Nice job!
Posted on 03/07/2003 11:26:28 PM PST by HAL9000
Hamas officials: IDF kills organization's founder in Gaza Strip
The Israel Defense Forces killed one of the founders of the military wing of Hamas and three other members of the militant Islamic group in an airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Hamas officials said.
A helicopter gunship fired missiles at the car, killing Ibrahim al-Maqadma, 50, a top Hamas leader and a founder of the group, Hamas said.
"The assassination of Ibrahim al-Maqadma will launch a new stage of war against the Jews," senior Hamas official Abdel-Azziz al-Rantissi told Reuters. "All Israeli leaders will be open targets for Hamas," he said.
The missile strike came just hours after Palestinian gunmen disguised as religious Jews killed two Israelis in a raid on a Jewish settlement near the West Bank city of Hebron. A leaflet distributed in Hebron claimed responsibility in the name of Hamas, saying it was in "revenge for the massacres of Palestinians".
The IDF had no immediate comment.
IDF sets up Gaza Strip 'security zone' to thwart Qassam rocket attacks
IDF forces continued to hold strategic positions Friday around the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun and the Jabalya refugee camp in a bid to foil the firing of Qassam rockets into Israel.
It was unclear how long the operation would last, but if the troops plan to stay indefinitely, then this would signal a major departure in Israel's military policy in the Strip, which in recent weeks has taken the form of raids aimed at Hamas strongholds deep inside Gaza. But in every case until now, the operations have never lasted more than several hours.
The army said in a statement the operation "was part of an attempt to...prevent the launching of Qassam rockets towards Israeli communities near the northern Gaza Strip."
"This action is a little different than the actions we have carried out until now," said Col. Yoel Strick, commander of Israel's northern Gaza brigade. "If we decide it is necessary, we will hold on to this area for the foreseeable future."
When asked by an Israel Radio reporter if that meant the army was reoccupying part of Gaza, Strick said, "Yes, indeed."
Close to midnight Thursday, approximately 100 IDF tanks and armored vehicles began moving toward the Jabalya and Beit Hanoun areas. The soldiers took up sniper positions around the fields on the outskirts of Beit Hanoun and around Jabalya. They also uprooted vegetation the army said was providing cover for the militants firing the Qassam rockets into Israel. During the operation, shots were fired at the troops, but no injuries were reported.
Three Qassam rockets landed in the Negev town of Sderot on Thursday. There were no injuries or damage. One of the rockets appears to have been fired from Jabalya.
Hamas, which developed the rudimentary rockets, took responsibility for the first two Qassams fired at Sderot, saying that it had fired five rockets in all, Israel Radio reported. Sderot has been the target of Qassam fire over the last two weeks, ever since the IDF began targeting Hamas strongholds in the Strip.
The seizing of territory in northern Gaza began less than a day after a previous raid in the camp, which ended at daybreak Thursday, in which eleven Palestinians, at least half of them civilians, were killed.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has promised Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal to have the Qassam-battered town designated a front-line settlement like northern border communities, making it eligible for tax breaks, zoning and development abatements, and special government grants.
Troops shoot dead three terrorists
Three Palestinian terrorists were killed Friday, after they tried to infiltrate the Gaza Strip settlement of Netzarim.
The IDF reported that three armed men opened fire on an army patrol on the Karni-Netzarim road. Soldiers returned fire, killing the three after a short chase. Troops found three AK-47 rifles, bullet-proof vests and several magazines of ammunition near the bodies.
Nice job!
I have no problem with these reports.
I sincerely hope that both the heli gunship and the missiles were bought and paid for by the U.S. taxpayer -- I like my tax dollars being put to good use.
I don't know who paid for them, but they were Apaches.
Very straighforward answer. No BS. One day (soon) I'd like to hear an Israeli public official exclaim "yes, indeed!" to a report that millions of Palestinians are in the process of being (literally) railroaded to Jordan.
Well that can be taken as good news for the war with Hamas is all out as it stands thanks to Hamas.
"All Israeli leaders will be open targets for Hamas,"
As if they aren't already!
It's all good.
To those who intentionally target innocent civilians for horrible death let horrible death come.
Saddam Hussein bankrolls these terrorists (who in turn donate to Hillary!) and Yassir Arafat orchestrates their terror attacks (as his wife smooches Hillary!).
Let there be a bounty on the heads of these two (Saddam and Yassir, not Suha and Hillary!) and let us have them in jars on the President's desk the Day After The War.
We will smoke them out and bring them to justice or bring justice to them.
Continued good hunting to the IDF.
And may this administration stop calling for restraint, stop calling for a Pali state, and get the job done.
Announce that after every terrorist atrocity a certain amount of the West Bank will be permanently annexed to Israel as a reparation. Move the border over on a strip of perhaps 1k X 5k, as best suits the defensive needs of Israel. Forcibly eject all Pallestineans from that zone and raze their houses to the ground.
Eventually sane leaders will take control, or the Palestineans will all be living on a strip next to Jordan.
I think that it is a better solution than the status quo.
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