Israeli civilians living around the Gaza border woke up Saturday, March 19, to the most massive mortar attack in years – 50 rounds fired in 15 minutes. Two civilians were injured and substantial damage caused to property. Hamas unusually claimed responsibility, emboldened by the support it has won from a new ally, the new rulers of Cairo, which have now lined up with Syria and Iran.
The Netanyahu government has not informed the Israeli public about the ominous new winds blowing in from Cairo although they are already in motion: Cairo has given Hamas rule of the Gaza Strip de facto recognition, is about to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip and is forging new understandings with Damascus and the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad radicals based there.
The Egyptian military which has taken over in Cairo also turned a blind eye to at least two or three Iranian arms ships which, prior to the capture of the A.S. Victoria last week, made it through the Israeli sea blockade and delivered weapons, including C-704 shore-to-sea missiles at El Arish. Hamas will be free to go out and collect them through the reopened Rafah crossing.
It is now obvious that Cairo’s permission for two Iranian warships to transit the Suez Canal on Feb. 22, knowing that at least one was laden with weapons for extremists, was in line with the new Egyptian policy.
Israel had earlier allowed two Egyptian mechanized infantry brigades to enter Sinai and deploy along its Mediterranean coast, although this opened up the demilitarization clause of the 1979 peace treaty. Israel expected these troops to guard the gas pipeline carrying gas to Israel and Jordan and block the Iranian arms deliveries to Hamas. But this did not happen.
This week, spokesmen on behalf of the pipeline company announced that Egyptian gas was again flowing. It was not. After Israel appealed to the White House and the heads of the Senate and House foreign relations committees to intercede with Egypt, just a trickle of gas reached the pipeline on the pretext that the pipeline needed testing after it was blown up by Hamas on Feb. 5.
The Egyptian charade is ably supported by the Israeli government and its defense spokesmen, who keep on assuring everyone that nothing has changed in Egyptian-Israeli peace relations.
According to debkafile’s Cairo sources, the live wire behind the Egyptian policy U-turn is the new foreign minister Nabil Alaraby. Only two weeks on the job, the first tasks he set himself were to lift the Egyptian-Israeli embargo on the Gaza Strip, reopen the Fatah crossing to free passage of people and goods, downgrade relations with Israel and the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas, and open a new page with Syria.
During the two days US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spent in Cairo (March 15-16), the Egyptian Supreme Military Council sent the Mahabharat (Secret Service) chief Gen. Mourad Mwafi to Damascus. Syrian President Bashar Assad received him for a long conversation Friday, March 19, on the third day of his visit.
Thursday, the Egyptian general met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal. He was not put off by Meshaal’s participation in the Iran-backed Islamist radical summit in Khartoum in the first week of March and its approval of two missions – to bring the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Cairo and to step up terrorist attacks on Israel.
So far, Israeli forces have had no success in tracking down the Hamas perpetrators of the vicious murders of five family members at Itamar on March 11. Considering the precipitous downturn in Israel’s political and military situation and the ostrich-like reactions of its leaders, it looks very much as though Hamas is now dictating Israel’s security agenda. Hamas, backed to the hilt by Iran, Syria and now Egypt, feels it can safely intensify its warfare on Israel without being slapped down.
Dr Yeruham don’t leave. All opinions are welcomed.
There are a few knuckleheads who sneak in now and then with personal attacks but we get wise to them in short order.
Bottom line a majority of all support Israel.
I often mention:
“If you are Jewish no matter where you reside in the world you are connected to Israel by Heritage, Faith and by G-d”
Yamit82, I worked in agricultural irrigation for six months and then was hatzran for a year until they kicked us out. I was never at the Yamit pool because we had our own beach. And I did most of my shopping for my work in Rafiah, Aza and Khan Yunis, so I rarely got to Yamit. (That was in the days when we still had respect and were treated like kings in the Gaza Strip because we were still strong. On the day after we came running out of the Sinai with our tails between our legs I saw my first stones flying at us in Rafiah: the intifada of our times then began in 1982.) But anyway, and with all due respect, the anonymice phenomenon is continuing as I expected. So I am signing off. I’ll try to remember (my memory has not been what it used to be before the arabs broke half my head in about 1987 or so) to ask Baruch about you. And maybe we’ll meet someday. Very best wishes to all. I bear no grudge but only have a different attitude from yours about standing behind our words.
Spot on.
This is what I enjoy about Israpundit: like the Talmud we go off on a tangent – and what a fascinating tangent!
I hosted the founding meeting of the Techia Party on my cafeteria patio at the poolside.
Rav Yisrael Ariel bought the Egyptian Flag I burned when we demonstrated at a meet with president Navon, made honorable mention in world press.
I still have an open police file as a suspect to burning the car of the Housing Ministry city manager. Rosh Tzvet-Hakama. I of cousrse deny having anything to do with it. 🙂
I know who he was but didn’t know him personally.
Name rings a bell but I have no mental image? I patrolled Yamit: I was rav-shatz first 2 years gave it up for a steady job, all the IDF support was supplied by reservists,every 30 days another group. If you ever visited the Yamit city pool complex then you know who I am. I managed it but the food concession was mine. I also had the post office and was a partner in a plastics factory. We subcontracted jobs for Keter who gave us the machines.
Ask Baruch Marzel who I am, he was my best customer when when ever he came to town.
Yamit82, Then you must have known Mesha Mishkan ZTzL, who did the hunger strike. He was my good friend until he passed away a few years ago. I wonder also if you knew Shraga Segel ZTzL. He was not a resident there but the MP or Magad (I don”t remember what size unit was patrolling Hevel Yamit in those days) at the time they first settled Atzmona. (We were new immigrants and arrived at Atzmona only in 1980.) He gave them a radio set so they could call for help in case of trouble. I knew him much later when he was the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, BGU, where I taught before retirement. I have no end of stories. But it might not be fair to use this thread for nostalgia when I don’t know if that is Ted’s intention. So I guess I’ll stop here.
Howdy Frank, Yup I was ethnically cleansed as well. I remember when they built and opened Atzmona. I don’t remember names but I never forget a face. I moved into Yamit I think in June of 75′ I was tenth on the housing list and had to wait a month for electric to be hooked up. Fun days those were.
Forget about the name shtik, I am in personal contact with many who comment here and even those who don’t but read the blog. I am accessible for most who want to speak privately off blog.
Always the slow one. 🙂
That’s what you came here to say? I don’t know who you are. I don’t care who you are. People have been posting here like this for years. Those who are abusive of their anonymous (correct spelling) monikers are well known. If you don’t like it, form your own blog and dictate your own rules there.
Oh, and welcome to the Internet.
pffffft
Yamit 82, if your pseudonym means what it looks like you might even know me. My family and I were members of Atzmona and kicked out of Hevel Yamit in 1982 as I guess you may also have been. We then settled Beit Romano and finally moved up to Kiriat Arba. But I am easily found on the Internet if you try. And when I publish in professional journals I use my foreign name, Frank J. Leavitt, not to disguise myself or anything about me but only to maintain continuity with publications from before we came to Israel. This is enough information for anyone who wants to find out who I am to do so. And by the way I still haven’t changed my opinion about anonymice.
What’s in a name? How do we know you are really Yeruham Leavitt? How do we know you are really Dr Yeruham Leavitt? Even if there is a real Dr Yeruham Leavitt, there is no way to verify if you are really he. So what difference does it make or should, what name is used? Why don’t you post along with your name your phone number and your home address? Many of us prefer the anonymity of screen names for may reasons and that should not add or detract from their comments. I think you are nit picking over nothing and that nothing is common practice on every blog on the internet. I’m afraid you will be put off by every blog that allows comments.
That said, I agree with your last line: “in the New New Middle East we need a ruthless policy.”
I am getting tired of talk-backs because of all the anonymice (no spelling error). Among the ten on this thread so far only three have given names which might be real. But I have my doubts about “Georg von starkermann” because he doesn’t spell his name right and because of the strangeness of the name. People who lack the self-confidence to put their names behind what they write cannot be believed to be serious. I’ll look at talk-backs on this site a few more times to see if what I have written here has had any effect. If there is none, then I’m finished here as well as on jpost, ynet, etc. Incidentally I’ll add with my name behind my words that in the New New Middle East we need a ruthless policy.
Israel will do nothing, nor take any action to truly defend itself. I wonder if the Mexicans started to shoot mortars into California,Arizona,New Mexico, and Texas, would the USA sit idly by and allow this travesty to happen? I don’t think so unless these border areas were occupied by Jewish People. It’s becoming more and more apparent that the Israelis refuse to defend their own people from attack, and basically allow this nonsense to happen over and over again.
Thanks, from me too Ron.
Pro-HAMAS or not, Egypt has been quietly standing aside while the “Crusaders” bomb Libya. How long is this going to last? As Yamit said a few posts ago, Iran & Co. (inc. HAMAS and now Egypt) come out on top no matter what happens in Libya. If NATO continues to stick its fist into the tar baby, Iran can support Qadaffi. Otherwise, they can support whichever side gives them the best deal. All the while, it’s “full steam ahead” on their nuclear program while the world is utterly distracted.
I haven’t checked up on Israel’s response yet. From comments here, it looks as though Israel is behaving like a flat-footed zombie.
Thanks, Ron.
Unfortunately, stupid Jews are in charge.
Thank you Ron.
I like it; has a solid feel; no ambiguity…
Thanks for the good wishes rongrand…
rongrand:
That will not happen with Bibi in office.
well put ron
Yamit, Ted, ShyGuy, Laura, B Narvey, Keelie and all on Israpundit
H A P P Y —- P U R I M
This could be an even greater celebration if the Israeli leadership would have directed the IDF (ADF) to send a strong and devastating message to Hamas, one very destructive blow in retaliation of the rocket attack.
The message has to be strong and decisive.
You rocket us, we will destroy you.
B*B and Barak should
be jailed immediately for criminal stupidity. We already know they are incompetent. The next step will be to plead with Obama to rectify some of the damage and whether he agrees and succeeds or not a price will be demanded of and paid by BB regardless of the effort or it’s ultimate success. If Israeli military Intel and Mossad were caught with their pants down and still read the situation wrongly I can’t say but if they are up to snuff but if BB and Barak have ignored their input all the more reason to get rid of that dangerous duo yesterday. If Mil Intel and the Mossad still have not smelled the coffee then we are really in double bind of incompetent Intel and even more incompetent and stupid political leadership.
Israel should be lobbying hard to end American aid to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and the palis. I say this even if it means forgoing our own aid, which I advocate in any event but on a decreasing gradual basis over 3-5 years.
American interests is the continuation of the arms race and in the long run we can’t compete. Therefore the emphasis is arms reduction by all the parties not arms competition.
Time is approaching quickly to introduce our nukes to the world with a little demonstration: One small oil field somewhere in the ME should do the trick.