Recently in Gaza Category

This deeply antisemitic revisionist history is no surprise. The most prominent and respected Muslim sheikh in the world, Qaradawi has said on al-Jazeera: “Throughout history, Allah has imposed upon the [Jews] people who would punish them for their corruption. The last punishment was carried out by Hitler. By means of all the things he did to them – even though they exaggerated this issue – he managed to put them in their place. This was divine punishment for them. Allah willing, the next time will be at the hand of the believers….”

Qaradawi continued: “I’d like to say that the only thing I hope for is that as my life approaches its end, Allah will give me an opportunity to go to the land of Jihad and resistance, even if in a wheelchair. I will shoot Allah’s enemies, the Jews, and they will throw a bomb at me, and thus, I will seal my life with martyrdom.”

"Islamic Cleric in Gaza Rejects Israel's Existence," by Ibrahim Barzak for the Associated Press, May 9:

A prominent Islamic scholar making a landmark visit to the Gaza Strip declared Thursday that Israel has no right to exist and voiced his support for rocket fire on Israel, giving a boost of legitimacy to the militant Islamist Hamas rulers of the Palestinian territory.

Yusuf al-Qaradawi is the latest of a few high profile figures visit Gaza, boosting the Hamas effort to break its international isolation. The U.S., EU and Israel brand Hamas a terror group, while the rival Fatah, which rules in the West Bank, enjoys Western backing.

Al-Qaradawi issued the strongest anti-Israel declarations of any of the visitors to date.

"This land has never once been a Jewish land. Palestine is for the Arab Islamic nation," said al-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based cleric made famous by his popular TV show and widely respected in the Muslim world.

"The rockets made in Gaza are more powerful than the (Israeli) occupation's rockets," he added....

Where did those arms come from?

"U.S.-approved arms for Libyan rebels went to jihadis" -- Jihad Watch, December 5, 2012

"UN Warns Libyan Weapons Spreading to Gaza, Syria," by Chana Ya'ar for Israel National News, April 10 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

A United Nations panel says weaponry from Libya is spreading across North Africa to Gaza and Syria “at an alarming rate.”

The five-expert committee said in a 94-page report sent Tuesday to the U.N. Security Council that illegal transfers of arms from Libya to armed groups and terrorists have been proven.

The arms trafficking violations involved more than 12 countries and included light and heavy ordnance, such as portable air defense systems, mines, explosive materials, ammunition and small arms.

The panel made 28 visits to 15 nations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Ten of those visits were within Libya alone, The Washington Post reported.

“Libya has over the past two years become a significant and attractive source of weaponry in the region,” since the fall of 41-year Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi in 2011," the report said. “The lack of an effective security system remains one of the primary obstacles to securing military materiel and controlling the borders.”

Last November, Cairo blocked two arms shipments to Gaza from Libya, with security forces arresting smugglers as they intercepted a large weapons shipment headed for Sinai from Libya. The move followed the ceasefire agreement that ended Operation Pillar of Defense against Gaza terrorist rocket fire on southern Israel.

The areas into which Libyan arms have flowed included West Africa, the Levant “and potentially even the Horn of Africa,” the report noted. “Illicit flows from the country are fueling existing conflicts in Africa and the Levant and enriching the arsenals of a range of non-state actors, including terrorist groups.”...

Never again.

The jihadists are claiming that Israel broke the agreement -- by fighting back after they fired rockets into Israel earlier. The Zionists have no right to defend themselves, you see.

"2 rockets fired from Gaza explode in southern Israel," from the Times of Israel, April 3:

Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip struck southern Israel Wednesday morning, hours after Israeli planes bombed targets in the Hamas-controlled territory for the first time since November’s ceasefire took effect.

No damage or injuries were reported in either incident....

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon tweeted earlier Wednesday morning that Israel considers Hamas responsible for any rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, and that “we will under no circumstances allow a situation of sporadic fire at our citizens and troops.”

Ya’alon, a former IDF chief of staff who took the reins of the Defense Ministry last month, added that Israel also refuses to tolerate cross-border fire on the northern frontier with Syria, and that it would respond in kind to any such incidents in the Golan Heights.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz also said Wednesday that Israel “would not allow the reality which existed before Operation Pillar of Defense to return.”

“The south is strong and stable, everything is under control,” he said.

Israeli planes carried out bombing sorties over the Gaza Strip late Tuesday night, responding to rocket attacks out of the Palestinian enclave earlier in the day.

The bombings were the first Israeli attack on Gaza since an informal ceasefire between Jerusalem and Hamas went into effect last November, following Operation Pillar of Defense, an eight-day campaign to stem Gazan rocket fire which also saw hundreds of missiles launched into Israeli territory.

Hamas charged in a tweet from its official account that Israel broke the ceasefire by carrying out Tuesday night’s airstrikes, which followed rocket fire from Gaza earlier Tuesday.

Ihab Ghussein, the Hamas government spokesman, accused Israel of using the airstrikes to “divert the attention” from unrest in Israeli prisons. “They think that through escalation on Gaza front they can hide the truth,” he said, and urged Egypt, the guarantor of the cease-fire, to intervene....

What will Egypt do? The Muslim Brotherhood government wants war with Israel, but knows that it risks losing American aid if it goes to war. Will Obama, whose policies have been consistently anti-Israel despite his protestations to the contrary, give them a quiet green light?

Don't be concerned. If the Israelis make some more concessions, all will be well. "‘Iranians in Gaza, guiding rocket development,’" by Aaron Kalman for the Times of Israel, February 26:

Iranian rocket specialists are in the Gaza Strip, helping terrorist organizations develop their arsenal of projectiles, Palestinian security officials said Tuesday, hours after a rocket was fired at Israel for the first time in months.

Representatives of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were helping Hamas, which rules the Strip, and the Islamic Jihad organization develop long-range rockets, the Hebrew news site Walla reported, citing the unnamed Palestinian officials. Israeli officials confirmed there was an Iranian presence in Gaza, adding it wasn’t the first time Iranian officials had entered the Strip, the report said.

The report could not be confirmed independently.

On Thursday morning, an upgraded Fajr missile, with a range of 70 kilometers (over 40 miles), landed south of Ashkelon, breaking a truce between Israel and the terror groups in the Strip which had held since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense in November. In response to the rocket fire Tuesday, Israel temporarily curtailed operations at two Gaza border crossings.

Fatah’s military wing claimed responsibility for the attack, but Israeli reports said it was likely that Hamas — which controls Gaza — was also involved at some level.

In November, a senior Hamas official predicted that Iran would increase its military and economic aid to Gazan groups because of the victory his group claimed in Pillar of Defense, the eight-day confrontation with Israel.

“They give it to us in the name of Allah, without conditions, and I am a witness to this,” Mahmoud al-Zahar told reporters in Gaza at the time, adding, “It is our right to take money and weapons from Iran.”

How could Islamization possibly erode women's rights? All Western Muslim spokesman assure us that Islam respects women's rights, and that anyone who thinks otherwise is a greasy Islamophobe. Apparently Islamophobes have overrun Gaza: "Islamization of Gaza Erodes Women's Rights," by Asmaa al-Ghoul for Al-Monitor, February 1 (thanks to Jacob):

Al Aqsa University, a public university in Gaza, has introduced an Islamic dress code for women. After being characterized for more than 20 years by political and intellectual diversity, female students are now bound to adhere to a strict dress code, including an abaya (cloak) and hijab (veil) while on campus. The decision has caused uproar and sparked heated debates.

Dr. Naaman Ulwan, an independent academic and advisor for cultural affairs at Al Aqsa University, revealed to Al-Monitor that he did not know about the decision ahead of its announcement on Jan. 26, 2013. Ulwan affirmed that even if such decision was approved, it certainly complies with the conservative society of Gaza that does not tolerate attire showing women’s curves.

Dr. Faiq al-Naouk, advisor for managerial affairs in Al Aqsa University and the decision maker, expressly denied the “Taliban” aspect of this decision. He reiterated that it was unanimously approved two months ago and would be implemented at the beginning of the next semester, underlining that he was not a representative of Hamas in the university board.

Naouk elaborated on the implementation process, stressing that it was a matter of “persuasion” not “coercion.” Female employees would stand at the front gate of the university to observe the students; any female with alluring apparel would be reprimanded, once or twice, until she abided by the decision. “If we were intransigent, I would not have received you while you were unveiled, but even though you weren’t veiled, we received you and gave you an interview. We are not extreme, we are moderate,” declared Naouk, addressing Al-Monitor’s reporter.

The Gaza government has taken some decisions that have been seen as sexist, religiously irrelevant, and merely related to personal interpretations. Women have been prohibited from riding bicycles and smoking water-pipes, it is not allowed to display lingerie in storefronts, and females are required to wear hijab in public schools and courts. This is all part of a national campaign to restore virtue implemented under the auspices of the police force.

Secret endorsement of decisions

“Women’s rights in Gaza are regressing. Many decisions are being passed in secret and only become public by chance, such as the decision to destroy curriculum books that are thought to be morally corrupting, in addition to the imposition of the hijab in schools and the prohibition of female participation in folklore dancing. When Hamas officials are asked about these matters, they always end up finding shallow justifications,” said feminist activist Dunia al-Amal Ismail.

Ismail contends that whenever women call for change and an improvement in their social situation, they are asked to put their demands on hold under the pretext that it is not the right time; the people are fighting the Israeli occupation. Ismail, however, notes dangerous changes being made by the government pertaining to the endorsement of the penal code without informing the feminist movement. Causes like gender equality are seen as a western product and feminist movements are thought to contradict Islamic feminism. “Accusations are heaped upon the feminist movement, even though the struggle it led — on the level of amending laws and imposing quotas for women — has ushered in the participation of Hamas’ women in the legislative council,” she added.

Islamic speech

Currently, the streets of Gaza are cluttered with advertising signs that read: “An honorable man treats women with honor and integrity, and only a vile and dishonorable man violates and degrades women.” Quoted from the Hadith, these sayings are used to promote the new policies of the government.

Amira Haron, under-secretary for the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, says that the ministry aims to enhance the situation of Palestinian women and reinforce their roles on all levels. The strategic plans are focused on different areas such as laws, economy, studies and raising awareness. Haron says that the ministry is playing a positive role in changing the situation of women in Gaza through many achievements, such as acknowledging the right of widows to have full and permanent custody over their children. She stressed that the ministry does not simply wait for the laws to be amended, rather it exerts pressures on the government to take decisions that do women justice.

Article 18 of the 1936 penal code, applicable in the Gaza Strip and used by judges to mitigate the sentence of a murderer who kills his daughter, wife, mother, sister or relative in the name of “honor” states the following: “Any person who commits a crime to defend himself or another person or their money, honor or pride shall benefit from a reduced sentence.”

Read it all.

Gaza billboard: "Thanks and gratitude to Iran"

While maintaining its close relationship with Hamas. "Iran Stengthens [sic] Ties to Palestinian Islamic Jihad," by Abeer Ayyoub for Al-Monitor, January 21:

Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has been the main supporter of the Palestinian cause, and in particular of its two largest Islamic factions: Hamas and Islamic Jihad. As part of the alliance, Syria was also a major supporter of the two groups and, until recently, played host to the leadership of both groups.

Iran was a strong supporter of the Hamas government in Gaza and its military wing, until Hamas moved its leadership from Syria, split with Bashar al-Assad’s regime and became a vocal critic of the Syrian crackdown.

Hamas had waited more than a year until it made the difficult decision to leave Syria and sacrifice Iranian support. As an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood — which has been riding high since the Arab Spring — Hamas now has alternatives to Iran, and is moving out of isolation and towards international acceptance.

However, by contrast, Islamic Jihad — constrained by a lack of allies — has opted to stay officially neutral on the Syrian crisis. Despite Ramadan Shallah, the leader of Islamic Jihad, leaving Syria last year, the movement still insists that its ties with Syria have not been negatively affected and that Shallah’s departure was purely for security reasons.

Senior Islamic Jihad official Khader Habeeb told Al-Monitor that his faction’s relations with foreign powers are based on the support those powers can provide to the Palestinian resistance, and not on external matters. “Iran has adopted the Palestinian resistance since its Islamic revolution. It has been a loyal backer. Consequently, Iranian assistance for the Syrian regime has nothing to do with our relations with Iran, even when our views are different,” Habeeb said.

Habeeb considers the crisis in Syria a purely internal issue that has nothing to do with the Palestinians. “Definitely we are sorry for both Palestinians and Syrians being killed every day in Syria, but we are already aware of the fact we are mere guests in Syria and have no right to interfere,” he explained.

With Hamas-Iran relations destabilized over Syria, a door has opened for Islamic Jihad to boost its ties with Iran, although its officials won’t openly admit this.

Adnan Abu Amer, political analyst and lecturer at Al-Ummah University is Gaza, said that Iran's ties to Islamic Jihad have strengthened since Hamas took a step back from Tehran.

“Islamic Jihad is the top backed Palestinian faction by Iran. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Islamic Jihad will stand out from the rest, as there are many other factors that count, such as popularity and national support,” Abu Amer clarified.

Growing Iranian support for Islamic Jihad was made evident in the November mini-war with Israel, with the movement demonstrating its long-range rocket and cyber-warfare capabilities.

Habeeb, however, stressed that Iranian support for Islamic Jihad is only limited to the armed wing, and has nothing to do with strains between Hamas and Iran. “Hamas-Iran relations are still okay and our good relations with Iran do not come at the expense of their ties,” Habeeb said. “Iran was pleased with the victory the Palestinian resistance achieved. This is why it’s likely to increase its support for us, for what we have lost during the war and because we need to rebuild our infrastructure.”

Islamic Jihad also maintains strong links with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, despite Hezbollah’s open support for the Syrian regime. “Hezbollah is a strong, armed faction and we are still coordinating with them concerning resistance against the Israeli occupation. That’s what matters to us. Any external conflict is not our issue,” Habeeb said.

Taher al-Nono, spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza, stressed that the two Islamist factions were not competing over Iranian support. “It’s totally up to Iran to support any of the Palestinian factions with the way it considers,” al-Nono said.

Despite both Hamas and Islamic Jihad sharing a similar opinion of the Syrian crisis, they have each acted according to their own circumstances.

“Hamas has Qatar and Egypt as alternatives, which made its decision easier, while Islamic Jihad has no other geographical alternatives, so it had to stay in Syria and not comment,” Abu Amer told Al-Monitor.

Hamas’ quiet departure from Syria was the most it could do under Iranian pressure, Abu Amer said. He said that Iran preferred that Hamas stay in Syria and take an impartial stance.

Nevertheless, all indicators suggest that Iran is still keen in maintaining relations with Hamas, as a popular resistance movement and a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is now spreading throughout the Arab Spring states....

Oh, the humanity! "Hamas Budget Nears $1 Billion," by Maayana Miskin for Israel National News, January 1 (thanks to Voice of the Copts):

Hamas will spend $897 million in Gaza in 2013 under a budget approved Monday. The Gaza parliament, dominated by Hamas, voted for the spending.

Gaza leaders estimate the income for the year at $243 million. The rest of the money is expected to come from international aid and donations.

Despite claims of a financial crisis, the Hamas budget has continued to grow from year to year. A large percent of this year's budget – $244 million – will go to the Interior Ministry, which funds "security forces" such as the al-Kassam Battalions, recognized internationally as a terrorist group.

Many donations are not included in the budget. Qatar has pledged to spend $400 million on construction in the area, money that is not part of the official budget because Qatar will be overseeing the projects directly.

Also excluded as direct aid was money spent by the United Nations' UNRWA agency, which assists PA resident Arabs and Arabs claiming descent from those who fled Israel during the War of Independence. The group is expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on programs in Gaza in 2013, including food distribution, summer camps, and schools.

Learning to hate and love death. "These will be the future Palestinian leaders."

"Watch: Gaza kids simulate rocket launch," by Elior Levy for Israel National News, December 12 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A generation comes of age: A video posted on social networks shows a group of Palestinian kids in Gaza simulating the firing of mortar shells at Israeli communities.

Four kids are seen walking in a line along a fence meant to simulate the Gaza border fence. One child is carrying a pipe and another is holding what is meant to serve as a launching pad.

Two other kids equipped with toy rifles serve as guards protecting the two "launchers."

The video then shows the group preparing for the "rocket launch" and then quickly assembling their gear and escaping the scene. The children appear to be taking the exercise very seriously and putting great effort into doing everything according to protocol.

Viewers who watched the video posted comments that praised the group. "These will be the future Palestinian leaders," one web-surfer wrote. Another remarked that "Hamas is a school that reaches martyrdom, courage and sacrifice."...

Video below the fold.

“The fragrance is pleasant and attractive, like the missiles of the Palestinian resistance, and especially the M-75.” Pleasant and attractive, in other words, like the deaths of Israeli civilians. Yet despite the fact that no perfumes are named for missiles in Israel, Hillary Clinton says the Israelis, not the "Palestinians," are the ones lacking "empathy." Such is the ridiculous unreality that prevails in the public discourse today.

"New Gaza perfume named for missile," by Elhanan Miller in the Times of Israel, December 6 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

A new perfume created in Gaza will bear the name of a missile designed by Hamas and fired in the direction of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv during Operation Pillar of Defense in November, a local newspaper reported on Thursday.

Shadi Adwan, the owner of a local cosmetics company, decided to name a new scent M-75, to “honor the victory of the Palestinian people and the resistance during the eight-day war,” he told Islamist daily Al-Resalah.

The M-75 missile is manufactured in Gaza by Hamas’s Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, and Hamas claims it possesses a range of 75 kilometers (46 miles).

“The fragrance is pleasant and attractive, like the missiles of the Palestinian resistance, and especially the M-75,” Adwan said, adding that his company wished “to remind citizens of the victory wherever they may be, even in China.”

According to the report, the perfume comes in masculine and feminine scents and costs double the price of other perfumes due to special ingredients it contains, “worthy of the victory in the Gaza Strip.”

Just a few years ago, Turkey was regularly held up in the mainstream media as proof that Islam and democracy, and even Islam and secularism, could coexist. Numerous commentators from all over the American political spectrum confidently held up Turkey as a model for what the Islamic world in general could and would surely forthwith become. Since then, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has steered Turkey toward Sharia, Islamic Jew-hatred, and a belligerent stance toward the West. But of course all the learned analysts who complacently pointed to Turkey as the model that the rest of the Islamic countries would surely soon emulate are never called to account for the disastrous errors of their analyses.

"Erdogan plans to visit Gaza with Mashaal next week," from the Jerusalem Post, November 28 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he plans to visit Gaza next week, Turkish paper Today’s Zaman reported.

Erdogan said he was invited to join Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal's visit to Gaza on December 5, Today’s Zaman reported.

The Turkish prime minister has expressed willingness to visit Gaza several times in the past. Earlier this month, Erdogan told reporters he plans to visit Gaza soon, and that Turkish officials are conducting talks with officials in the Strip in order to make the trip happen, according to Today’s Zaman....

All hail the hudna! "IDF Kills Suspected Gaza Terrorist after Stabbing," by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu for Israel National News, November 26 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

Soldiers killed a suspected Gaza terrorist early Monday after he broke into a Jewish home and stabbed a girl before fleeing.

The IDF discovered a hole in the nearby Gaza security fence, and footprints from the area matched the shoes of the intruder, who had escaped to the Moshav Sde Avraham's greenhouses after he tried to kill the girl.

Soldiers caught up with him and tried to arrest him, and then shot and killed him when he tried to escape.

The wounded girl is in fair condition. She was stabbed in her family’s home in Moshav Sde Avraham, originally named Yesodot HaDarom. It is a southern community adjacent to Gaza and was founded in 1982 by victims of the expulsion from the Yamit communities in Sinai that was part of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty in 1979.

Will Morsi act? Does he care to? "Islamic Terrorists Bomb Egyptian-Gaza Border Base," by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu for Israel National News, November 25:

Islamic terrorists destroyed part of an Egyptian security building at Rafiah Saturday night, challenging Cairo’s control over the Sinai after the ceasefire with Israel. No one was injured in the explosion at the base, under construction n the Egyptians side of Rafiah, the smuggling capital of Gaza.

The attack came 48 hours after Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi granted himself extensive new powers, which were challenged by Cairo's judiciary.

A separate explosion injured three people further south in the Sinai, where Egypt is building a facility to help it protect the pipeline that ships natural gas to Israel and Jordan. Terrorists have bombed the pipeline more than a dozen times the past two years in an effort to scuttle the agreement to sell gas to Israel.

Saturdays night’s bombing underlined Egypt’s difficulty in re-asserting control over the Sinai, where Hamas terrorists from Gaza, along with Bedouin allies and Al Qaeda-linked terrorist cells, have carved out regions of authority. They have staged increasingly frequent terrorist attacks on Israel. Several Israelis have been killed in the attacks....

More chest-thumping from the lovers of death. "Gaza perceives victory over weaker Israel," by Tobias Buck for the Financial Times via Zawya, November 23:

..."People rushed to the shop as soon as it opened," said Abu Wassim, the owner of Alqadi Famous Sweets in Jabalya. His store sold four times more baklava, knaffeh and other sugary delights than on normal days. "In your country, when you celebrate a victory, you open a bottle of alcohol," he said. "Here, we go and buy sweets."

In Gaza, they have been treating the end of the latest bloody clash between Israel and Hamas as a Palestinian victory. Of that they have no doubt.

On Wednesday night, thousands celebrated spontaneously in the streets, minutes after the ceasefire announcement. On Thursday, declared a national holiday by the Gaza authorities, there were victory parades and rallies. On Friday, the midday prayers were dominated by declarations of victory, with some preachers drawing a line between the latest conflict and the Prophet Mohammed's victory over the infidels....

"We saw the Israelis panicked and bleeding," said Ahmed Youssef, a senior Hamas official. "We have always been under attack alone. We have always been bleeding alone. But this time the Israelis suffered just as we suffered."...

Majid Nofal, a butcher in Jabalya, insisted Israel had been exposed over the past 10 days as a "fragile state". Israel was forced to ask for a ceasefire out of weakness, he said. And because of fears that a ground invasion of Gaza would have resulted in heavy Israeli casualties.

"For sure my picture of Israel has changed," he said. "We always thought that Israel is fragile. But the resistance of the last few days has made us confident of this fact. Inshallah, Israel will soon disappear."...

As he shuffled away, a Hamas sheikh began his eulogy of Mohammed Jamal. He praised his martyrdom, saying the dead man and his family would be guaranteed a place in heaven. And the latest clash with Hamas's enemy had been a great victory, he said, "the first nail in the coffin of Israel".

Yet the truce terms require "'all Palestinian factions' to stop all hostilities toward Israel from Gaza, including rocket fire and attacks along the Gaza-Israel border." So what is Hamas going to do with all these weapons? Or is Marzouk blithely signaling that Hamas has no intention of keeping the truce at all? After all, why not? What's the downside for them? The dhimmis in the U.S. and Europe will still rush to fulfill Hamas's every demand, no matter what. "AP Interview: Hamas No. 2 rejects Gaza arms halt," by Mohammed Daraghmeh for the Associated Press, November 24:

CAIRO (AP) — Gaza's ruling Hamas will not stop arming itself, the No. 2 in the Palestinian group told The Associated Press on Saturday, signaling tough challenges ahead for indirect negotiations between Israel and the Islamist militants on a new border deal for Gaza.

The talks are being brokered by Egypt, which also helped forge a cease-fire deal that ended eight days of Israel-Gaza fighting earlier this week....

Moussa Abu Marzouk, deputy to Hamas' top leader in exile Khaled Mashaal, said talks on a further easing of restrictions are to be held in Cairo on Monday. Hamas and Israel do not meet directly and the indirect talks are held through Egyptian intermediaries.

An Israeli security official has said Israel would likely link a significant easing of Gaza's border blockade to Hamas' willingness to stop arming itself. Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment Saturday.

However, Abu Marzouk rejected such demands. "These weapons protected us and there is no way to stop obtaining and manufacturing them," he said in an interview at his office on the outskirts of Cairo.

Hamas officials in Gaza have said they have developed a local arms industry. Meanwhile, Mashaal has said the group has received weapons from Iran since Israel's last Gaza offensive four years ago.

Hamas smuggles such weapons into Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt....

The Israeli authorities will rue the day. "Israel eases Gaza border restrictions after Hamas truce deal," from the Associated Press, November 24:

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Gaza residents said Saturday that Israel has eased some border restrictions as part of its truce with the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers, allowing farmers to visit land near its security fence and letting fishermen head further out to sea.

The Egyptian-brokered cease-fire ended eight days of cross-border fighting that claimed 166 Palestinian and six Israeli lives, according to health officials.

As part of the deal, Israel and Hamas are now to negotiate a further easing of the Gaza border blockade, first imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007....

The truce is to lead to a new border deal for Gaza, with Egypt hosting indirect talks between Israel and Hamas. Israel has shunned Hamas as a terrorist group and refuses to negotiate with it directly.

Israeli demands that Hamas halt weapons smuggling into Gaza, while Hamas seeks free movement for people and goods in and out of Gaza.

After the Hamas takeover in 2007, Israel and then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sealed Gaza to isolate the Islamic militants and make it harder for them to govern.

The restrictions have since been eased because of international pressure on Israel and because of regime change in Egypt. Both Hamas and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, elected earlier this year, are members of the region-wide Muslim Brotherhood movement.

Before the Nov. 14 start of the fighting, Gaza received most of its consumer goods through an Israeli cargo crossing, while Israel banned virtually all exports and travel from Gaza, preventing the area's battered economy from bouncing back.

Items restricted by Israel, such as construction materials, were brought into Gaza through smuggling tunnels from Egypt, along with weapons for Hamas....

Act of war. More on this story. "Palestinian Islamic Jihad Leaders Admit Missiles Came from Iran," from MEMRI, November 16:

Following are excerpts from TV reports featuring leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which aired on various channels between November 15-20, 2012.

Al-Jazeera TV, November 20, 2012:

Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ramadhan Abdallah Shalah: With regard to the Iranian position – even if we have disagreements with Iran regarding the situation in Syria, I don’t think that we, as the Palestinian resistance, have disagreements with Iran regarding what is happening in Palestine, or regarding the Zionist aggression against the Gaza Strip. With regard to Palestine, we are in complete agreement with Iran. Iran has given us all the aid and all the support. The weapons that are fighting the Israeli aggression and arrogance in Palestine come mainly from Iran, as the entire world knows. This is no secret. These are either Iranian weapons or weapons financed by Iran.

[...]

Al-Alam TV, November 19, 2012:

Palestinian Islamic Jihad Deputy Secretary-General Ziyad Nakhala: We are on the brink of a great victory, Allah willing. This is a new stage in the conflict with the Zionist enterprise.

Show host: Do you believe that the missiles have changed the equation?

Ziyad Nakhala: Absolutely. This wonderful weapon has proven its significant role in battle. The missiles have changed the balance of power, and have proven to Israel that we can shell their cities like they shell ours, and that we can shell their military camps like they shell our children.

Show host: Are you firing the Fajr-3 and Fajr-5 missiles? Do you have these missiles?

Ziyad Nakhala: Absolutely. These missiles have restored the honor of the Palestinian people. We received these missiles from our allies and brothers in the Islamic Republic. They have generally given us these missiles, exerting great effort. These missiles have changed the equation in this conflict.

[...]

Mayadeen TV, November 15, 2012:

Show host: Are the Fajr-5 missiles produced locally or brought from outside Palestinian lands?

Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Sheikh Khaled Al-Batsh: These missiles are 100% Iranian made, and are part of the legitimate aid that the Islamic Republic provides to the Palestinian people. This is well known and was announced in the media.

Why are we ruled by children? Why does Hillary Clinton not realize that such a goal is absolutely unattainable? Because she has been fed, and has readily accepted, politically correct nonsense about the jihad doctrine.

"Israel Gaza Attacks Intensify Despite Truce Talks," by Ravi Nessman and Ibrahim Barzak for the Associated Press, November 20:

JERUSALEM — A diplomatic push to end Israel's nearly weeklong offensive in the Gaza Strip gained momentum Tuesday, with Egypt's president predicting that airstrikes would soon end, the U.S. secretary of state racing to the region and Israel's prime minister saying his country would be a "willing partner" to a cease-fire with the Islamic militant group Hamas.

As international diplomats worked to cement a deal, senior Hamas officials said some sticking points remained even as relentless airstrikes and rocket attacks between the two sides continued. The Israeli death toll rose to five with the deaths Tuesday of an Israeli soldier and a civilian contractor. More than 130 Palestinians have been killed.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton held a late-night meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after rushing to the region from Cambodia, where she had accompanied President Barack Obama on a visit.

"The goal must be a durable outcome that promotes regional stability and advances the security and legitimate aspirations of Israelis and Palestinians alike," she said at a news conference with Netanyahu.

Netanyahu said Israel would welcome a diplomatic solution to the crisis but threatened further military activity, saying he was ready to take "whatever action" is necessary.

Yet the mainstream media ignores this. This isn't desperation -- it's showing that they know how to play the game, as the mainstream media has rigged the rules for them.

"Brazen faking of images reveals Hamas’ desperation," by Paul Alster for Fox News, November 20 (thanks to David):

Haifa, Israel – There is only one thing worse than the image of a child killed by military conflict, and that is the image of a child killed by military conflict having deliberately been placed in the line of fire.

War is, by definition, a very nasty business, and invariably it is the innocents on all sides who bear a significant cost in lives lost, people maimed and communities traumatized.

But solid evidence now reveals how Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza have been deliberately placing their civilian population in mortal danger, choreographing a number of seemingly gory scenes, as well as releasing images from other conflicts, such as Iraq and Syria, and passing them off as dead Gazan civilians killed by Israeli missiles.

In an attempt to persuade the world that Israel is committing war crimes and to distract attention away from the illegal and immoral use of their own population as human shields, Hamas has resorted to staging a number of fake deaths and scenes of severely injured people right in front of international TV crews.

The BBC recently broadcast a news report showing a man being carried off by four others, seemingly the victim of an Israeli missile strike, only for him to reappear in the same clip a few seconds later wandering around completely unharmed. The same organization’s Jon Donnison yesterday re-tweeted a picture of the dead body of a young girl on a stretcher in Gaza with the headline "Heartbreaking," only for it to transpire that the girl had sadly been killed three weeks earlier in Syria.

Such is the sometimes chaotic nature of the situation on the ground in Gaza that mistakes can be made, but according to Paul Hirschson, spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hamas has crossed a red line even in the Arab world by promoting the use of images of dead people – children in particular – against the tradition of their religion and the expected respect for the dead.

Hirschson told FoxNews.com that, “There’s no question that there are civilians being killed and injured on both sides of this conflict, but respect for the dead within the Muslim world is a core principal [sic] and what Hamas is doing is in contradiction to the customs and traditions of the local community.

"As in Judaism, Islam believes in taking the body and burying it at the first opportunity," he said. "Even Al Jazeera is sensitive to this and has blanked out faces as it is an invasion of privacy. This is a cynical abuse of respect and privacy and is not something that is reconcilable with the norms of the community. There are certain moral and ethical codes that we all behave by. In Egypt and Jordan this stuff doesn’t get published. Hamas are going to suffer for it amongst their own.”

Not bloody likely.

Does the apparent manipulation of pictures, the "photoshopping" of images to suggest scenarios that later prove to be false, suggest a desperation then on the part of the Islamists to persuade the outside world of their opinion, regardless of the truth being told or not told?

No, not desperation at all. It shows that they know the Western media and Western Leftists can be manipulated, and indeed are eager to be manipulated. So they are manipulating them. That's all.

How dare those Zionists fight back!

Here is video of a rocket hitting Rishon Le-Tzion, Israel today: