Mubarak Calls For Hamas Expulsion From Syria
This is interesting. Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak is calling for the Syrian president to expel Hamas leadership from Syria unless they agree to release the kidnapped Israeli soldier. There's a lot of spin on this from all sides, so it's a bit difficult to figure out what is going on exactly.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak demanded from his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad to deport the Syrian-based Hamas leadership unless it agrees to release kidnapped IDF soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit, Palestinian sources said on Friday.
The demand was made in the context of a compromise that Egypt was attempting to draft between the Israel and Hamas, whose Damascus leader, Khaled Mashaal was demanding that thousands of Palestinian detainees, held in Israeli prisons, be released. Mubarak warned Mashaal that his position was leading the Palestinians to disaster, Israel Radio reported.
According to the Palestinians, the Egyptian compromise calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, as well as the release of prisoners who were already scheduled to be released within the next year.
Meanwhile, Mubarak stated in an interview to Egypt's leading pro-government newspaper, Al-Ahram that Shalit's kidnappers have agreed to his conditional release, but Israel has not yet accepted their terms.
Mubarak said, "Egyptian contacts with several Hamas leaders resulted in preliminary, positive results in the form of a conditional agreement to hand over the Israeli soldier as soon as possible to avoid an escalation.
The president said he had asked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "not to hurry" the military offensive in Gaza, but to "give additional time to find a peaceful solution to the problem of the kidnapped soldier."
Egyptian Intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, was expected to go to Gaza on Friday, as Mubarak's representative, to advance the compromise. He was also scheduled to travel to Syria to meet Mashaal.
MK Ephraim Sneh (Labor) dismissed the Egyptian initiative, saying "a diplomatic option is when someone brings about the unilateral, unconditional release of the kidnapped [soldier], not when someone serves as a mediator between us and the Hamas head in Gaza," Army Radio reported.
I don't know whether anything will come of this or not, given the ultimately self-destructive nature of the Palestinian conduct over the last few decades. It' also seems highly unlikely that Bashar Assad would throw the Hamas people out since Iran backs them so heavily.
I don't know whether anything will come of this or not, given the ultimately self-destructive nature of the Palestinian conduct over the last few decades. It' also seems highly unlikely that Bashar Assad would throw the Hamas people out since Iran backs them so heavily.
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A Blog For All — Friday, 30 June , 2006 @ 11:36 am
By Roland Hesz, Friday, 30 June , 2006 @ 6:04 am
“the ultimately self-destructive nature of the Palestinian conduct over the last few decades”
I hope we do remember what ticked them off in the first place.
That does not justify their actions, but knowing the reasons is not a bad thing.
By Gaius, Friday, 30 June , 2006 @ 6:36 am
I understand what “ticked them off”. I also understand how they have been manipulated and used by cynical Arab governments. Also how they have managed to screw up multiple opportunities to reach a peaceful settlement.
Please keep in mind that Islam is not native to the area, either. History does not start with the Muslims in the Middle East. Where do you draw the line on historical rights?
It’s not a nice, clean black and white situation, Roland.
By Roland Hesz, Friday, 30 June , 2006 @ 7:22 am
“It’s not a nice, clean black and white situation, Roland.”
That’s what I say.
But it always boils down here - not your site, but the media - to the “evil Palestinians attacking the innocent Israel on the land that rightfully belongs to the people of Israel”.
Islam is not native to the area, though until Israel has been found by the UN and the british in 1950 - or around that year - it was the land of palestinians.
If you start to go back farther, then the continent of North- and South America should be evacuated except for that few hundred natives left alive, or even Germany and France should be evacuated, and even my country, and then you should ask the polinezians to leave their islands.
I never said that they are doing it the right way. What disturbs me is they are shown each and every time as the only evil guys, and promptly leaving out Europe from the whole thing, as if they had nothing to do with, and not mentioning that Israel was the first one to attack it’s neighbours - pointing out, that yes, there was a possibility of their neighbours attacking first.
Preventive aggression. They have learned a lot from the history of US.
By Roland Hesz, Friday, 30 June , 2006 @ 7:25 am
And I would say - both side is guilty as hell.
And now the Israelis trying to kill them all - how long will the children live, without water, now, that electricity and gas has been denied to Gaza?
Funny how my friends in Israel say, that if not for those blasted politicians and extremists on both side, they could live in peace with the palestinians, as in places they do right now.
That whole thing is sick, and a few bleeding morons on both side, plus a lot of morons in europe and in the us are responsible for this.
By Blackhawk, Friday, 30 June , 2006 @ 8:20 am
Roland,
Hatred between these two groups has existed for over 2000 years. As for the ‘let’s not bicker and argue over who killed who’ line, let’s review the recent bidding:
Israel unilaterally unoccupied southern Lebanon, and gives back the West Bank, and Gaza Strip. Syria needed Israel in Lebanon: that’s what justified Syria’s occupation, I mean support. Palestinian extremist organizations needed Israel in the WB and GS: that’s what justified their terrorist actions.
By unilaterally withdrawing, Israel has exposed both Syria and the Palestinian terrorist groups for what they are: they are not pro-Palestine, they are anti-Israeli.
Lebanon is struggling with removing the Syrian cancer in it’s society. The Palestinians are truly suffering: they had no organization prior to Israel backing out. Except for the Hamas and the PLO. Both of those groups have shown their true colors: terrorists.
Israel’s actions, and the US-led peace process under Clinton, exposed a very ugly but quite real truth: the Palestinians were not, and still are not, ready to govern themselves. Israel has forced a significant change vis-a-vie the Palestinian people. Israel has forced them to accept, and even acknowledge, responsibility for their actions. If you accept that Israel has a right to exist (which Hamas does not), then by electing Hamas to lead the Palestinians, the Palestinian people have de-facto declared war on Israel. Hm…and Hamas acts on this recently…and Israel is supposed to sit and take it?
Israel made a huge leap of faith in the Palestinian people by giving back land. It’s ‘tough love’, but the Palestinians must step up to the challenge: learn to govern yourselves. Instead, they are defaulting to the only organized groups available: Hamas or the PLO. The situation is similar to how the Bolsheviks seized control in 1917: they were the only ones with any sort of organization to exploit the chaos. How to remedy the situation? Well, start with Syria. Then break up Pallywood. Use international pressure to help the Palestinians build a society where free speech can survive. Hamas will fight it. So will the PLO. Israel needs help from their neighbors, and the US and EU to help the Palestinians solve their own problems and quit defaulting to a 2000+ year old tribal-based animosity.
And, Roland, I base that on my personal contact with Lebanese, Jordanian, Egyptian, Turkish, Saudi, several Pakistani, and even Palestinian officers I met in 1999. I didn’t even have to ask them about the Middle East Peace Process: they readily handed me their opinions, in private. Every one of them blamed Syria for the situation, not Israel (or the US).
By Roland Hesz, Friday, 30 June , 2006 @ 8:45 am
And in what sense does that contradict me saying that all this is caused by a bunch of morons, and not by the common people?
I blame almost everyone for the situation, either for not thinking in the first place, not acting when it was still containable or fanning the fire.
As for the palestinians being ready to govern themselves, and act responsible.
After decades of aggressions from both sides, it is not easy to do that.
As for electing the Hamas - we all know that politicians are elceted based on promises, and not values, all over the world. That was a bad choice.
I did not say they should sit and take. I said, that I don’t care if an unlawful, aggressive act is commited by Hamas, Israel, the US or even my own country, I will condemn it as an unlawful, aggressive, stupid act.
That’s all. Maybe it is neccessary. But please, do no applaud it.
Otherwise, you effectively said the same thing I did.
By Black Jack, Friday, 30 June , 2006 @ 2:44 pm
I don’t know of anyone from Israel who brainwashes young men and women into putting on explosive vests and walking into crowds of Muslim children to commit mass murder. People from Israel don’t plant bombs in busses, or sidewalk cafes. They don’t hijack airplanes, or take Olympic teams hostage. No, I don’t see two sides here.
Palestinians have disqualified themselves from consideration as part of the world community. They behave like bloodthirsty animals.