Gaza “Ceasefire” Ends

But it isn’t like Hamas ever complied with the “truce” anyway…

At least the end of this “ceasefire” will last until Israel starts kicking Palestinian ass. Then these Islamic terrorists will beg for another hudna truce. Hopefully, Olmert will grow a set and cripple Hamas once and for all.

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Hamas ends Ceasefire with Israel

This comes as no surprise, except to Bush and his Kadmima puppets in Israel. Hamas comes from the same root as AL-Qaeda: The Muslim Brotherhood.

Hamas declares end to ceasefire with Israel in Gaza

GAZA (Reuters) – Hamas on Thursday declared an end to a six-month-old Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel in the Gaza Strip, raising the prospect of an escalation in cross-border fighting.

“The calm is over,” Hamas official Ayman Taha said in an announcement after concluding talks with Palestinian factions in the coastal enclave controlled by the Islamist group.

He said the ceasefire, which Hamas says was scheduled to expire on December 19, would not be renewed “because the enemy did not abide by its obligations” to ease a crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip and halt all attacks.

Israel needs to stop taking orders from America. they need to become independent again. Israel is being set up to be destroyed. Bush and Condi Rice could care less, they will do anything to please their Saudi buddies. Olmert, Livini and Barack are Kapos and traitors to israel. Israel needs leaders with balls not Muslim ass kissers. They need to realize, the world hates Israel anywaystop being nice. Israel should fight Serb style!

Did the Obama Campaign Hold Secret Talks with Hamas?

P. David Hornik has a piece at Pajamas Media on the reports in Arab media that the Obama campaign held secret talks with Hamas and asked them not to reveal it: Reported Obama-Hamas Contacts Bode Ill.

In an interview published Tuesday in the London-based Al-Hayat, Dr. Ahmad Yousef, political adviser to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said senior Hamas figures had held a secret meeting with advisers to Barack Obama in Gaza before the U.S. elections.

Throughout his campaign Obama’s official line was that he would “only talk with Hamas if it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and agrees to abide by past agreements.”

Yet Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal responded to Obama’s win on an optimistic note, telling Australia’s Sky News on Saturday that his organization was “ready for dialogue with President Obama and with the new American administration with an open mind.”

On Saturday night, though, Obama’s senior foreign policy coordinator Denis McDonough seemed to hold the fort, deflecting Mashaal’s amiability by reiterating Obama’s three-part formula for making Hamas acceptable.

For those who don’t want America to have dealings with an Islamist terror organization like Hamas, that may have sounded reassuring. But now it seems it may be too soon to feel reassured.

According to Yousef in the Al-Hayat interview, the Obama-Hamas talks were already ongoing during the U.S. election campaign: “We were in contact with a number of Obama’s aides through the Internet, and later met with some of them in Gaza, but they advised us not to reveal this information as it may influence the elections or become manipulated by McCain’s campaign.”

Given Obama’s associations with many anti-Israel extremists, we can’t dismiss this out of hand. But it might be wise to remember that terrorists have been known to lie occasionally.

(Hat Tip: Double Agent Charles Jonson)

Obama Lied About Firing Anti-Israel Adviser?

In May of this year, Barack Obama fired Middle East adviser Robert Malley when it was revealed that Malley had been holding secret talks with Hamas.

One of Barack Obama’s Middle East policy advisers disclosed yesterday that he had held meetings with the militant Palestinian group Hamas – prompting the likely Democratic nominee to sever all links with him.

Robert Malley told The Times that he had been in regular contact with Hamas, which controls Gaza and is listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. Such talks, he stressed, were related to his work for a conflict resolution think-tank and had no connection with his position on Mr Obama’s Middle East advisory council. “I’ve never hidden the fact that in my job with the International Crisis Group I meet all kinds of people,” he added.

Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for Mr Obama, responded swiftly: “Rob Malley has, like hundreds of other experts, provided informal advice to the campaign in the past. He has no formal role in the campaign and he will not play any role in the future.”

According to reports from the Middle East, Ben LaBolt and the Obama campaign were lying.

Report: Obama Sends Advisor Malley to Cozy Up to Egypt and Syria.

According to a report on Middle East Newsline, President-elect Barack Obama has dispatched his “senior foreign policy adviser”, Robert Malley to Egypt and Syria to outline Obama’s policy on the Middle East.

Malley reportedly relayed a promise from Obama that the United States would seek to enhance relations with Cairo and reconcile differences with Damascus.

“The tenor of the messages was that the Obama administration would take into greater account Egyptian and Syrian interests,” an aide to Malley was quoted as saying. The aide said Obama plans to launch a U.S. diplomatic initiative toward Syria. Malley met both Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad “to explain Obama’s agenda for the Middle East.”

UPDATE at 11/10/08 9:04:36 am:

An Egyptian source confirms the story from Arutz Sheva:

On the flipside, it emerged that Obama had sent his senior foreign policy advisor Robert Malley to both Cairo and Damascus these past few weeks to outline the president-elect’s plans for the region, which indicates a willingness to further strengthen ties with staunch US ally Egypt and begin boosting relations with Syria.

UPDATE at 11/10/08 11:37:19 am:

Allahpundit is skeptical, and that’s a good attitude to maintain. But Barack Obama’s lack of transparency about his past associations with anti-Israel activists is enough to keep us from discounting the story entirely. If the Obama people issue a disavowal, we’ll report that, of course.

UPDATE at 11/10/08 12:09:25 pm:

More possible connections pointed out at Mere Rhetoric: Syria: On Second Thought, We’re Gonna Wait A Few More Months Before Talking About A Peace Deal (UPDATED AND BUMPED: Assad Convinced By Malley Not Brzezinski?)

(Hat tip:Charles the Fake)

Obama Campaign Met with Hamas and Hezbollah Supporters

The Obama campaign is trying to minimize the damage from a meeting attended by their “Muslim outreach director,” at which several notorious Hamas and Hezbollah supporters were present: Obama concedes mistake over Muslim outreach meeting.

The Obama campaign’s Muslim outreach director participated in a meeting in mid September that was attended by several controversial Muslim activists, NBC News has learned. The Obama campaign now concedes that was a misjudgment, and that its top Muslim staffer would not have attended the meeting if she had known the full participant list beforehand. “Would a campaign staffer have attended if they were aware of the complete list of attendees? No,” said Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt in an email statement to NBC.

On September 15, newly named Muslim outreach director Minha Husaini spoke to a small group of Muslim leaders and potential Obama supporters at a hotel in Springfield, Virginia, several meeting participants and the campaign said. Two other Obama-affiliated Democratic Party workers joined Husaini and also spoke to the crowd. …

One meeting attendee was Mahdi Bray of the Muslim American Society, several of the participants said. The MAS website describes Bray as an imam and “long time civil and human rights activist.” Bray’s critics say he has a history of defending terrorists. They point to a video of Bray at a rally in 2000, for example, in which he can be seen pumping his fist in the air in support of the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. In a 2004 interview, he called the Israeli assassination of a Hamas spiritual leader an “unlawful, cowardly and dangerous act of state-sponsored terrorism.” Bray did not return a call requesting comment.

Also attending the meeting was Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. CAIR is a Muslim-American civil rights group that has, as its website states, “consistently and persistently condemned terrorism and the killing of innocent civilians.” Nonetheless, the group has many critics, especially in law-enforcement circles, and is an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing case.

In an interview on Thursday, CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said that CAIR has consistently condemned “every act of terrorism” by groups including Hamas and Hezbollah. But he would not answer whether CAIR condemns those designated terrorist groups themselves. “I’ve already answered your questions,” he said, and abruptly ended the interview. Nihad Awad, the executive director, did not return a call seeking comment.

And that’s not all. Also attending the meeting was the Obama campaign’s previous “Muslim outreach director,” who abruptly resigned in August when the Wall Street Journal exposed his ties to extremists.

A second meeting participant speaking on condition on anonymity said he was stunned to learn that Awad and Bray had been invited to an event where Obama representatives would be present. The participant said Awad and Bray are considered politically “radioactive.” He said that some in the Obama group knew ahead of time that top CAIR officials would be in attendance—an allegation the Obama campaign disputes.

“Yes, when I knew they were coming it made me uncomfortable,” the attendee said. “There was some hope it wouldn’t get out” into the media, the attendee added. “There was some concern within the Obama camp that some of these people coming may be a political liability.”

Chicago-based lawyer Mazen Asbahi also attended the meeting. He is the Obama campaign’s former Muslim outreach coordinator, who abruptly resigned in August after the Wall Street Journal and websites that track fundamentalist Islam began questioning Asbahi’s involvement in an Islamic investment fund and various Islamic groups. When reached by NBC News, Asbahi would not comment about the September gathering or his brief stint eight years ago on an investment fund board which also included a fundamentalist imam.

When informed that Asbahi had attended the recent meeting, an Obama spokesman said: “Mazen Asbahi resigned from his role as the campaign’s Muslim American outreach coordinator and was replaced—he is not an employee of the campaign and does not speak on behalf of the campaign.”

Also see:
Mere Rhetoric: Video: Obama Outreach Coordinator Meets With CAIR Reps, Terrorist-Endorsing Preachers (Plus: FBI Testimony Links CAIR To Terrorists)

(Hat tip:Chas)

Biden Lied About Obama Not Supporting Hamas Election

That’s right—not only did Biden confuse the West Bank and Gaza, he blatantly lied when he said that Barack Obama did not support the Palestinian elections that put Hamas in control of Gaza.

During His 2006 Trip To The Middle East, Obama Met With Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas And Said The Election Represented An “Opportunity…To Consolidate Behind A Single Government.” “Illinois Senator Barack Obama’s journey to the Middle East took him to the West Bank Thursday for a meeting with the man elected to replace Yasser Arafat. … For a time Thursday in the West Bank there was only the clatter of cameras as the newly elected president of the Palestinian authority, Mahmoud Abbas, met with Illinois Senator Barack Obama. At a meeting with Palestinian students Thursday, Obama said the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel, and Obama told ABC7 he delivered that message to the Palestinian president. ‘Part of the opportunity here with this upcoming election is to consolidate behind a single government with a single authority that can then negotiate as a reliable partner with Israel,’ said Obama.” (Chuck Goudie, “Obama Meets With Arafat’s Successor,” ABC 7 News, http://obama.senate.gov, 1/12/06)

The Palestinian News Agency WAFA Reported That Obama Was Supportive Of The Palestinian Elections Being Held At Their Scheduled Time. “President Mahmoud Abbas met Thursday with the U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), in the Presidential HQ in Ramallah…President briefed the U.S. Senator about the latest developments in the Palestinian territories including the preparations for the legislative elections…. Abbas and Obama discussed the means of underpinning the American-Palestinian economic relations…Obama asserted the US supports and eager that the Palestinian legislative elections on its proposed time (January 25).”

(Hat tip:Nancy)

Concentration Camp with Snickers Bars

One of the useful idiots in that “Free Gaza” group is Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of Tony Blair, and now she’s stuck there. And ranting about Nazi concentration camps to Israeli media.

The British left-wing activist arrived in the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave as part of the dozens of ‘Free Gaza’ activists who set out on two boats from Cyprus last month with the intent of “breaking” the Israeli naval blockade imposed on the Strip. Booth is one of the 10 activists who chose to remain in Gaza while her companions set sail back to Cyprus. Since then she has been stuck in Gaza, unable to exit through Israel or Egypt. …

She spoke of the situation in Gaza and said, “Yesterday, I visited mothers of children under the age of five. Nutrition here has deteriorated threefold over the last two years because it is impossible to bring food through the crossings. Unemployment has risen, so people can’t even afford to buy what food there is left.“

When asked about Israel’s right to respond to incessant attacks emanating from Gaza, Booth evoked Holocaust-related rhetoric. ”There is no right to punish people this way. There is no justification for this kind of collective punishment. You were in the concentration camps, and I can’t believe that you are allowing the creation of such a camp yourselves.”

“The Palestinians’ suffering is physical, mental and emotional,“ she went on, ”there is not a family here in which someone is not in desperate need of work, shelter or food. This is a humanitarian crisis on the scale of Darfur.“

To show how abysmal the conditions are, here’s a photo of Booth taken in Gaza shortly before the interview above, buying candy bars and soft drinks at a fully stocked supermarket.

(Hat tip: Lisa Goldman, via PJ Media.)

Muslim Brotherhood’s #2 Man Talks (Carefully) About Obama, CAIR

At PJ Media, the Egyptian Sandmonkey has an interesting interview with the man in line to become the next “Supreme Leader” of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohammed Habib.

Notice how careful he is when the subject turns to the Council on American Islamic Relations and their connections to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

Also notice: although he’s disturbed that Barack Obama has voiced strong support for Israel, he’s willing to give Obama the benefit of the doubt and assume he’s simply lying to the Jews in order to get elected.

(Hat tip:Chucky Cheese@LGF)

Morons to the Rescue in Gaza

Several boats full of Hamas-loving morons arrived in Gaza yesterday: Blockade-running boat activists tour Gaza Strip.

“We are thrilled to be here,” said Greta Berlin, 67, an American activist and a founder of the California-based Free Gaza movement, which organised the trip.

“We could not believe it when we saw the shore,” she told reporters in Gaza City. “(It) was one small step for humankind and one giant step for Palestine.”

Oh, please.

Meanwhile, many Palestinians who turned out to welcome them were disappointed that the self-aggrandizing morons didn’t bring them any food.

Palestinian disappointment: A Gaza activist told Ynet Saturday that local residents were disappointed by the small quantities of food brought in by two boats carrying international leftist activists.

“Many people thought these boats will make a significant contribution to break the siege, not only politically but also in terms of brining in goods, equipment, food, and medicine,” he said. “However, once it turned out these boats contain too little food and mostly activists … some people left the beach disappointed.”

UPDATE at 8/24/08 9:25:08 am:

The “Free Gaza Movement,” by the way, is yet another sham organization created by our old pals, the International Solidarity Movement—who specialize in convincing gullible Western kids to put themselves in harm’s way to advance Palestinian propaganda: International Solidarity Movement – The Free Gaza Movement.

(Hat tip:Chas the Cry Baby)

Inside a Hamas Rocket Factory

Hamas is keeping busy during the “truce” with Israel by manufacturing rockets as fast as they can, and escorting CNN journalists on guided tours of their “metal shops” and training camps.

(Hat Tip: JIDF)