In an exclusive article, the paper claimed that Assad's motive was his anger at the Arab League foreign ministers' positions during last week's Cairo summit, particularly the stances of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who called for an end to Syrian involvement in Lebanon.Considering that Assad has been implicated in repeated assassinations of anti-Syrian leaders in Lebanon, I wouldn't put this attack past him, nor would I put it past Assad to fund yet another Islamic terrorist group to further his agenda without a direct link.
According to the newspaper, Assad reacted harshly to the criticism, saying: "They will see how I will plough up Lebanon."
A previously unknown Islamic terrorist group claimed responsibility on Monday for the Katyusha attack.
The self-proclaimed group, "the Jihadi Badr Brigades - Lebanon branch," vowed in a statement to continue attacks on Israel.
"We had promised our people Jihad (holy war). Here, we again strike the Zionists when a group from the Jihadi Badr Brigades struck the Zionists in the occupied Palestinian territory," the statement said.
Al Siyasah did not say whether the Katyusha attack was perpetrated with Assad's silent agreement or after a specific instruction from the Syrian leader.
It also shows the ongoing failure of UNIFIL to police South Lebanon so as to disarm all militias operating in Lebanon despite clear rules requiring Lebanon and UNIFIL to disarm such groups. UNIFIL admits that the rockets fired into Israel were a breach of the ceasefire. Well, no kidding - and considering that it was a breach, Israel would be more than justified to go after those responsible.
Meanwhile, Christians living in Gaza are in fear for their lives and for good reason. Hamas is going to impose an Islamic state, and anyone who doesn't meet their brand of Islam will face a very harsh reality.
Israel and Abbas are still playing the diplomatic dance, but who here actually believes that Fatah can deliver a peace deal with Israel that not only recognizes Israel's right to exist, but lays down Fatah arms against Israel and corrals terrorists operating in Fatah? Abbas has greatly reduced power, and the Palestinians don't trust him either. Fatah has always promised all of Israel to the Palestinians and any deal that delivers so much less is bound to cause problems within the Palestinian community. And that doesn't even begin to touch on the subject of Hamas, who believes that they are the legitimate representative of the Palestinians, based on their election win. To Hamas, Fatah was the one who acted illegally and engaged in a coup. Fatah, of course, believes that Hamas was trying to overthrow Fatah.
Abbas thinks that now is the time to push for a peace deal in the Middle East. He wants President Bush to follow through on this, but what exactly is Abbas offering? What is he coming to the table with? What is he willing to concede?
I can all but guarantee that Abbas will still demand a right of return, Jerusalem, and the removal of all Israeli settlements in the West Bank, plus Gaza. Those are nonstarters in any deal with Israel, where Jerusalem is its undivided capital and the right of return is a nonstarter. The settlement issue is bound to cause major problems for the Israelis as witnessed by the disengagement from Gaza.
Fatah is continuing to try and weaken Hamas, by disbanding the National Security Council, but also attacking Hamas facilities in the West Bank:
In the meantime, Fatah continued to target Hamas institutions in the West Bank. Early Monday morning, Fatah gunmen burned down the home of Hamas’ Aziz Dweik, chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council. Several hours earlier, a Hamas member was killed in Nablus.That last line is most curious. The AAMB is part of Fatah, and is answerable to Abbas, and yet the world considers them to be separate and distinct groups so as to continue the charade that Fatah has gone straight and isn't a terrorist group. Why would the AAMB listen to Fatah unless they're getting their marching orders from Fatah. They have no reason to listen to Fatah given the way Fatah botched the situation in Gaza. The AAMB is the most effective part of Fatah these days.
According to Palestinian sources, Fatah gunmen also took over Hamas municipalities and councils near Nablus and Jenin. Hamas members reported several of their people kidnapped by Fatah gunmen in Jenin, Nablus, and Qalqiliya.
According to Hamas, over 300 attacks have been carried out in the West Bank against its members and institutions in recent days. Over 150 Hamas activists have been kidnapped or arrested, two were killed, and dozens more injured.
Abbas issued an order to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades to stop the attacks against rival faction members.
Through it all, Israel is providing medical equipment to Gaza, along with gas and utilities. Why? What purpose is served by providing humanitarian aid to the very terrorists and their supporters who would wish Israel destroyed? This act will not be repaid in acts of kindness, but acts of unimaginable cruelty.
It does, however, show that the Israelis are not the nasty brutes that the UN and the usual suspects claim Israel to be. Indeed, the UN has gone out of its way to castigate Israel yet again, while excusing such human rights paradises as Cuba.
The EU will restart aid to the PA, based on the fact that Hamas is no longer in the entity. They're adhering to the letter of the law, which prohibited aid to the PA because Hamas is a terrorist group. The problem is that Fatah is no better, despite attempts to rehabilitate Fatah's image. Expect the US to follow suit, despite the repeated failures of Fatah to deliver on its obligations.
UPDATE:
Pajamas Media reports from Ramallah and the sad spectacle of a Fatah show of force. Meryl Yourish cuts through the diplomatic BS to note that Abbas is making nothing but demands on Israel without providing a single solitary concession. This is exactly what I was talking about - and the diplomats will force Israel to agree to concessions without getting any in return. Israelated notes that Abbas may be irrelevant in any case. Israpundit notes a NY Sun op-ed that calls on containing Gaza at all costs.
So, the US will be lifting its embargo on the PA momentarily. The West is throwing its lot in with the terrorists of Fatah, rather than confront the reality that Fatah and Hamas are two sides of the same coin. Neither has any intention of peace with Israel. They want Israel in pieces.
UPDATE:
Dr. Sanity issues the diagnosis. As usual, the Doctor is right.
UPDATE:
Carl in Jerusalem notes the craziness in diplomatic circles:
Do you now mean to tell me that an Israeli-backed effort to undermine the Hamas-backed 'government' is going to be more effective than an American one? That's absurd!He's right, of course. There is no reason to believe that Fatah will become more effective with Israeli backing.
Fatah invented terrorism. To pretend that they are any less terrorists than Hamas is ridiculous. I hope the Israeli government will finally find the courage to just say no!
UPDATE:
There's been a gunbattle at Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel. Palestinian terrorists opened fire on Israeli soldiers, who returned fire:
Palestinian gunmen turned their weapons away from each other and towards Israel Monday evening, hurling grenades and opening fire towards IDF soldiers manning the Erez Crossing.It may be an instance where Hamas opened fire on the Fatah thugs, and the Israelis came under fire as a result, who returned fire on Hamas.
The troops responded with fire. At least one Palestinian was killed - a senior member of Fatah, and a number more were wounded. Palestinian sources said all the casualties were hurt by Palestinian gunfire.
None of the Israeli soldiers were hurt in the incident.
Palestinians identified the casualty as Jihad al-Madhoun, a Fatah activist wanted by Hamas who was apparently specifically targeted.
Al-Madhoun arrived at the crossing together with dozens of Fatah activists and hundreds of their family members hoping Israel would let them cross over to the West Bank, as they feared for their lives in violence-torn Gaza.
An initial investigation of the incident found that the Palestinian gunmen reached the crossing from the Palestinian side and open fire towards the crowds gathered there.
UPDATE:
Meanwhile, the situation in Lebanon remains tense as the Lebanese military is continuing its ongoing fight against Fatah al Islam while trying to track down those responsible for the breach of the ceasefire along the Israeli border. Israpundit has more.
UPDATE:
As if to underscore the situation in Lebanon, note this photo of the ongoing siege of the Nahr al-Bared camp near Tripoli by the Lebanese military:
(HT: WrathofG-d)
They are pounding it incessantly with artillery and airstrikes. There isn't much in the way of international outcry, despite the fact that they were doing nothing more than what Israel attempted to do in going after Hizbullah last year during the August war. Curious how that happens.
UPDATE:
If Gazans needed any more reason not to trust Fatah or Israel and that Israel's assistance to Fatah will go unrewarded, consider how it must look to the Palestinians at Erez crossing watching Israel allow Fatah thug leaders to get out of Gaza and head to the West Bank, while the rest are not allowed to escape. What message does that send? Why should Israel be affording the thugs in Fatah any such provision? Fatah has dedicated itself to Israel's destruction just as surely as Hamas. The number of those killed at Erez junction is now two.
At least two Palestinians were killed and over 10 wounded Monday evening in a shooting attack near the Erez border crossing.Palestinians are beginning to learn what it's like to be an Israeli - under constant threat from terrorists who are more than willing to snuff out their lives. I fully expect Israel to be blamed for this incident as the fact that Palestinian terrorists were firing on other terrorists will fall by the wayside.
The IDF said the casualties were all caused by Palestinian attackers, who hurled a hand grenade and fired bursts of automatic weapons fire at a group of dozens of people huddled in a concrete tunnel on the Gaza side of the crossing as they sought to flee the coastal strip.
"The casualties are from the Palestinian fire," Maj. Tal Evram, an army spokesman said. "The incident is primarily a Palestinian terror attack on Palestinians."
UPDATE:
Cox and Forkum nail it. Via LGF.
UPDATE:
Why would any Israelis want to stay in the Golan Heights if it were ever returned to Syria? There's no reason to believe that the Syrians wouldn't force them out. Syria's been backing Hizbullah and practically every terrorist group operating in Lebanon these days both to destabilize Lebanon and to increase pressure on Israel, so why would any Israeli trust Damascus? The short answer is that they wouldn't, but of course the diplomats have other ideas.
The Palestinians are busy using cartoons of their own to incite Gazans to think that Israel was behind the latest violence.
It was only a matter of time before Israel gets blamed for the violence.
While the Israelis try to provide assistance to the PA emergency government, Palestinian terrorists once again fire rockets from Gaza into Israel. One Israeli was treated for shock for the rocket that hit a building in the Negev. Egypt is trying to assist Fatah thugs who fled Gaza get back to the West Bank.
Hamas says that it condemns the attack on the Christian churches and schools earlier today. Right. I trust 'em to protect those churches from further attacks. Not.
Fancy that - B'Tselem - the Israeli human rights group that consistently castigates Israel, has found that Hamas may have committed war crimes in the past week. I was saying that the very day that the reports came out that Hamas was busy throwing Fatah thugs off rooftops.
UPDATE:
Noah Pollak, writing at Totten's, has another must read piece on the situation in Gaza. It isn't pretty. And that says nothing about the horrid media coverage:
No Middle East crisis is complete without awful media coverage, and so Melanie Phillips is outraged at how the BBC has been grotesquely twisting its reporting on Gaza in order to blame the crisis on Israel. Allow me to take this opportunity to concur and add that Great Britain has become the most anti-Israel country in Europe, and the BBC has been merrily pushing the nation down this nihilistic road for quite some time with its daily injections of what can legitimately be called propaganda. The BBC has successfully turned itself into a revolting cesspool of bigotry against Israel and tendentious excuse-making for Islamic terrorists; it is a national embarrassment of a high order. Phillips links to a counterbalancing piece by Con Coughlin in the Telegraph.I'd add the ABC News coverage to the list of awful coverage. They're more than willing to blame Israel for the inability to cover the story from Gaza, completely ignoring the fact that the jihadis and thugs running amok in Gaza are gunning for journalists - who are seen as a prize possession that would command quite the ransom because they are high profile targets.
UPDATE:
Bibi Netanyahu is calling for Israel to encircle Gaza and take Hamas down. If it were only that easy. Olmert is Olmert, and the West will dither, let Israel have a go at it, and the first sign of a civilian casualty start blaming Israel for the whole mess (ss/dd).
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