Tension in Hamas Threatens Palestinian Unity Deal

The recent reconciliation deal between rival Palestinian groups, Hamas and Fatah, has exposed internal tension within Hamas that could hinder the ultimate implementation of the agreement, according to Reuters. This marks the first occasion that disagreements between Hamas' rulers in the Gaza Strip and exiled leadership in Damascus have been highly publicized and has embarrassed a movement that has always defended its united front.

Signs of division surfaced following the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2. After the head of the Hamas-run government in Gaza memorialized bin Laden as a "holy warrior," Khaled Meshaal, head of the exiled politburo, contradicted the remark, calling it a "slip of the tongue."

Meshaal was then chastised by the Gaza-based leadership for announcing that Hamas was willing to give "an additional chance" to the peace process with Israel. This statement came during a ceremony in Cairo to launch the reconciliation agreement an contradicts the group's established policy of not negotiating with the Jewish state and engaging in armed conflict as a strategy for reclaiming all of Palestine.

Experts on Hamas attribute the current internal strain to the unexpected decision by the exiled Hamas leadership to enter into an agreement with Fatah without consulting the government in Gaza. Decisions within Hamas are typically made through consensus, though Meshaal's influence is substantial since he is the primary interlocutor between the movement and its patrons in Syria and Iran.

Analysts see the reconciliation deal with Fatah as an attempt by Hamas to foster better relations with the new government in Egypt. This effort is supposedly in response to the uncertainty mounting in Syria as mass protests threaten the regime of Hamas supporter President Bashar al-Assad.

Though the tension may continue to escalate within Hamas' ranks as the specifics of the unity deal are addressed, analysts do not foresee the movement splitting. "The reconciliation brought differences to the surface and in a deep way. We may witness more cracks but it will not lead to a division," said political analyst Hani Habib.

Taliban "Revenge" Attacks Mostly Target Pakistanis

The al-Qaida-tied Pakistani Taliban vowed to avenge bin Laden's death after a team of U.S. Navy SEALs killed him the in the garrison city of Abbottabad May 2^nd. Though the U.S. acted unilaterally to kill Osama bin Laden, the Taliban's attacks since then have targeted Pakistani security authorities.

A Taliban militant plowed through the gate of a Peshawar police station with an explosive-filled car Wednesday, killing at least five policemen and one soldier. Late Sunday night, six militants attacked a Pakistani naval air force base in Karachi, killing 10 people and wounding 20 others. Earlier this month, the Taliban carried out dual suicide bombings against a paramilitary academy in northwest Pakistan, killing 80 people.

But the Taliban says getting revenge for bin Laden isn't the only reason for the attacks.

"We will continue attacks on security forces until an Islamic system is implemented in Pakistan, because the Pakistani system is un-Islamic," Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanhullah Ehsan told Reuters. Ehsan added Wednesday's attack was also carried out to avenge bin Laden's death.

The Taliban did attack a U.S. consular vehicle in Peshawar on May 20^th. Two U.S. consulate officials were injured when a bomb planted in a car parked on the roadside was detonated. Though the consulate was moving several vehicles at the time, only one was hit by the blast.

It is the first attack in Pakistan against U.S. interests since bin Laden's death.

Ehsan confirmed that the attack was meant to target foreigners and vowed more revenge attacks against foreigners, specifically diplomats from NATO countries, in the coming days.

Honduras on Alert for al-Qaida Linked Militants

U.S. authorities have warned their Honduran counterparts that two Afghani Islamist terrorists are either en route to the Central American country or have already arrived. The two militants, Khalil Al-Rahman Haqqani and Said Jan Abd Al-Salam, have reportedly been traveling through the region impersonating businessmen. Their potential presence in Honduras has prompted the country's security to be on "red alert."

The U.S. Treasury Department of designated the two men as global terrorists earlier this year as a result of their support for Taliban and al-Qaida. In line with this designation, U.S. citizens are forbidden from engaging in any transactions with them and their assets held in U.S. jurisdictions have been frozen.

Haqqani is the primary financer, fundraiser, and operational commander for the Haqqani Network, a powerful group based in North Waziristan, Pakistan and closely affiliated with the Taliban. Haqqani also played a key role in aiding the paramilitary movement linked to al-Qaida's Lashkar al Zil, or Shadow Army, which has carried out terrorist attacks against the U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan, according to a report in Voice of America.

Al-Salam is also an active fundraiser for al-Qaida and the Taliban and has assisted al-Qaida in training and the securing of weapons. Salam also served as a go-between for al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Al-Qaida's presence in Honduras is not something new, the Hudson Institute notes. In 2004, Honduras issued a national terror alert after receiving information that al-Qaida was targeting its small Muslim community to recruit people to carry out attacks against various embassies, including the U.S. embassy. The most senior al-Qaida operative identified in Honduras at the time was Adnan El Shukrijumah, who is accused of plotting terrorist attacks against the United States, including plots against three New York City subway lines.

Hamas Minister: Women Fighters, Martyrs Too

Hamas' Minister of Women's Affairs saluted the role of female suicide bombers and human shields, according to a report from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). For Minister Jamila al-Shanti, women's liberation means having an active role in the fighting, both at home and on the battlefield.

"Palestinian society is, by nature, a society of resistance. Resistance does not mean only the bearing of arms. The people who aid those who bear arms are sometimes even stronger than them," she said on al-Aqsa television April 28. "The [Palestinian] woman is the wife of a resistance fighter, or the mother of resistance fighters, or else she herself is on the frontline, or she opens her home to resistance fighters. She is capable of doing everything."

"All means of resistance are available to women. In addition, we have a long list of female martyrdom-seekers [suicide bombers]. Need I say more? If you do the math, the number of male martyrdom-seekers is twice the number of female martyrdom-seekers. So the number of female martyrdom seekers is hardly insignificant."

Al-Shanti's presentation also proves that Hamas deliberately used women as human shields during "Operation Cast Lead" in late 2008 and early 2009. "What does the number of martyrdom women tell us? It means that the women have not left the dangerous places," al-Shanti said. "The women who live along the border did not leave their homes. They say: 'The resistance is here. If I leave, the Zionist enemy will be able to isolate the resistance fighters.' So the women remained in their homes, and serve as shields for these fighters."

The video also promised more activities by women in the future. "We have told the women that each and every one of them should train, with the help of her son or husband, so that she is ready for any operation," she said. "The women are at the service of the military operations and the resistance. There is no realm to which they are denied entry."

Indicted Terror Supporter Still Broadcasts Online Violence

An American recently indicted on charges of threatening the "South Park" producers continues to run an extremist website. Jesse Curtis Morton, aka Younus Abdullah Muhammad, is believed to be in Morocco where he runs a pro-al-Qaida site islampolicy.com, the successor site to Revolution Muslim.

"The case is an example of intimidation, forcing silence, while the US goes on killing millions of Muslims and defaming the sacred tenets and people of the true religion," Muhammad says. "The real reason for this indictment has much more to do with economic work that has been going on behind the scenes of islampolicy and that would potentially push the the [sic] Muslim world toward true sovereignty."

Despite Muhammad's claim that he "seeks dialogue" to clarify the "Gestapo like" terrorism charges against him, he and his website still openly advocate violence. The group broadcast statements by Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and other terrorists, some of which were published under Muhammad's administrator account.

Muhammad has also falsely claimed that, "In no, way, shape, or form has Revolution Muslim ever called for attacks against civilians. What we do call for is anti-war activism and opposition to empire in the West with support for those physically, even violently, resisting the empire abroad." However, Revolution Muslim was shut down following the posting of detailed threats against British MPs who voted for the Iraq War.

Islampolicy.com also proudly posted an IPT story, showing Muhammad quoting from Osama bin Laden's "Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places."

"O Muslims, there is no honor, there is no dignity, there is no victory, unless Islam is a complete system established," Muhammad said as well, calling for the violent establishment of a new Caliphate. "We do not believe in mass protest movements. We do not believe in each one teach one as the way forward. We believe that when a sufficient amount of Muslims have might to take all the powers that be, they go out and march forth in the way of Allah."

McKinney Attacks U.S. on Iranian, Libyan Television

Former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney was busy on the rogue-state interview circuit over the weekend, denouncing the United States in interviews with Iranian and Libyan regime television stations.

On Saturday, she attacked U.S. policy in the Middle East during an appearance on a Libyan television station that supports embattled dictator Muammar Gaddafi. CNN reported that, in an interview spliced with highlights of pro-Gaddafi rallies, McKinney said she was in Libya to understand the truth."

After viewing what was said to be damage from NATO airstrikes, she told the Libyan station: "I want to state categorically and very clearly that these policies of war…are not what the people of the United States stand for, and it's not what the people of the United States want."

McKinney attacked President Obama's economic policies while on Libyan TV, stating that "the situation in the United States is becoming more dire for average ordinary Americans, and the last thing we need to do is to spend money on death, destruction and war."

During her six terms in Congress, McKinney said in an interview with Press TV, pro-Israel forces waged a "political assault" against her. She plans to run for Congress again, even though "I have a target on my forehead" and the pro-Israel lobby would work to make sure she lost.

McKinney, visiting Iran to attend an "anti-terrorism" conference, told Press TV that many Americans would find it "ironic" that Iran would be hosting such an event. But, according to McKinney, this is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of revolutionary Iran.

"It is clear that the people of Iran have one thing in mind, and that is that they are a revolutionary state. And as a revolutionary state, they understand colonialism, neo-colonialism, and imperialism. They understand being under the foot of oppression and occupation even if it is mental occupation."

Iran: U.S. to Blame for Dictators

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned the United States Tuesday for being behind all global dictators and called for the end to America's two-party government, according to Iranian Press TV. The speech was given at the dedication of Iran's new but still faulty oil refinery, the latest project in the nation's aim to be a global power.

"Anywhere there is a dictator, he is supported by you ... he is your stooge," Ahmadinejad said of Washington. "Their scheme is to save the Zionist regime (Israel), global arrogance and US interests ... the main enemies of nations are the US, its allies and the Zionist regime ... All regional countries must be vigilant."

He also criticized the American political system. "What is the difference between a country ruled by one or two [dictators] for thirty to forty years and a country dominated by two parties for many years?" asked Ahmadinejad. "The world of colonialism is about to fall apart and nations will see the collapse of capitalism in the near future," he added.

Ahmadinejad's comments may have been an attempt to distract from an embarrassing and lethal accident at the oil refinery shortly before his speech. A deadly blast during the inauguration killed at least four and injured 20, the Washington Post reports.

"A 'testing machine' exploded almost directly after it was placed in the area where Ahmadinejad was preparing to give a speech," the Post reported, citing the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr. It also stated that the resulting fire "raged for hours and released poisonous gases."

Khabar Online, an Iranian news site critical of the regime, reported that the death toll was considerably higher, at well over 30 people. The site also said that German engineers involved in the plant's construction refused to attend its inauguration over safety concerns.

The oil refinery accident is not the first setback in Iran's infrastructure development. An oil pipeline explosion near the Shiite religious center of Qom sent balls of fire into the sky on April 8^th, and a February 11^th blast halted north-south gas movement in the country.

Terror Trial's Star Witness Links Mumbai Attacks to Pakistani Intelligence

Note: IPT researcher Abha Shankar filed this report from the Tahawwur Rana trial.

Links between Pakistan's intelligence service and the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Tayyiba were discussed in the opening hours Monday in the prosecution of a Chicago man accused of facilitating the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. A Pakistani intelligence official, former Army major and a navy frogman were all involved in the plot, David Coleman Headley testified.

Headley, a lifelong friend of defendant Tahawwur Rana, pleaded guilty in March 2010 on charges related to his travels to Mumbai to scout targets for the attacks, which killed more than 160 people, including six Americans.

Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) assisted Lashkar-e-Tayyiba with military and financial help, Headley told jurors. He described how he went to Pakistan in 2002 as an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, where he met up with Lashkar members and underwent training.

Two years later, he suggested that the group sue the U.S. government seeking removal from the list of terrorist organizations. Such a move, he was told, had to be run by ISI officials first.

That's because "they coordinate with each other," he said, "with financial and military support."

Pakistani authorities arrested him in 2006 as he tried to meet a drug smuggler, Headley said. After discussing his Lashkar training, he was introduced to an ISI official who was "very pleased" about Headley's plans to go to India.

Headley detailed meetings he had with an ISI officer named "Major Iqbal" to discuss the Mumbai attacks. The meetings with Iqbal were followed by meetings with Lashkar operative Saajid Mir, an alleged mastermind of the attacks.

Iqbal gave Headley $25,000 to conduct surveillance operations for the attacks. Headley said he handed videos from his various scouting missions to Mumbai to Iqbal before sharing them with Mir. The meetings also included head of Lashkar's military wing Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, its trainer and explosives expert Abu Qahafa, and Yusuf Muzammil (also referred to as "Lashkar Member D" by Indian investigators). The meetings were held at Lashkar's headquarters in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir ("Free Kashmir") in Pakistan. The Lashkar headquarters were described by Headley as consisting of several buildings stretched over a few acres that included schools for children and older teenagers.

Rana is accused of helping Headley's surveillance missions by making it look as if the travel was connected to Rana's business. Headley used the Mumbai office of Rana's immigration company, First World Immigration Services, as a cover while he surveilled targets in the city. He also allegedly served as a communications conduit between Headley and a fellow defendant identified as Major Iqbal.

Headley, born in Pakistan as Daood Gilani, said he changed his name to escape notice as a Muslim or Pakistani and allow for easy transit through immigration on his reconnaissance missions to India.

Headley reiterated several times during his testimony that he told Rana about his meetings with Major Iqbal and Lashkar operatives. Headley also said he had mentioned to Rana about his meeting with "Pasha," a former Army major also known in court filings as Abdur Rehman Hashim Syed (Rehman).

Indian investigators have alleged Rehman, a co-defendant in the Rana case, was close to Osama bin Laden.

In meetings with Major Iqbal and Saajid Mir, Headley discussed ways to "motivate" Rana to help out with his immigration company in the plotting of the Mumbai attacks. Saajid gave several tapes on jihad and the fighting in Kashmir as a means to introduce Rana to "Salafi jihad." Headley said he and Rana discussed the definition of jihad and when it was acceptable to target civilians.

Headley also discussed his surveillance operations in Mumbai while working as an "immigration consultant" in the city. He said under instructions from Iqbal and Saajid, he took videos of major landmarks in the city, including luxury hotels, a nuclear research facility, Mumbai's bus and train terminals, and the offices of Shiva Sena, a right-wing Hindu nationalist party.

The Mumbai terrorists targeted the train station, the Taj Mahal hotel and a Jewish center.

Headley described the Shiva Sena as a "terrorist organization" responsible for the massacre of Muslims in Gujarat, and the demolition of a Muslim mosque by Hindu extremists in 1992. Headley said he also befriended a man named "Rahul," reported to be the son of a prominent Bollywood film producer.

Headley also scouted sites for the Lashkar terrorists to come ashore in a seaborne assault on Mumbai. He took boat trips to find potential landing sites that he saved on a GPS device provided to him by his Pakistani handlers. His suggestion of a landing site on the West side of Mumbai near some fisherman shanties across from the taxi stand won him praise from his handlers, Headley said.

His testimony resumes Tuesday.

Wikileaks: Gulf Donors Funding Pakistani Militancy

Donors in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been financing extremist South Asian madrassas to the tune of $100 million a year, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable released to Pakistani daily Dawn. Notably, the Miami Herald reports that Gulf funding in South Pakistan has increased extremism in areas that were once considered moderate.

"Local economic conditions coupled with foreign financing appear to be transforming a traditionally moderate area of the country into a fertile recruiting ground for terrorist organizations," said Bryan Hunt, a key officer at the U.S. Consulate in Lahore and author of the cable. The document also notes that the funds were provided "ostensibly with the direct support" of the Saudi and Emirati governments.

The cable confirms previous allegations made by U.S. lawmakers and senior American officials about Saudi financial support for South Asian extremism. Funds have also ended up in the hands of Deobandi clerics, who "preach the same strain of hard-line Islam that inspires Taliban militants in Afghanistan," according to the cable. Islamists recruit young boys, often aged 8 to 12, to fight Pakistan's government and the West, all on the tab of Saudi charities and fundraisers.

The U.S. Consulate in Lahore "believes that this growing recruitment network poses a direct threat to (U.S. government) counterterrorism and counter-extremism efforts in Pakistan," the cable also said. "The Pakistani provincial and federal governments, while fully aware of the problem, appear to fear direct confrontation with these extremist groups."

Saudi and Emirati officials did not have any comment at the time of the publication.

Maryam Jameelah: Conversion, Exile, Extremism

The tale of Maryam Jameelah, a New York Jewish girl who became a leading polemicist for radical Islam, has become the focus of a new book by biographer Deborah Baker. A New York Times review of Baker's The Convert shows how Jameelah became an anti-Western legend, at the behest of South Asian extremism Abul Ala Maududi and despite her battles with a questionable case of schizophrenia.

Jameelah's claim to fame didn't come from her ranting style and repetitiveness of subject matter, but rather from the narrative of her life. Born to secular Jewish parents, she rejected Western society and became an active opponent of Western women's rights and non-Muslim societies. As reviews on her own website indicate, her life story is taken as a confirmation of the validity of her facts, such as in her anti-Jewish, anti-Christian rant Islam Versus People of the Book [Ahl Al Kitab] - Past and Present.

Even as a child, Maryam Jameelah (Margaret Marcus) expressed a fascination with Arab culture and desired to live as an artist in the Middle East. "At 15, while her friends were listening to Frank Sinatra, she was buying records by the Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. After dropping out of New York University, she spent years reading Muslim texts in the public library's Oriental division," notes the Times review. "At 27, she converted to Islam with the help of a Brooklyn imam, and the following year, in 1962, boarded a freighter for Pakistan, never to return to the United States."

Her story is riddled with twists and turns. "Jameelah's parents were dumfounded by her zigzagging fixations and flirtations — first with Holocaust photographs, then Palestinian suffering, then a Zionist youth group and, ultimately, fundamentalist Islam. While her classmates fell happily into 'boys, dates, dances, parties, clothes and film stars,' Jameelah recoiled, refusing to date or form friendships." A two-year stint in a mental hospital didn't help either, and Jameelah finally reached out to Abul Ala Maududi, the founder of Pakistani Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami.

Maududi's rigid form of Islam and his personal attention changed Jameelah. Calling her an "equatorial sapling struggling to survive in an Arctic climate," Maududi became her "correspondent and protector" and ultimately invited her to live with his family.

However, Maududi's misinterpretation of Jameelah's illness backfired, and the "charming autodidact of her letters became, in the flesh, a logorrheic pest with an explosive temper." Despite her failure to live up to his expectations, Jameelah achieved lasting literary fame. As a former Westerner, her voice would lend credence to radical Islam's anti-Western ideology.

Newer Postings   |   Older Postings