 ISRAEL will build a security fence along the length of its border with Egypt, stretching across the Sinai desert from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the $500 million fence on Thursday with the aim of thwarting drugs and people-smuggling rackets that operate across the border. ''In the end, there will be no choice but to close off the state of Israel by a fence on all sides,'' Mr Netanyahu was quoted as telling his cabinet. ''The state has to be fenced off completely on all sides. Why? Because Israel is the only country in the First World to which people can walk on foot from Third World countries and Africa,'' Mr Netanyahu said. ''If we don't fence ourselves off, Israel will be flooded by hundreds of thousands of foreign workers and illegal residents,'' he said. Israel's borders with Syria and Lebanon are already sealed with fences and concrete walls and wire fences surround the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The border with Egypt however has been relatively porous. According to the new plan to seal the border, the barrier will consist of two parallel barbed-wire fences designed to delay anyone trying to cross it until the arrival of border police. The fences will be built along either side of a 180-kilometre stretch of natural barrier that separates Israel and Egypt. Radar systems and other detection devices will be installed along the border to warn of potential infiltrators, along with increased border patrols. Construction of the fence is expected to take about two years. Egyptian security officials were reported as saying that Israel had not notified Cairo of its plan to build a fence between the two countries. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit was expected to issue a statement today. Meanwhile, violence around the Gaza Strip was escalating last night as Palestinian militants continued to fire mortar shells and home-made Qassam rockets at targets in southern Israel. Since last Friday, Palestinians have fired about 30 mortar shells and Qassam rockets into Israeli territory. All landed in open territory, causing no damage or injury. On Sunday, the Israeli air force attacked several targets in Gaza on Sunday, killing three Palestinian fighters believed to be members of the extremist Islamic Jihad group. The three were said to be engaged in preparations for firing a rocket or mortar shells at Israel. Islamic Jihad issued a statement claiming two of the operatives as its members. The third was believed to have been a member of Hamas. Israeli military officials said last night that Israel had spotted the Palestinians in the act of preparing to fire rockets at Israel. ''The air force spotted, in two different instances and just moments before launch, terrorist cells firing rockets and took advantage of that in order to attack,'' a military spokesman said. ''We have no intention of using restraint in response to launches of any kind. ''Any attempt to harm the civilians of the state of Israel or IDF troops will receive a clear response. They had better not think that we're blinking,'' the spokesman said. The Age H/T: J.R. 
 Gaza's Hamas rulers have suffered back-to-back setbacks with Israel's successful test of a rocket shield and Egypt's push to block smuggling tunnels. The Iron Dome rocket defense system, reportedly to be deployed near Gaza in May, would deprive Hamas of its main leverage against Israel – the threat of rocket salvos. Egypt's underground anti-tunnel barrier of steel beams, now under construction, could eventually cut Hamas' supply of cash and weapons. The looming double squeeze is poised to limit Hamas' options and change the rules of engagement on Gaza's volatile, blockaded borders. However, the Islamic militants remain firmly entrenched in the territory they seized from their Western-backed Fatah rivals in 2007. Hamas has already struck back against the steel wall by trying to rally public opinion against Egypt and experts warn Hamas could attempt to renew suicide attacks in Israel if rockets are intercepted. Hamas "can adjust to any new circumstances," said Ahmed Yousef, a political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, without giving specifics. He said more pressure on the movement would only make it more popular. Following IDF's cast lead operation in Gaza a year ago to stop the daily barrages, rocket and mortar fire ebbed but did not stop. Meanwhile, basic goods, cash and weapons kept coming in through tunnels from Egypt, in addition to limited humanitarian supplies Israel lets through one of its crossings into Gaza. Israel's Iron Dome and Egypt's steel wall could change the equation, analysts said. This "weakens the position of Hamas in the strip and confronts them with a challenge, on ... the Egyptian and the Israeli front," said Ephraim Halevy, former chief of the Mossad. "They will now have to devise a strategy to face up to these new developments." Israel announced Wednesday that it successfully tested the Iron Dome system, which intercepts short-range missiles of the type fired from Gaza and Lebanon. Developed at a cost of more than $200 million, it shoots down incoming rockets within seconds of their launch, the Defense Ministry said. The system is so sophisticated that it can almost instantly predict where a rocket will land, changing its calculations to account for wind, sun and other conditions in fractions of a second. Security officials acknowledged the system is expensive and will probably not be able to stop every rocket. Nonetheless, they said it is an important development in protecting Israelis and will strike an important psychological blow to Hamas. The first battery is to be deployed in May to shield the town of Sderot near Gaza, the most frequent target of rocket attacks in recent years. Uzi Rubin, a former top Defense Ministry official who was in charge of the long range anti-missile Arrow project, said changes will be profound. "Until now, we were totally exposed to anyone in Gaza who had a rocket to shoot at Israel," he said. "The ability (of Hamas) to cause losses and casualties in Israel will be greatly diminished." Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas' military wing Izzedine al Qassam declined comment on Iron Dome. A Hamas security officer in Gaza City, who is not linked to the military wing, shrugged off Israel's shield, saying it would be very expensive to shoot down every rocket. He refused to be quoted by name, in keeping with Hamas practice. Ted Postol, an expert on missile defense at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said he was not familiar with all the details of Iron Dome, but believed it could help protect small communities from direct hits. However, he said it was not clear if the system could stop a massive rocket barrage, and the high cost could also be a problem. A homemade projectile costs less than $200, he said, while intercepting one would cost around $100,000. However, experts say the cost will drop once the system is in mass production. Rubin, the former Defense Ministry official, said the shield is worthwhile anyway, citing the high human and economic cost to communities that live under rocket threat. For now, cross-border friction typical of the recent years still plays itself out. On Wednesday, Hamas loyalists clashed with Egyptian troops over Egypt's border wall. An Egyptian border guard was killed and seven Gazans were wounded in a brief exchange of fire. Egypt's Foreign Ministry issued a stern warning, saying it would not stand for another violent protest on the border. Some, meanwhile, have questioned the effectiveness of the steel wall, saying tunnel smugglers could simply dig deeper. Khaled Hroub, a Hamas expert and lecturer at Cambridge University, said he believes the recent developments will restrict Hamas' military options, but not its control over Gaza. YNet
 Israel inched a step closer to deploying a missile defense system along the border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after the Iron Dome successfully intercepted a number of missile barrages in tests held in southern Israel this week. The tests were overseen by the Defense Ministry, the Israeli Air Force and the Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. which has developed and is manufacturing the Iron Dome, slated to become operational and deployed along the Gaza border in the middle of 2010. The missile barrages that the system succeeded in intercepting included a number of rockets that mimicked Kassam and longer-range Grad-model Katyusha rockets that are known to be in Hamas's arsenal. The Iron Dome is supposed to be capable of intercepting all of the short-range rockets in fired by Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hizbullah in Southern Lebanon, by using an advanced radar that locates and tracks the rocket that is then intercepted by a kinetic missile interceptor. During the test, the radar succeeded in detecting which rockets were headed towards coordinates that were designated as open fields and therefore did not launch an interceptor to destroy them. The IDF has already established a new battalion that will be part of the IAF's Air Defense Division and will operate the Iron Dome. Prototypes of the Iron Dome have already been supplied to the new battalion which has commenced training with the systems. The IDF has also located positions along the Gaza border that will be used as bases for the system, which includes a launcher and radar system. After it completes the deployment of the system along the Gaza border, the IDF will begin deploying the system along the northern border with Lebanon. MOD Dir.-Gen. Pinhas Buchris said that the system would eventually "transform" security for residents of southern and northern Israel. "The defense establishment continues to be committed to do everything it can to provide all residents of Israel a multi-layered defense against missiles and rockets," he said. JPost
 At least 55 people have been injured in clashes between Egyptian police and pro-Palestinian activists who were trying to deliver aid into the Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses say. Some 520 activists broke down the gate at the port in al-Arish late on Tuesday in protest against an Egyptian decision to ship some of the goods through Israel, medical workers and protesters said. The protests were sparked by an Egyptian decision to allow 139 vehicles to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing, about 45km from the port in al-Arish, but requiring a remaining 59 vehicles to pass via Israel. Around 40 members of the convoy had minor injuries while over a dozen policemen were hurt in the clashes with protesters, who also blocked the two entrances to the Sinai port with vehicles, medical workers said. The Viva Palestina convoy, led by George Galloway, the British MP, had already been delayed by more than a week, after he and a delegation of Turkish MPs failed to persuade the Egyptians to change their mind. The convoy of nearly 200 vehicles arrived in al-Arish on Monday after a dispute with Cairo on the route. But the arrival came after a bitter dispute between its organisers and the government, which banned the convoy from entering Egypt's Sinai from Jordan by ferry, forcing it to drive north to the Syrian port of Lattakia. The convoy with 210 lorries full of medicine and other supplies set out from the UK nearly a month ago. Israel and Egypt have severely restricted travel to and from the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized power there in June 2007, after winning Palestinian legislative elections in 2006. The blockade currrently allows only very basic supplies into Gaza. The siege has severely restricted essential supplies and placed Gazans in a dire situation, made worse by Israel's military assault last winter that reduced much of the territory to ruins. Hamas has accused Egypt of reinforcing the siege imposed. Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the group, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that Egypt's moves to ban the Gaza aid convoy from reaching the enclave and to build an underground steel wall are deliberate policies that reinforce its participation in the siege. He said that such practices are unjustifiable and frustrating for Palestinian expectations from the Egyptian side. In other Gaza-related news, a Palestinian fighter was reportedly killed and four others wounded in an Israeli air attack on Tuesday in the city of Khan Younis, according to a security source. An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israel had launched the raid against fighters "planning to fire rockets at southern Israel". The armed wing of a group called the Popular Resistance Committee said its members had been targeted by the attack. Al Jazeera
 Newspapers in Belgium are reporting that a number of Israeli Belgians have filed charges against Hamas leaders in Gaza and Damascus, Syria. The fifteen dual citizenship holders were either wounded themselves, sustained material damage, or lost relatives in attacks that triggered Operation Cast Lead a year ago.
The suits follow several attempts by anti-Zionists in Europe, who sought the arrest of Israeli political and military leaders for authorizing the counter terrorist operation.
It is in effect, turning the tables on them. An official of the Israeli organization that helped launch the suits said that the group hopes "to shatter the myth that draws a parallel between Israel and terror organizations such as Hamas." Indeed, false moral equivalence is rife.
All plaintiffs live in the south of Israel. They are the victims of rocket barrages coming down on the area from Gaza between June 2008 and January 2009. Two were wounded. All are suffering emotional and psychological trauma.
The suit names ten Hamas leaders in all: political chief Khaled Mashaal residing in Damascus, 'Premier' Ismaail Haniyah in Gaza, former 'Foreign Minister' Mahmud Zahar, and leaders of the 'military' division, Ahmed Jabri and Mohammed Def.
The cases took six months to prepare. So far six requests for their arrest have been issued, all based on clear evidence that Hamas leaders are linked to the terror attacks.
Arutz Sheva report attorney Mordechai Tzivin, representing the plaintiffs, told the French news agency AFP: "This is a first step in a broad offensive across Europe that will include Spain, Britain, Italy and other countries".
One of the Belgian attorneys involved, Roel Coveliers explains that indiscriminate attacks on civilians may constitute war crimes. "But that's up to the Judge to decide. We don't know if we will be successful in prosecuting the case in Belgium and get a conviction, but it's important to get an investigative Judge to take on the matter".
Filing the suit is only an initial step. A federal Judge will see if the complaints have standing. In the affirmative, an investigative Judge will be appointed.
Although ranging well within Israeli territory, Hamas' home made rockets are not particularly effective. Between 2005 and 2007 Hamas militants fired some 2,700 of the home made rockets on southern Israel. Towns like Sderot have come under constant barrages of fire which crippled the daily lives of the inhabitants, causing material and psychological trauma.
On December 27 Israel finally launched counter terrorist Operation Cast Lead.
In the days before the maneuvers some eighty Qassam rockets landed in the area. It still happens, albeit less frequently, but effectively not much has changed. A recent article by blogger/journalist Caroline Glick explains why little was accomplished. Even top IDF commanders acknowledged this week that the army will be forced to return to Gaza in due course.
Belgian attorney Coveliers does not think the Court will reject the request. Thus far he's received six of the fifteen dossiers from Israel.
Ironically the suits charge ten Hamas leaders of war crimes on the basis of the UN Human Rights Commission's report authored by Judge Richard Goldstone, who accused Israel of war crimes but mentioned, almost in passing, that Hamas rocket attacks on civilians also constitute violations of international law. With thanks to Politeia
 This may be a response to criticism that the terrorist group hasn’t done enough to fight Israel, but Al-Qaeda has published a report that admitted that the organization has a branch in Damascus and that this branch carried out rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon on June 17, 2007 and in January 2008. The report also claimed that eight rockets found in Lebanon on December 25, 2008 belonged to Al-Qaeda-Damascus.
This branch is led by “close comrades of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi,” it says, proving that Syria acted as a safe haven for the Al-Qaeda element of the Iraqi insurgency. World Threats
 The IDF Home Front Command is preparing for the possibility that Hamas will fire missiles up to a range of 80 kilometers from the Gaza Strip in the event of a future conflict with Israel, The Jerusalem Post has learned. The preparations are being carried out on several different levels within the IDF, with a focus on preparing regional council members and municipality officials within the range - including Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan - for the possibility of missile and rocket attacks in their communities. During Operation Cast Lead, which began December 27, 2008, Hamas fired rockets to a range of around 40 km., hitting Ashdod and Yavneh. In late September, Hamas fired a missile with a 60 km. range from the Gaza Strip into the Mediterranean Sea. The IDF is also preparing information kits that could be distributed in the affected areas, as well as Home Front Command reserve units that would need to be deployed there in the event of rocket attacks. The IDF believes that Hamas has obtained Iranian-made Fajr missiles, either the Fajr 3 or Fajr 5. The Fajr 3 is five meters long and can carry a 45-kilogram warhead. To increase the rocket's range, Hamas has the option of shrinking the warhead to 25 or 30 kilograms, enabling it to strike deeper into Tel Aviv. Hizbullah also possesses such a missile. The Fajr 5 is slightly larger - 10 meters long - and has a range of up to 75 km, which could reach Tel Aviv, as well as communities further up the coast. Intelligence assessments are that Hamas smuggled themissiles into the Gaza Strip through tunnels, possibly as separate components. Iran already supplies Hamas with 122mm Katyusha rockets that are smuggled into Gaza in several pieces, then assembled by Hamas engineers. JPost
 Several Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip have denied Hamas claims that an agreement has been brokered among them to stop firing rockets across the border into Israel. The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, was the latest group to disavow the claim. "We are categorically denying that we have released a statement on reaching agreement with Palestinian factions over suspending rocket firing at the Zionist enemy", Abu Obeida, a spokesman for al-Qassam Brigades, said. "We are amazed that such an issue be circulated in the name of Izzad Din al-Qassam Brigades without their knowledge." Earlier, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) both denied they were party to a ceasefire. Khalid al-Batch, a leading figure in the Islamic Jihad movement, said that no agreement had been reached and warned of an Israeli military escalation. A statement from the PFLP armed wing, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, said: "We affirm that we were not part of any agreement on stopping the firing of rockets at Israel or to neutralise any form of legitimate resistance as granted by all international codes and conventions." The denials are a blow to Hamas, which had announced the ceasefire on Saturday, saying the move was aimed at preventing retaliatory attacks by Israel and to allow Gazans to rebuild their homes, destroyed during Israel's three-week war on Gaza launched at the end of last year. The Hamas statement had noted that Palestinian groups would respond to attacks by Israel. The statement came just hours after three Israeli air raids wounded eight Palestinians. The raids came after a rocket was fired into Israel from Gaza. The rocket landed without causing casualties. Israel's war on Gaza, which began in December last year and ended in January, left more 1,400 Palestinians dead. There has been a significant reduction in the number of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli air raids since both sides declared unilateral ceasefires following the conflict. Al Jazeera
 JERUSALEM — Israeli aircraft attacked two suspected weapons-making factories and a smuggling tunnel in the Gaza Strip early Sunday in what the military said was retaliation for Palestinian rocket fire into southern Israel. The airstrikes, which wounded at least seven people — including one seriously — came despite an announcement by Gaza's Hamas rulers that the territory's military factions had all agreed to stop firing rockets. The Hamas announcement came late Saturday, after the rocket attack. Hamas' interior minister, Fathi Hamad, said the proclaimed halt in rocket fire was designed to prevent Israeli retaliation and provide stability for Gaza, which continues to suffer from the aftermath of a massive Israeli military offensive in December and January. The offensive killed some 1,400 Palestinians, according to U.N. and Palestinian estimates, and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes. Thirteen Israelis also were killed. Most of the damage in Gaza has not been repaired due to an Israeli blockade that has prevented construction materials from entering the territory. Israel said it launched the offensive to crush Palestinian rocket squads, who had severely disrupted life in southern Israel for years. While Hamas has all but halted its own rocket fire, smaller militant groups have continued to launch attacks, though the number of attacks has decreased dramatically. On Sunday, Islamic Jihad, a smaller faction responsible for much of the rocket fire, said there is "no formal truce," but confirmed it would temporarily stop its attacks. "Yes, there is a halt, but if there are attacks by the Zionist enemies, as there inevitably will be, there will be a response," said Khader Habib, a spokesman for the group. An end to Palestinian rocket attacks could be an important step toward a broader prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas. The Iranian-backed Hamas is demanding the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchanged for Sgt. Gilad Schalit, who was captured by Hamas-allied militants more than three years ago. Usama Mazeini, a Hamas official involved in the German-brokered negotiations over Schalit, told Hamas newsletter al-Risala on Saturday that the talks are close to resolving the "obstacles" that remain. He gave no further details, but the publication quoted anonymous Hamas officials as saying a deal is "reaching completion." Israeli officials declined comment. FoxNews
 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinian militants in Gaza have agreed to stop firing rockets into southern Israel. Hamas announced the agreement this evening, saying it's intended to prevent Israeli retaliation and give Gaza residents more stability.
Hamas' interior minister says it should make it easier for residents to rebuild the infrastructure that was destroyed in last winter's war with Israel. Hamas has mostly refrained from firing rockets since Israel's three-week offensive ended in January. Israel launched the operation to end the rocket attacks which, at that time, were almost daily. U.N. and Palestinian estimates put the Palestinian death toll in the conflict around 1,400. Thirteen Israelis also were killed. Some Gaza militant groups have continued with rocket attacks since the end of the war, but they've been far less frequent.
The latest came this morning, but it caused no injuries. A small faction affiliated with Al Qaeda claimed responsibility. FoxNews
 Lebanese militants launched a rocket into northern Israel on Tuesday evening, drawing a rapid response from Israeli artillery in a brief flare-up across the tense border. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said a single rocket from Lebanon hit northeastern Israel, but caused no casualties. In a statement, the Israeli military said it views the incident as "grave" and holds the Lebanese government responsible. Lebanon's official news agency said unknown elements unleashed a Katyusha rocket from a valley between the Lebanese border villages of Houla and Mais al-Jabal. About 45 minutes later, Israeli artillery shelled the area from which the rocket was fired, the agency said. A Lebanese military official said nine shells fell on the area and Israeli helicopters and drones flew over the area. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launch. A Hezbollah official refused to comment on the rocket firing when contacted by The Associated Press late Tuesday. Yasmina Bouziane, a spokeswoman for the U.N. peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL deployed in southern Lebanon after the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, said the force "is ascertaining the facts and looking into the incident." The Lebanon-Israel border has been largely quiet since Israel and the militant group Hezbollah fought a bitter war in the summer of 2006. That war ended with a U.N.-brokered cease-fire that saw thousands of Lebanese troops and international peacekeepers deployed to keep the peace in south Lebanon. Hezbollah has not claimed responsibility for any attacks since the end of the fighting, which ravaged Lebanon's south. But smaller militant organizations, some of them linked to Al Qaeda, have launched rockets on several occasions. The last one was on Sept. 11. Tuesday's attack was the fifth this year. None have caused serious casualties. Source: Foxnews
 By Robert Spencer Give up terrorism? Renounce Sharia? Cut out the rocket attacks? End the suicide bombings? Stop the genocidal rhetoric? Nope. They don't have to do a single thing. No preconditions. Let's establish that terror base state now! "National Security Advisor Reiterates US Commitment to Peace, Palestinian State at ATFP Gala," from the American Task Force for Palestine, October 16 (thanks to Pamela): Washington, DC, Oct. 16 -- At the Oct. 15 Fourth Annual Gala of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP), the National Security Advisor, General James L. Jones, reiterated the Administration's commitment to establishing a Palestinian state and determination to move forward with peace talks. "We are clear, unambiguous and consistent," said Gen. Jones, "The time has come to relaunch negotiations without preconditions to reach a final status agreement on two states."
The National Security Advisor emphasized that, "President Obama's dedication to achieve these goals is unshaken, is committed, and we will be relentless in our pursuit of achieving these." He said that ending the conflict and the occupation is essential because what is at stake is "nothing less than the dignity and the security of all human beings." "We must move beyond talking about talks and get to the hard work of addressing the core issues that separate Israelis and Palestinians," Jones said.... Source: JihadWatch
 Fifteen European citizens living in Israel are taking legal action against the European Union for failing to protect them from Palestinian rocket fire while they are living in Israel. The citizens, of Britain, France, Italy and Hungary, who are all currently living in Israel, have filed a claim with the European Commission demanding that the EU intervenes in the funding of terrorism in Gaza, and takes action to protect them from terrorists while they live in Israel. They claim that the EU has a duty under Article 3.2 of the European Treaty to offer its citizens “an area of freedom, security and justice.” All 15 litigants currently live in the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which has been an ongoing target of Kassam rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. They are supported by the European Initiative, Europe's pro-Israeli lobby organisation. The group is demanding that the EU stops the transfer of European money to Hamas, prevents known terrorists and their leaders entering the EU, and prevents non-profit organisations misusing European funds. They also ask the EU to undertake “any means possible” to protect European citizens living in Israel against terrorism. The European Commission has confirmed the complaint has been received from lawyers Mordechai Tzivin in Israel and Hugo and Roel Covaliers in Belgium. It has been sent to the Commission’s external relations department. Mr Tzivin said: "The European Initiative estimates that more than 50,000 EU citizens are living in towns and villages at the southern areas of Israel, nearby the border with Gaza, and they are exposed to consistent Palestinian terrorists’ rocket attacks. “Most of the EU-Israelis, like all other Israeli civilians in these areas, are suffering from mental trauma and some of them have suffered severe property damages. “The EU must take responsibility for them and prevent any EU financial assistance from getting to terrorist hands in Gaza". Source: JC Online H/T: GH
 This looks like another attempt by Hamas to portray itself as "moderate," and thereby gull the Infidels into fatal concessions. "Gaza militants say Hamas stops their rocket fire," by Nidal al-Mughrabi for Reuters, October 10: GAZA (Reuters) - A Palestinian armed group accused the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers on Saturday of preventing its men from firing rockets at Israel, a sensitive allegation for the Islamist faction as it pursues mediated deals with the Jewish state. Hamas police intercepted Islamic Jihad rocket crews on three occasions over the past month, a group official said, foiling their bids to avenge Israeli fire on Gaza and to show solidarity with Palestinian protests over a contested Jerusalem shrine. "We have been prevented from launching attacks," the Islamic Jihad official told Reuters, adding that Hamas had also scrapped a planned rally by the group and arrested two of its members in a dispute over control of a mosque in northern Gaza.... Source: JihadWatch
 By AHARON LESHNO YA'AR Edited from the speech given by Israel's ambassador to the UN before the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday. Five years ago, in a remarkable gesture of peace, Israel removed every one of its soldiers and over 8,000 civilians from the Gaza Strip.
And the states of the Human Rights Council (HRC), applauded this unprecedented measure.
They told us in no uncertain terms that in the nightmare scenario that terror would take root, they would back us in our inherent right to self-defense. Five years later, the greenhouses we left behind had been ransacked by Hamas, over 8,000 rockets and mortars had been fired on schools and kindergartens in Sderot and other Israeli towns, and an unceasing supply of weaponry was smuggled through tunnels into Gaza from terror-sponsoring states like Iran. Israel's urgent appeals to the international community were to no avail, and our attempts to extend a fragile cease-fire were met with new, increased barrages of missiles from Hamas. All the while the range of the attacks was increasing. Now Ashkelon and Beersheba were within reach. One million Israelis had to live within seconds of a bomb shelter. The decision to launch a military operation is never easy. It is even more challenging when we have to face an enemy that intentionally deploys its forces in densely populated areas and launches rockets from crowded school yards and mosques. These are new and horrendous challenges, and we sought to deal with them responsibly and humanely. Yet when we dropped millions of leaflets and made thousands of phone calls to warn civilians in advance of operations, we were witness to the callous and deliberate Hamas tactic of sending women and children onto the rooftops of terrorist headquarters and weapons factories.
In such cases, missions were aborted, letting the terrorists escape. Israel protected Palestinian civilians that Hamas had put at risk. Read more here,,,, Source: JPost
 Five people have been injured after shots were fired at a funeral in Gaza City for two of three Palestinians killed in an Israeli air raid, Palestinian medical sources have said. The gunshots rang out from across the border with Israel, Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera, as thousands of Palestinians turned out in the streets for the funeral on Saturday. Israel has yet to confirm whether gunfire came from their side of the border, but has said that it is looking into the incident. "The funeral procession was taking place very close to the border with Israel, [near] the Nahal Ouz crossing - obviously that border that splits Gaza from Israel is very heavily guarded by Israeli forces," Sherine Tadross, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, reported. "During the procession, mourners started firing shots up into the air - as is tradition to show their defiance, their protest and anger. "Israeli forces on the border saw that as an act of aggression and started firing," she said. The incident is also the first time guns have been fired during a protest since the end of Israel's offensive on Gaza at in January that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians. The brandishing of weapons in Gaza City was a rare show of force by the Islamic Jihad movement, and came despite strict rules against the public display of weapons enforced by Hamas. The group banned the bearing of weapons in public after it seized power in Gaza in June 2007. "We call on all Palestinian resistance factions to resume martyrdom operations inside the Zionist entity," one protest leader at the funeral yelled through a megaphone, referring to suicide bombings. The funeral was for fighters from Islamic Jihad, killed on Friday evening by Israeli aircraft in a strike that severely wounded three other people. The three men killed in the Israeli air raid were travelling in a car when it was struck by a missile, Moaiya Hassanain, an official at the Gaza health ministry, said. The Israeli military said the Palestinian militants were hit from the air as they unloaded rockets from their vehicle. An Israeli military spokesman said the army had "targeted three terrorists in the Gaza Strip on their way to launch rockets at Israel". Islamic Jihad issued a statement blaming Israel for what it said was a "cowardly crime" and calling on all Palestinian armed groups to confront it. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, condemned the violence. "These crimes are the result of a Zionist attitude based on killing, violence and destruction, especially in the absence of a strong Arab and international position, which ought to protect the interests of the Palestinian people," he said. Earlier in the day a rocket was fired from Gaza into Israel without wounding anyone, according to the Israeli military. Source: Al Jazeera (English)
 JERUSALEM: The United Nations has condemned Friday's rocket attack on Israel from southern Lebanon, and urged both sides "to exercise maximum restraint."
Israel's military fired between 12 and 18 artillery shells into southern Lebanon Friday shortly after the rocket attack on northern Israel, according to the Israeli military and a Lebanese army official. There were no casualties in either incident. Rockets fired from Lebanon struck open spaces in the western Galilee region of northern Israel, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman said. There were no reports of damage. Israel retaliated by firing toward the source of the rocket fire, the IDF spokesman said. The shells landed near the southern Lebanese village of Qlayleh around 3 p.m. (8 a.m. ET), a Lebanese army official said. The IDF spokesman said the Israeli military considers the rocket-fire incident to be serious and holds Lebanon's government and military responsible. Israel Radio reported one rocket struck near the northern town of Nahariya and another landed near Gesher Haziv, a kibbutz, or collective community. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said residents near Nahariya heard several explosions, and the remnants of at least one rocket were found. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a statement through his spokeswoman, condemning the attack. He said the United Nations mission in Lebanon, UNIFIL, "is investigating the circumstances of the incident in close cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces." There are an estimated 30,000 rockets in southern Lebanon, all under the control of Hezbollah militants. Israel fought a war against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon three years ago that is widely regarded as having empowered the Shiite militia. Source: CNN
 Civilians ducking for cover at the sound of a sirenHuman Rights Watch publishes new report on Islamist group's attacks on Israel since November '08; says Hamas violated international law by targeting civilian population in south, unnecessarily risking Palestinian civilians in Strip
A new Humans Right Watch report determined Thursday that Hamas rocket fire on Israel's south constitutes a war crime.The 25-page report documents rocket fire from the Gaza Strip towards Israel starting November 2008 – a period when three Israelis were killed and dozens of others injured as a result of projectiles. The report states that the rocket fire caused extensive damage and forced people out of their homes. Contrary to international law, the fire was aimed at civilian population within a 25-mile radius, endangering some 800,000 Israelis.
During the same time period, several rockets fired at Israel landed on the Palestinian side of the security fence, killing two girls and injuring numerous other Palestinians. Moreover, said the report, armed militants firing rockets from densely populated areas in the Strip were putting Palestinian civilians in harms way by risking Israeli counter-strikes, thus grossly breaching the rules of war. The report further states that Hamas rocket fire on Israeli civilians is illegal, unjustified and constitutes a war crime. As the ruling authority in the Gaza Strip, it added, Hamas must publicly renounce rocket fire on populated Israeli areas, and punish those responsible for it, including members of Hamas' own military wings. According to internationally accepted Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), anyone who sanctions and/or initiates indiscriminate or direct attacks on civilian population is guilty of war crimes. The report focuses on events which occurred from November 2008 and on, which is when the Palestinian militant groups renewed their fire on southern Israel.  Home damaged by Grad rocketHuman Rights Watch based its report on eyewitness reports, field reports and various media reports. The brief details many cases in which Israelis and Palestinians were killed or injured as a result of Hamas fire, but nevertheless, it states that it found no deliberate pattern by Hamas, to use civilians as human shields. Still, HRW did find that the Palestinian groups systematically breached the LOAC code by failing to take every possible precaution to avoid putting Gazans at risk. Hamas' military wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has claimed the attacks which resulted in three Israeli deaths. The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad's al-Quds Brigades claim they fired 820 rockets on Israel during Operation Cast Lead in early 2009. The incessant, years-long rocket fire on Israel's south, concluded the report, has taken a serious psychological toll on the area's residents. The rules of war prohibit launching attacks aimed solely at terrorizing civilian population. Source: Ynet
 Fatah. The Good Terrorists.The United States has transferred $200 million in aid for the Palestinian people, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday.
The money was part of the assistance package announced at an international donors conference in March.
Clinton, who spoke after returning from a visit to India and Thailand, said the money had been transferred directly to the Palestinian Authority.
She said that she had been assured that President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad "have put in place the foundations of a responsible, transparent, accountable government."
This had been verified, she said, by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and internal reviews.
Speaking to reporters via video conference from the Palestinian territories, Fayyad said the transfer was a "huge vote of confidence" which his government appreciates.
"In this case, our sense of gratitude is matched, if not even surpassed, by immense pride in what we have accomplished worthy of the confidence of our people," he said.
Clinton said the United States would continue to engage Israel and the Palestinians in peace talks and press for a two-state solution, and called on the rest of the world to help boost the Palestinian economy.
"Human progress depends on the human spirit. ... These fiscal reforms serve a larger purpose. We are seeing the positive impact that responsible government is having on the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank -- daily improvements in security, law and order, and economic opportunity," she said. Source: Fox NewsH/T: Jihad Watch
May 20ISRAELI air force jets have staged a series of strikes on the Gaza Strip after militants fired a rocket into the yard of a house in the southern city of Sderot, Palestinians and medical sources say.Israeli planes bombed the area six times on Tuesday, targeting underground tunnels used to smuggle goods into the besieged territory. In other raids they targeted armed men belonging to Hamas, according to the Islamist group.
Israel says Gaza militants use tunnels under the Egyptian border to smuggle weapons into the Palestinian territory.
The Israeli planes also attacked two metal workshops in Gaza, injuring two people, according to emergency services. The Israeli army says the two workshops were used to make rockets.
Israeli defence forces confirmed the attacks on the tunnels.
The rocket fired earlier on Tuesday caused some damage to the yard of the house in Sderot, an Israeli city a few kilometres from the Gaza border which is regularly targeted by Palestinian rocket fire.
The Israeli military says militants have fired more than 200 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel since the January 18 end of the 22-day military offensive against Gaza which Israel says targeted Hamas, the Palestinian enclave's Islamist rulers.
More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed during the operation, according to Palestinian data, while 13 Israelis were killed.
Since the end of the war, Israel has launched several air raids in response to rocket fire from Gaza.
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Copyright Muslims Against Sharia 2008. All rights reserved.
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ISRAEL will build a security fence along the length of its border with Egypt, stretching across the Sinai desert from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
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