Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Israel launches 'prolonged' offensive against Hamas - rearrests leader Hassan Yousef after rocket attacks on Israeli towns Israel launches 'prolonged' offensive against Hamas - rearrests leader Hassan Yousef after rocket attacks on Israeli townsHamas calls Abbas weapons ban attempt to "break the backs of the martyrs" Arrested Hamas leader Hassan Yousef as a speaker at the internationally funded Hamas front known as PASSIA, The Palestinian Academy for the Study of International Affairs. PASSIA counts among it's founders the Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and the German Friedrich Ebert Stiftung . What better speaker to talk about the Islamist concept of truce (as a strategic means of regrouping for attacks) then a Hamas leader ?
MIM: Business as usual in Gaza: Hassan Yousef was released by Israel several years ago and has been pursuing his terrorist activities unhindered. He was also an associate and frequent speaker at PASSIA, (The Palestinian Academy for the Study of International Affairs",a heavily funded organisation which also includes Hamas leader Jamil Hamimi, who was accused of working for the Holyland Foundation funding front. Another PASSIA luminary is Sheik Ikrima Sabri, who declared his love for child suicide bombers with the statement; "the younger the martyr the more I respect him" Recently, Hassan Yousef made headlines when he went up to the Temple Mount and exhorted Muslims to fight the Israelis and started a rumor ( similiar to those spread by Hitler ally Al Husseini in 1929), that Jews were planning to take over the Temple Mount. Hassan Yousef's arrest should lead to demands that the PASSIA organisation be stripped of it's funding for their ties to Hamas. MIM readers will recall that FAU Fulbright scholar Mustafa Abu Sway (who was documented as a Hamas member) was also a frequent speaker at PASSIA events: "...Hamas Peacenik" Mustafa Abu Sway's connections to PASSIA , the co called (Palestinian Academy for the Study of International Affairs )shows how there are zero degrees of seperation between him and Hamas. That a non existent country receives funding from the "usual suspects' like the Ford and Rockefeller foundations, to maintain an institutional NGO facade for Hamas should come as no surprise .PASSIA continues 'business as usual', even after panelist Hasan Yousef was arrested and imprisoned in Israel. (see HAMAS communique below calling for Jihad and warning Israel not to harm "the steadfast Sheik" ). The list of participants in PASSIA events includes members of Hamas, the PLO, Fatah, and the Palestinian Authority . http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/24 For recent news about Hassan Yousef see: http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/461 ------------------------ "...Among those arrested were Hassan Yousef, the most prominent Hamas leader in the West Bank, Hamas officials said..." Israel launches 'prolonged' offensive against Hamas ---------- http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1467934.htm Last Update: Sunday, September 25, 2005.
Israel arrests 207 in West Bank crackdown Israeli troops have arrested 207 suspected Islamic militants in the West Bank in the toughest crackdown in months. The arrests come after the Jewish state vowed to stop Palestinian rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. "Our forces have taken 207 fugitives into custody, most of them from Hamas or Islamic Jihad," an Army spokeswoman said. Relatives and Hamas sources say Hassan Youssef and Mohammed Ghazal, who are both top Hamas officials in the occupied West Bank, are among those who have been detained. The arrest sweep is the biggest by Israel since Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed a cease-fire in February that paved the way for Israel's withdrawal from Gaza this month. An Israeli Army general says the arrests are among measures authorities have decided on after rocket attacks by Hamas that were launched from Gaza. The Army has also resumed assassinating militants and received an unprecedented green light to use artillery against the Gaza Strip. "This operation is not limited in time," Major-General Israel Ziv, chief of military operations, told Israel Radio. "We have taken the liberty to use all weapons in order to remove this threat (of rocket attacks)." Air strikes Israel killed two Hamas militants on Saturday in its first air strikes in the Gaza Strip since the pullout. Palestinian witnesses say 20 civilians were wounded. In the latest air strike, an Israeli helicopter fired two missiles in the northern Gaza Strip early on Sunday. A military source said the missiles targeted buildings used by militants. There were no immediate reports of any casualties. The Israeli Army said about 40 rockets had been fired into Israel since Friday. Militants said the rocket attacks were in retaliation for a blast that killed 15 people at a Hamas rally. But Israel denies responsibility for the blast and the Palestinian Authority says it appears to have been an accident caused by Hamas members carrying explosives. Vowing vengeance, the military wing of Hamas says it is "time to strike with all our might". Palestinian officials have condemned "Israeli aggression", but Mr Abbas has also strongly criticised militants for keeping explosives in built-up areas, calling their actions a "massacre". "It has become imperative now more than ever to stop ... armed parades and disruptions in civilian areas at the expense of serious work and of the rule of law," Mr Abbas said. The Israeli Army sealed off the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday, denying entry to Palestinians allowed to work in Israel. Sharon showdown The violence could have an impact when Mr Sharon battles to hold on to the leadership of his ruling Likud Party in a showdown triggered by rightist rival Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to the Gaza pullout. The vote by Likud's more than 3,000 central committee members tomorrow could turn Israeli politics on its head. It may prompt Mr Sharon to leave the party and form a new centrist alliance that surveys show would be very popular with voters. Opinion polls show the outcome is too close to call, although Mr Netanyahu - who quit as Mr Sharon's finance minister in August over Gaza - has a slight lead among central committee members in the run-up to the vote. Polls also show a new centrist alliance headed by Mr Sharon would secure 76 seats in Israel's 120-member Parliament, while a Netanyahu-led Likud would be decimated. The bloodshed is also a major challenge for Mr Abbas, who has shied away from disarming militant groups such as Hamas - an Israeli condition for talks on Palestinian statehood - because of fears it could lead to civil war. ---------------- PASSIA meeting on 'The Future of Al Quds' with Hamas leaders Hassan Yousef, Jamil Hamami, Sheik Ikrima Sabri, and former FAU visiting professor Mustapha Abu Sway, who continues to 'teach' at Al Quds University, which serves as a front for Hamas. http://www.passia.org/meetings/rsunit/2001/22janphotos.html 22 January 2001 , PASSIA, Jerusalem 1 |