Anti-Israel Samantha Power Is Back

A few months ago about the anti-semite, Samantha Power, that stepped down from Barack Obama’s campaign, only after Hillary got mad that she called her a monster, I predicted then that she would be back once Obama won… Well she is, she is on the transition team, soon I suspect will also be given an administration post… He job right now is to help Hillary build her team… Monsters Inc… This is very disturbing news as Powers has already advocated the US invade Israel on behalf of the Palestinians… The Clinton’s were overly friendly with Arafat and his terrorist ilk… Not good news for Israel or peace in the Middle East…

Why on earth would Barack bring back a member of his team that was forced to leave in the first place. That is not part of the healing process, it shows that he did anything to win the election and now that it is over and he won, he will do whatever he wants.

More Change You Can Believe In!

A former adviser to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign who once called Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton a “monster” is now working on the transition team for the agency that Clinton may lead.

State Department officials said Friday that Samantha Power is among foreign policy experts the president-elect’s office selected to help the incoming administration prepare for Clinton’s anticipated nomination as secretary of state.

The Obama transition team’s Web site includes Power’s name as one of 14 members of the “Agency Review Team” for the State Department.

During the Democratic primary campaign, Power called Clinton “a monster” in an interview. She then resigned, calling her remarks inexcusable and contradictory to her admiration for Clinton.

Barack Obama Frequented Palestinian Events

Do you really think he support Israel? Yet another contradiction of Barack Obama.

Jewish People Vote For Change You Can Believe In

Jackson – Zionist Regime Will Not Get Backing Of Obama Presidency

Now, Jackson is not speaking on behalf of Obama directly, however, it is more than likely he is expressing a shared view of Obama’s. Obama has no plan to support Israel, his first Foreign Policy advisor advocated sending US troops to fight Israel and take the money given to Israel and give it to the Palestinians, Obama feels the US did not have the Moral Imperative to go in and stop the holocaust, would not answer if he would aid Israel if Iran attacked it… Israel is a stong and necessary ally of the US for strategic.

PREPARE for a new America: That’s the message that the Rev. Jesse Jackson conveyed to participants in the first World Policy Forum, held at this French lakeside resort last week.

He promised “fundamental changes” in US foreign policy – saying America must “heal wounds” it has caused to other nations, revive its alliances and apologize for the “arrogance of the Bush administration.”

The most important change would occur in the Middle East, where “decades of putting Israel’s interests first” would end.

Jackson believes that, although “Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades” remain strong, they’ll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House.

“Obama is about change,” Jackson told me in a wide-ranging conversation. “And the change that Obama promises is not limited to what we do in America itself. It is a change of the way America looks at the world and its place in it.”

Jackson warns that he isn’t an Obama confidant or adviser, “just a supporter.” But he adds that Obama has been “a neighbor or, better still, a member of the family.” Jackson’s son has been a close friend of Obama for years, and Jackson’s daughter went to school with Obama’s wife Michelle.

“We helped him start his career,” says Jackson. “And then we were always there to help him move ahead. He is the continuation of our struggle for justice not only for the black people but also for all those who have been wronged.”

Will Obama’s election close the chapter of black grievances linked to memories of slavery? The reverend takes a deep breath and waits a long time before responding.

“No, that chapter won’t be closed,” he says. “However, Obama’s victory will be a huge step in the direction we have wanted America to take for decades.”

Jackson rejects any suggestion that Obama was influenced by Marxist ideas in his youth. “I see no evidence of that,” he says. “Obama’s thirst for justice and equality is rooted in his black culture.”

But is Obama – who’s not a descendant of slaves – truly a typical American black?

Jackson emphatically answers yes: “You don’t need to be a descendant of slaves to experience the oppression, the suffocating injustice and the ugly racism that exists in our society,” he says. “Obama experienced the same environment as all American blacks did. It was nonsense to suggest that he was somehow not black enough to feel the pain.”

Is Jackson worried about the “Bradley effect” – that people may be telling pollsters they favor the black candidate, but won’t end up voting for him?

“I don’t think this is how things will turn out,” he says. “We have a collapsing economy and a war that we have lost in Iraq. In Afghanistan, we face a resurgent Taliban. New threats are looming in Pakistan. Our liberties have been trampled under feet . . . Today, most Americans want change, and know that only Barack can deliver what they want. Young Americans are especially determined to make sure that Obama wins.”

He sees a broad public loss of confidence in the nation’s institutions: “We have lost confidence in our president, our Congress, our banking system, our Wall Street and our legal system to protect our individual freedoms. . . I don’t see how we could regain confidence in all those institutions without a radical change of direction.”

Jackson declines to be more concrete about possible policy changes. After all, he insists, he isn’t part of Obama’s policy team. Yet he clearly hopes that his views, reflecting the position of many Democrats, would be reflected in the policies of an Obama administration.

On the economic front, he hopes for “major changes in our trading policy.”

“We cannot continue with the open-door policy,” he says. “We need to protect our manufacturing industry against unfair competition that destroys American jobs and creates ill-paid jobs abroad.”

Would that mean an abrogation of the NAFTA treaty with Canada and Mexico?

Jackson dismisses the question as “premature”: “We could do a great deal without such dramatic action.”

His most surprising position concerns Iraq. He passionately denounces the toppling of Saddam Hussein as “an illegal and unjust act.” But he’s now sure that the United States “will have to remain in Iraq for a very long time.”

What of Obama’s promise to withdraw by 2010? Jackson believes that position will have to evolve, reflecting “realities on the ground.”

“We should work with our allies in Iraq to consolidate democratic institutions there,” he says. “We must help the people of Iraq decide and shape their future in accordance with their own culture and faith.”

On Iran, he strongly supports Obama’s idea of opening a direct dialogue with the leadership in Tehran. “We’ve got to talk to tell them what we want and hear what they want,” Jackson says. “Nothing is gained by not talking to others.”

Would that mean ignoring the four UN Security Council resolutions that demand an end to Iran’s uranium-enrichment program? Jackson says direct talks wouldn’t start without preparations.

“Barack wants an aggressive and dynamic diplomacy,” he says. “He also wants adequate preparatory work. We must enter the talks after the ground has been prepared,” he says.

Jackson is especially critical of President Bush’s approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“Bush was so afraid of a snafu and of upsetting Israel that he gave the whole thing a miss,” Jackson says. “Barack will change that,” because, as long as the Palestinians haven’t seen justice, the Middle East will “remain a source of danger to us all.”

“Barack is determined to repair our relations with the world of Islam and Muslims,” Jackson says. “Thanks to his background and ecumenical approach, he knows how Muslims feel while remaining committed to his own faith.”

Barack’s Original Foreign Policy Advisor – Invade Israel

Barack refused to answer the question if Iran were to attack Israel, if he as President, would back up Israel militarily without UN approval. Well if he feels this way about Iran, how does he feel about Palestine…

Well his original Foreign Policy Advisor, Samantha Power advocates invading Israel, remove all financial support of Israel and give it to the Palestinians…

Now notice the question was posed as if either side commited genocide against the other. Her response is simple if Israel commits genocide against Palestine.

Does she think that Palestine would support us in the region if we needed them? 

Well there is a good chance, that this woman would come back into the fray should Obama get elected. The only reason she stepped down in the first place was because of pressure from the Clinton camp after she called Hillary a monster. One has to imagine what Barack’s foreign policy will be should he get elected and if he bring Power or some other version her into his cabinet…

 

Samantha Power left the Barack Obama campaign in March of this year, after a somewhat overblown kerfuffle over her reference to Hillary Clinton as a “monster”. Power advised Obama on foreign policy, having spent her career detailing genocides and international responses to them, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning book on the subject. Power had some interesting ideas about how to resolve one particular instance of what she sees as a genocide in this April 2002 interview at Berkeley with Harry Kreisler:

This should give us some insight into the foreign-policy objectives of Barack Obama, who had Power as an adviser from 2005 until the “monster” comment in March of this year. He didn’t bounce her from his team over her views on Israel and … well, let’s recall how she described the pro-Israel lobby:

Putting something on the line might mean alienating a domestic constituency of tremendous political and financial import.

For those who may not catch the reference, Power means the Joooooos.  And why would that alienate the Jewishcabalthatsecretlyrunseverything?  For one thing, Power wants to spend billions on bolstering Palestinian military strength, instead of spending it on helping the Israelis to defend themselves.  Bear in mind that this interview takes place about seven months after 9/11, when people supposedly still knew how dangerous radical Islamist groups like Hamas and al-Qaeda were.  Power wanted to send them money and stop funding Israeli efforts to fight them.

Even more ridiculously, Power’s ultimate aim is to send a massive American or Western force into Israel to stop what Power apparently sees as an Israeli genocide against the Palestinians.  She specifically states that the force has to be “massive”, not like a Srebrenica- or Bosnia-sized force.  Why would it need to be so large?  In order to neutralize the Israeli Defense Force, and protect the forces of Fatah and Hamas.

Had Barack Obama kicked her off of his advisory panel (rumored to number 300)after making remarks like this, it could have assuaged fears about his intentions towards Israel.  Instead, he invited Power to advise him after making these remarks.  She resigned only after calling Hillary a monster and after insinuating that Obama may not retreat from Iraq in 16 months if the ground situation changed — which Obama later adopted as his own position after the primaries.

This is the same Barack Obama who served in a board that gave a $75,000 grant to Rashid Khalidi, Yasser Arafat’s toady in the PLO.  This is the same Barack Obama who had Robert Malley as another of his advisers on the region — and who conducted meetings with Hamas.  Obama’s church used its bulletins to give voice to Palestinian activists.  How much more clear can this get?

 

Carter Doesn’t Even Know What Happened At His Terrorist Tea Party

Well well well, Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal says the opposite of Carter, Hamas will NEVER recognize Israel. Not quite pretty bed of flowers that Carter described. What a lying sack of shit Carter is. Hamas will offer Israel a 10 year truce if it withdraws to pre 1967 borders, well what happens after the 10 years are up? I will tell you what, Hamas and other terrorist organizations will use that time to build up an army and weapons arsenal to attack Israel to finish the original goal of the Islamic Middle East…

This is why Israel keeps fighting against all of these organizations on it’s borders, because if it does not do that, then Israel will face a force that will defeat it. Most liberals cry about how Israel is a terrorist nation and kills civilians blah blah blah. They say Israel’s campaigns create more terror. Bullshit. It keeps asshats like Mashaal in check and prevents them from becoming a major threat.

People like Carter and the rest of the left wing liberal nuts only promote terrorist like Hamas to thrive by making it look like they are a legitimate entity. They concede to these bastards and give them power. When will the world learn to stop viewing at terrorists through rose colored anal looking glasses.

JERUSALEM —  Just hours after former President Jimmy Carter trumpeted Hamas’ agreement to let Israel “live as a neighbor,” the same terrorist leader he met with face-to-face vowed not to recognize the Jewish state.

But Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal did offer Israel a 10-year truce if it withdraws from all lands it seized in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Carter met twice with Mashaal over the weekend.

The former president also said Monday that he would never sit down with Al Qaeda because the terror network has no “redeeming features.”

“[Al Qaeda] are not involved in any sort of a fruitful process. They are not recognized by their own people,” Carter told FOX News in an interview Monday. “On the other hand, you have to remember Hamas in an honest and open and fair and transparent election were elected the leaders of the Palestinian government.”

Carter claimed his meetings with Hamas and Syrian leaders weren’t meant to circumvent the Bush administration, nor was it an attempt to formally negotiate with Hamas.

“I’m not undermining anything. I’m not negotiating. … I’m just here representing myself and the Carter Center. No one else,” he said. “My decision was just to talk to people who must be involved in the final peace agreement.

“Syria and Hamas will have to be involved in the long term,” he said. “And I thought I could at least talk to them and relay their opinions.”

When asked whether he’d ever meet with Al Qaeda, Carter replied, “No, of course not.”

“I don’t see any redeeming features of Al Qaeda at all,” he said.

When making a distinction between Usama bin Laden’s terror network and Hamas, which has been in power since the 2006 Palestinian elections, Carter said that Israeli citizens backed his talks with Hamas.

“The Israeli people strongly support what I have done, at least indirectly,” he claimed, citing polls that show “that 64 percent of all Israeli citizens strongly support direct talks between the government of Israel and Hamas.”

Speaking in Jerusalem, the former president said Hamas is prepared to accept the outcome of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, provided it is approved in a Palestinian referendum, or by a Palestinian government chosen in new elections.

“We do not believe that peace is likely and certainly that peace is not sustainable unless a way is found to bring Hamas into the discussions in some way,” he said. “The present strategy of excluding Hamas and excluding Syria is just not working.”

Carter met with top Hamas leaders in Syria for two days last week. His speech capped a nine-day visit to the Mideast designed to break the deadlock between Israel and Hamas militants who rule Gaza.

In the past, Hamas officials have said they would establish a “peace in stages” if Israel were to withdraw to the frontiers it held before the 1967 Mideast War. But it has been evasive about how it sees the final borders of a Palestinian state, and has not abandoned its official call for Israel’s destruction.

Israel and the U.S. State Department consider Hamas to be a terrorist group. Israeli officials had shunned Carter during his visit because of his meetings with Mashaal, and other group leaders.

Syria harbors Hamas’ exiled leadership in its capital, Damascus, and supports the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas who warred with Israel in 2006.

Carter said Hamas wouldn’t undermine moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to reach a peace deal with Israel, as long as the Palestinian people approved it in a referendum. In such a scenario, he said, Hamas would not oppose a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

Hamas leaders “said that they would accept a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders” and they would “accept the right of Israel to live as a neighbor next door in peace,” he said.

The borders he referred to were the frontiers that existed before Israel captured large swaths of Arab lands in 1967 — including the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza.

Israel, which evacuated Gaza in 2005, has accepted the idea of a Palestinian state there and in much of the West Bank, but has resisted Palestinian demands that it return to its 1967 frontiers.

Both the Israeli and U.S. governments disapprove of Carter’s overtures to Hamas, which they consider to be a terrorist organization. Over the weekend, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he did not meet with Carter in Israel because he did not wish to be seen as participating in any negotiations with Hamas.

During his trip, Carter met only with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Eli Yishai, one of several deputy prime ministers. Peres scolded Carter for meeting with Hamas, but Yishai, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, said he was willing to meet with Hamas leaders to discuss a prisoner exchange.

Israel says Carter’s talks embolden Palestinian extremists and hurt Palestinian moderates as they try to make peace with the Jewish state. Abbas, who rules only the West Bank, is in a bitter rivalry with Hamas.

“The problem is not that I met with Hamas in Syria,” Carter said Monday. “The problem is that Israel and the United States refuse to meet with someone who must be involved.”

Carter said direct communication between Israel and Hamas could facilitate the release of a captured Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Schalit, who has been held in Gaza for nearly two years.

Israel agrees in principle to trade 1,000 Palestinian prisoners for Schalit, but after back-and-forth talks through Egyptian intermediaries, has approved only 71 of the specific prisoners that Hamas wants freed, he said.

Carter said Hamas has promised to let Schalit send a letter to his parents to assure them he is in good health, and said the militants “made clear to us that they would accept an interim ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.”

Carter, however, said Hamas rejected his specific proposal for a monthlong unilateral truce.

“They turned me down, and I think they’re wrong,” he said.

FOX News’ Reena Ninan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Carter’s Planned Syria Romp With Hamas’ Khaled Meshal

Failed negotiations with Iranian Terrorists was the first thing that came to mind when I read this article. I love how Carter thinks he is still relevant in todays politics and acts as if he actually accompished something useful during his Presidency. Carter failed miserably when Iran’s now president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  took hostages in Iran and held them for over a year.

Does anyone remember the gas crisis from the late 70’s. That was Jimmy Carter’s successful diplomacy in action as well when it came to the Middle East…

Now after years of Anti-Israeli rhetoric, this chump is going to meet with the exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshal. That sounds an awful lot like negotiating with terrorists to me.

I do have to say my favorite part of the article is:

“Obviously President Carter has a great amount of credibility in the region because of his past efforts seeking peace internationally,”

Yes Carter’s credibility in the region is great, not because he actually accomplished anything there, but because of Iran and his on going terrorist sympathizer status. He is probably an idol to them and he is definitely a pawn to the leadership of terror organizations.

Jimmy should have gone back to peanut picking. This is a classic example of a President with lack of experience… (Hint Hint – Obama and Clinton, although if memory serves me correct he was at least governor for a few years, more than Obama and Clinton have under their belt…)

NEW YORK CITY —  Former President Jimmy Carter is reportedly preparing an unprecedented meeting with the leader of Hamas, an organization that the U.S. government considers one of the leading terrorist threats in the world.

The Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat reported Tuesday that Carter was planning a trip to Syria for mid-April, during which he would meet with Khaled Meshal, the exiled head of the Palestinian terror group Hamas, on April 18.

Deanna Congileo, Carter’s press secretary, confirmed in an e-mail to FOXNews.com that Carter will be in the Mideast in April. Pressed for comment, Congileo did not deny that the former president is considering visiting Meshal.

“President Carter is planning a trip to the Mideast next week; however, we are still confirming details of the trip and will issue a press release by the end of this week,” wrote Congileo. “I cannot confirm any specific meetings at this point in time.”

Meshal, who lives in Syria to avoid being arrested by the Israeli government, leads Hamas from his seat in Damascus, where he is a guest of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The State Department has designated Hamas a “foreign terrorist organization,” and some groups hold Meshal personally responsible for ordering the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack once said of the prospect of meeting with Meshal, “That’s not something that we could possibly conceive of.”

Some Carter critics called the latest reports typical of the ex-president.

“It’s about par for the course from President Carter, demonstrating a lack of judgment typical of what he does,” said John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. “To go to Syria to visit Hamas at this point is just an ill-timed, ill-advised decision on his part.”

“I’m not surprised that Carter would do this, as he has been supporting Palestinian extremism for many years,” said Steve Emerson, director of the Investigative Project on Terrorism, a watchdog group.

Carter would be the first Western leader of his stature to meet with the Hamas chief. Though Meshal met with Clinton officials in the 1990s, the Bush administration has sought to isolate Hamas, enforcing rigid sanctions on its government in Gaza and refusing to meet with its leaders unless it recognizes Israel and abandons terror.

“I think this [visit] undermines the U.S. policy of isolating Hamas,” said Emerson. “I think this encourages Europeans to further dilute their sanctions against the Hamas government.”

“When you put the prestige of a former president of the United States in a meeting with one of its terrorist leaders, you’re giving it a legitimacy and currency it never had,” said Bolton.

But Ibrahim Hooper, communications director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a non-profit advocacy group, said Carter’s efforts demonstrate he’s a true partner in peace.

“I think if true, this report would indicate that President Carter is willing to travel any road in search of peace,” he said. “I think President Carter would only undertake such a mission if he believed that something could be achieved in terms of peace and reconciliation in the region.”

Hooper added that because of Carter’s reputation among Palestinians he might be able to bring some pressure to bear.

“Obviously President Carter has a great amount of credibility in the region because of his past efforts seeking peace internationally,” Hooper said.

The Al-Hayat report stated that Carter would be traveling in his capacity as head of the Carter Center, and not in his capacity as a former president.

“That’s a distinction that’s absurd,” said Emerson.

“Maybe he’ll give up his pension, but he’s always a former president,” said Bolton.

Abbas’ 2008 Return Project

Well, May should be an interesting month if what Debka is reporting, should turn out to be true and Abbas is able to organize the Fatah return plan.  

DEBKAfile publishes here for the first time details of the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ master plan for wrecking Israel’s 60th anniversary celebrations. The project is called the “2008 Return”

Its highlights are disclosed here with DEBKAfile’s comments.

The Palestinian leader has circulated guidelines for three million Palestinians to leave their homes on the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon on May 14 and march on Israel’s borders, including the Green Line. The march is to take place a week after Israel’s Independence Day on May 8, 2008. If Israel obstructs their passage, they will strike camp and live in tents until Israel surrenders and lets them through.

This stunt will be accompanied by pressure from the Palestinian Authority on international organizations to force Israel to implement UN Resolution 194, passed by the General Assembly on Dec. 11, 1948.

DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources report that Abbas commissioned the “2008 Return” project from a special Fatah forum headed by Ziyad Abu Ain from Ramallah, deputy minister for Palestinian prisoners in the Salam Fayyad government and close associate of Marwan Barghouti, who is serving life for five terrorist murders.

Operation “2008 Return” is described in its introduction as a decision by the Palestinian people “to implement UN resolution (194), declare themselves holders of the UN blue banner, and return to their homeland, from which they were forcefully expelled [Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Ramla, Lod, Ashkelon etc]… in order to live in peace and security with their Israeli neighbors.”

[DEBKAfile: This motion is dredged up from the past as though history had stopped at that point and the subsequent 60 years of Arab belligerence, endless conflict and further UN resolutions had never happened. Another part of the same resolution appointed a Conciliation Committee to establish contact with the parties and assist them reach a final settlement of outstanding questions. This part was buried under decades of Arab rejection.]

The introduction goes on to state: “Neither the Jews nor the international community can stand against the desire of the Palestinian people to exercise their right of return to their homeland and to their homes, land, holy places [Jerusalem] and heritage.”

[DEBKAfile: Mahmoud Abbas incidentally lays claim to Christian as well as Muslim holy sites – therefore also Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee sites.]

The introduction is followed by a set of instructions to Palestinian communities, of which seven are the most relevant:

1. All returnees must attach the UN resolution and refugee card on their chests.

2. All returnees must bring their tents and other goods with them. If obstructed by Israeli forces from reaching their land, they must set up their tents on the border and stay there until Israel surrenders and allows them to cross.

[The plan is to deploy hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in tent cities indefinitely on all of Israel’s borders.]

3. Jewish friends are called upon to assist in resolving the Palestinian refugee problem.

4. Arab governments and friends all over the world are called on to support the logistics of the operation.

5. Palestinian holders of foreign citizenships, especially US and European, are to charter planes for flights to Israel or neighboring countries on May 14, 2008, as well reserving passage on tens of ships to dock at Israeli ports on this date.

6. Personal invitations will be extended to all world leaders for their support.

7. Kings and leaders of Islamic countries will be invited, as well as members of the Israeli government and Knesset. Special invitations will be sent to the US president and members of the Senate.

The document ends with an appeal to the Arab nation, especially the Saudi King Abdullah, to support the operation politically, diplomatically and materially.

DEBKAfile’s Palestinian sources report that Mahmoud Abbas intends to submit his ambitious master plan to the summit of Arab rulers meeting in Damascus March 29.

There is no knowing how much support he will win from Arab governments or whether the different Palestinian communities will rise to his call. The whole plan may simply fold for lack of response – or not. Abbas’ main objectives appear to be to upstage the warlike Hamas and throw a wet blanket over Israel’s anniversary celebrations.

Egyptian Ambulances Smuggle Terrorists Into Gaza

This is the reason Israel closes the borders and restricts aid going into Gaza… But as usual the liberal media will spin this into Israel is the cause of the problem…

Note that these terrorists were being trained in Syria and Iran, not that it is a surprise, however it is important to note the real source of terrorism.

Sunday, March 2, Egypt re-opened Gaza’s Rafah crossing for the first time since Hamas blew up the border wall on Jan. 23 for ambulances to collect some 150 wounded Palestinians.

DEBKAfile’s military sources disclose that 27 ambulances also brought in 15-20 Hamas commando fighters, part of the of the 120-strong group rounded up in Sinai and detained on their return from advanced courses in Iran and Syria. They were permitted to cross back into Gaza with a quantity of weapons and ammunition.

Israel military sources are watching to see if the incoming ambulances are also carrying shoulder-borne anti-air missiles for shooting down Israeli helicopters and drones, which Hamas has been pressing Egypt to allow them to bring in. So far Cairo has resisted this demand but may have now relented. These sources describe the returning Hamas fighters as highly trained for guerilla warfare against conventional armies and therefore a valuable increment for Hamas’ war against Israel.

Our sources also confirm that the incoming group of trained fighters is not the first Cairo waved through the Rafah terminal. Last week, as fighting flared between Israel and Hamas, 17 were admitted to reinforce embattled Hamas. Israel officials imposed a blackout on this incident, reluctant to show the public the two-faced nature of Cairo’s policy of lenience for Hamas behind the mask of cooperation with Israel’s war on terror. The Olmert government also feared the exposure of the real state of affairs on the Gaza-Egyptian frontier notwithstanding its under-the-counter tacit acceptance of the buildup of Egyptian frontier troops to 1,500 in breach of the 1982 peace treaty.

Prime minister Olmert prefers to avoid any disclosures that might embarrass Cairo ahead of Condoleezza Rice’s visits to Israel, Ramallah and Egypt, starting Tuesday, March 4. According to our Washington sources, she will rap Palestinian knuckles for Hamas’ missile blitz, but at the same time tighten the screw on Israel to lift its siege of Gaza and reopen the border crossings. (Food and other convoys have never really stopped crossing into Gaza even under fire.)

The Mubarak government therefore is not afraid to reopen the supposedly closed Rafah terminal from time to time whenever Hamas demands essential items to fuel its ongoing war on Israel.

March In Like A Lion

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Israel Allowing Humanitarian Aid And Fuel Into Gaza – Hamas Mortar Attack

Israel has bowed to international pressure and is allowing humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. In addition they are delivering fuel to the power plant in Gaza. The Hamas PR campaign has worked and the sheep forced Israel to its knees once again.

NAHAL OZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip  —  Israel delivered fuel for Gaza’s power plant on Tuesday, partially lifting a blockade it had imposed last week in response to a sharp increase in rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.

Five Israeli tanker trucks parked at the Nahal Oz crossing on the Gaza border pumped 700,000 liters of fuel to the other side, enough to provide electricity to Gaza City for two days. Three more trucks delivered cooking gas, and a shipment of medicine was to be delivered later in the day.

In all, Israel has promised three fuel deliveries over three days, for a total of 2.2 million liters, enough to keep the power plant running for a week, said Kanan Obeid, head of Gaza’s energy authority.

• Click here for photos.

Israel had sealed Gaza on Tuesday, halting fuel shipments. Three days later, Gaza’s only power plant, which provides electricity to about one-third of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents, shut down. Other areas of Gaza are supplied directly by Israel and Egypt, neither of which cut off service.

On Monday, after Gaza’s Hamas government and aid agencies warned of an impending humanitarian crisis, Israel decided to ease the blockade. /**/

“We think Hamas got the message,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said Monday after Israel announced it was easing the closure. “As we have seen in the past couple of days, when they want to stop the rockets, they can.”

However, three rockets were fired early Tuesday, causing no injuries.

Mekel said enough fuel would be shipped to power the Gaza electric plant for a week, as well as fuel for hospital generators and cooking gas, along with 50 truckloads of humanitarian aid, including medicine.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri dismissed the decision. “This does not mean the end of the siege on Gaza,” he said, pledging to continue to fight “until we break the siege.”

Ahmad Ismail, 44, a Gaza City merchant, also played down the Israeli gesture.

“This is a painkiller. They are not solving the problem, the problem is there, it exists and it is going to deteriorate day after day,” he said. “The only solution for Gaza’s problems is to lift the blockade and not to have this cosmetic solutions.”

Raising a possible solution, moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas offered to take control of the Gaza crossings from the Palestinian side. One of the reasons Israel closed the crossings was its refusal to deal with Hamas officials in Gaza.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said Hamas would study Abbas’ proposal. If implemented, it would give Abbas his first foothold in Gaza since Hamas ran his forces out in June. Israeli officials refused to comment.

Even after agreeing to the shipment, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak maintained a tough tone.

Speaking at the annual Herzliya Conference on security, Barak called for increased pressure on Gaza. He said he was prepared to hit Gaza to restore calm in Israeli towns battered by rockets from Gaza. “I care more about our quiet than their quiet,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert strongly defended the blockade. He told legislators from his Kadima Party, “As far as I’m concerned, Gaza residents will walk, without gas for their cars, because they have a murderous, terrorist regime that doesn’t let people in southern Israel live in peace.”

Gaza’s Hamas government issued emotional appeals to the Arab world, and demanded that Egypt open its border with Gaza to allow in supplies. “We are asking Arab and Muslim nations not to leave the Palestinians alone to face the terrorist country of America and the Zionist entity,” said Gaza’s Hamas strongman, Mahmoud Zahar, in a televised speech.

During the past seven months, since Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza, Egypt joined Israel in severely restricting access to Gaza, largely keeping its border terminal closed. An opening of the Gaza-Egypt border would mark a victory for Hamas, enabling it to claim credit for restoring the flow of supplies and stabilizing its rule.

However, it appeared unlikely Egypt would comply, since it’s concerned about a spillover of Hamas-style militancy into its territory if the border is open. Instead, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called Barak and urged him to ease restrictions, and Barak agreed.

Oddly enough Hamas rocket and mortar attacks almost ceased during the shut down, however once fuel the fuel supply was restored then the attacks began to commence. Israel is under constant attack from Hamas and there is no outcry by the international community to force Hamas from waging war on Israel. As is the norm, the latest Israeli offensive was based on a massive mortor attack by Hamas Terrorists.

Sderot braces for more rockets

Southern town under attack: More than 40 Qassams fired at Sderot Tuesday, bomb shelters opened; meanwhile, more social workers, psychologists dispatched to help residents, IDF decides to keep schools open

Shmulik Hadad

Sderot hit by massive rocket offensive: More than 40 rockets were fired at southern communities Tuesday afternoon and evening. Most of the rockets targeted the southern town of Sdeort, prompting municipal officials to convene an emergency meeting to decide on the next moves in the rocket-stricken town.

In the meeting, led by Mayor Eli Moyal, officials decided to boost the entire support system offered to Sderot residents coping with ceaseless Qassam attacks. Bomb shelters will be opened and more social workers, psychologists, and doctors will be sent to help residents.

Four civilians, including a 5-year-old girl, sustained shrapnel wounds in Tuesday’s attacks. One of the rockets fired at Sderot hit a power line, causing power outages in some sections of town.

Turbulent Tuesday

Mayor Moyal said the rocket attacks were an ongoing reality and added that officials were constantly assessing the situation. “The defense establishment also boosted its forces here in Sderot. Regarding the education system, we will consult with security officials and together take a decision regarding the opening of schools on Wednesday.” Later, the army decided to keep schools open.

Victim of attack (Photo: AP)

The Qassam offensive started around 4:15 PM Tuesday, with one rocket hitting a chicken processing plant in town. Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam brigades claimed responsibility for the rocket attacks and also for separate mortar attacks.

The rocket strikes were part of a turbulent Tuesday that saw a volunteer from Ecuador murdered by a Palestinian sniper in a Gaza-region kibbutz.

IDF forces were also busy throughout the day, with a total of 18 Palestinians killed in various IDF attacks and operations, including the son of senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar.