“BACK TO NORMAL” -ROCKET ATTACKS AGAIN!
by Hana Levi Julian

The Color Red incoming rocket alert roused Sderot residents from their beds at approximately 6:00 Thursday morning, barely giving the sleepy civilians time to scramble into shelters before a short range (“Kassam”) rocket slammed into the community. No one was injured and no damage was reported.

The early warning system also sounded several minutes earlier in the Eshkol region, although it was not clear whether it was a false alarm, or if a missile had fallen in an as-yet-unidentified site.

Shortly after midnight, the Israel Air Force bombed a weapons depot in Rafiah. According to a statement released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit, an accurate hit was identified. “As the sole authority in the Gaza Strip, Hamas bears full responsibility of all terror originating from within its area of control. The IDF will respond to any terror attacks in accordance with decisions made by the Israeli government,” said the army spokesman.

The IAF air strike followed a rocket attack at approximately 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, which exploded in an open area. Residents raced into shelters after three false alarms had sounded earlier in the day.

Eshkol Regional Council head Chaim Lin told reporters following the attack, “This is the first rocket since the ceasefire began. We hope that the Israeli government will not be drawn into a policy of restraint, and that they will respond with force in order to preserve the security of the residents.”

The Israeli government has vowed to respond with military action to every attack, despite calls by U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell this week for Israel and Hamas to extend the “ceasefire.”

The terrorist organization, which controls Gaza, formally rejected Israel’s ceasefire terms on Wednesday. However, Hamas and other allied groups have refrained from firing long-range rockets at major Israeli cities since the IDF ended its Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.

Wednesday night’s rocket attack followed a cross-border bombing by Hamas terrorists a day earlier that killed one IDF soldier and injured three others, including an officer who was seriously wounded.

Shortly after the bombing, the terrorists launched a follow-up mortar attack on southern Israel.

Meanwhile, IAF warplanes struck in response, targeting a terrorist who had carried out the attack on the soldiers. They also blasted a number of smuggling tunnels on the “Philadelphia” route that runs along the Egyptian-Gaza border.

UN: Oops, Hamas did fire from our facilities

During the recent Gaza war, while all eyes were on Israel, the United Nations heedlessly repeated Palestinian accusations that Israeli forces had fired on its facilities in the Hamas-ruled territory without provocation.

Now that the war is over, and fewer people are paying attention, UN officials are admitting otherwise.

Speaking before the UN Security Council on Tuesday, UN Humanitarian Affairs Chief John Holmes blasted Hamas for making “cynical” use of public civilian facilities across Gaza during the fighting.

“The reckless and cynical use of civilian installations by Hamas and indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian populations are clear violations of international humanitarian law,” said Holmes.

Holmes also acknowledged that it is Hamas meddling that is largely responsible for humanitarian aid not reaching the people of Gaza.

Unsurprisingly, the mainstream international media brushed aside most of what Holmes had to say and focused only on his call for Israel to fully throw open the border crossings into Gaza.

GEORGE MITCHELL – APPOINTED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA!
(published in FLAME)
Brace yourself: Mitchell’s appointment as Middle East envoy reflects Obama’s willingness to pressure Israel into dangerous compromises!

As you know, we’ve remained cautiously optimistic about President Obama’s intentions with regard to Israel and the Palestinians. While no one was expecting a Bush-like laissez faire approach, we had held out the hope that Obama would a) realize the Palestinians are years, if not decades, from being able to organize and manage a state and b) understand that the real reason for the failure of previous peace efforts has been a lack of whole-hearted commitment on the part of the Palestinians.

The appointment of George Mitchell as the diplomat in charge of Obama’s efforts to forge peace between Israel and the Arabs dashes these hopes and bespeaks a triumph of fantasy over reality on Obama’s part. Mitchell’s past efforts for peace in the Middle East have now been discredited. And, for all his experience as a peace negotiator, Mitchell has never successfully made peace in as hopeless a situation as this.

First, the Palestinian body politic remains irreconcilably fractured, with Hamas and Fatah at each others’ throats. While Hamas was badly bruised during Israel’s recent Gaza incursion, it remains the strongest political force among the Palestinian people, who, after all, elected them to run the Palestinian Authority. Even if you believe that Mahmoud Abbas’s (and before him Yassir Arafat’s) Fatah party wants a two-state peace with Israel (which they do not), Abbas’s tenure as president of the PA has officially now ended, and Fatah has no power in Gaza and a very weak hold on the West Bank. Just who does Obama think has the credibility, power and stature to make peace with Israel?

Second, the very reason that past peace efforts have failed make it certain that Mitchell’s efforts will fail as well. Even if you blindly set aside the issues of credibility and govern-abilty and against all evidence accept that Fatah’s positions reflect those of the Palestinian people, Israel and the Palestinians are still miles apart on fundamental issues like borders, repatriation of children and grandchildren of Arab refugees (they were not called Palestinians in 1948), and the disposition of Jerusalem. (Can you imagine Hamas being able to fire rockets from a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem?) The Palestinians have shown no inclination to compromise on these questions, nor have they ever made an effort in word or deed to foster peace with Israel. To the contrary, they’ve delivered a steady diet of Jew-hate, suicide bombers and rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.

EGYPT BLOCKS IRANIAN SHIP!
by Hana Levi Julian (Arutz Sheva News)

Egypt has so far blocked an Iranian ship from crossing the Suez Canal, where it would then proceed to the Mediterranean Sea and probably on to Gaza. The ship is believed to be carrying a cargo of weaponry for Hamas terrorists. The move has won high marks from Jerusalem and the U.S.

Currently the ship is docked in the Red Sea port outside Suez. “This is a big test for the Egyptians,” said a senior defense source in Jerusalem. “So far the Egyptians have prevented the ship from crossing the Suez, and we hope it will stay that way.”

There are two main smuggling routes in Gaza, according to security sources, one by land and the other by sea. The land route, accessed through smuggling tunnels from Egypt into Gaza, is reached from Somalia and Sudan, and sometimes also from Port Said in the Sinai. The sea route is accessed by ships dropping their wares overboard in waterproof containers, to be picked up by Gaza “fishermen” or divers after the vessels have gone. Gaza fishermen have begun to resume their daily activities in the wake of the IDF’s withdrawal from the region.

The Jewish State is continuing to closely track the freighter’s movements, which Jerusalem believes are aimed at replenishing the depleted arsenal of missiles used by Gaza terrorists against civilians in southern Israel.

The U.S. Navy recently boarded an Iranian ship carrying artillery shells and other ordinance, according to a report from the Pentagon that was conveyed to Jerusalem. There are concerns that Iran will make good on its vow to resupply Hamas with long-range Fajr missiles, which have a 70-kilometer range, capable of reaching Tel Aviv and beyond.

While the U.S. has maintained a firm stance in blocking Iranian attempts to rearm Hamas terrorists in Gaza, President Barack Obama’s administration has also said it hopes to engage in “direct diplomacy” with the Islamic Republic.

However, newly-installed U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said that did not mean America would not continue its pressure to relieve Iran of its nuclear ambitions. Rice told reporters Monday that “dialogue and diplomacy must go hand in hand with a very firm message from the United States and the international community that Iran needs to meet its obligations as defined by the Security Council. And its continuing refusal to do so will only cause pressure to increase,” she said.

HAMAS ATTACKS IDF
by Hana Levi Julian (Israel National News)

Less than a week after the IDF left Gaza, Hamas terrorists returned to “business as usual” with an attack on Israeli soldiers at the Kissufim crossing Tuesday morning in a new violation of the ceasefire that killed one soldier and wounded three others. The fallen soldier was a non-commissioned officer. One officer was seriously wounded and two other soldiers were lightly wounded.in the attack. The officer was airlifted by helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Be’er Sheva, where he was rushed into emergency surgery. The other two soldiers were evacuated to Soroka by ambulance.

Terrorists detonated the explosive device around 8:00 a.m. after they had planted along the security fence as an IDF soldiers’ vehicle patrolled near the Kissufim crossing. The terrorists also fired a number of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) at Israel. The IDF responded with machine gun and tank fire and shut down the crossing points

According to the Hebrew-language Yediot Acharonot, IDF ground forces returned to Gaza in response to the violation of the ceasefire. Hamas was warned repeatedly by Egypt and Israel not to test Israel’s resolve. The government has threatened an immediate and harsh retaliation to any ceasfire violation.

Gunfire was clearly heard in central Gaza, according to local sources, and Israeli helicopters reportedly were seen firing bursts from machine guns. Gaza sources reported one dead, who they said was a farmer, in an exchange of gunfire between soldiers and terrorists. Two explosions were heard in Gaza City as well.

“We hit Hamas hard in Operation Cast Lead, but that does not mean it will disappear,” said Defense Minister Ehud Barak during a Tuesday morning visit to soldiers stationed near Gaza. “There will be attacks occasionally.” Hamas struck on the eve of the visit of new United States Middle East envoy Sen. George Mitchell.

According to the IDF, Hamas told its operatives following the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead to continue to target Israeli soldiers, despite having called for a ceasefire. IDF sources said Tuesday’s attack shows that Hamas does not intend to include activities against Israeli soldiers in its ceasefire agreement. Hamas previously fired mortar shells on the western Negev on the first day of the truce.

Israel battles Hamas so the U.S. and the rest of the world don’t have to!
(Article on FLAME web site)

As you know, last week outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni signed an agreement in which the U.S. affirmed its commitment to preventing Hamas from rearming in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Fortified by this support, Israel’s National Security Cabinet voted Saturday evening to end the military operation in Gaza. The cease-fire went into effect early Sunday morning.

Since then, more rockets and mortar shells were fired at southern Israel, even as Israeli forces have begun to withdraw from Gaza. Later Sunday, Hamas also declared a cease-fire and demanded all Israeli forces be withdrawn in one week’s time.

Thus the Middle East equation becomes even more complex for U.S. president Barack Obama. The situation should also be a wake-up call for American supporters of Israel: We must stand ready to write letters to newspapers, magazines, members of Congress, and the President himself, demanding that our government do the right thing.

In order to determine the appropriate diplomatic path for the U.S., it’s helpful to review some key facts about Hamas and the current conflict in Gaza, which we can’t let our friends, colleagues, media outlets and elected representatives forget:

1. Hamas is a terrorist organization—so declared by the U.S. and the E.U. and factually demonstrable by its constant rocket attacks on Israeli civilian populations. (Surely the irony is not lost on you: Israel is daily condemned for targeting civilians in Gaza [which it does not do], while Hamas, which openly does target civilians, gets a free pass from the international community.)

2. Hamas is dedicated to the annihilation of Israel and Jews. This is no secret: Destruction of Israel is part of the Hamas charter.

3. Hamas believes in global jihad. As a fundamentalist Islamic organization, with ties to the radical Muslim Brotherhood, Hizbollah and Iran, Hamas wishes to impose Shari’a—Islamic law—upon the world’s people. As such, it is the enemy of all nations that don’t subscribe to fundamentalist Islam, including the U.S. (and Egypt and Saudi Arabia). Again, Hamas makes no secret of its jihadist mission.

4. Hamas militia hide among Gaza’s civilians, risking the lives of thousands of innocent people. Hamas does not deny this tactic—indeed they revel in it, citing the willingness of Palestinians to martyr themselves for the cause. Example: An Israeli response to Hamas rocket fire last week hit a U.N.-sponsored school in Gaza and killed several people. According to the NY Times, a Palestinian witness reported that the rockets were fired just 25 yards from the school.

As obvious as these facts seem to us, it’s astounding that the press, many world leaders and NGOs, like Amnesty International, completely ignore this self-evident reality. Each of us needs to continue to drive these facts home and place the current conflict in context.

In point of fact, the world would be well served if Hamas were put out of business once and for all.

THE LIES OF HAMAS, HIZBULLAH, AND IRAN!
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (Israel National News)

Hamas, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Lebanon’s Hizbullah have all claimed that the Hamas regime achieved victory over Israel in the three-week Israeli offensive known as Operation Cast Lead. They present figures on Israeli losses that are detached from any reality on the ground, while promoting anti-Semitic libels regarding the Arab deaths in the Gaza war.

Gaza’s Palestinian Authority leader, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, addressed the PA in a televised speech Sunday and declared victory over Israel. He demanded “full and unconditional withdrawal” of IDF troops from Gaza, and the opening of the PA-Israel and PA-Egypt border crossings in Gaza. Haniyeh said that the PA “victory” should contribute to PA factional unity and reconciliation.

At a Hamas news conference held on Monday, a spokesman for the Al-Kassam Brigades “conservatively estimated” that the terror group killed up to 80 Israeli soldiers and lost only 48 of its own fighters. The spokesman, known as Abu Obeida, further claimed that Hamas destroyed or incapacitated 47 IDF tanks and bulldozers, hit four helicopters and shot down one unmanned drone plane. He said that the terrorists took several soldiers captive during Israel’s ground offensive, but the Israeli response was to call in airstrikes that “always deliberately targeted” the Hamas abductors along with their hostages.

Abu Obeida called the Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza “a process of mass killing bearing the hallmarks of a hateful Talmudic ideology.” He claimed that the majority of the deaths among Gaza residents were of unarmed civilians.

Third-party and Israeli statistics indicate that about 1,300 people were killed in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead, with varying estimates as to how many among them were active jihadists. Israel puts the figure at more than two-thirds, while PA sources claim it was less than half. Ten Israeli soldiers died in combat and three Jewish civilians were killed by enemy rocket fire on their home towns. Dozens of Israelis remain hospitalized as a result of the war with the Gaza-based PA terrorists.

In addition, IDF commanders report that over 90 percent of Hamas offices in Gaza were demolished, as were hundreds of smuggling tunnels along the Egyptian border.

Hizbullah Claims PA Terrorists Killed 225 Israelis

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shared Hamas’s evaluation of the Gaza war as a defeat for Israel. According to Iranian state media, Ahmadinejad told Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal that the three-week war was “the beginning of victory” and that continued “resistance will complete the links [leading victory.” The PA “victory”, Ahmadinejad said, should be followed by steps to deter and defeat future Israeli operations.

An Iran-based website serving the Lebanese Hizbullah terrorist organization was more outrageous than Hamas in its claims regarding Israeli losses in Gaza. Moqavemat told its readers that 203 soldiers were killed and 1,280 injured during the war with the Hamas regime. The Hizbullah mouthpiece also said that about 22 civilians were killed by Hamas rockets on “Israeli settlements”, with another 1,300 injured. They further claimed “military authorities in Tel Aviv confirm” that PA gunmen took over 17 Merkava tanks and 22 APCs, as well as repeating Hamas claims of downing an unmanned plane and two IAF helicopters.

Hizbullah claimed its information was “real information based on hospital records and military reports.” Commenting on its own fabricated statistics, the website added, “If the Israeli public knew they lost and were so defeated, there would be riots like never seen before.”

Hamas is including the PA children in the alternate reality it is creating for public consumption. According to Palestinian Media Watch, from the “first day of its ceasefire with Israel, Hamas has added a new element to its propaganda campaign claiming that it won the war in Gaza.” An animated program on on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV “depicts Israeli soldiers as cowards who are afraid to enter Gaza,” PMW reports. The IDF soldiers are shown crying, “Mommy, Mommy,” as they head into battle with Hamas. The soldiers are then cut down by Hamas bullets in the cartoon. “The video ends with an Israeli soldier’s blood splattered on the screen,” PMW described, “accompanied by a caption that reads, ‘Whoever dares, let him come! Gaza is his certain death.’ ”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: It is utterly amazing to see the “LIES” that are being told to the citizens of Gaza and the world about what has just happened in GAZA! The facts are distorted and the claim of victory by Hamas is indeed tragic! The desperation of Hamas was quite evident and hundreds of terrorists along with their leadership have been killed! THE LIES ARE TYPICAL OF ISLAMIC TERRORISTS! May the truth be known and may the gospel of the Messiah, our blessed LORD YESHUA penetrate the darkness of those controlled by the “Father of lies” – the devil himself!)

HAMAS DECLARES VICTORY, VOWS TO ACQUIRE MORE “HOLY WEAPONS”!

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh announced in a televised address to the Gaza population on Sunday that the terror group had once again defeated Israel by force of arms.

Hamas scored a “historical and strategic victory” over Israel, said Haniyeh as Israeli troops began withdrawing from the Gaza Strip following a three-week offensive against the terrorist infrastructure there.

While Israel managed to kill hundreds of terrorists and destroy much of Hamas’ military hardware, while suffering only minimal casualties itself, observers had warned for weeks that all Hamas had to do was survive the assault in order to legitimately claim victory in the eyes of their fellow Arabs and Muslims.

Hamas also successfully convinced a majority of Palestinians that its acts of violence had driven the Israeli army and 10,000 Jewish civilians from Gaza in the 2005 “disengagement.”

Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida followed up Haniyeh’s pronouncement by telling reporters in Gaza that the group will continue to arm itself in violation of the “memorandum of understanding” Israel signed with Western powers guaranteeing assistance in keeping weapons out of the terrorists’ hands.

“Do whatever you want. Manufacturing the holy weapons is our mission and we know how to acquire weapons,” said Abu Ubaida.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Once again Israel gives in to pressure of US and world leadership – only to experience HAMAS’ attitudes and promises of more terrorism! Enough is enough – Israel must NOT negotiate with any enemies dedicated to their destruction. May God give the leaders of Israel the wisdom, courage, and strength, to get rid of HAMAS once for all!)

NETANYAHU: “NO COMPROMISE” OVER IRAN’S NUKES!

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is the “single most important issue” facing incoming President Barack Obama. And he insisted Israel would not compromise on Iran’s nuclear program.

Appearing on Fox News’ “Your World with Neil Cavuto,” Netanyahu — who many observers believe is the leading candidate to become prime minister in the upcoming Israeli elections — discussed the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and said: “In the case of Hamas and its patron Iran, they openly declare, both of them, their desire to wipe Israel off the face of the earth.

“Iran is racing to produce a nuclear weapon to that end. And so, with people who want to destroy you . . . there is no compromise. What compromise could we make with them? The method of our destruction? Of course not.

“In the case of this forward base of Iran’s next to our cities, ultimately that regime will have to go.”

Netanyahu went on to say: “I think there is [an] issue that will be perhaps the single most important issue facing incoming President-elect Obama. And that is the decision to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, for two reasons.

“One is that they intend to use those weapons directly against us. And the second is — you can imagine what would happen to these Iranian bases on the Mediterranean, one in Gaza and one in Lebanon, with Hezbollah, if its proxy terrorists also enjoy a nuclear umbrella.

“The prospect of having a militant Islamic regime committed to Israel’s destruction, a sworn enemy of the United States, having nuclear weapons, which it can give to its proxies, is something very, very frightening indeed.

“And even if it doesn’t give it to its proxies, the fact that it will wield a nuclear sword over the heads of the United States, of Israel, and many other countries, is something that should give halt to anyone concerned with the peace of the world. I think this is the biggest and most fundamental challenge facing the United States and the world.”

Cavuto referred to incoming Vice President Joe Biden’s remark that Barack Obama could be tested in his first few weeks in office and asked Netanyahu if he agreed.

“I have no doubt that the terrorists and their patrons — or the terrorist states and their proxies — will continuously challenge the leadership of the United States,” the former prime minister answered.

“But from my two conversations with President-elect Obama, I could see that he understood this threat.

“He said that he was absolutely committed to making sure that Iran would not acquire nuclear weapons. And I think this was very important.”

As Newsmax reported, Netanyahu said in late 2006, “It’s 1938, and Iran is Germany, and Iran is racing to arm itself with atomic bombs.”