Free Republic

(IsraelNN.com) Hamas officials have confirmed a WorldNetDaily report that terrorist organization leaders recently met with senior Democratic party members after the recent sweep of both houses of Congress in last month's American elections. The independent Arab news agency Ma'an quoted Ahmed Yousef, an aide to prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA) Ismail Haniyeh as saying the meeting was held. However, a Democratic National Committee spokeswoman said she has no knowledge that the meeting took place. Details were withheld in order not to damage the image of the Democratic party, he added. Yousef said that Hamas leaders also spoke to...

Testimony in the trial of Chicago resident Muhammad Salah and Abdelhaleem al-Ashqar of Northern Virginia, continued yesterday. FBI Agents gave testimony focusing on items found in Ashqar's home during a search of his Oxford Mississippi residence on December 26, 1993, in addition to wiretaps of his phone and fax lines. Special Agent Bradley Benabidez testified that the FBI acquired over 2400 hours of audio during the year that they maintained a wiretap. Benabidez further described the December 1993 search of Ashqar’s home where a team of agents from the FBI photographed over 1600 documents. A few of those documents which...

GAZA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Hamas's prime minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday denied he had suggested the Palestinian Islamist group might one day recognise Israel, saying there was only a possibility of achieving a long-term truce. Hamas chose Haniyeh, a 43-year-old Gazan viewed by many Palestinians as a pragmatist, as the new prime minister after its election victory on Jan. 25. The militant Islamist group hopes to form a Palestinian government within two weeks. The Washington Post newspaper, on its Web site, quoted Haniyeh as saying in an interview: "If Israel declares that it will give the Palestinian people a...

Sunday, February 19, 2006The Correct Response To Hamas One of CNN's world news headlines today reads: Israel PM rules out Hamas contacts. The implication is that this sort of Israeli action is a bad thing, a deterrent to some sort of illusive peace. Quite the contrary. Prime Minister Olmert correctly states: ...the Palestinian Authority is, in effect, becoming a terrorist authority. Israel will not agree to that. Israel will not compromise with terror and will continue to fight it with all its might. However, we have no intention of harming the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population. Israel will not...