Monday, March 30, 2009

Shocker: Hamas continues to smuggle arms into Gaza

Imagine if Islamic states had put this amount of effort and resources over the past 61 years into developing Gaza and the West Bank. They could have created the equivalent of a Monaco or Dubai in those areas. Instead, they've opted for perpetual warfare, squalor, and -- as detailed below -- lots and lots of dynamite. "Shin Bet head: Hamas continues to smuggle arms into Gaza," from the Jerusalem Post, March 29:

Hamas continues to smuggle weaponry into the Gaza Strip, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin told the cabinet during Sunday's weekly meeting.

Since Operation Cast Lead ended, Diskin said, 22 tons of dynamite were smuggled into Gaza. Forty-five tons of raw material used to produce dynamite, dozens of rockets, hundreds of mortar shells and anti-aircraft shoulder missiles also made their way to the Strip, he said.

Diskin told the cabinet that Egypt was making inroads in its effort to curb arms smuggling through the Gaza-Egypt border, but that Hamas still succeeded in bringing large quantities of weapons into the Strip.

Terror groups in the Gaza Strip were planning to carry out another kidnapping attempt, Diskin warned.

He added that there has been an increase in the efforts of small splinter groups to carry out attacks inside Israel, either by infiltrating through Sinai or by orchestrating local efforts in the West Bank.

In his weekly outline to the cabinet, the last given to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government before Likud head Binyamin Netanyahu presents his government on Tuesday, Diskin said that Hamas was afraid of an escalation in violence with Israel, especially after the negotiations to conduct a prisoner exchange and reconciliation talks between Hamas and Fatah both failed to yield results.

Hamas's interest remains rebuilding the Gaza Strip and replenishing their weapons caches, Diskin said. The Islamic group is deliberating whether to renew terrorism in full force or to rally support from the residents of Gaza in the hope of influencing the world into action by holding mass protests, he added....

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