Tag Archive for Gaza

| August 10, 2013
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Amnesty Int’l: Hamas must cancel post-Eid executions planned for Gazans

 

Islamist group Hamas’ Attorney General announced that several convicted ‘criminals’ will be executed in public as a ‘lesson’ to others.

By Ynet News Staff

The Hamas authorities in Gaza must halt several executions they say they plan to carry out after this week’s Muslim religious festival of Eid al-Fitr, Amnesty International has urged.

Execution in Gaza (Archive photo: Reuters)

Execution in Gaza – Archive photo: Reuters

Hamas’ attorney general said last week that several convicted “criminals” are set to be executed in public as a “lesson” to others.

On 14 July this year, the Court of Cassation missed a final opportunity to protect H.M.A.’s rights when it upheld the death sentence in both cases. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| August 1, 2013
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PA minister urges Gazans to ‘fatwa’ (revolt) against Hamas

PA Minister Habbash wrote on his Facebook account that the fatwa was the duty of Gaza Muslims to end Hamas’s control over the local Palestinians.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

A Palestinian Authority minister in Ramallah on Wednesday issued a fatwa [Islamic religious decree] obliging Palestinians to revolt against Hamas and end its control over the Gaza Strip.

PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud Habbash

PA Religious Affairs Minister Mahmoud Habbash
Photo: Courtesy Palestinian Media Watch

The fatwa, issued by PA Minister for Wakf Affairs, Mahmoud Habbash, is yet another sign of mounting tensions between Fatah and Hamas in wake of the crisis in Egypt.

Fatah, the ruling faction of the PA, supports the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, while Hamas has condemned it as a military coup against a legitimate and democratically elected leader.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| July 27, 2013
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Israel stopped aiding EU representatives entering Gaza, European diplomat reports

Diplomat says recent lack of cooperation is part of Israeli response to EU’s new settlement (boycott) guidelines.

Ashton’s spokesperson: The European Union has not received any official communication on orders to limit work with EU on the ground & is seeking ‘urgent clarifications’ from Israel.

By Reuters and

Several European aid staff have been barred from entering Gaza as part of Israeli measures in the wake of new EU guidelines barring cooperation with settlements, a western diplomat said Friday. 

Palestinian workers at the Erez border crossing.

Palestinian workers at the Erez border crossing. – Photo: AP

The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the humanitarian aid staff had failed to receive permits to enter the Gaza Strip.  Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| July 25, 2013
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Hamas closes Al Arabiya & 2 other media offices in Gaza

 

Security forces even closed down the Palestinian news agency Maan, all for
“reporting false news, fabrications and lies.”

By REUTERS
 

 

Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas closed the offices of three media companies, including the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television and Palestinian news agency Maan, on Thursday, employees and a Hamas spokesman said.

PALESTINIAN SECURITY forces loyal to Hamas patrol the border area between Egypt and southern Gaza.

PALESTINIAN SECURITY forces loyal to Hamas patrol the border area between Egypt and southern Gaza.- Photo: REUTERS

Al Arabiya and Maan employees said Hamas security men had arrived at their offices with an order from the attorney general to shut down immediately and a Hamas spokesman said the step was temporary, until an investigation was concluded.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| July 24, 2013
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Generals report: Hamas & Hezbollah rocket threat outpacing Israel’s defensive capabilities

Brig. Gen. reports in a war that could last a month, as many as 1,500 short- to mid-range rockets might be launched at the north alone each day.

By
 

The Israeli response to the rocket threat still lags behind progress being made by Hezbollah, Hamas and other groups, according to a report published this week by Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.

Iron Dome anti-missile system in Haifa

The Iron Dome anti-missile system in Haifa deployed in January. – Photo: Rami Shlush

Brig. Gen. (res.) Meir Elran, head of the institute’s Homeland Security Program, told Haaretz that Israel hasn’t closed the gaps. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: , , , , ,
| July 23, 2013
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Hamas claims Egypt is attempting to reclaim sovereignty over Gaza

 

Ahmed Assaf, a Fatah spokesman in the West Bank, called on Hamas to stop meddling in the internal affairs of Egypt of other Arab countries, saying this was causing grave damage to Palestinians.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
 

 

Hamas is concerned that Egypt may be trying to restore its sovereignty over the Gaza Strip, Mousa Abu Marzook, a senior Hamas official, said Monday.

An Egyptian military helicopter flying over Alexandria [file].

An Egyptian military helicopter flying over Alexandria [file]. – Photo: REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

Abu Marzook wrote on his Facebook page that by sending helicopters to fly over the Gaza Strip, “Egypt is signaling that it trying to restore its sovereignty over the area, which it lost after the 1967 aggression.”Over

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| July 22, 2013
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Hamas: Egypt Curtailing Our Income by Sealing Smuggling Tunnels

Gaza’s leaders are furious with Egypt for destroying their smuggling tunnels between the Gaza and the Sinai.

By Dalit Halevi & Elad Benari

 

 

The Hamas terrorist group, which controls Gaza, is upset with Egypt over its actions to shut down the smuggling tunnels which are used to transfer goods, weapons and even terrorists between the Sinai and Gaza.

Since the Egyptian military overthrew Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, whose Muslim Brotherhood movement is Hamas’s parent movement, the Egyptian army has been operating in the Sinai to eliminate terrorist cells who take advantage of the lawlessness in the region to carry out terrorist attacks.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| July 17, 2013
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Egyptian Helicopter Flies Over Gaza for 1st Time Since 6-Day War

An Egyptian army officer died & 5 other soldiers were wounded Wednesday morning in ongoing battles with Islamist terrorists in Sinai.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

One Egyptian army officer died and five soldiers were wounded Wednesday in ongoing battles with Arab terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula.

Apache helicopter – Israel news photo: IDF

With the agreement of Israel, Egypt has increased its military presence in Sinai in order to fight the terrorist presence in the region, including an AH-64-D Apache helicopter to be deployed in the eastern Sinai Peninsula.

 

Egyptian helicopter over Gaza

An Egyptian military helicopter that flew over Gaza on July 12  for the first time since the 1967 Six Day War. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| July 10, 2013
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Canadian and European activists instigating another flotilla from Gaza

Gazans & outside activists plan to sail to Europe in September from Gaza carrying local produce.

 

Organizers say flotilla’s goal is to raise awareness on Gaza naval blockade. 

By Ahiya Raved

Canadian and European activists staying in Gaza are planning to launch a flotilla which will carry Gazan produce and textiles from the strip to Europe. The vessel, currently a fishing boat, is being converted to a cargo ship, and organizers are planning to set sails in the near future.

תעשה את כל הדרך מעזה לאירופה? ספינת הפעילים

Converted to cargo ship

The project’s goal, the activists say, is to raise public awareness to the strife of the maritime blockade on the Gaza Strip. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| July 7, 2013
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Hamas busts Gaza counterfeit ring with NIS 20 million in ‘funny-money’

Hamas authorities in Gaza report the bogus money was confiscated before the counterfeiters were able to put it into circulation.

By

 

Hamas authorities in the Gaza Strip broke up a counterfeiting ring that had printed millions of shekels worth of fake money, the organization said Sunday.

funny money

Policeman displays fake 100-shekel bills seized in Gaza City. – Photo: AP

Police spokesman Ayyoub Abu Shaar said that authorities uncovered the ring last week when they traced a man trying to use a counterfeit 100-shekel bill last week. The Palestinian territories use Israeli currency for many transactions.

AP

Fake bills and equipment seized by Hamas authorities in Gaza City.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| July 7, 2013
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IDF on Sinai border: Security coordination with Egypt remains uninterrupted

Despite political upheaval in Egypt, it continues to be in the interest of both sides to fight terror cells, says IDF liaison officer; ‘Egyptians are doing good work.’

By Gili Cohen 

Security coordination with Egypt remains in good shape despite the political turmoil in Cairo, Israeli officers serving in the border area say.

Egyptian soldiers on Sinai border.

Egyptian soldiers stand guard on at the border between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip, July 5, 2013. – Photo: Reuters

According to the rules of engagement, if the Israel Defense Forces spots armed men approaching the border, the preference is to let the Egyptians take action.

“In most cases the Egyptians are doing good work,” said a liaison officer. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| July 5, 2013
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Egypt seals Rafah crossing – Gaza Closed Indefinitely

Decision comes after Islamist gunmen staged multiple terror attacks on Egypt security forces 2 days after Army Generals forcibly replaced Islamist president Morsi.

By DPA and Reuters

Egypt has indefinitely closed the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip following attacks on security forces in northern Sinai, a security official said Friday.

Palestinians walking toward the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in Rafah, Egypt

Palestinians walk toward the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in Rafah, Egypt, Aug. 2012.- Photo: AP

The crossing was opened in 2011 following the ouster of Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak, whose administration opposed the Hamas rulers in Gaza, and helped Israel to enforce a blockade on the enclave.

Early on Friday, Islamist gunmen staged multiple attacks on security forces on Sinai two days after the army overthrew elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi

The security sources said a soldier was killed and two were wounded when a police station in Rafah on the border with the Gaza Strip came under rocket fire. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| July 5, 2013
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In wake of Morsi’s fall, the PLO calls on Gazans to overthrow Hamas

The Palestinian Authority rejoices in Morsi’s fall, calling on Gazans to exploit situation and revolt against Hamas.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
 

 

Palestinian Authority leaders on Thursday expressed joy over the downfall of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s regime, with some calling on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to follow suit and topple the Hamas government.

HAMAS GUNMEN hold a poster depicting Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza City June 2012.

HAMAS GUNMEN hold a poster depicting Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza City – Photo: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

 

Meanwhile, Palestinian analysts predicted that the collapse of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt would undermine Hamas, which in the past year has been emboldened by Morsi’s rise to power.

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Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| July 4, 2013
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Analysis: Hamas’ recuperation since last war with IDF has made them stronger

Hamas’s new rocket arsenal strategically embedded throughout Gaza places 70% of Israelis within hitting range.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
 

 

Eight months after the IDF’s Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza, events in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon have turned the Strip into an arena of secondary importance for many observers.
A military-style exercise at a summer camp organized by the Hamas movement

A military-style exercise at a summer camp organized by the Hamas movement – Photo: REUTERS

Despite the relative quiet in the Gazan arena, much is taking place there. Hamas is entrenching itself further as the sovereign, and rearming itself with rockets. It once again has thousands of short-range rockets – around 5,000 of them – and possesses medium-range rockets which can strike greater Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

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Category: Israel News | Tags: , , ,
| June 28, 2013
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Egypt hurts Gaza’s tunnel smuggling operations curtailing taxes to Hamas

Egypt deploys security reinforcements & sets up roadblocks across the huge Sinai desert running from the Suez Canal east to the Gaza border, causing shortages in the Palestinian enclave and hurting smuggling taxes to Hamas’ leaders.

By

 

An Egyptian security crackdown has severely disrupted smuggling to the neighboring Gaza Strip, causing a fuel shortage, doubling the price of building materials and shutting down some construction sites in the Hamas-ruled territory.

Tunnel smugglerEgypt’s military clamped down on the lawless Sinai Peninsula, which abuts Gaza, in the run-up to mass protests planned for Sunday by Egyptian opposition activists trying to force out the country’s president, Mohammed Morsi. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
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