Who Knows What the Nose Knows – Hamas Knows – Speak Beak!
HAPPY POST CHRISTMAS
December 25, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
As is usually the case before any deal is made between Hamas and the nation of Israel, there are unacceptable demands made by both sides, and a never ending flow that no such deal has been made, or is even in the works. It has never failed to be like this in every deal they have eventually made. I really don’t know which way all this is going to eventually turn out, but all this typical activity before a deal is made, is at least showing that something is now being bartered between the two adversaries.
I seriously doubt if anything will come out of this hullabaloo until after a Damascus sponsored meeting of all the Palestinian terrorist groups is held next year in Damascus, probably in Janu
ary, but even this meeting is not a certainty.
There is mass confusion among the many factions in the Palestinian terrorist groups, and the major purpose of the purposed meeting in Syria is to develop a unified position among them, especially between Hamas and Fatah.
Keeping unity between the factions is like keeping order in a Chinese fire drill, shouting Hebrew instructions via a megaphone with an intermittent short circuit.
The two articles which follow, the first from DEBKAfile,
and the second from Arutz Sheva, outline what has happened from December 22 to 26 in events surrounding some prisoner exchanges, a possible hudna, and a purposed meetings of Palestinian terrorist groups in Damascus.
Begin DEBKAfile Article
Hamas sources say new deal afoot for Gilead Shalit’s release and suspension of missile attacks from Gaza
December 22, 2007, 9:54 PM (GMT+02:00)
They say Damascus-based Hamas chief, Khaled Meshaal, is due in Cairo next week.
DEBKAfile’s Middle East sources report that Hamas appears ready to jump on Cairo’s latest proposal after a heavy Israeli military pummeling in Gaza last week and the loss with Jihad Islami of 20 high-ranking terrorist operatives. Hamas hopes to take advantage of Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak’s talks next week in Cairo with President Hosni Mubarak and Egyptian ministers.
The Egyptian package backed by Washington has five sections:
1. Hamas will suspend its missile and mortar fire on Israeli communities across the border and make its allies comply with the ceasefire.
2. Israel must give the US and Egypt guarantees for the cancellation of its planned major ground offensive against Gaza and halt the IDF’s 2-3 km penetrations and the targeting of terrorist chiefs and missile crews.
3. Egypt will invite a US military force, including engineering teams, to deploy along the Gaza-Egyptian border for a joint operation to end smuggling from Sinai.
4. Gilead Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped last year, will be freed in exchange for jailed Palestinian terrorists whose number is still in negotiation.
5. If the deal holds up for three months, the US and Israel will not object to the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas opening a dialogue for a Palestinian national unity government.
Barak will bring to Cairo the Israeli government’s decision on whether the Egyptian proposal is a basis for three-way talks with Egyptian and American officials.
Without waiting for Israel’s response, Hamas Saturday night, Dec. 22, started negotiations with Jihad Islami and other groups to persuade them to accept a truce.
But DEBKAfile’s Washington and Jerusalem sources say there is still a way to go before a deal can be concluded.
Israel objects in principle to a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation. Hamas would emerge victorious from its coup against the PA in Gaza, without having to recognize Israel or renounce its ambition to destroy the Jewish State. The siege against Gaza would fizzle out.
While Washington formally supports Israel’s position, in private talks, US officials urge Israel and Egypt to consummate the deal for the sake of a positive climate to greet President George W. Bush when he arrives in the Middle East on Jan. 8. Israel is advised to be realistic and accept that in the long run the Palestinians cannot be divided between the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Neither can Israel expect Abbas to take responsibility for Gaza in peace talks if he cannot communicate with its leaders.
Behind Israel’s reluctance to take Washington’s advice, DEBKAfile’s Jerusalem sources report, is a well-founded suspicion that the Americans are using the Egyptian proposal as a stepping stone for making Iran a party to an accommodation in the Gaza Strip.
Already, the Bush administration has begun backtracking on Lebanon, in furtherance of its secret dialogue with Iran on regional understandings to take the place of confrontation. Through these avenues, Washington is feared to be building a rationale to justify its softening on the Iranian nuclear issue. This would be a bit much for Israel to swallow.
Begin Arutz Sheva Article
Efforts to Convene Damascus Summit of Warring PA Terror Groups
17 Tevet 5768, 26 December 07 02:43
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz
(IsraelNN.com) Terrorist factions based in Damascus are working to convene a summit of all Palestinian Authority terrorist groups early next year. The meeting, in Syria, would also include the participation of several Arab states.
The intention of the multi-party meeting is to promote unity among the various PA factions. The most critical split has developed between Hamas and Fatah, following the armed takeover of Gaza by Hamas in July of this year and the PA’s Fatah leadership using political manipulation to freeze out Hamas officials since January 2006. Fatah, led by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, currently maintains power in Judea and Samaria, while Hamas controls Gaza.
The initiative for the meeting came from two terrorist factions active in the PA but with headquarters in Syria, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP). Maher A-Taher, a spokesman for the PFLP said that their recent efforts are focused on ending the Hamas-Fatah clash, because it has been damaging to the Arab cause.
A-Taher claimed that negotiations between Hamas and Fatah are already underway, but that Abbas needs to show greater receptivity.
In November, DFLP head Nayef Hawatmeh announced that he and the PFLP had developed a plan to mediate the conflict between Hamas and Fatah.
Including ten points, the plan calls on Hamas to give up exclusive control in Gaza, for each party
to end media incitement against its rival, for an end to political arrests, and for new presidential and parliamentary elections.
In the context of efforts to promote unity among PA terrorist groups, senior Palestinian Authority negotiator, Fatah’s Ahmed Qurei, met with terrorist mastermind Hawatmeh during a recent visit to Syria. %ad%
A spokesman for Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, said earlier this month that the DFLP and the PFLP “were not qualified to act as mediators between Hamas and Fatah.” He called the two organizations “biased” in favor of Fatah because of their inaction over “Fatah’s crimes against Hamas in the West Bank.”
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