Category Archives: Hamas
Jack Straw ‘too close’ to pro-Hamas faction
TIMESONLINE… A SECRET MI5 report on Islamic extremism in Blackburn has raised “potential concerns” about some radical Muslim factions known to Jack Straw, the local MP and justice secretary.
A senior security figure who has seen the report said it underlined concern among cabinet colleagues that Straw could be “too close” to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), a prominent Muslim umbrella group. The government formally severed links with the group after a blazing row over extremism earlier this year.
“Jack’s a bit too close to the MCB — he sometimes appears to suggest they are the only game in town. There is a concern that proximity to them may colour [his] judgment,” the insider said.
The secret report on Islamist extremists in Blackburn was produced in August last year by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC), based at MI5’s London headquarters.
The security figure emphasised that Straw was not mentioned in the report. “That is not the protocol of these reports. But the JTAC document does raise some potential concerns over some individuals who are key figures in the town. It’s a small pond and by definition they are figures Jack would know or know of,” he said.
It is not the first time that fears have been raised over the influence of Islamists in Blackburn, where the majority of the electorate is Muslim.
When Tony Blair sacked Straw as foreign secretary three years ago, it was suggested that the move was prompted by White House concerns about his views on the Middle East. Condoleezza Rice, then US secretary of state, was said to have been shocked to discover the influence of Muslims in Straw’s constituency when she visited him there in 2006. Continue Reading →
“It’s good to fight for Allah; it’s good to fight the West; kill the Jews”, says Nassur the bear
From The National Post
Puppets preach hate on Hamas TV
Michael Higgins, National Post Published: Thursday, October 01, 2009
A Palestinian children’s program is using a bear puppet that talks about “slaughtering” Jews, according to the Israeli watchdog group Palestinian Media Watch.
The character on Hamas TV is the latest in a series of puppets and cartoons used by the weekly show Tomorrow’s Pioneers to promote anti-Semitism and incite violence, said media watch director Itamar Marcus.
The show, which started in 2007, became popular in the Arab world when it began to feature a Mickey Mouse-type character, he said.
“This Mickey Mouse character was teaching killing and murder and slaughter and destruction of Jews. In fact, he was also teaching conquest of the West as well,” Mr. Marcus said.
When media watch, a pro-Israeli organization that monitors Palestinian media, highlighted the story the subsequent international attention led to the character being killed off.
“They had the Mickey Mouse character killed on TV. They had an Israeli kill him and he became a Shahid [martyr],” Mr. Marcus said.
He said since then there have been three more characters, Nahul the Bee (who also became a martyr) and a bunny character called Assud, who in the show was killed during the Gaza war.
“Every time Israel was responsible,” he said.
The latest character is a giant bear, Nassur.
Mr. Marcus said during the show, which also features a real presenter called Saraa, the bear uses two different words for “slaughter” to describe how to rid Israel of Jews.
During the show a child also phones in and talks about wanting to kill Jews for the death of his father.
The program was shown on Al-Aqsa TV, more commonly called Hamas TV, last week.
“All the adult messages of ‘It’s good to die for Allah; it’s good to fight the West; we are going to conquer the West; it’s important to kill the Jews,’ all these adult messages that often come through religious leaders and political leaders, the kids are getting through these cartoon and gigantic puppet characters,” Mr. Marcus said.
In recent years, Hamas has been using mass media to spread its message. In addition to a satellite TV channel, it owns a radio station and newspapers. A German-trained director also released a feature film produced by Hamas earlier this year; reports said he hoped to enter it in the Cannes Film Festival.
Tomorrow’s Pioneers has been widely criticized by media watchdog groups.
The TV station did not return calls for comment.
When the show launched, the station’s deputy manager told CNN that it was about Palestinian children.”They express their feeling regarding what they witness – if it’s occupation it’s about that, and about the prisoners and how to lead the world,” the deputy manager was quoted as saying.
Media watch was set up in 1996 to “gain an understanding of Palestinian society through the monitoring of the Palestinian Arabic language media and schoolbooks,” its website says.
National Post
Saudi Arabia, Funding jihad
Link: 
I love the $350,000,000 bottle opener prince Aloweed built in Riyadh. Someone should really tell him about the invention of the twist top though.
31 minute film on hate speech on campus USA
This video is really only about 31 one minutes and then it repeats.
Link:
Death threat to Geert Wilders in Rap. Think there will be any charges?
The Good Baron over at Gates of Vienna has a good piece on this. I am posting this with the single question…
Will these people be arrested and charges brought for hate crimes? For conspiracy to murder? for threatening to Murder? Of course we all know the answer, this only happens when someone makes even the most vaguely unpleasant gesture towards leftist icons.
Meanwhile, Back in Holland, the liberal tolerant paradise we all admire:
Al Qaeda in Brazil, Part 3: The Land of the Dumb and the Stupid
Another stunning post right from Gates of Vienna:
by Baron Bodissey
Our Brazilian correspondent Rocha has translated a fascinating article about the activities of Al Qaeda in Brazil. Here’s what Rocha has to say about it:
Once in a while I see interesting news stories about Brazil. Here is one of them. The writer is Josias de Souza, a columnist who writes for Folha de São Paulo, the biggest Brazilian newspaper.
He is also a leftie, but apart from Reinaldo Azevedo and Olavo de Carvalho, who isn’t in Brazilian newspapers?
And the translated article:
Police chief describes how “terrorism” infiltrates Brazil
- In the past, extremists used the country as a stopover
- Then they adopted children of prostitutes to stay in the country
- After that, they seduced Brazilians with a “radical song”
- Now they prepare actions from here against targets abroad
The revelations above were made by Police Chief Daniel Lorenz. Until the beginning of June he was the director of intelligence of Policia Federal [Brazilian FBI]. A week after leaving his office, he spoke to an audience at the Commission of Public Safety of the House of Representatives.
The session was convened by Raul Jungmann (PPS-PE), president of the commission, with the purpose of identifying the “actions of members of terrorist groups” in Brazil. The reporter received, last week, copy of the transcript from the audience. This Sunday (23), Jungmann published the full text on his blog.
Lorenz measured his words: “As the session is an open one, I will not enter into details in this matter.” Yet he delineated a crystal-clear scene. He said that PF only began to worry about terrorism in 1995.
Since that time the problem has been aggravated. Lorenz divided the crisis into four stages. In the beginning, Brazil was used by terrorists as a stopover. Today, said the Police Chief, the country is already a headquarters for the preparation of attacks on targets abroad.
Below is a summary of the four stages described by the Police Chief:
1. First stage: It was in this stage that PF determined that foreign “extremists” were using Brazil as an stopover. They passed mainly through the region of the tri-border area (Brazil-Argentina-Paraguay).
Lorenz confirmed something that was already in the news. In 1995 Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who would be known as the third man in the hierarchy of Al Qaeda, “entered by Rio de Janeiro and left by São Paulo.” The terrorist stayed briefly in Foz do Iguaçu.
The Police Chief was sorry because he could not go into details. But made it clear that Shaikh Mohammed was not here on vacation. “He was there, evidently, not to drink a beer nor to be a part of Carnaval, much less for the end-of-year festivities.”
Arrested in Pakistan in 2003, Shaikh Mohammed was taken to the yankee prison of Guantanamo and accused of participating in the September 11 attacks.
2. Second stage: Extremists used the laxness of Brazilian laws to “legalize” their permanence in the country. “I will not enter into details, because I can’t talk about it,” was the excuse again for Lorenz. But he specified:
“They sought a permanent visa in the country by means of […] adoption of Brazilians. That is, the adoption of the children of other people. They got close to women of easy living [prostitutes], adopted their children, and gained the condition of permanent residence in Brazil. That happened, that was the result, and that was very much followed by us. That would be the second moment.” Continue Reading →
Religion of peace has love in. 30 dead. Love shack toasted.
This is old news now. A branch of Al Queda moved into a mosque in Gaza and informed Hamas that they had become too liberal and that Al Queda was taking over and challenged Hamas to come and throw them out. A Challenge Hamas gleefully accepted. Below, is some footage allegedly taken by Fatah supporters of the execution of some captured Al Queda members by Hamas.
Very big thank you to Ron Tennenbaum for doing the translation. This is what it looks like when two separate factions of the religion of peace get together for a love in. One group clearly felt that the other had lost the way to perfect peace and needed to be killed for it.
From CTV Canada: (Forgive them, they are used to reporting hockey games)
Hamas crushes al Qaeda-inspired group in Gaza
Updated Sat. Aug. 15 2009 2:25 PM ET
The Associated Press
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas crushed an al Qaeda-inspired group in an hours-long standoff that came to a fiery end when a large explosion killed the radical Muslim group’s leader inside his Gaza home on Saturday.
The fighting was sparked by a rebellious sermon by the group’s leader, and his dramatic death put an end to the greatest internal challenge to Hamas’ rule since it took control of Gaza two years ago.
In all, the fighting claimed 24 lives — including that of a senior Hamas official who Israel says masterminded the abduction of an Israeli soldier. It was the highest death toll in the territory since the Israel-Hamas war earlier this year.
The crackdown targeted Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Companions of God, one of a number of small, shadowy groups that are even more radical than Hamas. The decisive confrontation, in which 95 group members were arrested, solidified Hamas’ iron rule in Gaza.
The radical groups have sought to expand the Palestinians’ battle beyond Israel to include the Western World as well. And in Gaza they have tried to enforce a strict version of Islamic law to which Hamas has not agreed. They have also attacked Internet cafes and wedding parties over behaviour they consider improper.
The crackdown highlights Hamas’ desire to limit its struggle to the Palestinian cause and to distance itself from militants espousing al Qaeda’s ideology, though the United States, Israel and others consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
The fighting broke out late Friday when Hamas security men surrounded a mosque in the southern Gaza town of Rafah on the Egyptian border where about 100 members of Jund Ansar Allah were holed up.
Their leader, Abdel-Latif Moussa, provoked Hamas by declaring Gaza an Islamic emirate during a Friday prayer sermon and warning its leaders against invading his mosque.
The Hamas forces raided the mosque, setting off a fierce gunbattle. Flares lit up the sky and the sound of machine-gun fire echoed throughout the night.
Moussa escaped with some bodyguards to his home where another standoff ensued. Early Saturday, an explosion went off as Hamas was trying to convince Moussa to surrender, said Ihab Ghussein, a Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman.
“The so-called Moussa has committed suicide … killing a mediator who had been sent to him to persuade him and his followers to hand themselves over to the government,” Ghussein told The Associated Press.
It is unclear whether Moussa detonated the explosives vest he was wearing, or whether it was one of his bodyguards.
Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said 24 people were killed, including six Hamas police officers and an 11-year-old girl. At least 150 people were wounded, he said.
Hamas confirmed one of its casualties was a high-ranking commander, Abu Jibril Shimali, whom Israel said orchestrated the capture three years ago of Sgt. Gilad Schalit, an Israeli soldier who is still being held by Hamas.
Jund Ansar Allah first came to public attention in June after it claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to attack Israel from Gaza on horseback. The group claims inspiration from al Qaeda’s ultraconservative brand of Islam, but no direct links have been confirmed.
The group has been critical of Hamas for not imposing a more severe form of Islamic law and for maintaining a cease-fire with Israel for the past seven months.
Hamas says it does not impose its religious views on others, but only seeks to set a pious example for people to follow. Hamas also maintains that its struggle is against Israel only, while the radical splinter groups call for a global jihad against the entire Western world.
“They are inspired by unbalanced ideologies and in the past they carried out a number of explosions targeting Internet cafes and wedding parties,” said Ghussein, adding that the groups do not have any external ties.
Israel has charged that terrorists with links to Osama bin Laden have infiltrated Gaza. Hamas has denied this, while trying to distance itself from the more radical groups.
“All of this unacceptable behaviour is rejected in our society. We are a Muslim community and we don’t need sick-minded people to dictate their agenda on our people,” said Hamas lawmaker Ismail al-Ashkar.
This weekend’s violence marked the most serious internal opposition Hamas has faced since it seized control of Gaza and ousted its rivals in the Fatah movement in a five-day civil war in June 2007.
The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are together supposed to make up a future Palestinian state, but the rival governments in the two territories — located on opposite sides of Israel — are complicating Palestinian efforts to gain independence.
Fatah official Saeb Erekat was quick to comment on the developments, saying “Gaza is going down the drain in chaos and lawlessness.”
Also Saturday, Hamas said it was investigating the launching of 11 homemade rockets from Gaza into Egypt. Only five of the rockets detonated, injuring a young girl, according to Egyptian security forces.
Remember the ‘massacre’ at Jenin? Watch this.
Link:
Hamas defence against Al Queda termed a ‘massacre.’ Film on French TV at 11:00
From MAANNEWS by way of The Religion of Peace. I bet French TV is lining up to buy the Al Queda version of these events. Or the Hamas version. Either way, the irony is enjoyable. Hamas now knows the sting of it’s own tactics. They are accused of collaborating with the Jews here. Hamas is the organization that hangs people if they sell land to Jews.
Eeyore
A Hamas security officer in Gaza
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Websites linked to Al-Qaeda criticized Hamas’ operation against the Salafi group Jund Ansar Allah (Soldiers for God) in the Gaza Strip on Friday, accusing the de facto government of “abdicating from Islam,” CNN Arabic reported on Wednesday night.
The unnamed websites, which the report said were closely affiliated with Al-Qaeda, urged the group’s followers to take action against Hamas. They specifically called on Osama Bin Laden and his assistant Ayman Al-Zawahiri.
A statement on the website from unnamed sources, groups expressed condolences for the death of Sheikh Abdul Latif Moussa, the leader of Jund Ansar Allah. Moussa lead hundreds of supporters to a Rafah mosque on Friday and declared the area an “Islamic emirate.” Hamas-allied fe facto government police and members of Hamas’ armed wing said they were forced to react to the group when shots were fired in a civilian area. Clashes broke out culminating in 24 dead including six government officers, six civilians including two young girls, and 12 Jund Ansar Allah gunmen.
The Al-Qaeda groups’ statement called Moussa a “martyr,” saying he was killed by “the bullets and the rockets of Hamas government.” Hamas sources said the ultra-Islamist leader detonated explosives that were strapped to his body.
The statement linked the Hamas action, termed a “massacre” against Jund Ansar Allah, with clashes that took place last summer between Hamas police and members of another radical group, the Army of Islam, in the Ash-Shyjayyiah area of Gaza City.
Hamas was further accused of working against Islamic groups and “Serving the Jews who occupy Palestine, and the Christians who fight against Iraq, Afghanistan Somalia and Chechnya.”
Israel, wackos and hate
Here are two editorials from Full Comment at the National Post. The first, written by Robert Fulford describes how Opposing Israel has become a fashionable, institutionalized ritual founded on anti-Semitism. The second, by Johnathan Kay describes the latest violent episode in Gaza where Hamas (wacko group#1) attacks Jund Ansar Allah (‘Soldiers of the Partisans of God’, wacko group #2).
Robert Fulford:
Posted: August 15, 2009, 8:45 AM by NP Editor Robert Fulford, Full Comment
When Criticizing Israel becomes ritual
It begins, reasonably, as a response to apparently unnecessary violence by Israel. Then it moves on to accuse Israel of expanding on land the Arabs insist is theirs. Nothing wrong with criticizing that, surely. Israel, a state, deserves to be judged like any other.
Even those friendly toward Israel have often felt duty bound to point out its mistakes. In more innocent times, I imagined that intellectuals in the West paid careful attention to Israel’s faults because they expected it to set a high standard. Who would worry about the moral status of, say, Bolivia? No one except Bolivians. Jews, however, live with the injunction to be (as Isaiah quotes God) “A light unto the nations.”
But now everything has changed. Opposing Israel has become an institutionalized ritual. It’s now a movement across Europe and North America. It has its traditions, like Israel Apartheid Week, celebrated every spring in universities, often the cause of riots and an occasion to intimidate Jewish students. Vehement opposition to Israel appears to be the major interest of thousands of people all over the world. Many are Muslims, sympathizing with the Palestinians, but many are not. This week, attacks on Israel once more appeared on the agenda of the general council meeting of the United Church of Canada, a critic of Israel for generations.
24 Palestinians Killed as Rival Islamic Groups Clash in Gaza
VOA NEWS… At least 24 Palestinians have been killed and more than 120 wounded in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip during clashes between rival Islamic militant groups.
Hamas security forces launched a fierce assault on a mosque in Gaza, and the leader of a rival Islamic group inspired by al-Qaida was killed along with many of his armed followers. Hamas officials say more than a dozen gunmen from Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Followers of God, were killed, as well as several Hamas policemen and an 11-year-old girl.
Hamas accused the leader of the group, Abdel-Latif Moussa, of treason after he gave a fiery sermon at Friday prayers.
Moussa declared Gaza an Islamic emirate – challenging Hamas rule with a more radical form of Islam. Hamas says Moussa was killed when he blew up an explosives vest he was wearing during the shootout.Israel has charged that al-Qaida, the group responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States, has infiltrated Gaza from the outside. But Ihab Ghussein, a spokesman for the Hamas Interior Ministry, denied that.
Ghussein said Moussa’s group was Palestinian and had no external ties. He said the group has carried out bomb attacks on Internet cafés and wedding parties, in what he described as a misguided attempt to impose Islamic Law on Gaza.
Since many Palestinians are secular, especially in the West Bank, Hamas has been reluctant to impose strict Islamic Law on Gaza, saying it prefers to set a pious example for people to follow.
Hamas seized control of Gaza in the Palestinian civil war two years ago, routing the Fatah forces of President Mahmoud Abbas, who now heads a more moderate government in the West Bank. Since then Hamas has violently quelled any resistance by Fatah and other groups in Gaza.
Responding to the latest clashes, Hamas said it put down a coup by “outlaws.”
Mosque gun battle rages in Gaza
BBC NEWS… At least six people have been killed and dozens injured in a fierce gun battle in Gaza, emergency services say.
Eyewitnesses say hundreds of Hamas fighters and policemen surrounded then raided a mosque where followers of a radical Islamist cleric were holed up.
They had fired rocket-propelled grenades at the mosque in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, witnesses say.
It is thought that at least 100 supporters of the al-Qaeda-linked group Warriors of God are inside.
Hamas said a grenade fired from the mosque killed one of its fighters. The other fatalities were reported to be gunmen, and a child was also killed.
Fighting pledge
Earlier, during Friday prayers, hundreds of worshippers at Ibn-Taymiyah mosque declared Gaza an “Islamic emirate”.
The mosque’s imam – Abdel-Latif Moussa – and armed supporters swore to fight to the death rather than hand over authority of the mosque to Hamas.
The Salafi Warriors of God, or Jund Ansar Allah, gained some prominence two months ago when it staged a failed attack on a border crossing between Gaza and Israel.
The group is very critical of Hamas, which governs Gaza, accusing the Islamist group of not being Islamist enough.
Hamas has cracked down on al-Qaeda-inspired groups in the past.
It is concerned they may attract more extremist members, and has forbidden anyone except what it describes as Hamas security personnel to carry weapons in Gaza.
Yemeni cleric to be deported for Hamas fundraising
CBC .. A jailed Yemeni cleric will be deported home from the U.S. after pleading guilty Friday in New York City to raising money for Hamas.
As part of the plea deal, Mohammed Ali Hasan Al-Moayad will be sentenced to time served — more than six years — and sent back to Yemen.
A Brooklyn jury had convicted the 60-year-old of supporting terrorism in 2005, for which he received a 75-year prison term. The U.S. government touted the verdict as a major victory in its war against terrorism. But an appeals court threw out the conviction last year, ruling that certain evidence at Al-Moayad’s trial was inflammatory testimony and should not have been admissible.
Rather than try him again, prosecutors opted for a plea deal because to spare government time and expense. They also said the cleric has severe health problems.
The United States considers Hamas, the political and militant group in power in the Gaza Strip, to be a terrorist organization.
Hamas blocks 50 from leaving Gaza
50 Palestinians who were supposed to cross into Israel from the Gaza Strip Tuesday, mostly to receive medical treatment here, were repelled by Hamas security forces at the Beit Hameches Junction just west of the Erez Crossing in the north-eastern Gaza Strip.
Hamas operatives blocked off the road and prevented the Palestinians from reaching the crossing with Israel.
Israeli officials said the Hamas blockade was likely due to suspicions that among the sick were disguised Fatah officials trying to sneak out of Gaza to attend the Fatah conference which got underway in Bethlehem Tuesday morning.
Hamas men at the junction ordered those arriving at the crossing to return to the Interior Ministry in Gaza City and have their permits to leave the Strip reissued.
The officials also said it was likely that by the end of the day, Hamas would allow the Palestinians to cross into Israel, once it was verified that they indeed required medical attention.
The Fatah conference is the sixth of its kind, and the previous one took place in 1989. It is expected to bring together more than 2,000 delegates from many Arab countries.
Delegates are expected to vote for two of Fatah’s main bodies, the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council. The first institution consists of 21 members, while the second has 120 seats. Delegates will also discuss Fatah’s strategy, especially concerning the conflict with Israel.