Hamas reconstructing damaged Gaza attack tunnel

[King_David]

Hamas’s armed wing is reconstructing an attack tunnel damaged by Israel during Operation Protective Edge, the movement’s newspaper reported on Sunday, admitting that renovation work was carried out on the tunnel under the protection of a humanitarian ceasefire during the operation.

A reporter for Al-Resalah joined a team of tunnel diggers on the Gaza Strip border with Israel, but was not allowed to enter the tunnel for fear that it would collapse. The diggers, whom he described as “bees in a hive,” said they were motivated by the belief that “every inch they dig helps spill the blood of an Israeli soldier or kidnap one.”

The diggers assembled at the entrance to the tunnel at sunset, and told the reporter that breathing was difficult once underground. “We thank God for making us soldiers specializing in tunnel digging,” one operative told the daily. “True, the work is difficult, but we remember our reward with God and it becomes easier.”

Israel launched a ground incursion in the Gaza Strip on July 17, nine days into Operation Protective Edge, in order to destroy dozens of tunnels dug for the purpose of kidnapping Israeli soldiers or carrying out a large-scale attacks against targets along the Israeli border. That same day, Israel intercepted 13 Hamas operatives who had entered the country through a tunnel, emerging near Kibbutz Sufa.





http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-reconstructing-damaged-gaza-terror-tunnel/

[bemildred]

1. Meanwhile, solitary troops are patrolling the Gaza border in unarmored Jeeps:

IDF troops patrol Gaza border in unprotected vehicles: 'We feel like sitting ducks'

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113484570

I think we can all see where this sort of incompetence leads ...

[King_David]

2. Yep

[bemildred]

3. Jewish groups decry swastika graffiti on Temple Mount

Anti-Semitic graffiti equating Jews and Nazis was found scrawled on the Temple Mount Sunday morning, leading to an outpouring of anger by Jewish and Zionist organizations. The graffiti, portraying the Star of David and a swastika joined by an equal sign, was found during a time of tension between Muslims and Jews at the holy site, with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas calling for Jewish pilgrims to be barred “by any means.”

"This is our Aksa ... and they have no right to enter it and desecrate it,” Abbas declared. In response to his comments, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman accused the Palestinian leader of joining the Islamic State terrorist group and accusing him of being a “Holocaust denier who speaks about a Palestinian state free of Jews.”

While the site is ultimately administered by Jordanian religious authorities, Israeli and Palestinian police secure it. Non-Muslims are allowed to visit under close monitoring but are not allowed to pray, a prohibition at the heart of the tensions.

Last Monday police trapped dozens of Arab rioters at the Aksa Mosque for hours after the mob collected rocks, fireworks and firebombs in order to confront police and disturb Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount. The rioters set up barricades at the entrance to the Aksa Mosque. Police removed the barricades while under attack from a barrage of rocks, pushed the hooligans toward the mosque and locked them inside.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Jewish-groups-decry-swastika-graffiti-on-Temple-Mount-379210

[bemildred]

4. Hamas claims it is rebuilding infiltration tunnels into Israel

Less than two months after Israel's summer offensive in the Gaza Strip ended, Hamas militants in the coastal enclave are
rebuilding their attack tunnels.

A journalist from Hamas affiliated news outlet Al-Resalah visited one of the rebuilding sites recently, according to to a report on Sunday on its website. The journalist spoke to a number of militants who she said were burrowing beneath the earth 24/7.

"Working here is very hard, but we are waiting for tribute from God," one of the diggers said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the middle of August that the IDF and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) neutralized the attack tunnels but he reiterated that there was no guarantee of 100 percent success.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Hamas-claims-it-is-rebuilding-infiltration-tunnels-into-Israel-379206