Thursday, January 08, 2009
Hamas Torpedoes Egyptian Ceasefire Attempt
Apparently the Egyptian efforts to craft a ceasefire have run into a few roadblocks.
In talks with Egypt's Head of Intelligence General Omar Suleiman Hamas leaders refused to commit to a number of points Egypt, the EU and Condi Rice were counting on.
First off, they said they would not commit to a long term because they wanted to "preserve the right to respond to Israeli violations and aggression."
Second and more importantly, they refused an Egyptian demand that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza be turned over to Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah.Suleiman reportedly told the Hamas delegation that Egypt would not reopen the Rafah border crossing unless Abbas's forces were allowed to control the terminal.
The third point Suleiman wanted the Hamas delegation to agree to was international peacekeeping troops in some areas of the Gaza Strip. They turned him down flat. Osama Hamdan, Hamas's representative in Lebanon, said the idea of international peacekeepers was "aimed at protecting Israel" while Hamas's armed wing, Izzadin Kassam stated they would consider such troops a hostile and occupying force and would therefore launch attacks against them.
This entire structure of Fatah controlling the Rafah crossing and international monitors is pretty much what Condi, Israel, the Palestinian Authroity and Egypt cobbled together as security 'guarantees' back when Israel left Gaza.
Hamas took over the terminal when they kicked Fatah out in the summer of 2007, and the international monitors fled into Israel shortly afterwards.
Hamas' position is pretty simple; they want all the border crossings opened with them in control, and the Israeli military operations to stop...after which they'll stop firing rockets into Israel.At least for now.
There's a key here as to why Hamas decided to attack Israel and unleash the rockets just now.
Hamas has owned Gaza now for a year and a half. And while their lil' reichlet is nowhere near as broke and impoverished as they would have you believe, the prosperity is limited to those at the top of the Hamas food chain and those connected with them, which doesn't sit so well with the peons. Not only that, but the blockade - a joint enterprise of both Egypt and Israel, I might add - has deprived them of the kind of legitimacy they crave, and diminished their stature, an important thing in an honor/shame culture. There's been some murmuring.
With a PA presidential election coming up, Hamas saw an opportunity to accomplish two things.First, by taking the lead in the jihad against the Jews as opposed to Abbas and Fatah, Hamas hoped rally the troops, to gain votes, oust Abbas and take over the Palestinian Authority completely.
They've certainly been successful in the first part of this as support for Hamas in the West Bank, already high, has increased markedly. The Palestinain occupied areas of the West bank have been relatively quiet during this war, but nly because Abbas has used those US trained security forces to stifle any demonstrations and violence...not out of any regard for Israel, but simply to keep their own authority unchallenged. As for the second part, Abbas' presidential term ends tomorrow, and it remains to be seen how a subsequent election will go, if it takes place.
Hamas' other goal was to gain legitimacy an dforce Egypt to recognize them by opening the borders. That hasn't been accomplished yet.
Ahmed Yussef, an adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said a ceasefire agreement might be possible "within 48 hours", and again emphasized that Hamas would stop firing rockets at Israel as soon as the IDF stopped its military operations, the border crossings were reopened and the blockade of the Gaza Strip ended.
In the meantime, Israel has been pounding Hamas positions on the Philadelphi corridor between Egypt and Gaza, and is in the process of wiping out the two Hamas brigades dug in there. When the IDF occupies Philadelphi, the whole idea of Hamas controlling border crossings could be moot.Hezbollah Hits Northern Israel
Hezbollah's al-Manur TV and and Lebanon's al-Mustaqbal confirmed the missile firings and said they were fired from Wadi Hamoud south of the Litani River. They also showed Lebanese troops in the area supposedly trying to determine who might have fired the rockets.
Lebanese PM Fouad Siniora was quick to state that his government was obligated under UN resolution 1701 to prevent attacks on Israel and that his government would investigate....especially after Israel's Northern command warned Lebanon that an attempt to open a second front in Northern Israel would lead to heavy retaliation.
Mohammed Fneish, a Hezbollah minister in Lebanon's Cabinet, denied any Hezbollah involvement.
But absolutely nothing happens in Lebanon without Hezbollah's OK, so at the very least, they had to have winked at it.
I seriously doubt Hezbollah would be silly enough to start something now. Israel's reserves have already been called up and there are ample troops armor and planes available to deal with Hezbollah if that becomes necessary, and that should make Nasrallah think twice about it.
The rockets were likely fired off by Palestinian groups affiliated with Hezbollah at Nasrullah's orders, so as to give Hezbollah plausible deniability while reminding Israel that he's still around.Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Annie Lennox: 'I'm Not Anti-Israel!"
Uh huh. Ri-ight.
You'll recall I ran a story featuring a vid of has-been singer Annie Lennox with Sky News making an absolute idiot of herself over Israel in an interview, done right before Lennox led a violent pro-Hamas demonstration in Londonistan against the Israeli embassy, in the company of George Galloway, ken Livingstone, and a host of other anti-Semites.
Apparently she belatedly realized that a number of her few remaining fans took offense at her behavior and tried to do some damage control at her FaceBook site:Lennox's comment, entitled "Annie's Second Official Statement regarding the Situation in Gaza," said, "I am not anti-Israeli nor have I ever been, and for anyone to say that I am is profoundly offensive and completely wrong.
"The reason why I spoke out when I did was because at that point in time there was a tiny window of opportunity to prevent a blood bath on both sides before the ground troops went in," she wrote. "I have never condoned suicide bombings, or the firing of missiles into Israel. I repeat... The slaughter of innocent lives on both sides is abhorrent." Lennox's second comment came in the wake of a number of angry postings on her facebook site, one saying she picked a fine way to make a "fading career relevant.
Another posting on Lennox's facebook site read, "Where were you all this time as Israel has been bombarded by missiles over and over again. A continuous rain of attacks, we have lived in a constant state of alert, living in fear. We waited and waited and did nothing and now when we finally - finally - take a stand to defend ourselves are we treated like a terrorist nation. Unfortunately you were clearly oblivious to these events all this time. You have proven your ignorance and are standing on your soapbox without your facts." "
No facts maybe, but Lennox has her motivations all right. This Hamas-loving skank has her very first 'greatest hits' compilation CD coming out this March, so the record company probably told her to try to do some damage control.
I'll say one thing for Hamas...repugnant though they are, they stick to their principles. Lennox doesn't even have that much going for her.Burris To Be Seated
It's embarrassing. You'd think the Senate Majority leader might just have read the US Constitution at some point.....
Blagojevitch must be laughing his @@@ off. Not only did he find a buyer for the seat, he forced the Democrats to accept his pick!Ann Coulter Versus Matt Lauer...Too Funny!
Apparently the suits at NBC realized that banning La Coulter was essentially proving the central thesis of her book, so they had her on.
Lauer denies she was banned, but as La Coulter points out when he's not trying to talk over her, she wasn't 'rescheduled' until Drudge broke the story an dit made headlines...just a funy cowinkydink, right?
This really is like watching the Yankees play a little league team..Funn-ee!
Hat tip, Hot Air
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Five Katushya rockets fired were fired from Lebanon at Israel this morning, hitting Nahariya, a city to the north of Haifa and scoring a direct hit on an old age home, injuring three people moderately. Another rocket hit in the town of Shlomi.
Yes the Senate 'plans to accept' Burris into the Senate to fill Obama's senate seat in spite of Harry Reid's nonsense, just as I predicted.
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