By DAVID BEDEIN— On February 5, the reconstituted US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa held a subcommittee hearing on the subject of “Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation: Threatening Peace Prospects.” Two senior expert witnesses from The Washington Institute for Near East Policy testified and expressed optimism that US-trained Palestinian Security Forces, affiliated with…
By ELAD BENARI, ARUTZ 7— Hamas is already preparing for the next clash with Israel and its military wing recently test fired improved long-range missiles, the Yisrael Hayom daily reported on Sunday. The report in the Israeli newspaper was based on sources in the Palestinian Authority media. According to the reports, based on information from…
By RYAN JONES, ISRAEL TODAY— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week pointed to the overtly hostile rhetoric of Hamas coupled with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to reconcile with the terror group as the primary reason that true, lasting peace is currently unachievable. Over the weekend, Hamas marked its 25th anniversary with a gala…
In response to Hamas’ ongoing rocket fire against Israel, Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense on Nov. 14, 2012, aimed at crippling the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza. On Nov. 21, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire. This video was one of many broadcast by Hamas during the conflict, as part of their campaign to…
By MELANIE PHILLIPS— During the recent war between Hamas and Israel, it became a commonplace to hear people either promoting the idea of ‘engaging’ with Hamas (former UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband, former UK ambassador to the UN Sir Jeremy Greenstock, journalist Jackson Diehl and the Washington Post plus sundry EU diplomats and of course…
By RON JAGER— When Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to the cease-fire with Hamas rather than move ahead with a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, sticking to the modest goals of Operation Pillar of Defense, he probably expected that the opposition parties in Israel would taunt him with his own words from 2009: “We must…
By ISI LEIBLER, ISRAEL HAYOM-— Castigating the government for the cease-fire agreement and implying that Operation Pillar of Defense was a failure is misguided and merely provides credibility to the distorted Hamas narrative of the conflict. Under current adverse geopolitical conditions, it was unrealistic to anticipate that this campaign would end the conflict as eliminating…
By ELLIOTT ABRAMS, PRESSURE POINTS— The success of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system is one of the great stories to emerge from the Gaza conflict, but its importance may still have been underestimated. First, even enthusiasts for Iron Dome tend to exaggerate its variable costs. It is often said that Hamas can make rockets…
By CAROLINE GLICK, JPOST— The ceasefire agreement that Israel accepted Wednesday night to end the current round of Palestinian rocket and missile attacks is not a good deal for Israel by any stretch of the imagination. At best, Israel and Hamas are placed on the same moral plane. The ceasefire erases the distinction between Israel,…
By SHLOMO CESANA, ISRAEL HAYOM— Should Hamas violate the terms of the cease-fire, Israel is prepared to renew its assault in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. At a meeting with Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino at national police headquarters, Netanyahu said he was aware that some citizens expected Israel to act more forcefully.…