According to Haaretz correspondent Avi Issacharoff, there is a bitter internal feud going on inside Hamas’ Iz al-Din al Qassam, the terrorist group’s military wing.
The feud reportedly started when Hamas police tried to arrest Iz al-Din al Qassam members loyal to Ahmed Al-Jabari, the group’s military commander.
Al-Jabari has long been targeted by Israel for his senior oversight of Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
In August, 2004, the Israeli Air Force targeted al-Jabari at his house in Gaza City, but were not successful in eliminating him.
There’s a terrific article in this morning’s Washington Post about how Gaza’s smugglers make a fortune by smuggling weapons, blue jeans, and generic Viagra from Egypt into Gaza.
The report makes clear that Hamas’ control over Gaza extends to the smuggling networks as well. The terrorist group exerts Tony Soprano-like control over everything coming in and out of Gaza’s tunnels:
“For anything that comes through the tunnel, either they take taxes or they confiscate half the goods,” said Mahmoud Qeshtah, a 21-year-old candy salesman. “Day after day we are dying, and Hamas is responsible.”
But despite media hype that Gaza’s tunnels are used to sneak in food, clothes and medicine, the real priority for Hamas and the smugglers they rely upon are weapons they use to mount terror attacks against Israeli civilians, and the Israeli Defense Forces.
According to Egypt’s official news agency, Hamas and Israel have agreed to a truce that begins at 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, June 19, 2008.
Remaining cautious, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak remained cautious, saying that “it is still early to declare” that Hamas rocket attacks on Israel civilians living just outside of the Gaza strip were safe from further terrorist attacks from this site.
In Sderot, Ashkelon, and other Israeli communities outside of Gaza, two days is an extraordinarily long time not to face the threat of continued attacks from Hamas operatives and their homemade Qassam rockets.
An Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that a “cessation of all hostile acts and military action” would start at 6 a.m. on Thursday.
If it happens, this would the first cessation of hostilities with Hamas since 2006.
The Iranian press maintains that Hamas Political Bureau Chief and Khaled Meshaal spoke from Damascus, Syria last week, coming to the defense of his terror group’s love for Iran (continued below)
Arab and Islamic countries should consolidate their unity and distinguish friend from foe, he said while addressing a ceremony held in the Syrian capital, Damascus, to commemorate the demise anniversary of the Founder of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, the late Imam Khomeni.
Iran has long-standing relationship with Hamas, providing the terrorist group with military and guerilla warfare training, a steady supply of weapons, as well as financial support.
