Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Hamas' official response to PFLP charges

Yesterday I reported that the PFLP accused Hamas of ten things that were contributing to Gazan misery:

1.New taxes on small shops, like falafel stands
2. Converting cars to taxis and levying large taxes on the owners
3. 60% tax on cigarettes
4. Confiscating private apartments owned by people outside Gaza and giving them to Hamas members
5. Restricting the activities on Gaza NGOs
6. Owners of apartments who had built (with permission) on government-owned lands now being taxed thousands of dollars
7. New taxes on groceries
8. Preventing many citizens from traveling outside Gaza
9. Restrictions on Gaza institutions and organizations
10. Violent and insulting treatment of Gaza citizens

Hamas' initial reaction was to arrest the people who made these accusations, which certainly must have increased the Gazan citizens' sense of security.

So, today Hamas' interior ministry issued a formal, point-by-point response to the PFLP charges.

In summation, Hamas is saying that all of the accusations are pretty accurate but that all of their actions are legal and justified. For example, the cigarette tax is meant to curb smoking by children, who could easily get inexpensive cigarettes. Taking over apartments is only done to people who have not paid their taxes; restrictions on people leaving Gaza is only being done for security reasons, and so forth.

Their response to the NGO accusation is especially interesting: Hamas says that many Gaza NGOs are corrupt:

Many institutions are delusional, founded during the previous authority to steal the money from donors without these associations doing any work. This money is going to the pockets of their leaders without their delivering any benefit to the people. This is an abuse of public money, in addition to ethical irregularities in a number of these institutions.

This story has still not been mentioned in any English-language source as far as I can tell.

Did Dubai identify Hamas mole?

Palestine Press Agency is claiming that Dubai authorities are about to name the Hamas mole responsible for tipping off the assassins of Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Mahbouh in Dubai.

A diplomatic source told the Palestine Press News Agency, on condition of anonymity, "The main suspect in the assassination of Mabhouh is a Palestinian businessman and member of Hamas, who owns real estate in Dubai and is responsible for detecting the travel plans of the martyr Mabhouh for the Mossad of Israel."

The source added that "the businessman was a resident earlier in Algeria and immigrated to the Netherlands and then transported between England and Dubai."

PalPress does not have the highest journalistic standards, so this could easily end up not panning out, but it is worth watching.

Google buys Israeli start-up

From YNet:

Google has made its first Israeli purchase. Lab Pixies, a start-up that develops widgets such as games, translating programs, calculators, and calendars for personalized internet platforms such as iGoogle, the Android smartphone, and the iphone was bought by the internet giant for what many believe to be around $25 million.

Google stated that Lab Pixies sees cloud-based application development as the "beating heart" of its business, which makes it an attractive purchase for the company's research and development center in Israel.

I have played with some LabPixies games on Android, iPod and Google Gadgets. I had no idea it was Israeli. (I also had no idea of the breadth of products it has.)

I think that anti-Zionist Arabs should boycott Google immediately. Shut down your Blogger blogs, stop using Google's Arabic products, and delete all your YouTube and Picasa accounts. If not, you are helping the Zionist enemy.

Siege news: 200,000 laptops going to Gaza

From AFP:

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday launched a campaign to distribute some 200,000 laptops to schoolchildren in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, a spokesman said.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) plans to distribute half a million devices to refugees across the Middle East by the end of 2012, spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said.

"The campaign is beginning today in refugee schools in (the southern Gaza town of) Rafah, with the distribution of 2,200 laptops as part of a plan to distribute 200,000 laptops to our students in the Gaza Strip," he said.

The plan calls for linking pupils and teachers via wireless internet "so that the students can continue their studies during crises," Abu Hasna added.

The program has received funding from US-based One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, he said.

But I thought that Israel is only allowing starvation-level amounts of food into Gaza and nothing else!

There is no way that the Zionists, hell-bent on humiliating and punishing Gazans because they are Arabs, would allow computers into Gaza!

Not to mention that a Gaza-wide wireless network is required to support these computers. Is it being built with sand?

Fisking the "anti-Arab traffic light" story (Bender)

There's an old Jewish joke that some Jews are so quick to blame everyone for anti-semitism that they call traffic lights "anti-semites" when they turn red on them.

That was the first thing I thought of when I saw the Arab story about how evil Zionists are programming traffic lights in a large city, deliberately, to humiliate Arabs.

But in case you have the slightest inkling that the stories are accurate, Dave Bender sets the record straight....

The so-called "Israeli settler road" shown in the story is used by West Bank Palestinians coming into town from their cities, towns and villages, and Israelis, alike.
It has to be wider at the intersection, since it carries much more traffic throughout the day, into, and around the city center: the traffic artery links up with the two main western and northern exits from the city.
The rail line is part of the Jerusalem rail system which all Jerusalemites are "suffering" from, including traffic delays across much of the city, years-long delays, cost overuns, and gridlock - for Israeli Jew and Palestinian Muslim alike.
Oh, and the rail line workers? Palestinians. Willing to bet. Good jobs with a major construction company, bringing home the, umm, bacon, as it were to their families.
The Jerusalem Municipality, at a cost to taxpayers (note: mostly not the Palestinians embroiled in the AM traffic jams) of tens of millions of dollars to improve traffic flow around town, including Palestinian towns of Beit Hanina, and Shuafat, noted in the story.
The same Palestinians in Beit Hanina and Shuafat will also have use of the rail system - whenever it's completed.
No Jerusalem traffic official is quoted about the computerized monitoring system that changes to timing to reflect the varying traffic loads throughout the day.
I used to live in the immediate area, and am familiar with the issues of traffic on and around this junction, and I say: the woman's talking unmitigated rubbish.
I could fisk more, but why bother - since this is what passes for "hard news" from here.
Sigh.

FAQ Open Thread

Blogger just added the idea of "pages" so that blogs can have a number of different pages of information. My current layout doesn't really take advantage of it, but it is something to think about as the blog is way overdue for a redesign.

Anyway, to test it out I dashed off a, EoZ FAQ page. If you have anything you want me to add, let me know.

Hamas smuggling fake Viagra in the West Bank?

From AP:

A Palestinian security officer destroys confiscated pills in the West Bank city of Hebron, Wesnesday, April, 28, 2010. Palestinian authorities destroyed 2.7 Million dollars worth of Viagra pills and other sexual enhancers in Hebron Wednesday, after arresting a local businessman on suspicion he tried to smuggle the pills and other sex aids hidden in tennis balls, part of an alleged Hamas scheme to launder money in the West Bank.

I guess that sexual enhancement products are terrible crimes when Zionists allegedly distribute them to Arabs, but sacred moneymakers when Hamas uses them to make money for terrorists.

It's hard to keep Hamas' concepts of morality straight, but someone's got to do it.

Iran fires back at UAE over "occupied" islands

Last week, the UAE had the audacity of calling the islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa "occupied" by Iran, and the foreign minister said, "Occupation of any Arab land is occupation and is not a misunderstanding. Israeli occupation of Golan Heights, Southern Lebanon, West Bank or Gaza is called occupation and no Arab land is dearer than another."

This comparison of Iran to the Zionist entity must have really hurt, because now Iran has responded with, "Oh, yeah? Well, your Mom is a Zionist!"

From the Tehran Times:

It seems that UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan has much to learn about the fine art of diplomacy.

Demonstrating his lack of diplomatic finesse and inexperience, the UAE foreign minister has exposed himself to the possibility of a harsh response from the Islamic Republic of Iran through his provocative remarks in which he explicitly questions the territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic, the most tolerant and pacifist state of the Persian Gulf region.

With the surreptitious support of the Zionist, U.S., and British lobbies, the United Arab Emirates is now playing the role of a regional ally of the hegemonistic powers that have created a specter of Iranophobia for Arab states, which now consider Iran a serious threat to their security.

The United Arab Emirates, which in 2004 started negotiations with Tel Aviv over the establishment of an Israeli representative office in Abu Dhabi, is currently holding negotiations on a $20 million deal with the Zionist regime that would facilitate the UAE’s access to the Israeli-built satellite Eros B and its high-resolution imagery.

If you dare call insult Iran, just remember - they'll call you Zionist back.

So be prepared.

Latest humiliation of Arabs: Traffic lights (VIDEO)

Palestine Today says that Al Arabiya has a report claiming that traffic lights in Jerusalem are rigged to discriminate against Palestinian Arabs.

The purpose, of course, is simply to humiliate them, according to the article.

The article claims that traffic lights on roads leading to Arab towns in the West Bank are timed to be much shorter than the lights towards Jewish towns. It is described as "the occupation deliberately tightening the noose on the Palestinians." via their nefarious Zionist traffic light policy.

I would have loved to listen in on that Knesset debate.

UPDATE: Here's the Al Jazeera report of the racist signals. I must have mistranslated, these are traffic lights to Jerusalem from the West Bank.

Salim Fayyad is on Facebook

PA prime minister Salim Fayyad has a Facebook page that he evidently spends real time on.

For example, last August he put out an open question on what young Palestinian Arabs think and if they had any suggestions. There were a few replies about education and employment.

One more interesting discussion between Fayyad and a young man named Yasser mentions that he works at an Israeli factory and is concerned that Fayyad is going to stop Palestinian Arabs from working in Israeli factories - he might have meant in the West Bank. He mentioned that work conditions are better on the Israeli side than the PalArab side, and asked, given high expenses that force Arabs to seek work in Israel, if Fayyad was going to restrict workers from having jobs in Israel, does he have a plan to employ them?

Fayyad answered for him to read the newspapers, that he is working with Europeans to fund programs to create jobs in the PA to get workers away from working in settlements.

On his wall, he asked his readers whether they were OK with the idea of banning Israeli settlement products, given that the locally-produced products were inferior. Which was more important to his readers, he wondered: quality or dignity?

Most answered that they support the boycott of Israeli products (not only settlement products) but they did mention that in the past, these boycotts resulted in Palestinian Arab merchants having no incentive to improve their own quality and ending up selling junk for high prices. One also said to be careful, because boycotts could work both ways and PalArabs could not afford to lose the Israeli market.

Altogether, it doesn't get that much traffic, which means that some people might have some fun there....

Hamas responds to criticism - by arresting critics

Hamas did not take kindly to the PFLP's ten-point critique of Hamas policies in Gaza.

First, Hamas reacted by saying that the PFLP was taking advantage of all those wonderful freedoms that citizens of Gaza enjoy by daring to say something truthful. Or, as they put it,

[The PFLP] exploited the vast area of freedoms granted in the Gaza Strip. The timing of this statement does not serve the interests of the Palestinian citizen, but is consistent with all the voices of tension in the air and meant to turn the public opinion [against the government.]

Then Hamas raided the PFLP headquarters and arrested a number of leaders of the group.

Hamas' definition of "freedom" in Gaza seems to be "the freedom to do whatever Hamas demands."

Today's PalArab news (4/28/10)

Binyomin Netanyahu will meet with President Mubarak of Egypt next week to discuss the "peace process." Which means that Mahmoud Abbas is more right-wing, extremist and intransigent than Mubarak in refusing to talk to Netanyahu - not that you will ever see the Western press refer to him in those terms. They are reserved for Israeli leaders.

Hamas leader in exile Khaled Meshal revealed that he had secretly met with Suadi authorities recently. He said that the Arab nations are pressing Hamas to accede to the Quartet's demands for recognizing Israel, and that Hamas absolutely refuses.

A new type of mosquito is appearing in Gaza, and authorities are stumped how to get rid of it. Maybe it is divine punishment for something they did, the way that earthquakes and volcanoes are.

Egypt sentenced Hezbollah members to prison for attempts at terror attacks and for smuggling arms to Hamas. But Egypt's foreign minister reached out to Hezbollah to assure them that Egypt does not intend to harm its relationship with that group.

In other nature news, a bull on its way to slaughter got loose in Hebron and angrily ran around the town. Arab authorities were not successful in subduing it, so they had to shoot it dead.

Fatah unhappy with Fayyad - but stuck with him

A former minister of the PA government says that Fatah is unhappy that the PA prime minister is not a member of their ranks, but that they do not dare to act to remove him because he brings in money.

Dr. Ibrahim Oprac [?] worked under Fayyad as culture minister. In an interview, he said that Fatah cannot force Fayyad out because he is loved by the US and Europe, and his very presence as prime minister is what keeps foreign money flowing into the PA and keeps the government afloat. Only if Abbas resigns and Fayyad runs for president could Fatah manage to reclaim the office.

Fayyad is showing political ambition and is no longer simply a technocrat, Oprac says. [Fayyad received only a tiny amount of the vote when he ran on his own for office a few years ago.]

The Unreported Troubles of Hamas

As fixated as the world media is on Israel and the Palestinian Arab territories, there has been a huge story developing over recent months that they have all but ignored:

Hamas is in trouble.

We have already broken the story of the internal Hamas memo to Khaled Meshal describing the problems from Hamas' perspective, an earlier letter from the leader of the Qassam brigades that detailed other problems, and also the story of Hamas' cash crisis.

In addition, there are indications that at least part of the increase of "work accidents" in recent months were really from Hamas infighting.

There has been an increase of attacks from other Gaza groups on Hamas as well, which Hamas tried to dismiss as being from "teenagers."

Today, there are two more stories in the Arabic press that highlight Hamas' troubles.

Egyptian authorities are saying that they have made great strides in shutting down Hamas' illegal cash flow from places like Iran. Egypt has broken cash smugger networks and confiscated a lot of money that Hamas relies on to stay in power. Some experts think that the reason for Egypt's crackdown is frustration on Hamas' refusal to re-conciliate with the PA.

More tellingly, the terrorist group PFLP has written an open letter to Hamas officials warning that their latest moves to stay afloat are making the citizens of Gaza increasingly angry, warning of a "revolt and explosion" if Hamas doesn't ease up. It listed ten recent moves by Hamas that are adding pressure on citizens of Gaza:

1.New taxes on small shops, like falafel stands
2. Converting cars to taxis and levying large taxes on the owners
3. 60% tax on cigarettes
4. Confiscating private apartments owned by people outside Gaza and giving them to Hamas members
5. Restricting the activities on Gaza NGOs
6. Owners of apartments who had built (with permission) on government-owned lands now being taxed thousands of dollars
7. New taxes on groceries
8. Preventing many citizens from traveling outside Gaza
9. Restrictions on Gaza institutions and organizations
10. Violent and insulting treatment of Gaza citizens

Hamas is beset by internal divisions and external pressures. Arab governments have been largely critical of Hamas and even though it is trying to gain legitimacy in the Arab world (and in some ways Hamas is better organized than the PA with its huge Western backing) it has been failing.

Yet all of these facts have been flying in under the radar of practically the entire Western media and analysts.

"Semi-nude women desecrating Al Aqsa" top story in UAE

I mentioned that the Al Aqsa Foundation had accused Israel of desecrating the Al Aqsa Mosque with "semi-naked women" earlier today, in a story carried by the pro-Islamic Jihad Palestine Today site.

It turns out that this story is, at the moment, the top headline at the UAE-based Al Khaleej newspaper website, along with accusations that Israel uses pepper spray against rioters.