Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recieves Islamic Jihad SG Ramadan Abdullah Shallah

GMT: 5/5/2009 11:15:23 PM

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Ahmadinejad receives secretary general of Islamic Jihad

Damascus, May 6, IRNA – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received here on Tuesday evening Secretary General of Palestine Islamic Jihad Movement Ramadan Abdullah.

 

In the meeting, Ahmadinejad called Gaza event a great victory for resistance and said that Iran’s strategic and permanent policy is to support Palestinian resistance and other nations of the region.
He underlined that struggle against Zionism and world arrogance is an issue of belief and history and continued resistance of the Palestinians caused victory in an unequal war in Gaza.
Ramadan Abdullah, for his part, appreciated support of Supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, Iranian government and nation and added in spite of all sanctions and continuation of blockade and imposing pressure, the morale of Palestinians is very high.
He said that the Zionist regime is always a threat and the Palestinian resistance is always aware and ready to confront this threat.
1391**1771

 

End News / IRNA / News Code 471557

Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement rejects PLO calls for new national body to represent the Palestinian people

Jihad: Palestinian-Arab veto barring the restructuring of PLO

[ 01/02/2009 - 06:20 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)– The Islamic Jihad Movement has said that a Palestinian-Arab veto was barring the restructuring of the PLO to serve as a framework grouping all Palestinian factions and forces. The Movement in a press release on Sunday said that the PLO was totally absented from the Palestinian political scene, and called for establishing a new representative body that would start with resistance forces and all those believing in the resistance option. It said that whoever believes that such a call was threatening the PLO then let him open all its files and re-build it on the basis of the Cairo agreement signed by all Palestinian factions in May 2005. Hamas supreme leader Khaled Mishaal said in a speech in Doha a few days ago that resistance factions were considering  forming a new national body that would represent the Palestinian people within and outside Palestine.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with 8 Palestinian factions in Damascus

President al-Assad to Leaders of Palestinian Factions: It is Important to Invest Politically the Victory of the Palestinian People to Consolidate Rights, Including the Right of Return

8_palestinian_factions_damascus_27_jan_09.pdf
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DAMASCUS, Syria, Jan. 27 (SANA)—President Bashar al-Assad discussed on Tuesday with leaders of the Palestinian factions in Damascus the developments in Palestine following the victory of the Palestinian people and the resistance in Gaza Strip in the face of the brutal Israeli aggression, affirming the need for continuing work to lift the siege and open all crossing points permanently.

President al-Assad praised the Palestinian people’s resistance, the cooperation among resistance factions during the aggression, and the people of Gaza’s support for the resistance, all of which led to achieving victory and foiling the plans and goals of Israel. He called for investing politically in this victory to consolidate the Palestinian rights, including the right of return.

In turn, leaders of the Palestinian factions and groups thanked Syria’s leadership and people for the support they continue to provide to the Palestinian people and the

resistance, affirming that Syria is a partner in this victory. They also affirmed their determination to continue with the resistance until they achieve victory and establish the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

The delegation included Head of the Hamas Politburo Khaled Meshaal, Secretary General of the Islamic Jihad Movement Ramadan Abdullah Shallah, Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) Ahmad Jebril, Secretary General of the Popular Liberation War Vanguard Mohammad Khalifa, Secretary of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement Fath-Intifada Abu-Moussa, Secretary General of the Palestinian Public Struggle Front Khaled Abdul-Majid, Secretary General of the Palestinian Revolutionary Communist Party Arabi Awad, Secretary General of the Palestinian Liberation Front Abu-Nidal al-Ashkar, and Assistant Secretary General of the PFLP-GC Dr. Talal Naji.

President al-Assad previously met Head of the Hamas Politburo Khaled Meshaal on Saturday and members of the Politburo. During the meeting, President al-Assad congratulated the Palestinian people on the victory of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza Strip.

President al-Assad also affirmed that the failure of Israel to achieve its goals in Gaza despite using the deadliest weapons proves that the Palestinian people are committed to their rights and to their land, and that it also shows their deep faith in their inevitable victory over occupation and aggression.

H. Sabbagh / Ahmad Fathi ZAHRA

President al-Assad Awards Algerian Freedom Fighter Jamila Bouhired the Syrian Order of Merit of Excellent Degree

DAMASCUS, Syria, Jan. 27 (SANA)—President Bashar al-Assad received on Tuesday Algerian freedom fighter Mrs. Jamila Bouhired and awarded her with the Syrian Order of Merit of Excellent Degree in recognition of her honorable participation in the struggle to achieve Algeria’s independence during the French occupation, and also in appreciation of her current stances in support of resistance to restore the rights and liberate the occupied Arab lands.

Mrs. Bouhired expressed pride for receiving this distinction, voicing her high appreciation of Syria under the leadership of President al-Assad due to Syria’s constant support to the resistance and the just Arab causes.

Jamila Bouhired was born in Algiers in 1935, joining commando brigades in her twenties. She was among the first volunteers for planting bombs on the routes of French colonial patrols, becoming the most wanted woman by the French before her arrest in 1957 when she was shot in the shoulder.

She was tortured at the hands of the French to testify against her comrades to no avail, and the French sentence her to death. The public outcry forced the French to reduce the sentence. She spent three years in prison in Algeria, and two years in France before being released in 1962 following the independence of Algeria.

H. Sabbagh / Ahmad Fathi ZAHRA

Syrian doctors talk about the horrible scenes of the Israeli aggression in Gaza

HOMS and QUNAITERA, Syria, Jan. 27 (SANA)—Members of the Syrian medical team who returned back from Gaza underlined Tuesday that the Israeli aggression on the strip has targeted everything through using international prohibited weapons that made the bodies of children and women as a field of experiments.

“The Syrian doctors did their best and rushed with big enthusiasm to relive the families and wounded in Gaza who offered sacrifices to confront the aggression,” the doctors said during two meetings with al-Qunaitera and Homs governors.

The doctors briefed the governors on the shocking scenes they saw in Gaza as a result of the Israeli inhuman brutality which used weapons that exceed all ugliness and indicate to the meanness and immorality of the Israeli occupation which threw aside all human norms and values.

Mazen
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Al-Masakin News Agency
http://almasakinnewsagency.wordpress.com/

Five Palestinian factions agree to Feb. 5 truce with Israel, Palestinian reconciliation talks to begin Feb. 22

Egypt Wants Long-Term Gaza Truce to Start February 5

26/01/2009 Egypt has proposed that a yet to be agreed truce between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza begin on February 5, a Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine official declared on Monday.        DFLP official Saleh Zaidan said Egypt, which has been mediating truce talks between Israel, Hamas and several Palestinian factions, would continue discussions to shore up the ceasefire before February 5.    “The truce will encompass the opening of passages (into Gaza) and will be between Israel and the five main Palestinian factions,” Zaidan said, meaning Fatah, Hamas, the DFLP, the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine and Islamic Jihad. He added that Egypt has proposed that Palestinian reconciliation talks begin on February 22.    Israeli and Hamas officials have visited Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials since their ceasefires came into effect on January 18. Hamas has said it is mulling an Israeli proposal for an 18-month renewable ceasefire.    Hamas insists that Israel and Egypt open their passages into the Gaza Strip. Israel has said it would not open the crossings if Hamas did not release an Israeli soldier it captured more than two years ago. Egypt has also refused to permanently open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza in the absence of Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas’s representatives at the crossing.

Ramadan Shallah: victory of the Palestinian resistance is a victory for all freedom fighters

Jan 22, 2009   Shallah: Palestinian Resistance Victory in Gaza is Victory for all freedom Fighters worldwide

Damascus, (SANA)-The Secretary General of the Palestinian National Resistance -Islamic Jihad Ramadan Shallah said the victory of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza Strip against the Israeli aggression was a victory for all the freedom fighters and peace-loving peoples in the world. In an interview with the al-Manar TV satellite channel Wednesday night, Shallah highly appreciated Syria’s role in supporting the national struggle of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights. He added that Israel’s brutal aggression on Gaza disclosed its real ugly face to the whole world. Ahmad Fathi ZHARA

Palestinian factions declare victory, resistance to continue until Israel withdraws from Gaza, opens Rafa crossing

 

Palestinian factions give Israel 1 week to meet their demands

palestinian_factions_declare_victory_18_jan_09.pdf
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Olmert’s “ceasefire” speech is a declaration of defeat

Source: PFLP Press Office

The “ceasefire” speech by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert on January 17, 2009 is a declaration of defeat, said the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in a press statement, noting that halting the airstrikes and keeping the Israeli occupation army troops on the ground is not a “ceasefire” and stating that the occupation forces will be a continual target for the resistance so long as they are in Gaza.

Comrade Dr. Maher al-Taher, member of the Political Bureau of the PFLP and leader of its branch in exile, said in an interview with Al-Jazeera that “the criminal Olmert’s speech is a speech of defeat, and is a great victory for the resistance and for the steadfastness of our people in the Gaza Strip.” He stressed that this is a historical achievement for the Palestinian people and called for building upon this victory for the next stage of fighting back against the occupier.

Comrade Taher said, the enemy occupied our land in six days in 1967, but today they fail to occupy a corner of Gaza City, and this is a new stage and a tribute to the steadfastness of our people and our resistance. We must draw lessons from these accomplishments—that our clear political line and our national unity can be achieved on the basis of the continuation of the resistance and a political strategy that ends all reliance on the United States, Annapolis, the roadmap and Oslo, and all illegitimate and empty agreements with the occupation. Our people instead need a clear strategy based on our Palestinian national principles as raised by Palestinian prisoners in their national reconciliation document.

He noted further that the building of the massive of international popular solidarity and support for the Palestinian people, particularly as the brutality and crimes of the occupation has been revealed, has been a major force in support of our people, and that the people of the world are rejecting the occupier, rejecting Zionism, and rejecting this system as unacceptable, illegitimate and criminal.

Comrade Taher concluded by saying that the steadfastness of our people in Gaza sent a clear message to the leaders of Zionist terrorism, the official Arab regimes and the entire world that the will of our people has not been broken, and it cannot be defeated nor will it abandon the resistance under any circumstances.

The PFLP also condemned the so-called “memorandum of understanding” between the U.S. and Israel, saying that the occupier is only talking to itself, and that this is an “agreement” between strategic partners in the enemy camp. It stated further that this agreement is a new aggression against the Palestinian and Arab peoples, which aims to deny their right to defend themselves and resist occupation and aggression, and furthermore, to deny Arab sovereignty over our own borders and our own land. ▪

DFLP: Israeli ceasefire proves strength of Brigades; unity behind resisters essential

SALFIT, West Bank, Palestine, Jan. 18 (Ma’an)—Olmert’s decision to call a unilateral ceasefire shows the endurance of the resistance factions against the Israeli invasion into Gaza, said a Sunday statement from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).

The ceasefire is the result of the “legendary endurance of the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip and the worldwide reaction which has pressured the Israeli government,” said the statement.

The document affirmed that without an Israeli withdrawal from the Strip than factions would never agree to a ceasefire, and further demand that the borders to the strip remain open for goods and citizens.

The DFLP said that Palestinian unity behind the resistance is essential in the coming days, and noted that the party is working on forming a common political leadership that includes all parties and factions that maintain resistance as their goal.

Shallah: World failed to check Israeli arrogance but resistance did

DOHA, Qatar, Jan. 18 (PIC)—Ramadan Shallah, the secretary general of the Islamic Jihad Movement, has asserted that the Israeli occupation forces and leadership had failed in achieving any of their declared aims of the war on Gaza.

Shallah, in a press statement commenting on Israeli premier Ehud Olmert’s address in which he declared aunilateral ceasefire in Gaza, said that Olmert had failed in changing the de facto situation in Gaza, which is ending the Hamas rule. He also failed in halting the firing of rockets from the Strip, Shallah added.

The Jihad leader said that despite the fact that his Movement was not participating in the Hamas government in Gaza “we declare that the Hamas government is the legitimately elected government in Gaza”.

He said that Olmert’s statement that the decision was taken in response to an Egyptian request constituted an offense to Egypt because it indicated that Egypt was capable since the start of the aggression to stop it but it did not.

The world has failed to check the “Zionist entity’s arrogance” but he Palestinian resistance stood fast and refused to bow to Olmert’s conditions, Shallah elaborated.

He underlined that the continued presence of IOF troops in Gaza after the ceasefire declaration would make them targets for the resistance until the departure of the last soldier from Gaza lands.

Another Jihad leader, Sheikh Khader Habib, stressed that his Movement would continue to resist IOF soldiers as long as they remained in Gaza and as long as the siege on Gaza persisted.

He said that Olmert’s ceasefire declaration did not concern his Movement because it was unilateral, adding that the IOF did not achieve anything in its campaign against Gaza except killing hundreds of children and women.

MILITARY REPORT

PFLP Press Office

PFLP forces mourn Comrade Banar and affirm resistance will continue until occupation ends

The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, announced on January 16, 2009 that Comrade Commander Ashraf Ribhi Banar, fell in the battlefield while defending his people in Gaza.

Comrade Banar demonstrated heroism on many occasions, and was in charge of the missile unit in the eastern Gaza area. Comrade Banar carried out a heroic operation utilizing a B-27 shell against the occupation tanks, in which a tank was a destroyed and several occupation soldiers were killed and wounded.

AAMB immediately responded with a barrage of rocket fire, launching 6 Grad rockets toward Bir Saba and Nafa, and 7 Sumoud missiles toward Sderot, the Western Naqab and occupied Asqalan.

Glory to our comrade! Victory is ours!

Responding to Olmert’s speech

Our armed forces responded to Olmert’s deceptive statement of January 19, 2009 about stopping airstrikes while maintaining occupation forces, by stating that these occupation ground forces will be met with missiles, explosive devices, bombs, snipers, B-27 anti tank weapons and all of the forces at our disposal.

The missiles and rockets will not stop, and our forces immediately announced the launching of Sumoud rockets against the occupier following Olmert’s speech in defiance of the continued threats of the occupier and demonstrating the steadfast continuation of our resistance. Any ground forces in Gaza, left behind as a defeated army, will be met with force and resistance until the Zionist invaders are swept away and Gaza is sovereign.

Towards victory!

Military factions continue to launch projectiles at Israeli targets

GAZA, Palestine, Jan. 18 (Ma’an)—Palestinian military factions continued to launch projectiles at Israeli targets Sunday, and Israeli troops responded to fire in the Strip despite the unilateral Israeli announcement of a ceasefire in the area.

The Hizbullah Brigades in Palestine said they launched three projectiles towards Sderot and the western Negev. They are calling their projectile blitz the “Blaze of Gaza,” said a statement from the group Sunday.

Al-Quds Brigades claims to have killed 18 soldiers in 22 days

Gaza, Palestine, Jan. 18 (Ma’an)—Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades lost 34 fighters during the Israeli onslaught in Gaza and launched 262 projectiles at Israeli targets, according to their spokesperson on Sunday.

Of the more than 1,300 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, 34 Al-Quds Brigades fighters and leaders were killed. A statement said those who died were prepared to engage in “fierce” battles with Israeli troops.

Of the projectiles launched, said the spokesperson, 158 were at Ashkelon, Sderot, Kfar Azza, Nahal Oz, Nir Oz, Be’eri, Nirim, Miftahim and Eshkol. They claimed to have injured 16 Israeli “settlers” in the attacks and caused structural damage to homes and public properties.

The Brigades said they fired 77 mortars at Megan, Kissufim and gatherings of armored vehicles in the north-central and southeast areas of Gaza, injuring a number of Israeli soldiers.

There were 27 RPGs and 32 explosive charges detonated at armored vehicles and undercover units of the Israeli army, according to the Brigades.

Seven Israeli soldiers were shot, and at least 18 killed and 56 injured as the Brigades detonated explosives in homes where troops were taking cover, the Brigades spokesperson said. There was no way to independently verify the claims.

The Israeli military insists just 10 soldiers were killed in the Gaza fighting.
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Al-Masakin News Agency
http://almasakinnewsagency.wordpress.com

5 nations sever ties with Israel over Gaza atrocities: Qatar and Mauritania join Venezuela, Bolivia, and Jordan, Arab leaders meet in Doha

5_nations_sever_ties_with_israel_16_jan_09.pdf
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The Agencies

Qatar and Mauritania reported that they severed political and economic ties with Israel in protest of the three-week-old assault on the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported on Friday.

According to the Qatar-based network Al-Jazeera, the move was announced on Friday at an emergency meeting of Arab leaders in Doha.

Those among the VIPs at the summit were, inter aliios, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, senior Hamas leader Khaled Mesha’al, PFLP-GC Secretary General Ahmed Jibril, and Islamic Jihad’s Ramadan Shallah, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabr al-Thani, Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh.

Conspicuously absent from the talks were the representatives of the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and Kuwait.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that Chairman of the Hamas Politburo Khaled Mesha’al stressed on Friday the need for stopping the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip, withdrawing occupation forces, lifting the siege and opening all crossing points, primarily the Rafah crossing point.

DOHA, Qatar, Jan. 16 (SANA)—President Bashar al-Assad said Friday that during these crucial moments, and as Arab leaders, it seems that our responsibilities are serious in presenting a decisive and active response to the puzzled inquires in the mind of each Arab citizen of how to rescue the Palestinian people from the talons of this brutality.

In a speech at the emergency Arab Summit on Gaza, the President added “as an Arab nation… how could we give a suitable response to the occupation crimes as we watch the bodies of the children and their remnants disperse in each place.”

President al-Assad affirmed that Israel, which has been existed on massacres, consecrated its continuity on violation and destruction and built its future on genocide, is an enemy that knows only the language of blood… and thus knows only the language of Arab blood that has been flowing since Israel was established.

“These massacres and acts of violations and destruction are fuel for the Israeli war machine in the process of building a pure Judaic state, which cannot be achieved without the forced displacement or extermination of the remaining non-Jews in Palestine.” President al-Assad said.

“We have talked in previous summits about plans that were being put, but today we are talking about plans that are being carried out… we warned against approaching the danger zone, but today the holocaust didn’t just start, but it is on its way to move to the next level which will include all Arabs if we don’t extinguish it immediately.”

The President added that the message sent by the Arab people through their unprecedented reactions require us to respond to it seriously, pointing out that it differs from previous messages as it says “walk with us… don’t go along with us,” which indicates that Gaza’s fate isn’t only the fate of its people, but is the fate of all Arabs, and Gaza’s battle is the battle of every Arab citizen.

President al-Assad stressed that the emergency summit aims to support Gaza, not to seek settlements at the expense of Gaza to appease Israel or those who support it, and that the people who set the standards to differentiate between these two are the people and resistance of Gaza as they are decision makers, and the Arabs’ role is to support them without hesitation in any way that bolsters their resilience, alleviates their suffering and leads to the solution that guarantees their safety and dignity.

“If the basis of our decision today is our support to the people of Gaza in the face of the new Israeli Nazi holocaust, and in addition to our convictions of the righteousness of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people’s rights, then this cannot be complete without understanding the essence of the problem, which isn’t only about the occupation itself but also the nature of the enemy which we are confronting, based on decades of various experiences with it that vary from wars to failed peace attempts.”

“For our part as Arab countries, and in line with initiatives and in addition to verbal support, we must take a number of active steps, primarily the closing of Israeli embassies immediately, severing all direct and indirect relations with Israel, and brining the boycott into effect,” President al-Assad said, pointing out that at the beginning of the aggression, Syria decided to cease the indirect peace talks indefinitely after consulting with Turkey.

Regarding the Arab peace Initiative, President al-Assad said “we consider the Arab Initiative dead, as the circumstances of approving it and the following events show that the more we present evidence of our serious desire to achieve peace, and the more concessions we make, the more Israel goes too far in its arrogance and disregard for our just rights.”

“The Arab Initiative is based on peace, and peace wasn’t achieved, so the initiative doesn’t really exist… Sharon killed it on the first day after announcing the initiative at the Arab Summit in Beirut in 2002… on the very next day Sharon invaded Jenin and murdered hundreds of Palestinians. That response was a direct answer and a declaration of the Initiative’s death… but we insisted that it’s alive… the Initiative was withdrawn by Israel, and what is left for us as Arabs is to transfer it from the record of the living to the record of the dead.”

The President said “we have to stand by Gaza and its resistance materially and morally with all possible means and without any exception, and to do our best to support the Palestinian struggle in the face of the aggression, particularly opening crossing-points for individuals, aid and relief as soon as possible.”

President al-Assad underlined support of establishing a fund to rebuild Gaza, calling for an international conference on this purpose…

“Legal procedures have to be taken to try Israel and its leaders in spite of our non-confidence in the justice of international relevant sides, and in order to let the history record them that they are not only racists but they are the most dangerous form of Nazis in the modern age,” the President said.

“The difference between resistance and terrorism is that the first is Arab and the second is Israeli… the first wants peace and the second wants war… the first is forced to fight to defend its rights and the second is based on murder and aggression.”

President al-Assad stressed that resistance has become a basic element of peace, and that those who want to achieve peace must support the resistance, adding “this is the difference between peace and surrender… peace without resistance in the face of a brutal, criminal enemy will definitely lead to surrender.”

President al-Assad stressed that what is going on in Gaza isn’t merely a response to rockets, and that if there were no rockets they would have created them and launched them to create a justification, adding “this is one link in a long chain that aims to reach Palestine, which they imagined or claimed to be a land without people after other countries settle these people or find an alternative homeland for them.”

“If we don’t read causes carefully then we can only produce incomplete, temporary solutions that will collapse quickly… this is why the peace process was a mere attempt that never developed into real peace, since Israelis have a true phobia of peace… those who make crimes cannot be good at making peace, and thieves usually don’t return what they stole voluntarily… they return rights only if they are forced to do that… this is the essence of resistance which is understood by resistance fighters, making resistance their path to peace through reclaiming rights from an enemy that only understands the language of power.”

“What is clear is that Israel hasn’t learned from history’s lesson… this is obvious since who doesn’t own the land doesn’t own history… and who has no history has no memory… Israel has based most of its schemes and plots on the thought that time, Zionist media and its supporters, and the constant frustrations will change the viewpoint of the coming Arab generations towards Israel,” President al-Assad said.

The President noted that a quick look to the events since the occupation of Palestine shows a gradual awakening and a growing awareness in the Arab people towards its causes and a stronger determination in younger generations to avoid making the same mistakes as their predecessors.

“There can be no neglect, leniency, relinquishment or weakness… the peace of the strong isn’t given to the weak… the peace of the brave isn’t given to the cowardly… peace that isn’t given will be taken… rights that are seized are liberated… this means that time, which they counted on, has failed them just as their massive military machine failed them in Lebanon, which is also failing them today in Gaza regardless of the scale of destruction and the amount of their crimes.” President al-Assad said.

He pointed out that willpower changed the concept of Israel expansion into retraction, beginning in Lebanon, then continuing in Gaza, and later in the West Bank and the occupied Syrian Golan, adding “this willpower changed the concept of immigration in Palestinians to deep-rooted adherence to their land… this leaves Israel with no option other than submitting to peace and its requirements, which cannot be achieved as long as Israelis pride themselves on who can stain their hands with more Arab blood.”

President al-Assad stressed that peace cannot be achieved unless Arabs change it with their willpower, and that this peace will begin in Gaza, which is “small in size, grand in resistance, great in resilience,” adding that this peace begins by stopping the aggression, achieving ceasefire, withdrawing invading forces, and lifting the unjust siege which constitutes a non-military was and leads to a slow death to the Palestinians, noting that “people who are confronted with death cannot be blamed for anything.”

“We are a nation of peace, and our human, Arab and national morals have been based on peace… and because of this fact, we tried to forget the Israeli massacres of Dir Yassin, Kafr Qassem, Jenin, Qana and other massacres carried out against the Arabs… but Israel insists on reminding us with those realities,” the President added.

President al-Assad underlined that what is being committed by Israel of war crimes will give birth to nothing but new Arab generations with more hostility to Israel… and this means by reality that with each Arab killed children, scores of resistant children are born and the Israelis are digging by their own hands tombs for their sons and grandsons.

Al-Masakin News Agency
http://almasakinnewsagency.wordpress.com

Palestinian resistance tunnels into Israel and destroys a tank

Palestinian fighters claim to have tunneled into Israel, blowing up tank

Date: 14 / 01 / 2009  Time:  20:37

Gaza – Ma’an – Palestinian guerillas claim that they tunneled under the Green Line into Israel on Wednesday and managed to blow up an Israeli tank. The An-Nasser Salah Ad-Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees, and the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, said their fighters used a tunnel that had been dug from the Ash-Shuja’iya neighborhood of Gaza, near the Nahal Oz border crossing. Having reached the other side, the fighters blew up an Israeli tank, killing soldiers inside. The Israeli military has not commented on any of these claims. The statement also said that two Palestinian fighters had been killed in fighting with Israeli forces. They were identified as Hussein Ash-Sha’er and Mansour Madi from the city of Rafah.

Military Report: Palestinian resistance hits occupation forces in Ashkelon, Sufa, Zekim, and elswhere

Palestinian factions launch more attacks on Israeli targets

Date: 11 / 01 / 2009  Time:  21:27

Bethlehem – Ma’an – Armed Palestinian factions continued firing projectiles on Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip on Sunday, claiming responsibility for a number of attacks. In statements to Ma’an, Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades claimed responsibility for shelling the Israeli military post of Nahal Oz with three projectiles. Al-Quds said an assembly of armored vehicles southeast of the evacuated settlement of Netzarim in central Gaza was the prime target of a second assault, which saw four mortar shells launched from Gaza. Meanwhile, Al-Quds, along with another group affiliated with Fatah, claimed joined responsibility for shelling armored vehicles in the Al-A’tatarah area of Gaza. They hit Nitzarim with four other shells earlier in the day, according to their statement. Each of the concerned groups said in a statement that the shelling came in response to “Israeli atrocities in Gaza,” and to ensure that resistance “remains an option.” The An-Nasser Brigades, which is affiliated with the Popular Resistance Committees, told Ma’an they hit Ashkelon with a Grad missile and fired two RPGs and seven other projectiles at Israeli armored vehicles advancing on Ash-Shuje’eiyah. Two other mortars hit the Sufa military post east of Rafah. An-Nasser also claimed to have targeted Israeli warships off the coast of Gaza “with heavy fire.” Al-Aqsa Brigades, Fatah’s armed wing, claimed responsibility for shelling Eshkol with two projectiles and for shelling the Zekim military post with two other projectiles, as well as attacks that hit armored vehicles in Netzarim. The National Resistance Brigades, an armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), claimed responsibility for sheling Kfar Sa’d and Kfar Aza with two improvised projectiles. The Fatah-affiliated group also claimed responsibility for detonating a 10-kilogram explosive charge near a military jeep near Adureem in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Sunday, “injuring a number of Israeli soldiers.” The group said the attack was “in response to the Israeli crimes in Gaza,” according to a statement.

Military report: Palestinian resistance captures Israeli weapons, DFLP, ‘Army of the Nation,’ Al-Qassam Brigades, etc. hit Israeli occupation hard

Islamic Jihad releases photos showing seized Israeli weapons

Date: 10 / 01 / 2009  Time:  20:44

Gaza – Ma’an – The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the Al-Quds Brigades, released photos on Saturday that they say show weapons seized from the Israeli military during a surprise attack on Israeli troops north of Gaza City. The photos, posted on the group’s website, show masked Islamic Jihad fighters displaying what appears to be a rocket launcher stamped with Hebrew writing and a variety of bullets. The group also claimed to have caused casualties among the Israeli soldiers while attacking them with RPGs and rifles. They said the attack took place near the ruins of the American international school in northern Gaza. They claimed to have shot an Israeli soldier in the Zaytoun neighborhood of Gaza. The Al-Quds Brigades claimed joint responsibility with the Al-Aqsa Brigades for firing an RPG at Israeli soldiers in the Al-Atara area of northern Gaza on Satruday. Meanwhile, Palestinian armed groups continued to launch homemade projectiles at Israeli towns in the Western Negev. The Israeli army also announced that five soldiers were wounded in clashes with Palestinian gunmen on the Gaza border. Three Israelis were lightly to moderately injured after four Grad missiles landed on the city of Ashkelon, on the coast north of Gaza. Israeli media confirmed that six homemade projectiles landed in the area of Gaza, three in the Eshkol area to the east of Gaza, causing no injuries. Mortar shells also landed in Israeli army compounds near Gaza. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for firing three at the Eshkol area, and for firing four mortar shells in cooperation with another group at an Israeli military installation at Nahal Oz. The armed wing of Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for detonating two bombs in the midst of Israeli soldiers and shooting another soldier in the on Al-Kashef hill in eastern Gaza, and for targeting an undercover Israeli force in eastern Jabaliya with three RPGs. Al-Qassam also claimed responsibility for bombing a house it said contained undercover Israeli operatives in the At-Tuffah neighborhood, firing two projectiles at Ashkelon and five mortars at an Israeli military installation in Al-Maghazi. A group calling itself Jaysh Al-Umma (Army of the Nation) claimed responsibility for shooting an Israeli soldier in eastern Gaza. The National Resistance Brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) said they shelled a a gathering of Israeli tanks east of Al-Maghazi, in central Gaza.

Islamic Jihad says UN Security Council resolution 1860 equates “jailor with the victim”

UN SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION DOES NOT FULFIL GAZANS’ ASPIRATIONS – ISLAMIC JIHAD

GAZA, Jan 9 (NNN-KUNA) — The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, has said that UN Security Council resolution 1860 on Gaza, passed late Thursday night, does not fulfil the aspirations of the Palestinian people, and equated the jailor with the victim. Brigades spokesman, Abu Ahmad, said in a press release Friday that the Security Council should have denounced the Israeli aggression on Gaza, called for immediate halt of attacks and a withdrawal, as well as the lift of siege and opening of all crossings. He said that the Al-Quds Brigades, along with other Palestinian factions, would continue to stand up to Israel with whatever means available until the Jewish troops were forced to halt their attacks and withdraw. – NNN-KUNA

Iranian MP Ali Larijani calls Egyptian-French initiative: “honey injected with poison”

 Iranian MP Ali Larijani calls Egyptian-French initiative on Gaza fighting: “honey injected with poison”
Larijani Slams Western Proposals on Gaza

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TEHRAN (FNA)—A senior Iranian politician described proposals put forward by Middle Eastern and European states to end the Gaza conflict as “honey injected with poison” that would not protect Palestinian rights.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, a major figure in the Islamic Republic, was apparently referring to ideas put forward by Egypt and France to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group, Hamas.

“These plans were called plans to deal with massacres in Gaza. Some of these plans were proposed by some of the states in this region and some of them were put forward by some of the European states,” Larijani told reporters in Beirut on Thursday.

“We agree that these proposals do not protect the rights of the Palestinian people. These proposals are proposals … resembling honey injected with poison,” he said after talks with Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Larijani met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Damascus on Wednesday. No details emerged from their deliberations.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Saeed Jalili also met Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials in Damascus this week.

Larijani was visiting Lebanon together with the parliament speakers of Syria and Indonesia. “As a troika, we are looking for logical and reasonable solutions,” he said.

Israel, Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have entered talks with Egypt to try to agree terms of a ceasefire in Gaza, where more than 800 people have been killed since Israel began its offensive against Hamas on December 27.

At the United Nations, diplomats said on Thursday the United States, Britain and France had dropped objections to a binding UN resolution on Gaza and are talking to Arab states about one urging an immediate ceasefire.

Before Thursday, the United States vetoed several proposed Security Council resolutions which called on Israel to immediately hold fire and stop the massacre in Gaza.
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Al-Masakin News Agency
http://almasakinnewsagency.com

Palestinian Factions meet in Damascus: Hamas, PFLP-GC, Islamic Jihad meet Islamic delegation

The World Assembly of Islamic Scholars meets Palestinian factions in Damascus

Jan 05, 2009 DAMASCUS, (SANA)-The World Assembly of Islamic Scholars, headed by Sheikh Yusuf al Qardawi on Monday reiterated full support to the Palestinian people in the face of the Israeli brutal aggression on Gaza Strip.

The Islamic delegation met a delegation of the Palestinian resistance factions in Damascus, headed by Khaled Mesha’al, Chairman of HAMAS politburo in the presence of Syria’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- General Command -Ahmad Jibrel and Secretary General of Islamic Jihad Movement Ramadan Abdullah.

During the meeting, Mesha’al expressed appreciation of the role played by the Islamic delegation in mobilizing the nation’s people and their interaction with the Palestinian issue, stressing the importance of continuing this active role.

Mazen

Hamas Kills 9 Israeli Troops, Captures 2 in Gaza Op.

Hanan Awarekeh Readers Number : 4100

04/01/2009 After a week of the launch of “Operation Cast Lead” against Gaza, Israeli occupation army started on Saturday evening a ground military offensive into the coastal strip in order to “destroy the Hamas infrastructure and rocket launch pads in the area of operations”.   And as it has vowed, the Palestinian resistance was waiting for the occupation soldiers to foil their aggression, killing nine of them and wounding dozens others, according to Ezz-eddine Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing. Hamas resistance fighters also said they have destroyed an Israeli Merkava with a B-29bomb.   Hamas announced it had captured two Israeli soldiers, an event which, for Israel, would highlight the political risk domestically of sending its troops into Gaza. A spokesman for Hamas’ armed wing said Israeli troops faced certain death or capture. “The Zionist enemy must know his battle in Gaza is a lost one for them,” spokesman Abu Ubaida said.   Islamic Jihad’s Quds Brigades spokesman, Abu Ahmad, told Al-Manar in a telephone call that fierce fighting is taking place on all Gaza fronts. “The enemy has fallen into the trap, it’s where we want it to be. The occupation army sought to divide Gaza into two to scatter resistance fighters, however this move has backlashed and what happened was the opposite. Tanks have become an easy target for the fighters and rockets are being fired from behind resistance lines which means that the occupation army has failed to accomplish anything. The enemy is seeking to cover its fiasco and its fighter jets have been bombing civilian regions and killing civilians to pressure the resistance. The losses in the Israeli army ranks are very big and perhaps the coming days or hours will unconver this fact. Thousands of fighters are deployed at all fronts. The only problem that is somehow obstructing their move the IAF, but still we are moving, firing rockets and inflicting losses in Israeli soldiers.”   Israeli defense officials said that top commanders were split over whether to send in ground forces because such an operation could lead to heavy casualties. Israeli occupation army admitted the killing of one of its soldiers, adding that 30 others were wounded, two of them seriously.   On Sunday, Israeli occupation troops tried to push deeper into Gaza and clashed in fierce battles with Hamas resistance fighters. Explosions shook the northern Gaza Strip and thick black smoke billowed skywards as fighting raged in the largest Israeli military operation since the 2006 war in Lebanon. A Palestinian resistance spokesman said Israel is intensifying its shelling in the Strip to cover its harsh defeat there.   Infantry and tanks were operating in Netzarim, just three kilometers (nearly two miles) south of Gaza City, the main population centre of the densely populated territory, witnesses said. Heavy fighting was also reported north of Gaza City and outside the northern towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanun and Jabaliya.   The ground invasion followed a week of intense air and naval bombardment unleashed on the Gaza Strip on December 27. “Operation Cast Lead” had killed at least 480 Palestinians, including 80 children, and wounded more than 2,300 others before the ground troops rolled in, according to Gaza medics.   Large numbers of Israeli occupation forces are taking part in this stage of the operation including infantry, tanks, engineering forces, artillery and intelligence with the support of the Israel Air Force, Israel navy, the Shin Bet security service and other security agencies. The Israeli cabinet has also authorized an emergency call up of tens of thousands of occupation reservists.   Ahead of an Israeli cabinet meeting on Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told reporters that Israel will expand and intensify its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip “as much as necessary.” “This operation won’t be easy and won’t be simple,” he said. “The operation will be expanded and intensified as much as necessary. War is not a picnic.”   Analysts say that the mere deployment of tens of thousands of Israeli soldiers, with the help of IAF, the navy and other security bodies constitutes a failure for the Zionist entity that has been setting objectives for its war and then retreat them. The last objective according an Israeli military spokeswoman was to control the area from where the Palestinian resistance is launching rockets. She also said that, yet Hamas rockets will not fully stop. Israel’s first announced objective of the war was to simply crush the resistance group Hamas.   On Saturday morning, Israeli Radio quoted a spokesman for the Hamas military wing as saying it had repelled an attempt by Israeli occupation soldiers to infiltrate the Shajaiyeh section of Gaza City. Hamas said that its resistance fighters detected the soldiers and fired six mortar shells. Hamas said the occupation soldiers reportedly opened fire and then returned to the occupied territory.

http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/NewsDetails.aspx?id=69127&language=en