Russia calls to lift blockade against Hamas government

Jerusalem Post ^ | Jan. 30, 2007 21:40 | Updated Jan. 30, 2007 22:32 | Herb Keinon

[Esther Ruth]

Russia calls to lift blockade against Hamas government

HERB KEINON, AP, and Jpost staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Jan. 30, 2007

Four days before the Quartet is scheduled to meet in Washington and discuss ways to "re-energize" the road map, a top Russian diplomat called on Tuesday for the lifting the international blockade of the Hamas-led Palestinian government, the Interfax news agency reported.

According to the report, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov said that Moscow would use the Quartet meeting to urge the lifting of economic sanctions on the PA.

"Russia has always argued against the blockade and we expect the Quartet to listen to our view," Interfax quoted him as saying. The Quartet is made up of the US, European Union, Russia and the UN.

Both US and European diplomatic officials have told The Jerusalem Post in recent days that there was no intention in Washington or Brussels to favor watering down the three criteria that the international community has set for granting legitimacy to the PA government: forswearing terrorism, recognizing Israel, and accepting previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements.

A senior Israeli diplomatic official said that there was no reason now to change the three principles, certainly after a Hamas spokesman said within hours of the Eilat suicide attack on Monday that it was a "legitimate response" to Israeli policies.

Russia disappointed Jerusalem last year by hosting Hamas leaders in Moscow soon after the Palestinian Legislative elections, but made no progress in persuading the group to change its positions.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a related matter, said over the weekend that Iran and Syria should be included in any regional peace initiatives.

"It is my deep conviction that Iran and Syria should not be isolated and must be involved in the settlement process," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Interfax. This position is contrary to both the positions in Washington and Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan next week.

The Russian leader will visit Saudi Arabia at the invitation of Saudi King Abdullah on February 11-12. Putin will fly to Qatar for meetings with Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani on February 12 before heading to Amman for talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II, the Kremlin said in a statement.

This will be Putin's first trip to any of those countries, and comes as Moscow has stepped up its military and trade ties with the Arab world, including the delivering of state-of-the-art weapons systems to Syria and Iran.

Israeli officials downplayed the regional importance of Putin's planned visit, saying that Putin was trying to balance the many visits in recent months by Arab leaders to Moscow. Putin paid a state visit to Israel in 2005.

Meanwhile, a report issued by Britain's Parliament on Tuesday said that the West's isolation of Hamas had caused the group to strengthen its ties with Iran.

According to the report, the international community had created a "dangerous situation" in which the Palestinian Authority was not responsible for its citizens. The report also called the current situation in the PA "unstable" and warned that the Western nations' refusal to talk with Hamas could have "negative results," Army Radio reported.

[rlmorel]

Is THIS the same Hamas they want to legitmize? THIS is what article 17 of the Hamas Charter states, and they are not ashamed and do not disown it:

Article Seventeen:

The Moslem woman has a role no less important than that of the moslem man in the battle of liberation. She is the maker of men. Her role in guiding and educating the new generations is great. The enemies have realised the importance of her role. They consider that if they are able to direct and bring her up they way they wish, far from Islam, they would have won the battle. That is why you find them giving these attempts constant attention through information campaigns, films, and the school curriculum, using for that purpose their lackeys who are infiltrated through Zionist organizations under various names and shapes, such as Freemasons, Rotary Clubs, espionage groups and others, which are all nothing more than cells of subversion and saboteurs. These organizations have ample resources that enable them to play their role in societies for the purpose of achieving the Zionist targets and to deepen the concepts that would serve the enemy. These organizations operate in the absence of Islam and its estrangement among its people. The Islamic peoples should perform their role in confronting the conspiracies of these saboteurs. The day Islam is in control of guiding the affairs of life, these organizations, hostile to humanity and Islam, will be obliterated.

The Masons? The Rotary Club?

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

High volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel, WOT

..................

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

High volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel, WOT

..................

[SJackson]

I can think of reasons Russia would legitimize Hamas.

UPDATE: Mystery man in terrorist investigation [Hamas in Toledo]

US freezes assets of organisation linked to Hamas (Name: KindHearts)

Hamas vs. America

Hamas calls for "economic Jihad" against the U.S.

HAMAS' Al-Rantisi Says US 'First Enemy' of Palestinian People

Hamas Terror Cell Nabbed in America

Hamas Declares War on America- For Hamas leaders, Israel is not enough

Hamas Release Video Of British Suicide Bombers

The Globalization of Hamas Terrorism (America and Canada on their agenda)

GLOBAL JIHAD -- Report: Hamas planned attacks in U.S.

Israel: Canadian admits to planning attacks in N. America: DON'T IGNORE THIS

Hamas in America-The question may no longer be if Hamas will attack America, but when.

What puzzles me is OUR State Department

A Pro-Hamas Foreign Policy?-Why is Washington urging terrorists to run for elective office?

Secretary Rice on CNN: US will respect elections if Hamas wins

White House: OK if Hamas controls PLC- "business professionals...not terrorists"

White House: Hamas members elected in PA not terrorists

Despite Rice's slip, US still calls Hamas terror group

[ex-Texan]

Tell Putin to 'go blow it out his nose.'

[onedoug]

What did Patton say about the Russians?

[rlmorel]

Thanks for the links...I will definitely check them out.

[M. Espinola]

Russia supporting Hamas, Russia supporting Iran, Russia supporting Syria - Hezballah. Russia is not our enemy?

[mutley]

"Russia supporting Hamas, Russia supporting Iran, Russia supporting Syria - Hezballah. Russia is not our enemy?"

If what you say is not current reality for most Americans
and our elected leaders, we are going to pay the penance. If that is indeed the case, we are doomed to future hardship.

[EGPWS]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in a related matter, said over the weekend that Iran and Syria should be included in any regional peace initiatives.

Virtually the same time frame as Iran pushing for a hand in the reconstruction of Iraq.

Is there a link?

[EGPWS]

The Masons? The Rotary Club?

Organizations of good people but considered infidels by fanatical thinkers.

[M. Espinola]

"If what you say is not current reality for most Americans and our elected leaders, we are going to pay the penance. If that is indeed the case, we are doomed to future hardship."

I know what you mean.

If Putin's terrorist proxies such as oil funded Iran and ally Syria (Hezballah & Hamas) can have their régimes overthrown at least the state sponsorship of pro-Shi'ite terrorist groups, first off the enormous sums of money and arms being funneled to Iraq's 'Mahdi Army', Gaza's Hamas & Lebanon's Hezballah would soon discover themselves really hurting for money & weapons.

Without the neo-Soviet client states of Iran & Syria, Moscow's mounting viperous geostrategic influences coupled with mounting 'energy' related power interlinked with Tehran would be enormously diminished in the general area of the Mid-East.

Without a oil rich Iranian fanatical jihadist dictatorship Iraq's Moktada al-Sadr's 'Mahdi Army' terrorist horde would be odd man out so to speak since no other nation with a substantial Shi'ite population is capable of filling the monetary gap.

The ongoing Sunni-Al-Qaida terrorist threats are being fueled by Wahhabist Arabia along with oil Opec Gulf Arab states plus 'donations' steaming in from the international Muslim public. Some of this money for the promotion of Sunni related terrorism is actually 'raised & donated' through 501c-3 'non-profit' Islamic groups, which includes all Mosques in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Down Under and throughout most of the E.U.

There are various solutions to the serious threats both sects of global caliphate instigating Islam is provoking. The problem is thus far non of the Western nations mentioned have neither the will or the sense of urgency to prevent this very determined enemy from gathering greater strength on our domestic fronts.

In and around the Persian Gulf Iran is rapidly being totally surrounded in terms of Allied air power, which is the logical method to knock out Tehran's tyrants and their nuclear weapons capabilities. I believe action will be forth coming in both Iran and Syria's case, but I hope it's prior to Iran calling the shots which could result in sinking the Western led global economy.

[Kozak]

They want to sell weapons directly without having to go through a middle man....

[Esther Ruth]

We're going to have to fight the Russians eventually anyway. It might as well be now while we've already got the army here to do it.

[familyop]

Here's some history in an excerpt from PalestineFacts.org:

What led to the Six Day War in 1967?
Military Provocation By Arab Countries and Soviet Disinformation

At the same time, and unknown to the Israelis, the Soviet Union mounted a disinformation campaign pushing Egypt to join Syria against Israel. At that time, the Soviets were providing military and economic aid to both Syria and Egypt. On May 13, 1967 a Soviet parliamentary delegation visited Cairo and informed the Egyptian leaders that Israel had concentrated eleven to thirteen brigades along the Syrian border in preparation for an assault within a few days, with the intention of overthrowing the revolutionary Syrian Government. This was a complete fabrication designed by the Soviets to destabilize the Middle East. Similar false information may have been given to Egypt by the Soviets as early as May 2.

The build up and aggressive intent were denied by Israel. UN Secretary General U Thant reported that UNTSO observers on the Syrian border:

   ... have verified the absence of troop concentrations and absence of noteworthy military movements on both sides of the [Syrian] line.

Nasser probably correctly interpreted the Soviet information as an indication to him that the time was ripe for an attack on Israel and that he had their backing. With the United States deeply distracted by the War in Vietnam, the Soviets had reason to think there would be no US intervention. Nassar then abandoned his former cautious policy and took the lead for new aggression against Israel. Syria and Iraq eagerly joined Egypt's preparations, increasing the momentum toward war.

And some of the behavior from our State Dept. doesn't surprise me, as I've seen religious identity biases from certain individuals in our government over the past few years. ...an expected trend after seeing so much more of the same from writers like Buchanan and Novak, and movie moguls like Gibson. Some recent media productions here ahve been looking a little like some of the propaganda in pre-WWII Europe. ...remember the reader reactions to the Beslan event, and did you see how long the Russian government publications kept those pictures on their front pages?

[familyop]

We won't have to fight Russia while invading, occupying and denazifying Iran, if we don't waste too much time with political procrastinations.

General: Russian military won't intervene in Iran
Apr 20, 2006
AFP by way of Persian Journal

Russia's military will not intervene on one side or the other should the current Iran crisis lead to an armed conflict, the chief of the Russian general staff said.

"You are asking which side Russia will take. Of course Russia will not, at least I as head of the general staff, suggest the use of force on one side or the other. Just as was the case in Afghanistan," General Yury Baluevsky told reporters, referring to the 2001 US-led intervention to oust the Taliban.

The general, who heads the Russian armed forces, stressed that he did not think a military scenario was likely in relation to Iran and said that diplomacy was "the proper course".

"In my view a military solution to the Iranian problem would be a political and military mistake," Baluevsky said.

He also confirmed that Russia planned to go ahead with fulfilling an order by Iran for a consignment of Tor-M1 mobile air defence systems, despite US concerns about the deal.

"I am absolutely sure that it will be delivered, in accordance with international norms on non-proliferation," he said.

Baluevsky is known for his hawkish position with regard to the United States. In December he accused Washington of "double standards" in its policies towards Iran and North Korea, saying it had closed its eyes to Israel's nuclear arsenal.

His comments on Wednesday came as the Iran issue continued to overshadow talks in Moscow among leaders of the Group of Eight rich nations.

Tehran also sent a high-ranking delegation to Moscow for talks amid renewed efforts to resolve the mounting international crisis.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is purely for civilian energy generation, but the West, led by the United States, suspects the programme is a cover for developing atomic weapons.

[gonzo]

"...I believe action will be forth coming in both Iran and Syria's case, but I hope it's prior to Iran calling the shots which could result in sinking the Western led global economy..."

You've nailed it, M. Espinola! It's a Global Economy now, and nobody prospers in any way if Iran is allowed to wreck it. That hurts everybody, including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Venezuala, etc., etc., and the list goes on.

And NOBODY wants Israel to Nuke Iran! Cain't use thet-there raydioactive oil ............ FRegards

[HardStarboard]

>>>And NOBODY wants Israel to Nuke Iran! Cain't use thet-there raydioactive oil<<<

Someone ought to mention to Admadinejad that a radioactive 12th Imam (Mahadi..whatever) isn't going real popular with the folks either.