Iran 'played role' in Gaza takeover

[oberliner]

Iran played a "big role" in Hamas's seizure of Gaza, according to Tawfiq al-Tirawi, the Palestinian intelligence chief.

Speaking on Sunday, al-Tirawi said that Iran had provided training and weapons for Hamas, enabling them to effectively push Fatah into the West Bank earlier this month and take control of Gaza.

"According to our information, Iran has played a big role in what happened in Gaza," al-Tirawi told a news conference.

"Dozens of members of Hamas have been trained in Iran, and Hamas smuggled in weapons through tunnels not to fight Israel but against the Palestinian Authority."

He said that the "plan" had been "carried out in coordination with Iran, and Iran has been informed of every step".

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F34656FC-5B17-4D7F-AB32-7ED66C5D697D.htm

[ShortnFiery]

1. I don't believe it!

I've heard that some shady third party investors have signed on with Al Jazeera. :think:

Aren't the Palestinians - Sunni Arabs, whereas the Iranians are Shiite Persians. :shrug:

[Behind the Aegis]

2. Are you serious?!

When a thread was started with the Jerusalem Post as a source, you turn to Al-Jazeera for conformation. Now, that Al-Jazeera is cited as the primary source, it is called into question?! It would be one thing if your posts had been months apart, even days, but minutes?!

[ShortnFiery]

3. Well set all the story confirmations aside, Consider the Source?

I was just surprised that Al Jazeera is convey such bullshit. :shrug:

I guess it's the "all sides" type reputation they are trying to keep.

Other than this ONE LEADER, where's the proof? :thumbsdown:

On Edit: He's the Chief of Security for The West Bank. With all the monies flowing through, he'd say Jimmy Carter himself directly gave arms to Hamas if it meant a little extra in his paycheck. :eyes:

[Behind the Aegis]

4. So if it doesn't match your belief it is "bullshit?"

I find it interesting that so many here have no issue believing the US does such things and lies about it, but it never dawns on them the Iranians (and Syrians) could be capable of the same damn thing.

[ShortnFiery]

5. Don't tell me that it's not unusual that a news service would print an article based on ONE PERSON's

hear say?!? :wtf: Especially since that Leader is from The West Bank, and is, as we type getting fat and sassy with monies FREE-flowing in from Israel, EU and the USA.

There are NO confirmations and plenty of motives to lie.

I'm disappointed with *all* news sources that print this article, to include it's inflammatory title.

It's, pure and simple, BUNK. And no *one* MEDIA Outlet is immune to corruption, that's why we use multiple sources.

[Behind the Aegis]

6. Oh please!

There have been many an article posted at DU ripping apart Israel that didn't even have one named source, but it was suddenly "the gospel truth." You can claim it is "bunk" but it is nothing more than an opinion and not based on any reputable refuting of the article, simply your own biased speculation.

[ShortnFiery]

7. No, ONE SOURCE articles do not make *sound* journalistic product. n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

8. And yet, when 'anti-Israeli' they seem to suit some just fine! n/t

[ShortnFiery]

9. I don't recall supporting any ONE palestinian leader hear say ONLY especially about Iran? n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

10. What? That doesn't even make sense.

[ShortnFiery]

11. No, printing this article, makes no sense when there's no proof other than one man's hear-say. n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

12. So, I guess all those unsourced Sy Hersch stories cheesed you off as well.

:eyes:

[ShortnFiery]

13. No, I know from Sy Hersch's history that he confirms his information...

However, this Security Chief of The West Bank has a CLEAR AGENDA to inflame more anger towards Hamas. He's been part of an plan to increase Fatah's control of Gaza.

Unlike Sy Hersch, this man is FAR from an objective observer who would be certain to verify his sources.

[Behind the Aegis]

14. Everybody has an agenda.

And that war in Iran? How's that going?

[ShortnFiery]

15. And those Persian Shiites sure love to rub elbows with Palestinian Sunnis.

:eyes: It's an absurd notion right out of the gate.

It would be humorous if so many innocent people were not dying. :(

[The Magistrate]

19. 'Special Services', Ma'am, Are More Flexible Than You Seem To Suppose

There have been much odder co-operative enterprises down the years.

Iran is making a serious play for regional Islamic leadership, and one of the trumps in pressing such a suit is the mantle of leading enemy of Israel. Assistance to Hamas would fit perfectly into such a posture.

[ShortnFiery]

24. When was the last time Iran invaded a country? When was the last time the USA did the same?

I rest my case dear Sir. ;) :hi:

[The Magistrate]

28. Utterly Pointless, Ma'am

Practically a non sequiter.

Power is exercised in a variety of ways, and differently situated governments employ different sets of tools to implement their policies. The Iranians favor covert actions, typically the financing and training to militant action of Shia elements abroad, and certainly extending to more direct actions by its own agents.

[henank]

16. Here are a few more sources to slake your thirst for knowledge

Nasdaq.com

(RTTNews) - A Kuwaiti newspaper has reported on Thursday that Syria is behind the recent escalation in Palestinian factional fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Syrian Vice President Farouk a-Shara had instructed Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to turn up the heat on Fatah in order to show Arab leaders that Syrian President Bashar Assad was the one who determined the situation in the Palestinian Authority, the newspaper reported.

Earlier, Egyptian Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman had hinted that Iran and Syria had a hand in the escalating violence in Gaza Strip following his attempt to get the Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to get his people to agree to a ceasefire.

A senior Fatah official, who was more explicit, told a London-based Arab newspaper that Iran and Syria have funded millions of dollars to Hamas' coffers, and the money is being used to establish a Hamas state in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier, US Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns told CNN Wednesday Iran was funding insurrection all across the Middle East, including the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hizb'allah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

Iran Press News quoting JPost

Iran's fingerprints were all over the recent escalation in Gaza and the Kassam attacks, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh told The Jerusalem Post Monday night. Teheran ordered the terrorist groups to escalate the conflict in an effort to distract the world's attention from its nuclear program, he said.

"Everything is being organized by Iran," Sneh said. "All of the terrorist groups are supported directly by Iran, which pays for all of the military training and the weapons."
...snip

the Jpost article itself

[ShortnFiery]

18. Oh please, we're intimidating all the "small players" to talk trash.

This is so sadly "contrived" that they must judge The World Community as "clueless."

Perhaps Saudi Arabia helped the Hamas Sunnis? The foregoing would make infinitely more sense.

Everything else above ... well ... I'd need wings to rise above such absurdity. :thumbsdown:

EVERYTHING is big bad Iran's fault!!! Oh please. :rofl:

[oberliner]

20. Egypt blames Iran for fuelling Gaza violence

EGYPT has reinforced its border with the Gaza Strip and accused Iran of threatening its security after Hamas violently seized control of the territory.

Fearing an influx of thousands of refugees from the densely populated coastal strip, dozens of extra police have reinforced the 750 paramilitary troops already guarding the border fence, officials said.

Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit accused Iran of having encouraged Hamas to seize Gaza.

"Iran's policies encouraged Hamas to do what it has done in Gaza and this represents a threat for Egypt's national security because Gaza is a stone's throw from Egypt," the minister said in comments carried by the Al-Masri Al-Yom newspaper.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/egypt-blames-iran-for-fuelling-gaza-violence/2007/06/21/1182019283720.html

[ShortnFiery]

22. Egypt and Jordan are diplomatically OUR BITCHES. You know that they'll say what we order. n/t

[The Magistrate]

30. Do Not Imagine The U.S. Is The Only Actor Here, Ma'am

The governments of both the countries you name have their own excellent reasons for hostility to both Hamas and Iran. They also have skilled intelligence services, with the Egyptians having a particular expertise regarding Gaza, which they ruled for some years, and retained great influence in through the early days of P.L.O. activity there in the seventies.

[The Magistrate]

23. The Saudis Have No Incentive To help Them At All, Ma'am

Hamas is a Brotherhood off-shoot, and its origins and style are quite hostile to the Saudi monarchy. The recent Saudi entry into the situation aimed at convincing Hamas to give way to Fatah in a power-sharing 'national unity' arrangement, that the recent Hamas attack on Fatah is hardly consonant with.

[ShortnFiery]

25. Well, IMO, they have more incentive than the Shiite Persians. n/t

[The Magistrate]

29. Not At All, Ma'am

There are a number of reasons to reach across the sectarian and ethnic divide in this instance, from the Iranian point of view.

There are none at all for the Saudis to back Hamas in an assault on Fatah.

[Shaktimaan]

32. Why? Iran has shown that they are willing to

aid and ally with sunnis when it serves their interests. For example, Hezbollah, for all purposes an Iranian proxy, voiced support for their brethren in Gaza and attributed their attack last summer to a desire to help them by splitting Israel's focus over two fronts. And Iran has long counted Syria as one of their closest allies, despite their Sunni alignment.

Iran also showed a clear disregard for Shia life during its war with Iraq. Remember the "human wave" attacks? Iran was not exactly careful during that war to limit shia civilian casualties, were they?

Alliances depend on many factors, sect alignment is merely one. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, for instance have all but completely ceased to help the Palestinians since they sided with Iraq during the 1st gulf war. Now with Iran attempting to play a leadership role and unite various factions within the whole Islamic world, it makes sense for them to start bringing fringe elements such as Hamas into the fold. In the big picture, there is a schism in the Islamic world not only between Shia and Sunni, but between states supporting Western globalization and more open, democratic societies, vs. those that support a strictly Islamic throwback to yesteryear, with unity based on religion across the Islamic world and a common cause in fighting what they see as western corruption of their cultural heritage.

Iran could never lead the middle east flying a banner of conquest under shia dominance. Why would the Sunni people of Saudi Arabia desire that? Bur Iran strikes a chord with this disenfranchised population when they frame the debate in terms of Western hegemony and a shared religious calling. This places Iran and the people of S.A. on the same side against western secularism and the perceived sell-out rulers of S.A.

Support of the Palestinian cause, specifically the Islamic movement within, is both a finger in the eye of Western desires for the region, Israel's interests, and toadyish Arab states like Egypt, while also being a rallying cry of support for one of Islam's most enduring and potent symbols. A symbol that has been long seen as transcending the Sunni-Shia issue, it is the active front line of the cultural cold war between the east and the west, a war that has the power to unite all of Islam under a common cause.

[The Magistrate]

17. The Gentleman Would Say That, Sir, Certainly, Whether True Or No

Iran is the 'bad hat' du jour, after all....

Not that it is not possible there was some assistance. There has been some recent co-operation between Hezbollah and Hamas, and in this context, Hezbollah and Iran are quite interchangeable. Mr. al'Tirawi could be telling the truth.

[ShortnFiery]

21. Yeah, and the day that Dear Leader has us nuke Iran, I will cry a river of tears ...

because I was born in Teheran.

I don't want to see that beautiful country with beautiful people ripped to shreds. :cry:

[The Magistrate]

26. There Will Not Be A Nuclear Attack On Iran, Ma'am

The best policy is to recognize facts, whatever their utility might be to various propagandas.

[ShortnFiery]

27. I fear that you are wrong but pray that you are correct. n/t

[Scurrilous]

31. Even in Iran, consensus cracks over Hamas actions

<snip>

"A recent article in Iran has overstepped the government line in criticizing the way Hamas took over the Gaza Strip. An article by the Iranian Baztab News Agency last week stated that during the takeover of the Strip, "serious mistakes" of historical proportions were made by the organization's activists. The serious acts harmed Hamas itself, as they did the entire Palestinian people, the article said.

The argument presented by the article is not typical of the mainstream opinions expressed by the Iranian media, which backs Hamas and its actions, in keeping with the regime's official line of vigorous support for the organization.

However the publication of the article by the Baztab News Agency is very significant, since the agency is owned by Mohsen Rezai, the former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who still holds a senior position in Tehran.

Meir Javedanfar, an Israeli expert in Iranian affairs who has recently written a book about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, believes the article shows that "warning bells" have begun to ring in Iran about the implications of events in Gaza. There is concern that a separation between Gaza and the West Bank will lead to a major backlash against Hamas by the Arab countries. The article also raised the question of whether the decision to take over Gaza was made in Iran."

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