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Thursday, January 22, 2009

Syria Supports Hamas' Success Over Israel.

Hamas calls for Palestinian reconciliation, but insists fight against Israel must go on.

"DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Hamas and seven other Damascus-based Palestinian groups have called for a national dialogue between rival factions but insist they will not give up their fight against Israel." newsday.com

Where does Syria fit in the mixed up situation in Gaza?

"Russia is prepared to equip Syria with a host of high-tech defensive arms, in an apparent shift of official policy. Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister, explained the changing position on August 21st, according to a report by the RIA Novosti news agency." theotherrussia.org

"Damascus Radio: "Syria has turned its land into a training camp, a safe haven and an arms depot for the Palestinian revolutionaries." (1 January 2002)
"The magnificent and unique suicide operation in Rishon Le Ziyyon is a practical declaration of the way to liberate the land from Israeli colonialism."
(9 May 2002)" Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

So, Syria has been armed with help from Russia and they support Hamas and what Hamas stands for.

"In terms of lethality, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas is the crown jewel of Syrian-backed terrorist organizations, having killed more Israeli (and American) civilians over the last decade than any other group sponsored by Damascus. This "success" is often attributed to the organization's grass-roots constituency, charismatic leadership, the growing appeal of Islamic fundamentalism among Palestinians, and external funding from Iran and private donors abroad. Syrian sponsorship of Hamas is not usually regarded as having had a major impact on the group's operational capabilities. The section on Hamas in the US State Department's annual Patterns of Global Terrorism report mentions only that some of the movement's leaders are "present in other parts of the Middle East, including Syria, Lebanon, and Iran."1

In fact, Syrian sponsorship of Hamas has had an enormous impact on the group's operational capacities. Since the mid-1990s, Damascus has been the operational headquarters of the Hamas military wing and a nexus for the transfer of external funds to Hamas operatives in the territories. Syria and Syrian-occupied Lebanon have become major conduits for funneling weapons and explosives to Hamas and safe havens for training hundreds of its operatives." Middle East Intelligence Bulletin

"DAMASCUS, Syria - A senior Hamas official has dismissed any reconciliation talks with the rival Fatah group.

His remarks Thursday followed claims by the militants that they emerged victorious after the group survived a relentless three-week offensive by Israel on the Gaza Strip.

Sami Khater, a member of the militant group's Damascus-based branch, says Arab and international donations to reconstruct the war-devastated Gaza should go directly to Hamas and not to rival Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose faction rules the West Bank." StarTribune.com

So, there is a circle that seems not to break between Hamas and many other organizations and countries, including Syria. Hamas dismisses the reconciliation talks with Palestine, and Hamas continues to hate Israel. Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and others continue to help support Hamas.

When is the violence going to end? Only when the countries that support terrorism and terrorist training are turned against such activities will the violence end. Until then, it is the place of democratic nations, the place of the United States, to encourage countries to turn away from harboring terrorists, from allowing the terrorism mentality within their borders. The more honor those countries can feel that they gleam from turning against these evil and violent organizations, the more likely they will be to turn away from them and change the standards of their allies and the morals they honor within their borders.

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