Published: May 15, 2006

Hamas Asks for Weapons, Not Food

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Israel, Quartet Seek to Alleviate Palestinian Suffering Despite Hamas' Intransigence

Amid deteriorating humanitarian and economic conditions in Hamas-controlled Gaza, the group's Damascus-based leader, Khaled Mishal, has appealed not for humanitarian aid but for more weapons and fighters to carry out terror attacks against Israel.

"We [Hamas] ask all the people in surrounding Arab countries, the Muslim world and everyone who wants to support us to send weapons, money and men," Mishal said Wednesday at a pro-Palestinian gathering in Qatar, [1] just hours after Israel agreed to the Middle East Quartet's fiscal initiative that aims to aid the Palestinians in the bankrupt Hamas-led Palestinian Authority (P.A.). [2]

Hamas is a terrorist organization responsible for killing more than 600 civilians [3] in violent attacks over the last 38 years. The Hamas-led Palestinian government recently received a $50 million aid pledge from Iran, which already gives $2 million annually to another terrorist group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group, claimed responsibility for an attack on a Tel Aviv restaurant last month that killed 11 people and injured more than 60 others. One of the dead was 16-year-old Daniel Wultz of Miami, who died from his wounds Sunday. [4] Hamas condoned the attack.

When Hamas emerged victorious in January's Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections, the representatives of the Quartet (the United States, European Union, United Nations, and Russia) stipulated that monetary assistance and diplomatic ties would be conditional upon Hamas agreeing to three terms: recognition of Israel's right to exist; cessation of terrorist activity; and acknowledgement of previous peace agreements signed by the P.A.

Six weeks after assuming control of the government, Hamas officials still refuse to meet any of the Quartet's preconditions and continue to support terrorist activities. For example, Israeli security services released information on Thursday that terrorists taking orders from senior Gaza Hamas officials were ordered to set up a terror cell that would kidnap soldiers and perpetrate attacks in the West Bank and Israel. Razak Ahmed Mahmad Sha'aban and Gama Ibrahim Issa Azam infiltrated Israel from the Sinai and were instructed by Imam Mansur, the head of Hamas in Jabalya, to travel with other Gaza-based Hamas affiliates to Ramallah where they would set up camp. Azam told investigators that the operation was managed by militants in the Hamas leadership. Sha'aban had been released from an Israeli jail in 2002 after serving a five-year sentence for his involvement in terrorist operations and kidnappings. [5]

Despite Hamas' intransigence, the Quartet agreed this week on a last-minute effort to save the Hamas-led P.A. from total collapse and to accelerate the delivery of crucial goods, such as medicine and food, to the Palestinian people. To this end the Quartet devised a "temporary international mechanism" [6] whereby vital monetary assistance would bypass Hamas and be channeled directly to Palestinians in need.

Hamas Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh reacted by criticizing this step intended to ease Palestinian suffering, declaring, "The Quartet committee still put conditions, and repeats it every now and then, to push the government to make concessions that harm Palestinian rights by recognizing the legitimacy of the occupation." [7]

By contrast, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Israel would only support a proposal to transfer tax funds to the Palestinian people "For direct humanitarian needs, such as medicines, such as health needs." [8]
Despite the security risks, Israel has also taken other steps to provide aid to the Palestinians. For example, Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba continues to treat Palestinian patients on a daily basis even after attempts by members of Palestinian terrorist groups to destroy the facility. Said Dr. Ilan Zelingher, the hospital's deputy director general, "The payment for the Palestinian patients is not directed to the Palestinian government, but it is deducted by the Israeli Ministry of Finance from the tax revenue Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority." [9]

On several occasions, Palestinian terrorists have tried to enter Israel camouflaged as medical patients. In June 2005 Wafa Bas, a Gaza resident, was arrested at Erez crossing wearing an explosives belt. Bas had been treated at Soroka and was scheduled for an appointment at the hospital that day. She presented valid medical documents to the terminal officials to make her way across Erez with plans to blow up the same hospital at which she had been treated. [10] On March 7, 2006, Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant Samih Maher Salameh Haddad, 21, was caught trying to penetrate Erez security with false medical papers. [11]

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev told reporters on Tuesday, "Israel does not want to see Palestinian suffering," and said that when possible, medical supplies were being sent into Gaza through the Karni crossing. But distribution of those relief supplies to Gaza via Karni relies on security cooperation by the Hamas-controlled P.A. - and that cooperation has not been forthcoming.

Karni Crossing: Background and Key Facts

The Karni crossing is the main point for transferring commercial goods in and out of Gaza. But on numerous occasions, Palestinian terrorists have exploited it to wage terrorist attacks against Israel, forcing temporary closures and preventing essential goods from reaching the Palestinian people.

In a March 26 Cabinet meeting, then-Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Israel wanted to help the Palestinians, but not if it meant risking innocent lives. "While it is Israel's policy to allow the Palestinian population to receive its humanitarian needs, when there is a conflict of interests between the lives of Israeli soldiers and civilians and humanitarian needs, especially when there is an alternative and temporary solutions at the other crossings, the security of Israeli soldiers is paramount," Mofaz said. [12]

Following heightened security threats, including several stabbing and shooting incidents as well as rocket attacks, the Karni terminal was closed on Feb. 21 to all transports. However, this terminal wasn't the only crossing available for transporting goods to Palestinians, particularly at a time when innocent lives were at stake. Mofaz noted during the March 26 government session that "It is important to inform the international community that there are temporary alternatives regarding the passage of humanitarian aid via the Kerem Shalom crossing and that the Palestinians are rejecting this for reasons that are not substantive." [13] After assessing the security impasse, Israel reopened the crossing on March 9, but temporarily sealed it again throughout March until early April due to additional alerts. During that time, supplies did reach Gaza from Egypt via the Kerem Shalom terminal. [14]

By late April, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that Karni was open more frequently than at the beginning of the month. [15] However, on April 26 Israel was again forced to close the crossing after an incident in which P.A. security personnel prevented militants driving an explosive-laden vehicle and another car carrying gunmen from breaching the terminal wall and infiltrating into Israel. [16] An inquiry into the incident revealed that the attack was perpetrated by the Palestinian Resistance Committees (PRC), a terrorist group to which several senior Hamas officials belong. [17] The PRC members had been planning to duplicate the Jan. 13, 2005 attack at the crossing in which six Israeli civilians were killed. [18] One week earlier, PRC leader Jamal Abu Samhadana was appointed to lead the P.A. police force. Samhadana is wanted by Israel for his terrorist ties and his involvement in several terrorist attacks including the Oct. 15, 2003 bombing in which three American private security contractors were killed in an attack on a U.S. Embassy convoy in Gaza.

Additional terrorist attacks that were prevented or carried out at the Karni terminal include: [19]

Dec. 14, 2005 - Four terrorists affiliated with Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed splinter group associated with Fatah, and the PRC drove a car packed with explosives toward the Karni crossing. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) opened fire on the speeding vehicle and the car detonated.
Dec. 7, 2004 - One IDF soldier was killed and four others injured when an explosive charge detonated near an IDF convoy.
March 14, 2004 - Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terrorists perpetrated a double suicide bombing at the Ashdod Port in which 10 civilians were killed and 12 injured. The militants were able to infiltrate Israel via the Karni crossing by concealing themselves in a container transport.
April 15, 2003 - Two Israeli civilians were killed and three Israeli civilians were injured when a terrorist passed through Karni and assaulted them with gunfire and grenades.

Footnotes

[1] "Hamas wants supporters to send arms, fighters, money," Reuters , May 10, 2006, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10731417.htm

[2] Morris, Harvey, "Israel backs decision to aid Palestinians by passing Hamas," Financial Times , May 11, 2006, http://news.ft.com/cms/s/62512c60-e08a-11da-9e82-000779e2340.html

[3] "Profile: Hamas," MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base, April 15, 2006, http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=49

[4] Halkin, Talya; Siegel-Itzkovich, Judy and Staff, "American suicide bombing victim dies," Jerusalem Post, May 13, 2006, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1145961336110&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[5] Katz, Yaakov, "Hamas operatives caught; confess to planning terror cell," Jerusalem Post , May 11, 2006, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961325923&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

[6] Brunnstrom, David, "EU looks to Israel for help with Palestinian aid," Reuters , May 10, 2006, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10211013.htm

[7] Shamir, Shlomo, and News Agencies, "U.S. wary of new mechanism for bankrolling P.A. salaries," Haaretz , May 11, 2006, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/714566.html

[8] Frankel, Rafael D. and JPost Staff, "Peretz plans to transfer PA tax funds," Jerusalem Post , May 11, 2006, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961313244&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[9] Dr. Ilan Zelingher can be contacted at 972-08-640-34 08

[10] "Attack by female suicide bomber thwarted at Erez crossing," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, June 20, 2005, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+and+Islamic+Fundamentalism-/Attack+by+female+suicide+bomber+thwarted+at+Erez+crossing+20-Jun-2005.htm

[11] "Terror attack thwarted and two terrorists arrested as Islamic Jihad increases its activity against Israel," Israeli Defense Forces, March 28, 2006, http://www1.idf.il/DOVER/site/mainpage.asp?sl=EN&id=7&docid=51196&Pos=1&last=1&bScope=True

[12] "Cabinet communiqué," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 5, 2006, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2006/Reopening%20of%20Karni%20Crossing%20in%20the%20northern%20Gaza%20Strip%208-Mar-2006

[13] Ibid

[14] "Situation Report: The Gaza Strip," United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, May 3, 2006, http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/22f431edb91c6f548525678a0051be1d/445311b0ee7cbd568525716400508a9f!OpenDocument

[15] Ibid.

[16] Halpern, Orly, Katz, Yaakov, and AP, "PA forces foil terror attack at Karni," Jerusalem Post , April 26, 2006, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1145961231105&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[17] "Hamas behind recent bombing attempt at Karni Crossing," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, May 1, 2006, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Terrorism+and+Islamic+Fundamentalism-/Hamas+behind+recent+bombing+attempt+at+Karni+Crossing+1-May-2006.htm

[18] "Terror attack at Karni Crossing," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jan. 13, 2005, http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2005/Terror%20attack%20at%20Karni%20Crossing%2013-Jan-2005

[19] "The Palestinian Preventive Security thwarted an attempt to perpetrate a deadly terrorist attack at Karni Crossing," Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, May 2, 2006, http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/eng_n/html/karni_020506e.htm

Source: The Israel Project

alan@newsblaze.com