Isnin, 11 Januari 2010
Ahad, 3 Januari 2010
Egypt's Gaza wall months from completion - Israel
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An underground wall that Egypt is building along its border with the Gaza Strip will significantly stem Palestinian arms smuggling when is completed, an Israeli military officer said on Wednesday.
It may be months before it is finished, however, the officer said.
Cairo has played down the scope of the dig on the 14-km (8-mile)-long frontier but Gaza's Islamist Hamas rulers condemn it as a "wall of death" that could seal an Israeli-led blockade by smothering smuggler tunnels from the Egyptian Sinai.
"The wall definitely has the potential to make things difficult, though it (smuggling) won't stop hermetically," an Israeli military officer briefed on Gaza intelligence said.
"There has certainly been an effect already. It's driving Hamas crazy."
Israel has long lobbied Egypt to tackle the cross-border smuggling, which supplies Palestinians with both munitions and basic commercial goods lacking in Gaza.
Asked when the Egyptian wall might be finished, the officer, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said: "If they work 24/7, it will still take a protracted period -- months."
Egyptian officials have said steel tubes were being placed at several points along the frontier to form a barrier, but have not elaborated on its purpose. Unlike Israel, Egypt maintains relations with Hamas and has an Islamist opposition movement.
Citing an unnamed Egyptian intelligence source, Israel's biggest newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said the wall would run as deep as 30 metres (yards) and would be rigged with sensors and pressurised hoses to flood tunnels with seawater.
Tunnel-builders say some 3,000 of the underground passages were operational before Israel launched a three-week Gaza offensive a year ago, but only 150 were still functional following the conflict and subsequent Israeli air raids.
The Israeli officer said Hamas, using the tunnels, had replenished its rocket and small-arms arsenal since the war.
While Israel believed that Hamas had expanded the reach of the short-range rockets and acquired anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles since the war, the Israeli officer said this did not constitute a major qualitative military gain.
"In terms of the weapons they have, I would characterise it as 'more of the same'. What is new is that Hamas is trying to improve its professionalism and the way it operates against our forces."
(Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Angus MacSwan)
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
PM’s wife and Mahathir recognised for helping Gaza aid convoy
KUALA LUMPUR: Wife of the Prime Minister, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor; former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad; and Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been singled out by a British politician for their exemplary efforts in helping to push for the Viva Palestina humanitarian aid convoy to reach its destination in Gaza.
George Galloway, who is leading the convoy, had told the Al Jazeera TV network that the convoy, carrying essentials and medical aid for Palestinians trapped within an Israeli blockade, must be allowed to proceed. In a report filed on Dec 28 titled Fighting to Break the Gaza Siege, the network had quoted Galloway as saying that medicines brought by the convoy “are in a race against the time of their expiry date and getting spoiled under the desert sun while people in Gaza die for the want of them”.
“The government of Turkey and the respected Premier (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan are trying their best as is the former Malaysian Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as well as the wife of the current Prime Minister in Kuala Lumpur,” he was quoted as saying.
Galloway also said he had written to Queen Rania of Jordan, asking her to contact Susan Mubarak, first lady of Egypt and head of the Egyptian Red Crescent.
He said there were more than 200 trucks and 500 people from 17 different countries who had given up their Christmas holidays to try and help one and a half million Arabs and Muslims in Gaza. — Bernama
Jumaat, 1 Januari 2010
What can we do about the slaughter of Muslims in Palestine and around the world?
What is our stance concerning the slaughter of Muslims in Palestine and other parts of the world that is happening right now, where houses are being destroyed, farms are being wrecked, children are being killed, the wounded are being detained in the streets, houses are being bombarded and people are being prevented by the Jews and others, from buying the food and drink that they need? What can I, as a Muslim, do?
Praise be to Allaah.
1- You have to make du’aa’, and recite du’a’ al-qunoot in your salaah (prayer).
2- Collect charity and send it through trustworthy channels.
3- Support the weak and oppressed in all ways, including the media and the internet.
4- Get scholars, daa’iyahs, khateebs and writers to explain the oppression that is happening and the negligence on the part of the ummah, and to mobilize the ummah to defend the holy places.
5- Check on one’s own intentions with regard to fighting for the sake of Allaah, and see whether he is applying the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): «Whoever dies without having fought for the sake of Allaah or having had the intention of doing so, has died following one of the branches of hypocrisy» [Saheeh Muslim].
6- Pursuing all the means of building up material and moral strength, in preparation for meeting the enemy (in battle).
7- Reminding oneself and others of the virtues of martyrdom for the sake of Allaah and studying the rulings on jihad, and not having an attachment to this world.
8- Doing as much damage as possible to the enemies who are in a state of war with us, by boycotting their products, attacking them verbally and in writing to humiliate and annoy them, and to point out their kufr and shirk, and their insults to Allaah, His Messenger and the believers, publishing as much as possible in the audio-visual and print media about this serious topic whilst also connecting that to Islamic belief and the words of Allaah and His Messenger.
We ask Allaah the Exalted and All-Powerful to support His religion and cause His word to prevail.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Islam Q&A
islamway.com
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