Vital Perspective

Madness is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result

Has the Israeli government lost leave of its senses? Otherwise, we find it hard to understand this:

"Israel agreed to extensive training of members of the Presidential Guard of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in areas near Jericho, in the Jordan Valley....
The request for Israel to permit such extensive training was made through the Americans. Prior to this, Israel agreed to the transfer of thousands of rifles and ammunition to Abbas' Presidential Guard. The serial number of each weapon was registered in order to maintain at least minimal control over the weapons."

Not that the American government is doing any better for U.S. domestic security with this 24-hr amnesty madness.

Pathetic on all fronts.

That explains it

Via Imshin, we have the following fascinating perspective regarding the Palestinian propensity to blow themselves up along with other people in the Asia Times:

It is repulsive to think that a people of several millions, honeycombed with representatives of international organizations, the virtual stepchild of the United Nations, appears doomed to reduce its national fever by letting blood. The 700,000 refugees of 1948, hothoused by the UN relief agencies, prevented from emigrating by other Arab regimes, have turned into a people, but a test-tube nation incapable of independent national life: four destitute millions of third-generation refugees in the small and barren territories of Gaza, Judea and Samaria, which cannot support a fraction of that number.

The project of a Palestinian economy based on tourism and light manufacturing is a delusion in the globalized economy of Chinese-dominated trade in manufactures. The subsistence-farming fellahin should have left their land for economic reasons, like the Okies during the 1920s and 1930s, and dispersed into cities, like a hundred other rural populations of the so-called developing world. Kept hostage for political reasons, they cannot stay, and they cannot leave. They have chosen instead to fight, and if need be to die.

The Palestinians cannot hope to earn their keep in peacetime; their only hope is to keep the region in perpetual tension, the better to blackmail the West and the Arab Persian Gulf states for subsidies. Voting for Hamas, in other words, was a rational choice on strictly economic grounds. Economics was an afterthought, though. Without a viable alternative, the Palestinians might as well choose the leadership that best flatters their national feeling. Now this balancing act has broken down, largely because Iran has disrupted the fragile equilibrium among Palestinian factions. By turning to Tehran for funding, Hamas has made itself an outlaw, and the West as well as Saudi Arabia has no alternative but to support violent means to reduce a democratically chosen majority party.

Article also has an interesting perspective on Carter.

Video: Brigitte Gabriel Discusses Radical Islam in Heritage Foundation Forum

Happy New Year to you all. Before we get too far into other activities, we thought we'd leave you with an excellent series of videos of Brigitte Gabriel discussing radical Islam at the Heritage Foundation. Gabriel is a Christian Lebanese-American journalist, author and activist. She is the founder of the American Congress For Truth, a conservative think tank. The videos will take just under an hour to go through.

Bush Signs Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act, Putting More Restrictions on Hamas

President Bush signed into law a bill meant to block U.S. aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government and ban contacts with Hamas until they renounce violence and recognize Israel. It also creates a $20 million fund to promote democracy, human rights, freedom of the press and peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), sponsor of the Senate bill with Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), said the legislation makes clear the Palestinian Authority can expect no U.S. help so long as it continues to be led by Hamas. "The Palestinian people are ill-served by a Hamas-led government that refuses to work toward the betterment of its citizens by failing to renounce terror and work toward peace with Israel," McConnell said.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) said she was pleased the president signed the bill she sponsored in the House. "By fixing his hand to this legislation today, President Bush has indicated that the U.S. will not, directly or indirectly, allow American taxpayer funds to be used to perpetuate the leadership of an Islamist jihadist entity like Hamas."

The White House said the legislation reflects the administration's concern over the current government's failure to renounce violence and terror, recognize Israel and respect previous agreements and obligations. Exceptions are made to provide financial support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has committed to a negotiated two-state solution with Israel.

Palestinian MP Accuses Israel of Using Chemical Weapons, Depleted Uranium

Palestinian Environment Minister Youssef Abu Sofia has accused Israel of using illegal chemical weapons in the Palestinian territories. "Analyses carried out in laboratories outside Palestine have shown that Israel has had recourse to banned chemical weapons and depleted uranium" Abu Sofia said. He made a similar claim in 2001.

He further accused Israel of having "transported major quantities of dangerous chemical products into the interior of the Palestinian territories thereby seriously polluting the water table".

Abu Sofia quoted figures from the Palestinian agriculture and environment ministry to the effect that "two million trees have been uprooted in the past six years, half a million of them olive trees". He said that Israel had refused the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the IAEA access to the Palestinian territories to look into the situation.

Similar accusations were made that Israel used depleted uranium munitions during the war against Hezbollah in Lebanon this summer. However, the UNEP found no evidence that Israel used munitions with depleted uranium during its conflict. After a three week investigation where samples were taken from 32 sites south and north of the Litani River, no depleted uranium shrapnel, or other radioactive residue, was found.

Praise from Int'l Community for Restraint in Face of Qassams Buoys Olmert

MediaLine reports that Israeli PM Ehud Olmert will continue to ignore Palestinian Qassam rocket fire from Gaza. Apparently buoyed by international praise for the restraint Israel has shown in response to the firing of more than 40 Qassam rockets since a cease-fire went into effect three weeks ago, Olmert has reportedly decided to stay the course.

Seven Qassams landed in Israel on Wednesday and one early this morning. Because the rockets, which carry no explosive payload, have not caused any injuries, Olmert has apparently decided that kudos from the international community outweigh a military response to halt the rockets.

Speaking at a news conference with visiting Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenberg yesterday, Olmert did warn that his patience was not without limit. Referring to the Qassams, he said, "It is clear that it is impossible to ignore this for long, so long as the Palestinians continue to shoot."

Security Sources: Israeli Forces Kill Two Islamic Jihad Terrorists in Shootout

Security sources tell us that in an Israeli arrest operation today in Silat A Hartiya, northwest of Jenin, two wanted Islamic Jihad terrorists, Salah Hafed Mahmud Suafta and Husam Mahmud Ibrahim Isah, were killed. During the attempt to arrest them, the two opened fire at security forces, sparking heavy exchanges of fire in which they were killed. Two rifles, protective vests and large amounts of ammunition were found by their bodies. The two were receiving instructions and funds from the Islamic Jihad Command in Syria in order to carry out a suicide bombing.

Last month, a suicide bombing spearheaded by the two was prevented thanks to the arrest of Sahmer Suafta, Salah's brother. By this time, Salah Suafta had already recruited a bomber, filmed his statement and instructed him on the use of the explosive belt. Sahmer was due to lead the suicide bomber to Israel, and following his arrest he supplied security forces with the location of the bomb.

• Salah Hafed Mahmud Suafta was a 23-year-old from a village northeast of Nablus. Suafta had in the past operated an explosives laboratory together with another brother, Nur Adin Suafta, in order to produce explosives for terror attacks. Suafta was jailed in a Jericho prison for a number of months at the beginning of this year. Following his release, Suafta returned to the West Bank and resumed his activities in Islamic Jihad.
• Husam Mahmud Ibrahim Isah was a 23-year-old resident of Sanur, north of Nablus. Isah began his activity in Islamic Jihad as an assistant in an attempt to carry out a terror attack. He was imprisoned in Israel in July 2003. After his release in 2005, Isah returned to his activities in Islamic Jihad but was arrested by the Palestinian Authority. When he was released from a Jericho prison, Isah came into contact with senior members of Islamic Jihad in Jenin, and has since been involved in several attempts to carry out suicide bombings against Israelis. Isah was in charge of the bombing plans thwarted last month along with Salah Suafta.

Security Sources: IDF Operation Stops Hezbollah-Directed Suicide Bombing

Security sources tell us that two Tanzim operatives were arrested and a Tanzim operative was killed during an IDF arrest operation in Nablus earlier this morning. Rami Rashid Anab Abu Kishak was killed and Tallal Mustafa Abu Lil and Imad Abu Maslem were arrested. The three were being directed by Hezbollah to carry out suicide bombings.

The men were arrested outside the Athad hospital in Nablus, which was used as a hide out and a shelter. This is a common tactic among terrorists in the West Bank who exploit the fact that the IDF avoids operating in hospitals, thereby using them as hiding places to plan terrorist activities.

During the arrest, security forces identified a vehicle which the three wanted men were traveling in, and approached it. The wanted men attempted to flee, leading the forces to fire at them. As a result Kishak was killed, and Maslem and Abu Lil were injured.

The three belonged to a terrorist infrastructure which is being supported and controlled by Hezbollah, and whose function is to carry out suicide bombings in Israel. Furthermore, during the current ceasefire in Gaza, the three continued their efforts to execute suicide bombings.

• Rami Abu Kishak, 27, was involved in attempts to carry out suicide bombings along with two other terrorists, who were killed in recent months during attempts to arrest them. In the past two days Abu Kishak was involved in intensive preparations for a suicide bombing which was prevented by his death.
• Tallal Abu Lil, 33 and a resident of Nablus, had recently recruited several suicide bombers, both male and female, in order to carry out attacks. Some of these were recently arrested, and their planned attacks prevented. Despite these arrests, Abu Lil continued in his attempts to dispatch attacks and to recruit bombers.
• Imad Abu Maslem was involved in attempts to carry out suicide bombings as a member of the Tanzim infrastructure in Balata. Abu Maslem was involved in the recruiting of bombers and in shooting attacks and bomb attacks against IDF forces in Nablus.

IDF Reports Hamas Terrorists Receiving Advanced Military Training in Iran

Israeli military officials say that dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Hamas terrorists recently left Gaza to receive advanced military training in Iran. The training is similar to that received by thousands of Hezbollah terrorists over the past few years, and Israel fears it will greatly improve Hamas' military capability in any future battle with IDF troops.

The mass training of Hamas fighters in Iran is a new development reflecting the growing alliance between Shiite Iran and the Sunni Hamas movement. Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh returned last week from Iran, which has already funded the cash-strapped Palestinian government with $120 million and pledged millions more.

Abu Obayda, a spokesman for Hamas, declined to confirm whether they were training in Iran. "But I confirm that we have the right to train inside or outside the country," he said.

Egyptians Stop Palestinian PM at Rafah Border, Confiscates Millions in Cash

Israel agreed Thursday evening to allow Palestinian PM Ismail Haniyeh to cross from Egypt into Gaza, but without the $35 million in cash he had brought from a tour of Muslim states. Defense Minister Amir Peretz had earlier instructed the IDF to stop Palestinians entering Gaza via the Rafah border crossing, in order to prevent Haniyeh from crossing with the money.

Israel Radio reported that the money would be left in Egypt, and on Friday transferred to the bank account of the Arab League. Israeli security sources said that the decision to close the border was made to stop the cash transfer, not to prevent Haniyeh's return.

The head of Egypt's intelligence service, Omar Suleiman, had contacted Israeli officials in order to find a solution that would allow Haniyeh to return to Gaza. Hamas members, angered by the ban on Haniyeh's money, burst into the Rafah border terminal, sparking a gunbattle with guards before taking control of the crossing. Travelers at the terminal dove for cover and a top Hamas official furiously tried to persuade the gunmen to disperse. Following the gunbattle, European monitors said the border would not be reopened Thursday, though Haniyeh might still be able to cross from Egypt.

In the chaos of the attack, two loud explosions rocked the area, and security officials said Hamas had blown a hole in the border fence about one kilometer from the terminal.