Recent Appearances...

Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

CNN Freelance Journalist Worked With, Supported Hamas

2024-07-04

[PJM] In yet another blow to CNN's credibility, a new report from the Jerusalem Post has exposed a disturbing connection between a CNN freelance journalist and Hamas.

Abdel Qader Sabbah, the journalist in question, allegedly shared selfies with senior Hamas officials and disseminated Hamas terrorist propaganda.

A report published by anti-Israel media bias watchdog HonestReporting alleges that a Gaza-based CNN freelance journalist was associated with a Hamas-run entity. Abdel Qader Sabbah appeared in photographs with senior Hamas leaders online and actively praised terrorists while also carrying out unnamed tasks for the terror organization, the report claims.

The report cites CNN's platforming of Sabbah's work. He has also worked for the Associated Press, and his platforming casts doubt on the journalistic integrity of the network and the Hamas terror group's ties to it. The report also raises concerns about journalistic standards and vetting practices of reporters for the media network, in addition to the story content published by the outlet.

The media watchdog identified evidence of Abdel Qader Sabbah’s Hamas affiliation on his personal Facebook page, where he identified himself as a freelance journalist, director, and photographer.

Throughout his profile, Sabbah's links himself to senior Hamas leaders, such as Mahmoud A-Zahar, in a 2018 post. A-Zahar called for "world domination with no Zionists," the report said.

Sabbah's selfie with A-Zahar included a caption referring to him as a teacher of literature. In 2023, he boasted about a promotional project he completed for the Directorate's academy, which MEMRI noted trains Hamas security systems. The video was later shared publicly on the Hamas-run interior ministry's official page.

The report also highlighted Sabbah's Facebook posts praising Hamas terrorists who carried out deadly terror attacks, such as Izz A-Din Al-Masri, who executed a suicide bombing at a Jerusalem restaurant in 2001, killing 16 people, including children. Sabbah consistently reshared Hamas armed wing propaganda videos and anti-Israel sentiments. His profile also featured content censoring media coverage of Hamas activities and fighters, revealing deep affiliations with members of the terrorist organization and their antisemitic propaganda.

After this troubling relationship came to light, CNN cut ties with Sabbah.

"This freelance journalist has provided material used in stories for us and other outlets over the past nine months, during which time our own journalists have been barred from entering Gaza independently," a CNN spokesman said in a statement to HonestReporting. "We have reviewed this material carefully and are comfortable that it meets our standards. However, we were not aware of this individual’s historical social posts and recognize that they are highly offensive. In light of this, we will no longer be using his material going forward."

While CNN claims that Sabbah's reports met their standards, a quick search on CNN finds several stories relating to the Israel-Hamas war that Sabbah contributed to that are heavily slanted against Israel, including a report from June 26, 2024, alleging that Palestinian children are "dying of starvation in their parents’ arms as famine spreads through Gaza," that mostly reads like Hamas propaganda.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas terror chief wanted by Egypt for Sunday's attack was involved in Shalit kidnapping

2012-08-10

Raed Attar, who heads Gazoo's Qasam Brigades, is one of trio accused by Cairo of 'indirect role' in assault that killed 16 Egyptian troops and smashed into Israel at Kerem Shalom crosing

Egypt's General Intelligence has demanded the extradition from Gazoo of three senior members of Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,'s armed wing Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades for their involvement in a terrorist attack near the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Sunday, a Paleostinian daily reported Thursday. A Hamas front man denied the report.

One of the three desperados, Raed Attar, is the commander of the Qassam brigades in Gazoo. Attar was involved in the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from inside the Israeli border, also near the Kerem Shalom crossing, in June 2006, according to Hebrew media reports on the Shalit affair.

Israeli officials said the gunnies who carried out Sunday's attack -- killing 16 Egyptian security officers, commandeering an APV and smashing across the border into Israel before their vehicle was blown up by the IAF -- were also aiming to kidnap a soldier or soldiers. In initial comments to the media after the gunnies were thwarted Sunday night, the IDF front man specified that no soldiers had been kidnapped.

Al-Quds reported that the request to extradite the trio was sent to Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh
...became Prime Minister after the legislative elections of 2006 which Hamas won. President Mahmoud Abbas dismissed Haniyeh from office on 14 June 2007 at the height of the Fatah-Hamas festivities, but Haniyeh did not acknowledge the decree and continues as the PM of Gazoo while Abbas maintains a separate PM in the West Bank...
through Mahmoud A-Zahar, a Hamas official in Gazoo. An unnamed security source told the daily that the three men are not suspected of perpetrating the attack, but of providing "indirect logistical support" to an thug group in Sinai that carried it out.

The source would not give Al-Quds the names of the three men, but security sources in Ramallah told the daily that they are Raed Attar, Ayman Nofal, and Muhammad Abu-Shamalah, all of whom are well-known tunnel smugglers in Gazoo. The daily reported that Hamas agreed to hand over the men to the Egyptians, but they refused to go voluntarily, citing a fear of being tortured by the Egyptians. The men did agree to be questioned by the Egyptian intelligence inside the Gazoo Strip.

Attar, the commander of the Qassam Brigades in Gazoo, was reportedly involved in the cross-border infiltration, via tunnels, in which two IDF soldiers were killed and Shalit was grabbed and dragged away into Gazoo, where he was held hostage for five years until last October.

Hamas denied involvement in Sunday's terrorist attack, erected a symbolic mourning tent for the 16 Egyptians, and vowed to assist the Egyptian authorities in their investigation.

Meanwhile,
...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea...
Abdul Dayem Abu-Midin, a Paleostinian philanthropist from Gazoo, on Thursday pledged $10,000 to every family of the Egyptian victims. He told the Hamas-affiliated Paleostinian Information Center that his donation stems from "the love of a Paleostinian citizen to a sister-nation."

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Warty Nose Drops Out of Sight

2009-02-05

(IsraelNN.com) Senior Hamas terrorist Mahmoud A-Zahar has made no public appearances since the beginning of the Cast Lead counter-terror operation in Gaza. While other Hamas leaders have issued frequent condemnations of Israel and proclamations of victory, A-Zahar has remained silent, leading to theories that he was wounded or fled during the fighting. According to rumors that apparently began with an anonymous IDF report, A-Zahar was injured in an IDF strike during Cast Lead. He was secretly taken to an Egyptian hospital in Cairo for treatment.
Pray for sepsis ...
Egyptian officials have denied that A-Zahar was in Cairo.
Nope. Haven't seen him. But we'll say "hi" if we do...
Western diplomats told the Hebrew-language daily Maariv that A-Zahar had fled, fearing assassination. Other senior Hamas leaders were killed during the operation, including Nizar Rayyan and Said Siyam. A-Zahar escaped Gaza by hiding in an ambulance headed for Egypt, the sources said. He even disguised himself by shaving his beard, they added.
Did he put Wart-Be-Gone on his nose? Was he wearing his Mom's best clothes?
If A-Zahar is in hiding, he may have fled to El-Arish -- his mother's hometown, located in the Sinai Peninsula.
Hi, ma! I'm home! Hide me!
"You can have your housecoat back now."
If A-Zahar is found to have fled Gaza during the IDF operation, he is likely to lose much of his public support, analysts pointed out.
That'll last about a month, given the Paleo attention span.
In such a scenario, they said, he would be rejected by both Hamas and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah.
Really? That doesn't seem to affect the Heroes of Damascus.
Hamas denies that A-Zahar fled, or that he was wounded in Cast Lead.
Maybe it's a situation like "Sleeper". Maybe he got blown up and all they saved was the wart and now they gotta figure out how to clone him.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas Chief Promises War Even if PA State is Established

2006-12-05

by Hillel Fendel

Khaled Meshaal, the Damascus-based leader of the Hamas terrorist organization, makes no bones: Either Israel leaves all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza and agrees to the 'right of return' - or war.

Meshaal is officially the head of the diplomatic desk of Hamas, but is recognized as the #1 man in the terrorist organization. The target of a failed Israeli assassination attempt a decade ago, Meshaal told a Lebanese newspaper this week that Hamas will not hesitate to resume its armed warfare against Israel.

Specifically, he threatened, "If within six months, the international community does not come up with a plan for the establishment of a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders [i.e., on all the land liberated by Israel in the Six Day War - ed.] and for the return of the refugees, the Palestinians will turn to an armed struggle against Israel."
How will they tell the difference?

"We can have an intifada even when running the Palestinian Authority," Meshaal said, explaining that the ceasefire was not designed to bring peace, but is rather another stage in the war with Israel. "The current calm [cease-fire in Gaza - ed.], just like the escalation [before that], is part of the way we manage the conflict with Israel."

Many Israeli military men and analysts have said that Hamas is using the current truce in Gaza to rearm and regroup towards the next round of fighting.

Hamas Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniye, visiting in Syria, echoed Meshaal's position in a speech at a refugee camp. He said the Palestinians will not give up on "even one grain of sand of Palestine," and that Syrian President Assad promised him that all the Palestinian [terrorist] prisoners incarcerated in Israel would be freed.

Meshaal admitted that the Hamas-Fatah talks for a unity PA government have "encountered difficulties," but said they have not yet hit a dead end. This clashes with announcements by Hamas leaders Haniye and Mahmoud A-Zahar, who said on Monday that the negotiations had failed and were beyond recovery.

Hamas and Fatah elements traded blame and accusations for the failed talks. Fatah leader Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) is expected to announce - possibly today - whether he plans to dissolve the Parliament, thus leading to a clash with Hamas.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Jordan Arrests Hamas Members

2006-04-25

Jordanian security sources have revealed to Asharq al-Awsat that a secret investigation into the smuggling of weapons by Hamas into Jordan has implicated five members of the Palestinian parliament movement. The issue was first raised last Tuesday by a Jordanian government spokesperson who said security forces seized rocket launchers and other weapons from a Hamas arms cache in the country. Amman also accused Hamas of using Jordan to engage in anti-Israeli activities.

The accusations caused a fallout between the Jordanian government and Hamas, which now dominates the Palestinian government and parliament. Following the announcement, the Jordanian government cancelled Wednesdays visit of Mahmoud A-Zahar, who heads external relations in the Palestinian government.

The sources said the five people involved in the smuggling were members of Hamas and active supporters of the organization in Jordan and outside the country. The group members, two of whom are Jordanians, were caught smuggling arms and storing them on Jordanian soil, and also surveying strategic locations in the country. The sources said the suspects will be taken to a national security court when the investigation is completed.

Hamas officials have vociferously denied the allegations, which they say are fabricated. They say Amman is being influenced by the United States to boycott the new Palestinian government.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

A-Zahar rejects 'satanic' US aid

2006-02-14

Hamas leader Mahmoud A-Zahar vowed Monday not to bow to American threats to cut aid, saying the movement did not need "satanic" US money.

A-Zahar also addressed Hamas' much-anticipated social and economic agenda, saying the group intended to fight corruption, eliminate the "tourism of nudity" and use education to promote a culture of resistance.

But, aware of the political realities in the Palestinian territories, Zahar said Hamas had no intention to force Islam on Palestinians or to settle scores with its rivals.

"Those who built their structure on the basis of the Quran...cannot budge because of promises from America or a dollar from Europe," Zahar told a Cairo conference. "I wish America would cut off its aid. We do not need this satanic money," he said.

Since Hamas' victory in last month's parliamentary elections, Western nations have threatened to cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in badly needed aid unless the group, which is responsible for dozens of suicide bombings that have killed hundreds of Israelis, transforms itself.

Hamas was expected to lead a new government.

"America and Europe tried to dry up the funding of the 'terrorist' Hamas that is spent on the families of the martyrs and the detainees, but it (Hamas) has only increased," he said. Such money comes from almsgiving, he said.

He argued that most of the outside aid money was eaten up by corruption under Fatah and lost funds could be made up by removing corrupt officials and turning to Arab donors.

He ruled out making compromises to keep the money coming.

"Recognizing the state of the Israeli enemy is not on the table," he said. "Our program is to liberate Palestine, all of Palestine," he said.

"The Qassam Brigades will continue to increase in numbers, supplies and weapons...until the liberation is completed," he said of the group's military wing. He added that Hamas can develop the capabilities of its missiles.

"Anyone who thinks the calm means giving in is mistaken. The calm is in preparation for a new round of resistance and victory," he said. "If the enemy has something to offer we will study it, but we will not abide by a truce that is for free."

Hamas abided by an Egyptian-brokered truce between the Palestinians and Israel, and has continued to forgo militant attacks beyond the agreement's expiration late last year.

He also again rejected the 1993 Oslo peace accords under which the Palestinians recognized Israel and set up the Palestinian Authority.

"We are entering (parliament) to eliminate any traces of Oslo," he said.

But Zahar called for making a distinction between bestowing legitimacy on Israel and recognizing the facts on the ground. He left the door open for possible future talks with Israel through a third party.

"Negotiations are not our goal," he said. "Negotiations are a means. If they realize the best interest of the Palestinian people, then we will find a thousand mediators...to negotiate," he said.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Hamas supremo sez he won't disarm or renew truce

2005-12-01

The political leader of the Palestinian terror group Hamas on Wednesday said it would not renew a truce with Israel when it expires at the end of the year and accused the Jewish state of violating the agreement that reduced violence. "All circumstances on the ground, the regional political atmosphere and the Palestinian situation are not encouraging to renew the truce," Khaled Mashaal told The Associated Press in a telephone interview in Damascus. "Hamas is not going to renew the truce because Israel did not abide by the conditions of the truce."

"Israel is still there, filled with Jooos. That's not what we signed on for. End of story. "

Among the violations were, Mashaal claimed, Israel's failure to release Palestinian prisoners, to end attacks on Palestinian areas and targeted assassinations of Palestinian leaders and the continued confiscation of Palestinian lands.

The Egyptian government had brokered an informal truce between Israel and Palestinian factions that expires at the end of the year. The government of President Hosni Mubarak has invited all groups to Cairo to talk about extending the cease-fire for another year. Hamas last week asked Egypt to delay talks on renewing the truce until after Palestinian parliamentary elections in January. Mashaal said Hamas "will never abandon any Palestinian right and will not recognize the legitimacy of occupation whatsoever. This is a fundamental principle of the group." His response was to a question about Hamas accepting a two-state solution, with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in autonomous countries. Mashaal rejected US calls for Hamas to disarm and join the political process, saying this was not possible while Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory continued. "The resistance must go hand in hand with political work," he said. "It is not accepted to pressure the resistance to choose between resistance and politics."

Sometimes I wish Western politicians would speak up for our interests as forcefully.

Hamas, meanwhile, published its list for the upcoming Palestinian parliamentary elections. The list includes senior leaders Mahmoud A-Zahar, Ismail Haniya and Hassan Youssuf. Among the candidates, according to the group, are prisoners [incarcerated in Israel], Christians and women, including the widow of former group leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who was gunned by an Israeli helicopter gun ship in April, 2004.

Just like that. Gunned down for no reason at all, without so much as a by-your-leave. Didn't even care that he was delivering a much-needed bag of baby duck chow to the local orphanage.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-7 More