With all this talk about how Israel needs to get to the "damn table," one could be forgiven for forgetting about the nature of the other side. But as Palestinian Media Watch reports, "At a ceremony marking the 24th anniversary of the founding of Hamas, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh said that Hamas may work for the 'interim objective of liberation of Gaza, the West Bank, or Jerusalem,' but that this 'interim objective' and 'reconciliation' with Fatah will not change Hamas' long-term 'strategic' goal of eliminating all of Israel."
"The armed resistance and the armed struggle are the path and the strategic choice for liberating the Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river, and for the expulsion of the invaders and usurpers [Israel]... We won't relinquish one inch of the land of Palestine." . . .
In his speech, Haniyeh also promised that Hamas will "lead Intifada after Intifada until we liberate Palestine - all of Palestine, Allah willing. Allah Akbar and praise Allah."
Palestinian news sources reported earlier this month that Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised $300 million to the Gaza-based terrorist organization Hamas. If true, this pledge would cover nearly half of Hamas’s reported $769 million budget next year, and would make Turkey its primary benefactor.
In a move that should startle members of Congress, a Palestinian sovereign wealth fund that has long received American taxpayer support will soon begin building houses for convicted members of terrorist organizations.
Last week, Jordan's new prime minister Awn Khasawneh boldly announced that Jordan’s 1999 decision to deport leaders of the Palestinian jihadist group Hamas was a political mistake and a violation of the constitution. With U.S. regional influence in decline and Jordanian stability on the line, the London-based Arabic daily al-Quds al-Arabi now reports that Abdullah’s new government is set to welcome Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal for an official visit in the near future.
Ynetnews.com reports on a bounty being put up for Israeli soldiers by a Saudi cleric:
A week after the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, top Saudi cleric Dr. Awad al-Qarni is offering a $100,000 reward to anyone who kidnaps Israeli soldiers....
With the advent of the Arab Spring, several former Arab tyrannies (Egypt, Tunisia, now Libya, perhaps Syria next) have thrown off dictators and are, or will be, moving toward elections. And in Jordan and Morocco, the kings have announced new constitutional arrangements that move powers to elected officials.
Interested in supporting the Palestinians in Gaza? Support Israel, which provides tons of aid and support to the Palestinians. The Israel Defense Forces has a short video, explaining how it actually works:
Congressman Steve Chabot just introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives that calls on America to stop giving money to the United Nations “if the General Assembly adopts a resolution in favor of recognizing a state of Palestine outside of or prior to a final status agreement negotiated between, and acceptable to, the State of Israel and the Palestinians.”
Let’s assume that it was not President Obama’s intention for the final section of his big Mideast speech, in which he took up the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to entirely overwhelm everything he had just said in support of democratization and the “universal rights” of those living in the region.
President Obama’s visit to Ireland yesterday bookended a tumultuous week in Washington. After a blow-up with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over whether the 1967 borders with land swaps should be the starting point of negotiations or a concession that Israel provides as part of a negotiation -- President Obama, unlike every president before him, decided it should be the former -- Obama, in his AIPAC speech on Sunday, tried to reassure Israel and the majority of Americans who steadfastly support the Jewish state that Israel’s survival is of paramount concern.
