Hamas

A hudna is not a resolution.

Legislation names Hezbollah, Hamas, the Islamic State, and Boko Haram as examples.

South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel two weeks ago to condemn the “violent aggression carried out by Israeli armed forces along the Gaza border.” Hamas, however, soon admitted that 50 of the 62 Palestinians killed were members of the organization, upending South Africa’s premature claim…

Recent events in Gaza demonstrate the growing chasm between reporting and reality.

A debased national movement at 70.

By any traditional standard, Israel won its 50-day war against Hamas in 2014. It incurred far fewer casualties than its Palestinian adversary. It rooted out much of the Gaza Strip’s terrorist infrastructure, including tunnels the militant group had burrowed to transport fighters into Israel. And it…

Two secret documents obtained by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz purportedly show that the Obama administration was eagerly trying to sponsor a final agreement between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority that would end the five decades of conflict in the West Bank.

A hotel in Qatar with links to the United States has decided against hosting a Hamas press conference Monday, THE WEEKLY STANDARD has learned. The cancellation came after reports that the company could face penalties for providing material support for terrorism if it held the event.

This post has been updated for clarity and to reflect that the location of the event was changed from City Centre Doha to Intercontinental Doha. After publication, the event was moved once again, as we reported here.

Israeli law enforcement officials have charged Mohammed el-Halabi, an employee of World Vision, a child welfare organization supported by Christians throughout the world, of funneling millions of dollars to the anti-Semitic terror organization Hamas.

Camp Shomera, on the Israel-Lebanon border

Radio host Hugh Hewitt interviewed Donald Trump Thursday and asked the Republican frontrunner some details on foreign policy. After Trump confused some terminology, he accused Hewitt of asking "gotcha questions."

The State Department's practice of downplaying Palestinian incitement has reached a new low, with its latest report whitewashing not only the Palestinians' behavior but also Secretary of State John Kerry's own words on the subject.

Elections have grown increasingly contentious in countries across the globe. This makes sense; governments have become immensely powerful in the face of growing challenges,  governments control a much greater share of the economy, and the benefits of dispensing government largesse are increasing…

A new report from the Jewish Telegraph Agency details that the Argentine congress will be fundraising for the terror group Hamas. 

For the moment, the Gaza war of 2014 is over. Anyone trying now to figure out who won and who lost should recall the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. Then, Israelis had a great sense of letdown because they had not “won.” They had not destroyed Hezbollah, and the organization loudly claimed a…

During the six weeks of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has used human shields—women and children—to protect its infrastructure in Gaza. This tactic is meant either to deter Israel from striking at the rockets, attack tunnels, and terrorists that threaten it, or—and for Hamas this is much…

What, you sometimes think, is it with these people?  Why are they so infatuated with death? First, the execution of James Foley by ISIS, carried off like a punk schoolyard stunt. And now, as the Chicago Tribune reports:

While a ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli military forces continues, a Thursday rally in Gaza City organized by the terrorist group featured plenty of young children, some of whom were carrying toy guns. Associated Press photographer Lefteris Pitarakis captured the scene:

Now into its second day, the 72-hour humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian factions continues to hold. With Hamas’ missile arsenal depleted by roughly 50 percent and, according to Israeli assessments, 32 attack tunnels destroyed, Israeli officials are claiming a clear victory. “The…

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior editor Lee Smith on the ceasefire agreed to in Gaza by Hamas and Israel.

Abulghasem Salavati, who heads Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, is known as one of Iran’s “hanging judges.” As the London Guardian reported recently, Salavati and his colleague, Mohammad Moghiseh, are most prominent judges in a drive to suppress independent journalists and political…

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Jimmy Carter takes to ForeignPolicy.com to argue that the key to ending the current war in Gaza is "recognizing Hamas as a legitimate political actor." Writing along with fellow "Elder" Mary Robinson (part of an "international group of elder statesmen"), the former…

On CNN's Reliable Sources Sunday, frequent WEEKLY STANDARD contributor Elliott Abrams debated Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal over the issue of how the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza has been covered by the media. Watch the clip below:

Israel’s Operation Protective Edge was only a week old when Human Rights Watch charged that “Israeli air attacks in Gaza investigated by Human Rights Watch have been targeting apparent civilian structures and killing civilians in violation of the laws of war.” The report quoted Sarah Leah Whitson,…

On Tuesday, President Obama visited the Dutch embassy in Washington to pay his respects to the victims of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, shot down over Ukraine by forces armed and backed by Vladimir Putin. Obama wrote in the embassy’s condolence book, “We will not rest until we are certain that…

During the first two weeks of the Gaza conflict, Hamas landed at least two significant punches. In firing missiles at Ben Gurion Airport, Hamas convinced the Federal Aviation Authority and European air carriers to temporarily suspend flights to Israel. The fact that relatively primitive rockets…

Ninety minutes into the 72-hour unconditional ceasefire announced this morning, Hamas launched a suicide attack in which two IDF soldiers were killed and another was kidnapped. Word on the ground in Israel is that Palestinian Islamic Jihad, rather than Hamas, may be responsible for the operation.…

Matthew Continetti, writing at the Washington Free Beacon, offers a solution to the cycle of violence in the Gaza Strip. Here's an excerpt:

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended after it had barely begun Friday morning when the terrorist organization committed a suicide attack that killed two Israeli soldiers and kidnapped a third. In a fact sheet sent to journalists, Omri Ceren of the Israel Project explains where the broken…

The WEEKLY STANDARD  podcast with senior editor Lee Smith on Hamas's attack tunnels, Operation Protective Edge, the Iranian factor, and what the media gets wrong about Israel's involvement in Gaza.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with editor William Kristol on the United Nations, the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, and the crisis at the southern U.S. border.

I've lived in Europe the past dozen years—in Berlin, Prague, and London. When it comes to Israel, Europe's ways seldom cease to amaze. 

Joe Klein of Time defended Israel's military actions in Gaza on MSNBC's Morning Joe Thursday. Klein, a self-described critic of Israel's support of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, nonetheless argued that Western media needed to do a better job of telling Israel's side of the story, a point he…

The Federal Aviation Administration banned U.S. airlines from flying to Israel on Tuesday afternoon. Mike Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York City, issued the following statement Tuesday night:

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior writer Stephen F. Hayes on Obama, Putin, Ukraine, Netanyahu, Hamas, and Israel.

Last week, Hamas fired hundreds of rockets and missiles at targets throughout Israel, including the nuclear reactor at Dimona. Two of the three M-75 missiles targeting Dimona missed the mark entirely, but one had to be brought down by Iron Dome, Israel’s antimissile shield. The U.N. considers an…

Fox News Sunday reports on a hot mic that caught John Kerry mocking Israel's "pinpoint operation" against Hamas in Gaza:

Elliott Abrams, writing for the Council on Foreign Relations:

The reluctance of Hamas’s “military wing”—a misnomer for the more extreme elements of its extremist leadership—to accept the cease-fire designed by Egypt is, well, logical. Let’s admit it. They do not wish to accept defeat, and the Egyptian terms are a defeat for Hamas.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior editor Lee Smith on the situation in Israel and Operation Protective Edge.

There are reports this morning that Israel has identified and destroyed an armed drone apparently being used by the terrorist group Hamas:

A strong statement of support for Israel by the prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper:

Former head of the Shin Bet Avi Dichter joins former military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin and others insisting that Operation Preventive Edge can't be merely tactical. Rather, writes Dichter, Israel must uproot Gaza's terrorist infrastructure, not only smuggling tunnels but also munitions…

Elliott Abrams, writing for the Council on Foreign Relations:

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with senior editor Lee Smith on his recent Tablet column "America Is the Arsonist of the Middle East." 

The IDF says a rocket, fired from Gaza, has hit Jerusalem. "Confirmed: A rocket fired from Gaza hit Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city," tweets the IDF.

Today the Palestinian Authority announced a joint interim government uniting Fatah and Hamas. West Bankers and Gazans cheer the move because the division between the two most powerful Palestinian factions has been a black eye for the Palestinian nationalist movement. Their rival religious and…

Earlier this morning Israeli commandos boarded an Iranian vessel in the Red Sea carrying an arms shipment destined for Gaza and the Sinai. According to Reuters, the Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel Klos C was boarded in international waters without resistance from its 17-strong crew, who may have…

In a statement released this morning, the Newseum announces that it will "re-evaluate" its decision to include two terrorists on its "Journalist Memorial." The Newseum had been planning to honor former members of the terrorist group Hamas, Mahmoud Al-Kumi and Hussam Salama.

Ben Smith reports that Jewish groups are outraged the Newseum plans to honor two terrorists:

BuzzFeed reports:

The Newseum, a museum in Washington, D.C. that chronicles the news industry, plans to add two dead terrorists to its "Journalists Memorial."  The announcement to include these terrorists on the memorial, which "pays tribute to reporters, photographers and broadcasters who have died reporting the…

Adam Kredo reports:

CNN, reporting on the possibility that President Barack Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense, said that the former senator has "been against sanction for iran ... and for talking to Hamas." Watch here:

An explosion in southern Lebanon last week destroyed what is believed to have been a Hezbollah weapons depot. This latest in a series of mysterious “accidents” in Hezbollah-controlled precincts proved, as one Israeli official wryly remarked, that those who “sleep with rockets and amass large…

If the truce announced in Cairo last Wednesday truly brings the Gaza war to a close, it is not too soon to assess who gained and who lost from this conflict.

A week after the ceasefire concluding Israel’s eight day campaign against Hamas, Operation Pillar of Defense, there is some debate as to who came out on top. The way one judges the outcome seems to depend on: one, what you make of the ceasefire agreement; two, what role you think that Egyptian…

According to Iran, the terrorist group Hamas is very thankful for all the help provided to attack Israel.

Barbara Starr of CNN reports that Iran is currently "finding ways to resupply Hamas."

The Washington Free Beacon reports:

Benjamin Weinthal reports that "Death to the Jews" chants were heard in the streets of Vienna:

Babies are being named for the recent fighting between the terrorist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Israel, the Israeli media is reporting. At least, babies being born to those affiliated with Hamas.

The day after Hamas agreed to a ceasefire with Israel, the terrorist group's TV station aired this "Death to Israel!" music video on its station:

Lee Smith, writing at Tablet: 

If the truce announced in Cairo last Wednesday truly brings the Gaza war to a close, it is not too soon to assess who gained and who lost from this conflict.

Reuters reports:

Here's the text, via the Egyptian president, of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas:

In a phone call today between the two leaders, President Barack Obama thanked Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi for helping to assist with the ceasefire between Hamas in Gaza and Israel.

In a read-out of a phone call between President Barack Obama and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the United States pledged to "use the opportunity offered by a ceasefire to intensify efforts to help Israel address its security needs, especially the issue of the smuggling of weapons and…

America's ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, was quick to condemn the terror attack in Tel Aviv today as a "terrorist attack."

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

The White House immediately condemned today's bus bombing in Tel Aviv, which it labeled a "terrorist attack."

The Jerusalem Post reports:

The Israeli army has issued a warning to journalists: Stay away from the terrorist group Hamas. The warning was issued on Twitter:

The office of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that "At this point in time there is no Israeli agreement on any version of a ceasefire." Emergency Committee for Israel executive director Noah Pollak reports on Twitter:

The pro-Israel group Christians United for Israel (CUFI) is circulating a petition asking Twitter not to allow the terrorist group Hamas to use its social media platform.

A new poll from CNN finds that most American support for Israel's retaliatory action in Gaza targeting Hamas.

The terror group Hamas has reportedly rejected a ceasefire agreement with Israel.

Jerusalem

Two major Israeli newspapers are reporting that rockets fired from Egypt have hit Israel. 

President Barack Obama spoke on the phone with the Islamist leader of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, about the Israel's retaliatory strikes on the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, according to the White House.

THE WEEKLY STANDARD podcast with Bill Kristol, hosted by Michael Graham:

The AP reports:

President Obama heads abroad Saturday for a four-day visit to Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia. One assumes the president was going to add on to this trip a visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan, which would certainly be the fitting and proper thing to do. Wouldn't it also be fitting and proper, and an…

Numerous reports on Twitter indicate that a rocket from Hamas has hit Tel Aviv. Here's one from Israel's ambassador the U.S., Michael Oren:

The Israeli army gives fair warning to Hamas terrorists on Twitter:

Earlier today, Israel struck at dozens of targets inside Gaza, including Ahmed Jabari, Hamas’s chief of staff and a senior official in the organization’s military outfit, the Izz ad-din al-Qassam Brigades. Jabari was behind the abduction of Gilad Shalit, and planned the 2007 coup that left Hamas in…

Here's video, courtesy of Israel Defense Forces, which is said to show the direct bombing of a top Hamas commander, Ahmed Jabri:

On September 27, the chairman of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas (who is also president of the Palestinian Authority and chairman of the Fatah Party) spoke to the U.N. General Assembly.

With all this talk about how Israel needs to get to the "damn table," one could be forgiven for forgetting about the nature of the other side. But as Palestinian Media Watch reports, "At a ceremony marking the 24th anniversary of the founding of Hamas, Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniyeh…

Palestinian news sources reported earlier this month that Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised $300 million to the Gaza-based terrorist organization Hamas. If true, this pledge would cover nearly half of Hamas’s reported $769 million budget next year, and would make Turkey its…

In a move that should startle members of Congress, a Palestinian sovereign wealth fund that has long received American taxpayer support will soon begin building houses for convicted members of terrorist organizations. 

Last week, Jordan's new prime minister Awn Khasawneh boldly announced that Jordan’s 1999 decision to deport leaders of the Palestinian jihadist group Hamas was a political mistake and a violation of the constitution. With U.S. regional influence in decline and Jordanian stability on the line, the…

Ynetnews.com reports on a bounty being put up for Israeli soldiers by a Saudi cleric: 

The New York Times reports: 

With the advent of the Arab Spring, several former Arab tyrannies (Egypt, Tunisia, now Libya, perhaps Syria next) have thrown off dictators and are, or will be, moving toward elections. And in Jordan and Morocco, the kings have announced new constitutional arrangements that move powers to elected…

Interested in supporting the Palestinians in Gaza? Support Israel, which provides tons of aid and support to the Palestinians. The Israel Defense Forces has a short video, explaining how it actually works:

It can’t give many Americans much lasting pleasure that the Israeli prime minister humbled our commander in chief this week on his home turf. To be sure, a president who seems to relish provoking public confrontations with an ally may have had it coming, but in the end Netanyahu’s speech before…

Let’s assume that it was not President Obama’s intention for the final section of his big Mideast speech, in which he took up the subject of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to entirely overwhelm everything he had just said in support of democratization and the “universal rights” of those living…

The week of dueling speeches by President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu was great political drama, but a key character was missing from the scene: Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. While Abbas was absent, it was in fact his creation on April 27 of a unity government with the…

Congressman Steve Chabot just introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives that calls on America to stop giving money to the United Nations “if the General Assembly adopts a resolution in favor of recognizing a state of Palestine outside of or prior to a final status agreement negotiated…

President Obama’s visit to Ireland yesterday bookended a tumultuous week in Washington. After a blow-up with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu over whether the 1967 borders with land swaps should be the starting point of negotiations or a concession that Israel provides as part of a…

Congressmen Eric Cantor and Peter Roskam write in Politico:

This Nakba Day was different because it fell amidst the many recent developments in what we call the Arab Spring. It is probably correct that Palestinians have been feeling left out, as the attention of the world and of their Arab brothers turns to reform, politics, revolts, elections,…

Three months after the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak, the new Egypt is still sorting itself out—and perhaps will be for some time to come. Observers are concerned about both the country’s domestic problems—attacks on the Coptic Community, the rise of the long-repressed Salafi movement,…

The Palestinians zealously celebrated last week’s unity deal between Hamas and Fatah. Young men in both the West Bank and Gaza cruised around in their cars, honking and flashing the victory sign out of their windows. There was dancing, singing, and firecrackers. Indeed, the civil war between the…

In wake of the recent Hamas-Fatah agreement, that's the question many on Capitol Hill are beginning to ask. For instance, yesterday, Democratic congressman Ted Deutch released the following statement: 

Will the killing of Osama bin Laden boost President Obama’s chances of reelection? That’s unknowable at this point. But what is clear as a result of the terrorist leader’s death is that things will get easier for Obama’s foreign policy over the next few months.

The Fatah group the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades has released the following statement, condemning the U.S. for killing Osama bin Laden:

While most of the world celebrates the U.S. military operation that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the sentiment is not unanimous. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has condemned the United States, accusing Washington of assassinating a “Muslim and Arabic warrior”…

Reuters reports that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has taken Osama bin Laden's side: 

The agreement between Fatah and Hamas may not last very long. The last agreement, in 2007, failed and led to increased violence between the two groups—and finally to Hamas’s coup in Gaza. Hamas and Fatah militants have been killing each other for decades and reconciliation seems more a ploy for…

The New York Times reports:

The Brazilian magazine Veja is reporting that al Qaeda members have established an active presence in South America’s largest country, as have militants associated with Hezbollah, Hamas, and other terrorist groups. They are apparently engaged in fundraising, recruitment, and strategic…

Note to Republicans: Don't take unsolicited advice from Harry Reid.

A mere two days after May’s deadly flotilla raid off the coast of Gaza, the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), in a special “emergency session,” passed a resolution by a 32 to 3 count that “condemn[ed] in the strongest terms the outrageous attack by the Israeli forces against the…

BBC Arabic’s Jerusalem correspondent Ahmad Budeiri claims that were it not for “hostile environment training,” he might have been beaten and kidnapped by “an angry mob” of Israelis in Ashdod in response to his reporting on the Free Gaza flotilla raid.

Ben Smith reports today that Joe Sestak is distancing himself from the J Street sponsored, "infamous" (in the words of the Orthodox Union), anti-Israel letter accusing Israel of "collective punishment" for defending itself against Hamas terrorists bent on murdering Israelis. Collective punishment…

This week, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak brought his son Gamal to Washington to attend the kick-off of renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Back in Cairo, the unprecedented family visit will no doubt reinforce the widespread belief that Mubarak is planning a hereditary succession in the Arab…

On the eve of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Hamas gunmen murdered four Israeli civilians, including a pregnant woman. Even for those who see nuance in terrorist attacks, this one didn’t leave a lot of room for argument. The PA condemned the attack and, reportedly, picked…

Tom Gross compiles a little list of competing media memes regarding Gaza: