"UN to raise funds for Gaza repairs; Hamas-Fatah power struggle a key concern" by Karin Laub, Associated Press | January 23, 2009
GAZA CITY - The United Nations will quickly raise money for emergency repairs in the Gaza Strip, the world body's humanitarian chief promised yesterday after witnessing what he called shocking destruction from the three-week war between Israel and Hamas.
But UN aid chief John Holmes and another senior UN official acknowledged they have no fallback plan if reconstruction is snagged by the power struggle between Gaza's militant Hamas rulers and their moderate Palestinian rivals in the West Bank.
Or if snagged by ISRAELI INTRANSIGENCE, right?
At least HAMAS has a FALLBACK PLAN -- TUNNELS!!!!
Hamas, which seized power in Gaza by force in June 2007, insisted yesterday that it will not share control over reconstruction projects that initial estimates have said could cost up to $2 billion. The international community, however, is reluctant to funnel huge sums to Hamas, calling for the group to form a joint government with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Prospects for such a deal remain slim.
There the Zionist MSM goes again! They WON ELECTIONS, dinks***s!!!! Notice how Israel never "seized" Gaza and the West Bank for occupation, readers?
Israel has said one of the key objectives of its offensive against Hamas was to halt weapons smuggling. Hamas has fired thousands of rockets at southern Israel over the past eight years, and Israel says most of the weapons and explosives came in through smugglers' tunnels from Egypt.
And WHAT has ISRAEL been doing in the meantime? Picking its ass?
Any cease-fire deal will be durable only if the basic demands of both sides are met. Israel insists on anti-smuggling guarantees, while Hamas wants open Gaza borders to ensure delivery of vital supplies.
President Barack Obama addressed both stands yesterday, saying his administration supports implementation of a "credible" system for stopping smuggling and calling for Gaza's borders to be opened for aid shipments, with "appropriate monitoring." He said Hamas must stop attacking Israel.
Yeah, we already know about the control he is under.
Hamas criticized Obama's comments, saying his approach will bring the United States failure in the region.
"Obama is still on the same path as previous leaders and also will make the same mistakes as Bush that ignited the region instead of bringing stability," Osama Hamdan, the Hamas spokesman in Beirut, Lebanon, told Al-Jazeera television.
Unfortunately, the Hamas guy is CORRECT -- unfortunate because it PROVES the ZIONIST CONTROL over AmeriKa's government.!
Holmes and Robert Serry, the UN envoy for the Middle East peace process, toured some of Gaza's most damaged areas yesterday, including a small industrial zone in the Jebaliya refugee camp.
"What I saw was actually more shocking than I expected, both in its extent and its nature," Holmes said, speaking at a UN compound damaged during Israel's offensive when an airstrike hit an adjacent guest house of the Palestinian government.
Yeah,
"The elegant mansion had been used by the Palestinian Authority as a guest house. Former US president Bill Clinton and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan stayed there"
Guess that's why the Zionist MSM is soft-selling it.
The UN would start raising funds in about 10 days, he said, but added that reconstruction will be possible only if the Palestinians form a unity government. Asked what would happen if a unity deal is not reached, Holmes said, "I cannot answer that question in a sensible way."
With ALL the $$$ they have, why is it going to take 10 DAYS at LEAST!!!
That's why the Palestinians keep digging!
"As laborers toil, the tunnels go back into business" by Alfred de Montesquiou, Associated Press | January 23, 2009
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Hundreds of workers toiled in southern Gaza yesterday to repair dozens of tunnels dug under tents or fake greenhouses while smugglers brought in food and fuel just days after Israel ended a barrage of bombs and missiles aimed at cutting off the supply route from Egypt.
The renewed smuggling underscored how difficult it could be for the Israeli military to meet one of the key goals of its three-week offensive: preventing Hamas militants from bringing Iranian-supplied weapons into Gaza through the porous Egyptian border.
You know, HAMAS DOESN'T HAVE IRANIAN WEAPONS -- otherwise, they would have KILLED MORE ISRAELIS and Israel would have found some!! The tunnels are for SURVIVAL!!! Yeah, I am sick of the lies, howja guess?
The military said it had destroyed 60 to 70 percent of the tunnels before Israel declared a cease-fire on Saturday. The smugglers in Rafah, a southern Gaza border town where nearly all smuggling tunnels are dug, told the Associated Press that the destruction was probably even higher.
"I'd say that only one out of 10 tunnels is still intact," said Abu Rahman, a tunnel manager who asked to be identified by his nickname because of his smuggling activities.
He and other smugglers estimated there were about 1,000 tunnels functioning in Rafah before Israel's offensive. Most were dug after Israel sealed off Gaza from the outside world. following Hamas' takeover in June 2007.
Notice how the MSM never lingers on the WAR CRIMINAL SIEGE and REASON for the TUNNELS?
As for Hamas' "takeover," nice going, AP!
While some tunnels were used to bring in weapons, many were used to circumvent the Israeli blockade and get basic goods into Gaza. The tunnels, about 15 yards deep and 1.5 yards high, run several hundred yards underneath the border.
Yeah, but DON'T EMPHASIZE that, Zionist AmeriKan MSM; emphasize the NON-EXISTENT WEAPONS RUNNING!
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Besides, they NEED those tunnels to HIDE!
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - On the first Friday since Israel ended its 22-day offensive here, some worshipers gathered for weekly devotions by spreading prayer rugs on the streets outside the wreckage of mosques devastated by missile strikes.
SACRILEGE and WAR CRIMES!!!
Among the people not making a public appearance, however, was the top local political leader of Hamas, deposed prime minister Ismail Haniyeh. Rumors had been rife that Haniyeh, an Islamic religious scholar, would emerge from weeks of hiding to deliver a sermon. But Haniyeh and Mahmoud Zahar, former Palestinian foreign minister, remained underground, following the advice, officials said, of their security details. Despite the unilateral cease-fire declared by Israel on Jan. 19, the militant group is still wary of Israeli assassination strikes, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Wouldn't you be? Related: Israel Keeps on Shelling Gaza
"We don't trust the Israelis; there are no guarantees. The war is not over yet," the official said.
NO ONE DOES!!!
As thousands participated in noon prayers, international organizations continued emergency relief efforts for the seaside Palestinian enclave. John Holmes, humanitarian affairs chief for the United Nations, told reporters Israel was allowing 120 truckloads of food and medical supplies to enter Gaza each day. Holmes praised the "spirit of goodwill" shown by the Israeli government in recent days, saying the level of cooperation was far greater than in the weeks before the offensive began with air strikes on Dec. 27.
Does ISRAEL PULL the STRINGS or WHAT?
After all the people they have killed with this aggression, and after Holmes just said yesterday:
“I had expected things to be bad, I had expected to see a lot of destruction. What I saw was actually more shocking than I expected, both in its extent and in its nature.”
Now he's choking on Israel's dick again?
Israel and the United States continue to pressure Egypt to crack down on the hundreds of cross-border tunnels that serve as a conduit for smuggled goods and weapons into Gaza. Yesterday, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced that his country would immediately deploy a warship off the Gaza coast to prevent weapons smuggling.
I assume they will be stopping ISRAEL from being REARMED, too, right? What's that? No?
The three-week Gaza incursion, aimed at stopping years of rocket fire into southern Israel from Hamas and other Palestinian groups, resulted in the deaths of 1,285 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. Infrastructure damages and economic losses total nearly $2 billion, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.
And what about the YEARS of OCCUPATIONAL HARASSMENT, MSM? C'mon, flakkers!
Thirteen Israelis were killed: three civilians from Gazan rocket strikes and 10 soldiers, several of them from friendly fire.
And think about that for a minute: either ISRAEL is LYING about the number of soldiers killed during the ground invasion (total hasn't changed in weeks) OR HAMAS DOESN'T HAVE IRANIAN WEAPONS -- otherwise, they would have KILLED MORE ISRAELIS and Israel would have found some!!
Israeli officials continue to hail the Gaza operation as a success, saying they had heavily damaged Hamas's ability to fire rockets into Israel and delivered a painful lesson on the price of continued attacks. Among the buildings demolished were mosques where Hamas fighters and leaders were hiding, Israeli officials have said.
Well, Israel is SICK anyway!
Meanwhile, as Gazans begin to focus on rebuilding, a dispute continues to brew over where and to whom the reconstruction funds will flow....
Tranlslation: the world isn't going to help them one bit.
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