Doc's Talk: Tensions between Hamas and UNRWA following the theft of food and blankets and the Hamas takeover of a supply convoy

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Tensions between Hamas and UNRWA following the theft of food and blankets and the Hamas takeover of a supply convoy

IICC
Overview

1. In two incidents on February 3 and 5, Hamas operatives stole aid supplies (for Gaza Strip) from a convoy and a warehouse belonging to UNRWA. In response, UNRWA suspended delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. On February 9, Hamas returned to UNRWA the stolen aid supplies and UNRWA resumed its routine activities. The UN Secretary General and UNRWA strongly condemned the theft of the humanitarian aid, demanding from Hamas to return it immediately and not to interfere with its distribution.2. Those incidents are a result of Hamas's policy, expressions of which were seen during Operation Cast Lead. This policy strives to control the humanitarian aid brought into the Gaza Strip and use it for Hamas's political and financial advantage. Recently, that policy has generated unprecedented levels of tension between Hamas and UNRWA, the organization in charge of distributing the humanitarian aid. Following the recent events, Hamas had to return the stolen aid supplies and reach an understanding with UNRWA. However, because of Hamas's policy, tensions between Hamas and UNRWA, and between Hamas and other organizations and countries involved in rebuilding the Gaza Strip, may rise again.

Hamas steals food and blankets from UNRWA's warehouse

3. On February 3, 2009, members of the Hamas police force raided a UNRWA warehouse in one of the Gaza Strip refugee camps, taking 3,500 blankets and over 400 food packages that were supposed to be distributed to Gaza Strip residents (AP, February 4; AFP, February 9).

4. UNRWA reacted strongly, condemning the theft of the supplies and demanding their immediate return. Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu denied UNRWA's claims, calling on it to promptly issue an apology for its allegations and for “publishing false information” (Pal-Media, February 4). Ahmad al-Kurd, the welfare minister in the Hamas administration, accused UNRWA of taking over all the equipment meant for victims of the war and of unfair distribution of the humanitarian aid (Pal-Media, February 4).

Hamas's takeover of humanitarian aid for Gaza Strip residents

5. On February 5, 2009 , UNRWA reported that Hamas took over a convoy of ten trucks loaded with aid supplies for Gaza Strip residents at Nitzana Crossing. UNRWA strongly condemned Hamas's confiscation of the humanitarian aid, demanding its immediate return (UN website, February 5). The aid supplies seized included 200 tons of rice and flour brought into Gaza by UNRWA (AFP, February 9).

6. The UN Secretary General's spokesperson said that the Secretary General was demanding that Hamas immediately return the seized aid supplies, calling on it not to interfere with the distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza Strip residents (AFP, February 6). UNRWA announced it was suspending the humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip because of the confiscation of hundreds of tons of aid and stressed that the suspension would continue until the seized aid was returned (UNRWA website, February 6).

7. In response, Hamas issued a statement claiming that its takeover of the supply convoy resulted from a mistake and that UNRWA's allegations against Hamas were unfounded, seeing as Hamas had done nothing to hinder UNRWA's supply trucks. Hamas also stressed that it appreciated UNRWA's role and the assistance it provided to the Palestinian people, calling on it not to cut off the aid because that would worsen the situation of the Palestinian people (Palestine-info, February 6).

8. Hamas spokesmen attempted to excuse the convoy takeover:

a. The excuse given by Hamas secretary Fawzi Barhoum was that the supplies had been taken by mistake, due to the fact that there was no Hamas administration representative present at the crossing and therefore the drivers did not know which supplies belonged to the administration and which belonged to UNRWA. He claimed that it was only when Welfare Minister Ahmad al-Kurd ordered the relevant parties to resolve the problem that it became clear that the supplies were UNRWA's (AFP, February 6, Maan News Agency, February 6).

b. Taher al-Nunu, a spokesman for the Hamas administration, stressed that the relations between Hamas and UNRWA were strong, and that the incident was a “misunderstanding between drivers”. He added that even though the Hamas administration had nothing to do with the incident, he intervened immediately in order to solve the problem. He further said that meetings with top UNRWA officials would be held soon to resolve the controversy and establish an apparatus that would resolve any possible future issues (AFP, February 6). In another interview granted by Taher al-Nunu, he said that the incident should never have made it to the media (Al-Jazeera, February 6).

Summary and assessment

9. The theft of the food and blankets and the Hamas takeover of the supply trucks are a reflection of Hamas's policy, striving to control the massive humanitarian aid brought into the Gaza Strip and to use it for the advancement of its political objectives. Hamas attempts to channel the aid to its operatives and population groups which support it, and to make financial profits by selling the humanitarian aid instead of distributing it free of charge. 1 That policy began during Operation Cast Lead and it continues after the operation as well.

10. The Hamas policy naturally generates growing tensions between it and UNRWA, recently reflected in mutual public accusations:

a. Hamas Welfare Minister Hashem Ahmed al-Kurd accused UNRWA of taking over all of the humanitarian aid for the war victims and of not distributing it in a fair manner. He said that large-scale humanitarian aid sent to the Hamas administration was still in Egypt and not being brought into the Gaza Strip (Pal-Media, February 4).

b. John Ging, UNRWA's chief of operation in the Gaza Strip, said that the situation was becoming unbearable. He added that the Hamas administration was running a negative propaganda campaign against the agency's work in the Gaza Strip. He called on the Hamas leadership to regain control over its operatives on the ground, as they jeopardized UNRWA's activities. He also said that UNRWA would not take seriously any promises made by Hamas unless accompanied by a guarantee that incidents such as the confiscation of the supply trucks do not happen again and until the stolen humanitarian aid is returned (Relief Web, February 6).

11. In the wake of the latest incidents, Hamas administration representatives, including Health Minister Bassam Na'im and the Hamas administration Secretary-General Muhammed Awad met with UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen Koning AbuZayd. In the meeting, which was said to have been positive, both sides agreed that all supply trucks confiscated by Hamas would be returned. Hamas and UNRWA sources stressed that both sides agreed on the establishment of a monitoring committee to solve possible future issues (BBC, February 6).

12. On February 9, Hamas returned to UNRWA's warehouses in Gaza and Rafah all the aid supplies it had seized on February 3 and 5. In return, UNRWA resumed the import of its humanitarian supplies to the Gaza Strip (AFP, February 9).

1 See our Information Bulletin: "Evidence of the Use of the Civilian Population as Human Shields: Hamas operatives detained during Operation Cast Lead related that weapons were situated in schools, mosques and residential dwellings, that operatives shot from within residential neighborhoods, and that Hamas operatives stole the humanitarian aid for their own use" (February 4, 2009). Recently, a website associated with Fatah reported that Gaza Strip residents claimed that Hamas was selling on the black market infant formula from the humanitarian aid which it took over (Pal-Press, February 5).

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
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Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk