Posted on 08/15/2007 8:29:25 AM PDT by ventanax5
The Hamas terror organization that gained power through a violent coup in the Gaza Strip in June is now signaling that it will maintain its rule through a combination of violence, authoritarianism, and Islamism. Witness the Talibanization of Gaza.
Forced Conversions. According to Fatah officials, Professor Sana al-Sayegh, a teacher at Palestine University in Gaza City, was kidnapped two weeks ago by Hamas and forced to convert to Islam against her will. Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh turned down repeated meeting requests from family members and leaders of the dwindling Christian minority in Gaza City. Meanwhile, Ala Aklouk, a senior Muslim cleric in Gaza City asked by Hamas to look into the case, said the professor converted to Islam of her free will. “She was too afraid to inform her family that she had converted to Islam,” he said. Other Christians now fear for their lives, and are making plans to flee.
Muzzling the Media. Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Toameh of the Jerusalem Post reported last week that Hamas’s Executive Force (EF) prevented the distribution of three Fatah newspapers, including the al-Ayyam and al-Hayat al-Jadida dailies, in the Gaza Strip. Hamas even took some of the newspapers’ circulation officials into custody for a short time. This is the first time that West Bank newspapers were ever barred from the Gaza Strip. According to the al-Jazeera website, Hamas attacked two cameramen from the Abu Dhabi satellite television channel, and stormed the Gaza bureau of Al-Arabiya satellite channel. Moreover, the EF has closed a pro-Fatah television station and radio station. In fact, Hamas now controls all electronic media in Gaza, except one radio station linked to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), another Iran-backed terrorist organization.
(Excerpt) Read more at article.nationalreview.com ...
SOP
Hard not to resent American tax dollars paying for this....
Just two years ago, Israel evacuated all 9,000 Israelis living in Gaza and four northern West Bank communities in an effort to pave the way for peace and a future Palestinian state. During the disengagement, Israel uprooted entire communities including schools, businesses, places of worship and the only Jewish cemetery there.
The only Israeli still in the Gaza Strip today is Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped while patrolling the Israeli side of the Gaza border June 25, 2006
High Volume. Articles on Israel can also be found by clicking on the Topic or Keyword Israel. or WOT [War on Terror]
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ah democracy in action. Thanks Bush, Rice, Sharon, Olmert.
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