- 2 juli 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtwIr8pCnBU
Charlie Rose interviewsTurkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the G-20 summit in Toronto:
The Turkish Prime Minister said:
israel must Apologise and compensate the VICTIMS of the israeli Terrorism, Piracy and Massacre of the Freedom Flotilla Humanitarian Turkish Aid Activists.... and the USA should do the same, one of the victims was an American Citezen...
israel Should End its Blockade of the GAZA Open Air Prison.
Hamas Rockets is an israeli zionist HOAX.
israel Doesn't want Peace.. 19 jan 2012, 20:57 , Respect -
Maria 31 juli 2010
Qassam strikes building in Negev; no one injured
Israel Air Force jets attacked Gaza Friday night in response to rockets fired on Ashkelon earlier in the day; Hamas vows revenge over militant's death in strike.
A Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza strip Saturday landed on a public structure in Shar'ar Hanegev regional council, just hours after Israel Air force jets struck Gaza in response to rockets fired from the coastal enclave.
According the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson's office, the Qassam damaged the structures rooftop and destroyed most of the second floor of the building, which serves during the day as a daycare for people with disabilities.
No injuries were reported in the attack.
IDF patrol units are scanning the area for the rocket's remains.
IAF struck three targets in Gaza Friday night, which Palestinian sources described as the heaviest since Operation Cast Lead, Israel's two-week assault on the Gaza Strip a year and a half ago. The attack came after a rocket fired from the Palestinian territory exploded in the city of Ashkelon earlier in the day.
A Hamas operative, a 40-year-old member of Hamas' military wing, was killed in an explosion near the Nuseirat refugee camp south of Gaza City in the center of the Hamas-controlled strip. Another 13 Palestinians were hurt.
Hamas has vowed revenge for his death.
http://fwd4.me/0Ar9 19 jan 2012, 20:58 , Respect -
Maria 2 aug 2010
Gaza: Salafi group claims responsibility for projectile
Gaza – Ma'an – A military group affiliated to the Salafi movement in Gaza claimed responsibility for launching a homemade project toward southern Israel on Saturday, a statement issued Sunday read.
The At-Tawhid and Jihad wing said the projectile was fired at 9:42 p.m. "in retaliation to the ongoing Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian people."
Israeli media reported that Saturday's projectile hit a public structure in the western Negev, causing damage. A military spokesperson told the Israeli daily Haaretz that the projectile damaged the structure's rooftop and destroyed most of the second floor of the building, which serves during the day as a daycare center for people with disabilities.
In response, Israel's air force launched a series of airstrikes across southern Gaza, injuring one Palestinian civilian on Sunday morning. A senior Al-Qassam Brigades leader was killed in an airstrike a day earlier.
Meanwhile, Israeli media reported Sunday that Israel has filed an official complaint with the UN over the projectile launching during the weekend.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=304109
'One killed' after rockets strike Jordan and Israel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfnrS4KIg8U
One man is killed when a rocket lands in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, one of several apparently fired at the nearby Israeli resort of Eilat, reports say.
Local police visit the site of a rocket attack in the Eilat area.
One man has been killed and three other people injured when a rocket landed in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba, reports say.
According to Israeli police, the rocket was targeted at the nearby Israeli resort of Eilat and was one of at least five fired from Egypt's Sinai desert.
Egypt has denied that its territory was used to launch the apparent attack.
Rocket attacks on Israel usually come from Gaza and it is rare for such an attack to come from the Sinai desert.
Jordan's Interior Minister Nayef Qadai earlier told the AFP news agency: "A Grad rocket fell in the street in Aqaba, near to the Intercontinental hotel, destroying two cars and injuring four people, one of them seriously."
But later a security official said a 51-year-old taxi driver had died as a result of his injuries.
Israeli media and police reported that some of the rockets fell into the Red Sea and others in open spaces near Eilat. There were no casualties there as a result of the apparent attack.
Eilat, which is a popular tourist resort, has largely been spared from rocket and other attacks.
In April, rockets were fired toward Eilat and Aqaba from Egypt's Sinai peninsula, an area from which Islamist militants have operated in the past. No-one was injured in that attack and the source of the firing was never established.
Eilat was hit in January 2007 by a suicide bomber, killing three people.
Israel has recently warned of increased militant activity in the Sinai peninsula and has advised its citizens against travelling there, says the BBC's Wyre Davies in Jerusalem.
Hamas home hit
An Egyptian official said his country had a heavy security presence in the Sinai peninsula, particularly close to the border, and that no suspicious activity had been reported anywhere in the area.
However, the Egyptian denial will be viewed sceptically by those who know the area, our correspondent says.
The government is in dispute, and sometimes conflict, with the Bedouin who live there. The Bedouin use their local knowledge to engage in widespread smuggling and are suspected of having helped those who carried out previous attacks in the area, he says.
Israel map with Aqaba
Earlier on Monday, a large explosion at the Gaza home of a senior Hamas commander injured more than 20 people. Israel has denied any involvement.
Hamas sources told the BBC the blast hit the home of Alaa al-Danaf. He reportedly survived the blast unharmed, but his brother Abed was injured.
The explosion destroyed the house and badly damaged several nearby houses.
On Friday and Saturday night, Israeli planes launched air strikes against Hamas positions in Gaza, killing one person.
Israeli said this was in retaliation for an earlier attack from within the Palestinian territory when a rocket landed in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, without causing serious casualties.
Analysis
Wyre Davies
Although militant activity against Eilat and other "targets" in southern Israel is less frequent than elsewhere, the area is Israel's vulnerable, soft underbelly.
Despite devastating bombing campaigns against Israelis and foreigners a few years ago, the region remains popular.
Earlier this year, intelligence reports that Islamic militants in the Sinai were planning to abduct tourists brought a warning from Israel that its nationals should avoid travelling there. While many ignored that advice, thousands are holidaying in Eilat.
Given the geography of the region - with the borders of Israel, Egypt and Jordan converging at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba - Eilat is nonetheless vulnerable to attack from militants operating in the Sinai.
Israel believes there is a growing problem in the area, with increased militant activity, weapons smuggling and illegal immigration. Hence, Israel is building a huge fence along its border with Egypt and has urged the Egyptian authorities to deal with militant groups operating from its territory.
Are you in the area? Did you witness the attacks? Send us your comments using the form below.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-10807166
Jordan man killed after 5 rockets strike Eilat, Aqaba
Jordan, Israeli police say rockets were launched from Egypt's Sinai by Islamist militants; unexploded rocket found in Eilat.
An unexploded rocket was located within the bounds of the southern city of Eilat, Israel Police said Monday, despite earlier reports claiming that none of the five rockets allegedly launched from the Sinai earlier in the day had landed on Israeli soil.
Jordanian and Israeli police said that rockets from Egypt's Sinai, where Islamist militants have operated in the past, hit Israel's and Jordan's Red Sea port resorts, killing a Jordanian civilian and injuring three others.
Earlier Monday, Eilat's chief of police told mayor Meir Yitzhak-Halevi that there was no evidence that any of the five rockets that were launched earlier Monday landed in the southern city, adding that it was likely that all of the rockets had likely landed on Jordanian soil.
A police spokesman later said the remains of one rocket was found in Eilat and was being examined by bomb experts.
A Jordanian interior ministry source said one of the four injured when a rocket exploded near a five-star hotel in Aqaba, later died from his injuries.
There was no word of casualties in the adjacent Israeli port and holiday resort of Eilat, police said. Aqaba and Eilat lie on the narrow northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba, an extension of the Red Sea, with Sinai stretching west and south of Eilat.
Explosion by beach
Aqaba resident Ibrahim Salymehin said he heard one loud blast and when he arrived at the scene he saw at least three injured men taken to a nearby hospital by ambulance.
A crowd gathered near the scene of the explosion several hundred metres away from a five-star hotel close to the beach.
"We saw the wreckage of a taxi which was burnt, and fragmented metal scattered around the area that was cordoned off by police," another Aqaba resident, Abdullah Yashin Rawashdehd, told Reuters.
Eilat District Police Commander Moshe Cohen told Israel Radio that his forces were still trying to confirm that five explosions heard in the morning had been caused by shelling.
Two of the suspected rockets or mortar bombs appeared to have landed in the sea, while another hit Aqaba, he said.
"It's a little early to say, but it is reasonable to assume that it came from the southern area," he said, referring to neighboring Egypt, whose Sinai Peninsula has suffered occasional violence attributed to Islamist militants.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
At least one rocket struck Aqaba on April 22, causing no casualties. Amman said the rocket had been fired from outside Jordan and Israeli media said Sinai was a possible launch point.
In 2005, rockets were fired at U.S. warships in Aqaba but missed their target and killed a Jordanian soldier on land. A group claiming links to al Qaeda said it was behind the attack.
Two years later, a Palestinian suicide bomber infiltrated through Sinai and killed three people at a bakery in Eilat, which lies on Israel's southern tip and has only rarely been touched by the Middle East conflict.
Jordan and Egypt are the only Arab states to have full peace treaties with Israel. Those relations were frayed by Israel's crackdown in 2000 on a Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Asked where the Aqaba rocket was fired from, the Jordanian source said without elaborating: "It came from the west." Experts were investigating the site to find out where the short-range rocket had been launched, he said.
Egyptian security sources were quoted by the state news agency as saying rockets could not have been fired from Sinai since the largely empty, desert region was very mountainous.
"The only missiles that can be fired from Sinai are mortars which can pass over these heights," General Abdel Fadeel Shousha, governor of South Sinai, said adding the area such an operation would require open space.
http://fwd4.me/0hoR
1 dead after rockets strike Jordan and Israel
Bethlehem - Ma'an - A Jordanian citizen was killed and three others were injured when at least one rocket struck the seaside resort of Aqaba early Monday, officials said.
The fatality was identified as Sobhi Al-Alawaneh, one of four hurt when several rockets struck the Aqaba as well as Israel's southern port of Eilat, Jordan TV reported.
The Israeli army said no damage or injuries were reported in Israel, and that the military and the Israeli police are combing the area and examining the source of the fire.
Earlier, Israel's Army Radio said five rockets were believed to have been launched, two of them in Jordan. Both Israel Radio and Army Radio said some of the suspected rockets appeared to have overshot their targets and landed in the Red Sea, Reuters reported.
Egypt denies
In Al-Arish, Egypt, security officials rebuffed reports that the rockets which struck the Red Sea cities were launched from the Sinai. A security source told Ma'an that security forces carried out extensive searches in Taba, which also borders Eilat, and no suspicious activity or "extremist operatives" were found there.
Speaking with the Israeli daily Haaretz, Eilat District Port Commander Moshe Cohen said that while it was too early to know from where the rocket had been fired, "it is reasonable to assume that it came from the southern area," referring to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Meanwhile, the daily reported that five Katyusha rockets were fired at the southern port before 8 a.m. Monday with Israeli security forces saying at least three of the rockets struck the Red Sea, while the other two exploded in open areas near the city.
Both Eilat and Aqaba are popular seaside resorts for Israeli and international travelers. In April, at least one rocket struck the Jordanian port, with no injuries reported.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=304384 19 jan 2012, 20:58 , Respect -
Maria 3 aug 2010
Hamas denies Eilat rocket attacks
Gaza Strip group claims "Israel knows who fired them."
Hamas denied any involvement Tuesday with the rocket attacks that struck near Eilat, the Red Sea, and Jordan Monday, killing a Jordanian and wounding three more at the Intercontinental Hotel in Aqaba.
No terror group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks. Hamas asserted that "Israel knows who fired the rockets," and US State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said the US had "strong suspicions" over who orchestrated the attack, suggesting the rockets were intended to derail the peace process.
Hamas accused Israel of "looking for excuses to resume attacks on the Gaza Strip," saying "we had no connection with the rocket attacks on Eilat. We do not want a war."
A General in the reserves rejected the denial in an interview on Army Radio Tuesday morning, alleging that "Hamas joined the Muslim Brotherhood, and perhaps Global Jihad [in the attack], and their aim is to harm Israel."
Reports so far have listed Global Jihad as a potential suspect for the attack, which, like Hamas, is known to train and operate in the Sinai.
Egypt Monday denied that the attacks had come from the Sinai, saying it was "impossible" that the rockets originated in Egypt.
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?ID=183476
ANALYSIS: Israel seeks war to escape talks, say Palestinians
RAMALLAH, August 3 (JMCC) - More than 30 people were injured in Gaza on Monday in an explosion in the home of Ala al-Danaf, leader of Hamas' Qassem Brigades in the central Gaza region.
A spokesperson for military medical services in Gaza said the explosion resulted from a missile fired from an Israeli F-16 flying overhead.
Israel, for its part, denied involvement and said the blast probably resulted from attempts to manufacture bombs.
But the rise in casualties comes as part of a series of airstrikes by Israel and rocket firings by Gazan armed groups. The question remains: why this escalation now?
When the query is posed to Wasil Abu Yusef, representative of the PLO Executive Committee, he says the rise in violence is in Israeli interests.
Palestinians are demanding that Israel commit itself to terms of reference based on the 1967 borders before they enter into direct negotiations. He believes that the Israeli government is prepared to avoid talks under those terms by going to war in Gaza, and even perhaps with Iran, Syria or Lebanon.
1 The Israeli government wants both to maintain its relationship with the United States by appearing to be pursuing peace, and to preserve the right-wing coalition, which requires the continuation of settlement and avoiding establishment of a Palestinian state, says Abu Yusef.
2 Escalation is one way of not offering anything and appearing to be the victim.
Advisor to Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Hanieh, Ahmed Yousef, agrees, saying that Israel appears to be preparing for war, while talking about peace.
3 It is as if they want to create a feeling of tension of Gaza, first to prevent the imminent arrival of more than 15 ships preparing to break the siege of Gaza by sea and to prevent an investigation into the flotilla incidents by creating a new crisis, and at the same time, satisfy the United States through empty negotiations, says Yousef.
4 No one in the universe believes that the government headed by Netanyahu and Lieberman is reaching out to create peace.
He said that the pace of rockets fired at Israel by a few spoiler groups in the Gaza Strip has been the same since the ceasefire that ended Israel's war in Gaza in 2009.
5 I think that we should recognize the gravity of the next stage, says Yousef.
He believes that Israel is preparing for a new war in Gaza or other countries on or just after US congressional elections scheduled for November 2, 2010.
6 Why else is Israel escalating things now? No doubt the reason is to escape this crisis and enter the killing fields where it is strong not only in Gaza, but in Iran, Syria and Lebanon.
http://www.jmcc.org/news.aspx?id=1439...Read more 19 jan 2012, 20:58 , Respect -
Maria 6 aug 2010
Egyptian forces chase rocket suspects in Sinai
CAIRO (Ma'an) -- Egyptian security sources in the Sinai said a search was ongoing for two vehicles suspected of involvement in the rocket launches toward Israel and Jordan on Monday.
Officials said they could not release details as the search was ongoing, but noted that it centered on the 15 kilometers of the Egypt-Gaza border, and officers were searching to match small tire tracks.
The search follows statements by officials in Cairo saying the launch of an estimated seven Grad-grade rockets toward the Red Sea port cities of Eilat, Israel and Aqaba, Jordan was perpetrated by Palestinian militant groups directed by Hamas. Officials said Egyptian elements had assisted in the launch from Taba, and later fled toward the border town of Rafah.
Egyptians in Rafah said crossing activity appeared to be proceeding as usual, with no protests following Egyptian accusations of Palestinian involvement in the attacks, which Hamas has pointedly denied.
On Thursday, one Hamas statement said the Egyptian accusations of Palestinian involvement were a pretext to continue the siege on Gaza. Other statements from the party criticized Egypt for its initial denial that the rockets were launched from the Sinai.
It was not until two days after the attack that officials in Cairo confirmed that the attacks were launched from the Sinai, and blamed Palestinian factions.
Source says no evidence
An Egyptian security source said forces were still combing the northern Sinai for evidence of the perpetrators of the attack, which killed one Jordanian man.
Until now, one source said, no evidence has been collected and accusations are based on other intelligence information.
An Egyptian official said authorities in the country remained uncertain over whether or not the rockets were launched from the Sinai, but were working to confirm the possibility.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=305802 19 jan 2012, 20:58 , Respect -
Maria 7 aug 2010
Hamas: Israel fired rockets Eilat, Aqaba to justify more Gaza assaults
5 Grad rockets hit Red Sea port resorts of Israel and Jordan on Monday killing a Jordanian civilian; Israel, Egypt blame Hamas for attack.
The militant Palestinian group Hamas is alleging that Israel fired the barrage of rockets that hit the Red Sea port resorts of Israel and Jordan earlier this week, killing one Jordanian civilian, as a means to justify another assault on the Gaza Strip.
The Soviet-style Grad rockets crashed into the sea near Eilat and killed a taxi driver in Aqaba on Monday, in the second such attack this year. Hamas has denied having firing the projectiles.
Egyptian officials had said following the rocket attack that the salvo was fired by Hamas operatives from Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the Egyptian conclusion, blaming Hamas for the rocket attack.
"Israel will retaliate for every assault," Netanyahu said Wednesday. "Apparently there were those who understood that, and tried to avoid taking responsibility for these crimes. Three days after our retaliatory operation in Gaza, Grad rockets were fired from Sinai at Eilat and Aqaba by a seemingly anonymous organization. Several months earlier, on April 22, similar rocket fire came from Sinai. We investigated the two incidents – it became clear beyond a doubt that Hamas' military wing in Gaza had perpetrated both attacks under disguise," the prime minister explained.
Sami Khater from Hamas' Damascus-based political bureau said on Saturday the group had "no interest" in firing the rockets and even ruled out that they had come from Egyptian territory.
Khater explained that Israel may have fired the rockets in order to blame Hamas and consequently gain a pretext to launch fresh attacks on Palestinians.
http://fwd4.me/0iQq 19 jan 2012, 20:58 , Respect -
Maria 17 aug 2010
Israel: PRC claims responsibility for mortar shell fire
The Popular Resistance Committees' military wing, the Salah a-Din Brigades claimed responsibility for the firing of mortar shells at the western Negev on Tuesday.
Two IDF soldiers were wounded in the attack and are being treated at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67KQz-zRX-E
2 soldiers hurt in Gaza-region mortar attack
Southern escalation: Troops engaged in engineering work near Gaza sustain light wounds after mortar shells fired from Strip; IDF official says Hamas not involved in recent attempts to carry out attacks near Gaza border fence
Southern escalation: Two soldiers were lightly wounded Tuesday morning after mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip landed at the Eshkol region in the western Negev.
They wounded troops, who were engaged in engineering work at the time of the incident, were taken to the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba in an IDF helicopter. Soldiers at the site fired back at the source of the fire.
An IDF source told Ynet that the incident "illustrates terror groups' attempts to carry out attacks, mainly near the border fence, in order to hurt army forces deployed in the area. For the most part, Hamas is not involved in these incidents and is trying to maintain calm in an attempt to grow stronger."
The same source said: "Nevertheless, smaller terrorist groups are aiming to gain achievements. Generally speaking, we are witnessing a drop in the number of events, including the firing of rockets; however, it is clear that terrorist groups are highly motivated to carry out such attacks."
After the incident, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said, "Terror organizations are constantly operating to harm soldiers and citizens of the State of Israel. The IDF holds Hamas solely responsible for what happens in the Strip and for maintaining calm there."
Soldier hurt in same area Monday
The Palestinians directed the mortar fire at the same area where a soldier was lightly wounded on Monday. The incident followed an IDF attack that killed an Islamic Jihad operative terrorist.
An IDF force fired at two suspects on Monday as they were planting an explosive device. While soldiers were scouring the area, an explosion occurred near the security fence. One soldier sustained mild shrapnel injuries in the attack.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said one of the Palestinians killed in the incident was identified as Bassem Dragma, a senior Islamic Jihad operative who took part in the border clash that claimed the lives of Maj. Eliraz Peretz and St.-Sgt. Ilan Sviatkovsky in late March.
The sources said the Palestinians belonged to the Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad's military wing..
19 jan 2012, 20:58 , Respect-
Maria 19 aug 2010
Armed Gaza group claims clash with Israeli force
GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, claimed to have confronted an Israeli force operating inside Gaza on Thursday morning.
A statement from the group said the forces were operating inside Gaza near the Karni crossing, east of the Ash-Shaja'iyya neighborhood.
Following the entry of the force into Gaza territory, the group said, six mortar shells were launched toward them.
The statement mentioned no injures.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said troops operating in the area identified "a group making suspicious movements" and opened fire. She said all activity in what Israel had declared a "combat zone" hear the border was prohibited, and said she was unaware of any fire directed toward the troops.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=309230 - 25 aug 2010
Mortar shell explodes near border fence
No injures or damage reported after mortar fired from Gaza hits open area near southern kibbutz
A mortar shell fired from the northern Gaza Strip exploded in an open area near the border fence, not far from a kibbutz in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
The Color Red alert system was not activated in the Gaza vicinity area. A 60-millimter mortar shell was found near the fence.
The recent incident on the southern front occurred about a week ago, when two Israel Defense Forces soldiers were lightly injured by mortar shells fired by Palestinians at troops engaged in engineering work near the border fence in the Eshkol Regional Council. The Salah al-Din Brigades, the Popular Resistance Committees' military wing, claimed responsibility.
The Palestinians directed the mortar fire at the same area where a soldier was lightly wounded the day before. The incident followed an IDF attack that killed an Islamic Jihad operative.
An IDF force fired at two suspects as they were planting an explosive device. While soldiers were scouring the area, an explosion occurred near the security fence. One soldier sustained mild shrapnel injuries in the attack.
That same evening, two Qassam rockets landed within the Eshkol Regional Council.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3943872,00.html