One of the most important lesons to be gleaned from the recent Gaza operations is the need for the international legal system to address the military demands of fighting terrorism.  As noted by Daniel Taub, senior legal advisor at Israel’s Foreign Ministry, in yesterday’s Boston Globe, there are certainly wrong ways to fight terrorists.  But there are also right ways to fight people who take advantage of their non-state status (like those undertaken by the IDF) that need to be protected.  An excerpt suffices to explain:

A short while ago I met with a group of eminent jurists who were on a fact-finding mission, examining Israel’s military operation in Gaza. After listening to their concerns and criticisms, I asked them: “Considering the rocket attacks launched against Israel by terrorist groups in Gaza, what in your view would have constituted a lawful response?” The answer was total silence.

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We’ve talked a bit about how Hamas operated in Gaza during Operation “Cast Lead.” The above video, based on intelligence and footage of the operation, sheds light on some of what the IDF had to deal with.

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A report in the New York Times todayhighlights the Egyptian accusations that Hizbullah has set up cells in Egypt to provide arms to Gaza and to carry out terrorist attacks.  As the Egyptians realized, this attempt by Hizbullah highlights Iran’s desire to influence regional politics–even to the extent of taking over an Arab country.  While it’s unclear how this will all play out, it does reinforce the regional differences between Iran, Syria, and Hizbullah on one hand and Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and other moderates on the other.

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We reported yesterday that the government has decided not to accede to Hamas’s demands for Gilad Shalit.  As communicated by the Prime Minister’s Office, Hamas refused to negotiate in good faith and remained firm in its exhorbitant demands.  The government reaffirmed its commitment to working towards Shalit’s release, even as this round of negotiations did not succeed.  In addition, the Government released a partial list of the Hamas operatives it had mulled releasing in an exchange.

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One of the biggest issues that needs to be resolved in the context of a broader arrangement regarding Gaza is how to stop Hamas from smuggling arms into the coastal area.  (Of course, Hamas says it’s going to go right on ahead bringing in weapons.)  Last week, a group of nine NATO countries met in London to try to address this issue, and a final report was released today outlining the goals these countries have set.

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Ibrahim Mousawi, a spokesman for Hizbullah and an editor of its al- Manar newspaper, has reportedly been denied entry into the UK–the latest in the story of an invitation to an advocate of terrorism.

Mousawi had initially been invited to speak at the School of Oriental and African Studies later this month on “Political Islam,” but the invitation caused quite the uproar.  Mousawi has been a senior figure at Al-Manar, which peddles antisemitic and anti-Israel sentiment and has therefore been banned in the United States.

According to the Jewish Chronicle and the Harry’s Place blog, the government was even set to welcome Mousawi, despite his job description of “whipping up hatred against Jews.”  Many people apparently thought the man did not quite raise enough tension with the country’s Jewish community to raise hackles.

It seems, for now at least, that more rational heads have prevailed.  Of course there is still the need to be vigilant and call incitement, hatred, and racism by their proper names–and refuse to promulgate such ideologies under any excuse.

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According to a BBC report, a large stockpile of unexploded weapons has vanished in Gaza.  Last known whereabouts: A storehouse under Hamas watch.

The story: Some of the weaponry used by Israel in last month’s Operation “Cast Lead” failed to explode as it should have.  This live ordnance is extremely dangerous, and special UN teams have been working to collect the shells and destroy them safely.  In the interim, as the materiel was being collected and the dispolsal coordinated with Israel, the shells were placed in a storehouse guarded by Hamas members.

So what happened to these weapons?  Likely Hamas commandeered them for their own purposes.  Meanwhile, the UN is demanding the materiel be returned in order to avoid a catastrophe.

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Last month, we pointed out that Hamas was working quite actively to quash dissent against its activities in the Gaza Strip.  At the time, we could only cite a few sources.  Now, however, Amnesty International has published a report on the subject that presents the matter in greater detail.  You can read the full media advisory here (be aware that it does describe scenes of violence).

An excerpt:

The targets of Hamas’ deadly campaign include former detainees accused of “collaborating” with the Israeli army who escaped from Gaza’s Central Prison when it was bombed by Israeli forces on 28 December 2008, as well as former members of the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces and other activists of PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.

The campaign began shortly after the beginning of the three-week Israeli military offensive against the Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008 and continued after a ceasefire took effect on 18 January 2009.

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Reports from Cyprus now indicate there was good reason for stopping the Iranian ship Monchegorsk that had been detained in a Cypriot port.  According to a Reuters report, the boat carried illicit materials that could have been used for weapons production.

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JPost reports today on a new weapon developed by terrorists in Gaza: the medicine grenade (with photos).  Apparently,

The
medicine bottles were filled with explosives, holes were drilled in the caps, and fuses were installed. Once Hamas fighters lit the fuses, they had several seconds to throw the grenades at soldiers. The IDF also found small explosive devices that used medical syringes to hold their fuses.

It appears, therefore, that Hamas and other terrorist groups are intent on building their weapons cache from anything remotely useful.  (First we saw them use pipes and concrete, then the people of Gaza, now humanitarian aid.)

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