Doc's Talk: January 2013 Headlines from the Gaza Strip

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

January 2013 Headlines from the Gaza Strip

Samara Greenberg
GazaWATCH
January 2013 / Issue 10
http://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/3894/january-2013-headlines-from-the-gaza-strip

Palestinian Unity?
Fatah held its first mass rally in Gaza since 2007, when it was violently thrown out of the Strip by Hamas. High-level Fatah members attended the event and, along with Hamas officials, called it a step towards unity. In a video message played on huge screens, Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas told the crowd, "Soon we will achieve unity and end the occupation, raising the Palestinian flag over Al-Aqsa mosque and Jerusalem." The Fatah rally ended prematurely due to overcrowding and fighting between Fatah factions. Between 300,000 and 1.2 million supporters attended, a sizable showing considering Gaza's 1.7 million inhabitants. In December, Hamas was allowed to hold its first rallies in the West Bank since 2007.

Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal met in Cairo on January 9 to discuss the ongoing dispute between their parties. The two agreed to "implement the reconciliation agreement" signed in May 2011, which called for a unity government of independent officials to prepare for elections but stalled soon after being signed. Hamas officials in Gaza largely opposed appointing Abbas as interim prime minister, which Mashaal agreed to at a February 2012 meeting. In late January 2013, however, a Hamas official said the party is not opposed to Abbas heading a unified Palestinian government.

The Fatah rally in Gaza showed improving ties between Hamas and Fatah (Photo: Mohammed Salem/Reuters)

According to the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi, in the January 9 Abbas-Mashaal meeting Fatah demanded that Hamas dissolve its military wing and recognize the National Security Forces as the Palestinians' sole armed security unit -- a demand Hamas rejected. Hamas denied that the meeting included a discussion of its armed wing. At a mid-January follow-up reconciliation meeting in Cairo, Fatah and Hamas agreed to allow the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) to register voters in Gaza in preparation for elections. Voter registration is scheduled to begin February 11. Hamas halted voter registration work in July 2012 after accusing the CEC of favoring Fatah. The next meeting between Hamas and Fatah officials is scheduled for February 11.
A Hamas military court in Gaza sentenced a leader of Fatah's Al-Aqsa Brigades, Zaki al-Sakani, to 15 years in jail for terrorism and possession of explosives and weapons, according to al-Sakani's brother. Fatah called the verdict "unjust," stating "it can only be interpreted as confirmation that a trend within Hamas still endorses rivalry."
Recent reports suggest Mashaal is interested in leading the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is why he is not seeking another term as Hamas politburo chief.
Living Situation in Gaza
Hamas and the Palestinian Authority reportedly declined a United Nations request to allow Palestinians fleeing Syria's civil war to enter their territories. Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, told the UN that Gaza couldn't take in refugees as doing so may provide Israel with the ability to refuse the Palestinian "right of return" by arguing that Palestinians were relocated to Gaza. The PA was said to have declined the request for financial reasons.
The Islamic University in Gaza City is now offering its students a degree in Hebrew with the goal of producing Hebrew teachers. Hebrew courses are already offered as an elective in 16 high schools, and Hamas plans to expand the program to more schools this year.
The PA's minister of higher education publically condemned a decision by Gaza's Al-Aqsa University to enforce an "Islamic" dress code on female students. According to the university president, the dress code would not require the jibab (full length coat) or the niqab (veil covering the face), but appropriate dress such as loose clothes, long jackets, and wide trousers.
Over 3,000 Gazan teens graduated from a new Hamas-run military training course called Futuwwa, or "Youth." The high school elective required students to devote one hour a week to learning skills such as rappelling down buildings and shooting light weapons. Ismail Haniyeh attended the graduation ceremony and announced that the Education Ministry plans to establish a full-time military academy to prepare students for the "phase of liberating Palestine."

A Palestinian boy holds a rifle-shaped wooden stick during a graduation ceremony for the first group of school children's military training organized by Hamas education ministry in Gaza City, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2013. (Photo: AP)

In mid-January, a Gazan government spokesman said that all smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Sinai were closed for safety reasons after heavy rain caused a number of tunnels to collapse. During the week of January 21, Hamas arrested six journalists in Gaza, most of whom are affiliated with Fatah, prompting the PLO and the International Federation of Journalists to demand their immediate release. At a meeting with human rights groups that week, Hamas claimed that the recently detained were not journalists. On January 27, Haniyeh agreed to release them.
Hamas announced plans to build an industrial city and markets near its border with Egypt in an effort to bolster Gaza's economy.
Egypt allowed over 1,000 Palestinians to leave Gaza and embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Three Gazans died after contracting H1N1 swine flu, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health official Asad Ramlawi. There have been over 700 reported cases of infection in the West Bank and another 20 in Gaza in recent weeks.
Gaza is facing a gas shortage, according to Samir Hamada from Gaza's Society of Petrol Companies.
Security Situation in Gaza
The Israeli Knesset's Constitution, Law, and Justice Committee limited the amount of undeclared funds that can be carried from Israel into Gaza to 12,000 Israeli shekels, around $3,200. The change is in response to news that millions of shekels have been smuggled from Israel to Hamas. Previously, the law permitted undeclared transfers of up to 100,000 shekels, or $27,000, per person.
Hamas reportedly test fired two improved long-range missiles that were produced in Gaza with Iranian know-how into the Mediterranean Sea.
After heavy rains in mid-January, IDF soldiers discovered a large tunnel in Israeli territory originating from Gaza. Officials believe the tunnel was built for terror activity and the IDF called it a "serious security threat."
Hamas Interior Minister Fathi Hammad headed a delegation to Sudan to learn about civil defense and combat doctrine. While there, Hamas and Sudan agreed on plans to send a delegation from Gaza's civil defense service to Sudan for training.
The Israeli Defense Ministry conducted a series of tests on an upgraded version of the Iron Dome system that will give it "improved capabilities against an unprecedented range of threats," the ministry said.
Security Situation in Sinai
Egyptian forces captured American made anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as other rockets with varying ranges, headed for Gaza in early January. It is believed the rockets came from Libya.
On January 12, Egyptian forces uncovered 2.5 tons of explosives heading towards Sinai. Later in the month, the Egyptian authorities intercepted a truck on its way to Gaza carrying another ton of explosives.
Sinai tribes gave the Egyptian government an ultimatum to remove Cairo's ban on land ownership near Sinai's eastern border by January 30 or face revolt. Since December, the Egyptian defense minister has blocked most land use within five kilometers of Israel and Gaza, affecting more than 10,000 families.
Israel announced the near-completion of its 142-mile barrier running along the border with Sinai, with the project's final 7-mile stretch to be completed by May. The barrier, made of a 16 to 22 foot high fence that includes barbed wire, patrol paths, cameras, and radar aims to prevent weapons and drug smuggling into Israel as well as terrorist infiltration and illegal immigration from Africa. The fence runs from the Gaza Strip to slightly north of Eilat.
In response to security threats, the IDF banned civilian traffic on a road near the Egyptian border for one year. Eight Israelis died in a terror attack on that road in August 2011.
Aid and Trade
Egypt continued to allow trucks of building materials paid for by Qatar to enter Gaza this month. In mid-January, Egypt also resumed shipping Qatari-donated fuel into Gaza. The shipments were stalled two months ago following violent clashes between Sinai groups and the Egyptian armed forces. Ten million liters of the donated fuel, out of a total of 27 million liters, have already entered Gaza. The fuel shipments were halted again at the end of the month due to unrest in Egypt.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Gaza's Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza city on January 22, 2013. (Photo:AFP)

Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamed Najib Abdul Razak visited Gaza on Israel's election day to show his support for Gaza's Palestinians. During the visit, Prime Minister Razak's wife announced that Malaysia will donate $800,000 to two healthcare projects in Gaza. Razak's visit angered the PA and Abbas, who accused Malaysia of enhancing Palestinian division and harming the PA's status as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. In early January, the United Arab Emirates donated $50 million for the construction of Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan city in Gaza for released Palestinian prisoners. In addition, the Oman Charitable Organization (OCO) announced plans to increase aid to Palestinians in Gaza for education, medical supplies, and housing.
In mid-January, Saudi Arabia announced that it would send six planes of medical supplies to Gaza via Egypt.
The Egyptian Red Crescent supervised the transfer of ten tons of medical supplies into Gaza donated by the Arab Doctors Union.
The EU announced plans to speed up aid delivery for programs that assist Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and other Arab countries. Sixty million euros of EU funds will be distributed earlier than planned to help close a PA budget deficit, and another 40 million euros will go to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Morocco pledged $500 million in support of Palestinian reconciliation. Once a unity government is formed, Morocco will donate the funds to the Palestinian reconciliation committee that was established to help bridge the differences between Fatah and Hamas and pay damages to victims of politically motivated violence.
In December, Israel transferred nearly 6,300 truckloads of goods to Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing, an increase of 61% from the previous month. About 2,500 trucks carried construction materials, while almost 1,400 carried food. In addition, 5,576 Palestinians exited Gaza through Israel -- a 56% increase from November.
2013 Rocket Count
January: No rockets were launched from Gaza at Israel.
2012 Rocket Count
A total of 2,335 rockets and 226 mortar shells were launched at Israel last year; 1,435 of those rockets hit Israel.
JPC researchers Michael Johnson and Amy Farina contributed to this report.

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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.
More...

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.

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