Apparently a different story than the 'soldier missing' story below.
ABU DHABI - An Emirati security guard working with a United Arab Emirates humanitarian mission in Afghanistan has gone missing there, a UAE official said on Wednesday.
A member of a security team in charge of a UAE humanitarian mission in Afghanistan has been reported missing, the official said, without saying when and where he disappeared. The official said the man was an Emirati, but did not give his name. He promised a fuller statement later in the day.
He was speaking following rumours that a doctor from the UAE had gone missing in the Sangin district of the volatile southern Helmand province. The official said the mission was involved in the building of a field hospital, schools and mosques in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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KABUL - The US-led coalition said Wednesday it was investigating reports that a soldier was missing in Afghanistan, as the Taleban claimed to have captured a foreign trooper. We have unconfirmed reports that a soldier is missing. We are investigating, coalition spokesman Major Chris Belcher told AFP. He could not give any details.
Taleban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said the movement had captured a foreign soldier in uniform in the Sangin district of volatile southern Helmand province on Tuesday. One NATO force soldier with a uniform and gun was captured by our mujahedeen (holy warriors), Ahmadi told AFP by telephone from an unknown location. He could not yet give the nationality and the name of the captured soldier.
Of course AFP won't help us with a phone number.
If confirmed, it would be the first time a foreign soldier has been captured by the Taleban, who have previously abducted foreign journalists and aid workers.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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They keep putting their faces in the way, eventually we'll bruise our knuckles.
KABUL - The Afghan Defence Ministry claimed Wednesday to have killed dozens of Taleban fighters in southern Afghanistan, while forces backed by NATO arrested at least 18 suspected terrorists, officials said. At least 12 Taleban were killed and four others were wounded when Afghan troops supported by NATO air forces attacked Taleban hideouts in Deh Chopan district of southern Zabul province on Tuesday, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The fighting took place in the Salwan area of the district where the forces had information regarding the presence of Taleban forces in the area, the statement said, although it did not provide any further details.
Meanwhile, in another clash on Tuesday, tens of Taleban rebels were killed in Gerishk district of southern Helmand province, the statement said. It said that Mullah Kako, a Taleban group leader, was also among the dead militants. The Ministry of Defence was assessing the battle damage.
In the southern province of Ghazni, Afghan and coalition forces arrested ten suspected terrorists in Andar district, seven of whom were armed with AK-47 assault rifles, another Defence Ministry statement said. Meanwhile, eight other militants armed with different types of weapons were arrested in the Urgun district of the south-eastern province of Paktika on Tuesday, it said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
What's a jihadi to do? So many places to get killed for allan. So little time.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/14/2007 9:49 Comments ||
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#4
I've been reading about the successes the US and its allies have been having in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I've decided we've finally developed a workable tactical doctrine on how to fight against the islamonuts. Intelligence has also improved, and response times to ambushes and attacks have been greatly reduced, giving us greater kill ratios. We had the same problems in the beginning in Vietnam against the NVA and the Viet Cong. Once we developed appropriate tactics, the enemy was practically driven from the battlefield. Unfortunately, our political "leadership" doesn't seem to have the capability of understanding this, and wants to throw the growing list of victories away in pursuit of defeat. Our next challenge will be to develop a tactical and strategic doctrine to use against our BIGGEST enemy - the political bureaucracy in Washington that wants to destroy our nation.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/14/2007 12:10 Comments ||
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#5
OP...Didn't you get the memo from Hairy Reed? The surge failed! (sarcasm off)
The Afghanistan government is planning to ban private Pakistani vehicles from crossing over a key southern border into its territory for security reasons, an official said on Wednesday. The decision has been taken by the Afghan interior ministry to check growing incidents of violence in the bordering areas, said Afghan Border Force Commander Abdul Razzaq Panjsheri while talking to reporters in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistans Kandahar province.
The commander said private vehicles, including cars and motorbikes, would not be allowed to cross the border from Thursday, but added that trade vehicles would not be stopped. Thousands of people cross the border daily for business, work or to meet relatives.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
They love the 7th century so much, how 'bout we just say "Any of ya caught on anything other than a camel, or carrying anything that has moving parts, will be shot on sight..."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/14/2007 9:57 Comments ||
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Murcek -
Guns have moving parts. Any Muslims with guns must immediately shoot themselves for Allan. Works for me.
Fifteen Taliban and a young girl were reported killed on Wednesday in clashes in Afghanistan as US defence officials said NATO needed more soldiers and equipment to fight the insurgents.
Twelve militants were killed in the southern province of Zabul in fighting on Tuesday to which the Afghan army called in foreign warplanes, the armys southern commander, Rahmatullah Raufi, said. Four more were arrested. Another battle erupted in the province overnight when Taliban attacked a police post nearby, the Mizan district chief said. The fighting lasted two hours and three Taliban were killed and five wounded, Mohammad Younus said. A rocket-propelled grenade landed on a civilian house during the battle, killing a girl aged about seven, he added. A Taliban spokesman, Yousuf Ahmadi, confirmed both clashes but not the death tolls.
Senior US defence officials said that Defence Secretary Robert Gates would press European allies for more troops and equipment for Afghanistan at a two-day NATO meeting in Brussels starting on Thursday. There certainly is a need for more combat forces, one official said. There is also a need for more enablers. Helicopters is one of them. Equipment is another.
Meanwhile, a foreign soldier went missing on Wednesday and the Taliban said it had kidnapped him. US military spokesman Major Chris Belcher said the soldier belonged to the US-led coalition forces and was missing in an area of the Helmand province. He said he had no further details. Speaking from Quetta an unknown location, Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf told Reuters that members of the group had kidnapped the soldier, though he said the man belonged to NATO-led forces, and the Taliban were establishing his nationality.
Earlier on Wednesday, a United Arab Emirates government official said a member of a team providing security for a UAE aid mission had gone missing in Afghanistan. We can confirm that a UAE citizen who is involved in providing security for UAE humanitarian aid in Afghanistan is currently unaccounted for, the official said in Dubai.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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A Guyanese judge denied bail Wednesday for two sons of a suspect accused of plotting to bomb New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, ordering the pair to remain in jail on charges of illegal possession of ammunition.
Kareem and Iqra Kadir, sons of plot suspect Abdul Kadir, 55, a former opposition legislator in Guyana, pleaded not guilty when they made their first court appearance before Magistrate Judge Melissa Robertson-Ogle on the illegal munitions charge. Prosecutors said a single round of ammunition for a high-powered rifle, which the brothers were not licensed to own, was found hidden at their home in the eastern Guyanese city of Linden during a search by local police and FBI agents on Sunday.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Under the British colonial era legislation still on the books in most of the Caribbean, possession of a live round, or even a spent cartridge or of lead shot, counts as "ammunition" and may get you up to 5 years in jail.
No right to bear arms there. Anyone wanting a firearm must apply to the Police for a permit.
This is granted on the discretion of the Commissioner of Police.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/14/2007 6:34 Comments ||
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NEW DELHI: Ahead of its hush-hush visit to Jammu & Kashmir, a top-level Israeli Army delegation held wide-ranging discussions with the Indian military brass on Wednesday to discuss ways to boost the already robust bilateral defence ties.
The delegation, led by Israeli deputy chief of general staff Major-General Moshe Kaplinsky, shared its views with Army chief General J J Singh, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal F H Major and defence secretary Shekhar Dutt.
"The Israelis, in turn, got a briefing on Indias security perspectives in the region and beyond. Since both countries have a long history of dealing with terrorism, cooperation is now taking place in sharing of intelligence and counter-terrorism strategies," said a source.
As reported earlier by TOI, the Israeli delegation will be travelling to J&K on Thursday, with visits planned to the 16 Corps headquarters in Nagrota, which is tasked with guarding the Line of Control south of the Pir Panjal range, as well as Jammu and other places.
"The delegation will review the performance of the Israeli equipment being used along the LoC, like unattended ground sensors, HHTIs, among others. The Israelis will also share their experience of tackling infiltration in Gaza Strip," said the source. Later, the delegation is slated to visit the Western Naval Command at Mumbai.
Posted by: John Frum ||
06/14/2007 07:11 ||
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#1
Sounds like quite a shindig, wonder if they have a cash bar?
#2
Joo: Do yours roll their eyes like this?
HinJoo: Yes! Can yours do the big mouth?
Joo: Yep, seen that picture on RantBurg?
HinJoo: The sack?
Joo: No, the goat.
Police arrested four alleged terrorists on Wednesday for their involvement in providing arms to militant camps and attacks on government installations. According to a private television channel, Sui District Police Officer Najam Uddin Khan told journalists that Zain Bugti, Muhammad Ali, Murad Ahmed and Younis were arrested during raids in Sui. A huge cache of explosives, rockets, mortal shells and other ammunition was recovered from their possession, he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Pakistani Taliban shaved the heads of seven alleged criminals, blackened their faces and paraded them in a bazaar on Wednesday in Miranshah, witnesses said. According to witnesses, a heavily armed Taliban contingent, consisting mainly of students from local madrassas, arrested the alleged criminals on Tuesday from Mir Ali town as part of their campaign to curb crime. The Taliban captured men they said were involved in robberies and snatching vehicles, a local official said. The militants drove the men to a market in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. They shaved their heads and paraded them around with their faces painted black, witness Sharif Khan said. After parading the alleged criminals in the market for half an hour the Taliban took them to their office to try them under Islamic law, witnesses added. Pakistan, a key US ally in the US-led war on terror, signed a controversial peace deal with Taliban and tribal elders in North Waziristan in September.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I hope the 7 black face bald allegers don't break into that olde Al Jolson 'Mammy' routine at the trial. Mirth and frivolity is so un-Talibanic...even after a rolling eyes/spittle parade.
#2
A little gleeful sadism helps keep the plebes in line and entertained at the same time. Works until the rubes get tired of the show or start recognizing the supporting cast. "Hey that's my cousin Faisal! What's he doing in there? Just who are these Talibunnies,anyway?"
Posted by: Baba Tutu ||
06/14/2007 1:01 Comments ||
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#3
I'm sure these folks will be hearing from Jesse and Al.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 1:12 Comments ||
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Three Sunni Muslim mosques were attacked and burned by unidentified gunmen south of Baghdad early on Thursday, police said, a day after suspected al Qaeda militants blew up the minarets of a revered Shi'ite mosque. Two of the mosques were burned in Iskandariya and a third in nearby Mahaweel. All were badly damaged in the apparent reprisal attacks.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 11:44 ||
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#1
Add burning mosque to the "sex and pizza" list. Even bad sex or pizza is pretty good.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
06/14/2007 18:14 Comments ||
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A handful of Sunni mosques were attacked or burned Thursday, but curfews and increased troop levels kept Iraq in relative calm a day after suspected al-Qaida bombers toppled the towering minarets of a prized Shiite shrine.
...
Attacks on Sunni mosques began within hours of Wednesday's bombings in Samarra.
Police in the southern city of Basra said four people were killed and six wounded in attacks on the Kawaz, Othman, al-Abayshi and Basra Grand mosques on Wednesday, all involving rocket-propelled grenades that also damaged the buildings. Basra is Iraq's second-largest city, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.
Four Sunni mosques near Baghdad also were attacked or burned within several hours of the Samarra bombings, police said. One of those mosques, which had been only partly destroyed, was a target again Thursday, police said. Around 4 a.m., attackers broke into the Hateen mosque in Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, and planted bombs inside. Flames from a huge explosion destroyed most of the building, and a woman and child in a nearby apartment were wounded, an Iskandariyah police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Gunmen also tried to storm the nearby al-Mustafa mosque, and exchanged fire with guards before Iraqi soldiers arrived and stopped them, police said. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
In Mahaweel, 35 miles south of Baghdad, gunmen opened fire on the al-Basheer mosque at dawn, police said. They forced guards to leave, then set fire to the mosque, a local police officer said on the same condition of anonymity. The building was partly damaged, he said.
...
Also Thursday, the U.S. military said it detained 25 suspects in raids against al-Qaida in Iraq in the past two days. One taken into custody near Tarmiyah, 30 miles north of Baghdad, was believed to be a close associate of Omar al-Baghdadi, who heads the al-Qaida front group Islamic State in Iraq.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 09:34 ||
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#1
I dont know who i dislike more the Sunnis sponsored by Saudi or the Shiites sponsored by Iran.
Heck just hate the both of them its easier!!!!
Posted by: Paul ||
06/14/2007 10:05 Comments ||
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#2
Hotair According to the Times, the shrine had been under the protection of local predominantly Sunni guards. But American military and Iraqi security officials had recently become concerned that the local unit had been infiltrated by Al Qaeda forces in Iraq. Why the Shiite-run Ministry of Interior would have wanted mostly Sunni guards minding a Shiite shrine that had once notoriously been bombed by Sunnis is completely beyond me. But Sadr has already exploited the incident, withdrawing his MPs from parliament to protest government impotence and blaming the incident on the occupation.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 10:23 Comments ||
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In operations throughout Iraq over the past three days, coalition and Iraqi forces killed nine terrorists and detained 76 suspected terrorists, military officials reported.
During operations targeting al Qaeda in Iraq and the Baghdad car bomb network today, coalition forces killed two terrorists, detained 13 suspected terrorists and discovered a cache of weapons.
In an incident yesterday, coalition forces observed two terrorists emplacing improvised explosive devices in Baghdad and raided their bed-down location. As coalition forces approached the building, the two terrorists disregarded the interpreter's instructions and approached the ground force. Coalition forces engaged the two men, killing them.
#1
Well, but it's still a quagmire. The war is lost. Ask Harry.
Posted by: Bobby ||
06/14/2007 6:46 Comments ||
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#2
I'm afraid it is lost, Bobby. On exactly the same battlefields as Vietnam was lost - American college campuses, network tv news studios, New York Times etc., and in the shallow, Hilton-obsessed, ADD-afflicted minds of the Americans they cater to, which appear to be a solid majority. In a democracy you get the government you deserve --- keep your ammo locker stocked.
#5
Glenmore. Respectfully. if that were really really true, Nancy and Harry would NOT have folded so completely on the supplemental funding bill.
Despite what the media say are the poll numbers on Iraq, the political opportunists in Washington know that "cut n' run" is a loser. (yet they still affect a tale of sound and fury to their rabidly insane BDS afflicted base. And Harry Reid makes the perfect idiot to tell it)
With violence spreading again in Iraq today comes words that the government-owned al-Sabah newspaper had issued a news release saying that its well-known editor-in-chief, Flayeh Wadi Mijdab, had been kidnapped.
Unknown gunmen ambushed Mijdab in eastern Baghdad on Wednesday morning as he was heading to work, police said. His 25-year-old son and driver were left behind, police added.
The headquarters of the General Security Service, commanded by Ramallah-based General Tawfik Tirawi, fell to Hamas gunmen. Hamas said documents it found there prove that the Fatah-affiliated security apparatus has close ties with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Hamas said it would show the documents on television in the coming hours.
Elsewhere, the capture of the Preventive Security headquarters was a major step forward in Hamas's attempts to complete its takeover of all of Gaza. Hamas followed up that victory by demanding Fatah surrender another key security installation.
Hamas also overran the southern city of Rafah, the second of Gaza's four main towns to fall into the Islamic group's hands.
Later Thursday, an explosion rocked Gaza City, and smoke was seen rising from a security post. Fatah security officials said forces positioned at the post had redeployed elsewhere and blown it up as they left, rather than let Hamas take it over.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 11:54 ||
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#1
I hope this is a really good disinformation play by someone at Langley, aimed at getting bad guys to kill each other off.
Posted by: Mike ||
06/14/2007 12:31 Comments ||
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#2
I suspect the "documents" are bogus but the link is true. But they forgot the documents showing Fatah's alliance with congressional Democrats.
#5
At least 25 Palestinians were killed and 80 were wounded as Hamas fighters overran two of Fatah's most important security installations in the Gaza Strip earlier Thursday. Witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen from the building and shot them to death gangland-style in the street in front of their families.
#6
Even armed with earth-movers, there's more than enough dirt to dig with either of these terrorist groups. You can be sure that each of them has a closet chock full of skeletons. Trying to discredit Fatah is merely gilding the lily. Long ago they proved just how ornamental they were with respect to bettering the Palestinians' lives. All that remains is for Hamas to clearly demonstrate what a ruthless bunch of thugs they are and the circle will be complete.
The Palestinians insist upon embracing terrorism. So long as they continue to do so, all they will get is gangster governments. This is truly a case of people getting the government that they deserve. Here's hoping Hamas carries out some incredibly vicious purges that will have the Palestinian people wailing in the streets. It would be gratifying in the extreme to see them finally come to grips with the logical extension of their genocidal mentality.
Hamas fighters overran one of the rival Fatah movement's most important security installations in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen from the building and killed them in the street. The capture of the Preventive Security headquarters was a major step forward in Hamas' attempts to complete its takeover of all of Gaza. Hamas later called on Fatah fighters to surrender the National Security compound within the hour.
The moderate President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, for the first time in five days of fierce fighting, ordered his elite presidential guard to strike back. But his forces were crumbling fast under the onslaught by the better-armed and better-disciplined Islamic fighters. Fatah officials said seven of their fighters were shot to death in the street outside Preventive Security. A witness, Jihad Abu Ayad, said the men were being killed in front of their wives and children. "They are executing them one by one," Abu Ayad said. "They are carrying one of them on their shoulders, putting him on a sand dune, turning him around and shooting." Did he complain that he's "not a Jew"???
Some of the Hamas fighters kneeled down outside the building, touching their foreheads to the ground in prayer. Others led Fatah fighters out of the building, some of them shirtless or in their underwear, holding their arms in the air. Several of the Fatah men flinched as the crack of gunfire split the air. "We are telling our people that the past era has ended and will not return, " Islam Shahawan, a spokesman for Hamas' militia, told Hamas radio. "The era of justice and Islamic rule have arrived." Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, heralded what he called "Gaza's second liberation," after Israel's 2005 evacuation of the coastal strip.
The two factions have warred sporadically since Hamas took power from Fatah last year, but never with such intensity. Hamas reluctantly brought Fatah into the coalition in March to quell an earlier round of violence, but the uneasy partnership began crumbling last month over control of the powerful security forces.
Some 80 people, most of them militants, have been killed since a spike in violence Sunday sent Gaza into civil war. At least 15 people died on Thursday. Hospitals were operating without water, electricity and blood. Even holed up inside their homes, Gazans weren't able to escape fighting that turned apartment buildings into battlefields.
Moean Hammad, 34, said life had become a nightmare at his high-rise building near the Preventive Security headquarters. "We spent our night in the hallway outside the apartment because the building came under crossfire in 2002," Hammad said. "We haven't had electricity for two days, and all we can hear is shooting and powerful, earthshaking explosions. The world is watching us dying and doing nothing to help. God help us, we feel like we are in a real-life horror movie." A movie you've helped script, produce, and acted in.
Shaher Hatoum, a nurse at nearby Al Quds hospital, said the facility had no electricity, water or blood, and that wounded were propped up on ward floors. Hundreds of bullets flew through windows, and fighters ignored the hospital's appeals to hold fire just long enough to have the generator and water pipes fixed, Hatoum said. "We are waiting here for our end," Hatoum said. Wind, meet whirlwind. The chickens are coming home to roost, and payback's a b!tch.
The European Commission on Thursday suspended its humanitarian aid projects in the Gaza Strip, citing the escalating violence. EU humanitarian operations in both Gaza and the West Bank totaled $110 million last year. So far this year, it has earmarked $80 million. "I fervently hope that the projects can resume very soon," EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said. Oh yeah, that will help things tremendously
Meanwhile, Abbas was meeting in the West Bank town of Ramallah with the decision-making bodies of Fatah and the Palestine Liberation Organization. One aide, speaking on condition of anonymity because no decision had been made, said Abbas was considering pulling Fatah out of its governing coalition with Hamas. That'll show 'em!
Hamas also was training its guns at three other key command centers in Gaza City. Rocket-propelled grenades were being fired toward Abbas' Gaza compound, provoking return fire from his presidential guard.
For the first time since the fighting began, Abbas ordered his guard to go on the offensive against Hamas at the compound, and not simply maintain a defensive posture, an aide said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the situation was fluid. The intelligence service compound also was under siege, as Hamas fired dozens of rocket-propelled grenades in its direction. Yes... start to fight back after the battle's been lost. Great plan!
Hamas said it was on the verge of taking over the building. But the director of the intelligence service in Gaza, Mohammed al-Masri, said in a text message that the compound was still in Fatah hands. Mortar shells were lobbed overnight at a third key security headquarters, the National Security building.
Elsewhere in Gaza, clashes broke out at three Fatah-allied villages near the southern town of Khan Younis, but Hamas encountered little resistance as it took over security positions and homes belonging to pro-Fatah officers. A teenager was killed in the crossfire in 2002. Huh? What does that last sentance have to do with anything?
The violence has exposed the depths of the disarray in Fatah's ranks since Hamas ended Fatah's 40-year dominion of Palestinian politics last year. A Hamas military victory in Gaza would split Palestinian territory into two, with the Islamic extremists controlling the coastal strip and Western-backed Fatah ruling the West Bank. Israel was watching the carnage closely, concerned the clashes might spawn attacks on its southern border.
Israeli defense officials said Wednesday that Israel, which evacuated Gaza in 2005, would not intervene unless Hamas took over Gaza and started attacking Israel. Fatah has asked Israeli permission to bring in more arms and armored vehicles, but Tzahi Hanegbi, chairman of the Israeli parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, told Army Radio that arming Fatah would be "insane" because the weapons would fall into Hamas hands. He said Israel was considering backing Fatah forces in the West Bank, but did not elaborate.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he discussed the possible deployment of a multinational force in Gaza with the Security Council on Wednesday. "We have always asked for international forces to come to the West Bank and Gaza," Abbas confidant Saeb Erekat told Israel's Army Radio. But, he added, "Honestly, on the personal level, I believe that if we don't help ourselves as Palestinians, nobody can." Sigh, if only Arafat had lived to see the fruits of his labors...
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 10:15 ||
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#1
But where is AI? What about the rights of the Fatah POWs? I hope the un investigates and sends them a very harshly worded letter.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 12:28 Comments ||
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#7
"We haven't had electricity for two days, and all we can hear is shooting and powerful, earthshaking explosions. The world is watching us dying and doing nothing to help. God help us, we feel like we are in a real-life horror movie."
The only problem with this situation is our own traitors are leading us down the same path to the men with the beards and the swords.
#8
It would be nice to have some video footage of Hamas folk executing their Fatah rivals. I wonder what will happen to the Egyptians who are advising the Fatah forces. Watching the Egyptian public reactions to video of those executions would be an interesting experience.
It may be that some of the less PR savvy Hamas types will post these videos on their website.
Incidentally, based on what is currently happening, the death toll from gunfights, executions, explosions, etc. will likely be drastically undercounted.
well since Lancet uses, among other things, self reporting by self selected sample, they might actually report that half the fatalities were inflicted by the IDF and the other half by the US.
#15
If Olmert had a brain (and balls), he could;
1. Release all Hamas prisoners of Israel to Fatah for execution.
2. Release all Fatah prisoners of Israel to Gaza to fight to the death.
3. Attack Hamas HQ and kill all of their leaders.
4. Remove Gaza from the map.
5. Get ready to prepare Gaza for planting wheat.
#22
Damn, I can't keep up with the popcorn demand!
The paleo-swine are just so inconsiderate....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
06/14/2007 17:59 Comments ||
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#23
Damn, I can't keep up with the popcorn demand!
It's all right, Barbara, dear.
[sets down trays of canapes and ice buckets with magnums of Champagne]
IT'S PARTY TIME!!!
witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen from the building and killed them in the street
"And there's hamburger all over the highway in the Gaza strip!"
The world is watching us dying and doing nothing to help.
Noticed that, did you Moean? You honestly didn't think that there would never be an accounting for all those airliner hijackings, the Munich Olympics and the Achille Lauro, now did you?
arming Fatah would be "insane" because the weapons would fall into Hamas hands
Looks like nobody's putting any money on Fatah. I wonder how closely world media is going to cover Hamas' ensuing "reign of terror". You can bet there's going to be non-stop executions for the next several days as Hamas takes revenge on all of the Fatah supporting clans. After watching those videos showing four year-old Palestinian kids screaming "death to the Jews" and clamoring to become bomb vest murderers, I don't even give a rip about all the children that will die.
This is the Palestinians' finest hour. These morons elected Hamas knowing full well they were empowering a terrorist organization. Let them savor yet another pyrrhic victory wrought by their own hand. Never has there been a people so singularly talented at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They certainly chose one hell of an opportunity to fail to miss.
#25
Hamas shooting captured Fatah thugs in the feets streets
finally got that figured out huh? No mo steel-toed tennies sales runs
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2007 20:51 Comments ||
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#26
by the way, puuuurfect time to shut off the power and water, Israel. Let the sewage simmer
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2007 20:59 Comments ||
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#27
Never mind about the popcorn, Barbara... how about some delicately thin-shaved slivers of schadenfreude, on melba toast with some truffles and finely chopped hardboiled egg?
I am rather enjoying this, actually. Does this make me a bad person?
Just desserts, just hors d'ourvres, just main course, soup and salad course, etc, just heaping plate of crow for the Palestinians. Chow down, you idiots. Enjoy. I know that I am!
#30
Between Zenster and Sgt. Mom catering, I plan on going to bed tonight stuffed to the gills and extremely happy from tongue to tummy. Let me run and get the Czech crystal from behind the bar for the champagne, Zenster. Would you prefer the flutes or the ones I usually use to serve chocolate mousse in?
#31
How long till Gaza(hamas) and the West Bank(Fatah) start trying to shoot rockets at eachother over Isreal? Or even attempting suicide bombings on eachother, seeing how the other side are infidels working against the good of the "paleostinian" people? Better yet, when are they going to start fighting over Arafats gravesite? We should insert mis-information that it's been declared a holy site.
Posted by: Charles ||
06/14/2007 21:14 Comments ||
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Hamas fighters overran one of the rival Fatah movement's most important security installations in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen into the street and shot them to death execution-style.
The capture of the Preventive Security headquarters was a major step forward in Hamas' attempts to complete its takeover of all of Gaza. Hamas followed up that victory by demanding Fatah surrender another key security installation.
Hamas also seized control of the southern city of Rafah, the second of Gaza's four main towns to fall into the Islamic militants' hands, according to witnesses and security officials.
The moderate President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, for the first time in five days of fierce fighting, ordered his elite presidential guard to strike back. But his forces were crumbling fast under the onslaught by the better-armed and better-disciplined Islamic fighters.
In all, 14 fighters and civilians were killed and 80 wounded in the battle for the Preventive Security complex, bringing the day's death toll to 25 by mid-afternoon, hospital and security officials said. About 90 people, most of them militants, have been killed since a spike in violence Sunday sent Gaza into civil war.
Fatah said seven of its fighters were shot to death outside the Preventive Security building. A doctor at Shifa Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said he examined two bodies that had been shot in the head at close range.
A witness, Jihad Abu Ayad, said men were killed in front of their wives and children. "They are executing them one by one," Abu Ayad said. "They are carrying one of them on their shoulders, putting him on a sand dune, turning him around and shooting."
The Palestine Liberation Organization's top body recommended that Abbas declare a state of emergency and dismantle Fatah's governing coalition with Hamas. Abbas said he would review the recommendations and make decision within hours, said an aide, Nabil Amr.
Some of the Hamas fighters kneeled down outside the captured Preventive Security complex, touching their foreheads to the ground in prayer. Others led Fatah gunmen out of the building, some shirtless or in their underwear, holding their arms in the air. Several of the Fatah men flinched as the crack of gunfire split the air.
"We are telling our people that the past era has ended and will not return," Islam Shahawan, a spokesman for Hamas' militia, told Hamas radio. "The era of justice and Islamic rule have arrived." Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, heralded what he called "Gaza's second liberation," after Israel's 2005 evacuation of the coastal strip.
Militants and civilians were looting the compound, hauling out computers, documents, office equipment, furniture and TVs. More at link.
Posted by: ed ||
06/14/2007 09:40 ||
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#4
"The era of justice and Islamic rule have arrived."
Sung to
"My Kind of Town"
(Frank Sinatra Song)
Now this could only happen after the Joooz did flee,
And only happen in a place like this.
So may I say to each of you most jihadily,
Aiming my AK-47
This is my kind of place, The Gaza is
My kind of strip, The Gaza is
My kind of martyrs too
People who shoot at you
And each time I roam, The Gaza is
Calling me home, The Gaza is
Where I can fire off some rounds
Its my kind of place
My kind of town, The Gaza is
Hamas or Fatah? The Gaza is
Hot babes in burkas,
And it has, holy men
And each time I leave, The Gaza is,
Tuggin my schmock, The Gaza is,
The honor killings, Chicago is
Suicide bombers, Chicago is
One place that wont let you down,
Its my kind of strip
#5
PLEASE DELETE THE ABOVE ENTRY for the TYPOS - thanks
Sung to the Frank Sinatra Song
"My Kind of Town"
Now this could only happen after the Joooz did flee,
And only happen in a place like this.
So may I say to each of you most jihadily,
Aiming my AK-47
This is my kind of place, The Gaza is
My kind of strip, The Gaza is
My kind of martyrs too
People who shoot at you
And each time I roam, The Gaza is
Calling me home, The Gaza is
Where I can fire off some rounds
Its my kind of place
My kind of town, The Gaza is
Hamas or Fatah? The Gaza is
Hot babes in burkas,
And it has, holy men
And each time I leave, The Gaza is,
Tuggin my schmock, The Gaza is,
The honor killings, The Gaza is
Suicide bombers, The Gaza is
One strip that wont let you down,
Its my kind of strip
Here's a long, outstanding, link- and analysis-filled blog post. Of interest is his question of why the folks carting away their wounded gunnies apparently take the time to procure Paleo flags to drape all over the stretchers...
He also gets a prize for a terrific post headline, which I promptly stole.
Fatah's losses in Gaza have meant that Hamass now has access to thousands of more weapons and ammo, much of it supplied originally by the US and the West as part of their efforts to prop up the Palestinian Authority
~~
*UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza.
That's it the God Damn Limit!!
I *NEED* to beat the living shit out of Moon over and over and over. And pretty plz if anyone knows where he and kofi live, let me kno... I promise that i'll walk there(?) from here in Caliphornia gladly.
UPDATE:
A former IDF intel officer warns that Hamasstan is all but assured in Gaza, and that Israel may have to take action. He blames Israel for the disengagement leading to the current situation.
Fatah's had enough of Abbas, and are calling for him to step down. Given his abysmal performance, I can't blame them, but then again, not a single one of the Fatah thugs are worthy of being a dog catcher, let alone the representative of a pseudo-government.
Is it *NOW* within the realm of possibilities for Israel to evict every last Paleo [the Al Qaeda Paleos AND every man woman and child Paleo] in the Gaza for the sake of Israel's survival?
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 0:30 Comments ||
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#2
and Wretched adds this to this conversation:
Here are three items with one unifying thread.
Hospitals Become Battleground in Gaza. Caption: "Palestinian physician Fayez Al-Barrawi, 29, lays in a hospital bed after he was shot six times in his legs when he was kidnapped by Palestinian militants, at Kamal Edwan in Beit Lahiya northern Gaza Strip."
Sacred Shiite Shrine in Samarra Attacked Again: "Suspected al-Qaida insurgents on Wednesday destroyed the two minarets of the Askariya Shiite shrine in Samarra, authorities reported, in a repeat of a 2006 bombing that shattered its famous Golden Dome and unleashed a wave of retaliatory sectarian violence that still bloodies Iraq."
Pakistani City Transformed by Militants: "Pro-Taliban Militants Gain Ground, Drain Life From Once Prosperous Pakistani City"
These stories all illustrate how the Jihad is destroying every Muslim society in which it is raised. It has created far more havoc on those societies than any conceivable American military strike. Terrorism as a defense creates far more collateral damage than any conceivable "protection" it may offer.
A case in point is Iraq. Far from being a brilliant strategy to defeat the America the "networked insurgency" has so far managed to smash Iraq's infrastructure, unleash murder gangs, cause the exile of hundreds of thousands of Sunnis to neighboring countries, cripple its oil production, dissolve every semblance of social order it can corrode and finally, unleash such a wave of revulsion that even thugs and smugglers are making common cause with the Coalition so that they can return to a life of peaceful crime.
In Gaza, men on street are improbably longing for the return of the Israeli soldier, whose presence, however stern, now seems the very soul of gaiety in comparison to sadistic brutality of Hamas and Fatah.
Even Pakistan's Northwest Frontier, the historical epitome of lawlessness, is watching all its grim records broken. "Now, Tank is becoming a virtual no-go zone, even for ethnic Pashtuns who make up the majority of its 150,000 people. Islamic fundamentalists have issued Taliban-style edicts and set up their own courts in the city and nearby districts. Extremists have warned barbers not to shave customers' beards and bombed shops selling Western music or films."
And the Jihadis have just gotten started. The terrible logic of terror means that it must continuously raise its level of grisliness to keep its victims, already brutalized and inured to routine shocks, spasming in fear.
Having blown up the Golden Dome of the Samarra mosque they must now move on to the minarets. After that the basements will be next. There's no end to it. It has been argued that not terrorism, but the West's response to it that is fundamentally dangerous to traditional liberties. But if that is true the mirror argument also holds. Islamic societies everywhere are being corroded, perhaps fatally, by the Jihad against the infidel.
Their own choice of symbol -- the suicide bomber -- perhaps best illustrates the ultimate effect of their mode of warfare. The headless, explosive-shattered corpse may represent not simply the fate of the individual attacker but the society which spawned him.
The Jihad expels a terrible toxicity as a waste product, which like carbon monoxide in a submarine, poisons the entire atmosphere till unchecked it is nothing but a cylindrical metal tomb.
The fate of Gaza may foreshadow the future of Lebanon, Pakistan and perhaps finally, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iran. What goes around, comes around.
#3
How was the takeover finalized? Hamas operatives blew up Fatah's main security center, killing 13. Fatah once had a ten to one advantage in weapons, yet a single incident caused their collapse. And Hamas hasn't been getting PA money. How did this happen? The Saudis have been using oil money extorted from the West, to finance Egyptian armamanent of Hamas. I don't believe that this was organized by the Egyptian government, but the State Department has leveraged indulgence of Muslim Brotherhood terrorists. On September 11, 2001, there were 19,000 MB terrorists in Egyptian prisons. Now there are less than 5,000. Why? The Middle East Democratic Initiative involved State Dept pressure for inclusion of anyone who formally - and that word should be used lightly - renounced terror, in the democratic process. Even after Algerian Islamists had campaigned on the motto - one man, one vote, one time - the State Dept. continued to pressure liberation of the enemy. And al-Qaeda's #2 terrorist, Zawahiri, is a former MB terrorist, who had been imprisoned in Egypt until Clinton pressured release.
Effect follows cause, but I am not going to point fingers; I am going to do a Sopranos' ending, and leave with a blank page. Fill in the blanks.......
#4
These stories all illustrate how the Jihad is destroying every Muslim society in which it is raised. It has created far more havoc on those societies than any conceivable American military strike. Terrorism as a defense creates far more collateral damage than any conceivable "protection" it may offer.
Forgive me if I laugh and point. This is the ultimate reason why any conceivable measure will eventually be permitted against Islamic terrorism. It is so toxic as to make global nuclear war look like a placebo.
#5
Cool, looks like the East Med's gonna have it's own Islamic Mini-state Mogadishu - piracy ahoy in 3.. 2..
Posted by: Howard UK ||
06/14/2007 5:22 Comments ||
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#6
Israel's biggest problem always was Western support for Paleosimians. The current situation is an opportunity. Lets hope it won't be wasted like the opportunities of 48 and 67.
#10
This process must run its course. Paleos voted for Hamas. There are consequences for voting for the type of government that they asked for. The Paleos need to live with the consequences. They will change or die, but they must be allowed to live with these consequences or they never will be worth anything to the world or themselves.
Israel has to quarantine Gaza from their own country and let things take their toll. I would suggest that Israel turn off the electricity, and point to the water valve. One of the issues that Israel has in Gaza is the migration of sewage laden water toward the desalination intakes at Ashkelon. Gaza is a very large petri dish that can generate diseases like cholera with their descent into anarchy and civil war. If Israel can keep their distance at this time, that would be the best thing.
However, a clear Hamas win would put Israel into a serious war situation with two hostile agressive enemies, Hamas in Gaza, and Hizb'Allah [Syria, Iran] on their northern borders. These are dangerous times.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/14/2007 15:33 Comments ||
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#11
Iran is directly financing and training Hamas, too, McZoid. They have been for years. At this point, I believe, Hamas is more a tool of Iran than of the Muslim Brotherhood or the Saudi princelings.
Hamas fighters launched a fierce offensive on Gaza City on Wednesday, attacking the main security bases and the Palestinian Authority chairman's compound with mortars and rockets and sending some of the rival Fatah forces fleeing in disarray as the Islamic group appeared close to taking over the entire Gaza Strip.
With the fighting raging on rooftops and streets in nearly all corners of Gaza, residents huddled in fear in their homes, hoping to keep their families safe from stray bullets and shrapnel.
Fayez Abu Taha, 45, a businessman in the southern town of Rafah, said he was trapped in his apartment building with his family after Hamas fighters took over a nearby rooftop and Fatah responded by taking over the roof of his building.
"I don't know what they are battling for now," he said. "I can see the bullets flying from my windows. Coming and going."
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah called the fighting "madness" and pleaded with Hamas's exiled leader for a halt to the violence. Abbas's forces - desperately trying to cling to their besieged bases in Gaza - lashed out at the president, saying he left them with no directions and no support in the fight.
Abbas and PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas issued a joint statement after nightfall, calling on all sides "to halt fighting, and to return to language of dialogue and respect of agreements," according to a statement from Abbas's office. The call was broadcast on Palestinian TV.
The two have made numerous calls for an end to the fighting in the past, to no avail.
No one was listening to the elected leaders as the focus of power passed to street militias.
Hamas gunmen neutralized recognized security forces linked to Fatah in frontal assaults on their strong points, ruling the streets and taking control of large parts Gaza in the process.
The rout of the security forces was so bad that 40 Palestinian security officers broke through the border fence in Rafah and fled into Egypt seeking safety, Egyptian police said.
"What I can I say? This is a fall, a collapse," said Col. Nasser Khaldi, a senior police official in Rafah.
In Washington, US officials condemned the fighting. "Violence certainly does not serve the interest of the Palestinian people, and it's not going to bring the peace and prosperity that they deserve," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
At least 15 people were killed in fighting Wednesday, bringing the total in the four-day campaign to nearly 60. Among those killed Wednesday was a man shot when Hamas gunmen fired at a peaceful protest against the violence, witnesses said.
In one dramatic battle, hundreds of members of the Fatah-allied Bakr clan, which had fought fiercely for two days, surrendered to masked Hamas gunmen and were led, arms raised in the air, to a nearby mosque. Footage broadcast on Hamas' Al Aqsa TV showed some of the Bakr women trying to enter the mosque. Hamas gunmen later drove off with some of the Bakr fighters, witnesses said.
Two women from the clan tried to leave the area to take a sick girl to a hospital and were shot and killed by jittery Hamas gunmen, a clan member said.
After nightfall, Hamas militants blew up the house of one of the Bakr clan's leaders, witnesses said.
Hamas, already in control of much of northern Gaza, seized the southern town of Khan Younis on Wednesday and began a coordinated assault on the town of Rafah, security officials said.
On Wednesday afternoon, they launched attacks on the three main compounds of the Fatah-allied forces in Gaza City - the headquarters of the Preventive Security, the Intelligence Service and the National Forces - in what could usher in the final phase of the battle.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I'm thinking that this may not be such a bad thing after all. With Fatah shoved aside, the only responsible party remaining is Hamas. This would seemingly permit Israel much greater latitude in prosecuting all further missile launches and terrorist attacks. It might be best that Fatah retire to the West Bank and give Israel a clear field to do some serious house cleaning in Gaza. Not only could Fatah generate some badly needed credibility with Israel, but also they would have their heavy lifting done for them free of charge.
I also think that an ensuing round of murderous Hamas led purges within the Gaza strip might give the Palestinians a better idea of just what they've gotten themselves into. Several hundred more brutal deaths would only serve to cement Hamas' reputation as a genuine terrorist organization. Another benefit of this is that, by rights, with Hamas in total control, all foreign funding to the Gaza strip should be shut down entirely. Special separate financial conduits should be set up to provide for the West Bank only. This would represent yet one more lever to force recognition of just what a truly bad decision it was to have elected Hamas.
Israel has a sterling opportunity to play the "Good Cop/Bad Cop" role to the hilt. They can assume a slightly more benevolent posture towards the West Bank while unleashing the harshest retaliations against Gaza. They could easily turn this into a huge win-win situation. Provided, that is, if Olmert has both the wisdom and ostiones to seize this possibly golden opportunity.
I'd really enjoy hearing what trailing wife and other more-well-versed contributors have to say about the above observations. This could represent a unique chance for Israel to, for once, significantly differentiate in how they deal with Fatah and Hamas. Of course, the entire foregoing also relies upon Fatah acting in good faith as well, and we all know just how extraordinary that would be.
#3
"With Fatah shoved aside, the only responsible party remaining is Hamas. This would seemingly permit Israel much greater latitude in prosecuting all further missile launches and terrorist attacks. It might be best that Fatah retire to the West Bank and give Israel a clear field to do some serious house cleaning in Gaza. Not only could Fatah generate some badly needed credibility with Israel, but also they would have their heavy lifting done for them free of charge."
Israel wont get a clear field. First off, Fatah can hardly ok the clear field, without alienating the population in the West Bank, who may not like Hamas, but will sympathize with any civies hurt in Gaza by Israelis, even if the Israelis are going after Hamas. Second, even if Fatah DID give its ok, in large parts of the arab and muslim worlds, and some parts of the Euro left, that will only lead to dismissing Fatah. Fatah in that case would provide only minimal cover for the Israelis. Anything "disproportionate" will still lead to UN resolutions, boycotts, etc. And most important, embarassment to the US, which will pressure Israel to react with "restraint". Maybe they will be somewhat tougher than theyve been, but I wouldnt expect it to be by an order of magnitude.
"I also think that an ensuing round of murderous Hamas led purges within the Gaza strip might give the Palestinians a better idea of just what they've gotten themselves into. Several hundred more brutal deaths would only serve to cement Hamas' reputation as a genuine terrorist organization."
Here I think you are on more solid ground. We've seen a taste of that already this week in Gaza. With no more political game to play with Fatah, it will be tempting for Hamas to unbare their fangs completely, esp given the makeup of whos running Hamas in Gaza now. Assad may be smart enough to try to restrain them, but maybe not, and even if he were, could he? This would be important not so much in Gaza (what are the Gazans going to do, maybe a guerilla campaign?) but in weakening the image of Hamas around the world.
"Another benefit of this is that, by rights, with Hamas in total control, all foreign funding to the Gaza strip should be shut down entirely. Special separate financial conduits should be set up to provide for the West Bank only. This would represent yet one more lever to force recognition of just what a truly bad decision it was to have elected Hamas."
Hard to pull off, as Hamas as over a million Pal hostages, and an unlimited ability to play their suffering before the cameras.
"Israel has a sterling opportunity to play the "Good Cop/Bad Cop" role to the hilt. They can assume a slightly more benevolent posture towards the West Bank while unleashing the harshest retaliations against Gaza. They could easily turn this into a huge win-win situation. "
Maybe marginal gains, I dont see a huge win-win.
"Provided, that is, if Olmert has both the wisdom and ostiones to seize this possibly golden opportunity."
Olmert is history. Once the full Winograd report is out, he will almost certainly step down, and Kadima will select a new leader. Depending on the polls, Kadima and Labour might go for new elections, or more likely Ehud Barak, the new head of Labour, and whoever is the new head of Kadima, will try to hang on longer.
Barak will likely be the new Defense Minister. Unlike Peretz, Barak is quite experienced in security matters, and willing to take risks, both in war and in diplomacy. He would be eager to try something big, but whether a still weakened govt will have the oomph to pull it off remains to be seen.
#4
Assad may be smart enough to try to restrain them, but maybe not, and even if he were, could he?
That depends on whether it's just the Syrians that are in Gaza, or other parties as well. To my semi-trained eye, there is a push on (Gaza, Lebanon, Iraq).
The question is if it's a ploy to buy negotiating power on behalf of Syria's cohort (Iran). Given the increased activity in Iraq, that's a possibility.
The other possibilities are:
1) Whether it's a move to set up a two-front attack on Israel when Hezb'allah tries 'round two'. or
2) Gaza will act as a distraction (to prevent a move by Israel against southern Lebanon)while an Syrian/Iranian-sponsored assault on Beirut is made. This seems the most likely to me.
#5
Pappy---It seems to me that Hamas in Gaza will keep Israel occupied, and that you are right about the Syrian-Iranian assault on Beiruit. If northern Lebanon is neutralized by Hizb'Allah, then they have the run of Lebanon, and Israel is further boxed in.
It sounds like Israel is going to have to do something preemptive like they did in 1967 to take out these threats. A Hamas run Gaza will become rocket or missile city, just southern Lebanon.
Israel needs a Moshe Dyan, not an Olmert, for her survival.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
06/14/2007 15:41 Comments ||
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#6
Oh, good -- all the people who actually understand the subject answered Zenster's call, saving me from looking silly. Thanks, guys!
My two cents anyway, mostly stuff y'all already know: the West Bank and Gaza always were two somewhat distinct populations claiming the name of Palestinian for convenience. Palestinian ties are primarily those of blood (family, clan, tribe, whatever) and religion (Sunni, Shiite, atheist national socialist "Arab Nation"); the primary political factions follow those lines, then split off by age (all the fighting arms are younger and more radical than the main groups) and by individual need to be an emir. So even though Hamas will have cleansed their territory of Fatah, they still have to erase enough of the other groups to cement their overlordship. After that comes the takfir game, when all those less pure have to be removed from the scene...
Fatah will have to do the same in the West Bank, I think, just to ensure their own safety. In the meantime -- and y'all must remember that I really don't understand how mean people think, let alone truly evil ones -- I don't think there's going to be much more than lobbing kassem rockets over the fence and the occasional attempt at suicide bombing, like the two charming Islamic Jihad ladies whose capture is reported in these pages, no matter how much the erstwhile puppeteers in Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia may push them to provide second and otherwise fronts this summer.
Also, I'm not sure how much a distraction either the West Bank or Gaza will be in the face of a real war with Hizb'allah in Lebanon or Iran getting frisky with its missiles. Because Israel can completely shut down the crossings out of the Territories, and Palestinian rocketry, while destructive of property and in the nearby Israeli communities being hit, is not an effective war weapon, as far as I can tell in my ignorance of such things.
There! Feel free to gently show me where I've erred in my analysis, my dears.
#9
Jenifer -absolutley on the money. Israel can/should shut off all commerce, water, power, and phones to the animals in charge in Gaza. Egypt needs to decide whether they want this boil on their border and shut off the tunnels. Raise the heat...and kill all the Hamas members in the WB. Their are now two states - plus Israel. Make Gaza the living hell the populace voted in - consequences of Democracy, asshats? Deal favorably with teh WB and Fatah as much as possible to show teh carrot and stick, and when the Qassams fly from Gaza? Destroy 10 sq blocks for every rocket. Start on the boder and intermittently announce, then follow through with the leveling of Hamas big's neighborhoods...a 10 block sq at a time
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2007 21:37 Comments ||
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#10
Also, I'm not sure how much a distraction either the West Bank or Gaza will be in the face of a real war with Hizb'allah in Lebanon or Iran getting frisky with its missiles. Because Israel can completely shut down the crossings out of the Territories, and Palestinian rocketry, while destructive of property and in the nearby Israeli communities being hit, is not an effective war weapon, as far as I can tell in my ignorance of such things.
I don't think Iran will launch missiles. As for Gaza, what trouble Hamas can create depends what Hamas has on hand, and who is calling the shots. The intent would be to tie down a significant portion of the IDF and border forces.
I don't believe the crossings are where Hamas would intend to come through.
#11
Their not there? Jeebus! PIMF is ignored in a frenzy, no?
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2007 21:44 Comments ||
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#12
Their are now two states - plus Israel.
Yup, talk about a "two state" solution to the Palestinian crisis!
Make Gaza the living hell the populace voted in - consequences of Democracy, asshats? Deal favorably with the WB and Fatah as much as possible to show the carrot and stick
What's not to like? Much as I said as well. This is the perfect time to bring home the consequences of democratically empowering Islamic terrorism. Iraq should be taking notes from the sidelines if they have a brain (which they may well not).
Bless you for that, Pappy. I've been having not-quite-nightmares about the missiles. Truly, I read your words and it was like a weight I hadn't realized was there dropped from my shoulders. As for the rest of your post, thank you for being gentle. ;-)
Frank, in the frenzy, a great deal more than there/their went awry. On the other hand, I used to have perfect spelling and grammar, do you remember? Now I'm happy if readers can figure out what I meant while ignoring what I actually typed. ;-)
The Shin Bet said Wednesday that it thwarted a double suicide attack set for Tel Aviv and Netanya last month, orchestrated by Islamic Jihad and meant to be carried out by two Palestinian women, one of them pregnant.
One of the women, Fatma Zak, 39, a mother of eight in her ninth month of pregnancy, has been director of Islamic Jihad's women labor department in Gaza City for the past four years. As part of her job, she was in direct contact with senior terrorists and served as a go-between for women interested in becoming suicide bombers.
Just when you think there's no lower human beings can go in depravity Islamic Jihad steps in.
The second suspect is Zak's 30-year-old niece, Ruda Habib, a mother of four. Both were arrested by the Shin Bet at the Erez Crossing on May 20, moments before entering Israel.
The two women admitted the plot and confessed to being Islamic Jihad operatives. They said they had used Israel's humanitarian policy to acquire entrance permits on a false medical pretext. The women said they had planned to blow themselves up in Netanya and Tel Aviv, respectively, in a restaurant or a wedding hall. They said they were instructed to cross into Israel and then contact Islamic Jihad members from Ramallah, who were supposed to guide them to their targets and supply them with explosive belts. Before leaving Gaza, the women underwent training with Kalashnikov rifles.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#4
A mother of eight in her ninth month of pregnancy and she still found time to be director of Islamic Jihad's women labor department? What a gal! Why, she's a veritable bomb factory. How can we compete with women who are willing to raise eight children in a place like Gaza?
Russian diplomats were looking into the detention of a Russian citizen by Israeli forces in the Gaza strip, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Abu Snein Sami Jaber, who had received Russian citizenship while studying in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, was detained by the IDF in the Gaza strip on Sunday, where rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah were battling each other. Israeli troops entered southern Gaza late Sunday, according to witnesses. The military said it was a routine, small-scale operation aimed at demonstrating a presence and deterring rocket fire. IDF officials said the detainee was being held in custody in Ashkelon.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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I, for one, am perfectly willing to send him back to Russia---in 5 kilo packages.
Jordan's military court on Wednesday sentenced two men to life imprisonment for plotting to carry out cross-border terror attacks against neighboring Israel. Akramah al-Sarhan and Mahmoud Sweirki, both Jordanians of Palestinian origin, were arrested three years ago as Jordanian forces intercepted their attempt to cross into Israel from a small village in the Jordan Valley, which is also shared by Israel and the West Bank. A third gunman who was with the two was killed by Jordanian border troops.
The State Security Court found al-Sarhan and Sweirki guilty of "attempting to infiltrate into Israel with weapons, with the intention of carrying out an armed attack" on unspecified targets there.
Jordan being an old-fashioned kind of country, they think the state should reserve to itself the prerogative of making war on its neighbors.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Three Muslim men were gunned down while separatist insurgents set fire to 13 schools in Thailand's Muslim-majority south.
Two men were killed in separate drive-by shootings late Wednesday and mid-day Thursday (local time) in Yala, one of three insurgency-hit provinces bordering Malaysia. In neighbouring Narathiwat, gunmen killed a 54-year-old local government official in an ambush on his motorcycle early Thursday.
Thirteen soldiers were later injured by a bomb near a football field in Pattani province, leaving four of them in serious condition. A bomb also exploded near a Narathiwat vocational college, injuring a soldier. The blast came after insurgents torched 13 schools in almost simultaneous arson attacks in Yala and Pattani provinces late Wednesday.
The latest arson attacks brought the number of schools torched by rebels to 200, while 77 teachers have been killed in the three-year insurgency, according to education officials in the region.
Barring a "catastrophic development," reports Middle East Newsline, George W. Bush has decided not to attack Iran. An administration source explains that Washington deems Iran's cooperation "needed for a withdrawal [of US forces] from Iraq." Wish I could disagree with the above
If correct, this implies that the Jewish state stands alone against a regime that threatens to "wipe Israel off the map" and is building the nuclear weapons to do so. Israeli leaders are hinting that their patience is running out; Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz just warned that "diplomatic efforts should bear results by the end of 2007."
Can the Israel Defense Forces in fact disrupt Iran's nuclear program? rest at the link
#1
Professor Pipes is a pretty knowledgeable fellow and he gives a decent picture of the IAF side of things. However he leaves out one relevent military factor. The Israeli Navy may soon (or they may already) be able to deploy assets with the capability of carrying fairly heavy surface to surface weapons.
Of course another side of it is whether Iran can improve it's point defense against incoming missiles. The betting is that they can't do so, at least not substantially.
#5
I would say any military would have a rough time taking out the nuke sites. Israel, would have the best chance of any western nation, barring the US.
#6
Ironically, if Israel (or the US) attacks, one of the first things they need to do is to take out every Iranian ship and submarine.
About Iran's submarine fleet:
"The US Navy has devoted a lot of thought and training time to countering Irans diesel submarines, including submarines operating from "submarine bastions." A US Navy reader might send me an "official definition" of a sub bastion, but heres my on-the-fly description. A sub bastion is an undersea area surrounded by mines and sensors, usually located in coastal waters. The sub hides inside the "bastion" waiting to take a shot (with torpedoes or anti-ship missiles) at ships approaching the bastion or attempting to sweep the mines. A bastion-builder like Iran could site anti-aircraft missiles on land to protect the bastion from anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
A sub inside a bastion is operating in a restricted space, but the sub is "quiet and floating", making it more difficult to detect. The bastion-builder might even have a few "decoy" subs in the bastion electronic devices or even ballasted metal tanks that fake a submarines operating signatures.
The odds are very good that US Navy or Royal Navy anti-submarine hunters will eventually find and kill the sub inside the bastion; but the bastion defense makes the hunt riskier and potentially expensive. Sinking a US Navy capital ship gives Iran a propaganda victory.
A slick diesel sub commander operating in a coastal bastion will undoubtedly have several "paths of retreat" to a cove or harbor. The gambit here would be to frustrate coalition sub hunters as long as possible, draw them into the bastions minefields, draw surface craft into an anti-ship missile ambush (or aircraft into a SAM ambush) then pull out and live to fight another day."
#7
W has already shown himself to be "patient". As has every President since 1979. Not that I can talk, Canada's former Primer Minister (Chretien) works for Iranian oil interests. We are actively part of the problem.
#8
An administration source explains that Washington deems Iran's cooperation "needed for a withdrawal [of US forces] from Iraq."
Washington is relying on Iran's cooperation? Huh?!
My guess would be that IRG will move into Iraq to fill the vacumn when US forces withdraw, steal the oil and expand the Persian empire. I'm sure I don't know everything the president does but, from my point of view, he's doing everything wrong. If he's not wrong I wish at the very least that he would explain but he never does except in generalities that leave all the real questions unanswered. Is it all so secret that he can't reveal what he's really up to or is he a complete fool?
#9
If we, they let Iran slide it will be only a matter of time before Israel and the US get hit by Muslim nukes. Armageddon folks and the sand people won't stand a chance.
#10
It is in Israel's Long and Short term interest to wipe out Iran's Nuke program and wipe out Iran's strike capability also.
Why? Because for years now Iran has Publicly Sworn to Annihilate Israel... many times! AND the 2006 summer thingy with Hezbollah in Lebanon. [remember? the thousands of rockets fired into Israel]
Israel cannot afford to let America do it's job for it. Israel must rehabilitate their feared reputation amongst the primitives in that part of the World.
Sure some help would be OK, but in the main there is no cheap way out for Israel this time, They must kick ass big time and restore respect. It will do wonders for the Israeli people's morale and the morale of Israel's friends. [USA]
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 14:54 Comments ||
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#11
Even if the IAF has the capabilities and logistics to carry it out It wouldn't be viewed as a unilateral strike. Bottom line: It ain't gonna happen without complicit US consent.
Fatah al Islam militants holed in at Nahr el Bared refugee camp fired at a tanker ship in the Mediterranean sea off the Lebanese cost. The ship is transporting fuel oil to Lebanon According to National News Agency the ship was not hit and it sailed off the cost to avoid the fire of the militants.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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A Syrian al-Qaida-inspired group on Tuesday warned of attacks on Lebanese interests and citizens if the government does not lift its siege off Fatah al-Islam militants besieged in the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared. In a Web statement, the group Tawhid and Jihad ( their full name is Jamaat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad ) in Syria promised its support for the camp's fighters.
Tawhid used to be Zark's bunch, and he kept it going as a separate concern after he began Qaeda in Iraq. I think it's now a confederation of similar-minded takfiri.
The Tawhid and Jihad leader, Abu Jandal al-Dimashqi, met with representatives from Fatah al-Islam recently, the statement said. "We warn the Lebanese government that its vital interests, officials and sons living in Syria will be moving targets for us if it does not lift its siege off the camp," said the statement, posted on a Web forum where militant groups often issue messages. "Let the Lebanese government wait for the hell of kidnapping, shooting and chopping of heads if it does not respond to the demand," said the statement. Its authenticity could not be verified.
Tawhid and Jihad in Syria first became known in November, when its former leader Omar Abdullah clashed with Syrian security forces and blew himself up on the border with Lebanon. Al-Dimashqi then issued a May 28 audiotape claiming to be the group's new leader and calling on Syrians to kill Syrian President Bashar Assad and on other Arabs to topple their leaders as well. "Tawhid and Jihad" -- Arabic for "monotheism and holy war" -- is a name used by several groups apparently inspired by al-Qaida -- though their actual links to Osama bin Laden are not clear. Al-Qaida in Iraq formerly went by the name. The most prominent militant group in Syria is known as Jund al-Sham, but it is sometimes called the Jund al-Sham for Jihad and Tawhid.
The statement did not say when or where al-Dimashqi allegedly met with Fatah al-Islam's representative, whom it identified as the group's "security coordinator." It said the representative "explained the ideology of the group, its aims to support Islam and the establishment of the State of Islam, which is a dream for every Muslim." Tawhid and Jihad promised to support Fatah al-Islam, saying "Jews, Christians and the malevolent Crusaders in Lebanon and in Europe ... (and) Lebanese officials -- France and America's dogs, weaned on the breast of treason -- have all rushed to help against the brothers of Fatah al-Islam."
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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Shahine Shahine,a Moroccan who is the new leader of Fatah al Islam , said 15 leading members of the Islamist organization were killed and buried inside the camp.
And he volunteered to be the next leader? Forward thinking isn't his strong suit.
He did not disclose the whereabouts of their former leader shaker Absi, a Palestinian and his Lebanese deputy Abu Hureira , but earlier he speculated the following :
1- They( meaning Absi and Abu Hureira are either dead ( since nothing has been heard of them for almost 1 week)
2- Or they are wounded and hiding someplace inside the camp
3- Or they may have managed to escape from the camp
Some analysts speculated that the soon to be late, lamented new leader may have them under house arrest. Shahine used to be in charge of the finances of Fatah al Islam but he now appears to be directing all the activities , including the military operation .
This article starring:
Shahine Shahine
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Shahine Squared missed #4 reason: They left him 'holding the bag', allan willing.
Fighting between Lebanon's army and Islamic militants at a Palestinian refugee camp has revived concerns that other armed factions operating in Lebanon, especially Syrian-controlled groups, have entered the fray. The standoff near Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli has entered its fourth week, with more than 130 people confirmed dead in the fighting.
For three weeks, the Lebanese army has used the hills surrounding the camp to rain shells down on the primitive concrete structures in the center of the Nahr al-Bared camp below. The army said it will continue the artillery barrage and ground operations until the al-Qaida-inspired militants hiding inside are defeated, but the latest reports place Lebanese forces only about 55 yards inside the camp, as army casualties mount.
Even so, the battle has been a boost for the army's reputation, with all Lebanese factions backing the army in its fight against Fatah Islam extremists. But Lebanese officials say other groups have joined Fatah Islam side of the fight, including the Palestinian militia known as the General Command. "All the other groups that were allied with the Syrians, like the General Command and others, are also fighting with them," said Ghattas Khoury, a government supporter. "I think what will happen is that when we finish with Nahr al-Bared, or soon, they might trigger other incidents."
The General Command was once part of the left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. It maintains strongholds in the Bekaa Valley and elsewhere. Its leader, Ahmad Jibril, is a former Syrian army captain who directs the group from Damascus, Syria. Khoury said the army has already encircled one General Command outpost in Bekaa, near the Syrian border. He said there is also "another problem" at al-Naameh, south of Beirut, where there are "tunnels and a camp full of General Command fighters."
"So we have two potential security threats in these two areas, and these are outside the Palestinian camps," Khoury said.
Al-Naameh is a hilly area several miles south of the capital ( near Damour) , where the General Command is believed to have a stockpile of weapons stored in a network of tunnels that burrow deep into the mountainside. After passing several checkpoints manned by young men with automatic weapons, a visiting reporter was escorted recently to meet a middle-aged man in green fatigues, who gave his nom de guerre as Abu El-Amin Khaled. He pointed out the ruins of buildings that have been hit over the years by Israeli airstrikes, most recently in last summer's war. The man said "the Zionists are the enemy, not the Lebanese army."
He rejected the claim that General Command is fighting alongside Fatah Islam in the north. "We are totally against what's happening there," he said. "We're here with an agreement from the Lebanese government from 1969. We protect the camp, and we take the brunt of the force of the Israelis. When they hit, they hit us."
The 1969 Cairo Accord mentioned by Khaled was abolished by former President Amin Gemayel in 1986. The recent Lebanese national dialogue agreed that armed groups such as the General Command should be disarmed. So far, there has been no move to do that. Analyst Shafiq Masri said given the government's fragile state, it is not surprising that the army is moving at such a slow pace against the Islamist militants in the Nahr al-Bared camp. The army is being asked to win, but not quickly, he said.
If that happened, "the politicians would push them to the next step - depriving the Palestinians outside the camps of their weapons. And then, who knows? Perhaps the third step depriving Hezbollah," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
Run a couple of AC-130 runs through the camp. Send a wisk broom and dust pan.
#2
Lebanon seems to be coming apart at the seams. Too bad about USA plans for ME democratization---but they wouldn't have worked anyway, and it means IDF will have a much freer hand with Hizbis in the next round.
A vocal anti-Syrian lawmaker and at least nine other people were killed when a bomb ripped through his car on Beirut's popular sea-front Wednesday in the latest assassination of a Lebanese opponent of Damascus, a heavy new blow to the stability of this conflict-torn nation.
Oh, who could possibly be responsible for such an atrocity?
The blast came days after the government began work putting together an international tribunal ordered by the United Nations to try suspects in the previous killings, a step strongly opposed by Syria and its allies in Lebanon.
But the two aren't related, of course. Certainly not. Nope.
The slain lawmaker, Walid Eido, was a prominent supporter of the tribunal. He is the seventh anti-Syrian figure killed in the past two years, starting with the February 2005 death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in a massive Beirut suicide car bombing. Many Lebanese have accused Syria of being behind the slayings, a claim Damascus denies.
Well, I guess that settles it, then...
Eido's supporters quickly blamed Syria in Wednesday's assassination. Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, the leader of the anti-Syrian bloc in parliament, indirectly accused Damascus, saying "agencies of evil" seeking "Lebanon's submission" carried out the blast. The slaying was likely to further enflame Lebanon's bitter power struggle between the Western-backed government and its Syrian-backed opponents, led by the Hezbollah militant group - which many fear could push the polarized nation with a fragile balance of ethnic and religious groups into a new civil war.
Which is the Syrian objective, of course. A nice replay of the civil war, and they can step in to "restore order" and they've got their colony back.
The two sides battled in deadly street riots earlier this year, and many Lebanese have been dreading the potential that any new attack could spark another round of violence.
Wednesday's blast also came as Lebanon is dealing with a separate conflict that threatens to spiral out of control: a nearly four-week battle with al-Qaida-inspired militants barricaded inside a northern Palestinian refugee camp. More than 140 people have been killed in the Lebanese army's siege of the Nahr el-Bared camp.
The Bush administration - a top ally of Prime Minister Fuad Saniora - condemned Wednesday's bombing. "We stand with the people of Lebanon and Prime Minister Saniora's government as they battle extremists who are trying to derail Lebanon's march to peace, prosperity and a lasting democracy," Gordon Johndroe, the National Security Council spokesman, said in Washington.
The Dems will bail as soon as anything of substance is required, of course...
Asked if Washington saw Syria's hand in the attack, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, "I can't tell you at this point, but very clearly this is the work of those who intend or want to undermine Lebanese democracy."
The bomb ripped through Eido's black Mercedes just before 6 p.m. on a narrow side street off the Beirut Corniche in Manara, a mainly Sunni Muslim sector of the capital where the 65-year-old Eido often came in the afternoons to play cards with friends. The palm tree-lined boulevard along the Mediterranean shoreline is a favorite among Beirutis for evening strolls. The explosion gutted Eido's car and left others nearby in flames, shattering windows in nearby apartments and strewing the street with rubble. Body parts were thrown onto a soccer field in a neighboring sporting club, and the ferris wheel of a nearby amusement park towered over the carnage.
Eido's 35-year-old son, two bodyguards and six passers-by were also killed in the explosion, security officials said. A woman, screaming and covered in blood, was pulled away from the carnage by residents who rushed to help.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
I don't know if anybody has used the phrase yet, but this sure looks like WWIII to me. The ENTIRE middle east seems to want to dig into a war. Reason and negotiation don't seem to work, therefore, I conclude that it is deliberate. The intensity is still rather low, but that seems to change a little more every day.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 00:00 ||
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#1
what are we fighting for? the eyes.. the mouth.. the teeth.. the cheeks.. the nose.. the neck.. the chin.. the forehead.. the hair... the ear lobe.. ahhhh
;-)
Posted by: Red Dawg ||
06/14/2007 0:46 Comments ||
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#5
Nice to see that full capabilities appear to have been largely restored - you have no idea how odd I felt when I was browsing this page without the traditional topic list and sidebars! Thanks for all your work, Fred!
Oh, and cute girl, but Louise Brooks is more my type . . .
Posted by: The Doctor ||
06/14/2007 9:31 Comments ||
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#6
Only because she's probably the most beautiful woman you or I've ever seen.
Posted by: Fred ||
06/14/2007 10:10 Comments ||
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#7
notice the pages are loading faster too. good work, Master Fred
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2007 10:15 Comments ||
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Posted by: The Doctor ||
06/14/2007 11:07 Comments ||
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#10
Bomb the troll!
Bomb the troll!
Bomb the troll!
Loretta Young is definitely a keeper. I can remember seeing her on television (B&W) as a kid. I know, that makes me ancient, but it seems most of the really good-looking women (without "enhancement") were from the 40's and 50's. Loretta makes Paris Hilton look like a shank mare.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
06/14/2007 12:02 Comments ||
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#11
OP - nowadays that would be a "skank" mare
Posted by: Frank G ||
06/14/2007 15:00 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Meanwhile, in another clash on Tuesday, tens of Taleban rebels were killed in Gerishk district of southern Helmand province, the statement said. It said that 
The Afghanistan government is planning to ban private Pakistani vehicles from crossing over a key southern border into its territory for security reasons, an official said on Wednesday. The decision has been taken by the Afghan interior ministry to check growing incidents of violence in the bordering areas, said Afghan Border Force Commander Abdul Razzaq Panjsheri while talking to reporters in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistans Kandahar province. 
Fifteen Taliban and a young girl were reported killed on Wednesday in clashes in Afghanistan as US defence officials said NATO needed more soldiers and equipment to fight the insurgents.
A Guyanese judge denied bail Wednesday for two sons of a suspect accused of plotting to bomb New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, ordering the pair to remain in jail on charges of illegal possession of ammunition. 
Pakistani Taliban shaved the heads of seven alleged criminals, blackened their faces and paraded them in a bazaar on Wednesday in Miranshah, witnesses said. According to witnesses, a heavily armed Taliban contingent, consisting mainly of students from local madrassas, arrested the alleged criminals on Tuesday from Mir Ali town as part of their campaign to curb crime. The Taliban captured men they said were involved in robberies and snatching vehicles, a local official said. The militants drove the men to a market in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. They shaved their heads and paraded them around with their faces painted black, witness Sharif Khan said. After parading the alleged criminals in the market for half an hour the Taliban took them to their office to try them under Islamic law, witnesses added. Pakistan, a key US ally in the US-led war on terror, signed a controversial peace deal with Taliban and tribal elders in North Waziristan in September.
Three Sunni Muslim mosques were attacked and burned by unidentified gunmen south of Baghdad early on Thursday, police said, a day after suspected al Qaeda militants blew up the minarets of a revered Shi'ite mosque. Two of the mosques were burned in Iskandariya and a third in nearby Mahaweel. All were badly damaged in the apparent reprisal attacks.
The headquarters of the General Security Service, commanded by Ramallah-based General Tawfik Tirawi, fell to Hamas gunmen. Hamas said documents it found there prove that the Fatah-affiliated security apparatus has close ties with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Hamas said it would show the documents on television in the coming hours. 
Hamas fighters overran one of the rival Fatah movement's most important security installations in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, and witnesses said the victors dragged vanquished gunmen from the building and killed them in the street. The capture of the Preventive Security headquarters was a major step forward in Hamas' attempts to complete its takeover of all of Gaza. Hamas later called on Fatah fighters to surrender the National Security compound within the hour. 
The Shin Bet said Wednesday that it thwarted a double suicide attack set for Tel Aviv and Netanya last month, orchestrated by Islamic Jihad and meant to be carried out by two Palestinian women, one of them pregnant. 
Russian diplomats were looking into the detention of a Russian citizen by Israeli forces in the Gaza strip, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday. Abu Snein Sami Jaber, who had received Russian citizenship while studying in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar, was detained by the IDF in the Gaza strip on Sunday, where rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah were battling each other. Israeli troops entered southern Gaza late Sunday, according to witnesses. The military said it was a routine, small-scale operation aimed at demonstrating a presence and deterring rocket fire. IDF officials said the detainee was being held in custody in Ashkelon.
A Syrian al-Qaida-inspired group on Tuesday warned of attacks on Lebanese interests and citizens if the government does not lift its siege off Fatah al-Islam militants besieged in the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared. In a Web statement, the group Tawhid and Jihad ( their full name is Jamaat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad ) in Syria promised its support for the camp's fighters. 
