Infighting amongst the extremists
 

Interesting article here. How many people here thought it was Hamas who kidnapped an Israeli soldier last year and a BBC reporter earlier this year? I have to admit that I thought so. That is what all the news reports here in the US said. Apparently it was not Hamas, but a rival extremist group called the "Army of Islam" that is actually an enemy of Hamas. Here is an article in a British newspaper explaining it all, including some recent developments....



Hamas arrest Johnston kidnap spokesman

Hamas has arrested the spokeman of the Palistinian militants believed to be holding BBC reporter Alan Johnston.

The interior ministry in Gaza City, which is under Hamas control, declared that its self-declared Executive Force police had arrested "certain individuals implicated in the kidnapping of British journalist Alan Johnston".

Spokesman Abu Khatab al-Maqdisi was arrested as he was leaving early morning prayers.

Hamas has demanded that the Army of Islam, led by one of Gaza's most violent clans, free Mr Johnston, who was kidnapped in Gaza on March 12.

But the Army of Islam, which has previously demanded the release of a radical Muslim cleric held in Britain, kidnapped 10 Hamas members in retaliation.

In a statement posted on militant web sites, the Army of Islam also threatened to release documents suggesting misconduct among Hamas members. "We will release some documents that reveal the truth about some personalities who have tricked the Muslim community," the statement said.

Mr Johnston has been held far longer than any Western journalist abducted in Gaza. Hamas has said it knows where to find the reporter, but has not raided the hideout for fear of harming him.

Last week, the Army of Islam posted a video message from Johnston on a militant website in which he said he was dressed in an explosive belt that his captors would detonate if there was an attempt to free him.

The tit-for-tat arrest and kidnappings reflect new tensions between Hamas and the Army of Islam, which was also involved in the capture of Israeli soldier Cpl Gilad Shalit more than a year ago.

Good, time for a self-cleaning oven.

So Palestinians (Hamas or otherwise) have been deceiving us? Color me shocked.

I'm more than happy to let them "settle" their differences among themselves. Just wish they'd stop involving innocent journalists, etc.

BTW - let me guess. The "Army of Islam" isn't a terrorist organization to you, is it?

I hope they get mad at each other and decide to fight it out on the plains of Moab. Perhaps the winner will get the just reward they are looking for. :thumbup:

There is no such thing as a "terrorist organization" as far as I'm concerned, unless an organization's end goal is to just kill a lot of people and there is no actual political objective. Otherwise, I consider all these groups "political organizations".

Terrorism is a method, not a type of person or organization. I don't agree with that method, but apparently I am in the minority in having this opinion. Most others (you included as you have stated in past threads) do agree with using the method of terrorism when they believe in the cause. And those same people tend to condem others who use the method of terrorism when they do NOT agree with the cause. Nothing surprising there.

To prove my point, name a group that used terrorism in the past where you disagreed with their use of terrorism, but were in favor of their cause. If nothing comes to mind, you do indeed fall into that category. When you believe in the cause, you probably don't even see it as terrorism, but are more likely to see it as "colateral damage".

Unfortunately, someone has to win this battle. And also unfortunate is that many innocent civilians will probably be killed.

They choose to live among the hostility...

They have no choice. They don't have the means to travel far, and the nearby countries will not allow them in as they already have too many refugies (or so they claim). Both Israel and Egypt have sealed the Gaza border and are not allowing anyone to cross.

I don't believe over 100's of years they have had "no choice".

Jews could have left Germany before the holocaust if they wanted to. Still doesn't make it right. Don't blame the victim.

Don't even compare the two, you can't. The entire Nazi era doesn't amount to a grain of sand when put up against the "middle east". In this case, yes...I do lay some blame on the victims door. Having children in that environment, and keeping your family there is their fault. I'm not talking about a 30 year incident, I'm talking about 100s upon 100s of years of slaughter.

And don't forget - teaching their children to carry on in their stead.

Which part of American history would you like me to use? You're going to have to narrow it down to a specific period.

There's been plenty of terrorist acts committed by the U.S. government, when it wasn't warranted to achieve a good cause.

Sorry, but I'm not the brainwashed fool you continuously attempt to proclaim me.

Terrorism exists - as do terrorist organizations. Yes, they are normally political groups, but when they use terrorism as their most common/exclusive means of getting their message out, they are terrorist groups. No caveat.

Wow...sounds like we actually agree on something here. :yikes:

The label is obviously just a label. If you want to call them terrorist groups, then that is fine.

And no, I do not think what Hamas does is ok (as you indicated in your last post that you think I do). I simply think attacking them with military means will only help them to grow. When Hamas preaches that Israel is an evil enemy, and then the IDF attacks them and kills some Palestinean civilians in the process, all that does is show the Palestineans that Hamas was right. Take a lesson from MLK Jr. on this one. The only way to defeat the enemy is to win them over by example. Without the support of the population, Hamas becomes powerless. Only those who want to strengthen Hamas (i.e. those who don't want peace) would support a policy of using force against them.

That is my opinion. I am just as much against them as you are. I simply believe there is a better way to deal with them. You would think that after 40 years of the current strategy being a failure, more people would welcome a new strategy.

And the same goes for dealing with Al-Queda, and the Iraqi insurgency. The current strategy will not work. It will just serve to keep the status quo. And it is my belief that those politicians who support the current strategy want just that....an endless war. I don't buy the theory that they simply don't know better. They know exactly what they are doing.

Hamas secured the release of the BBC reporter:


BBC's Gaza correspondent released

BBC correspondent Alan Johnston has been released by kidnappers in Gaza after nearly four months in captivity.

He said it was "fantastic" to be free after an "appalling experience". TV footage showed Mr Johnston, 45, leaving a building accompanied by armed men.

He later appeared beside Hamas leader Ismail Haniya and thanked everyone who had worked for his release.

Rallies worldwide had called for Mr Johnston's release. An online petition was signed by some 200,000 people.

The BBC reporter was handed over to officials of the Hamas administration in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Hamas' military wing had said it would actively work towards securing Mr Johnston's release, warning his kidnappers it was prepared to use force.
Gunmen from the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement overran Gaza last month, expelling their rivals from the Fatah faction.




This kind of makes you wonder if we are not better off having Hamas in charge over there (rather than Fatah). Fatah seems to have a history of allowing the fanatics to run wild and seems to do nothing about it. This is the first time I can remember an activing government in the Palestinean territories doing something to get a hostage released.

I'll wait 'til he gives an interview from home, and not beside a Palestinean. It's happened before where they were under duress, even after their "release," and weren't able to tell the truth of the situation.