In recent days, Hamas and other Gazan organizations have been trying to present their campaign against Israel as victorious. They stressed their power of endurance, reported on the intensity of their rocket attacks on Israel, enumerated their achievements and promised future victories.
Following are some examples:
Hamas Announces Its Victory
In a press conference held amid the ruins of Hamas's government compound, which was shelled by Israeli planes, Hamas spokesmen claimed that the destruction of the buildings would not affect the movement's functioning. Government spokesman Taher Al-Nounou said: "From this place we announce our victory. If Netanyahu's government has shelled this headquarters, it means that it is unable to confront the Palestinian people." Fathi Qar'awi, a Palestinian Legislative Council member from Hamas, said: "The occupation expected a brief war lasting a few hours against the Palestinian resistance, in which it would demonstrate its strength. But the force of the resistance and the accuracy of its blows took it by surprise. The rockets reached areas the occupation never dreamed [they would reach] in Tel Aviv and East Jerusalem, sparking terror and causing much damage."[1]
On another occasion, the spokesman of Hamas's military wing, the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, said: "The Iron Dome [air-defense system], which Israel built at a cost of millions to address the rocket [threat], is nothing but a dome of paper."[2]
Hamas Reports Firing Over 1,000 Rockets And Mortars
Hamas has highlighted the large number of rockets it has fired into Israel. The Al-Qassam Brigades reported that over 1,000 rockets and mortars have been fired since Wednesday, November 14, 2012. In one of its messages, Hamas bragged that the resistance had fired 70 rockets in a single morning.
Hamas message boasting of intensive attacks against Israel[3]
Reports about rocket attacks on Hamas-affiliated Facebook page[4]
Hamas also boasted that Israel had been forced to change air traffic routes to and from Ben Gurion International Airport following the deployment of the Iron Dome system in the Tel Aviv area.
Report on changes at Ben Gurion airport[5]
Hamas Claims To Have Downed Plane, Hit Warship, Fired Rocket On Israeli Knesset
In another announcement, the Al-Qassam Brigades claimed to have downed an F-16 warplane over central Gaza, as well as a surveillance drone.[6]
Message on Hamas-affiliated Facebook page about alleged downing of F-16 plane[7]
Still from video allegedly showing the downing of the plane
The Al-Qassam Brigades also claimed that, for the first time in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it had managed to fire a rocket at the Israeli Knesset, and added: "The Al-Qassam Brigades have vowed to turn the Zionists' lives into hell and make them regret the moment they decided to assassinate the [Al-Qassam] commander, [Al-Ja'bri]."[8]
Still from video allegedly showing rocket fired on "Zionist Knesset in occupied Jerusalem."[9]
A Facebook page affiliated with Hamas reported that five rockets fired by Al-Qassam had hit an Israeli warship.[10]
Report about alleged attack on Israeli warship.[11]
Gazan Resistance Factions: We Are Preparing Many Surprises
According to the Hamas newspaper Al-Risala, the Al-Qassam Brigades are preparing for an Israeli ground campaign in Gaza, including with squads of male and female suicide bombers that will "meet any aggression against Gaza." Concurrently, the military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees (the Nasser Salah Al-Din Brigades) announced via its spokesman, Abu 'Ataya, that "the resistance has many surprises that will explode in the face of the occupation and its army if the aggression continues against Gaza and its residents."[12]
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (which belongs to Fatah) also said it was preparing for a ground offensive, and has promised to kill and kidnap Israeli soldiers: "The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and the other resistance factions do not take Israeli statements regarding a ground incursion into Gaza lightly... They have begun preparing for any ground attack on the [Gaza] Strip, which will become a graveyard for the occupation forces. [These forces] will be defeated by the resistance and leave behind dozens of captive soldiers... [which will lead to] the liberation of all prisoners in the jails of the occupation."[13]
Mustafa Al-Sawwaf, a columnist for the Hamas newspaper, wrote about the balance of power and the deterrence that Hamas was now preparing against Israel: "The resistance wants to force a new equation vis-à-vis the occupation, which will start with creating a balance of terror. Otherwise, how can you interpret the fact that five million of the occupying Zionists spend some of their time in air-raid shelters and in a state of panic?
"[The resistance also wants] to create a balance of deterrence vis-à-vis the Israeli occupation. Otherwise, how can you interpret the fact that the resistance is shelling Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as well as many other areas in occupied Palestine?" Al-Sawwaf also wrote that Israel was surprised by the advanced military capabilities of the resistance, and that this was "a resounding slap in the face of the Zionist intelligence."[14]
Endnotes:
[1] Alresalah.ps, November 17, 2012.
[2] Alqassam.ps, November 18, 2012.
[3] Palinfo.com, November 19, 2012.
[6] Alqassam.ps, November 18, 2012. No such incident has been reported in the Israeli or international media.
[7] http://www.facebook.com/palinfo?fref=ts, November 16, 2012. It should be noted that the photo is identical to an image that accompanied a report from several months ago about a plane downed in Syria (see: Syriantelegraph.com, June 22, 2012).
[8] Alresalah.ps, November 17, 2012.
[9] Alresalah.ps, November 17, 2012.
[10] Palinfo.com, November 16, 2012. No such incident was reported in the Israeli or international media.
[11] Palinfo.com, November 16, 2012.
[12]Alresalah.ps, November 17, 2012.
[13] Alresalah.ps, November 17, 2012.
[14]Alresalah.ps, November 18, 2012.
