AFP reports:
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal said on Wednesday that Israel had "failed in all its goals" after a Gaza truce deal came into effect, while thanking Egypt and Iran for their support during the conflict.
"After eight days, God stayed their hand from the people of Gaza, and they were compelled to submit to the conditions of the resistance," Meshaal said.
"Israel has failed in all its goals," he told reporters in a Cairo hotel.
Meshaal also thanked ceasefire mediator Egypt, as well as Iran, which he said "had a role in arming" his Islamist movement during the conflict.
"I would like to thank our dear Egypt, aided by the brave elected President Mohamed Morsi... Egypt acted responsibly and understood the demands of the resistance and the Palestinian people," he said.
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Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Hamas Thanks Iran And Egypt, Declares Israel "Failed In All Its Goals"
Twelve Rockets Hit Israel After Cease-Fire Declared
AFP reports:
Twelve rockets fired from the Gaza Strip hit Israel on Wednesday in the first hours that followed a ceasefire agreement ending hostilities in the week-long Gaza conflict, a police spokesman told AFP.
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Hamas "Blesses" Tel Aviv Bus Bombing
A bomb exploded on a bus in central Tel Aviv on Wednesday, wounding 15 people in what Israeli officials said was a terrorist attack that could complicate efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Celebratory gunfire rang out across Gaza as the news spread and the territory's Islamist rulers Hamas praised the bombing, but no one claimed immediate responsibility. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri hailed the explosion: "Hamas blesses the attack in Tel Aviv..."Hamas also hoped on their TV to see more body bags of innocent Israelis: Tweet
Israel "Accedes" To U.S. "Reccomendation" To Accept Muslim Brotherhood Egypt's Cease-Fire
The statement by the Israeli Prime Minister states: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Wednesday, 21 November 2012), spoke with US President Barack Obama and ACCEDED TO HIS RECOMMENDATION to give the Egyptian ceasefire proposal a chance..."
The statement from President Obama states: "The President commended the Prime Minister for agreeing to the Egyptian ceasefire proposal – WHICH
THE PRESIDENT RECOMMENDED THE PRIME MINISTER DO..."
Why is Israel "acceding" to U.S. "recommendations"? Israel has an inalienable right to self-defense, and should be able to make decisions in its own security interests rather than facing phone calls from the President and a Secretary of State running to Israel to exert pressure days into hostilities.
The news is literally crossing the wires that Hamas has "blessed" the bus bombing in Tel Aviv at the same time as Israel is saying they expect this to be a "long lasting truce.” Is this a joke? In fact, sirens blared in Sderot only minutes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finished announcing the ceasefire. Anyone that believes that this will be the beginning of "long lasting" peace is out of their minds.
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Tuesday, November 20, 2012
CIA Closes Its "Climate Change Office": Senator Lauds Closing Of Office That Was "Unnecessary, Wasteful And Totally Out Of Place"
My immediate reaction was: Wait, the CIA has a global warming division? Unbelievable!
The New York Times Green Room blog reports:
The Central Intelligence Agency has disbanded its Center on Climate Change and National Security, a unit formed in 2009 to monitor the interplay between a warming planet and intelligence and security challenges.
The creation of the office drew fire at the time from some Republicans, who said it was an unnecessary expense and a distraction from the agency’s focus on terrorism and other more immediate threats. The agency did not say whether the closing was related to budget constraints or other political pressures...
Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, has been the most vocal critic of the C.I.A.’s climate change work. He welcomed the closing of its office.
“Closing the Climate Change Center at the C.I.A. was the right decision,” Mr. Barrasso said in a statement. “I offered an amendment on the Senate floor to eliminate the center because it was unnecessary, wasteful and totally out of place. It’s critically important for the C.I.A. to focus its resources on preventing terrorism and keeping Americans safe.”
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Federal Judge Allows Santa Monica To Block Nativity Scenes That Have Appeared In Park For Over 50 Years
The Los Angeles Times reports another outrageous decision by a federal judge:
A coalition of church groups that has erected Nativity scenes in Santa Monica for more than 50 years is pondering its next steps after a federal judge ruled the city has the right to bar seasonal public displays.
William J. Becker, an attorney for the Santa Monica Nativity Scenes Committee, said he would consult with his "brain trust" to determine what steps the coalition would take if Judge Audrey B. Collins grants the city's motion to dismiss the church group's case at a hearing next month.
Since 1953, the coalition each December has erected a tableau of scenes depicting the birth of Jesus in Palisades Park.
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Hamas Violently Murders Fellow Arabs In The Streets, Dragging Their Bodies On Motorcycles Through Gaza, For Being "Israeli Spies"
Six men accused of being 'Israeli spies' were dragged through the streets of Gaza City and executed in front of a chanting mob today as Israel warned Palestinians to evacuate some areas of the territory in apparent preparation for a ground invasion. Witnesses said the six were taken to an intersection in the north of the city where they were summarily shot for providing intelligence that helped Israel pinpoint key figures in Hamas and the Islamic Jihad targeted by their warplanes. The names of the men are said to have been scrawled on the road after they had been questioned by Hamas security officials about who provided the 'human intelligence' necessary to pinpoint targets for 'precision' attacks that have 118 Palestinians - half civilians, including women and children, dead - in seven days of military operations.
Sending Hillary Clinton To Israel Was The Wrong Move: Clinton Arrives In Israel To Place Pressure To Bring About Cease Fire
Following her arrival in Israel, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reiterated at a press conference Tuesday that America's commitment to Israel's security is "rock solid," adding that "the goal must be a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike."... Israel is prepared to escalate its offensive but would prefer a long-term diplomatic solution, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday. "If there is a possibility of achieving a long-term solution to this problem with diplomatic means, we prefer that," he said in a public statement alongside Clinton. "But if not, I'm sure you understand that Israel will have to take whatever action is necessary to defend its people."Obama himself reiterated over the past days Israel's right to defend itself. Very good. However, he very quickly began pressuring Israel to restrain itself and not take Hamas out. It was a pretty quick turnaround from "right to defend yourself" to "de-escalate," "reach a truce," and "show restraint." Clinton herself was clearly immediately sent to to Jerusalem to achieve this purpose.
The House and Senate have, by the way, unanimously adopted resolutions in support of Israel. Each resolution "expresses unwavering commitment to the security of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure borders, and recognizes and strongly supports its inherent right to act in self-defense to protect its citizens against acts of terrorism." That should be the US policy and how Israel chooses to defend itself should be left completely up to Israel.
I certainly would not complain if Clinton were not sent to Israel right now. Does anyone think Israel requested a visit from Clinton during hostilities? If so, I would support it, but for some reason I doubt that especially given the reports that Israel is holding off on a cease-fire currently because they do not believe it would be lasting. In fact, I don't think you can read about how Hillary Clinton this past April pushed through funding for Palestinians against a hold placed by a member Congress and then read about Hillary making her personal visit so soon after this round of hostilities began and conclude this is a wonderful sign.
I would prefer statements supporting Israel's right to defend itself and condemning Hamas, and letting Israel make the calls when its security is at stake. Sending America's top diplomat, the Secretary of State no less, personally after only days to me is actually a much worse move than leaving Israel to decide its strategy for itself as it begins to face a new wave of attacks. We'll have to wait and see what kind of agreement Hillary can come up with to bring about her cease-fire, but I don't think a cease-fire that relies on the Muslim Brotherhood Egypt's support will be lastingly meaningful by any stretch of the imagination.
It's not typical, as far as I remember, for the Secretary of State to personally travel to Israel as hostilities begin to push for a cease fire. She was not there just to stand with Bibi and show solidarity and "commitment." She was there to start placing pressure, and much of that means pressuring Israel. I don't like the U.S. pressuring Israel on her own defense from abroad, so why would I like this? I personally don't like the idea of green or red lights on Israel's security decisions coming from the U.S. at all, no matter the President in power, whether it's Bush, Obama, or whomever. And if you read the news from only a couple days ago it was saying Obama was giving Israel a "blank check" to respond as it wished. That was ridiculously untrue in retrospect, though it seemed to be the case as of the weekend. It took only days into this conflict for the U.S. to start publicly meddling and placing immense pressure on Israel not to "escalate," with Hillary going to the Middle East for that purpose. That was the wrong move. Tweet
Monday, November 19, 2012
Turkey Calls Israel, Currently Battling Islamist Terror, A "Terrorist State"
A top Turkish official has claimed that Israel is committing acts of terrorism by bombing Hamas targets in Gaza. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told the Eurasian Islamic Council conference in Istanbul that the Jewish state is systematically mass-killing Muslims. “Those who associate Islam with terrorism close their eyes in the face of mass killing of Muslims, turn their heads from the massacre of children in Gaza,” Erdogan said, according to Reuters. “For this reason, I say that Israel is a terrorist state, and its acts are terrorist acts.”Tweet
Tel Aviv Comes Under Fire For Fourth Consecutive Day
Tel Avivians have long been derided for being insulated from the security threats experienced by Israelis living in other parts of the country. Those in the south have for years faced rocket fire from Gaza militants, while residents in the north have in the past been bombarded by rocket fire from Lebanon’s Islamist group Hizbollah. However, Tel Aviv’s peace was shattered when it became a target of rocket strikes from Gaza on Thursday. The city’s air raid sirens blared for the first time since the city was hit by Iraqi Scud missiles during the 1991 Gulf war. The municipality also opened blast shelters to the public for the first time in two decades.Tweet
U.S. Warships Headed Toward Israel In Case Emergency Evacuation Of Americans Is Needed
Three U.S. Navy amphibious warships are returning to the eastern Mediterranean to remain on standby in the event they are needed to assist Americans leaving Israel in the coming days, according to two U.S. officials.
The officials stressed an evacuation remains an extremely remote possibility and the Obama administration is not currently planning for one. Americans who wish to leave the region now are able to do so using commercial airlines.
But the decision to send the ships even if the event is such a remote contingency underscores the growing concern about where the Israel-Gaza conflict could be headed.
Egypt Sides With Hamas Whose Open Goal It Is To Destroy Israel
Speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid upsetting the talks with the Israelis, the Egyptian official argued that the West, which supports Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from Gaza, was essentially blaming the victim.Let's just forget about the over 700 rockets that Hamas has fired indiscriminately upon civilian populations in Israel this year alone. Let's just forget that Hamas controls Gaza, and was able to take control when Israel completely withdrew every settler and soldier from Gaza in 2005. Everyone knows that the goal of Hamas is to wipe Israel off the map. Muslim Brotherhood Egypt is openly siding with their Islamist Hamas family. Tweet
“It is so strange people are talking about the rights of self-defense,” he said. “The self-defense of whom? Of the occupied people? Of the besieged people? Of the hurt people? No, the self-defense of the most powerful state in the region and the self-defense of the occupying force of Gaza and Palestine. This is what some of the international community are talking about.”
He implicitly compared the leaders of Hamas to George Washington in America or Charles de Gaulle in France: Heros because they resisted foreign occupation by armed force. “Now, there is an occupation going on for decades and these people who are suffering this occupation are trying to resist, are trying to gain their rights,” the official said. “But we are saying no, they don’t have the rights, they have to stay calm, be killed, be occupied, be besieged, and the self-defense is the right of the occupier.”
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