Via Iris.org
On Friday, the day of the opening of the Rafah crossing from Egypt to Gaza, I predicted that the "anti-terrorist security measure" of a live video feed given to Israel in exchange for five sweeping strategic concessions was a "charade". My prediction was:
Get ready for a lot more terrorists and heavy weapons in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Rafah deal was a complete capitulation by Israel. The "video feed" was a meaningless attempt to save face
Today brings news that:
Senior Hamas Operative Crosses into Gaza Strip, by Khaled Abu Toameh
Only days after the Rafah border crossing was reopened, another senior Hamas operative who previously lived abroad crossed back into the Gaza Strip.
Fadel Zahar is the first high-ranking Hamas official known to return to the Gaza Strip since the border crossing was reopened last Friday. His brother, Mahmoud Zahar, is the top leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Fadel Zahar was deported from the Gaza Strip in 1991....Many Hamas members who have been living in different Arab countries have returned to the Gaza Strip since Israel relinquished control over the Rafah terminal....Sources close to Hamas said many of its activists, including top leaders, have managed to return to the Gaza Strip since the Israeli pullout. Last month one of the founders of Hamas, Sheikh Ahmed al-Milh, returned to the Gaza Strip after spending 20 years in different Arab countries.
Shortly after the Israeli withdrawal, three top Hamas fugitives infiltrated into the Gaza Strip. One of them, Nihro Masoud of the Jabalya refugee camp, was one of the founders of Izzaddin al-Kassam. He fled to Egypt 14 years ago and spent most of his time in Sudan.
Of course, this is all further confirmation of my predictions since August that the post-Gaza withdrawal priority of the Palestinians would not be constructive state-building, but rather a:
two-pronged strategy of creating a world terror hub in Gaza and then transfering as much of that capability to Judea and Samaria (the West Bank).
I predict that tomorrow the mainstream press will bury this news and be filled instead with praise for how smoothly and successfully the opening went.