Epstein Secrets

ders himself the holder of a diplomatic passport. You have a password that opens all doors." Jonathan Schanzer, author of the 2008 book "Hamas vs. Fatah: The Struggle for Palestine," said Qassam has had four distinct phases. The first was a single-minded focus on suicide bombings, until Yahya Ayyas

that EFTA_R1_00462154 EFTA01976163 recently broke out in Israel and the Gaza Strip is that Hamas forced Israel's hand. Almost four years ago in Operation Cast Lead, the Jewish state pummeled Gaza in response to rocket fire into southern Israel. And for a time afterward, the rocket fire diminished. But it

inian Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees, along with Salafi groups and even the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade -- a splinter of the secular Fatah faction under PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas -- have been EFTA_R1_00463826 EFTA01977324 firing rockets on a freelance basis. Will they continue to fi

e of EFTA_R1_00463827 EFTA01977325 course too large, and this could change in an instant, but right now the casualty rate is much lower than in Operation Cast Lead. And yes, of course, much smaller than the numbers from the American drone war in Pakistan. Hamas, of course, is trying to maximize civilian

in Gaza, but the "Hamas trumps Abbas" dynamic has been underway for some time now and is likely to continue. I'd offer four reasons why. Feckless Fatah Abbas's party is in disarray. The Islamists' victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, its takeover of Gaza in 2007, Fatah's own sens

gical next step in Tehran's effort to keep a check on Israeli threats to strike the Iranian nuclear program. In early January 2009, in the midst of Operation Cast Lead, Israel EFTA_R1_00464360 EFTA01977744 learned that Iran was allegedly planning to deliver 120 tons of arms and explosives to Gaza, includin

ly worrying situation in Gaza. After Arik pulled out, an election had placed Hamas in power, after which the Islamists embarked on a violent purge of Fatah loyalists. Arms smuggling through tunnels from the Sinai had become rife. Rockets from Gaza were now landing on southern Israel. Hundreds of thousand

lasting cease-fire and, ideally, prevent Hamas from resupplying its rocket stockpiles through its smuggling tunnels from the Sinai. When we launched Operation Cast Lead on the morning of December 27, nearly all the Hamas forces were where we’d expected them to be. Two waves of air strikes, with over a hundred je

ly worrying situation in Gaza. After Arik pulled out, an election had placed Hamas in power, after which the Islamists embarked on a violent purge of Fatah loyalists. Arms smuggling through tunnels from the Sinai had become rife. Rockets from Gaza were now landing on southern Israel. Hundreds of thousand

lasting cease-fire and, ideally, prevent Hamas from resupplying its rocket stockpiles through its smuggling tunnels from the Sinai. When we launched Operation Cast Lead on the morning of December 27, nearly all the Hamas forces were where we'd expected them to be. Two waves of air strikes, with over a hundred je