bin HIDING
Posted on 01/05/2009 8:43:00 PM PST by Uncle Miltie
As the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip entered its 10th day, Hamas has begun sending conflicting messages regarding its intentions.
These contradictory messages, Palestinian political analysts said, reflected the state of confusion in Hamas and raised questions as to who was calling the shots in the Gaza Strip.
While some Hamas leaders have been openly signaling their readiness to accept a new cease-fire, others are still calling for pursuing the fight against Israel "until victory."
What is clear is that Hamas is now desperate for a lull in the fighting. But it is also eager to score some kind of a "military victory" before a cease-fire is reached.
Hamas can't accept a new cease-fire without having proved to the Arab and Muslim masses that it was capable of making Israel pay a heavy price for its military offensive.
Hamas is fighting for its survival and its leaders know that their collapse would constitute a severe blow not only to the movement, but also to its patrons in Teheran and Damascus.
"It's hard to tell who's in charge in the Gaza Strip these days," said a Ramallah-based analyst. "Hamas's political leaders have disappeared after throwing away their mobile phones. No one knows exactly what Hamas wants."
The analyst said that according to his sources, the embattled Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip were no longer in direct contact with their colleagues in Syria.
"The political leaderships of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Damascus have been disconnected from each other," he added. "I doubt if there's any coordination between them."
He pointed out that the decision to dispatch two senior Hamas envoys to Cairo for talks about a cease-fire came as a surprise to the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip. The two envoys are based in Damascus and report directly to Khaled Mashaal, he said.
Another Ramallah-based political analyst said that the political leadership of Hamas has given the movement's armed wing, Izaddin al-Kassam, full freedom to take any measures it deems necessary to prevent the collapse of the Hamas regime.
"The gunmen on the streets are now in charge," he noted. "This is a dangerous situation, because they don't report to anyone at the top. This has created a state of anarchy and confusion."
Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip said on Monday that the general feeling was that Hamas does not exist any longer as a governing body. "All their government institutions have been destroyed," said a Gaza City reporter. "The Hamas leaders are now behaving like al-Qaida's Osama bin Laden and [his deputy] Ayman Zawahiri. Their only public appearances are through recorded messages aired on Arab TV stations."
On Monday, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar made his first public appearance in a previously recorded message broadcast on a Hamas TV station. Zahar's appearance was reminiscent of similar appearances made by al-Qaida terror leaders.
Until two weeks ago, Zahar, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Interior Minister Said Siam - the three top Hamas leaders - were still sleeping in their homes and moving around freely and fearlessly. Until then, they were also frequent guests on various talk shows in the Arab media - especially Al-Jazeera, which is being accused by some Palestinians as serving as a mouthpiece for Hamas.
Sources close to Hamas said that in light of the new reality, where the Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip have virtually vanished, the armed wing was receiving its instructions from the movement's leadership in Syria.
The sources said that Mashaal, the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, was in direct contact with commanders of Izzadin Kassam in different parts of the Gaza Strip. "There's a vacuum in the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip," they said. "The Hamas leaders in Damascus are now in charge. There's no one to talk to in the Gaza Strip."
Now those numbers are ...well...that seems like a lot for some victims....
/mark
Throughout Monday, the IDF encountered significant resistance in the northern Gaza Strip, killing close to 100 Palestinians in a series of close-range gun battles. Another 80 were captured and sent for interrogation. One Palestinian was taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba under heavy security.
Hmmm..... I thought they were going to fight to the end, embracing death like it was their 72 virgins.
Lends more and more credence to article by Khaled Abu Toameh (one of the best reporters from the MidEast) in JPost that Hamas is desperate for a lull in the fighting.
Nevertheless, the rocket barrage on Israel is continuing....
Israeli PM Olmert has said that any cease fire requires the disarmament of Hamas. "Don't look for one soon." - Olmert's words.
yitbos
Gee. I thought Hamas said Gaza would become a “graveyard” for the IDF.
Maybe Hamas can call on the man they supported for the US presidency: B. Hussein Obama.
Keep up the good work, Israel. Show the world how terrorists should be eliminated.
“The analyst said that according to his sources, the embattled Hamas leaders... “
Is he talking the dead ones or those about to die?
So help me Israel better not stop now. I say its time for the genocide of all Hamas members!!!
Give’em a taste of their own medicine.
JB
conflicting messages... reflected the state of confusion in Hamas and raised questions as to who was calling the shots in the Gaza Strip. While some Hamas leaders have been openly signaling their readiness to accept a new cease-fire, others are still calling for pursuing the fight against Israel "until victory." ...Hamas can't accept a new cease-fire without having proved to the Arab and Muslim masses that it was capable of making Israel pay a heavy price for its military offensive... its leaders know that their collapse would constitute a severe blow not only to the movement, but also to its patrons in Teheran and Damascus... "Hamas's political leaders have disappeared after throwing away their mobile phones. No one knows exactly what Hamas wants." ...embattled Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip were no longer in direct contact with their colleagues in Syria... the decision to dispatch two senior Hamas envoys to Cairo for talks about a cease-fire came as a surprise to the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip. The two envoys are based in Damascus and report directly to Khaled Mashaal... the political leadership of Hamas has given the movement's armed wing, Izaddin al-Kassam, full freedom to take any measures it deems necessary to prevent the collapse of the Hamas regime... the general feeling was that Hamas does not exist any longer as a governing body... the Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip have virtually vanished, the armed wing was receiving its instructions from the movement's leadership in Syria... Mashaal, the Damascus-based leader of Hamas, was in direct contact with commanders of Izzadin Kassam in different parts of the Gaza Strip.
That is interesting, isn’t it — “In contrast, the foreign policy spokesman of the FDP, MP Werner Hoyer, told Spiegel Online that ‘raising the question of guilt’ is the wrong approach to the peace process. The Left Party MP and its foreign policy expert, Wolfgang Gehrcke, demanded that Merkel and SPD Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier publicly criticize Israel.”
Raising the question of guilt is the wrong approach! The right approach is to blame Israel!!! ;’)
Hamas is cowering in the hidden rubble, wondering if they will be alive for any given time. Hopefully the Israeli ground assault will continue for some weeks. Finding and killing as many Hamas as possible at this point should remain Israeli policy IMHO. They have nothing to lose. The world is against them all the time any way. So just do what must be done.
And all of them, not worth one Jewish life.
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well said, thank you :)
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