Hamas between a rock and a hard place

The Syrian uprising has left Hamas between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, Syrians who claim 'Palestinian' roots have suffered along with the rest of Syria during Assad's crackdown. On the other hand, most of Hamas' leadership lives in Damascus. What's a terror organization to do? Syria's crackdown on government opponents has deeply embarrassed Hamas, which is anxious not to anger its

Shalit talks postponed

Egypt has postponed indefinitely the latest round of talks for the release of kidnapped IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit in a bid to develop bridging proposals according to the London-based Al-Hayat. According to the report, Egypt will work in the coming weeks to formulate a compromise between the parties that would allow for a completion of the deal.

An "Egyptian source" told Al Hayat that thee

Hamas refuses to hand attackers to Egypt

Hamas has refused to hand over to Egypt ten Gazan terrorists who - Egypt alleges - participated in a recent attack on an Egyptian police station in El Arish. Citing a "well-placed Egyptian source," the report said that Egyptian authorities have provided evidence to Hamas implicating the men who Egypt says escaped back into Gaza via tunnels.

With each request, Hamas officials gave different

IDF holding al-Jazeera Afghanistan bureau chief?

Al-Jazeera claims that the IDF is holding Samer Alawi, the chief of its Afghanistan bureau, claiming that he is a member of Hamas. According to al-Jazeera, Alawi testified before a military court on Monday, and was remanded for another seven days. According to Al Jazeera, Allawi was arrested at the Allenby crossing on the border with Jordan Tuesday after a vacation in his hometown Sabastia near

Barak admits Israel in serious negotiations over Shalit release

Defense Minister Ehud Barak admitted on Tuesday that, for the first time in a long time, Israel is in serious negotiations about the release of kidnapped IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit. But asked specifically about a report Tuesday morning that Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal was heading to Cairo amid increased Israeli flexibility in the deal, Barak said, "There is a grain of truth in the rumors."

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Your tax dollars at work: Hamas agrees to accept US money

On Friday, I reported that Hamas had stopped the work of US NGO's that were providing it with money, because they refused to submit to a Hamas audit of their operations. Now, Hamas has decided to be satisfied with its lot in life. They have agreed to let the US salve its guilt over the terror group's plight by generously agreeing to accept American aid money without auditing the books. The

Your tax dollars at work: US sends aid money to Gaza, now Hamas wants to 'audit' the NGO's who pass it on

You probably all figured (as I did) that since Hamas took over, the US doesn't send any aid money directly to Gaza (only indirectly via the 'Palestinian Authority' and UNRWA). But the New York Times reported on Thursday that the US is threatening to suspend aid to Gaza, and that means they've been sending it directly until now. And the reason for the suspension? This is rich: Hamas wants to '

Rocket science, Hamas style

How many of you remember Dirar Abu Sisi, the Hamas rocket scientist that the Mossad somehow found on a train in the Ukraine? It's been a few months since we heard about him, but it seems that Mr. Abu Sisi has learned how to sing, and he's been singing quite a lot lately.... The Beersheba Magistrate's Court released sections of the investigation by security forces of Abu Sisi for publication on

'Palestinian prisoner' exchange

There's a 'Palestinian prisoner' exchange taking place over the course of the next three weeks - between now and the end of Ramadamadan. The good news is that Israel is not involved. Representatives of rival Palestinian movements Fatah and Hamas say they have agreed on measures to end an impasse in reconciliation talks.

The groups, which run rival governments in the Gaza Strip and West Bank,

They don't sympathize with terrorists, do they?

Jonas Gahr Store (right) is currently Norway's Foreign Minister. I trust you all recognize Ismail Haniyeh at left.'Nuff said (Hat Tip: Soccer Dad via News that Matters).

IDF strikes Gaza targets in retaliatory attack

In response to the firing of long-range Grad rockets that hit within the city limits of Ashkelon and in the area of Kiryat Gat on Wednesday, the IDF bombed Gaza 'targets' (which usually means tunnels or bomb-making factories unless they specifically say that they hit a rocket launching team) in the early hours of Thursday. IDF aircraft struck targets in the Gaza Strip in the early hours on

Police use bulldozer to demolish three Arab homes, one killed

A police officer was killed and three Arab homes were demolished by police bulldozers on Sunday. But you heard nothing about it because... the police belonged to Hamas (Hat Tip: My Right Word). According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 23:30 on Sunday, 31 July 2011, medical staff at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City announced the death of Majed Hamdan Karam, 23, a police

The only way out of Gaza

The only way out of Gaza is to bribe. No, not Israel, and not Egypt either. You have to bribe Hamas.Let's go to the videotape.But don't expect that to be taken up by the UN.Here's a Gazan blogger who discusses how you get out of Gaza. Note that he's talking about going to Egypt, not to Israel, where if you're going for medical treatment you are let through without bribes - at least without paying

Time for Israel to end Oslo

Mudar Zahran, a Palestinian writer and academic from Jordan, who now resides in the UK as a political refugee, says it's time for Israel to end the Oslo Accords. For the past several decades, the PLO leadership seem to have been trying to grab whatever it could get in negotiations, using the "ceiling of the last negotiation as the floor of the next," and pocketing whatever concessions it could

Nice truck you have there

This is a captured Palestinian garbage truck from Gaza .The truck is set up to fire 9 Kasem rockets and then drive off innocently.The note pasted on the drivers door says "In case of traffic violations, please contact the Palestinian Authority".The Israelis have evidence of ambulances and emergency vehicles set up the same way.Doesn't it make you "warm and fuzzy" all over knowing that Obama

Time for Norwegians to learn a lesson?

Norwegian ambassador to Israel Svein Sevje told Maariv this week that 'Palestinian terrorism' against Israel is more justified than terrorism against Norwegians. Perhaps it's time for Norwegians to wake up and smell the coffee? This is from Alan Dershowitz. The causes of terrorism are multifaceted but at bottom they have a common cause: namely, a belief that violence is the proper response to

History repeats itself

Tell me this isn't deja vu all over again. 70 years ago, the Times of London decided that there were 'moderate Nazis.'But meanwhile, back in the real world, do you remember when The Times (the London one of course) felt that Hitler was a moderate making concessions to ingratiate himself with the “radical” wing of his own Nazi party. Yes, you heard that right, upon implementing another plank

The tax benefits of working in Gaza

If you need to make a little extra money, you may want to consider the benefits of working for an NGO in Gaza. NGO's in 'Palestine' routinely pay triple what any local firm would pay. And if you happen to be in Gaza, that triple salary is also tax free. Various international NGOs working in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) have questioned a demand by the Hamas government in the Gaza

Next war will be InMyBackYard

I have often discussed - albeit not recently - how Israel's government is much more willing to let Sderot get hit than they are willing to let Tel Aviv get hit. You see Sderot is NotInMyBackYard. Its population is mostly poor, Sfardi and less educated, while Tel Aviv's is wealthy (or middle class), Ashkenazi and highly educated. But in the next war with Gaza, says Deputy Defense Minister Matan

Norwegian ambassador to Israel justifies 'Palestinian' terrorism

If you love Israel, then I guarantee you that after you read this post, you won't feel sorry for Norway anymore. Svein Sevje said in an Israeli newspaper interview Tuesday that while the Norwergian bomb and gun rampages that killed 76 people and Palestinian attacks should both be considered morally unacceptable, he wanted to "outline the similarity and the difference in the two cases."