To the President Obama

Dear President Obama,
In recent years we often felt for my efforts in defense of Israel. This commitment continues unabated forever. We know that the best friend of Israel is the United States of America, land of freedom and courage. And we love freedom, and Courage, like all the Israelis. For this reason we ask you to confirm its commitment made during the AIPAC with President Shimon Peres. The United States of America and throughout the Western world must support Israel in its path for the affirmation of freedom and peace. The Israelis say their commitment and need peace for nearly four thousand years, facing all the enemies that history has imposed on them by the Egyptians to the Iranians.
For this reason we ask you to intervent officially.

הנשיא אובמה היקר,
בשנים האחרונות אנו לעתים קרובות חש על מאמצי ההגנה של ישראל. מחויבות זו ממשיכה ללא הפוגה לנצח. אנו יודעים כי חברו הטוב ביותר של ישראל הוא ארצות הברית של אמריקה, ארץ החופש ואומץ. ואנחנו אוהבים חופש, אומץ, כמו כל הישראלים. מסיבה זו אנו מבקשים ממך לאשר את מחויבותה עשה במהלך איפא"ק עם נשיא המדינה שמעון פרס.ארצות הברית של אמריקה ברחבי העולם המערבי צריך לתמוך בישראל בדרכה לאישור של חירות ושלום. הישראלים אומרים את מחויבותם ואת הצורך בשלום במשך כמעט 4,000 שנים, מול כל האויבים, כי ההיסטוריה המוטלות עליהם על ידי המצרים לאיראנים.
מסיבה זו אנו מבקשים ממך להתערב באופן רשמי.

Annulla modifiche

IDF: Increase in Schalit prisoners' terror activity

IDF: Increase in Schalit prisoners' terror activity

By YAAKOV KATZ

03/11/2012 15:31

Top IDF official voices notes dramatic increase in attempts by Palestinian terror groups to smuggle money into West Bank.

By Reuters

The IDF is concerned with the growing involvement of Palestinians released in the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange in terror activity in the West Bank, a senior IDF officer said Sunday.
The officer said that since the beginning of the year the IDF has noticed a dramatic increase in attempts by Palestinian terror organizations, and particularly Hamas, to smuggle money into the West Bank to finance their activity.

 

 

In January and February there was a dramatic increase at West Bank crossings, particularly at the Allenby Bridge which is between Jordan and Israel, with NIS 2.2 million being confiscated in comparison to just NIS 500,000 confiscated in all of last year.
According to a senior IDF officer, some of the terrorists released under the Schalit deal are trying reestablish terrorist activity in the West Bank and particularly to kidnap IDF soldiers or Israeli citizens.
The source said there was a connection between smuggling money and the release of 55 Palestinian terrorists to the territory under the Schalit deal.
"Establishing new terror infrastructures requires a lot of money," the officer added.
The officer also voiced concern about a drop in arrests made by Palestinian Authority security forces in the last year.
According to the officer, PA security forces arrested 2,200 terror suspects between 2009 and 2010 but in 2011 arrested less than 700. The drop, he said, was the result of the reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah even though the PA is not allowing Hamas to insert its own people into the ranks of the security forces.
While there was a drop in the number of arrests, the officer said that Israel was satisfied with the PA's continued operations against known terrorists cells in the West Bank. Just last month the PA foiled a plot by terrorists in Kalkilya to abduct an Israeli civilian.
Meanwhile Sunday, OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrahi was replaced by outgoing Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig.- Gen. Nitzan Alon.

Map of Hamas Rocket Ranges

Published January 31, 2012 at 540 × 900 in Updating: Hamas Bombs Southern Israel

Israeli communities threatened by rockets fired from Gaza

And the escalation continues

Palestinians fire 92 rockets at southern Israel

By YAAKOV LAPPIN AND JPOST.COM STAFF

03/10/2012 09:44

Escalation in South: 8 Israelis hurt, 1 seriously as terrorists continue attacks after IAF strike kills PRC chief; Iron Dome intercepts 25 rockets; Palestinians: 14 killed, 20 injured in Gaza.

By IDF Spokesman's Office

Palestinian terrorists fired 92 rockets from Gaza into southern Israel since Friday night, leaving eight Israelis injured in the heaviest series of attacks in months. The barrages came in response to an IAF strike which killed the secretary general of the Popular Resistance Committees, Zuhair Qaisi.
The Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted at least five rockets fired from the Gaza Strip at Beersheba, Ashdod and Ashkelon early Saturday morning. In total, 25 rockets have been intercepted by the system since the beginning of the escalation on Friday.

Related:

• Six months after terror attack, Route 12 reopens

A Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza landed in Beersheba early Saturday morning, activating air raid sirens and sending residents fleeing for cover. Police said that the rocket caused damage to a building. No injuries were reported in that attack.
In the Be'er Tuvia area, police located a rocket explosion site. The windows of a home were shattered and a car was damaged. No injuries were reported.
In the Eshkol Regional Council area, a 40-year-old man was seriously injured in the attacks. A second man was moderately injured by shrapnel to his stomach and a third was lightly injured. Paramedics said the injured appeared to be foreign workers. An electric pole and a vehicle were also damaged in the attack.
Two additional people were lightly injured in a car accident that occurred during an air raid siren at the Emunim Junction between Ashdod and Ashkelon. Three other people in the South were lightly injured while fleeing for cover during sirens, and one civilian was being treated for shock.

The injured were taken to the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot and the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, as well as the Soroka Medical Center in Be'ersheba.
The IAF struck targets in Gaza overnight Friday and Saturday morning in response to the rocket attacks. 14 Palestinians - 10 of them members of Islamic Jihad - were killed in the strikes and another 20 were injured, according to Palestinian news agency Ma'an.
The Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) swiftly called for retaliation following the first IAF strike that killed Qaisi, as well as senior PRC member Ahmad Hanini. A third man was also injured in the attack. The IAF struck a vehicle in a move to thwart a large-scale terror attack that was in its last stages of preparation, according to the IDF spokesperson.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Israel was responsible for what he called "a grave escalation."
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also condemned the strike.
The IDF stated that the attack was part of an operation to thwart the intentions of terrorists to carry out terror attacks in Sinai, along the border between Israel and Egypt. Qaisi had been planning and leading over the past few days, a major terror attack against Israeli targets, and the strike was conducted in order to prevent the attack, the IDF said in a statement.
It added that the IDF was not interested in escalation but was ready to defend Israel and would respond forcefully and decisively against against any attempt at terrorist activity.
Reuters contributed to this report

Protecting Israel: from IDF

Protecting Israel From Your Own Doorstep

Posted on March 5, 2012

Sergeant Maor Elbaz is a combat soldier aboard the ‘Dabur’ (Hornet) naval boat, which patrols along the coast of the Gaza Strip. Dabur patrol boats have been used by the IDF since the 70s to counter maritime terrorism. Sgt. Elbaz’s mission is to enforce the naval blockade on Gaza, but aside from his military obligations, he has a more personal reason for doing his job: Sgt. Elbaz and his family live in Ashdod, where numerous rockets have in the past hit very near home.

Israeli Navy in action, protecting the coasts of Israel

Although three years have passed since Operation Cast Lead, everyone at the Ashdod naval base remembers it vividly. The combat soldiers operate each day to enforce the maritime blockade imposed upon Gaza since January 3, 2009. The blockade is a legal security measure taken by the IDF to prevent the entry of vessels into ports controlled by Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations which historically have utilized the ports to illegally smuggle arms.

Sgt. Elbaz’s task is essential to Israel’s security. In 2009 for example, Israeli navy forces boarded the Francop, a ship from Iran carrying 500 tons of illegal weapons such as guns, missiles and rockets. The armaments were hidden under polythene bags for illegal transfer to the Hezbollah terrorist group operating out of Lebanon.

For Elbaz, it’s not just a mission. “I was living in Ashdod at the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, and I remember every rocket that hit the city. I went outside with my little brother to buy him a birthday present, when a rocket landed just 100 meters from us.”

Weapons seized aboard the Francop ship, 2009

At sea, they helplessly watch the stream of rockets fired from Gaza into southern Israel. “When I began my service here, I suddenly understood the close connection between what we do here, and what is happening at my home,” he said, and added:

“From here, you can see both Gaza and Ashkelon, without even turning your head. When you get closer to the coast, the border appears, and you can recognize the silhouettes of Gazans alongside those of our soldiers. The threat of rocket fire on southern communities of the country ensues and has even increased.”

In February of this year, one rocket hit southern Israeli each day on average. “When a rocket is fired at Ashdod or Ashkelon from Gaza, There is nothing I can do while out at sea. I can only make sure that there were no injuries and that everyone is okay.” said Sgt. Elbaz. “It is not always easy to perform my military duties when I worry about both my family and my house–but it is my job.”

Since the beginning of this year, 64 rockets emanating from Gaza has been fired at Israeli civilian population–in addition to the 620 fired in 2011. Hamas aims directly at innocent Israeli citizens, terrorizing nearly a million civilians. The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians or IDF soldiers, and will operate against anyone who uses terror against the State of Israel.

From the Hebrew press

Summary of editorials from the Hebrew press 4 Mar 2012 Haaretz Yediot Aharonot Globes Jerusalem Post Ma'ariv Yisrael Hayom

(Israel Government Press Office) Yediot Aharonot comments on the situation in Syria. The author says: "As it seems now, the moment of truth will arrive only in the form of a political solution, i.e. only when the President and his cohorts conclude that it is dangerous to remain in Syria and agree to accept political asylum without being tried," and notes that Bashar Assad has already spurned several such offers. Ma'ariv refers to 'Israeli Apartheid Week' that was recently held on college campuses around the world and contends that "The international apartheid week was not only mendacious but it enabled those who have genuine contempt for human rights to continue with their actions." The author asserts that "When it comes to Israel, the rules are flexible. Thus, educating children to grow up and blow themselves up in public places is not a crime against humanity; neither is using them as human shields. Firing rockets at civilian cities? Also not. Denying the Holocaust or denying the right of Israel and its residents to exist? We can disagree on that too. What can I say to you, opponents of apartheid, wherever you are – if this is not racism, then I don't know what is." Yisrael Hayom says that both the Israeli and American leaderships "have stated unequivocally that a nuclear Iran is unacceptable," and believes "The argument is over where to draw the red line." The author suggests that some of the tension between Jerusalem and Washington stems from the fact that, in light of the two nations' respective capabilities, a purely Israeli attack would have to come much sooner than an American one, given the pace at which Iran is hardening and fortifying its nuclear facilities. The paper asserts that if either ally accepts the other's red line, it will have given up its ability to decide independently when to launch an attack and adds: "This, in a nutshell, is the heart of the controversy." The author speculates that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would agree to the White House's desire to give diplomacy one more chance as long as the Prime Minister believes that there is substance to an American threat to use force if talks fail. Haaretz discusses the inflammatory remarks made by former minister Shlomo Benizri upon his early release from prison last week, and points out that contrary to his statements to the parole board only a few months ago, Benizri now denies all offenses attributed to him. The editor believes that Benizri’s current claim that he was framed “shines a dubious light on one of the most important conditions for shortening a prisoner's term: that the prisoner realizes the criminal nature of his act.” The Jerusalem Post criticizes the Histadrut trade union organization for the intense spate of recent strikes it declared and the plethora of new disputes it intends to implement in the near future, and points out that the most immediate victims of the strikes are the workers laid off as a result of cancelled orders. The editor declares that “Legislation limiting the ability to shut down essential services without warning and without polling all union members is a must," and calls for union leaders to be made personally accountable “for the harm they recklessly wreak.” [Semadar Peri, Lilach Sigan and Dan Margalit wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma'ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]

Dal sito dell'IDF: la struttura di Hamas

Power of One: The Structure of Hamas

Posted on February 27, 2012

“We cannot separate the wing from the body. If we do so, the body will not be able to fly.”

—Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (Reuters, May 27, 1998)

The political and military wings are the two most prominent wings in Hamas. They operate as one terrorist entity–without the capabilities from the political side, there will be no motivation on the military end and vice versa. We are going to break down the wings one by one, in the interests of keeping things simple.

The political wing is lead by Khaled Meshaal in Damascus, Syria. Under his guidance:

• The Hamas leadership in Gaza,
• The District Leadership in Judea and Samaria
• Hamas delegations abroad, such as the one in Iran

The military wing’s leader is Ahmed al-Jabari. Their Arabic name is Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, and they’re based in the Gaza Strip. Al-Jabari’s wing is subordinate to the Hamas leadership in Gaza, led by Ismail Haniyeh, which is under direct supervision of Meshaal, the leader of the political wing.

In Damascus, Meshaal makes all of the decisions, whether it be administrative, political, social. He’s also responsible for gathering the money and weapons for his military wing in Gaza. Ismail Haniyeh is the middleman in the supply chain who takes funds and weapons emerging from Syria to the military wing in the Gaza Strip.

Ahmed al-Jabari is highly dependent on Haniyeh for his close relationship with the political bureau in Damascus. Thanks to this supply chain, al-Jabari is capable of keeping his military wing fully stocked in order to maintain their terror fight against Israel.

Khaled Meshaal (bottom left) and Ahmed al-Jabari (bottom right). The political and military wing leaders together.

The brigades has made it clear that their main goal is to throw the “Zionists” into the Mediterranean Sea. Many examples support this ideology, such as the suicide explosion at a restaurant in Haifa in which 20 Israeli civilians in 2003, and a Palestinian suicide bomber detonating himself at the Park Hotel in Netanya in 2002, killing 20 bystanders. Also, current statistics show that in 2011, 627 rockets were fired at Israel, and since the start of 2012, 56 rockets were fired at Israel.

Al-Jabari’s vicious military wing has not only targeted innocent Israeli civilians, but also Israeli soldiers such as Gilad Shalit. Shalit was captured in 2006 after Hamas terrorists infiltrated the border through a smuggling tunnel, and was held in Hamas captivity for over 5 years until his release in 2011. Ezzedeen al-Qassam continues to collaborate with its vital political wing in order to finance its terrorist acts that have killed more than 1,365 Israeli citizens since Hamas’ founding.

Without the Hamas leadership in Gaza, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades would not function. Ismail Haniyeh has made sure that the right amount of funds, weapons, and propaganda are injected into the military wing.

Ahmed al-Jabari (far right) stands with Mahmoud al-Zahar (middle)

Al-Aqsa TV, Hamas’ television station, has done an excellent job in buying the hearts and minds of the Palestinian population in Gaza. It has played a major role in maintaining the popularity of the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades by airing shows targeted at its youth, urging them to join the violent resistance against Israel.

Haniyeh’s administration focuses on keeping the TV station funded and operating, just as it focuses on keeping Ezzedeen al-Qassam active. This is very important since both the military wing and Al-Aqsa cannot function without the other absent.

So, to sum up: Hamas is really just one body. Its propaganda, military and political machine have to operate on the same wavelength at all times. If any of its components malfunction then Hamas will “not be able to fly”.