time in office, call to you - stop!

Let us beat Hamas rather than submit to it. We tried your methods and they brought us nothing but bereavement and grief. Now we hope to wage a struggle against terror and not to conduct dialogue with it.

We hope that the soldiers and their commanders persist in this struggle and that we will not be subject to interference from within, as was the case last week.

Sincerely,

Dr. Aryeh Bachrach and 100 bereaved families

A Twist of Fate - Hamas Outcry Over Islamic Terrorist Act In Gaza When Italian Hostage Killed by Tawheed

You know, you almost have to chuckle over what went down in Gaza this week...first, we have an Italian nutjob Pali sympathizer who moved to Gaza and has lived there for three years who was abducted by islamic terrorists. Then, the terrorists make demands of HAMAS for the release of their jihadis from a Hamas jail. Then, the terrorists kill the Italian and then Hamas CONDEMNS the act.

Lemme make sure I have this straight....Hamas, an islamic terror group that celebrates the murder of Israeli babies and children, is condemning an islamic terrorist hostage taking and murder of the hostage? I don't get it. An infidel was killed. Why isn't Hamas holding a press conference and handing out candy?

From the report at The Telegraph:

Vittorio Arrigoni, who had lived in Gaza for three years, was seized by an armed gang after leaving a gym on Thursday evening.

The captors made a video of Mr Arrigoni and demanded the release of two of its leader from a Hamas prison. However his body was found on Friday morning.

The discovery led to widespread condemnation led by Hamas and the Italian government.

The previously unknown Salafist group behind the hanging – The Brigade of the Gallant Companion of the Prophet Mohammed bin Muslima – was yesterday described as a front for Tawheed and Jihad, a fundamentalist organisation that has been active in Gaza, Jordan and Iraq since 2004.

Hamas, the religious party that runs Gaza, is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which competes for support with the more extreme Salafist movement that is openly tied to al-Qaeda.

I love it. Hamas tries to hang on to control in Gaza and the whole time, Islamic Jihad is firing rockets into southern Israel getting Hamas commanders killed by IAF airstrikes and now, Hamas is the target for prisoner ransoms by the group affiliated with al Qaeda.

See Hamas? Governing is a LOT tougher than just blowing up people, isn't it?

Italian activist hanged in Gaza by al-Qaeda-linked radicals


Vittorio Arrigoni, who had lived in Gaza for three years, was seized by an armed gang after leaving a gym on Thursday evening.

The captors made a video of Mr Arrigoni and demanded the release of two of its leader from a Hamas prison. However his body was found on Friday morning.

The discovery led to widespread condemnation led by Hamas and the Italian government.

The previously unknown Salafist group behind the hanging – The Brigade of the Gallant Companion of the Prophet Mohammed bin Muslima – was yesterday described as a front for Tawheed and Jihad, a fundamentalist organisation that has been active in Gaza, Jordan and Iraq since 2004.

Hamas, the religious party that runs Gaza, is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which competes for support with the more extreme Salafist movement that is openly tied to al-Qaeda.

A Tawheed statement said it was at war with Hamas over repression of its activities since the arrest last month of Hisham al-Saedini, its Jordanian Palestinian leader.

It said: "We and others have for a long time warned the Hamas government against the risks of acting so close to injustice against the Salafist trend at the request of the international community. Hamas was so arrogant they refused to even listen."

Ihab al-Ghoussein, a Hamas spokesman, branded the murder a "heinous crime which has nothing to do with our values, our religion, our customs and traditions" and said "the other members of the group will be hunted down and the law will be applied."

The Italian Foreign Ministry said the killing was a "barbaric murder" and a "vile and irrational gesture of violence on the part of extremists indifferent to the value of a human life."

Mr Arrigoni had exposed himself to numerous dangers in his work with locals. He was filmed recently acting as a human shield for Palestinian peasants cultivating crops in no-mans land on the heavily guarded Israeli border. He was the first foreigner to be abducted since Mr Johnston, who was held for 114 days by another group in 2007.

Egidia Beretta, Mr Arrigoni's mother, said: "I am very upset and surprised that something like this could have happened because of his activities over there: Vittorio never put himself in dangerous situations.

"Friends of his have called me from Gaza to tell me that Vittorio is now in a local hospital and that many Gaza citizens are shaken by his death."

Israeli Retaliatory Strikes Continue On Gaza, 16 Dead Palis So Far

I'm not sure which of the Gaza terror groups has taken responsibility for the rocket attack on Israel that targeted a school but that left an Israeli child critically wounded but the other terror groups in Gaza aren't too thrilled right now with that strategy as Israel continues the retaliation this morning. So far, 16 are dead in Gaza including five Hamas and one Gaza policeman.

From the article at DAWN:

Israeli warplanes and tanks hammered Gaza on Friday and early Saturday, killing 11 people in the deadliest day of violence in the strip since the end of the Gaza war two years ago.

A truce declared by Palestinian armed groups unravelled even before it could take hold as they fired dozens of mortar rounds and rockets into southern Israel.

The latest deaths came after 24 hours of deadly tit-for-tat violence that began on Thursday when Hamas militants fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli school bus, critically wounding a teenager and lightly injuring the driver.

“The attack on a school bus yesterday crossed the line… Whoever tries to hurt and murder children, his blood will be on his own head,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Prague on Friday before heading home.

Since the bus attack, Israel has launched more than 20 raids on targets across the enclave. By early Saturday, it had killed 16 Gazans —including a 10-year-old boy, five Hamas militants and one policeman.

At least 57 Palestinians were wounded, 12 of them seriously, medics said.

As for anyone that points to ANY Gaza civilian deaths or woundings here, fuck off. This is what Hamas and Islamic Jihad and al Qaeda and Fatah bring to Gaza...death. If that rocket had not been fired into a school bus, these 16 people would be alive today. So tough shit. You brought it on, you pay the price. Life is like that that you shitbags.

As far as I'm concerned, I'll be more than happy to see the Hamas death toll quadruple by the end of the day.

Eleven killed in deadly day of Gaza violence


GAZA CITY: Israeli warplanes and tanks hammered Gaza on Friday and early Saturday, killing 11 people in the deadliest day of violence in the strip since the end of the Gaza war two years ago.

A truce declared by Palestinian armed groups unravelled even before it could take hold as they fired dozens of mortar rounds and rockets into southern Israel.

The latest deaths came after 24 hours of deadly tit-for-tat violence that began on Thursday when Hamas militants fired an anti-tank missile at an Israeli school bus, critically wounding a teenager and lightly injuring the driver.

“The attack on a school bus yesterday crossed the line… Whoever tries to hurt and murder children, his blood will be on his own head,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in Prague on Friday before heading home.

Since the bus attack, Israel has launched more than 20 raids on targets across the enclave. By early Saturday, it had killed 16 Gazans —including a 10-year-old boy, five Hamas militants and one policeman.

At least 57 Palestinians were wounded, 12 of them seriously, medics said.

The toll of 11 dead made this the deadliest day in Gaza since the end of Operation Cast Lead, the devastating 22-day offensive Israel launched in December 2008 that claimed the lives of some 1,400 Palestinians —more than half of them civilians —and 13 Israelis, including 10 soldiers.

Following the strikes, the self-declared truce called by Hamas appeared meaningless, with both Hamas and Islamic Jihad claiming mortar and rocket attacks on Israel on Friday.

“Our holy warriors are ready to react to the Zionist aggression and respond to any foolish acts committed by the occupation with everything they have,”said a statement from Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

A statement on the group’s website also said the “resistance” had fired several Grad rockets at Ashkelon, and that smoke was rising from the Israeli city.

However, the Israeli defence ministry said its Iron Dome anti-missile system had intercepted three of the rockets, while a fourth struck open ground without causing damage.

Two of Friday’s deadliest strikes took place around the southern city of Khan Yunis, with one killing two Hamas militants just east of the city.

A second hit a group of civilians slightly farther north, killing a man in his 50s and a woman and her 21-year-old daughter, medics said.

Four others were wounded in that raid, including an 18-year-old girl who was in serious condition.

The Israeli military said it had targeted “two terrorist squads at the launch sites,” and expressed regret for harming civilian bystanders.

However, a military statement blamed Hamas for choosing “to operate from within its civilian population, using it as a human shield.”

Another missile strike killed one Hamas militant near the northern town of Beit Lahiya, while a second militant died later of his wounds, Hamas said.

Witnesses had reported seeing several men trying to fire a rocket from the area.

As dusk fell, a shell slammed into a cemetery in the Shejaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City, killing two people, one of them a 10-year-old boy, and wounding 10 others, some of them also children, medics said.

The military had no immediate comment. Two Palestinians were killed and one was seriously wounded early Saturday in an Israeli air raid on Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medics said.

The three unidentified Palestinians were travelling in a car that was targeted by Israeli aircraft, the medics and witnesses said.

Three other Israeli raids hit a smuggling tunnel near Rafah, the Jabaliya refugee camp in the north of the Gaza Strip and a car east of Gaza City, without claiming any victims, the sources said.

In addition to the anti-tank missile, militants on Thursday lobbed more than 50 mortar rounds at Israel, one of which hit a house.

More than 30 more were fired on Friday, police and media reports said.

The bus attack was the first time an anti-tank missile had hit a civilian target in Israel, and was seen by the Jewish state as a worrying escalation.

Hamas said the attack was in revenge for the killing of three of its operatives in an April 2 air strike. The army said the strike targeted militants planning to kidnap Israelis from Sinai during the upcoming Passover holiday.

The bus attack drew strong condemnation from Washington, Europe and the United Nations.

As the dust settled after a day of attacks and counter strikes, both sides were mulling their options, aware that the escalating violence could rapidly deteriorate into all-out war.

In Cairo, up to 2,000 protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy to protest the strikes.

The mostly youthful crowd waved Palestinian and Egyptian flags and chanted: “The people demand the liberation of Palestine.”

Israel's Shin Bet Nabs Hamas Terror Cell Plotting To Kidnap IDF Soldiers

For those new to Shin Bet, it is the internal security service and counter-intelligence agency in Israel....a bit like a combination of our FBI and CIA...and they foiled quite a plot by Hamas regarding the planned abduction of IDF soldiers. The Shin Bet operation actually happened earlier this year but is just now being revealed.

Hamas of course are the culprits in the abduction of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit a number of years ago and apparently they wanted to repeat that except on a bigger scale.

From the story at The Jerusalem Post:

A Hamas terror cell in the West Bank was captured earlier this year for allegedly plotting to kidnap IDF soldiers and use them as bargaining chips in a bid to release Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) released for publication on Wednesday.

The cell consisted of three Hamas operatives, including a former member of the Palestinian Authority security forces who was arrested by Israel in 2006 and released last February for planning a similar scheme five years ago. Another member of the cell from the village of Bido was also released from Israeli prison last December.

According to the Shin Bet, the three Hamas operatives planned to purchase a plot of land in the Ramallah area and to dig a tunnel or cave underneath it in which they planned to store soldiers they planned to kidnap.

This shows how intent Hamas still is on getting those they want out of Israeli prisons - we know that one of the last negotiations for Gilad Shalit's release included HUNDREDS of palestinians to be released but Hamas has their eyes on some big fish that are behind Israeli bars.

Which brings me to the real interest in these plans to abduct IDF soldiers - Hamas is try to replicate the capture of the IDF's Goldwasser and Regev by Hezbollah where the end result was the Israelis releasing one of the most vile Lebanese prisoners held in Samir Kuntar. The whole event was humiliating to Israel in that they got the bodies of Goldwasser and Regev back only to find that they had been tortured and their dead bodies desecrated and in return, Hezbollah got back the killer of Jewish children.

This is what Hamas wants - they want enough IDF soldiers to force Israel to give up the biggest Pali terrorist leaders they have in prison - it's all about humiliation, it's all about the stage that has been set.

Thank G_d for Shin Bet. And as for the three captured Hamas...ummm...don't let them out again unless you plant a timed bomb inside of each of their bodies.

Shin Bet nabs Hamas terror cell planning kidnappings


A Hamas terror cell in the West Bank was captured earlier this year for allegedly plotting to kidnap IDF soldiers and use them as bargaining chips in a bid to release Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) released for publication on Wednesday.

The cell consisted of three Hamas operatives, including a former member of the Palestinian Authority security forces who was arrested by Israel in 2006 and released last February for planning a similar scheme five years ago. Another member of the cell from the village of Bido was also released from Israeli prison last December.

According to the Shin Bet, the three Hamas operatives planned to purchase a plot of land in the Ramallah area and to dig a tunnel or cave underneath it in which they planned to store soldiers they planned to kidnap.

One of the operatives was supposed to live in the house on top and care for the kidnapped soldier. The three were arrested in January and were charged in a military court last month.

Right Hook To al Jazeera!

By Findalis

This video is from 2009 but it could have been yesterday or today.

Captain Avichai Adra'i  (IDF) is not only impressive in what he says, but in how he says it.  He speaks clearly and forcefully to the Muslim world.  No PC or Diplomatic double speak.  He basically reads the Muslim world the riot act.  On al Jazeera to boot.

H/T Elder of Ziyon

Israel Ignores Hamas Call for Ceasefire, IDF Takes Out Islamic Jihad Rocket Crew

While Hamas is scrambling to try and derail an Israeli military response to their terror actions and rocket attacks from Gaza, the IDF yesterday zeroed in on a rocket crew from the terror group Islamic Jihad and wiped them out killing two of the terrorists and wounding two others.

From the article at Israel National News:

The IDF scored direct hits on Islamic Jihad terrorists preparing to attack the Negev with more rockets Sunday morning, killng two terrorist and wounding two others.

On Saturday, terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza fired three rockets on the western Negev, causing damage but no injuries.

Hamas has offered another ceasefire on condition that the IDF does not strike. Several ceasefire declarations by Hamas over the past four years have been short-lived. The latest offer already has been rejected by Islamic Jihad terrorist leaders. Hamas, as the de facto ruler of the region, is responsible for all attacks from Gaza.

The Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, which is linked to the Palestinian Authority, reported Saturday that factions in Gaza agreed “to commit to a truce with Israel if its military stopped attacking the coastal enclave.” However, the list of those agreeing to a ceasefire omitted Islamic Jihad. Half a dozen other terrorist groups, including Fatah’s terrorist wing, did not attend a meeting with Hamas leaders Saturday.

The lack of unity in Gaza reflects a statement by the head of the IDF Southern Command, Tal Russo, who said Saturday, "Gaza's terror organizations are in a state of anarchy, and that includes Hamas. They don't really talk to each other; they speak in artillery fire."

This is now a bad spot for Hamas - they have no control over the actions of Islamic Jihad and some of the smaller splinter terror groups in Gaza and Hamas knows that any rockets that go into Israel, no matter who fired them off, will be blamed on Hamas by the Israelis and thus, Hamas targets will be fair game.

Hamas is finding out that being the politically controlling entity in Gaza has its downsides.

Hopefully, the Israelis will push forward with retaliatory force this next week - it's my hope that precision attacks on Hamas leadership and known rocket crews will be consistent and lethal. Hamas doesn't need a ceasefire, what they are doing now is bitching amongst themselves that they may have gone too far this time and have awoken the IDF beast. It's time that Hamas pay another toll. A very heavy toll.

IDF Bombs Terrorists After ‘Ceasefire’ Offer and Rocket Attacks


The IDF scored direct hits on Islamic Jihad terrorists preparing to attack the Negev with more rockets Sunday morning, killng two terrorist and wounding two others.

On Saturday, terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza fired three rockets on the western Negev, causing damage but no injuries.

Hamas has offered another ceasefire on condition that the IDF does not strike. Several ceasefire declarations by Hamas over the past four years have been short-lived. The latest offer already has been rejected by Islamic Jihad terrorist leaders. Hamas, as the de facto ruler of the region, is responsible for all attacks from Gaza.

The Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, which is linked to the Palestinian Authority, reported Saturday that factions in Gaza agreed “to commit to a truce with Israel if its military stopped attacking the coastal enclave.” However, the list of those agreeing to a ceasefire omitted Islamic Jihad. Half a dozen other terrorist groups, including Fatah’s terrorist wing, did not attend a meeting with Hamas leaders Saturday.

The lack of unity in Gaza reflects a statement by the head of the IDF Southern Command, Tal Russo, who said Saturday, "Gaza's terror organizations are in a state of anarchy, and that includes Hamas. They don't really talk to each other; they speak in artillery fire."

Responding directly to the ceasefire offer, military spokespersons said Saturday night, “The Israeli defense system is pleased with the agreement of the Palestinian factions to stop the firing at Israel but emphasizes that the test of the agreement is in the field. A military source emphasized that Israel will not initiate an escalation of the situation if the quiet is maintained.”

Sunday’ morning’s attack on the terror cell preparing to fire rockets is a signal clear that Israel will not allow a ceasefire to prevent the IDF from stopping terrorist attacks.

Hamas Decides That After Israeli Retaliation Kills 5 and Threats of War Are Out There...That They Will Stop Firing Rockets Into Israel

Is there anyone on this earth more chickenshit, more yellow, more spineless than a leader in the Hamas organization? Hamas and other islamic terror groups began a terror campaign against Israel two weeks ago and in that it included the slaughter of an innocent family, a bombing of civilians near a bus station and close to 100 rockets fired into southern Israel but when Israel responded with raids in Gaza and then threaten to escalate the whole thing into a war, the Hamas leaders are all rushing to the microphone to say they will abide by a ceasefire.

Well, I say fuck 'em. They decided to poke the sleeping bear and now it's time for the bear to unclasp its claws and draw some blood. A lot of blood. Hamas blood.

From the article at Breitbart:

Gaza militant groups signaled on Saturday they would halt rocket fire at Israel if the Jewish state stopped shootings as well, after a surge in cross-border violence prompted fears of a possible escalation into war.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan said militant leaders were "committed as long as the occupation (Israel) was committed" to abide by an earlier de facto truce, after a round of talks in Gaza that followed a weeklong surge in attacks.

Israeli raids in Gaza have killed five militants and four civilians this week, a declared response to militants firing more than 70 rockets at the Jewish state, wrecking a house on Saturday, and raising alarm through much of southern Israel.

Gaza militants for their part insist that their rocket and mortar shootings are in response to Israeli air raids in the coastal territory largely sealed off by the Jewish state.

How about we start with good old Ismail Rudwan mentioned above? Mr. Rudwan has eagerly accepted his role as a spokesman for the animals at Hamas....well, Mr. Rudwan, did you sign up for a hellfire missile up your ass? I say that Mr. Rudwan looks eager for his 72 virgins, let's abide him that "reward."

As for the other leaders of Hamas who have been holed up in their bunkers and hospital basements for the past week, I think the newest version of a bunker buster should be ordered up and delivered. The lesson has to be learned....for every Israeli citizen killed by Palestinian terrorists, a Hamas leader is executed. It's worked before to perfection and it will again.

The fact of the matter right now is this - Hamas heard some chatter from the IDF and Israeli leaders and the words "Operation Cast Lead 2" were uttered and the Hamas leadership grew pale as Caspar the Ghost after a long winter. I say give them Cast Lead 2 - give it to them til they choke on it.

Gaza militants signal ready to halt fire


(Reuters) - Gaza militant groups signaled on Saturday they would halt rocket fire at Israel if the Jewish state stopped shootings as well, after a surge in cross-border violence prompted fears of a possible escalation into war.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Rudwan said militant leaders were "committed as long as the occupation (Israel) was committed" to abide by an earlier de facto truce, after a round of talks in Gaza that followed a weeklong surge in attacks.

Israeli raids in Gaza have killed five militants and four civilians this week, a declared response to militants firing more than 70 rockets at the Jewish state, wrecking a house on Saturday, and raising alarm through much of southern Israel.

Gaza militants for their part insist that their rocket and mortar shootings are in response to Israeli air raids in the coastal territory largely sealed off by the Jewish state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened a lengthy "exchange of blows" if the violence goes on.

Major General Tal Russo, the Israeli commander of troops along the Gaza front, responded to two rocket attacks on Saturday, one of which damaged a home, with a warning that Hamas should "come to their senses" to prevent more violence.

Russo charged that Israel felt Hamas was losing its grip over other Gaza militants. "There is anarchy," he said.

ISRAEL READY, GENERAL SAYS

Asked by reporters whether he thought the situation could escalate into another war, Russo replied: "We are prepared for any possibility, the goal is we won't in the end permit a situation where it is impossible for civilians to live here."

After the Israeli warning, Hamas Islamists who control the Gaza Strip territory convened militant leaders later in the day for a strategy session.

Afterwards, spokesman Rudwan said the militants had agreed that "if the Zionist enemy was interested in calm they must cease their aggression against our Palestinian people."

He also insisted "that resistance was a legitimate right of our people to defend themselves." He added: "we are committed, as long as the occupation (Israel) is committed (to calm)."

Hamas has rejected Western demands to recognize Israel and reject outright acts of violence against the Jewish state. But it has mostly held fire since a devastating 22-day Gaza war in late 2008 in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died -- though other militants had kept up sporadic fire at Israel.

But Hamas intensified rocket fire at Israel earlier this month, a move analysts linked to efforts of political rival, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to heal a four-year rift with the group, which some in Hamas may perceive as a threat.

Abbas held a round of reconciliation talks with Hamas lawmakers on Saturday in the occupied West Bank. He urged the group to resume its calmer stance toward Israel and avoid rocket attacks, the Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported.

Osama Al-Haj Ahmed of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said that factions had expressed "support for all efforts to end the division and restore unity" among Palestinians.

Israel May Deploy ' Iron Dome ' Rocket Defense System Tomorrow

The Israelis, seeing a resurgence of rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel, are meeting this weekend to determine if they will deploy the "Iron Dome" rocket defense system in the communities near Gaza.

From the article at Israel National News:

In the wake of the escalation of rocket attacks originating from Gaza towards southern Israel, the IDF is considering beginning to use the Iron Dome rocket defense system in the communities around Gaza already as of Sunday.

The final decision on the matter is expected over the weekend, after the IDF assesses the situation and decides where, if at all, to place the two batteries of the system, whose purpose to provide protection against Kassam and Grad rockets fired from Gaza. Each battery can protect just one city.

The Iron Dome system is designed to intercept short-range rockets with a relatively small warhead that are launched from a distance of 4.5 to 70 kilometers. Under certain conditions it could also be effective against mortar shells.

In the present circumstances, the system would be able to protect a predetermined area with a size of 10X10 km from rockets and mortars. The system knows how to calculate the path of rockets and mortar shells and avoids shooting down those rockets that would be landing in open areas. Iron Dome is unable, however, to intercept objects that are fired from a distance of less than 4.5 km.

Now, I have to admit that I'd be a bit more in favor of the "Iron Bomb" strategy where a retaliatory force goes into Gaza and pretty much ends the possibility of Hamas EVER sending another rocket into Israel but people call me a bit extreme. But Israel's decision on this will unveil some technology that the world hasn't seen before.

I'm sure the slugs of Hezbollah will be paying close attention to Iron Dome down on that southern Israeli border because if that system works just like it is supposed, it could very well take considerable firepower out of the hands of Hezbollah in the north.

IDF Considers Deploying Iron Dome as of Sunday


In the wake of the escalation of rocket attacks originating from Gaza towards southern Israel, the IDF is considering beginning to use the Iron Dome rocket defense system in the communities around Gaza already as of Sunday.

The final decision on the matter is expected over the weekend, after the IDF assesses the situation and decides where, if at all, to place the two batteries of the system, whose purpose to provide protection against Kassam and Grad rockets fired from Gaza. Each battery can protect just one city.

The Iron Dome system is designed to intercept short-range rockets with a relatively small warhead that are launched from a distance of 4.5 to 70 kilometers. Under certain conditions it could also be effective against mortar shells.

In the present circumstances, the system would be able to protect a predetermined area with a size of 10X10 km from rockets and mortars. The system knows how to calculate the path of rockets and mortar shells and avoids shooting down those rockets that would be landing in open areas. Iron Dome is unable, however, to intercept objects that are fired from a distance of less than 4.5 km.

Last month it was reported that Iron Dome is near completion. However, it has not been defined as operational, despite having recently passed a trial run by the Air Force after previously passing tests created by its designers. If it is indeed deployed as of Sunday, it would still be in what is defined as an “experimental stage”.

Meanwhile, the rocket attacks from Gaza continued on Thursday, hitting the Israeli port city of Ashdod as well as at other Jewish communities. One Grad Katyusha missile slammed into an open area in the city.

By mid-afternoon, five rockets fired from Gaza had exploded in various parts of Israel's western Negev. A short-range Kassam rocket landed in an open field in the Eshkol Regional Council district at about 2:00 p.m. Shortly after noon, another Kassam slammed into an open area in the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council district. Close to 11:00 a.m. a rocket from northern Gaza also landed in the Eshkol Regional Council district.

Libyan Rebels Selling Qaddafi's Chemical Weapons to Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah.

From Bare Naked Islam

Those so-called “rebels” Barack Obama is defending are selling Libya’s chemical weapons to Iran, Hizballah, and Hamas

by barenakedislam
Tehran was drawn into backing Libya’s rebels by the discovery that the military stores they captured in Benghazi offered a one-time opportunity to acquire unconventional systems, especially chemical weapons, for its surrogates, the Lebanese Hizballah and Palestinian Hamas.

The Libyan war has become the global arms market’s richest event in five years. Qaddafi may be its primary engine, but Libyan rebels have not been amiss to dipping their hands in this lucrative market on their own behalf, DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s military and intelligence sources disclose.

Indeed more than one party has been attracted by Libya’s weapons trove, notably Iran, Hizballah and Hamas.

In the third week of February, Iranian representatives arrived in Benghazi on a shopping trip. They sat down with “senior officers” of Libya’s rebel forces, including former members of Qaddafi’s army.

In the first week of March, secret delegations arrived from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip to confirm prices and arrange for the chemical weapons, as well as missiles of various types, especially anti-aircraft missiles purchased in the same batch, to be smuggled out of Libya and transported to their buyers.

Our intelligence sources report that the chemical weapons sold to Hizballah and Hamas were spirited out of Libya in the past week to Sudan in convoys of tightly-secured refrigerator trucks. The consignment also included short-range, surface-to-surface missiles, artillery shells and mortars armed with chemical substances.

Read the article here.

Will we hear anything about this in the MSM?

Chemical production plant, Rabta, Libya. Satellite view of the Rabta chemical plant in Libya. Rabta was built in the mid 1980s. Although classed as a pharmaceutical factory, it was alleged that Rabta produced banned chemical weapons such as sarin and mustard gas.

h/t: http://iowntheworld.com/blog/?p=67357

Hamas Attacks Israel - Israel Blasts Back !!!

HAMAS FIRES DOZENS OF ROCKETS AT ISRAEL, HEAVIEST BARRAGE IN YEARS

• Posted on March 19, 2011 at 2:09pm by  Emily Esfahani Smith

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian militants in Gaza fired more than 50 rockets into Israel on Saturday, the heaviest barrage in two years, Israeli officials said, while Hamas police beat up reporters and confiscated their equipment.

A Hamas official was killed and four civilians were wounded when Israel hit back with tank fire and air strikes, said Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Adham Abu Salmia.

The violence comes amid increasing calls for reconciliation between Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his bitter rivals, the Islamic militant group Hamas. Abbas is seeking U.N. recognition for a Palestinian state by the fall and is currently lobbying for votes worldwide. Hamas used force to disperse a reconciliation rally in Gaza. Some reporters were later beaten up, threatened and briefly detained.

Israeli police spokesman Tamir Avtabi said Gaza militants fired 54 mortar shells at Israeli border communities within 15 minutes. He said two Israeli civilians were lightly wounded by shrapnel and residents were advised to stay at home or in bomb shelters.

Hayim Yellin, head of the Eshkol region where the mortars exploded, said they were the same type as those intercepted on a cargo ship last week loaded with weapons Israel said were sent by Iran to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said he will file a complaint at the U.N. after Saturday’s unusually large barrage of rockets. In a statement, Lieberman said the Palestinians “primary goal is destroying Israel.”

Hamas acknowledged it launched some of the mortars – an unusual move as the Islamic militant group does not usually take responsibility for such attacks. Hamas fears triggering another Israeli invasion similar to a three-week operation aimed at stopping daily Palestinian shelling two years ago that killed about 1,400 Palestinians.

Israeli police said the mortar barrage Saturday was the heaviest since that round of fighting.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all violence originating in Gaza, though Hamas usually blames smaller groups for rocket fire.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan said the shelling was in reaction to recent Israeli airstrikes that killed militants. He warned Israel “not to test Hamas’ response.”

Hamas ousted Fatah from Gaza in bloody street battles in 2007. Since then, Hamas controls Gaza and the Western backed secular Fatah rules the West Bank.

Repeated efforts to reconcile the two rival governments have failed. Palestinians have held rallies in Gaza and the West Bank in recent days calling for the two sides to resolve their differences.

On Saturday, Hamas used force to break up a small rally, witnesses said and later beat up reporters from major international news outlets.

An Associated Press Television News cameraman was nearby when he was cornered by Hamas police and beaten with sticks. He was briefly detained and released unharmed. Other cameramen also were beaten and some had their equipment confiscated by Hamas.

Hamas also raided the offices of the Reuters news agency, CNN and Japanese channel NHK in Gaza. A Reuters producer was arrested by Hamas and witnesses later saw him leave hospital with a bandage wrapped around his hand.

Reuters Bureau Chief Crispian Balmer said “A group of armed men entered our office in Gaza and threatened our employees and confiscated a video camera after we were spotted filming a demonstration from the building. They smashed a TV in the office, they clubbed one of our guys on the arm with a metal club and they threatened to throw another one of our employees out of the window.”

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri spoke out against the raids in a message sent to reporters. “We condemn the attack on Reuters agency in Gaza and we call on the Hamas interior ministry to investigate this incident, we emphasize our respect for the media,” he said.

The internal Palestinian rift makes their vision of statehood harder to achieve and hinders their ability to reach a peace agreement with Israel.

Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians collapsed last year over disputes about Israeli construction in the West bank, areas Palestinians want as parts of their future state.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to deliver a major policy speech soon on peacemaking.

Israel’s channel 2 TV broadcast a rare interview Saturday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recorded last week. Abbas told the Israeli station that he was “more determined than ever to reach a solution with Israel.” Abbas said Gaza and the West Bank had to reconcile. “Hamas have committed terrible crimes but they are still part of the Palestinian people,” he said.

Hamas Pounds Southern Israel With 50 Mortars...Israel Retaliates With Warplanes and Tanks

I guess it is official - the islamic terrorists of Palestine have taken the next step in their plans of jihad after the slaughter of the Israeli family of five in the West Bank by firing relentless mortar rounds into southern Israeli villages today. At the latest count, eight have been injured as the Israelis have responded with warplane and tank attacks on Hamas targets.

From the article at Monsters and Critics:

Violence between Israel and militants of the Islamist Hamas movement flared on Saturday after nearly 50 mortar shells from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israeli communities.

Israeli warplanes and tanks responded, firing missiles and tank shells at four targets belonging to Hamas in the eastern Gaza Strip, Adham Abu Selmeya, Gaza's emergency chief, told reporters.

Selmeya confirmed that six Palestinian were wounded in the Israeli attack, while Israel Radio reported two Israelis injured. The two main Israelis towns hit in the attack were Sdot Negev and Eshkol.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, claimed responsibility for the renewed shelling.

'Targeting the enemy's posts was a response to the ongoing Zionist assaults, airstrikes and tank's shelling on the Gaza Strip. The latest was two days ago, where two of our mujahidin were killed,' said the group.

So, here is my question (and it's an important one) - is this the beginning of the offensive against Israel that will bring Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran into the fray? I am here to say that 2011 will not end without another war involving the Israelis and I do not believe it will be against one enemy - I truly think this is the year that a multi-sided attack on Israel occurs. One of the reasons I think this way is that the islamists in the Middle East and in Iran feel they can get away with this because America will sit on its hands with Obama at the helm.

So the real question is...will Hamas and the others continue with more mortars later today and then some rockets the next and will Hezbollah then begin an offensive on the north?

I'll be watching Israel close this weekend - I have a real bad feeling.

50 rockets launched from Gaza into Israel, eight wounded


Gaza City - Violence between Israel and militants of the Islamist Hamas movement flared on Saturday after nearly 50 mortar shells from the Gaza Strip landed in southern Israeli communities.

Israeli warplanes and tanks responded, firing missiles and tank shells at four targets belonging to Hamas in the eastern Gaza Strip, Adham Abu Selmeya, Gaza's emergency chief, told reporters.

Selmeya confirmed that six Palestinian were wounded in the Israeli attack, while Israel Radio reported two Israelis injured. The two main Israelis towns hit in the attack were Sdot Negev and Eshkol.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing, claimed responsibility for the renewed shelling.

'Targeting the enemy's posts was a response to the ongoing Zionist assaults, airstrikes and tank's shelling on the Gaza Strip. The latest was two days ago, where two of our mujahidin were killed,' said the group.

Israeli jets struck four lookout posts belonging to the security forces of the Hamas administration, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since June 2007. Residents in the Strip heard dozens of explosions resulting from the Israeli bombardment.

Several ambulances and rescue teams were seen rushing to the targeted areas between the eastern borders of the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman reacted immediately, asking the Israeli envoy to the UN to file an official complaint to the Security Council.

'The offensive this morning, which took place while Hamas is speaking about reunification, shows that the international support for the creation of a Palestinian state would be support for the creation of a terror state,' Lieberman said in a written message to the UN.

The 'first and foremost goal is the destruction of Israel,' Lieberman wrote in his request to file a complaint.

Ten other mortar shells were launched from Gaza into Israel on Friday, four of them landed in Palestinian territories.

An undeclared fragile ceasefire was reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2009, following a three-week large-scale Israeli offensive on the enclave, in which more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.

The escalation of violence mounted as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced two days ago that he intends to go to Gaza to end more than three years of internal division between his Fatah party and Hamas movement.

Israeli Navy Intercepts Ship Headed For Hamas Carrying Missiles from Iran

Here we go again. Just weeks after NATO officials in Afghanistan found Iranian weapons and explosives and rockets headed for the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Israel navy has stopped a Liberian ship that originated in Iran and discovered containers full of anti-ship missiles. Again, these missiles were destined for Hamas in Gaza. Can you imagine Hamas with a huge supply of missiles that will take out Israeli naval vessels?

From the article at The Jerusalem Post:

The Israel Navy seized a cargo vessel early Tuesday morning in the Mediterranean Sea that was carrying advanced weaponry, including anti-ship missiles that could alter the balance of power in the region.

Israel believes the weaponry originated in Iran and was destined for Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.

According to the certificates, the containers were supposed to be carrying cotton and lentils, but when the commandos pulled out the first row of sacks they found crates The Israel Navy seized a cargo vessel early Tuesday morning in the Mediterranean Sea that was carrying advanced weaponry, including anti-ship missiles that could alter the balance of power in the region.

So, once again, we see Iran involved in terror and death in all corners of the world - why the fuck don't these guys just put a huge sign up over Tehran that says "Come on, Bomb the shit out of us, we deserve it" ?

Thank goodness for the superior intelligence work that the Israelis were able to do here...I just fear that one of these ships, at some point in time, is going to slip through.

Navy intercepts ship with Iranian arms bound for Hamas


The Israel Navy seized a cargo vessel early Tuesday morning in the Mediterranean Sea that was carrying advanced weaponry, including anti-ship missiles that could alter the balance of power in the region.

Israel believes the weaponry originated in Iran and was destined for Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Gaza Strip.

In an operation called “Iron Law,” Israeli navy missile boats approached the Victoria cargo ship late Monday night as it passed some 320 km. off Israel’s coast. One of the vessels reached the captain on the radio and asked for permission to board.

Once he gave permission and began lowering a ladder, a number of speedboats carrying several teams of commandos from Flotilla 13 – known as the Shayetet – closed in.

Two weeks earlier, a pair of Iranian warships had docked at the same port – possibly carrying weapons. Four of the containers, found with heavy locks, were slated to be unloaded in the port of Alexandria in Egypt.

The ship left Latakia and sailed to the port of Mersin in Turkey – likely a ploy meant to deflect attention from the ship and its cargo. The IDF stressed that it believed that neither Egypt nor Turkey was involved in the arms shipment.

According to the certificates, the containers were supposed to be carrying cotton and lentils, but when the commandos pulled out the first row of sacks they found crates The Israel Navy seized a cargo vessel early Tuesday morning in the Mediterranean Sea that was carrying advanced weaponry, including anti-ship missiles that could alter the balance of power in the region.