Fatah-Hamas Disagree Over Key Issues

Genesis 16:11-12The angel of the LORD also said to Hagar: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

by Elad Benari

As Fatah and Hamas approach the signing ceremony in Cairo of their recently announced unity deal, some serious disagreements over control of security forces and other key issues have emerged in the past two days.

The unity agreement calls for new elections next year and the integration of Hamas’ army into the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority army and security forces.

However, according to a report on Tuesday in the Associated Press, Hamas’ Prime Minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, has said that Hamas would not relinquish control of its security forces and would maintain its rule over Gaza even after the unity accord takes effect. His statements ran counter to the Fatah view that there would be a single authority with control of all the weapons in both the PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria and in Gaza.

“The resistance weapons will not be touched, but we will manage together how to act,” Haniyeh said regarding the issue of security forces, without explaining how. He gave no indication that Hamas might give up its armed struggle against Israel or approve peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

Meanwhile, Fatah’s Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad insisted that “The most important thing here is the struggle of our people should be nonviolent. We need to finalize that policy and make it official.”

Another disagreement, said the report, involves Fayyad himself. While Fatah’s chief negotiator, Azzam al-Ahmed, told a news conference in Cairo that the next prime minister would be selected through a consensus of all factions, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar told the Arabic Al-Hayyat newspaper that the next premier should come from Gaza. These remarks signaled that Hamas does not want Fayyad to stay in office.

Hamas’ demand was clarified by Yousef Rizka, a member of the Hamas government, who was quoted by the Chinese Xinhua news agency that having the prime minister originate in Gaza “will create sort of reasonable geographic balance” since the president and the speaker of the parliament are based in the Judea and Samaria.

Rizka also said that if the Prime Minister is from Gaza, he will be able to travel since he will not have to pass through Israeli checkpoints.

Fatah official Jamal Muhissen responded to the comments and was quoted by Xinhua as saying that the nomination of the prime minister is subjected to his “qualifications and capabilities,” and that it makes no difference if he comes from Gaza or from Judea and Samaria, since “the considerations of the general interest matter,” as he put it.

The unity agreement has come under criticism from Israeli officials, such as Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said last week that he believes Hamas will take over Judea and Samaria in the Palestinian Authority elections planned for next year as part of the unity agreement. Lieberman called the reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas “the crossing of a red line” and warned that one of its results will be that hundreds of Hamas terrorists will go free from Fatah-PA jails, and roam in Judea and Samaria.

Lieberman called upon the international community to hold on steadfastly to the conditions it has set for recognition of “Palestinian” governments: the abandoning of terror, the recognition of Israel and the honoring of previous agreements.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, on the eve of an official visit to France and Britain, also called on Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to reverse the unity course. During his visit in Europe, Netanyahu will explain to his hosts that peace cannot be made with a unity government that includes a party calling for the destruction of Israel, a formal policy of Hamas.

Mideast expert Professor Efraim Inbar, Director of Bar-Ilan University's Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies, told IsraelNationalNews last week that the Hamas-Fatah unity agreement is “a deal that makes Hamas stronger, which of course is bad for Israel.”

Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua

The Furious Insignificance of Hamas

Palestinian Hamas security officer Abu Abdallah Lafi, displays a part of a navigation system which Hamas alleges were found in the possession of Palestinians collaborating with Israel, during a press conference in Gaza City, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2010. Hamas has sentenced a Gaza man to death on suspicion of spying for Israel, the latest step in its secretive campaign to rid the territory of alleged collaborators. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

 

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time,

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

Macbeth, Act 5, scene 5

These words, written four centuries ago, describe Hamas and life in the Gaza Strip today.
People hear news from the Middle East, and they ask me, “Mosab, what is Hamas doing? Where are they going?” And I tell them that Hamas is doing nothing and going nowhere, because Hamas, for all its zealots and college graduates, is ignorant.
This doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. But the most dangerous thing about Hamas is that it doesn’t know. It doesn’t know it’s going nowhere. It doesn’t know how to build anything more than a little clinic with only one doctor and insufficient medicine, which only gives it a humanitarian face, concealing its true identity.
It doesn’t know how to govern itself, much less a nation. It’s not that its members are uneducated; they’re just ignorant. They have no wisdom or common sense. They are unteachable, unreachable and unimpeachable, because their mind is made up and they will hear nothing except what comes out of their own mouths. Hamas believes it is right and the rest of the world is wrong. That it is righteous and everybody else is bad, because Allah said so.
When I was in the Israeli prison at Megiddo, Hamas behaved like a mini-regime, controlled by thugs and tyrants. The maj’d, its security wing, tortured men until they made up anything, denounced anyone to make the pain stop. And the maj’d were so stupid that they believed the confessions. I read those confessions. They were ridiculous, and virtually all of them were eventually disproved. I remember wondering what it would be like if Hamas ever gained control of the government in Palestine.
I don’t wonder anymore.
Nearly five years ago, they won the elections. When the international community refused to recognize the legitimacy of their victory, a furious Hamas soaked the streets with Fatah blood.
And what have they done with Gaza since then? Nothing. They have built no infrastructure and formed no government departments. They have not advanced Palestinian culture or improved Palestinian society. Prime Minister Ismail Haniya was responsible for the maj’d in prison, and he rules Gaza the same way today.
Everyone is gagged and crippled by fear. For my people in Gaza, Hamas police are like Hitler’s Wafen-SS, Mao’s Red Guard, the Kremlin’s KGB or Ceaucescu’s Securitate. Anyone can be kidnapped and tortured into confessing that they are collaborating with Israel.

In a recent news conference, Abu Abdallah Lafi, a Hamas internal security official, said, “we have arrested many,” including women, who he called “a real danger to the unity of the people and their resistance” against Israel. Hamas spokesman Ehab Al-Ghsain boasted that his people had obtained “serious confessions and uncovered many collaborators who stood behind assassinations of some leaders of resistance and implemented policies of the enemy's intelligence service against our people.”
I promise you that all of these “serious confessions” were obtained by unrestricted torture. And the “collaborators” have absolutely nothing to do with the Shin Bet.
Al-Ghsain told reporters that these collaborators planted bombs at training camps and government offices and helped to coordinate IDF raids and assassinations. But I know from 10 years working in the highest levels of the Shin Bet that this is not how Israeli intelligence operates. Hamas knows nothing of Israel. It does not know how to govern. It does not know how to create or build. It understands nothing about human rights. It knows only how to destroy. Hamas is a colony of hornets in a sack. And Gaza is the sack.
“Nothing is more terrible,” said German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, “than ignorance in action.”
To be continued  by Mosab Hassan Yusef

Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua

Penetrating Hamas...Repercussions for Traitors

News stories about bodies found at sea are occasionally published by Gaza newspapers. The number of such bodies isn't huge, yet not all those drowning victims chose to go swimming voluntarily. The Gazans who found their death at sea include mid-level officials at sensitive government ministries, the Interior Ministry for example, alongside police and security officers.

Some of them were shot in the head before being sent on their swim.

There is a common denominator to these deaths: All of the victims were designated as traitors by the secret service of Hamas' military wing in charge of counter-espionage and executed as collaborators.

And these are not just simple collaborators, but rather, people who penetrated deep into Hamas' government; so deep that Hamas leaders are embarrassed to expose the failure and prefer to make these people disappear, with or without a brief court-martial.

'Kids, turn in your parents'

Gaza's streets are teeming with rumors. Stories of people who disappeared at sea or elsewhere stay on the agenda. The whole of Gaza, as if amok-stricken, takes part in the hunt. Posters urging a war on collaborators hang in the streets; the issue is discussed on the radio and during sermons at mosques. In the upcoming school year, the topic will be added to the curriculum, with Gaza children learning about the dangers inherent in collaborators. Teachers will be asked to explain what good, suspicious children do: Turn in their parents.

This huge manhunt is not a sign of strength, says a senior Israeli security official – the opposite is true. These are clear signs of distress for Hamas' regime.

The more time passes from the Turkish flotilla and easing of the blockade, the more blurred Hamas' achievements become. Despite some success stories, the list of failures is much longer: The group failed to breach the naval blockade, failed to breach the obstacle of global recognition (Hamas flirts with the Norwegians and Swiss, who make great promises without the ability to deliver,) and failed to breach the obstacle of Arab recognition. In fact, the Arab League recently permitted Mahmoud Abbas to embark on peace talks with Israel.

Indeed, Gaza residents get 30-40% more goods than they did before the flotilla and the standard of living is rising. However, they continue to live in a cage. They may have a little more food and enjoy a little more luxury, but it's still a cage. Meanwhile, the religious pressure keeps building up inside the Strip. Religious laws are becoming stricter and expand: Beardless men feel unease, while women are not allowed to smoke nargilas and must don a burqa, and so on. Gaza's streets are becoming Iran-like, to the chagrin of many Strip residents.

Old Palestinian complex

In late May, three people were publically executed after spending long months in jail and being accused of collaboration with the Shin Bet. Shortly thereafter, Hamas announced "40 days of mercy" where all collaborators were urged to turn themselves in and win a pardon. Twenty people complied with the request. During these 40 days, Hams sent thousands of text messages, urging their recipients to come clean and promising that they will be granted amnesty.

The 40 days ended on July 10th. Hamas granted the undecided another 24 hours, and immediately after that – and up until now – embarked on a major campaign of arrests and manhunts for the people blacklisted by the counter-espionage unit. This unit, which reports directly and exclusively to Ahmed Jabari and Mohammad Deif, comprises professionals who were trained not only in Syria and Iran. The Gaza "students" undergo orderly courses on espionage and counter-espionage, learning among other things about coded communication systems. For example, they are being taught about the alleged breach of Lebanese phone networks by Israel.

The manhunt for collaborators follows the lessons drawn in the wake of Operation Cast Lead. Hamas was surprised to discover how deeply it was exposed to Israel's intelligence services and decided to address the problem. Israel would do well to understand that despite what we want to think, both Hamas and Hezbollah excel at drawing lessons. For example, any cell that is nabbed and jailed by Israel undergoes a debriefing with the help of more veteran prisoners: How were we nabbed? Who screwed us over? The conclusions are disseminated once they're reached.

Collaboration with Israel or with other foreign elements is an old Palestinian complex. The number of Palestinian collaborators throughout history is immense. The sociologists within the intelligence community attribute this phenomenon to the culture of survival. The next phase in the manhunt for collaborators will be public trials, to open simultaneously to more waves of arrests

It is impossible to estimate the extent of the damage to be suffered by Israel – if at all – as result of the campaign, yet it appears that Israel contributed quite a bit to the launch of the manhunt. Following Operation Cast Lead, security officials here boasted that each IDF division commander was escorted by a Shin Bet man who provided real-time intelligence information elicited from Palestinian sources. The stories about real-time alerts regarding snipers, roadside bombs, or ambushes infuriated Hamas.

In retrospect, the Israeli boastfulness came at the expense of live agents in the field. Meanwhile, these days too, when the Air Force strikes a building and kills a terror suspect, we can assume that someone pinpointed the location and the suspect. Sometimes, technology just isn't enough.

Hamas power struggle

Meanwhile, Hamas' frustration already comes with a price: The recent rockets fired at Ashkelon and Sderot were shot by Hamas' military wing, without notifying the group's political leadership. There is no doubt that this fire aimed to destroy the calm and reignite the conflict against Israel.

Hamas' military wing, headed by Ahmed Jabari, is embroiled in a dispute over the proper struggle strategy with the political leadership, headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh. The political, pragmatic leadership prefers a PR struggle in the international arena. The Turkish flotilla boosted this camp considerably, but two months have passed since then and the military arm is pressing for an end to the impasse, arguing that time plays in Israel favor.

The Air Force's response to the latest rocket attacks was harsh enough to make it clear to Hamas' political branch that Israel has no interest in the stories about Haniyeh's inability to contain the military wing. The Hamas leader realizes that the response to the next rocket attack would exact an even higher price. For now it appears that the message was received and that the calm shall prevail. If it doesn't, the IDF is preparing an even more painful blow.

However, Hamas suffered a greater embarrassment following the delusional rocket attack on Eilat, which ended up killing and wounding people in Jordan's Aqaba of all places. Last time Jabari and his men carried out such attack, in April, nobody claimed responsibility. It took Egypt a few days to admit the attacks originated in its territory, and now it faces a problem: How to explain to Hamas that one does not play games with Egypt or pushes it into a corner?

The immediate slap to the face was sustained by Hamas' military leadership, which seeks ways to resume its dialogue with Egypt. Mubarak will not forgive the embarrassment he suffered, and Jabari's gamble may cost Hamas dearly.
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua

Hamas Stopping Tranfer of Flotilla Aid

How interesting...photos of abundantly stocked markets and stores rather tarnishes the image of the Gazan people being in critical need of International aid. This is just further proof that lies abound with these people in the hopes of turning the world against Israel. More aid would just flood the market there and put tunnel operators out of business... Guess who really runs the tunnel operations?!!! Mid
by Gil Ronen

The Hamas government in Gaza is apparently not interested in receiving the goods that were carried by the 'humanitarian' Turkey-sponsored flotilla Israel intercepted.
The IDF Spokesman said Wednesday that "As of right now, the State of Israel has loaded 20 trucks with various types of aid found onboard the flotilla. Expired medication, clothing, blankets, some medical equipment and toys were among the aid found on the ships."
"Unfortunately, the Hamas terror organization is unwilling to accept the cargo and the trucks filled with humanitarian aid have not been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip. It appears that Hamas is in fact stopping the transfer of the humanitarian aid.
Security sources said that supplies from the flotilla continue to be taken off the seven ships that participated in it, and that truckloads of medical supplies, toys and clothing have already reached the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza. However, Hamas and Gaza based aid agencies are not responding, so far, to Israeli calls to come and get the goods.
If Hamas refuses to take the supplies, Israel's spokesmen will be able to point to this as further proof that the naval convoy was meant for propaganda and provocation purposes only, and was not truly carrying vital aid at all. Minister of Information Yuli Edelstein pointed out on a Fox News interview Wednesday that the total tonnage carried by the flotilla (about ten tons) is much less than the amount of aid Israel transfers into Gaza every week (about eighteen tons).    
Ever since it took over Gaza in 2007, the Hamas government has been notorious for its shameless manipulation and lying, in a ceaseless effort to portray Gaza as a humanitarian disaster zone and to blame Israel – which is viewed as an 'advanced' economy – for this situation.
One of the more notorious Hamas bluffs was the holding of government sessions by candlelight when Israel was being blamed for electricity shortages in Gaza. The local media representatives, who are terrorized by Hamas or sympathize with it, cooperated with the bluff, but sharp-eyed bloggers noticed that there was sunlight coming in through the curtains that covered the windows when the 'candlelight' picture was taken.  (IsraelNationalNews.com)

Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua

U.S.SHOULD NOT DEPORT "SON OF HAMAS"

Mosab Hasan Yousef will speak to the 2010 Epicenter Conference next week via video. But we need to pray for him now.
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., June 15, 2010) -- Mosab Hasan Yousef, author of the New York Times best-selling non-fiction book, Son of Hamas, will be speaking by videotape at the 2010 Epicenter Conference next week. But I can't wait until then to tell you the latest that is happening with him. He needs our prayers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security may soon deport Mosab back to the West Bank where he very well could be assassinated. He is scheduled for a DHS hearing on June 30th that could decide his fate. U.S. officials believe his previous leadership role in Hamas is too great a risk to give him political asylum here in the States. But they are not properly assessing the totality of his story and the situation.
Here are the facts. Yes, Mosab is the son of one of the founders of Hamas and was a rising leader in the terrorist organization - he described his role in detail in his book. That said, Mosab renounced Hamas and risked his life to become a double agent working for the Israeli secret service (Shin Bet) against Hamas. In so doing, Mosab helped to stop scores of terrorist attacks and helping Israel arrest scores of jihadists. Then, Mosab renounced Islam and became a follower of Jesus Christ. His story was first revealed through the Haaretz, one of Israel's leading and most credible newspapers. The Haaretz team carefully vetted his story and have done numerous follow up stories. The Israeli government has not denounced him as a liar - to the contrary, Mosab's Shin Bet handlers affirm his story and say that he is telling the truth. Mosab has lived in the U.S. for the two years and is actively speaking out here and around the world through the media and in speeches against Hamas, against Radical Islam, and in favor of the U.S., Israel and most importantly his Savior and Lord Jesus Christ
The U.S. has given political asylum to people who have done far less for the U.S. and the cause of freedom than Mosab - he deserves and should receive the right to stay in this country and become an American citizen
I have gotten to know Mosab over the last 18 months and am convinced he is the real deal. I am, therefore, asking you to pray faithfully and consistently for him.
* Pray for Mosab to have Christ's peace and joy during such turmoil and stress
* Pray for Judge Rico J. Bartolomei on June 30th to truly hear and understand all the facts and come to the proper conclusion that Mosab has truly renounced Islam and Hamas, that he is not a threat to U.S. national security in any way, shape, or form, that he should stay in the U.S., and that he would be in grave danger if he were sent back to the West Bank
* Pray for Members of Congress to take up Mosab's case and intervene on his behalf with the Department of Homeland Security (my colleagues and I are currently working on this, as are other friends and allies of Mosab)
* Pray that the Epicenter Conference will give his case more exposure so more people can pray - we will be showing video excerpts of my recent interview with him and this will be broadcast on more than 1,000 Christian radio stations, 5 Christian TV networks, in all 50 states and in more than 200 countries around the world
* Pray, too, that the media will raise the profile of Mosab's case so still more people can learn about it and begin to pray
(Photo: Mosab and Joel having coffee at the National Religious Broadcasters convention in Nashville in March 2010.)


Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua

Israel saves life of top Hamas official's daughter

Headline News
Sunday, April 25, 2010 Israel Today Staff

Israel at the weekend saved the life of the three-year-old daughter of a top Gaza-based Hamas leader, though the act of kindness was completely ignored by the terrorist group and regional Arab media.

The girl, daughter of Hamas Interior Minister Elham Fathi Hammad, was the victim of a unsuccessful heart operation in Gaza. She was in critical condition when Jordan's King Abdullah II requested that Israel allow her immediate transport to Amman for emergency surgery.

Israel agreed to the transfer, but the girl was in no condition to travel such a distance, so was first rushed to Barzilai Hospital in the nearby Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, where doctors worked for hours to repair the damage of her earlier surgery and stabilize her.

A Jordanian helicopter was later escorted through Israeli airspace to pick up the girl and move her to Amman.

Jordanian media later reported on the incident, but completely cut out the portion where the girl's life was saved by Israeli doctors or that Israel has not hesitated to allow the unfettered transport through its territory of a family member of one of its most dedicated enemies.

Hammad later issued a public statement thanking Jordan and King Abdullah. He did not mention Israel at all.

Story link here


Of course, Israel wasn't mentioned or given any credit. In the minds of Israel's enemies, Israel does not exist. However, that will change very soon!

Don

Psalm 83 Conflict on The Horizon?

Prophecy News Watch

Story link here

Major Mideast wars are coming according to the Bible prophecies in Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38-39. It would be prudent for people to prepare now, in 2010, for their soon and sequential arrivals.

It is public knowledge that as of December 2009 Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas became allied together by bonafide war pacts against Israel. Iran is a member of Ezekiel 38-39 and Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas appear to be identified in Psalm 83. These war pacts reportedly commit them to fight alongside each other should any of them come under attack by Israel. Had these war pacts been in place during the 22 day conflict between Israel and Hamas that ended in January 2009, the outcome could have been dramatically different.

Back then the Israeli Defense Forces (I.D.F.) seemingly ambushed Hamas with their retaliatory show of force and caught these others off guard. None of them were able to lift a finger to rescue Hamas from the pounding inflicted by the I.D.F. Iran’s nuclear program was incomplete, Hezbollah was in the process of restocking their rocket arsenals, and Syrian war scars from 1948, 1967, and 1973 made them reluctant to join alongside Hamas. Thus, these vowed enemies of Israel were reduced to sideline saber-rattling at the time.

However, matters have deteriorated and are quite different today. A brief review of Mideast events occurring since the Israel – Hamas war suggests the Fertile Crescent is presently a ticking end time’s bomb set to explode. In addition to the war pacts described above, here are a few more troublesome interim occurrences:

1. Israelis are being fitted for gas masks.
2. Israelis are preparing for a multi-front chemical war with Iran, Hezbollah, Syria, and Hamas.
3. Israel is constructing new and renovating thousands of old bomb shelters.
4. Israel is threatening a pre-emptive strike against Iran’s nuclear sites.
5. Iran could have a nuclear bomb within eighteen months.
6. Syria is now thought to have the most powerful scud missiles in the world.
7. Syria has reportedly shipped scud missiles to Hezbollah.
8. Syria has threatened to attack major Israeli cities in the event of war.
9. Hezbollah has declared that it can wipe out one-half of Israel’s army.
10. Hezbollah has been training for hand to hand combat inside Israeli cities.
11. Hezbollah and Syria reportedly have chemical weapons.
12. Hezbollah has stockpiled over 50,000 rockets.
13. Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are within rocket reach of Israel’s enemies.
14. Hamas reportedly has rockets that can reach Israel’s nuclear reactor in Dimona.

These are just a few of the numerous events that point toward war soon in the Middle East. The Israel – Hamas war created a heightened degree of animosity amongst Israel’s Arab and Persian enemies against Israel. As a result of the conflict, Turkey restricted relations with Israel and the Arab League voted unanimously again not to normalize relations with Israel.

Warranting additional concerns, King Abdullah of Jordan recently voiced serious dissatisfaction about his country's fragile peace treaty with Israel. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he warned that "Jerusalem could blow up into another war" and declared "Jordan was better off economically before it made peace with Israel in 1994." Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab States presently at peace with Israel making Abdullah's statements extremely disconcerting.

Odds are strong that war is about to break out soon in the Middle East. Diplomatic solutions to resolve the conflict have continually failed. Relations between Iran and Israel, the Arab League and Israel, and even America and Israel are desperately tense and in a seeming state of disrepair.

At no time in Israel’s history has it ever faced an existential threat of the magnitude it faces presently. Israel’s ancient enemies possessed bows and arrows, but today the Jewish State faces arsenals that can wipe it off the map.

Humanity ought to now heed the war prophecies of the Bible and prepare for war rather than peace in the Middle East! These prophecies are scheduled to occur soon and sequentially each building upon the other. According to scripture the aftermath of these wars will lead to a one world order, construction of a third Jewish Temple, and the arrival of Antichrist.

Time is of the essence evidenced by events stage setting in the Holy Land. Christians, not knowing if they will experience these prophetic wars or be Raptured prior, should consider living each day on earth as though it were their last. In so doing, they will improve their Christian witness. These are the days when Evangelists and Eschatologists should work together in order to bring more people to Christ.

Obama said to block attack helicopter upgrades for Israel

WASHINGTON
Monday, February 1, 2010

The administration of President Barack Obama is delaying an upgrade project for Israel's military on the grounds that it could be deployed against Palestinian militants.

Industry sources said the Defense Department has taken measures to slow down an upgrade of Israel's AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fleet. The sources said at least three Apache helicopters have been awaiting an upgrade at Boeing, the prime contractor.

"The schedule has been repeatedly delayed because funding from the Pentagon has not arrived," an industry source said.

The sources said the delay of the Apache project stemmed from the White House's concern that Israel was rebuilding its military for another war.

They said President Barack Obama was dismayed by the widespread use of the Apache and other U.S. platforms during the January 2009 war with the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

"Everything having to do with Israel's Apache fleet has been delayed by the administration," another source said.

Under the Foreign Military Sales program, the Pentagon finances projects for Israel through annual American aid of $2.4 billion. The sources said Boeing had pledged that the Apache platforms would be overhauled, enhanced and returned to Israel in 2009.

The sources said Israel has also been awaiting Obama's approval for the request to sell at least six new AH-64D Apache Longbows to the Jewish state. They said the Israeli request has been shelved for more than a year.

The administration of President Barack Obama is delaying an upgrade project for Israel's military on the grounds that it could be deployed against Palestinian militants.

Industry sources said the Defense Department has taken measures to slow down an upgrade of Israel's AH-64 Apache attack helicopter fleet. The sources said at least three Apache helicopters have been awaiting an upgrade at Boeing, the prime contractor.

"The schedule has been repeatedly delayed because funding from the Pentagon has not arrived," an industry source said.

The sources said the delay of the Apache project stemmed from the White House's concern that Israel was rebuilding its military for another war.

They said President Barack Obama was dismayed by the widespread use of the Apache and other U.S. platforms during the January 2009 war with the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

"Everything having to do with Israel's Apache fleet has been delayed by the administration," another source said.

Under the Foreign Military Sales program, the Pentagon finances projects for Israel through annual American aid of $2.4 billion. The sources said Boeing had pledged that the Apache platforms would be overhauled, enhanced and returned to Israel in 2009.

The sources said Israel has also been awaiting Obama's approval for the request to sell at least six new AH-64D Apache Longbows to the Jewish state. They said the Israeli request has been shelved for more than a year.

Story source here


I don't have the words to adequately describe my thoughts concerning everything that's being done against Israel. They know not what they do.

Don

Jewish Woman Flees Gaza with Children

by Hana Levi Julian

"Where are you?" demanded the brother-in-law of 29-year-old Oshrit Ohana suspiciously, just seconds before the taxi in which she and her children were racing to the Gaza security barrier managed to reach the Erez border crossing terminal. "Return home immediately!"

Mahmoud, age 7, Sali, age 6, Abdel Rahman, 5 and Asma, almost 2 years old, had accompanied their mother in a desperate bid for freedom after she had quietly decided months earlier to leave her Arab husband behind.

The children had no idea, of course. They thought they were going shopping, which is what Ohana had told her husband’s brother. He had been watching her carefully for weeks and had already threatened to kill her if she tried to run away. His brother Abdullah, Ohana’s husband, was sitting in an Egyptian jail.

The young woman, originally a resident of Ashdod, had met Abdullah through friends in the city. She married her Muslim boyfriend and soon after, the two moved to Gaza seven years ago. Abdullah was not wealthy, and ended up working for smugglers in the tunnels underneath the border city of Rafiah between Gaza and Egypt. Eventually, she decided it had to end, but it took years to figure out how. Her chance to leave came finally after Abdullah was arrested in Egypt.

Dressed in her hijab – the traditional Muslim woman’s head covering – she told her brother-in-law she was escorting her sister-in-law to school before going shopping, and would later return to the apartment they all shared together.

But then the plan went into action: Ohana had previously contacted her family in Ashdod by email, and they had been in touch with the Yad L’Achim anti-missionary and outreach organization. The group helps rescue Jewish women from unwanted marriages with Arabs – and they arranged for people in place, ready to help Ohana.

The plan, coordinated by text messages, called for the young woman to bring her four children to the Erez Crossing, where IDF officials would let her through to the Israeli side. Yad L’Achim would find a safe place for her to live, where Abdullah would never find her, and would help her financially until she could get back on her feet on her own.

Not so simple for a young woman in Gaza speaking Arabic with a Hebrew accent, to explain why she needed to take four children to the Erez Crossing, quickly. "I asked how much it costs to get to the Erez crossing," she related. "He said, ' It's 70 shekels.' I said, 'No. Take 100 shekels, and hurry.' I tried to speak as little as possible, so he wouldn't notice my accent."

Cutting through the region, Ohana said the taxi had to pass through several checkpoints manned by Hamas terrorists. "Each time, I kept myself covered modestly and tried to speak as little Arabic as possible," she said, "so they wouldn't notice my accent."

The Hamas officials let her through, all the way across the region, and even at the Erez Crossing. However, when she got to the other side, Israeli security officials were cautious, even though the commander had been notified that she would be arriving. Yad L’Achim had already been in touch with the Defense Ministry and Shas party chairman and Interior Minister Eli Yishai to make sure everything would go off without a hitch.

She was questioned by Israeli soldiers to make sure she was not a suicide bomber or a spy. Still, one IDF officer told an official from Yad L'Achim, "I donate to your organization regularly and I feel that it is in that merit that I was privileged to be able to participate in this rescue today."

According to Yad L'Achim director Rabbi Shalom Dov Lipshitz, there are still “hundreds” of other Israeli women caught in similar situations, “some in Gaza, others in Shechem or Tulkarm…and there are even some in neighboring Arab countries.”

Ohana and her children, meanwhile, celebrated their new-found freedom that night with her family. Her little ones will soon be given Hebrew names, and together they will all start a new life in Israel. 
Baruch atem b'Shem, Yeshua