Kindegarten Hit by Palestinian Rockets: Islamic Jihad and PRC will "not accept cease-fire"

The latest round of tragedy in Southern Israel / Gaza continues unabated.

Last week, the Israelis, acting on information that the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committee was planning a major incident (re: terrorist attack) on the Egyptian / Israeli border, struck the leadership of the PRC in a targeted Air Strike and killed their Secretary General Zuhair al-Qissi. The IAF followed that up with a focused strike that killed a Rocket Team preparing to bombard Southern Israel.

This brought on an massive rain of Rocket fire directed at civilian areas of Southern Israel and had not the Iron Dome short range missle defense system been working and had not the Israeli government closed schools casualties from these rockets directed into civilian areas would have been huge.

In addition to the strikes that have threatened the lives and caused injuries to civilians in Southern Israel a number of Palestinians (23) have been killed and many more wounded (80) during the course of 23 IAF air missions. Of course, it should be noted that the militant groups firing on Israel are firing from crowded areas and using civilians as human shields. NOT too mention that all of their fire is directed solely at random CIVILIAN targets in Southern Israel.

With all the damage that is occuring though, so far Hamas has been staying out of the fighting, and at least part of it is talking with the Egyptians in an attempt to rein in Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the PRC that continue to fire. while the PRC and Islamic Jihad are saying "No" to cease fire talks.

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- Islamic Jihad held a press conference on Monday warning that it would not agree to a truce with Israel while airstrikes continue to kill Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

"We will not agree on a ceasefire stipulated by Israel, neither do we accept a ceasefire while the lives of our people are taken without restraint," Jihad officials told reporters in Gaza City.
Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Zahhar told Reuters in Cairo he expected a ceasefire to be reached, but the timing depended on Israel.

"I expect matters will calm down," Zahhar said. "The statements coming from them (Israel) either in public or via mediators, especially Egypt, say that they do not want escalation."

But even Hamas admits that the Israelis DO NOT want an escalation.

And Haaretz is reporting today:

Egypt negotiating between Israel and Gaza factions for ceasefire, diplomats say

"We hope that we will succeed to reach quiet tonight," said one Egyptian diplomat. Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon said that Hamas approached Egyptian intelligence and asked to pass a message to Israel regarding the renewal of calm.

"We do not carry out negotiations with Hamas," Yaalon said.

"Our response through the Egyptians was very simple, this is basically our policy since the beginning of the current administration: if you are quiet, we will be quiet, if you shoot, or plot attacks, we will hit you, and so the ball is certainly in their court."

The Egyptian diplomat who is involved in the efforts to bring about the ceasefire said that Egyptian intelligence has been talking with Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's diplomatic-security bureau since Sunday, as well as with different Palestinian factions, with an emphasis on Hamas.

It is coming down to a matter of "who will blink first" in the fight between Israel and the Palestinian factions. The Israelis have vowed to strike continue to strike as long as the militants continue to fire into Israel or plan Terror strikes into Israel. Even the Israeli politicians outside of Likud are supporting this current round of strikes.

Labor faction chairman Isaac Herzog on Monday also expressed support for the decision to assassinate Zuhir al-Qaisi, the Popular Resistance Committee leader, on Friday, which ignited the current flare-up. "We hope that the current round of violence will end soon," he added.

Netanyahu expressed similar sentiments on Sunday at a meeting with the heads of local authorities in Ashdod. "I came to identify with the residents and with you, and to express my deep appreciation for the IDF and the Shin Bet," Netanyahu said.

Both the U.S. and the U.N. have expressed concern regarding the state of fighting in Gaza:

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also condemned rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip into southern Israel and called on all sides to try to restore calm (vb1 emphasis).

"Let me also condemn in the strongest terms the rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, which continued over the weekend," Clinton said during an appearance on Monday before the UN Security Council. "We call on those responsible to take immediate action to stop these attacks. We call on both sides - all sides - to make every effort to restore calm," Clinton said.

Let us all hope that cooler heads will prevail and the Rocket Fire and Air Strikes can come to a screeching halt.

Hamas continues it's quest to shut down Freedom

Yesterday it was Hamas beating up on Shiite worshippers and then denying their existence. Today, it is them wiping out the Palestinian version of "American Idol" or "The X Factor". Maan News is reporting: Hamas Bans 'New Star' singing contest:

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip has banned residents of the coastal enclave from participating in the national reality singing show "New Star."....

....Hasan Abu Hashish, who heads the media office in the Hamas-run government, told Ma'an's public relations director Ala al-Abed that the program was "indecent."

The contest contradicts the customs and traditions of the Gaza community, Abu Hashish said, adding that singing was the passion of a few and not in the interests of the majority of the community.

Interestingly the talkbacks in the Maan piece seem to be providing an interesting arguments between some Palestinians and other Islamic partisans from other parts of the world. Usually I don't deal or care about talkbacks but these have a slightly different tone. What I notice is that the secular Palestinians are calling for a State for Palestinians and are seeing this purely on a national level. At the same time those from outside of Palestine AND religious supporters of Hamas are seeing this in global terms. Read through the talkbacks, they are interesting for the most part.

However, with all of this, Hamas represents a far greater % of the Palestinian Polity than does the PFLP activist posting in the talkbalks in favor of a more Western Style of Government.

Correspondingly, though Hamas is getting a lot of press a Norwegian think tank study over six years finds that Ismail Haniyeh's overall standing with Palestinian Polity is far lower than that of P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas. Interestingly, according to the survey only 25% of Palestinians feel that either Governmental organization (The Palestinian Authority or Hamas) satisfactory in advancing democracy and only 30% feel either is satisfactorally promoting Human Rights. YET... these are the bodies that are advancing the cause of Statehood and a One State solution (though the PA in theory supports a "Two State Solution).

In the meanwhile, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have been conducting talks to "unify the Palestinian Resistance". It is important to remember that both Hamas and P.I.J. have agreed to join the PLO and as a result this deal will have direct implications on any potential Peace Talks or negotiations with Israel towards ending the Occupation (which honestly Israel does not seem to be in a hurry to do) AND establishing a modern, democratic Palestinian State. 

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The leader of Gaza's government Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday called for an in-depth dialogue between his Hamas party and Islamic Jihad, an official said.

Muhammad al-Hindi, an Islamic Jihad leader, said the two sides hoped to unify the Palestinian resistance forces. He said this was an Islamic and national duty.

He said bringing the two sides into closer cooperation was important due to the uprisings across the Arab world, which the factions hope to give a more "Islamic dimension."

Al-Hindi praised Haniyeh's call and said talks were already underway at home and abroad.

For proponents of a peaceful solution whether it be a One State solution or a "faux" Two State solution (Israel exists but all the Palestinian refugees and their descendents from the 1948 War of Independence get to move back to Israel - thus causing a demographic shift in favor of Palestinians and in effect creating Palestine and Palestine), this combination CANNOT be heartening. Islamic Jihad has rejected non-violence as a part of "resistance" as has Hamas.

How the PLO will reconcile this with their plans for unity is unknown and an Israeli reaction to unity with Hamas and P.I.J. joining the process (a process they both oppose) is sure to be both strong and in the opposite direction of those who think that this unification will serve the purpose of creating either Two States or Peace.

Please discuss.