Hamas Hides Before Israeli Strikes

Jerusalem – Hamas leadership in Gaza has taken precautionary steps in anticipation of an Israeli order to kill the Hamas leadership.

The London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Monday that Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh “is hiding under ground.” According to that report, which is based on unnamed Palestinian sources, only a handful of his bodyguards know about his movements and his precise location. Other senior Hamas officials, such as Mahmoud a-Zahar and Said Siam, have gone into hiding as well.

“Israel’s threats are being taken very seriously,” Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad, who is close to Mr. Haniyeh, told the Israeli daily newspaper Ma’ariv. “We anticipate that Israel will try to assassinate Hamas’ political leadership. But any strike on Haniyeh will change the rules of the game. That could be very dangerous. If Israel acts on its threats, that will have grave repercussions. Haniyeh is a liked and popular figure not only among the Palestinians but throughout the Arab and Muslim world,” said Mr. Hamad.

Israel Fears Confrontation With Egypt

The Middle East Newsline confirms that Israel’s military has become increasingly concerned over a possible confrontation with Egypt.

The Israeli General Staff has been examining crisis scenarios between Egypt and Israel in wake of the Hamas capture of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli military sources assess that Hamas has sought to provoke a confrontation through attacks on both Egypt and Israel and the use of the Sinai Peninsula as a launching pad for strikes.

“It is clear that Iran and Syria are pushing the Hamas regime to spark a regional crisis, particularly between Egypt and Israel,” an Israeli security source noted. “This is also being supported by the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo.”

The Hamas destruction of the Sinai-Gaza border in late January is seen as a strategic move by the Palestinian regime to exert regional influence.

Hamas has openly dispatched hundreds of operatives to Sinai to facilitate weapons smuggling, organize insurgency cells and plan attacks on Israel as well as Israeli tourists in the Egyptian peninsula.

“The next year will be filled with many security challenges, and the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] will have to be prepared to face them,” Israeli army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi told senior officers on Monday. “The IDF is ready to extend its activity as needed according to the decisions made.”

Israel has also determined that Egypt is increasingly ignoring the 1979 Camp David peace treaty. Most recently, Egypt deployed 750 troops in the eastern Sinai without consulting Israel. At least 1,500 Egyptian soldiers are now stationed along the 14-kilometer Gaza-Sinai border.

Egypt has also requested the deployment of utility helicopters and ground radars along the Sinai-Gaza border. Israel has enabled some of the Egyptian platforms to reach eastern Sinai.

At the same time, the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz reported that the United States has pressured Israel to enable an Egyptian military buildup in the eastern Sinai. In that context, the Bush administration has also urged Israel to allow the Palestinian Authority to assume responsibility for the Israel-Gaza border.

Members of the Israeli Army General Staff have concluded that the military must capture large parts of the Gaza Strip and destroy the Hamas regime. The generals were said to have warned that unless the regime is destroyed, Hamas could succeed in efforts to spark a regional war.

“At the end of the day, the continuing fire will obligate us [to conduct] a wide-scale operation in the Gaza Strip,” Israel Air Force commander Maj. Gen. Eliezer Shkedy said. “Terrorists on the [border] fence and ongoing rocket fire are intolerable. We find this unacceptable.”

David Bedein can be reached at Media@actcom.co.il. His Web site is www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com

©The Bulletin 2008