Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, January 30, 2009

Another case of Hamas using human shields

From Palestinian Media Watch (I couldn't find the original article in Al Hayat:)

Members of a Gaza family whose farm was turned into a "fortress" by Hamas fighters have reported that they were helpless to stop Hamas from using them as human shields. They told the official Palestinian Authority daily newspaper that for years Hamas has used their property and homes for military installations from which to launch rockets into Israel, dig tunnels and store arms. According to the victims, those who tried to object were shot in the legs by Hamas.

The following are excerpts from the article from the official Palestinian Authority daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida:
The Abd Rabbo family kept quiet while Hamas fighters turned their farm in the Gaza strip into a fortress. Right now they are waiting for the aid promised by the [Hamas] movement after Israel bombed the farm and turned it into ruins...
The hill on which the Abd Rabbo family lives overlooks the Israeli town Sderot, a fact that turned it into an ideal military position for the Palestinian fighters, from which they have launched hundreds of rockets into southern Israel during the last few years. Several of the Abd Rabbo family members described how the fighters dug tunnels under their houses, stored arms in the fields and launched rockets from the yard of their farm during the nights.
The Abd Rabbo family members emphasize that they are not [Hamas] activists and that they are still loyal to the Fatah movement, but that they were unable to prevent the armed squads from entering their neighborhood at night. One family member, Hadi (age 22) said: "You can't say anything to the resistance [fighters], or they will accuse you of collaborating [with Israel] and shoot you in the legs."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Jan. 27, 2009]

I have yet to hear any human rights organization accuse Hamas of using human shields - they only accuse Israel, as Amnesty International did.

And the "eyewitnesses" who say that the IDF used human shields are suspect, to say the least. A reporter from YNet visited a house in Gaza during the operation where the IDF took over but the family was free to leave, and chose not to. Yet as soon as they saw the reporter they started screaming:

We come across a local family in one of the buildings. Grandparents, a few young parents, some children and a few toddlers. Sitting on a rug, their legs are covered in blankets and two soldiers are standing guard nearby. "What about them?" I ask. "They're free to go if they want to, but they don't want to," said Eilon Perry, Givati's operations officer. "They informed us they would be staying in the house and we have no choice but to accept that."

The family suddenly notices the cameras, and immediately, the expression on their faces changes. "We have no food," they say in Arabic, as one of the youngsters suggests we interview him in English about their plight. Givati troops are extremely concerned about being portrayed as abusing innocent civilians. Perry points to a stack of canned goods, water bottles and other provisions. "We provided some of that and they cook and eat quite well," he said. The Palestinians seem to understand him and one of them smiles. It's a war – they had to try.

Is there any doubt that this family is now telling every reporter and NGO in sight that they were used as human shields? And is there any doubt that the reporters and "human rights" workers will believe them uncritically and unconditionally, and carefully document their lies in their campaign to gather evidence to bolster their preconceived notions of IDF brutality?

PalArab news roundup 1-30-09

The Fatah-linked Palestine Press Agency details some $400 million of fraud, money laundering and illegally redirecting government contracts to private companies run by Hamas members in Gaza. One example was that the late Siad Siam who apparently founded front companies in Turkey and Egypt to funnel goods to Gaza through tunnels he controlled.

Hamas has been denying the house arrests, tortures, shootings and killings of Fatah members, although Ma'an reports that the evidence is "overwhelming." Hamas placed Fatah members in Gaza under curfew, forcing them to shut their shops and stay home after 6 PM.

A previously unknown group took credit for launching a "projectile" at Israel this morning. No mention of this in the Israeli media.

A competitor to Free Gaza? A ship called the "Brotherhood" is due to leave Beirut for Gaza on Sunday.

Egypt is banning people from visiting injured Gazans in Egyptian hospitals after the Muslim Brotherhood started turning these visits into political events.

US Academic Boycotters for Terror

Ha'aretz yesterday wrote that a new US group was formed to advocate an academic boycott of Israel.

Ha'aretz had some fun at the expense of this group, called the "U.S. Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel", asking them if they would accept support from Hamas (they would) as well as this:

Lloyd wrote that to the best of his knowledge, all supporters of the anti-Israel boycott were also opposed to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Asked if logic wouldn't dictate that he and his colleagues boycott themselves, he responded, "Self-boycott is a difficult concept to realize. But speaking for myself, I would have supported and honored such a boycott had it been proposed by my colleagues overseas."

As is usual in these sorts of groups, their publicity is way out of proportion to their influence or size. They didn't even bother to get their own Internet domain; their website is a Wordpress blog.

Half of their "founding members" are Arab and all from California, except for one who is inexplicably from An Najah National University.

Rather than go through the tedious and pointless exercise of showing how stupid their position is (for example, they have no problem accusing Israel of "ethnic cleansing,") I'd like to concentrate on one part of their FAQ that proves their total hypocrisy concerning peace and their tacit support of terrorism:

[Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] is opposed by many Israelis who support the Palestinian struggle. By calling for BDS, aren’t we alienating these Israeli supporters?

Although the views of Israeli supporters regarding methods of struggle should be taken into consideration, Palestinians have the ultimate right to decide on the best method for attaining freedom from an illegal occupation and systematically oppressive regime. Supporters of the Palestinian struggle within the international community and within Israel itself have to stop attempting to dictate the terms of the struggle but support the Palestinian right to resist an illegal occupation, especially when the form of resistance is non-violent, as is the case with calls for BDS.

So while they are saying that they prefer non-violent means of protest, Palestinian Arabs have every right to attack innocent Israeli civilians via rockets, suicide attacks and bus bombings, if they think that is the "best method for attaining freedom."

Taking this one step further, if Palestinian Arabs should decide, as they did a few decades ago, that the best way for them to attain their freedom was by blowing up airplanes, attacking the Olympics and other terror attacks against the world, these idiotic academics will support them wholeheartedly, because to do otherwise would somehow infringe on Arab freedoms to choose to murder anyone they feel like by whichever method they deem the best.

The pure immorality of this position is breathtaking. And the fact that they end that same paragraph by calling themselves "morally consistent individuals supporting genuine peace" is far beyond ironic.

Hilariously, not only are these "academics" immoral, but they don't even know basic English grammar. From another FAQ:

Does Academic Boycott Infringe on Academic Freedom?

It may; but who’s Academic Freedom is being referred to within this context?

Perhaps they need to spend a bit more time actually studying things rather than pretending they already know it all. That way, they can avoid using their prestigious positions to make asses of themselves.

Life for our heroes at the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is not all fun and games. Sure, they will engage in high speed car chases to catch unmarried couples alone, or arrest people who allegedly cursed Mohammed, but sometimes they have very serious and complex cases as well.

Here is the sad story of witchcraft and sorcery, as recounted by the Saudi Gazette:

AL-QUWAI’IAH – Two Indonesian housemaids, identified as Suma Rini and Warnah Madthaying, cast a total of 55 spells on three families in Al-Quwai’iah. As a result of their sorcery, a boy was hospitalized for more than two months, a girl and some members of her family slipped into a coma and others were afflicted with different kinds of illnesses and pain.

According to Saudi national, S.Dh., the family’s tragedy began with the illness of one of their sons who was hospitalized in King Fahd Medical City Hospital for two months. When the housemaid, Suma Rini, visited the boy in the hospital, she told his mother that the boy was not in need of doctors or a hospital because he had a Satan in him, and that the boy’s eyes were a clear indication of this.

The housemaid’s words caused the mother to become suspicious, and she continued to press the housemaid for the reasons behind what she had said. The housemaid said that when she was in Indonesia, she used to read a book on sorcery, magic and conjuring the jinn. This created doubts which increased when one of the family’s relatives visited the boy in order to recite verses of the Holy Qur’an.

When the recitation began, the housemaid ran away saying that everything had become dark, which only increased the family’s suspicions. This led the family to conclude that all that was happening was in some way because of the housemaid.

As a result, the family decided to begin discussing the matter with the housemaid in a way which would not arouse her suspicions in order to discover what secrets she was hiding.

The housemaid was reassured that no harm would come to her, and she was also tempted with a fake check for a large amount of money and with air tickets.

At that point, she admitted that she had cast spells on the whole family, each member with a special charm according to what she wanted from him or her. She also said that she was able to cast spells but did not know how to undo them. The family agreed to give her even larger amounts of money provided she showed them where she had placed the magic charms so that they could find another person who was able to undo them.

What should a family do in such circumstances? Who has the specialized training necessary to fix powerful, magic spells - and put the maid in jail?

Why, it must be our heroes of the Muttawa!

The family informed the security authorities in Al-Quwai’iah and two staff members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice came to the family’s house. The housemaid then showed them 15 places in the house where she had put charms, which the Commission staff removed and undid. In her charms and spells, the housemaid had used pins, nails, broken glass, clothes hangers and symbols that no one could understand. The Saudi national, S.Dh., said Suma Rini was then taken to the police station and her confessions were attested at Al-Quwai’iah Court in the presence of translators.

On asking Suma Rini about another housemaid named Warnah Madthaying working in the home of S.Dh.’s sister, she indicated that Madthaying was also involved in sorcery. The same method was used to lure Madthaying until she finally admitted casting spells in the sister’s and brother’s home. She showed the Commission staffers 40 different locations where she had hidden these spells and they were removed and undone.

While sorcery is strictly forbidden in the Holy Quran, apparently the purest of the pure and the holiest of the holy do have the esoteric knowledge needed to undo the effects of sorcery. Luckily, they also have the power to put away the evil Indonesian maids forever!

Once again, we must thank Allah for the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, keeping people safe from magic and evil jinns!

Haniyeh to announce a competitor to the PLO

While the PA is the only recognized quasi-government in the territories, the PLO has been the only recognized representative of Palestinian Arabs worldwide. In fact, the PLO was enshrined in that position at Oslo, as the sole representative of the "Palestinian people." The PA is effectively but not officially a subsidiary of the PLO, and the president of the PA has so far also always been the head of the PLO.

While Hamas broke with the PA and created its own de-facto terror government in Gaza, they never broke with the PLO. n fact, the PLO includes some factions who are actively engaging in terror in Gaza, such as the PFLP and DFLP.

Hamas aims to change that.

All the major Palestinian media outlets are reporting that Khaled Meshaal is planning to create its own alternative "Palestinian national authority" as a competitor to the PLO. In a speech he gave last night in Doha, saying that "there can be no reconciliation for the Palestinian people at home and abroad without a national reference," and called for "the Palestinian national authority to maintain the right of return," saying that "by the Palestine Liberation Organization preventing Hamas from entering or working on reconstruction, they no longer constitute a national reference but a deficit and an instrument of division."

This means that Hamas is no longer only challenging the PA's primacy in the territories, but now it is bidding to create a new leadership for Palestinian Arabs in other countries, including the camps in Lebanon where the PLO now has de facto political control.

Harry Potter and the Zionist Brainwashers

I missed this MEMRI clip from last week, but it is a beauty:

Following are excerpts from an episode of an Iranian TV documentary series on Western Cinema featuring the Harry Potter films, which aired on IRINN, the Iranian News Channel on December 15, 2008:

Narrator: The early 1990s brought a revolution in digital technology to the world of cinema, helping the propaganda machinery of the 2oth century "Samaritans" [Jews] adopt useful tools for witchcraft and brainwashing. Now, more than ever, this tool serves to spread the dark and evil essence of Zionism and its goals. The creation of new stories, based on mythical themes relating to witchcraft and devil worship, has always been a tool used by contemporary Zionists, and it is once again being used in recent years, now, more visibly than ever, targeting innocent children and youth – the parents of the future.

[...]

Sai'd Mostaghasi, Iranian film critic: The Harry Potter film portrays all these theories, and especially the theory of witchcraft, which originates in the Kabbala. After all, the Jewish Kabbala is a school of thought which is full of secrets and witchcraft. Its roots are in ancient Egypt. These theories originate from a rabbi or magicians of ancient Egypt, and were passed down to the Knights Templar. You can see their traces in the Harry Potter series, in the fourth or fifth film – "Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix."

[...]

Ali Asghar Sa'dati, Iranian expert on religious cinema: [The Zionists] are trying to convince the viewers that there is no easy way to distance oneself from witchcraft, Satan, and the like, it is better to... They are saying indirectly: "Join us."

[...]

I call this a "cultural Crusader war" – a crusade in which the cultural aspect is currently stronger than the military aspect. Their military expedition is currently in Afghanistan and Iraq, while their cultural expedition consists of these films and DVDs, which are passed around from one to another throughout the world, including in our country and in the Middle East.

[...]

Dr. Mehdi Goljan, Iranian university lecturer: The second issue is the racial supremacy of the Jewish people. The Zionists have used this as a pretext to achieve their Zionist goals.

[...]

The third issue, which is a very important one, is the concept of the End of Days, or the belief that the Jewish people are saviors. As you know, throughout the history of the Jewish people, according to the views of global Zionism, the issue of world domination is a basic principle, of utmost importance.

[...]

Narrator: The Harry Potter film series reached the cinema, following the success of the Zionist propaganda machine, which made this little-known author and her books famous. It can be viewed as a compilation of secrets, and of theories used by the Zionist media. Let us ignore for a moment the efforts by the creators of this series to present witchcraft and wizards in a positive light – an effort that is evident throughout the series, and especially in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." This has always been the modus operandi of the Zionist teachings regarding the media. Many of these symbols have been adapted to the screen successfully.

[...]

Dr. Mehdi Goljan: [The Zionists] support Harry Potter, because he is the promised messiah. As you can see, he has the same traits and wants to defeat a dark force, which in this film is depicted as Voldemort. In the sixth episode, there is even mention of the War of Armageddon. This sixth episode is now being produced, and will probably be released next year. When Professor Dumbledore dies, Harry Potter reads in his memoirs that he will have to fight a War of Armageddon somewhere against Voldemort, the war witch, according to Zionist Christian beliefs, will take place at the End of Days. You can see that in all these films, they promote their ideology.

[...]

Narrator: Propaganda for purity of blood and race, one of the principles of global Zionism, is openly portrayed and emphasized in the second Harry Potter film. If we add this [film] to the other pieces of the puzzle – the beliefs depicted in the other propaganda and political products of the Ziono-Hollywoodists – the Satan features of this inhumane movement will become more evident.

One of the YouTube commenters said, "Oh for all you know, Family Guy is actually a Hassidic Rabbi living in Brooklyn..."

Another Hamas murder

From Reuters:

A Palestinian man on Thursday accused Islamist Hamas militants in control of the Gaza Strip of torturing and killing his brother for publicly criticizing them.
Osama Atallah, a teacher, was a supporter of the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the sworn enemy of Hamas, whose gunmen drove Fatah militia out of Gaza in 2007 and fought Israel's army in a three-week war this month.

His brother Bassam said masked gunmen in two jeeps arrived at the family home in the city of Gaza on Tuesday. They identified themselves as members of Hamas internal security and they arrested his brother Osama.

Bassam said the Hamas security service told the Atallah family Osama would be released in a matter of hours. But a Hamas government official, who is also a member of the Atallah family, later denied the teacher was in custody.

The family subsequently received a telephone call from hospital that Osama Atallah was in critical condition.

He later died of his wounds.

This is confirmed in the PalArab media.

The 2009 Palarab self-death count is now (estimated) to be at 42.

A 14-year old boy was fond dead in a well in the West Bank, but that seems to have been accidental. But a new murder I was not aware of happened last month of a 13-year old, and I adjusted the self-death count from 2008 accordingly.

Point/Counterpoint on Israel (The Onion):

The Onion explains it all.

Point
The Israeli Conflict Is Far Too Nuanced And Complex To Sum Up In One Op-Ed

By James Berillo

For as long as I can remember, the Israelis and Palestinians have been in conflict. And for as long as I can remember, there have been myriad opinions about who is right and who is wrong. They are often convincing opinions—passionate, personal, and eloquent. But the violence, the bloodshed, the senseless intractable hatred, is far too complicated to be explained by one newspaper column or a single on-air commentary, no matter how well composed. The names and dates in the latest violence are new, but the scars are from wounds that reach back more than a century—countless families across many generations, each with their own deeds and stories, all with their own reason to carry on the conflict.

Opinions can be dangerous. They can provoke a people to take action, when that action might not be just. Opinions can be powerful. They can shape the way a nation sees a problem, when that one perspective might not be enough. Opinions are imperfect. They are based more in politics and preference than in facts, though facts are what matter most. And those facts remain, buried beneath the rubble in the Gaza Strip and Bethlehem. Facts and truths that only the men and women at the heart of the conflict can uncover for themselves—not professional journalists on a tight deadline or amateur bloggers with an ax to grind.

No. The skirmishes fought in the desert are as ancient as the mountains that loom above and as complex as the eddies that swirl in the rivers below. The world must address this struggle with a measured approach that takes all sides into account and acknowledges the decades of conflict.

It would be far too difficult—and far too arrogant—to attempt to sum up the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in one op-ed.

Counterpoint
Not If You Hate Jews!

By Frank Haas

Interesting, but I really dislike the Jewish people, so this whole "unending conflict with no easy answers" thing doesn't seem very complicated to me at all. In fact, summing up the "delicate and multifaceted situation" in the Middle East couldn't be simpler: I hate the Jews, therefore everything the Jews do is automatically wrong, therefore I hate the Jews.

Bam! Complex and nuanced issue resolved. Chalk another one up for blind, sweeping prejudice.

Now, I know what you're saying. "How can you take decades of cyclical violence, and with no prior understanding of historical context, come to a tidy conclusion on the matter?" Well, kind of like this: I absolutely abhor every member of the Jewish race. Voilà. Done. Moral ambiguity cleared up. And with plenty of time for me to go on with my hateful day!

It's easy as pie, really. For instance, when trying to parse out the conflict in the Middle East, there are many arguments for one to consider. There's the right to a homeland. There's the question of original sovereignty. And there's the fact that all Jews are inherently greedy and that I'd like for their whole godless country to burn in eternal hellfire. See? When you break it down like that, there's no uncertainty at all.

Listen up, United Nations! You can learn a thing or two here.

Don't get me wrong. It's not like I love the Palestinians. After all, they're Muslims, and all Muslims are trained to be suicide bombers at an early age. So, I don't like that. Also, the way they pray frightens me, and their skin color is different from mine, so that doesn't bode well for them, either. However, I can't start hating the Palestinians as much as I hate the Jews, because then how am I supposed to carelessly assign blame to one specific group of people? I'd be right back to square one!

No thanks. I'll stick to vilifying the Jews, if you don't mind. Makes the whole entire thing a lot easier to sort out.

Sure, I suppose I could probe deeper into the issues at hand, but I prefer to make up my mind based on myths I picked up from my father at the age of 12. After all, every moment spent deciding who took what land away from whom, and who fired retaliatory strikes against whom, is time that could be spent spouting off at the mouth with unrestrained vitriol. And isn't that what having an opinion is all about anyway?

Now who wants to go egg a synagogue and run away like little schoolgirls before someone comes to the door?

No Israeli fire hit UNRWA school

Remember all the headlines claiming that Israel shelled a UNRWA school in Jabalya earlier this month? Remember how indignant the UNRWA was that Israel would strike at a school whose coordinates were clearly known to the IDF?

Well, it turns out that the school was not hit at all:

Physical evidence and interviews with several eyewitnesses, including a teacher who was in the schoolyard at the time of the shelling, make it clear: While a few people were injured from shrapnel landing inside the white-and-blue-walled UNRWA compound, no one in the compound was killed. The 43 people who died in the incident were all outside, on the street, where all three mortar shells landed.
Stories of one or more shells landing inside the schoolyard were inaccurate.

While the killing of 43 civilians on the street may itself be grounds for investigation, it falls short of the act of shooting into a schoolyard crowded with refuge-seekers.

The teacher who was in the compound at the time of the shelling says he heard three loud blasts, one after the other, then a lot of screaming.

The teacher, who refused to give his name because he said UNRWA had told the staff not to talk to the news media, was adamant: "Inside [the compound] there were 12 injured, but there were no dead."

"Three of my students were killed," he said. "But they were all outside."

The Globe and Mail article goes on to assert that "no witnesses said they saw any gunmen," but of course the AP quoted witnesses who did see a group shooting mortars from the exact spot that Israel struck back:

Two residents of the area who spoke by telephone said they saw a small group of militants firing mortar rounds from a street near the school, the Associated Press reported. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, the AP said. The residents said the two brothers were known to be low-level Hamas militants. They said a group of militants - one of them said four - were firing mortar shells from near the school.

The truth, which was murky at the time, is becoming clearer. Terrorists shot mortars from the middle of a busy street and Israel responded, apparently killing at least two of them, Imad Abu Askhar and Hassan Abu Askhar, along with the unfortunate Gazans who were being used cynically as human shields. The UNRWA school was not hit at all (at the time I wondered why we saw no pictures from inside the school of the damage - no holes in walls or roofs that one would expect.) The "refugees" who were in the school are all alive.

A tragedy, but not at all what Israel was accused of.

(h/t Brad Brzezinski)

Did the IDF use "killer robots" in Gaza?

A Russian news agency is quoted in Palestine Today as saying that Israel deployed its "VIPeR" robot in Gaza.

The VIPeR is sweet. From Popular Mechanics, June 2007:

The VIPeR can climb stairs (right) and open fire on targets with a submachine gun. At left, the 9-in.-tall drone is fitted with a bomb-disarming water gun.

Very few drones are built to kill. Even the missile-firing Predator UAV was originally designed for aerial reconnaissance, with some units later modified for combat duty. But for the Israeli-manufactured VIPeR (Versatile, Intelligent, Portable Robot), delivering firepower isn’t an afterthought — it’s practically job one.

Designed to act as a partner to dismounted troops in urban environments, the 9-in.-tall, 25-pound VIPeR can accept various sensor packages, including infrared cameras and software that maps buildings as the drone moves through them, as well as an explosives sniffer and a device that shoots jets of water to disarm bombs. But it also can open fire with a mini-Uzi submachine gun or release grenades from a 4-ft.-long robotic arm.

At just 18 in. wide, and equipped with innovative treads that change shape to help boost it over obstacles, the tiny drone can navigate cramped hallways and climb stairs to seek out targets. It can’t open fire autonomously, like South Korea’s Intelligent Surveillance & Security Guard Robot, essentially an armed guard tower that can target potential intruders.

VIPeR is remotely controlled via a harness and helmet-mounted display, with a human operator ultimately deciding whether to pull the trigger. According to its manufacturer, Elbit Systems, VIPeR will be deployed by Israel Defense Forces infantry after field testing.

Here's a video:

The terror-supporting PalToday ludicrously implied that VIPeR is an illegal weapon, and it illustrated the story with this picture.

I have no idea if the IDF deployed VIPeR in Gaza, but it is a great idea for the terrorists to believe that Israel has an army of invincible killer robots.

The enablers

In relationships, an enabler is someone whose actions allow another to continue his or her self-destructive behavior. It is most often seen in families where one member suffers from alcoholism or some other addiction and the other members cover up for that person rather than forcing him to directly suffer the consequences. The maladaptive individual does not have to be an addict, though - an example would be a 26 year old son who refuses to look for a job while his doting mother continues to make his bed and bake his favorite cookies.

The enablers will no doubt say that they do this out of a sense of love, or obligation, or protection.

This is exactly what UNRWA does.

Originally charged with providing temporary aid for Arab refugees from Palestine and then with finding a lasting solution based on resettlement and jobs programs, UNRWA has become the adoptive parents of millions of able-bodied adults who refuse to grow up and take responsibility for their own actions.

UNRWA's perspective has been warped over the years from a well-meaning agency meant to solve a problem to a huge, pathetic, self-perpetuating bureaucracy . This metamorphosis can be seen in its annual reports to the UN and its public statements today.

In a strange way, the UNRWA's acting as an uncritical, enabling parent is natural.

When one gives of oneself unconditionally to another, he or she tends to become emotionally attached to the recipient. Over time this often turns into love.

The UNRWA's goal is not to do what is best for Palestinian Arab refugees and their endless descendants; it is to unconditionally provide for them in perpetuity. Generations of this unselfish giving from an endless supply of international cash tends to change not just the recipient but also the giver, in this case into someone who will defend their helpless charges against all enemies. Now, we have a situation where most UNRWA workers are Palestinian Arabs themselves and the agency has become part of the family.

In Arab culture, the clan looks out for itself against all enemies.

This explains UNRWA's statements and actions.

Last year, in my first correspondence with the UNRWA's spokesman, I asked him to comment on the reports that the UNRWA was forced to close their own offices in response to threats and attacks by Palestinian Arabs. It was reported in the Arabic media but nothing was mentioned in the UNRWA website about it. Here is the response I got:

There had been problems but these have now been avoided for the time being.

Here we have a UN agency being literally attacked by mobs of people, but the reaction is to minimize the importance of the story to such an extent that its expansive PR machine remains silent.

My more recent emails with UNRWA, trying to see if they can find anything negative to say about Hamas' hijacking of aid trucks over the past year - events that even Hamas has acknowledged - results in the same stonewalling and avoidance.

One does not publicly embarrass one's family. The UNRWA might not be thrilled with Hamas actions, but even when they interfere with UNRWA activities - such as by firing rockets from next to or inside UNRWA facilities - they are excused, downplayed and redirected to hatred of the enemy. UNRWA might not be directly supporting Hamas terror, but it is enabling terror.

Just like enablers in families, the UNRWA cannot conceive that they are doing anything wrong.
They are convinced that they altrusitic, they are loving, they are helping defend their people against the world that cannot possibly understand what things are like on the inside.

The only way to break this cycle of enablement is to force the maladaptive member of the family to face up to the consequences of his actions. However, this is not a part of the UNRWA's charter. On the contrary, if the UNRWA would force Palestinian Arabs to act like adults who can solve their own problems, then they would be violating their own rules of providing perpetual aid.

Their enablement is enshrined for perpetuity.

One more UNRWA email chain (updated)

After the UNRWA spokesman sent me his latest denial that Hamas diverts or steals aid, I sent him this:

Thanks, but my original question and all followups were asking not only about UNRWA aid but also about aid meant for other NGOs, such as Red Crescent. In at least one case UNRWA was the alleged recipient of the diverted aid, as reported in the Arabic News last February:

Hamas says it seized Jordan aid to keep it safe
Palestine-Jordan, Politics, 2/12/2008
Hamas government in Gaza acknowledged on Saturday that they had seized 16 trucks of aid supplies from Jordan to keep it safe from Palestine Authority.

Hamas government's Social Affairs Minister Ziad Zaza said that the government will hand it over to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees.

He said that Hamas wanted to prevent the aid supplies from falling into the hands of the Palestinian Red Crescent, which operates under the Palestine Authority led by Mahmud Abbas.

"This sort of aid never reached the Palestinian people in the past but was instead monopolized by a single party," al-Zaza said.

Zaza said that Hamas had secured Jordanian agreement to hand over the supplies to UNRWA.

Israel imposed a complete lockdown on the Gaza Strip on January 17 blocking even fuel, foods and medicines.

But in a population of 1.5 million that is largely dependent on foreign aid without any independent income, many families remain desperately short of basic goods.

Jordan said on Saturday the Islamist Palestinian group Hamas has confiscated a convoy of humanitarian aid sent to people living under an Israeli blockade in the Gaza Strip.

Minister of State for Information Affairs Nasser Joudeh said Hamas government on Thursday seized 16 trucks carrying emergency supplies into Gaza.

"We are surprised it should be confiscated and distributed in a manner based on political considerations...this only penalizes those who really deserve this aid," Joudeh said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
So while your statement makes clear that you deny the claims that aid trucks meant for UNRWA were diverted by Hamas, but I must ask you again: are you aware of any incidents where Hamas diverted, interfered with or stole aid meant for other NGOs, including the example cited here where Hamas admitted diverting aid to your agency?

In addition, a UN press release yesterday says that "The Under-Secretary-General also emphasized that Hamas must refrain from any interference with the movement or distribution of humanitarian goods" which indicates that at least John Holmes is aware of such incidents in the past. Do you know what he might be referring to?

Thanks so much,

The answer was terse:

I speak only for unrwa. C

Even though the example I cited had the aid going to UNRWA.

So I just emailed one more time:

I understand; can you confirm the February incident cited where the Jordanian aid was diverted to UNRWA? Did UNRWA accept a shipment that was meant for another NGO, or is Hamas not telling the truth when they said they would send it to UNRWA?

Thanks

The reply:

Cannot confirm

I may sum up what I've learned soon...

My UNRWA correspondence adventures can be seen here.

Nothing's changed

A fantastic find from Simply Jews, apparently the work of a Swiss cartoonist in 1956.

A tacit UN admission of Hamas stealing aid? (updated)

While UNRWA adamantly denies that Hamas is stealing aid in Gaza, contrary to reports from Israeli, PA and Jordanian officials, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes has just said something intriguing.

In a report to the UN on the situation in Gaza, where he criticizes both Israel and Hamas,

The Under-Secretary-General also emphasized that Hamas must refrain from any interference with the movement or distribution of humanitarian goods.

Why would this UN official ask them to refrain if they hadn't done anything?

It appears that those on the ground in Gaza know the rules: you don't directly criticize Hamas for doing things it does not admit to doing on its own. Everyone denying that Hamas steals aid happen to be in Gaza under effective Hamas rule; everyone who charges Hamas with these crimes are safely out of its reach.

UPDATE: I just got the official UNRWA denial via email:

There have been reports in the media and elsewhere that UNRWA aid for Gaza is being stolen, confiscated or diverted. These reports are entirely baseless. UNRWA has a system of closely monitoring our aid pipeline; from the port of Ashdod in Israel, our warehouses in the West Bank and the aid arriving in Gaza from Egypt and Jordan, through the crossings into the Gaza Strip, to our storage facilities in Gaza itself and finally to our distribution centres where recipients with authorized cards receive our assistance. At every stage our aid is checked by UNRWA officials. From this monitoring and our constant vigilance, we can say with certainty that no UNRWA aid in Gaza has been stolen, confiscated or diverted. If such eventualities were to occur, UNRWA would be aware and immediately take the issue up with any relevant parties and ensure redress.

Central to our obligation to assist and protect Palestine refugees is the duty to ensure that the relief provided by the international community reaches its intended recipients, namely, Palestinian civilians rendered vulnerable by the closure of Gaza’s borders and by the elusiveness since 1948 of a just and lasting solution to their plight.

I asked some very specific followup questions, which will be posted here if/when I get a response.