It has long been said, yielding often brings more aggression; my how bold they have become:
Palestinian Jihad Islami follows Hamas in exposing its commander, goes one better and launches an FM radio station in Gaza
September 4, 2005, 11:35 PM (GMT+02:00)
A leaflet called Dawn of Victory named and ran photos of seven Hamas Ezz-e-din-al Qassam commanders, some masked. It was run off in half a million copies and distributed around the Gaza Strip over the weekend.
Jihad Islami followed suit Sunday, Sept 4, by disclosing the identity of its military chief for the Gaza Strip and West Bank: Mohammed Sheikh Khalil, 33. (See photo)
DEBKA file’s counter-terror sources report he is the cousin of the notorious Ezz e-din Sheikh Khalil, terrorist guru of Hamas bomb-makes and masterminds, whose assassination in Damascus Israel organized a year ago with a bomb trap in his car. The late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin called him the “Snake’s Head” because he instructed Adnan al Hul and Muhammed Deif in the arts of terror. In the early years of the 2000 Palestinian uprising, Yasser Arafat would pin the blame for suicide bombings on Sheikh Khalil whom he said was organizing them from Jordan.
His cousin has now surfaced as commander of the Palestinian extremist Jihad Islami, which is funded from Iran. His disciple, Muhammed Deif, is presented as the pinnacle of Hamas’ Ezz- e-din-al Qassam pyramid of command. In interviews to Dawn of Victory, the seven terror chiefs announce that when Israeli troops withdraw on Sept 15 they will be confronted with a fully-deployed new front line along Gaza’s borders of small, highly mobile assault squads. Their tasks: to join battle with the enemy (IDF), surveillance and intelligence gathering and preventing Israel troops from re-entering Gaza.
Supreme commander Deif is reported by Dawn of Victory as stating that the arms smuggling tunnels from Sinai to the Gaza Strip will still be important even after the Israeli withdrawal and Egyptian border guards are posted along the Gaza-Egyptian border strip. Hamas, he said, will continue to activate them at full capacity. This statement is clearly at odds with the assurances given publicly by Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman last week; Hamas is clearly determined to go its own way in Gaza and northern Sinai, irrespective of the Egyptian policing mission and presence.
Like Hamas, Jihad Islami, which launched its “Voice of Jerusalem” radio station Sunday, is emerging from the underground. They are racing each other for domination of the Gaza Strip as soon as Israeli soldiers are gone.
Hamas which is sworn to destroy Israel never conceals its objectives. In the last ten days, its fire has been directed against Israeli towns, villages and kibbutzim around the rim of the Gaza Strip - Netiv Ha’Asara, Kibbutz Erez, Kibbutz Nahal Oz and the Karni border crossing. Hamas has resumed its Qassam missile strikes across the border into Israel and has planted 30-50-kilo bombs on Israeli roads frequented by military vehicles.
Hamas terrorist activity has climbed almost back to its former level.
Chief of staff Lt.-Gen Dan Halutz declared last week that Israel’s response to Palestinian attacks on its forces would be disproportionately greater (than the provocation), a warning he repeated Sunday, Sept. 9.
Those words have not been translated into action.
But already both Hamas and Jihad Islami are taunting Israel with threats to come after Israeli forces after they pull back. They say openly they will strike from the same Gaza Strip as soon as they receive the territory free and clear from the hands of Israel’s leaders Ariel Sharon, Shaul Mofaz and Dan Halutz. |
