Category: Hamas

Hamas: Tense Egypt-Hamas relations take a turn for the worse 268 Reads

Friday, December 05, 2008 - 07:58 AM

CAIRO (AFP) — Already tense relations between Egypt and Hamas have soured after Cairo for the first time openly accused the Islamists of torpedoing Palestinian reconciliation talks.

Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit was quoted as saying on Thursday that months of Egyptian-mediated talks between rivals Hamas and Fatah failed in November because of "Hamas's lack of enthusiasm toward reconciliation."

As the only Arab nation bordering the Gaza Strip, Egypt has been trying to reach a detente between Fatah and Hamas and prevent their conflict, which saw Hamas violently eject Fatah from Gaza in June 2007, spilling into Egypt.

Cairo is worried about a repetition of the chaotic scenes last January when hundreds of thousands of Gazans broke through the Rafah border crossing and the Israeli lockdown on the territory, to spend a few days shopping in Egypt.

Following the breach, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman in August began hosting inter-Palestinian talks involving 13 factions, including Fatah and Hamas, in the hope of reaching a consensus on a unity government.

A deal was almost reached that would have seen a technocrat government set up without Fatah or Hamas figures that would be acceptable to the international community, much of which boycotts Hamas.

Such an agreement could also have led to a reopening of the Rafah crossing in accordance with a 2005 deal between Egypt, Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the European Union which requires PA forces to man the border.

But Hamas pulled out of the talks at the last moment, saying Fatah was continuing to arrest its members in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Fatah retains nominal political control.

Tensions between Egypt and Hamas are mirrored by a regional war of influence that has grown since Israel's failed war against Lebanon's Hezbollah in 2006.

The two blocs are the so-called moderates of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan versus the "hardliners" of Iran and Syria, alongside Hamas and Hezbollah.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem last week told an Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Cairo that Egypt was supporting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah at the expense of the Islamist Hamas.

"The (Egyptian) mediator should maintain an equal distance from all (Palestinian) factions," Muallem said.

Cairo swiftly retorted that "it is Syria that should adopt an impartial position" and end its support for Hamas.

Hamas: "The Digital Intifada" Promises to Fight Zionism Online 266 Reads

Monday, November 24, 2008 - 02:13 PM

by Malkah Fleisher

(IsraelNN.com) As part of its ongoing jihad against Israel, the Hamas terrorist organization has adopted a new mission, recently unveiled at its booth at a digital communications exhibition in Iran: hacking Israeli websites.

A new Hamas-affiliated group, calling itself "The Digital Intifada," introduced itself in late October at the second annual National Exhibition and Festival of Digital Media in Tehran, according to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC). The objective of "The Digital Intifada" is to develop anti-Jewish websites and encourage the criminal hacking of Israeli governmental and non-governmental websites.

At its booth at the Tehrani exhibit, Hamas's new computerized warfare promised $2,000 prizes for succeeding in the crime of hacking any Israeli site which is "hostile to the Palestinian people." Particular honor would go to anyone who hacked the websites of the Sephardic religious political party Shas, the Temple Mount Faithful website, and the American Internet Haganah (specializing in monitoring global jihad websites).

"The Digital Intifada" booth also featured Hamas-related websites, including Palestine-info, Filastin al-'An, Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Al Aqsa TV, the PALDF Forum and Sabiroon websites, among others. Vendors distributed anti-Jewish, pro-Islamic jihadist pamphlets, scarves, and hats to interested recipients.

After browsing the booth's many examples of internet-based jihad, exhibition attendees were invited to speak about the interface between the internet, fact manipulation, and terrorism with Abu Osama Abd Al-Muati, the Hamas representative in Tehran, as well as Hamas propaganda designers, experts, and political commentators. Director of the Lebanon-based Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV in Tehran Abu Hassan Zuaytar was also in attendance, as were various members of Hamas and Hizbullah. Hizbullah also had its own booth at the exhibit.