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Idyllic · 06-04-2010, 12:18 PM

Quote:

A flotilla smoke screen?
By JONATHAN SPYER
06/04/2010 12:33

The world condemns Israel for the deadly raid on the Mavi Marmara, ignoring the growing threat of radical Islam.
The international reaction to the events surrounding the Gaza flotilla this week reflects the growing divide between the real strategic situation facing the Middle East, and a strange “virtual” conflict conjured up by Islamist propagandists for consumption by their Western dupes. The emergence and proliferation of this latter perception is testimony both to the tireless, skillful and fervent activity of Islamist ideologues and organizations, and to the profound credulity of considerable sections of Western public opinion.

What happened on the flotilla is a product of the growing Islamization of regional politics and, it appears, the failure of Israeli planners to develop a coherent response to this. The Turkish IHH group (Insani Yardim Vakfi – Humanitarian Relief Foundation), which sponsored the Mavi Marmara, is a grouping connected to the global Muslim Brotherhood. Going back to the 1990s, it has engaged in facilitating the journeys of young Islamists to some of the hottest fronts of the international jihad: to Afghanistan, and before that to Chechnya and Bosnia.
Like other organizations associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, IHH is openly and unambiguously opposed to the existence of Israel, and is keen to assist Islamist organizations seeking to destroy it.

IHH has read the zeitgeist of the early 21st century well. It seeks to combine a superficial commitment to “human rights” and the mantle of victimhood, with support for Islamist militancy against the West. These aspects, and the contradiction between them, have been very much in evidence this week.

Journalists who covered the previous “aid convoy” to Gaza – George Galloway’s over-ground Viva Palestina extravaganza last year – were among the groups least surprised by the week’s events. On that convoy, there was a very notable divide between young, Western leftist participants, and a hard-core group of Turkish Islamists, who openly proclaimed their commitment to jihad and fighting Israel. The Turkish Islamist contingent was there courtesy of IHH.

The latter group were centrally involved in the clashes with Egyptian security forces on the southern Gaza border at that time, in which one Egyptian policeman was killed. Western participants in the convoy, some of whose genuine naivete and out-of-placeness in the Middle East cannot be overstated, were afraid and depressed by their unexpected companions.

It remains a mystery as to how the Israeli authorities remained unaware of this very significant divide between the participants in the flotilla. The Turkish Islamists came to fight in an ongoing conflict whose aims and dimensions they understood with perfect clarity. This may be ascertained by their preparations, their actions and by statements made by them prior to the events.

AT FIRST glance, it appears that simple ignorance of this situation led to the inadequate planning that resulted in what happened on the ship. In the usual Israeli fashion, poor preparation was to some degree offset by the rapid adjustment and skillful performance of the naval commandos. Still, it is to be hoped and expected that the following item of knowledge will now penetrate the awareness of the security establishment: What took place on the decks of the Mavi Marmara was a skirmish in the Israel-Islamist conflict.

The meeting between the ambitions of Islamist states such as Iran from above, and the genuine and massive energies from below that are being generated by Islamist movements form the engine behind this conflict. The Hamas enclave in Gaza is the distant, furthest west outpost of the Iranian-led regional Islamist bloc.

The IHH activists wanted to open the sea road to Gaza. Their purpose was not humanitarian. As has been seen, the Hamas authorities have rejected the rapid entry into the Strip of the paltry aid brought by the convoy. Rather, it was strategic. They hoped to break Gaza’s isolation, and allow the blighted Strip to flourish – as an armed camp pointed at the Jewish state and as an example of Islamic governance.

They have not yet succeeded in this. They have, however, scored an achievement in their accompanying goal of deepening the diplomatic solitude of Israel.

Such were the plans of the Islamist element on the Mavi Marmara, and of the IHH organizers behind them.

In much of the West, there is a flat refusal to engage with or internalize this reality. Instead, an avalanche of copy and media coverage was generated by the events in which Israel’s concerns were seen as utterly inexplicable, the Islamist militants on the ship were depicted as peace-loving humanitarians and it was suggested that sanctions against Israel would be the best way to solve the problem.

What is perhaps chiefly ironic in the situation is that the Western lack of awareness of what is really taking place in the Middle East may even have been mirrored by the Israeli planners who failed to note the difference between Islamist militants and Western fellow travelers. But whether or not that was the case, the Western response to these events reflects a profound disconnect between perception and reality in relation to the region. The establishment of this disconnect is one of the chief strategic achievements of the Islamist side.

Meanwhile, back in the real world, Iran, the chief beneficiary of Western and Israeli confusion, this week announced its determination to continue enriching uranium to 20 percent and beyond. Iranian official Ali Asghar Soltanieh casually dismissed the possibility that proposed sanctions would divert Teheran from its course. He also refused to commit to abandoning enrichment, even if the proposed Turkish-Brazilian fuel swap deal were implemented.

This item was buried at the bottom of the front page on the Reuters Web site, below a report of a cyclone off the coast of Oman. The main headline, at the top of the page and accompanied by a large photograph, was on Binyamin Netanyahu’s opposition to an international inquiry into the Mavi Marmara events. The news agenda suits the aims of the Teheran regime and its allies perfectly. The real business proceeds quietly, while the world remains diverted by the noisy sound and light show 1,500 kilometers to the west.

The writer is a senior researcher at the Global Research in International Affairs Center, IDC, Herzliya.

Words from the website listed above, Hamas - Council on Foreign Relations wherein it is these words, quoted below, that far surpass the “humanitarian” action of hamas for their own people, considering that if they just accepted Israel’s right to exist and stopped the persecution and killing of Jews and real non-combatant innocents (people who are not carrying chains, and metal poles, and flash grenades, and knives…. using these things as weapons makes you an armed combatant, period), then the issues between Palestine and Israel would begin to smooth over and the two, Palestinians and Israelis, could find ways to work together, as this IS what Israel wants. If I were a tyrannical autocratic theocracy, using my people to shield me and to die for me and to “expose” my enemy as some ruthless tyrants I would want them to love me enough to at least make it look like I really give a shit about their welfare, when in actuality the only thing they care about is the destruction of Israel and all Israelis, and next all infidels who stand against the regimes based on extreme fundamental Islam.

Quote:

What is Hamas?
Hamas is the largest and most influential Palestinian militant movement. In January 2006, the group won the Palestinian Authority's (PA) general legislative elections, defeating Fatah, the party of the PA's president, Mahmoud Abbas, and setting the stage for a power struggle. Since attaining power, Hamas has continued its refusal to recognize the state of Israel, leading to crippling economic sanctions. Historically, Hamas has sponsored an extensive social service network. The group has also operated a terrorist wing, carrying out suicide bombings and attacks using mortars and short-range rockets. Hamas has launched attacks both in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and inside the pre-1967 boundaries of Israel. In Arabic, the word "hamas" means zeal. But it's also an Arabic acronym for "Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya," or Islamic Resistance Movement.

What are Hamas’s origins?
Hamas grew out of the Muslim Brotherhood, a religious and political organization founded in Egypt with branches throughout the Arab world. Beginning in the late 1960s, Hamas's founder and spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, preached and did charitable work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, both of which were occupied by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1973, Yassin established al-Mujamma' al-Islami (the Islamic Center) to coordinate the Muslim Brotherhood's political activities in Gaza. Yassin founded Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood's local political arm in December 1987, following the eruption of the first intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli control of the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas published its official charter in 1988, moving decidedly away from the Muslim Brotherhood's ethos of nonviolence.
The first Hamas suicide bombing took place in April 1993.

Where does Hamas operate?
Historically, Hamas has operated as an opposition group in Gaza, the West Bank, and inside Israel. Most of the population of Gaza and the West Bank is officially ruled by the Palestinian Authority government, so Hamas’ new role as the legislature’s controlling party has forced the group to reconsider the function and scope of its operations. For instance, since taking power in 2006, Hamas leaders have embarked on several diplomatic visits throughout the region. Early on, some observers hoped that political legitimacy—and the accountability that comes with it—could wean Hamas away from violence. But to date, the group has refused to eschew violence and remains adamant about reversing the decision by its rival faction, the more secular Fatah movement, to recognize Israel's right to exist. In the summer of 2007, Hamas tensions with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a Fatah man, came to a head and Hamas routed Fatah supporters, killing many and sending others fleeing to the West Bank. The result was a de facto geographic division of Palestinian-held territory, with Hamas holding sway in Gaza and Fatah maintaining the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority government in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Egyptian efforts to reconcile the two factions have come to nothing.
Since coming to power in Gaza, rockets fired from the Hamas enclave have consistently landed on Israeli cities near the border, sometimes producing casualties. Israel consistently alleged that Iranian and other weapons were being smuggled into Gaza through a series of tunnels, and with Egypt maintained tight control on the enclaves borders. International aid agencies say this led to severe shortages. A six-month ceasefire calmed things somewhat in 2008, but toward the end of the year, Hamas called off the truce and resumed firing rockets into Israel. The response was an air assault in late December and, in the first week of 2009, a full blown Israeli invasion of the territory.

In what does Hamas believe and what are its goals?
Hamas combines Palestinian nationalism with Islamic fundamentalism. Its founding charter commits the group to the destruction of Israel, the replacement of the PA with an Islamist state on the West Bank and Gaza, and to raising "the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine." Its leaders have called suicide attacks the "F-16" of the Palestinian people. In July 2009, Khaled Meshaal said Hamas was willing to cooperate with the United States (WSJ) on promoting a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Hamas, he said, would accept a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders provided Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to Israel and East Jerusalem be recognized as the Palestinian capital. The proposal fell short of recognizing the state of Israel, a necessary step for Hamas to be included in peace talks.

Is Hamas only a terrorist group?
No. In addition to its military wing, the so-called Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas devotes much of its estimated $70-million annual budget to an extensive social services network. Indeed, the extensive social and political work done by Hamas - and its reputation among Palestinians as averse to corruption - partly explain its defeat of the Fatah old guard in the 2006 legislative vote. Hamas funds schools, orphanages, mosques, healthcare clinics, soup kitchens, and sports leagues. "Approximately 90 percent of its work is in social, welfare, cultural, and educational activities," writes the Israeli scholar Reuven Paz. The Palestinian Authority often fails to provide such services, and Hamas's efforts in this area—as well as a reputation for honesty, in contrast to the many Fatah officials accused of corruption—help to explain the broad popularity it summoned to defeat Fatah in the PA's recent elections.

How big is Hamas?
Hamas’s military wing is believed to have more than one thousand active members and thousands of supporters and sympathizers. On March 22, 2004, more than two hundred thousand Palestinians are estimated to have marched in Yassin’s funeral. On April 18, 2004, a similar number publicly mourned the death of Rantisi.
Where does Hamas’s money come from?
Since its electoral victory to lead the PA, Hamas has had public funds at its disposal, though it does not have access to the foreign-aid dollars traditionally provided by the United States and European Union to the PA. Historically, much of Hamas's funding came from Palestinian expatriates and private donors in Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Persian Gulf states. Iran also provides significant support, which some diplomats say could amount to $20 million to $30 million per year. In addition, some Muslim charities in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe funnel money into Hamas-backed social service groups. In December 2001, the Bush administration seized the assets of the Holy Land Foundation, the largest Muslim charity in the United States, on suspicions it was funding Hamas.

What attacks is Hamas responsible for?
Hamas is believed to have killed more than five hundred people in more than 350 separate terrorist attacks since 1993. Not all Hamas's attacks have been carried out by suicide bombers. The group has also accepted responsibility for assaults using mortars, short-range rockets, and small arms fire. In 1996, Hamas bombings played an important role in undermining the election hopes of Labor Party leader Shimon Peres, who represented the succession to assassinated Oslo Accords signatory, Yitzhak Rabin. (Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, who ran against the accords, won instead). Between 2001 and 2003, in particular, Hamas and its comrades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad carried out dozens of such attacks, ultimately leading Israel to begin construction of a barrier between itself and Palestinian regions.

How does Hamas recruit and train suicide bombers?
The organization generally targets deeply religious young men—although some bombers have been older. The recruits do not fit the usual psychological profile of suicidal people, who are often desperate or clinically depressed. Hamas bombers often hold paying jobs, even in poverty-stricken Gaza. What they have in common, studies say, is an intense hatred of Israel. After a bombing, Hamas gives the family of the suicide bomber between three thousand dollars and five thousand dollars and assures them their son died a martyr in holy jihad.
The recruits undergo intense religious indoctrination, attend lectures, and undertake long fasts. The week before the bombing, the volunteers are watched closely by two Hamas activists for any signs of wavering, according to Nasra Hassan, writing in the New Yorker. Shortly before the "sacred explosion," as Hamas calls it, the bomber records a video testament. To draw inspiration, he repeatedly watches his video and those made by his predecessors and then sets off for his would-be martyrdom after performing a ritual ablution and donning clean clothes. Hamas clerics assure the bombers their deaths will be painless and that dozens of virgins await them in paradise. The average bombing costs about $150.

Is Hamas popular among Palestinians?
According to Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki, in late 2006 Hamas still enjoyed public backing, though most Palestinians also wanted to see a negotiated settlement with Israel. According to Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Territories, brutal internal clashes in Gaza have caused Hamas to lose some goodwill among Palestinians. In fact, the group has a history of fluctuating approval: Following the collapse of the peace process in the late 1990s, Hamas’ popularity rose as Arafat’s fell. In the spring of 2002, during a period of intensified armed conflict between Israeli security forces and Hamas militants, polls showed that Arafat's Fatah faction of the PLO and the Islamists each commanded support from roughly 30 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza (the remaining Palestinians were either independent, undecided, or supported other factions). But trust in Hamas reportedly dropped in 2004. In a poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center (JMCC) after Arafat's death, 18.6 percent of Palestinians named Hamas as the Palestinian faction they most trusted, down from 23 percent a year earlier. Hamas experienced a short-lived spike in popularity after the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in August 2005; after a rocket explosion at a Hamas rally September 23, 2005, killed fifteen people, Hamas blamed Israel and launched rocket attacks against it. Israel retaliated with punitive air strikes, which Palestinians blamed Hamas for provoking. The explosion was revealed to be an accident. In late 2008 and early 2009, during another violent flare up which resulted in Israeli land raids into the Gaza Strip, several news agencies reported that Hamas' popularity had stayed constant or even increased. By the end of June, public support for Hamas in the West Bank and Gaza Strip fell again to 18.8 percent, according to recent JMCC polls.

Facts found within the above information;

1. Hamas is the largest and most influential Palestinian militant movement.

2. Since attaining power, Hamas has continued its refusal to recognize the state of Israel, leading to crippling economic sanctions.

3. The group has also operated a terrorist wing, carrying out suicide bombings and attacks using mortars and short-range rockets.

4. Hamas has launched attacks both in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and inside the pre-1967 boundaries of Israel.

5. In Arabic, the word "hamas" means zeal. But it's also an Arabic acronym for "Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya," or Islamic Resistance Movement.

6. Hamas published its official charter in 1988, moving decidedly away from the Muslim Brotherhood's ethos of nonviolence.

7. The first Hamas suicide bombing took place in April 1993.

8. hamas has refused to eschew violence and remains adamant about reversing the decision by its rival faction, the more secular Fatah movement, to recognize Israel's right to exist.

9. In the summer of 2007, Hamas routed Fatah supporters, killing many and sending others fleeing to the West Bank.

10. Since coming to power in Gaza, rockets fired from the Hamas enclave have consistently landed on Israeli cities near the border.

11. Hamas called off the truce and resumed firing rockets into Israel. Which led to the dec08/jan09 invasion by Israel.

12. Hamas is believed to have killed more than five hundred people in more than 350 separate terrorist attacks since 1993.

13. Not all Hamas's attacks have been carried out by suicide bombers. The group has also accepted responsibility for assaults using mortars, short-range rockets, and small arms fire.

14. In 1996, Hamas bombings played an important role in undermining the election hopes of Labor Party leader Shimon Peres, who represented the succession to assassinated Oslo Accords signatory, Yitzhak Rabin. (Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, who ran against the accords, won instead). Between 2001 and 2003, in particular, Hamas and its comrades of Palestinian Islamic Jihad carried out dozens of such attacks, ultimately leading Israel to begin construction of a barrier between itself and Palestinian regions.

15. The organization generally targets deeply religious young men—although some bombers have been older.

16. After a bombing, Hamas gives the family of the suicide bomber between three thousand dollars and five thousand dollars and assures them their son died a martyr in holy jihad.

17. The recruits undergo intense religious indoctrination, attend lectures, and undertake long fasts. The week before the bombing, the volunteers are watched closely by two Hamas activists for any signs of wavering, according to Nasra Hassan, writing in the New Yorker. Shortly before the "sacred explosion," as Hamas calls it, the bomber records a video testament. To draw inspiration, he repeatedly watches his video and those made by his predecessors and then sets off for his would-be martyrdom after performing a ritual ablution and donning clean clothes. Hamas clerics assure the bombers their deaths will be painless and that dozens of virgins await them in paradise. The average bombing costs about $150.

Yes, hamas are very good people, they treat their constituents well, they “fund” them and keep them feed and happy with their 70 million a year help, what good would being in Gaza do if they lost all there would be bombers er.. scratch that, “support.” How many suicide bombers at 3 to 5 thousand plus 150 dollars each, can 70 million buy? A lot!