The teens were in Area C at the time, which is under Israeli control..so how this went down
remains to be understood. One of the teens placed a call to authorities but the warning
was not met with reaction until about 5 hours later..as I understand it.
* Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to say that “the operation was not picked up by military intelligence,” in
an indication of the failure of security measures.
There is a possibility it is Hamas, yet it would not serve them right now, politically. imo because when polled
Palestinians were encouraged by the unity agreement, if they learn Hamas is the reason it fails their
efforts will be a total loss..they already know they are viewed as irrelevant. When and if peace talks
resume, and if Abbas sells out his people in any bad deal with Israel, that would be the time that Hamas could
make political gains with the Palestinians..so this kidnapping makes no sense to help them..but
of course they can't be ruled out.
Some in the PA have thrown Hamas under the bus as well, what I am seeing is a great deal
of political positioning from both sides.
No ransom has been called for..nothing so far.
snip*
For his part, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri denied the accusations and described them as “irresponsible and the fabrications of intelligence agencies. The Israeli arrests in the West Bank are aimed at breaking the movement’s resolve,” adding that the escalation reflected Israeli confusion.
A high-ranking Hamas source in the Gaza Strip repeated that denial to Al-Monitor, but left open the possibility of Hamas’ military wing operating without the full knowledge of its political wing. “Hamas truly does not know who stands behind the operation, because there is a separation of duties between the military and political branches of the movement. The politicians instruct the military to find a solution to the prisoner dossier, and the men on the ground have the freedom to choose the time, place and operational details.”
The source recalled what occurred when Shalit was kidnapped in 2006, and how Hamas’ political leadership learned of the operation through the media. “At the same time, if the coming days confirm that Hamas was responsible for the operation, then that would be a godsend the movement desperately needed. This follows the many claims that its popularity had waned among Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, as a result of its years at the reins of power, and the purported success of the Israeli army in dismantling Hamas’ cells in the West Bank.”
Hamas has previously cited military operations as a means to restore its popularity on the Palestinian street, as denoted in many of its leaders’ statements.
Al-Monitor also learned that an internal Hamas decision was taken not to publicly talk about the operation, for fear that Israel would construe that as an admittance of responsibility on its part. In the meantime, some of the movement’s leaders have decided to keep out of sight after Israel directly accused Hamas of being responsible for the operation.
However, Al-Monitor interviewed a former Hamas military activist who participated in an earlier kidnapping of an Israeli soldier in the 1990s in the Gaza Strip. He analyzed the Hebron operation from a military standpoint, saying: “An operation of this kind is complicated both from a security and military standpoint. It is undoubtedly the handiwork of a large organization that has a network in place to help move the kidnappees and provide them with safe shelter, food, sleeping arrangements as well as security.
“It is not difficult to imagine which Palestinian organization possesses such an infrastructure. In its various aspects, the operation is both easy and difficult. The West Bank’s military geography aides in hiding soldiers or settlers for relatively long periods of time, as a result of the rugged mountainous terrain. In addition, Hamas possesses a great deal of popular support in Hebron specifically, as evidenced by the presence there of the Qawasmi, Jaabari and Rajoub families, which include hundreds of Hamas members and supporters. On the other hand, the West Bank’s weakness lies in the extensive Israeli military presence there, and the security coordination in place with the Palestinian Authority [PA], which constitutes a challenge that must be overcome by the kidnappers.”
Concerning Israeli fears about the kidnap victims being moved to the Gaza Strip, the military field activist said: “That would require a miracle to accomplish. The distance between Hebron and Gaza is 50 kilometers [31 miles] on average, and is full of military checkpoints. Embarking on such a mission is replete with dangers and the possibility of detection is great.”
Although the operation occurred in the West Bank, its reverberations were felt in Gaza, where Israel bombed targets belonging to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades in various cities of the Gaza Strip on June 14-15. Israel also deployed Iron Dome batteries in southern Israeli cities, particularly Ashdod and Ashkelon, out of fear of Palestinian rockets.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/06/hamas-israel-confrontation-hebron-kidnapping.html#ixzz3560mm9iz
= new reply since forum marked as read
Whatever it takes to get a war on, I guess.
