Now the Fat is in the Fire – Lookout Gaza Strip!
June 26, 2006
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
The following Excerpts from Three Rapid Fire Articles in the Jerusalem Post, which will follow, give several reasons why the IDF is about to lower the hammer on the Gaza Strip this week. Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, Islamic Jihad, and Damascus Hamas do not want a Jewish state in the Middle East, and are determined to undermine any effort by Fatah or the Israel based Hamas leaders that might recognize Israel as a nation. They oppose the so-called Palestinian Prisoner’s Peace Plan in virtually very area.
As far as I am concerned, the only thing that might stop Israel from going back into the Gaza Strip in a major incursion would be a prompt return of the Israeli soldier alive to the Israeli authorities. If this is not done promptly, then a major Israeli Operation is almost certain to push into the Gaza Strip this week.
Article Number 1
Al-Aksa claims Biological, Chemical Capabilities
Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST
June 25, 2006
The Aksa Martyrs Brigades announced on Sunday that its members have succeeded in manufacturing chemical and biological weapons.
In a leaflet distributed in the Gaza Strip, the group, which belongs to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah Party, said
the weapons were
the result of a three-year effort.
According to the statement, the first of its kind, the group has managed to manufacture and develop at least 20 different types of biological and chemical weapons.
The group said its members would not hesitate to add the new weapons to Kassam rockets that are being fired at Israeli communities almost every day.
It also threatened to use the weapons against IDF soldiers if Israel carried out its threats to invade the Gaza Strip.
“We want to tell [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert and [Defense Minister Amir] Peretz that your threats don’t frighten us,” the leaflet said.
“We will surprise you with our new weapons the moment the first soldier sets foot in the Gaza Strip.”
Article Number 2
Fatah blames Hamas in Syria for Attack
Khaled Abu Toameh, THE JERUSALEM POST
June 25, 2006
The attack on the IDF post near the Gaza Strip border was carried out on instructions from the Hamas leadership in Syria, Fatah officials claimed on Sunday.
They said the attack, in which two IDF soldiers were killed and one captured and brought into the Gaza Strip, was designed to torpedo any agreement between Fatah and Hamas on a controversial document drafted by some Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
As news of the capture spread in
the early hours of the morning, many residents of the Strip took to the streets to express their joy. Drivers honked their horns and some merchants and gunmen distributed sweets.
Many expressed hope that the abduction would lead to a prisoner swap with Israel.
The attack came only hours after sources in Gaza City reported that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh were close to reaching an agreement on the document, which had been dismissed by Hamas because it calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state only in the territories captured by Israel in 1967.
The two sides were also close to striking a deal on the formation of a new government that would be dominated by independent figures and technocrats, the sources said.
The Fatah officials accused Damscus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal of seeking to sabotage any agreement between Fatah and Hamas.
“It’s obvious that those behind the attack wanted to destroy any chance of reaching an agreement between Fatah and Hamas,” said a senior Fatah official. “We are convinced that the Hamas leadership in Syria and Lebanon was behind it. They want to prevent any agreement.”
Another Fatah official and close aide to Abbas told The Jerusalem Post that the attack was aimed at embarrassing both Abbas and Haniyeh.
“We have been holding talks in a positive atmosphere to agree on the continuation of the truce and halting all military attacks on Israel because we didn’t want to give Israel an excuse to launch a massive military operation into the Gaza Strip,” it said.
Abbas decided to form a commission of inquiry to determine the identity of the party responsible for the attack and phoned a number of Arab leaders to urge them to intervene to prevent Israel from invading the Gaza Strip.
Abbas’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudaineh, said the attack “brings the Palestinians back to square one.” He too expressed fear that Israel would exploit the attack to step up its military operations.
Article Number 3
IDF preparing Gaza Ground Attack
Josh Brannon.
THE JERUSALEM POST
June 25, 2006
Despite an intelligence warning of an imminent attack in the area, the IDF was caught off guard early Sunday morning when Palestinian gunmen, among them Hamas operatives, tunneled across the border from the southern Gaza Strip and assaulted a military post near the Kerem Shalom crossing. Two soldiers were killed and a third was captured in the attack.
“We intend to respond to this morning’s incident in a way in which all involved… understand that the price will be painful,” Defense Minister Amir Peretz announced at a news conference in Tel Aviv.
At press time, the Security Cabinet unanimously green-lighted a major ground incursion into Gaza, to be launched at the discretion of the prime minister and defense minister, and soldiers from the Golani and Givati infantry brigades were massing around the Gaza Strip.
Lt. Hanan Barak, 20, and St.-Sgt. Pavel Slutsker, 20, were killed when the gunmen attacked their tank with a rocket and bombs, OC Gaza Big.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi told reporters at a briefing in nearby Kibbutz Kerem Shalom. The tank driver was seriously wounded and Cpl.
Gilad Shalit, 19, was captured by the attackers. Other gunmen also attacked a tower and an unmanned armored personnel carrier.
Three other soldiers, responding to the initial attacks, were lightly wounded when a bomb left behind by the terrorists exploded. Helicopter crews evacuated the wounded to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
Three gunmen were killed in the ensuing battle, Palestinian sources said.
OC Manpower Maj.-Gen. Elazar Stern said Shalit walked from the tank under his own power, and was forced across the fence into Gaza by the Palestinian gunmen, who blew a hole in the barrier.
“I told the family that we know Gilad was forced to walk against his will during the incident. We believe he is alive and being held captive,” Stern said after visiting Shalit’s family in his hometown of Mitzpe Hila, near Karmiel in the western Galilee.
Peretz telephoned the Shalit family on Sunday evening, and assured the father that Shalit’s safe return was the IDF’ s highe
st priority.
Palestinian media said Shalit was wounded in the abdomen and neck and was in serious condition.
Reports said his abductors were providing him with medical treatment and intended to use him as a bargaining chip in negotiations for a prisoner release. Terror groups have historically used abducted soldiers and the remains of dead soldiers as bargaining chips.
Ground troops, backed by tanks and Apache helicopters, moved nearly a kilometer into Gaza when it became apparent that Shalit was missing, IDF officers said.
Soldiers uncovered the tunnel’s entrance, which was some 500 meters from the security fence. A senior Southern Command officer said this initial incursion was limited to a search of the area.
Halutz said Hamas was involved “from head to foot, literally” in the attack.
Peretz warned that “anyone who causes harm to the soldier should know that the soldier’s blood is on his head and on the head of his commanders.”
AP contributed to this report.
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