Blogging the Conflict: June 20th – 21st, 2007

The IDF killed 2 terrorists in a gunfight last night – one an al-Quds Brigades commander, and one a member of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. You know, the terrorist group affiliated with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party. The same party which Israel Prime Minister Olmert has made clear he wants cooperate with, and whose “security forces” Olmert intends to strengthen further (update: Ha’aretz reports that both terrorists were from Islamic Jihad, even though palestinian witnesses claimed one was Fatah-affiliated). 

The Yasser Arafat Brigades, an armed wing of Fatah in the West Bank, has reaffirmed its continued resistance against Israel, while accusing the “weak” Israeli government of intensifying its actions against the Palestinian people in order to divert attention away from its “moral and financial corruption.”

 

In doing so, Israel is destroying the Palestinian people, the brigades warned.

—-

In a statement that Ma’an received, Abu Mahmoud considered the Israeli government responsible for the deterioration in the situation. He also threatened that the resistance would continue.

He added that Israel’s military intensification comes at a time when the Israeli government is at its weakest and is suffering from “moral and financial corruption among its ministers”. He described the Israeli government “as the weakest one Israel has ever had.”

“We need to deliver the end of occupation, a Palestinian state. If we don’t have hope, Hamas will export despair to the people.”

A Palestinian man wearing a Kefiyeh, a traditionsl Palestinian head dress, with a pin showing the late leader President Yasser Arafat, sits next to one of four lion statues at the Manara or Central Square in the West Bank city Ramallah.
Palestinian actor Ahmed Humani performs a scene in The Tiger, the award-winning play about late palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

9:05PM: Hamas are claiming that they have documents proving that Fatah’s Mohammed Dahlan assassinated Yasser Arafat.

Which is interesting, considering that last year, they accused Israel of doing the deed.

Ahem…apology?

8:46PM: PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has criticized Hamas, saying that “there is no dialogue with those murderous terrorists.”

I just wish our government was saying the same thing about the PA.

5:28PM: From the Ha’aretz news ticker:

 

 

As opposed to the not-to-be-believed Hamas leaders, which are the vast majority (except when they say they intend to destroy Israel).

 

3:58PM: Israel has opened its border with the Gaza Strip to allow passage for trapped foreigners and palestinians needing urgent medical treatment, pursuant to orders from new Defense Minister Ehud Barak. 

 

1:40PM: In the past hour,  the terrorists managed to fire a Qassam at Israel. In response, the IAF struck a Qassam rocket launcher.