Haaretz (Thursday): Gaza escalation has weakened Hamas' standing

[Jack Rabbit]

From Haaretz (Tel Aviv)
Dated Thursday September 29

MI: Gaza escalation has weakened Hamas' standing
By Amos Harel

The past week's flare-up in the territories has done serious "strategic damage" to Hamas, in the view of Israeli Military Intelligence. MI officers believe that the firing of dozens of Qassam rockets at Sderot and the kidnapping and murder of Sasson Nuriel in Ramallah have only bolstered Israel's case against Hamas contesting Palestinian parliamentary elections until it disarms.

A senior military source told Haaretz that in his opinion the Hamas leaders had been wrong in their judgment all week. The mistakes began with the Hamas' insistence on holding a military parade with a lot of explosives in a densely populated part of Jebalyah, continued with the negligence that caused an explosion in which 19 Palestinians were killed, and culminated with the decision to lie to the Palestinian public, blame Israel for the explosion and start firing rockets at Sderot.

When Hamas leaders realized the damage incurred to them in Palestinian public opinion, they said they would stop firing the rockets, despite the fact that this was seen as surrendering to Israel.

Nuriel's abduction caused the Hamas further damage. The video cassette showing a bound Nuriel strengthened the Hamas' image as a terrorist organization that acts like al-Qaida in Iraq, just when the Hamas is making efforts to get itself off the list of terror organizations. MI sources say that Israel's retaliation to the shelling of Sderot has so far been accepted by the world with understanding.

Read more.

[bemildred]

1. This makes me think of Beirut somehow.

But seriously, this seems like a bunch of happy talk to me.

"MI sources say that Israel's retaliation to the shelling of Sderot has so far been accepted by the world with understanding."

Did they do a poll?