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Gaza truce thread - Military Photos
Post your updates on the Israel-Gaza truce here.
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Palestinians fire shells as Israel decides to open Gaza crossings
Jun.
28, 2008
KHALED ABU TOAMEH and YAAKOV LAPPIN , THE JERUSALEM POST
Shortly Israel decided to open all the crossings into Gaza Saturday night several mortar shells were fired by Palestinian terrorists at the Karni Crossing area.
It was unclear whether the shells landed in Israeli territory or fell short of the perimeter fence and there were no reports of wounded or damage.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i, in consultation with defense chiefs, decided to allow 80 truckloads of food to cross from Israel to Gaza on Sunday.
The crossings, including Karni, had been closed since Tuesday after Palestinians violated the Gaza cease-fire by shooting Kassams rockets at the western Negev.
A mortar attack on Israel Friday prompted Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip to issue new warnings to Palestinian armed groups there against violating the cease-fire with Israel and threatening to arrest anyone who does not abide by it.
This is the first time Hamas has threatened to arrest Gazans who fire rockets at Israel.
The threat is seen as a sign of Hamas's keenness to preserve the cease-fire and show that it is capable of enforcing its will on all the factions in the Strip.
Terrorists fired two mortar shells at Israel from northern Gaza on Friday, marking the end of a week marred by cease-fire breaches.
One shell hit near Kibbutz Kfar Aza while the second slammed into an uninhabited area.
No injuries or damages were reported.
Sources in the Gaza Strip told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas's security forces arrested five Fatah militiamen Friday on suspicion of firing three rockets at Israel last week.
The men were arrested in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, the sources said, noting that Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, had claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, said his movement's position regarding the violations committed by Fatah and Islamic Jihad was "clear." He said representatives of Fatah and Islamic Jihad had been summoned to meetings with Hamas officials who warned them against breaching the agreement.
"Some elements were working secretly to foil the [cease-fire] agreement," Zahar told reporters.
"They don't want this agreement to succeed because they are working against the national interests of our people."
Zahar also said some Palestinian "collaborators" and unruly factions were behind the attempts to foil the truce.
He said that his movement had made it clear that anyone who violated the agreement would be arrested.
"We have reached an agreement with Islamic Jihad that anyone, even if he's from Hamas, would be arrested and disarmed if he violates the agreement," he said.
"Those who violate the agreement will be accused of sabotaging the national program."
Asked if he is not concerned that Hamas would be accused of serving Israel by arresting rocket-launchers, Zahar said: "Whoever makes such an allegation does not understand anything and is himself a collaborator with Israel.
This agreement was reached on the basis of national consensus."
Zahar revealed that Hamas has already arrested a number of Palestinians who fired mortars and rockets at the border crossings to the Gaza Strip or trucks supplying fuel.
He also said some Gazan clans had handed over their sons who were accused of violating the truce and "harming the national interests of the Palestinians."
Hamas's Interior Minister, Said Siam, summoned representatives of Palestinian armed groups to an urgent meeting at his home on Friday night where he warned them against breaching the cease-fire.
"All those who accepted the agreement must now honor it," he said after the meeting.
"Anyone who acts otherwise will be held responsible and will be seen as serving the interests of Israel."
Israel did not respond militarily to the mortars over the weekend, choosing instead to keep Gaza border crossings closed, as it had done throughout the previous week.
Kfar Aza has come under frequent mortar attacks in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Palestinian sources said a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by IDF soldiers in Beit Omar, north of Hebron.
The IDF said soldiers opened fire after identifying a group of youths throwing Molotov cocktails at motorists on Highway 60.
The latest incident came after IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) men shot dead a senior Islamic Jihad figure and a lower-ranking member of the organization on Tuesday.
AP and JPost.com Staff contributed to this report
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Quote: : RAFAH-EGYPT BORDER, GAZA STRIP - JUNE 27: Masked Palestinian men smuggle food, milk and supplies in sacks as they work underground June 27, 2008 in a tunnel, which links between Rafah southern Gaza Strip and Egypt.
In the eighth day of the tottered truce between Israel and Palestinian militant factions in the Hamas-rule Gaza, the Palestinians still count on smuggled victuals and supplies through tunnels from Egypt.
Israel has closed the crossings with Gaza for legal import goods, amidst of exchanged accusations between both sides, whose infract the cease-fire first.
Quote: : Israeli soldiers pull away a foreign activist filming clashes between the military and Palestinian protestors following the funeral of Mohammed al-Alami in the West Bank village of Beit Omar near Hebron on June 28, 2008.
Islamic Jihad threatened today to resume rocket attacks on Israel if it continues military operations in the occupied West Bank, while Gaza's ruling Hamas said it had arrested militants and would lock up any violating a truce with the Jewish state.
The threats came after Alami was killed in Hebron overnight as he threw petrol bombs at Israeli soldiers, the military said, putting further strain on the week-old ceasefire.
Quote: : Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a training exercise in Gaza June 24, 2008.
Militants in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip fired several rockets into southern Israel on Tuesday, breaching a five-day-old ceasefire after Israeli troops killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
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Smuggling food? I pity you, ramthor, if you believe that Hamas smuggles food through those tunnels.
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HAMAS and Fatah moving towards fratricide
Hamas arrests Fatah spokesman in Gaza
Jun.
30, 2008
Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST
Hamas security forces arrested the spokesman for Fatah's Aksa Martyrs Brigades in the Gaza Strip on Sunday.
Muhammad Abu Armaneh, who is better known by his nom de guerre Abu Qusai, was taken into custody while standing in front of his shop in Rafah, sources in the Gaza Strip said.
The arrest is believed to be linked to Hamas's attempts to enforce the truce agreement that was reached with Israel last week.
Last week, Armaneh was the one who announced that the Aksa Martyrs Brigades had fired three rockets at Israel in violation of the cease-fire.
The rocket attacks drew sharp criticism from Hamas, whose leaders threatened over the weekend to arrest anyone who violates the cease-fire, even if he belonged to Hamas.
Fatah officials reacted with anger to the arrest of Armaneh, who is one of the most senior members of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades in the Gaza Strip.
He also played a major role as spokesman for the Brigades during the first years of the second intifada, which began in September 2000.
He has been on Israel's list of wanted terrorists for many years.
Fatah legislator Ashraf Juma'a strongly condemned the arrest and urged Hamas to release him immediately and unconditionally.
He said that Israel was the only party to benefit from the increased divisions between Fatah and Hamas.
Juma'a also emphasized the need to abide by the cease-fire and called on the Aksa Martyrs Brigades to refrain from firing rockets at Israel.
Armaneh was arrested shortly after Hamas announced that the Brigades would no longer be treated as part of a legitimate political party, a move that paves the way for taking measures against its members.
The Aksa Martyrs Brigades accused Hamas of kidnapping its spokesman and warned against harming him.
"The kidnapping of Abu Qusai and other members of the Palestinian resistance groups by Hamas only serves the interests of Israel," the group said in a statement.
"This also proves that the cease-fire that Hamas reached with Israel is tantamount to national treason because the agreement allows Israel to continue targeting Palestinians in the West Bank." Zakaria Zubeidi, the Jenin commander of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, issued a statement in which he called on Hamas to release Armaneh within 12 hours or face the consequences.
"It's become impossible to remain silent in the face of Hamas's crimes against our people," he said.
"If they don't release him within 12 hours we will hold all Hamas leaders in the West Bank responsible."
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Lol, not to sound sarcastic or negative...
But this should be renammed the never ending thread...
This thread will be here as long as MP.net is up and running...
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Quote: : Smuggling food?
I pity you, ramthor, if you believe that Hamas smuggles food through those tunnels.
I myself believe that food is smuggled through those tunnels.
But I also believe that food isn't the only thing being smuggled.
All I have to say about this situation is chicken-and-egg.
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Quote: : Smuggling food?
I pity you, ramthor, if you believe that Hamas smuggles food through those tunnels.
Im sure that was stolen from a family of 5 in Gaza to be used in a photo op.
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Kassams spur Barak to close crossings
Jun.
30, 2008
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST
The Gaza truce was violated once again on Monday evening when two Kassam rockets fired from the northern Gaza Strip landed in an open area in the western Negev.
No casualties or damage were reported.
As a result of the latest attack, Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the army to keep the border crossings closed on Tuesday.
Since the beginning of the cease-fire agreement with Gaza's Hamas-led government, a number of mortar shells and Kassam rockets have been fired at Israel.
Monday's Kassam attack comes after a weekend during which a number of mortar shells were fired at southern Israel, including one which landed near Kibbutz Kfar Aza.
Similar cease-fire violations earlier last week prompted Israel to close Gaza's cargo crossings, but on Sunday, the crossings were reopened to allow a trickle of goods into the territory.
Also on Monday, Palestinian diplomat Nabil Amr said that Egypt would open the Rafah border crossing for two days to allow hundreds of stranded on both sides to cross.
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This is turning into a debacle for Israel.
Zahar: Hamas can take advantage of Kuntar deal
Jun.
30, 2008
YAAKOV KATZ, KHALED ABU TOAMEH, and BEN SALES , THE JERUSALEM POST
Fears mounted in Israel on Monday that Hamas would toughen its stance in the negotiations for the release of kidnapped soldier St.-Sgt.
Gilad Schalit in response to the cabinet's decision a day earlier to release murderer Samir Kuntar in exchange for reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, who were abducted by Hizbullah.
These fears seemed justified as Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar said on Monday that Israel's decision to free Kuntar and other Lebanese prisoners in the context of a prisoner exchange with Hizbullah would pave the way for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners "with blood on their hands."
Regev and Goldwasser are believed to be dead, and as a result officials warned that Hamas might decide to increase its previous demand of 450 prisoners since Schalit is alive and Israel might be willing to pay more.
"They want to take advantage of the deal with Hizbullah," a defense official explained.
"They see what price we are willing to pay for bodies and think they can now get more for Schalit, who is alive."
"Something important has happened, and there's no ignoring the fact that it [the cabinet decision] is a major development.
Israel has agreed to release prisoners who it says have blood on their hands.
We must therefore seize the opportunity and seek the release of our prisoners," Zahar said.
"There should be no difference between the case of Schalit and the case of Kuntar."
Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions in the Gaza Strip expressed hope that the decision to free Kuntar signaled a change in Israel's policy of not releasing prisoners who were involved in killings.
They see the decision as a "big victory" for Hizbullah because Israel was eventually forced to succumb to the organization's demands.
Abu Mujahed, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, an alliance of various armed groups in the Gaza Strip, said Monday that his group was now hopeful that Israel would release Palestinian prisoners serving lengthy sentences for their role in fatal terror attacks.
The Popular Resistance Committees was one of the groups that claimed responsibility for Schalit's abduction two years ago.
"The Zionist enemy must learn the lesson," Abu Mujahed said.
"If they want to see the soldier again, they must accept all our demands as they did with Hizbullah.
We continue to insist that they release prisoners serving lengthy sentences, in addition to women and minors."
He expressed confidence that the release of Kuntar would be the first step toward releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
"The Lebanese resistance has triumphed," he added.
"Soon our imprisoned heroes will be freed."
In a related development, Egypt has summoned Hamas representatives to Cairo next week for talks on a prisoner exchange with Israel, an Egyptian diplomat said Monday.
The diplomat said the two sides would also discuss ways of resolving the ongoing dispute between Hamas and Fatah and the current cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
"Egypt has decided to focus its efforts on solving the case of Gilad Schalit," the diplomat told The Jerusalem Post.
"As of next week, we will hold intensive talks in Cairo with all the concerned parties until we reach an agreement over a prisoner deal."
Zahar confirmed that his movement had received an invitation from the Egyptians to dispatch a delegation to Cairo for talks on Schalit.
He said the talks would start as early as next week and would also deal with Hamas's demand to reopen the Rafah border crossing and release Hamas prisoners from Egyptian jails.
Israeli officials also said it was likely that Ofer Dekel, Israel's negotiator on the captives issue, would travel to Cairo to participate in the talks.
Meanwhile, senior defense officials revealed on Monday that according to recent intelligence information, Hamas was taking military action in Gaza to prevent breaches of the cease-fire.
The information came even as a Kassam rocket landed in the Sha'ar Hanegev Regional Council area, causing no casualties or damage.
The officials said Hamas forces were being deployed in open fields frequently used in the past by rocket and mortar squads and have even arrested several terror operatives affiliated with the Islamic Jihad.
"They are taking action on the ground, and this is indicative of how important the cease-fire is for them," one official said.
"They know that if they don't rein in the other factions, Israel will not keep its part of the deal, either."
Commenting on the prisoner swap, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that its approval was justified, despite negative consequences, because it would bring the captive soldiers home and would help catalyze similar indirect negotiations with Hamas over the return of Schalit.
"I stand behind this decision with all of my strength and all of my faith," said Olmert of the exchange with Hizbullah.
"Alongside that, we continue to concern ourselves, with all of our strength and all of our courage, with the return of Gilad Schalit.
That is also not a simple story, and it won't be an easy decision.
We need to remember that."
According to the terms of the Hizbullah exchange, Israel will release Kuntar, along with four other Hizbullah fighters, an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners, dozens of Hizbullah and Palestinian bodies, and information on the disappearance in Beirut in 1982 of four Iranian diplomats, in exchange for Goldwasser and Regev and a Hizbullah report on the fate of missing navigator Ron Arad.
Dekel, who negotiated the deal through German mediator Gerhard Konrad, is scheduled to head to Berlin later this week to sign the agreement, officials said Monday.
Konrad will then take the agreement to Beirut to obtain a Hizbullah signature.
Defense officials said it was likely that the swap would take place in the next two weeks, although a final date had yet to be set.
Following the signing of the agreement, Hizbullah is set to deliver its report on Arad, and Israel is to give its information on the fate of the Iranian diplomats, believed to have been killed by Christian Phalangists during Israel's invasion of Beirut in 1982.
If Konrad determines that the report on Arad lives up to acceptable standards, and Israel concurs, the prisoner swap will take place.
Defense officials said the swap would take place at the Rosh Hanikra border crossing with Lebanon and not in Germany, the site of the previous swap with Hizbullah in 2004.
"Today there is a strong UNIFIL that can facilitate the swap at the border," a senior defense official said, adding that under the assumption that Goldwasser and Regev were dead, forensic teams would first test the bodies' DNA to confirm their identity before completing the swap.
Olmert, speaking to the Kadima faction, said that his primary reason for making the deal was to bring the soldiers back to Israel while he still had the ability to do so.
"I did it even though I knew criticism would be voiced and that it would be controversial in Israeli society, but I did it because I want the boys home and I wanted to release their families from this continuing and unrelenting torture," Olmert said regarding his approval of the exchange.
"In no way can I say that this was a good decision.
This isn't a good issue;
This is a painful issue."
Although he stood by the decision, Olmert recognized the drawbacks of the deal, saying that the return of Kuntar meant that Hizbullah had achieved the original objective of the kidnappings.
"I cannot forget the fact that the actions of Hizbullah on July 12, 2006 that led to the kidnapping of our two soldiers and the killing of eight others, and what turned into the second Lebanon War, began with the intention of kidnapping people to get Samir Kuntar [back]," Olmert said.
"It's not that Samir Kuntar is important, but that the circumstances surrounding this decision would create that reality."
Olmert chided the media for making it seem that no progress had been made in the negotiations until recently.
"You tried to create an impression in the public [sphere] that nothing was happening," Olmert said.
"We had a need to manage this with sensitivity and intelligence, with a maximum understanding of all of the aspects of the systems we were dealing with."
Olmert said he wanted to ensure that Goldwasser and Regev were brought home, regardless of whether they were alive or dead.
He said it was clear that Israel needed to push for the decision as it was, or contact with Hizbullah would be cut off and there would be no possibility of bringing them home - or if they were dead, for burial in Israel.
In completing the deal, Olmert said that the government was avoiding a repeat of what happened to Arad, who has been missing since 1986.
"I didn't want these circumstances to create a situation, God forbid, similar to that of Ron Arad.
After 20 years we don't know exactly what happened to him, even though we keep looking," Olmert said.
Whatever the outcome of the exchange with Hizbullah, Olmert cautioned, Israel would encounter similar instances of captured prisoners and would have to stand strong in the face of those challenges.
"You also know this isn't the end of the road, that we're facing tough decisions and similar situations in the future, of soldiers that are in the hands of their captors," Olmert said.
"A state that can devote everything to the saving of one life has a moral strength that creates solidarity that none of these other states has." Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
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IDF kills Palestinian in Gaza for first time since truce declared
Givati soldiers shoot dead Palestinian attempting to infiltrate Israel near Kissufim crossing;
Still unclear whether man was looking to carry out terror attack or seek work;
No weapons found on his body
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...566411,00.html
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