Hamas Planned to Use Tunnels Israel is Destroying to Attack Israelis On Their New Year Holiday - Rosh Hashanah!

You decide! 

4 minute video here and full story from the Washington Times at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzOwe_n68ss


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=11&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CGAQFjAK&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtontimes.com%2Fnews%2F2014%2Fjun%2F23%2Fwhite-houses-claim-shock-illegal-kids-falls-flat-f%2F&ei=Tt3OU6awMcKLyAS4q4CABw&usg=AFQjCNH53UVGiVq4lN9NE-MSavGKO3HIKw&bvm=bv.71198958,d.aWw

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More about those innocent Hamas tunnelers! (See 1 below.)

and click on this:  http://cryptome.org/2014-info/gaza-ugi/gaza-ugi.htm

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Forwarded to me by a dear friend and fellow memo reader and was sent to him. (See 2 and 2a below.)

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This is from,Laurie Blank, Clinical Professor of Law, Director, International Humanitarian Law Clinic

Emory Law School, and  the daughter of friends :

-- http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/211931-getting-the-law-right-on-the-israel-hamas-conflict  

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The writer of this letter might as well go talk to The Wall! (See 3 below.)

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Dick

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1) What Hamas planned to do with the terror tunnels

The IDF has not yet located and destroyed all of Hamas' terror tunnels, but the consensus about the intent behind them is quite clear. This isJonathan Dahoah HeLevi of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. 

Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas prime minister, delivered a revealing speech on March 23, 2014, in which he stressed the strategic importance of the Hamas attack tunnels, which, he argued, have changed the balance of power with Israel, when taken together with his organization’s military build-up. In the meantime, the IDF’s war against the tunnels continues. On Monday IDF forces thwarted another terror attack after two groups of Hamas operatives (numbering about ten) infiltrated from Gaza to Israel through a tunnel, apparently on their way to carry out a mass casualty attack at Kibbutz Erez and/or Kibbutz Nir Am.

Since Operation Protective Edge began, IDF forces have foiled several other attempted attacks by Hamas near Kibbutz Sufa and Kibbutz Nirim that also made use of attack tunnels, while uncovering and blowing up dozens of tunnels in Gaza along its border with Israel. These tunnels penetrate deep into Israeli territory, sometimes reaching a length of 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles).

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The attack tunnels create a new equation in the power balance between Israel and Hamas. They give Hamas an ability to infiltrate Israel and carry out strategic attacks involving mass killing, along with an ability to launch missiles from locations concealed within civilian population centers that serve, in effect, as human shields. Should Hamas retain in the future 20 tunnels, and dispatch 50 operatives in each, they could deploy 1,000 men behind Israeli lines. The tunnels would allow Hamas to wreak havoc if they are left in place.

Hizbullah’s tactics, learned from Iran, have been replicated in Gaza, particularly the use of the tunnels to provide “breathing space” in waging the military campaign. The Hamas-Hizbullah-Iranian aim is to cause as much harm as possible to the civilian population and weaken Israel by damaging its economy. Like Hizbullah, Hamas in the current round has tried to strike strategic targets in Israel and inflict mass casualties, including the nuclear reactor in Dimona, the chemical plants in Haifa, and Ben-Gurion International Airport.

Despite the reconciliation agreement with Fatah and the establishment of the unity government, one of Hamas’s objectives in the war is to ignite another intifada on the West Bank aimed ultimately at the toppling of Palestinian Authority rule and instituting a Hamas takeover of the Palestinian national movement. This current round of fighting highlights the importance of continued Israeli security control of key areas of the West Bank to prevent a Hamas takeover of the Palestinian Authority, and the maintenance of minimal defensible borders should a Palestinian state be established.

Then there's this assessment from Times of Israel's David Horovitz. 

The prime danger, the second half of the terror strategy that has required us to send our troops into Gaza, has turned out to be Hamas’s cross-border tunneling, the scale of which was not publicly known until the last few days. Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog spoke Tuesday of the “unimaginable” mega-terror attack Hamas is believed to have been planning — sending hundreds of terrorists swarming through those tunnels to massacre Israelis in the Gaza-envelope kibbutzim and moshavim. Netanyahu said Sunday that the intended Hamas attacks on kibbutz kindergartens, homes and dining halls would have been “catastrophic.”

Five times in recent days, trying to use those tunnels before the army finds them, well-armed terror gangs have made their way through — entering them from beneath homes in the Gaza neighborhoods a few hundred yards from the border, and emerging inside Israel. An estimated 20 Hamas gunmen have been killed in the subsequent confrontations; so have six IDF soldiers. Kibbutzim and moshavim close to Gaza have been placed on shutdown for long hours while the army made sure there were no more killers on the loose. Troop deployments on the Israeli side have been significantly bolstered.

But those are defensive measures. The real battle is taking place in those Gaza border neighborhoods — Shejaiya, Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and others — where thousands of Israeli solders are searching, house to house, for the tunnel entrances. Dozens of openings have been found — multiple entrances to the underground passages that also have multiple exits on the Israeli side. Time after time, Hamas gunmen have sought to surprise the Israeli soldiers by rising out of the earth from these openings, and firing. They’ve been largely unsuccessful. Ten Hamas gunmen were shot dead attempting the feat from one tunnel opening inside a mosque on Sunday, military sources said — just one of numerous such incidents.

Israel says some 210 Hamas fighters have been killed; more than 20 have been captured and are providing intelligence on the tunnels.

And finally there's this - long on details that I have been unable to confirm and short on verification or even a source (the person who posted it on Facebook did so without a link and has refused repeated entreaties to post one). Even if the details are all wrong (and they're probably not - lots of information that the army doesn't release gets disclosed around the water coolers at Israeli workplaces), it is a concrete example of what HaLevi and Horovitz are discussing above.

From the 48 Hamas prisoners that have been captured, the intelligence have been interrogating them and the most terrifying, and horrific picture is being built.

They are being investigated about the many tunnels that have been found and dug under many kibbutzim that surround Gaza. The most terrifying detail is being uncovered that Hamas had a plan to attack all the settlements and kibbutzim in the area this year on Rosh Hashanah with an invasion of over 200 terrorists into almost all the settlements in the area. The tunnels went under the kibbutzim under the kindergartens and dining rooms and other areas within the kibbutz perimeters. They planned to occupy the whole area and kill as many Israeli as possible.

This could have been the worst terror attack in the history of terrorism. Thousands of people, including women and children would have been slaughtered in this planned attack.

I think now we start to understand how dangerous these tunnels really are. They all have to be destroyed and we cannot leave even one undetected or unattended to. These tunnels are more dangerous than any rocket or any other weapon .

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2)  Several interesting things  occurred this week.  First off, I met and talked  with  a  pediatric  surgeon and   a  urologist both  young   by  medical  practice  standards  ( being in their  50's).both are retiring  this summer. This  will produce  a  severe  rationing  of care in our community as there  are  not surgeons  available to replace them.   In the  past  three years   we have lost  3 of our  9 surgeons from our  pediatric  surgery  group that runs  the surgical section of our hospital. Scottish Rite  has the  largest  number of  ER visits  of any children's hospital in the  USA. the  doctors are so overworked and the  system is so  overburdened   with   illegal  immigrants that no one wants to come to this group and  work at Scottish Rite. The  administration's policy  of  not  closing our borders is directly  affecting the  care of our children.   I talked with a friend in California who  told me that the public schools  are so  overrun with illegal immigrants that the  quality of the schools had  dropped  tremendously and that  the  flood of   illegal immigrants  is  hurting the quality of our education  for our children.

 In November we as  Americans  will have the  chance to take   back our  country  if we have the courage  to do so.

 

z...

2a) 

The Coast Guard intercepted a boatload of people off the Texas coast today.

This placed the Coast Guard in an awkward position, as the boat was not heading to the US, but towards Mexico and Central America.

Another surprise finding was the people were white American retirement age seniors.  Their claim was that they were trying to get to Central America or Southern Mexico they wanted to return to the US as illegal immigrants.  Then they would be entitled to far more benefits than they were receiving as American retirees.

It is believed the Coast Guard gave them food, water and fuel and assisted them on their journey. 

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3)

A letter to Obama By BEN CASPIT An address to the US president on the situation in the Middle East, Hamas and the UN Human Rights Council.

Dear President Barack Obama, You are the leader of the free world. Here in the Middle East, where we live, freedom is running out. Countries and entire regions are falling into the hands of brain-washed, hate-filled extremists, who slaughter anyone who doesn’t think the same way they think or agree with all their religious beliefs. Look at what’s happening in Syria, Iraq, in the Sinai Desert and many other places. You know full well, Mr. President, that in its war against Hamas, Israel embodies the forces of light, and Hamas the forces of darkness. A veritable Gunfight at the OK Corral, where the good guy takes on the bad guy. But let’s put politics aside for a moment, ignore the background noise and the failed peace process. Let’s not mention Binyamin Netanyahu. Most of the Israeli public genuinely supports peace, and I am one of a large number willing to make painful concessions to achieve peace, with a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel. Let’s not forget that the most popular person in Israel, way ahead of any others, is our former president, Shimon Peres (whose term in office ended on Thursday). The ultimate prophet of peace. All this must now be pushed to the sidelines. At the moment we are in a war for our lives against an adversary that calls for our destruction and holds this mission as holy religious project. Hamas is not willing to conduct negotiations, doesn’t recognize existing arrangements, openly supports the annihilation of Israel and calls for throwing the citizens of Israel into the sea. At the same time, Hamas oppresses an entire population, treats women as inferior objects, and persecutes Christians while building an empire of terror and an army of fighters dedicated to holy war. You know, Mr. President, that I am not depending on a list of slogans here. Hard facts are being revealed to us daily. On Wednesday, Mr. President, we learned that the United Nations Human Rights Committee ordered the establishment of a commission of inquiry to study “war crimes” committed by Israel in Gaza. The last time this happened was when the Goldstone Committee dealt Israel’s reputation a worldwide blow that was no less than disastrous. Eventually, Richard Goldstone himself regretted the report that bore his name, but it was too late to make a difference. Today, Mr. President, it is happening again. And it mustn’t be allowed. Actually, several things have happened since Operation Cast Lead in January 2009, which brought us Goldstone. New organizations have come into being, such as the Islamic State group that is currently terrorizing Syrians, Iraqis and Jordanians. The Sunni Islamist Jabhat al-Nusra front is making its presence felt. Al-Qaida is rearing its head. Hezbollah is still spoiling for war. The enlightened world has begun to understand that what we have here is not a war for an independent Palestinian state, but a war of destruction. A war of cultures. Yes, we all know that the UN Human Rights Council is a flyby- night body with an automatic majority against Israel. It is dumb and unintelligent and motivated mainly by hate, perhaps even anti-Semitism. Which doesn’t mean we have to put up with all this. We appeal to you, Mr. President to make your voice heard as leader of the free world. To defend us. To stand up for sanity, against the forces of evil. To distinguish between the good guys and the bad. Between human beings and wild animals. As a journalist, Mr. President, I spend a lot of time in the field. This week I saw a 14-year-old Palestinian girl from Gaza being evacuated in an IDF tank to a hospital in Israel. Yesterday, she and her mother were interviewed by Israeli TV, from inside the safety of an Israeli hospital. They spoke of the fair treatment, the excellent care and devotion they received, and described the soldiers who had saved them as “brave and fair.” Their faces were covered, for fear of being harmed when they return to their homes in Gaza and into the arms of Hamas. Our hospitals are full of wounded Palestinians. By the way, it is not this way only during wartime. Palestinian babies and children receive life-saving treatment in Israel on a daily basis. That never deters Hamas, which even fires at the power station that supplies Gaza with electricity. Even the fact that the only border crossing between Gaza and the outside world is in Israel and that even today, all the provisions, food, medicines and equipment needed in Gaza come via Israel, does not confuse Hamas, which continues with its plan to annihilate Israel. Yesterday, Hamas fired on the field hospital Israel established in Shejaia, a facility which only treats wounded Palestinians. Hamas did this in retaliation for the IDF’s attack on Wafa Hospital in the same neighborhood. The only, small difference is that Wafa Hospital is a launching pad for missiles and anti-tank rockets aimed at us. We have it on film. Just like the footage we have of them concealing missiles in schools belonging to UNRWA. Just as they place launch sites and rocket arsenals next to homes, parks and schools. They hide behind their civilians. In recent years they have not built so much as a single bomb shelter in Gaza, shelters that could save the lives of many civilians. Instead, they built dozens of underground tunnels from which to attack Israel and try to destroy it. During the first 10 days of this war, the IDF lost 10 soldiers. In American terms, this is equivalent to 1,600 dead US servicemen. Some of them, like the three paratroopers killed Wednesday, dead because the Israeli Air Force refused to attack a specific target for fear of hurting civilians. Instead, the paratroopers entered a booby-trapped house and were blown up. You no doubt know, Mr. President, of other Western armies that would have used different means to solve situations such as these. But we are Jews and Israelis, Mr. President, and we are denied such measures. Our hands are bound by phony moral excuses, and we are obliged to continue sacrificing our soldiers. You are aware, Mr. President, that Israel withdrew from every last inch of Gaza in 2005. Israel gave peace a chance. Instead of peace, we got war and war again. You know that Hamas refused to join any cease-fire Israel agreed to. We agreed to a cease fire even though, under the current circumstances, this would have been tantamount to an Israeli defeat. Hamas seeks to wreak death, to terrorize, to continue to brainwash those whose brains are not already drenched with uncompromising hatred. Mr. President, Hamas must be stopped. For this to happen, the UN Human Rights Council must be stopped first. Someone has to stand up and tell the world the truth. That someone, Mr. President, ought to be you. Only you. Because you are the only one they’ll believe. Translated from Hebrew by Ora Cummings ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------