Egypt To Hamas: Knock It Off
The Egyptians apparently don't like the triangle offense any better than the Israelis. They have sent a message to Ismail Haniyeh and the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government scolding them for allowing fresh Hamas rocket attacks on Israel:
Egypt has threatened to cut off its relations with Hamas unless the movement halts its rocket attacks on Israel, Palestinian Authority officials said Wednesday.The officials said Egyptian Intelligence Chief Gen. Omar Suleiman sent a "tough" message to Hamas leaders, warning them against the continued rocket attacks. The message was delivered to PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas by Burhan Hammad, a senior Egyptian intelligence officer based in the Gaza Strip, the officials added.
They said that Suleiman also warned that Egypt would not side with the Palestinians if Israel launched a military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
"We hope that the Hamas leaders will listen carefully to what the Egyptians are telling them," said one official here. "Hamas must return to the period of calm so as not to give Israel an excuse to invade the Gaza Strip."
Fatah president Mahmoud Abbas meets with worldwide Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal this weekend, and the rockets were seen in part as an attempt to pressure Abbas into concessions. The Egyptians have no particular love for Hamas or for any other radical Islamist movement, and they want to make sure that Haniyeh and the Palstinians know it. Telling the Palestinians publicly that Egypt will not ally with them if they provoke a military response from Israel is unprecedented, almost a signal for Israel to attack.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia want an end to the Palestinian conflict, and believe that only a plan which offers security guarantees with Israel can deliver that. They suddenly see a much larger and more existential conflict arising with radical Shi'ites in the region, and the continued provocations by Hamas and Hezbollah do nothing but distract and provoke the population. That's quite a turnaround for both regimes, which have been happy in the past to use the Palestinian troubles as an excuse for their own oppression, but the moderate states can no longer afford that kind of sideshow.
Hamas has enough trouble getting money from the West without alienating Egypt. The rockets will likely stop soon, but their deployment once again shows Hamas to be a disastrous partner for any real peace in the region.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on April 25, 2007 4:31 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)
Comments (3)
Posted by The Fly-Man![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 25, 2007 6:16 PM
Who will have the bomb first, Iran or Egypt? Gamal Mubarak, can you say that name a few times. Get used to it folks, just calculate the billions and billions will will have given Egypt by the time they get the bomb.
Posted by Carol_Herman![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 25, 2007 11:39 PM
And, you believe what the eygptians say?
You don't see "deniability?" Do ya?
Hamas was getting shipments of rockets from eygpt for MONTHS. It was no secret to the Israelis. SO, I'll guess. It was no secret to the eygptians, either.
In Israel, there's a debate that BECAUSE Olmert Enriched the "terrorists let-out-of-jail" list; probably to prove to the terrorists that it was STUPID to kill Shalit.
In military terms; one side attacks fortified positions. With goals in mind. Especially the kinds of things you see when hitler sent planes and tanks. It scares people.
Hamas and the Gazoo people do not have planes and tanks. And, eygpt, syria, and jordan, have already sent their military's in . And, got the shit knocked out of them.
True, every time Israel has a military victory, the world gangs up.
So, Israel's gotten better at dealing with some of the media. And, EU/UN freaks.
Harder? The crap being pulled by the House of Saud. But so far? Most Americans are ignoring all of that.
Meanwhile, 60 big missiles flew out of gaza. It was a KNOWN military endeavor. To cause confusion at the bases, where there were young IDF volunteers.
ALL SOLDIERS IN ISRAEL ARE VOLUNTEERS. They really have "the draft." It's almost unavoidable. Except for the "religious loophole." And, the ones some sons of politicians can find.
But you really do have to think as these young soldiers; as the same ages of the kids at Virginia Tech. Different outcomes.
I'd guess the IDF knew something was coming. And, given that the russians help out with military plans, it's possible that something else, besides the Kassams was supposed to happen. BUT. DID. NOT.
That means? The Israelis defended themselves.
As whatever the eypgtians are saying, what they are not saying, is that as a military effort against Israel. Designed to capture a soldier. And, hold him up for "TV time." It failed.
That brings you up to date, folks.
As to the bomb, lots of luck to them. You should consider, fly-man, everybody's got tanks. And, nobody used them.
Assad, too, has tanks. Last summer during the kidnapping of two soldiers by Nasrallah; the Israelis were caught in a bind. So, within 32-seconds Olmert ordered "troop movements."
And, where Condi had told Olmert, Bush would not give him the same access that Arik Sharon had; all of a sudden, James Baker, and Condi, and Bush, himself, "got involved."
Again, there's so much deniability out there, you can cut it with a knife.
The biggest problem, the Israelis are learning; because there have been investigations due to the Lebanon "encounter." The Israelis have learned that, yes. There were plans to penitrate Lebanon. But not enough Israelis were killed by Nasrallah's rockets; to make the plans feasible.
This is because unless there are a lot of dead Jews, the Jews are stymied by their enemies in the press. The state department. And, the House of Saud. To name a few holes.
This time? Olmert's getting arrows shot at him, that's he's caused the Hamas animals to want to get their hands on "freed terrorists." Obviously, not having Shalit alive to trade, they went to Plan #2.
Plan #2. Sheryl Crow says you can wipe it off with only one sheet of paper. So there should be some stink left. In which case you can get "the drift" of the rotten stuff at play.
Such a hushed audience. Have you ever seen so much quiet?
Posted by Courtneyme109![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/nav-commenters.gif)
| April 26, 2007 2:18 PM
Hi Carol. Great Post. The July August War may be different than we've been led to believe. In the new book "The Nuclear Sphinx of Tehran: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the State of Iran" by Yossi Melman, and Meir Javedanfar they say that the IAF had destroyed 80% of Hassan Nasrallah's rockets in less than 3 hours - thanks to well placed spies. They also hinted that Israel's penetration of the HAMAS is about as well.
sincerely, Courtney