Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Galloway: "I never supported Hamas"

From CTV:

British MP George Galloway says ambulances and medical supplies he gave to Hamas were meant for Palestinians battered by the Gaza conflict, dismissing the reasons behind a decision to block his entry into Canada.

"I have not now, nor have I ever been a supporter of Hamas," Galloway told CTV's Power Play by phone from New Jersey on Tuesday. "If I had a vote in the Palestinian elections it would not go to Hamas."

Here are some of the pictures of Galloway showing his distaste for Hamas:

Embracing Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Looking on with approval at Haniyeh's map of the Holy Land that doesn't include any place for Jews to live (and that also doesn't include historical Eastern Palestine.)

From BBC:

"Controversial British MP George Galloway (left) donates cash to Hamas in Gaza City. He also hands over the keys to vehicles he brought with him in an aid convoy."

But we should be kind. Perhaps he is serious in that he wouldn't vote for Hamas. He's probably a bit more oriented to the Marxist terror group, the PFLP, who look like they might also be included in the possible unified Palestinian Arab government.

(h/t ehwhy in email)

UN notes - and excuses - Gaza violence against women

From the UN's IRIN news service:

The UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in Gaza, local Palestinian NGOs and mental health professionals are reporting increased incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault against women in Gaza since the beginning of 2009.

An unpublished UNIFEM survey of male and female heads of 1,100 Gaza households conducted between 28 February and 3 March indicates there was an increase in violence against women during and after the 23-day war which ended on 18 January.

“According to our staff, and through clinical observation, there was increased violence against women and children during and after the war,” said public relations coordinator for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), Husam al-Nounou.

“We can attribute this to the fact that most people were exposed to traumatic incidents during the war, and one way people react to stress is to become violent.”

GCMHP, which runs six clinics and treats an estimated 2,000 mental health patients a year, carried out a post-war assessment, interviewing about 3,500 Gaza residents, said al-Nounou.

“This war was extremely harsh, people felt insecure, vulnerable and unable to protect themselves, their children and their families; when people were trapped at home this increased the stress and anxiety,” said al-Nounou.

No condemnation. No calls to seek justice for the abusers and rapists. No mention of Hamas, as the de facto government, being even slightly responsible.

If women are attacked and sexually assaulted in Gaza, the UN and other NGOs like the GCMHP bend over backwards to try to "understand" the circumstances that could lead to such abuse. The people were stressed, you see. When they are stressed, of course they become violent. And the unstated but implicit source of the stress was, of course....Israel. Hamas clearly is blameless, as are the Palestinian Arab men themselves.

Sahar (who wanted her family name omitted), aged 36, divorced her husband in February due to the physical and psychological abuse she endured leading up to and during the war.

“He beat me severely and I was fainting from the stress,” said Sahar. “He forced me to engage in sexual intercourse against my will.”

Sahar brings her two-year-old daughter to the Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution (PCDCR) to visit the daughter’s father. The court ordered supervised visits after Sahar’s ex-husband and his brothers tried to take her daughter away by force.

He was just...stressed out! You have to be charitable to the abusers, after all. You need to understand where they are coming from. Just like you need to understand where terrorists get the idea that murdering dozens of civilians is a reasonable idea.

Has abuse of women increased in Sderot over the past eight years of stress under constant rocket bombardments?

Has any Israeli aggression even been excused, or contextualized, in a UN or other NGO article because the Israelis are under stress?

By the way, a women was stabbed to death in Gaza yesterday:

A Gazan woman from the Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp was found stabbed to death at her parent’s home Wednesday morning, officials said she was likely stabbed overnight.

The woman, who was 31-years-old, left the home of her husband following a violent argument and gone to stay with her parents; they found her bleeding and brought her to local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Police said an autopsy was being performed, and did not identify any suspects.

A real head-scratcher, identifying a suspect. But whoever he is, you can be sure that he was under tremendous stress, so go easy on the poor guy.

The UN once again proves its utter depravity.

The 2009 PalArab self-death count is at 58.

Those Jewish Zionists infiltrate everything

Gulf Times:

Militants yesterday warned the Pakistan government to stop expanding the mobile telephone network in a restive tribal area, worried it could be used to spy on their activities. They circulated a pamphlet in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan on the Afghan border, telling authorities to stop the network expansion and ordering vendors to stop selling SIM cards, residents and officials said. “A Jewish, Zionist-backed company is setting up the mobile phone network in Waziristan, which would be used to spy on Taliban activities and drone attacks,” said the pamphlet. “The government and those selling SIMs will be treated as criminals by us,” it warned.

Which reminds me, I need to check with the South Waziristan bureau of the International Zionist Web to make sure that our evil plans are on schedule.

Following a Muslim rumor

Late last year, a Dutch Muslim apostate created a short film called "Interview with Mohammed" where Mohammed, masked, is asked questions about any mistakes he might have made 1400 years ago, including topics like women's rights.

The Muslims were upset, of course. The first criticism of the movie was from a Moroccan newspaper, quoting unnamed European Muslim groups as saying that the movie was a "cartoon movie about the wives of Mohammed" and calling for a boycott of Dutch products.

In February, a Russian mufti called for a boycott of Dutch flowers because of a movie about Mohammed's wives - but he couldn't name the movie.

Now, in Gaza, the Hamas Minister of Religious Affairs calls for protests against a "blatantly pornographic" European movie about Mohammed's wives, and seeking the arrest of anyone who does similar insults against Islam. He also wondered why Arab and Muslim governments have been silent about this impending insult to the Prophet.

An adult movie about Mohammed's wives? There might be a market for that....

On second thought, such a movie should be illegal and anyone making one should be arrested.

Because it would involve child pornography.

Followup on Iranian missiles in Gaza

Soccer Dad emails me with a snarky but seemingly well-informed comment someone made on his post at Yourish linking to my post on terrorist claims that they had Iranian missiles in Gaza that didn't work:

rdamurphy Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Basically, there are two types of Iranian anti-armor missiles, both copies of Soviet technology. There is a TOW version (tube launched, optically sighted, wire guided) and a laser tracking version. While there may have indeed been some duds (even American manufactured TOW missles have a high failure rate), most likely it has to do with the steep learning curve and demanding training required to be effective with either missile. Not to mention the courage to stay up and in sight of an advancing tank in order to track, fire, and guide the missiles. Most likely, poorly motivated illiterate fanatics couldn’t use them effectively. Hizbollah poorly motivated illiterate fanatics could go to Syria for training, but nobody wants any Palestinians coming over for an extended stay.

Might be the lack of bathing and personal hygiene habits.

Anyway, in Lebanon, the IDF was surprised by the fact that the missiles were in the hands of the enemy, and didn’t adapt their tactics. Both types of missiles require a direct line of sight for engagement, unlike more sophisticated missiles that are video guided and can be “flown” their target.

One tactic of modern Armies since Napolean, not used by the IDF in Lebanon, but used to great effect in Gaza was the use of overwhelming artillery (and air) fire to demoralize the enemy. You can’t fight back against artillery, and even if it doesn’t kill anyone or break anything, it’s still hard to put up with for a few days. Or even hours.

The interesting thing about contemporary warfare, if the Allies suspected Germany was hiding munitions in the basement of a hospital, they wouldn’t have hesitated to reduce it to rubble just to find out for sure. The unwillingness of the IDF, and the US, to engage in Total War while their enemy is will eventually result in their defeat.

Hamas jeopardizing Gazans, again

The PCHR reports:

On the afternoon of 22 March 2009, the Ministry of Health in Gaza took control of the Department of External Medical Treatment. Officials from the Gaza Ministry of Health demanded that the director of the Department relinquish control of all offices in the Gaza Strip. The Director, Dr. Bassam al-Badri, had been appointed by the Government in Ramallah with the approval of the Gaza Government. Overall authority for the Department was placed in the hands of Dr. Basem Na’im, the Gaza Minister of Health. In the aftermath of the takeover – which included the seizure of the Department’s stamps – approximately 30 departmental employees left their offices.

This department was still being run by the PA, and it coordinated with Israel the paperwork allowing sick Gazans to travel through the Erez crossing to get treatment in Israel. About a hundred patients travel through Erez every week.

Israel obviously has no formal relations with Hamas, so when Hamas took over this department it did so with the knowledge that lives will be jeopardized. As PCHR mentions:

At the time of the takeover there were dozens of civilian patients waiting in the offices of the Department. They were informed that the Gaza Ministry of Health had taken control of the department in Gaza, and that all applications for medical treatment abroad should be coordinated with the Gaza Ministry. The patients expressed their complaints, and the fear that this development would negatively impact on their applications, risking their lives.

Hamas is acting consistently - they want Gazans to die in ways so that Israel can be blamed for their deaths. Hundreds of patients traveling to Israel to get care does not jive with Hamas' attempts at demonizing Israel, so Hamas wants to stop that - the same way they prevented any of the injured in Gaza from going to an Israeli field hospital and the same way they refused Israel's offers to send blood to Gaza.

Hamas has made the decision long ago that it is preferable to have Gazans die than to see Israel get any kudos for helping Arabs live.

The question is, why is this simple fact not being mentioned by people who pretend to care about Palestinian Arabs?

Jordanian shop signs: "No dogs or Israelis"

Firas Press quotes another website saying that Israeli tour guides are being shocked by English language signs put up by storekeepers in Petra, Jordan, that say "We're sorry, we do not welcome dogs or Israelis."

This story is corroborated in The Travel Blog (unfortunately, no picture.)

Textbook bias

For anyone who still thinks Ma'an is an objective news source, here is how they reported the fact that Arab residents of Umm al-Fahm and their left-wing friends attacked a peaceful protest by a hundred Israeli nationalists in that town:

Right wing Israelis, settlers, provoke clashes in Umm Al-Fahm

Violence erupted in Israel’s largest Arab city, Umm Al-Fahm, on Tuesday as hoards of right-wing Israelis held protest marches demanding “Arab loyalty” to the state of Israel.

"Hoards"?

Notice that the Arabs, once again, are assumed to have no ability to act with free will. They were "provoked" to riot, so the riot was obviously not their fault.

Here's what really happened:

Deputy Chief of Israel Police, Shachar Ayalon, was wounded Tuesday morning by a rock hurled at his head during a brief march by Jewish activists on the outskirts of the Arab city of Umm el-Fahm, located several miles east of the northern Mediterranean Coast
The deputy chief was pelted with rocks by a crowd of Arab protestors who rioted when they failed to block the planned 500-meter march led by Jewish National Front activists Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir. Fifteen other policemen also were injured by Arabs during the march.
One person was arrested earlier in the morning as the crowd of 250 rioters hurled rocks at police officers deployed to protect the Jewish nationalist activists. Two other rock throwers also were arrested, and a Meretz member who joined the Arab protestors was lightly injured by police tear gas.

Unfotrunately, even the Jerusalem Post used terminology like "violence broke out" rather than "Arabs attacked and police responded."

UK government severs ties with Muslim Council of Britain

From the Guardian, March 8:

One of the UK's most influential Islamic leaders, who has helped counter extremism in the country's mosques, is accused of advocating attacks on the Royal Navy if it tries to stop arms for Hamas being smuggled into Gaza.

Dr Daud Abdullah, deputy director-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, is facing calls for his resignation, after it emerged that he is one of 90 Muslim leaders from around the world who have signed a public declaration in support of Hamas and military action.

Abdullah's name appears as a signatory to a declaration in Istanbul last month that describes Israel's recent military campaign as "the manifest victory which Allah has granted us in the land of Gaza". It opposes the "so-called Arab peace initiative" and the Palestinian Authority and issues a series of obligations to the "Islamic Nation", calling on it to "carry on with the jihad and resistance against the occupier until the liberation of all Palestine".

Obligation six declares that Muslims must seek to open the crossings in Palestine so that "money, clothing, food, medicine, weapons and other essentials" can enter Gaza and Palestinians "are able to live and perform the jihad in the way of Allah Almighty".

It warns: "The closure of the crossings, or the prevention of the entry of weapons through them, should be regarded as high treason in the Islamic Nation, and clear support for the Zionist enemy."

The most contentious obligation instructs Muslims to attack foreign navies. In January, Gordon Brown offered Royal Navy resources to help monitor events in Gaza and to stop weapons being smuggled into the territory.

But, according to the Istanbul declaration, there is an obligation for "the Islamic Nation to regard the sending of foreign warships into Muslim waters, claiming to control the borders and prevent the smuggling of arms to Gaza, as a declaration of war, a new occupation, sinful aggression, and a clear violation of the sovereignty of the Nation". It continues: "This must be rejected and fought by all means and ways."

Two other prominent British Muslims ' names also appear as signatoriesto the declaration: Mohammed Sawalha, an organiser of Islam Expo, the huge annual gathering of Muslims in east London, added his name to the list; and Sheikh Rashid al-Ghannoushi of the Tunisian an-Nahdhah party, who resides in the UK, also signed.

And from the Guardian, March 23:

The government has suspended ties with Britain's largest Muslim group and demanded that one of its leaders should be removed from office for allegedly supporting violence against Israel.

The news comes on the eve of the launch of a major government strategy aimed at fostering closer ties with Muslims to help counter the threat of Islamist terrorism.

Hazel Blears, secretary of state for communities and local government, wrote to the MCB saying Abdullah should be asked to "resign his post" for signing a statement that supported Hamas and celebrated its "victory" against "this malicious Jewish Zionist war over Gaza".

Abdullah, speaking for the first time about the row, told the Guardian he would not be standing down.

He said of his views: "If British troops were to engage in a breach of international law, it is up to the people of the territory to decide what to do. But as I understand it, under international law, it is their right to resist."

He defended signing the statement, saying: "It made no specific mention of attacks on British troops. The statement does say if foreign troops enter Gaza's territorial waters, it is the duty of Muslims to resist, as it would be seen as assisting the siege."

Later, in an email, Abdullah said: "I did not and do not condone calls for attacks on British troops.

"The British government has not deployed troops to the territorial waters of Gaza and I do not believe it or our parliament would endorse any breach of international law.

An MCB spokesman today condemned the government for trying to interfere in its internal affairs and said the cabinet minister's demand would be ignored: "The MCB is a democratic organisation, with its own affiliates, and they decide who its representatives are, and not Ms Blears."

Notice that the MCB still enthusiastically supports Hamas attacks against civilians and is angry over anyone suggesting otherwise.

Kudos to the Hazel Blears for a baby step in fighting extremism and exposing the twisted agenda of the MCB.

"Capital of Arab Culture"

This year, the Arabs have declared Jerusalem to be the "Capital of Arab Culture." Previous cities to have this honor were Cairo, Tunis, Sharjah, Beirut, Riyadh, Kuwait, Amman, Rabat, Sanaa, Khartoum, Masqat, Algiers, and Damascus.

But this year they are making a big deal over the selection of Jerusalem and, not surprisingly, they are turning it into a political event rather than a cultural event. Their official website has as many articles about Palestinian Arab issues in general as it has about Jerusalem itself.

The logo itself uses political imagery to make it appear as if Jerusalem is behind barbed wire, while it also resembles Lisa Simpson's hairstyle:

The site also unintentionally reveals the fear that Arabs have about the Jewish connection to Jerusalem - by completely ignoring it. The words "Judaism" or "Jews" do not exist on the website. On the contrary, on this site you will find pages like this one, still under construction:

Their whitewashing of the Jewish connection to Jerusalem proves their own tenuous connection to the city. After all, Jews in Jerusalem don't deny its importance to Islam, because they are secure in knowing that Jerusalem is indeed the capital of the Jewish nation and has been for thousands of years. But the Arabs - both Christian and Muslims - cannot bring themselves to even admit that perhaps Jews have a history in the city as well.

Their denial betrays their discomfort.

"Iranian missiles didn't work in Gaza"

According to an article in Firas Press, Hamas and other terror groups had placed a lot of faith in advanced Iranian anti-tank missiles that they had smuggled into Gaza - and the missiles failed.

A prominent leader of the Popular Resistance Committees supervised the military operations of the brigades in the northern sector, and said that [the Iranian missiles] failed to destroy the columns of tanks and in ambushes because armor piercing Iranian missiles "Al-vandam", which were supplied by Iran through Hamas tunnels and the sea to be used to address any Zionist aggression in Gaza, were defective.

'These missiles are corrupt and unfit for use. During the fighting the Qassam Brigades and Al-Nasser Brigades fired them at Israeli tanks, but they did not explode ...the leadership of the Qassam Brigades felt betrayed by Iran'.

The Popular Resistance Committees felt that this letdown was the major reason they couldn't fight Israel the way Hezbollah had in their recent war with Israel.

The frustrated terrorists are feeling betrayed by Iran, thinking that the regime had purposefully sent them duds. I am wondering if the IDF jammed the electronics on the Iranian missiles.

Fatah leader in Lebanon Kamal Medhat and four others were killed in a roadside bombing near the Mia Mia Refugee Camp in southern Lebanon Monday, security sources said.

Medhat was the second in command for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon, and represents the more than 200,000 Palestinian refugees living in 12 different refugee camps in the area.

Expect this assassination of a major PLO figure in tomorrow's papers.

Somewhere around page A12 in the "News Briefs" section.

Because he wasn't killed by a Jew.

UPDATE: How predictable was this?

Sheikh Maher Hammoud, the imam of a mosque in Sidon, blamed Israel for the assassination of Major General Medhat, saying that Israel took advantage of the presence of differences in the Fatah movement to carry out the operation, and called on everyone to carefully turn it so as not to internal dissension within the movement Fatah and the Palestinian people.

And more:

On his part, Hamas representative in Lebanon Osama Hamdan vehemently condemned the killing. He told Al-Manar TV that the "crime" was in the interests of the Palestinian people's enemies, stressing that the death of Medhat considers a major loss for the Palestinians. Asked about the identity of the criminals, Hamdan said that the main suspect is, no doubt, the Zionist entity and its tools.

Lebanon's Hizbullah also condemned the assassination of Medhat and his companions. The Shiite movement warned that the crime was targeting both the Palestinian and Lebanese nations, emphasizing that the "Zionist fingerprints behind it were obvious."

PalArab media roundup 3-23-09

Hamas seized a medical center in Gaza and arrested its head doctor, who was a critic of Hamas.

There are large billboards in Ramallah and surrounding areas saying "no, no, a thousand times no" to Iranian interference in Palestinian Arab affairs.

Egypt this morning seized 5 tons of cement and 560 sheep on their way to being smuggled to Gaza. Oh, and a half-ton of explosives, too.

Egypt finds the idea of its diplomats participating in any celebrations of the 30th anniversary ofthe Israel/Egypt peace agreement to be extraordinarily distasteful, but the Egyptian ambassador is "mandated" to attend.

Yemeni Islamist convicted of emailing Olmert

Here's a great way to get rid of people you don't like: accuse them of emailing the Israeli government! From AFP:

A Yemeni court on Monday condemned an Islamist to death for establishing contact with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and offering to collaborate with the Jewish state.
Bassam al-Haidari, 26, was found guilty of writing directly to the prime minister of Israel by email, offering to work for the Jewish state.
Another defendant Imad al-Rimi, 23, was sentenced to five years in prison and Ali al-Mahfal, 24, to three.
"The court... sentences the first defendant to death in the case of making illegal contact with the Zionist Jewish Israeli entity," judge Hassan Elwan said.
"This is unfair, you have sentenced me without any proof of these accusations," Mahfal shouted from the caged dock.
The defendants said they wanted to appeal.
The three men went on trial in January, accused of operating under the name of the little-known Organisation of Islamic Jihad and spreading false news of attacks on government buildings, embassies and foreign interests in Yemen in 2008.
The prosecution charged Haidari with corresponding with Olmert through emails, one of which said: "We are the Organisation of Islamic Jihad and you are Jews, but you are honest, and we are ready to do anything."
The charge sheet said Olmert responded to Haidari, also known as Abu al-Ghaith, welcoming his offer to collaborate.
"We are ready to support you to become an obstacle in the Middle East. We will support you as an agent," Olmert was quoted as writing.
The group also claimed in Internet messages signed by Abu al-Gaith that it prepared 16 car bombs to attack government buildings and embassies, according to the prosecution.
Yemeni authorities rounded up six suspects in the capital Sanaa shortly after a September 17 attack on the US embassy that killed 18 people.
The interior ministry said at the time that the arrested group included Abu al-Ghaith al-Yamani, the signatory of an Islamic Jihad claim of responsibility for the attack on the US mission.
Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh later that an Islamist "terrorist cell" with links to Israeli intelligence had been dismantled.

The supposed reply from Olmert has to be one of the funniest faked pieces of evidence in history.

Expect this to become more "proof" of that famous Zionist/Al Qaeda connection that the "moderate" Arabs love to talk about. Also notice how well it serves as a means to humiliate Islamists, to be accused of the thing they find the most abhorrent.

March 2009 rocket calendar

Q=Qassam (may include Katyusha-style rockets)
QS=Qassam landing short in Gaza
M=Mortar
F=Fatality (F=Gazan, F=Israeli)
(G)=Grad (included in Qassam count, not consistent yet)

M*- Apparently upgraded 120mm mortars
MS=Mortar landing short
P - unnamed "projectiles"
(Paren) indicates unconfirmed Palestinian claims

* - Fatal non-rocket attack

K=Katyushas from Lebanon

Mortars are severely undercounted since they simply don't make the news any more.

I'm going to hold off on reporting on humanitarian aid unless Israel starts to withhold it in reaction to rocket attacks. You can otherwise assume that aid gets sent six days a week.

March 2009