Updates from February, 2009 Hide threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
links for 2009-02-19
Zen of Bass
-
links for 2009-02-17
Zen of Bass
-
Cease Fire Begins in Gaza
Zen of Bass
Stating that Israel had crippled Hamas, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert just announced an end to the 3-week Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip. He said the army would remain in Gaza while Egypt mediates a long-term truce with Hamas.According to DEBKAfile Israeli forces will hold to their positions in the Gaza Strip for a trial period to test Hamas’ response. Meanwhile, Hamas promises to keep on fighting and shooting rockets, while neither Washington nor Cairo guarantee action to end the flow of weapons to Gaza. As the Israeli security cabinet voted on the unilateral cease fire, Hamas blasted rockets against Ashdod and Ashkelon.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Office reiterated that the IDF began Operation Cast Lead following an extended period of restraint as Hamas continued to terrorize the residents of southern Israel with daily rocket barrages. According to the IDF “Hamas alone is responsible for creating the situation in Gaza and is accountable for its consequences.”
The IDF will redeploy forces within the Gaza Strip in accordance with security assessments. Air, naval, ground and intelligence forces will remain on alert .
Sources: AP (photo); LA Times, DEBKAFile, IDF Spokesperson
-
Al-Jazeera – Growing Islamist Agenda
Zen of Bass
Since its launch in 1996, Al-Jazeera has been taking on an increasingly more Islamist agenda, according to Douglas Farah of The Counterterrorism Blog. This is particularly troublesome since so much of the Western media rely on this station to interpret news and events, such as the Hamas-Israel conflict. According to Farah, the station’s general manager may be the driving force behind this Islamist leaning, diminishing other voices which once had a stronger role.
The Nation reported on the station’s “Terror TV” trend in 2007. Kristen Gillespie, the author of the article describes Al-Jazeera’s programming as being comprised of newscasts, which tend to be fairly balanced; talk shows and related programs, to which viewers call in; documentaries; and reports from correspondents in the field. She says that it’s this last category where the reporting has frequently turned away from international standards of journalism and toward a sensationalistic and Islamist bias.
Farah concludes his article saying:
I am all for freedom of expression and the rights of others to get their message out. But I am also in favor of full disclosure of ownership and interests. Al-Jazeera is losing its right to claim to represent different voices, because the Islamist agenda has made it increasingly difficult for any other voices to be heard.
Agreed.
Interesting to note that last week Al-Jazeera ran an large ad in The New York Times, touting it’s journalistic integrity. Let’s see where this all goes.
Hat Tips: Counterterrorism Blog, The Nation
-
Hamas’ Latest High Tech Rockets Threaten Tel Aviv
Zen of Bass
Hamas has been fighting an increasingly more high tech ground war utilizing more advanced rocket power, according to analysts at globalsecurity.org and Jane’s Information Group. Popular Science (PopSci) reveales that over time, Hamas has been beefing up its arsenal of new rockets with expanded range. With the latest in rocket power, they are becoming better equipped to strike cities such as Tel Aviv with improved accuracy.
In its recent article, PopSci reports that recently, Hamas imported factory manufactured rockets from China and Iran. Based on a family of Soviet rockets dating back to World War II, these rockets have the range to hit more Israeli cities, and their introduction help propel the current conflict.
The Iranian rocket, called a Grad, has a range of about 12 miles, long enough to hit the Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. The Chinese rocket, called the WS-1-E (pictured above, courtesy of globalsecurity.org) has an even greater range of up to 27 miles, and better accuracy than the Grad.
It is believed that Hamas possesses Iranian Fajr-4 rockets, which have a range long enough to hit Tel Aviv.
Sources: Popular Science, Jane’s Information Group, globalsecurity.org
-
IDF on the Ground: Latest Photos and Video from Gaza
Zen of Bass
IDF Spokesperson, the press site of the IDF, just posted new videos of air and ground strikes on Hamas targets. In the video clip below, the Israel Air Force (IAF) assists IDF ground forces in striking Hamas targets, including gunman posts and launchers—some of which were located in populated areas. The IAF neutralized the sources of gunfire and destroys the terrorists stash of weapons.
The IDF notes that “Hamas deliberately uses the Palestinian people, with whom Israel continues to seek peaceful coexistence, as human shields.”
-
Hamas Supporters Online: More Than You Think!
Zen of Bass
Internet Haganah this week published a pie chart which demonstrates the current global distribution of Hamas supporters online. It shows that 16 countries account for 91.35% of all Hamas followers, generated via more than 5,500 I.P. addresses.
To read more in-depth global statistics, please visit SOFIR – The Society for Internet Research.
Also, to learn more about denial-of -service (DDoS) attacks taking place against Israeli, US, French,Spanish, UK and Danish websites by Jihadist groups, check out the article “Battle for Gaza Fought on the Web Too,” by Jart Armin.
-
Bush: No 1-Way Cease Fire- Promises from Hamas Won’t Suffice
Zen of Bass
In his weekly radio address, U.S. President Bush blamed the recent fighting in Gaza on Hamas and reiterated that a “one-way cease-fire” in Gaza won’t work.
Here are excerpts from today’s broadcast:
This recent outburst of violence was instigated by Hamas — a Palestinian terrorist group supported by Iran and Syria that calls for Israel’s destruction. Eighteen months ago, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in a coup, and since then has imported thousands of guns and rockets and mortars. Egypt brokered a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, but Hamas routinely violated that ceasefire by launching rockets into Israel. On December 19th, Hamas announced an end to the ceasefire and soon unleashed a barrage of rockets and mortars that deliberately targeted innocent Israelis — an act of terror that is opposed by the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people, President Abbas.
In response to these attacks on their people, the leaders of Israel have launched military operations on Hamas positions in Gaza. As a part of their strategy, Hamas terrorists often hide within the civilian population, which puts innocent Palestinians at risk. Regrettably, Palestinian civilians have been killed in recent days.
…By spending its resources on rocket launchers instead of roads and schools, Hamas has demonstrated that it has no intention of serving the Palestinian people.
…Another one-way ceasefire that leads to rocket attacks on Israel is not acceptable. And promises from Hamas will not suffice — there must be monitoring mechanisms in place to help ensure that smuggling of weapons to terrorist groups in Gaza comes to an end.
…And America’s objectives in the Middle East will remain clear: We seek security and peace for our allies, the free people of Israel. For the Palestinian people, we seek a peaceful and democratic Palestinian state that serves its citizens and respects its neighbors. For all in the region, we seek an end to terror. And we seek an enduring peace based on justice, dignity, and human rights for every person in every nation of the Middle East.
You can read or listen to the entire broadcast on the Whitehouse’s press site.
-
Why Israel Launched a Ground Campaign Today
Zen of Bass
Israel Press Consul David Saranga posted a succinct backgrounder on the ground campaign. You can read it here.
In other updates, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Capt. Benjamin Rutland explained on his VLOG the goal of the ground campaign: deliver a heavy blow to Hamas’ terrorist infrastructure and rocket-launching capability.He said the enemy is not the Palestinian people, but the Hamas terrorists.
Watch the video:
-
stalyn
good.
-
-
IDF Posts Ground Invasion Photos; Barak on Peace
Zen of Bass
Israel Minister of Defense Ehud Barak today said that Israel’s aim is to force Hamas to stop its hostile activities and bring about peace in the region. Here’s his statement which was issued via the IDF website:
A few hours ago, Israeli ground forces entered the Gaza Strip as part of operation Cast Lead against the Hamas terrorists and their affiliates and infrastructure in Gaza…Our aim is to force Hamas to stop its hostile activities against Israel and Israelis from Gaza, and to bring about a significant change in the situation in Southern part of Israel…We are peace seekers. We have restrained ourselves for a long time but now is the time to do what needs to be done. We are determined to afford our citizens what any citizen anywhere in the world is entitled to – peace, tranquility and freedom from threats.
The IDF posted new photos of the ground invasion. More are posted on the IDF site.
-
The Intellectual Redneck 7:02 am on January 18, 2009 Permalink |
Israel unilaterally declared a ceasefire yesterday. Of course it quickly vanished when Hamas fired five rockets into Israel. Hamas does not want to cease fire unless it is on their therms. They are concerned about looking defeated in the eyes of the Arab world. In truth, they have been defeated from a military standpoint. The vanishing Israeli cease fire