Dit was te verwachten, maar er is ook goed nieuws volgens de chef van de binnenlandse veiligheidsdienst Shin Bet:
But Diskin also said that the image of Hamas has taken a blow among the people of the Gaza Strip. "Not all the residents of the Strip feel that this is their salvation. The general atmosphere suggests that the military and economic pressure, in parallel with the continuation of the political process, is the right way forward: It weakens the radicals and bolsters the moderates," Diskin said.
Dat is tegengesteld aan wat veelal word beweerd, namelijk dat de armoede en ellende juist tot meer steun voor Hamas leiden.
Het volgende voorstel is interessant:
In an effort to further strengthen the hold of the moderates on Palestinian society, Israel and the Bush administration are evaluating a proposal by the PA's Fayyad, for the deployment of forces loyal to Fatah and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, at the crossings with between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Fayyad is keen on beginning to return PA control to the Gaza Strip, and deployment of security forces at the crossings would be a first step toward that goal.
The idea also appears to be welcomed by the Hamas government in the Strip, even though it may be that the two rival Palestinian factions have different motives for backing this possibility.
Die veiligheidstroepen van Abbas zijn natuurlijk sitting dogs voor de een paar honderd meter achter hen gelegen Hamas troepen die erop zullen toezien dat de PA-troepen niet 'met de vijand meewerken' en hun volk verraden. Alleen wanneer het Hamas uitkomt mogen zij zaken met Israël doen. De 'verleiding' om met 'het verzet' te collaboreren zal groot zijn, en Hamas zal ze daar zeker toe 'aanmoedigen'. Het mag dan ook niet verbazen dat Hamas wel wat ziet in dit idee: het opent letterlijk de deur, en naar men hoopt naar meer dan alleen meer levensmiddelen transporten.
Ratna
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Diskin to MKs: Hamas managed to smuggle $100 million into Gaza
By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondents
Hamas managed to smuggle $100 million into the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, according to Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin, speaking during a briefing to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Sunday.
Meanwhile, Israel is considering the proposal of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, to transfer control of the crossings into the Gaza Strip to forces loyal to the PA and Fatah.
During his weekly briefing before the Knesset committee, Diskin said that the funds were smuggled into the Strip by hundreds of pilgrims returning from the hajj in Mecca.
Egypt allowed many of the pilgrims to enter the Gaza Strip via its territory, contrary to an earlier agreement with Israel, which insisted that they must cross into the Strip through Israeli-controlled checkpoints. Israel was concerned about the possibility of money and arms being secreted into the Hamas-controlled enclave.
Diskin said that the Shin Bet estimates that senior members of Hamas who returned from the hajj brought in about $100 million.
"The money that was smuggled is not being distributed to the residents, but is being used by Hamas people only," the Shin Bet chief added.
The MKs asked Diskin whether there was any change in the behavior of the Egyptian security along the Philadelphi Route, which separates the Strip from Sinai. He responded that the smuggling of weapons through the tunnels running under the route continues and that there is no improvement in the performance of the Egyptians in preventing the smuggling activity.
"Routine," he said.
But Diskin also said that the image of Hamas has taken a blow among the people of the Gaza Strip. "Not all the residents of the Strip feel that this is their salvation. The general atmosphere suggests that the military and economic pressure, in parallel with the continuation of the political process, is the right way forward: It weakens the radicals and bolsters the moderates," Diskin said.
In an effort to further strengthen the hold of the moderates on Palestinian society, Israel and the Bush administration are evaluating a proposal by the PA's Fayyad, for the deployment of forces loyal to Fatah and PA President Mahmoud Abbas, at the crossings with between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Fayyad is keen on beginning to return PA control to the Gaza Strip, and deployment of security forces at the crossings would be a first step toward that goal.
The idea also appears to be welcomed by the Hamas government in the Strip, even though it may be that the two rival Palestinian factions have different motives for backing this possibility.
However, Israeli security sources told Haaretz Sunday that the idea had some problematic aspects to it. They said, for example, that it will be difficult for Israel to cooperate with PA security forces knowning that several hundred meters behind them stood armed Hamas militants.
In the past, the crossings had been targeted by Hamas, and there is constant information of plans to attack those points on the border.
At the same time, there are indirect discussions being held on resolving the problem of some 2,000 Palestinians who are stranded on the Sinai (Egyptian) side of Rafah, who are waiting to be allowed back to the Strip.
Israel would like the Palestinians to enter the Strip through the Erez crossing, which would enable it to more effectively control smuggling into the area. The PA supports such a development, since it will not alleviate the economic and political siege Hamas is under in the Strip.
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