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By Tim Lister and Mohamed Fadel Fahmy
Just after midnight on October 24, a series of loud explosions shook a neighborhood on the southern outskirts of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Within minutes, flames shooting skyward illuminated the area, and the Yarmouk Industrial Complex was consumed by fire.
Witnesses said they heard planes in the area, and a subsequent analysis of satellite images revealed six large craters "each approximately 16 meters [52 feet] wide ... and consistent with craters created by air-delivered munitions," according to the Satellite Sentinel Project, a non-governmental organization that analyzed DigitalGlobe imagery.
As the smoke cleared the next day, Sudanese officials blamed Israel for the airstrike, which destroyed a large part of the complex, including an ammunition plant and some 40 shipping containers.
The Satellite Sentinel Project said: "Nothing remains of the 60-meter [197-foot] building, which appears to have been pulverized in the blast."
Why Israel might hesitate to start a ground invasion
The Israelis said nothing. But the devastating strike appears to have been the latest episode in a shadowy war between Israel and at least two of its enemies: Iran and Hamas.
United States, Israeli and Egyptian officials have long suspected that Iran is using Sudan to smuggle weapons and equipment to Hamas, using a circuitous route by air into Khartoum or by ship into Port Sudan. Then the weapons start a long road trip through eastern Sudan, across the Egyptian border and up through the Sinai Peninsula to Gaza.
Obama's telephone diplomacy on Gaza
An Israeli official told CNN Monday that missiles and their components continue to be shipped through tunnels from Sinai into Gaza. He said Iran was providing munitions, Grad missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, communications, and command and control capability to Hamas.
His comments were echoed by one of the most powerful tribal figures in northern Sinai, Ibrahim Menai.
Menai, who reportedly owns several of the smuggling tunnels that connect Sinai with Gaza, told CNN late Monday: "Weapons that are smuggled to Gaza come mostly from Sudan and recently from Libya during the security vacuum that followed the revolution in Egypt."
"Bedouin who are involved in arms smuggling receive the weapons from Sudan on small fishing boats through the Red Sea and by land through rugged mountain terrain only familiar to them and are almost impossible to intercept by security forces who have little power over the Bedouin community," he said.
"The weapons that are smuggled to Gaza are mostly Grad missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and recently during the Libyan revolution, advanced shoulder held anti-tank missiles came through," he said.
Menai also says it's very likely that the long-range Fajr-5 missiles have been smuggled through from the Egyptian side, "most likely hidden among other merchandise that is loaded onto big trucks that go through the big tunnels."
Last month, an Iranian diplomat at the United Nations said the allegation that Iran was using Sudan to supply Hamas with weapons was "totally unfounded, and we strongly reject these baseless allegations." Sudan has also denied "any link between Sudan's military production and foreign parties," according to its Foreign Ministry.
But in an interview with a Qatari newspaper earlier this month, Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said: "Let's assume that Iran has established an arms factory in Sudan. Is this forbidden? Within the framework of international laws, if there is a country that wants to buy weapons from us, we are ready."
The Yarmouk plant was "designated" by the United States as essentially under the control of Iran at the end of 2006 and thereby became the target of sanctions under the Iran and Syria Nonproliferation Act.
The strike on the night of October 24 was one of four unexplained attacks over the past three years against targets in Sudan.
Early on the morning of May 2, a Toyota Prado exploded on the outskirts of Port Sudan on the Red Sea, a city that Western intelligence agencies believe is a critical point on the smuggling route. Sudanese officials identified one of the victims as Nasir Awad Ahmad Saed, a wealthy businessman and tribal leader.
Sudan's foreign minister, Ali Ahmad Karti, suggested that the car was destroyed by an airstrike and told a pro-government network that the attack resembled previous Israeli attacks. Why Saed would have been targeted is unclear.
In a similar attack in Port Sudan a year earlier, a man who had just arrived at the city's airport was killed. Karti said at the time: "We know that it was an Israeli strike." But he denied the target was a Palestinian.
And in January 2009, a convoy of more than a dozen vehicles traveling between Khartoum and Port Sudan was hit and destroyed in an aerial attack.
The Sudanese transport minister, Mabrouk Mubarak Saleem, said soon afterward that a "major power bombed small trucks carrying arms, burning all of them." Unconfirmed reports at the time said the vehicles were carrying components of Iranian-made Fajr-3 missiles, which have a range of some 65 kilometers (40 miles).
A review of U.S. diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks suggests that Iranian weapons shipments to Gaza via Sudan became an issue in 2007.
Early in 2009, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a visiting U.S. congressional delegation: "The Egyptians know that the arms pipeline runs from Iran to Sudan to Egypt.....the Egyptians could do more to stop it, but at least they now grasp the extent of the threat."
At the same time, the deputy chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Maj. Gen. Dan Harel, urged the U.S. to prod Cairo to do more, and soon, because "Hamas was getting more sophisticated weaponry from Iran, to include longer-range missiles."
Despite the convoy attack, suspicions persisted that Iran was still shipping arms to Sudan. In July 2009, the United States pressed Jordan to deny overflight rights to some planes traveling between Khartoum and Iran, including some operated by a private freight carrier, Badr Airlines, which is based in the Sudanese capital.
When presented with allegations about the Badr Airlines cargo, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry told the U.S. that the flights "were limited to carrying farm equipment and equipment for non-military manufacturing."
Not so helpful neighbor
In his last years in power, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak became viscerally hostile to growing Iranian influence in the region.
After the last conflict in Gaza in January 2009, Israeli officials noted that Egypt had played a positive role by keeping the Rafah border closed, choking off supplies to Gaza, which was (and is) already subject to a maritime blockade.
Netanyahu then said he "looked forward" to working with the Egyptians to further blunt Hamas' capabilities, and it seemed he had a willing partner.
Egypt increased military patrols - on the ground and in the air - along its border with Sudan. Egyptian intelligence officials told U.S. diplomats that they had prevented Iran from transferring money to Gaza to pay the salaries of fighters for Hamas' military wing.
But according to a cable sent in April 2009 from the U.S. embassy in Cairo, longtime Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman told the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, that Iran was trying to recruit support from Sinai Bedouin tribes to facilitate arms smuggling to Gaza.
A U.S. cable sent from the Cairo embassy three months later said Mubarak's view was that "the immediate threat to Egypt comes from Iranian conspiracies with Hamas (which he sees as the "brother" of his own most dangerous internal political threat, the Muslim Brotherhood) to stir up unrest in Gaza, but he is also concerned about Iranian machinations in Sudan."
Mubarak is now long gone, and the Muslim Brotherhood is in power in Egypt. Since the latest conflict erupted, the Egyptian prime minister has visited Gaza to express solidarity with Hamas.
In addition, Sinai is largely beyond the reach of an enfeebled Egyptian state.
Sinai smugglers outwit security
"These weapons systems are being moved primarily by Sinai Bedouin criminal families. This is what they do," says Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
"To take them on is something that the central government in Egypt, the Morsy government, does not want to do and may not be all that capable of doing right now."
An Egyptian national security official, Usama Emam, told CNN Monday that Egypt was working hard to curb arms supplies from both Libya and Sudan.
"We have succeeded in the past months in obstructing truckloads of machine guns, anti-aircraft missiles and rockets that have passed through the Libyan border at the Saloum crossing," he said.
But he acknowledged that Sinai-based smugglers were formidable opponents.
"Bedouin have different tactics like releasing the air of the tires of their 4×4 trucks in order to counter the soft deep desert sand, as they avoid any highways," he said.
"There is no doubt that the disbanding of Mubarak's fierce state security has hindered the grip on Sinai and has given the Bedouin more freedom than ever," Emam added.
"Several months back we captured a human trafficker transporting African refugees from Sudan into Sinai; and he had hidden boxes of ammunition and Grad missiles in the same truck carrying the Africans who are sold to Bedouin in Sinai."
However, Menai, the Bedouin leader from the Swarke tribe, said the huge sums of money involved in the smuggling meant many officials could be bribed.
"Military intelligence officers stationed in North-Sinai turn a blind eye when it comes to the multimillion-dollar tunnel business, and many of them at different ranks receive bribes," he told CNN.
As the regional landscape changes, Iran has dropped a hint that it will not be deterred from flying its flag in the Red Sea. Within the past fortnight, two Iranian warships - a helicopter carrier and destroyer - visited Port Sudan for five days.
The visit supported "strong political, security and diplomatic relations." a Sudanese military spokesman said.
Acting U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said: "It's hard for us to know what the details are of this visit right now... Certainly we would be concerned."
So were the Saudis. Port Sudan looks out on a vital shipping lane for Saudi crude oil exports.
The latest conflict between Hamas and Israel, and how and when it ends, is just one piece in a regional picture that grows more complex and combustible with every passing week.
This is happening because islam is the Devil's spawn. So much Evil packed in one small package.
With a mine set of its ok to kill our own children by stripping a subside bomb on them Hamas demonstrates their lack of compassion for their own people. THEY NEED WAR TO STAY IN POWER. ONLY WAR WILL DO THAT FOR THEM. Only small minded men and women would condemn children to this life. After watching the PLO, Hamas and all the others for 50 years there is only one conclusion. THEIR POWER COMES FROM HATE NOT LOVE OF THEIR CHILDREN. With Hamas like the PLO follow the MONEY.
If you believe there is an Anti-Christ, then the false prophet Muhammad was it.
The only place the hateful fascist religion of Islam could have come from was Hell.
The problem is the fact that we are all in disobedience to God, its truth that God will place it in their heart, the things he wants. the problems in this fractured world is that we are all being disobedient, if we don't trust in the Messiah Jesus Christ, or Yushua, Jesuschristo, HaMashlach, Aleph-v'tav what ever you call him the Son of God who has already paid the price for this war.... If we don't have faith in him and follow his father's will, we will see the judgement God has placed in each of these nations in the heart of the people in them. Because people follow their heart, and the things that come with it. "For God has put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes. They will agree to give their authority to the scarlet beast, and so the words of God will be fulfilled". TRUTH.
Have you ever considered that you have devoted your life to a delusion? That your religious fervor promotes destruction and pain around the world? Maybe you should practice some tolerance and let others live as they wish.
Christians divide themselves from the world, for the love of Christ, and I ask that you forgive what ever history(crusades mostly) or knowledge that enlightened you that has misrepresented who God is. The love and following of Christ I'm referring to is the will of God, not to fight or promote destruction or pain. that comes from peoples own freewill that don't have faith in him alone. Trust me true followers of Christ will reflect him, and the others will choose not to. But if i can talk you into believe something, someone else will talk you out of it. so take it for what it is, and to me its TRUTH. I'm sorry and will let you live how you wish to. <
Much evil has been brought by religion. That is a sure sign that it is false. There is only one religion that is peaceful and safe and that is Buddhism. Islam is by far the most destructive of them all.
The Israelis have manipulated the world into believing they are the victim. It is shameful the conduct
of a country that so often claims itself a democracy. The world is watching!
Yeah, Lets assume that Hamas is not firing rockets at Israel everyday and expect peace in the process.
Same story, different border. In the American south, it's immigrants and drugs going northbound through tunnels, with the people and drugs starting off in central america. In Egypt it's immigrants and weapons, starting in Sudan. On the US/Mexico border, money and guns go in the opposite direction(southbound). What are they moving southbound on these middle east smuggling routes? I suspect it's not one-way traffic.
Kind of looks like one big brush fire from here.
i don`t know why everybody is trying to find a solution.., well as far as i see the way things are now, there will be no peace......its a war between Muslims ans non-believers, an Islamic jihad and you could also say that it is THE THIRD WORLD WAR........who knows?!?!?!
There will be peace in the middle east one day, but it will not happen until Christ returns, and all false religions will die in one day, along with the pride of man.......
.......There is only one way to peace........Christ in us, is Peace.....
Ephesians 2:16-18....... 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off (Non-Jews) and to those who were near (Jews). 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
nice to see that the elect of 144,000 or of 7000 remnant of the first earth age are voiceing their views....maybe some will take heed...our time is at hand......call it as it you see it the sixth trump is close at hand
Yes every dog has its day........and at the sound of the sixth trumpet it will be perfectly clear as to where you stand read the text book God left for you.......hope you understand the facts
So what is the prime objective on all this?????? If its to push israel off the face of the earth then say so .......with all the politics surrounding who is right and who is wrong why cant anyone say what they realy mean .....Iran can and clearly say they are an enemy to israel,,,,and will supply any who will accept arms and fire them at them there is a reason why the isaelie army want to protect themselves and their enimies will soon feel the full effects of their resolve.
Yes so what Iif Iran send arms to Hamas,Hamas do not have F 16 and F15 and Batriot rocckets that supllied by USA to
Isreali that Killed more than 135 civilian in Gaza in 6 days . whey you are complaining about deliverng arms to the victims to protict them self while not complaining about suppling arms by the American to the the Isreali agressor . do you think that the Palestinian are not human and don't desirve to live and the Isreali are human and should be protected . stop dealing with others with double standerd and be fair ,your are always talking about freedom and justice for the people and only when the isreali are not the involve .
It's simple for the Palestinians. Stop lobbing rockets into Israel and you'll be OK. Keep shooting, and they'll shoot back.
We should be supporting a brave people fighting for their freedom. Instead we arm the oppressor.
Go find out what happened to all the Jews in Iraq, Tunisia, Egypt, Morroco, and Iran before 1948.
i dont suppose anybody supporting the israeii regime would even ask about the american guns amunition f 15 f 16 missiles cluster bombs apaches helicopters supplied to the isralielis by the americans to kill the palestinian population.why is it such a big deal when the palestinian is getting a few rockets here and there to defend their country under occupation. not forgetting the american people is paying for all of this.the american people need to be aware of this.the american administreation should be made accountable as well..
Learn some English please. Nobody here has any idea what you are saying.
well, when you don't want to know the truth you blame his english. My dear american friend, the ugly truth is always behind America. I am not saying this becuase i hate America, i am saying this because this is the reality of America. America is showing the peace to her people and killing and making fights between others from behind them.
The Israeli "aggressors"? Tell you what. Israel can re-target their missiles. One each into: Egypt, Iran, Syria and Sudan for each missile fired from Gaza.
And these freaking Zionists always brand someone an "Anti-Semite' if one was to state anything about the actions of Israel. All tricks to suppress the freedom of expression. Start behaving like real Jews for once. We stand for peace. Not bullying.
When Israelis in the occupied territories now claim that they have to defend themselves, they are defending themselves in the sense that any military occupier has to defend itself against the population they are crushing. You can't defend yourself when you're militarily occupying someone else's land. That's not defense. Call it what you like, it's not defense.
The UN recreated Israel in 1947. Look up U.N. Resolution 181.
All Arab resolutions passed against Israel after 1947 are moot! Crying that we can't get our genocide against to come to be.
Judaism predates Islam by centuries. They kicked your butt in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and will do it again.
Get over it loser!
at least they are the only brave people who say no to Isreal they know they have not the right arms to defet the Isreali agressor but they fight of what in their hands with courage .Try if you can say only one word against Isreal in your own Democratic Country and see what is gone happen to you ,you will be condemned of anti Samatic .
The UN recreated Israel in 1947. Look up U.N. Resolution 181.
All Arab resolutions passed against Israel after 1947 are moot! Crying that we can't get our genocide against Israel to come to be.
Judaism predates Islam by centuries. They kicked your butt in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 and will do it again.
Get over it loser!
Exactly.you said it best but most of these ignorant people see the world thru thier zionist binoculars.
If you worship the same god as the Jews, you should respect that He promised Israel to them (no, I am not Jewish) and find room for the Palestinians somewhere else in the Middle East.
Muslims believe in their holy book; we also believe in the Torah. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob gave that land to our patriarchs. Shouldn't the Jews take what their God gave them? Wouldn't Muslims take what their Allah give them?
Hamas started the ATTACKS. Israel has the right to defend itself ANYWAY it wishes.
Gaza elected Hamas to power and deserves the same fate as the German people that elected Hitler. Carpet bombing, not precision attacks and advance notice by leaflets.
Want peace? It's simple. STOP FIRING ROCKETS SMUGGLED FROM IRAN.
Lol, Iran does not care how many of you die as their proxy army.
How much blood has Iran spilled for Gaza? Not a drop!
How does it feel to be used by Iran?
Bad things are supposed to happen to stupid people.
I wonder why UN resolutions can not be enforced with military on Israel to leave the occupation and settlements like we did on Afghanistan or Iraq. Off course every person has right to defend its home and life and same is true for Palestinians. They have been in oppression for past 60 years. We need to kick Israel out of our home politics and deal with them through UN resolutions. That is the only way of being impartial against any type of aggression especially from Israel.
check you facts jackson. start around the "balfur declaration" (around 1918), or go back throughout history. israel has been the land of the jews for 3500 years. yes, different types of empires tried to rule israel troughout history (romans, Byzantines, Turks, British etc.). but jews have been in israel throughout that time (and have been the majority here during most of this time as well). israel got soverenity again in 1948, and ever since has been attacked again and again by arab countries that claim they want to annihilate israel. the 1967 judea lands were released by israel after jordan forcefully conquered them in 1948. Either check your history, or claim out loud that you agree with the hamas agenda of annihilating israel no matter what.
Then press the arab world to accept U.N. Resolution 181, passed in 1947.
It predates all the arab BS racist U.N. resolutions.
Israel is defending itsefl, and has been from the moment of its independence – Israel accepted the 1947 UN resolution, the Palestinians and Arabs did not – so they attacked Israel, and lost. Each time Israel gets attacked, Israel takes more and more land as a safety buffer – after all, do you think the Arabs would have returned any part of Israel proper had Israel lost in 1948?. Unfortunately, Israel will probably have to invade Gaza again and occupy the entire strip to destroy all the weapons that the Iranians and others have sent there.
I agree.
Drive Hamas and their electorate, the Gazan people, into Egypt and bulldoze what is left.
want peace stop killing innocent people in gaza.lift the siege.fullstop.and mr peres stop coming on tv and playing the victim card.you been doing that for more than 50 years and its got you nowhere .give up..we sick of it.we not falling for it anymore.good psychology but we are wiser and it does not work any more.
The arabs have always attacked first, except in 1967. Arab attack was forthcoming.
Israel has the right to defend itself any way it wishes.
I would fire bomb Gaza into the stone age instead of using leaflets and advance warning before Israel attacks terrorist locations using precision airstrikes.
F@#& Gaza!
to pw1121: No need to prove, just bomb it
Iran giving Hamas weapons? Yeah, so what. Prove it.
Any thing the Iranians say is a lie.
Wow! The most ignorant statement here so far.
Buy a newspaper once in a while.
Subscribe to a couple of news magazines.
Read history books.
Use Google once in a while to research facts before you display blatant ignorance!
In 1979 Israel gives back to Egypt huge territory of Sinai, but Egypt still keeping Gaza locked. In 2005 Israel remove Settlements from Gaza. But haters of Israel still crying "Land Grabbing", "Stealing more Land"
Explain the West Bank to me, you moron. The West Bank DOES NOT EVEN FIRE ANY ROCKETS! WHAT THE #@#* IS ISRAEL DOING THERE THEN?
to PE: 350 million arab not able to develop a simple mechanism, you are supporting middle evil regimes!
I wish I could highlight all the terrorists in the world with my mouse, and press the delete button.
If they are in a folder, I would put them on the trash bin, then right click on the trash bin, and empty trash bin. I would also have to make sure all the cookies, and the temp files are deleted as well.
The only Final Solution is no more terrorists: No more Hamas, no more Iran, no more alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.
dont we have anything better to do or is this why we exists
Did I understand the traffickers are "selling" African refugees to Bedouin? Are we talking slavery here?
Of course it's slavery.
It is a shame that the cowards of Hamas and their Iranian masters have no Problem subjecting their citizens and civilians to Israeli collateral damage. Once they get it through their skulls that Israel is here to stay then perhaps There Can be peace.
Why not.they should have something to defend.israel has f16 and they are not allowed to even have a stinger?this war is massacre of Palestinians with our weapons
They have a weapon- it is called- "stopping to fire rockets". Israel has not initiated aggression now nor in the past decade. Israel has responded to agression by Hammas.
All of this talk of surprise and concern about weapons here and weapons there in the middle-east is absurd. When the Rothschilds made the deal to grab the chunk of land that is now known as Israel, they knew that it would ultimately lead to endless conflict. And what is it that's normally used in conflicts?.....duh...lots and lots of weapons, by both sides, if possible. Guess which country is the largest producer of weapons on this planet.....you guessed it....the land of the free and the home of the brave. Lots and lots of weapons!!
Along with the inevitability of constant conflict in this geographical area, has been the standard use of expulsion, sanctions, embargo, blockade and apartheid which usually forces a group of people to fight for their possessions and freedom. And why wouldn't they?.
The next standard action by the controllers is to claim they were unjustly attacked and proceed with their 'right to self defense', with the ultimate plan of control and/or extermination.
Come on folks...wake up to the smoke screen here! All of this has been inevitable from the time the deal was signed.
Add to this the fact that the controllers in this particular situation have a large number of nuclear weapons that they refuse to be inspected by the IAEA, although they are a member of this organization. Ever asked yourself what they are trying to hide here? Where's the UN sanctions against this group of controllers for not allowing an inspection of their weapons of mass destruction? In this case, contrary to the case of Iraq, it is common knowledge that these controllers have nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Where's the widespread concern and outrage along with sanctions, blockade, and embargo?
I'm sick and tired of hearing Muslims complain about Israel killing "innocent civilians" Palestinians are launching rockets into Israel indiscrimantly and they are killing civilians too. If you repeatedly poke a hornets nest, don't come crying when you get stung, it's your fault fools. Leave Israel alone and they'll leave you alone. If all Muslims support Palestine then maybe you ought to help them out. You got some of the wealthiest nations in the world over there because of the Oil fields... The Muslim world is a bunch of damn whiners.
Why do Pro-Palestinian's always complain about the weaponry the Israelis have? Are you trying to say that Israel shouldn't use the weapons they have? Palestinians are using whatever they can to kill Israelis... If you launch missles into a country and they have better weapons to launch back who's to blame when you get your butt whipped?
Clinton, as ignorant as any ape out there... So Israel has the right to nuclear weapons and Iran doesn't? Israel has the right to research its nuclear power but Iran doesn't. Israel is the big bully on the block, and as any Zionist would disagree, a TERRORIST COUNTRY. You don't represent Judaism, and you certainly don't represent Jewish ideology. You sick animals. I belong to a rabbinic family in New York, and we detest the actions of Israel.
I wonder how much Iran is really helping Hamas still since Hamas wouldn't support Assad against the Syrian people and Hamas has moved closer to the Gulf States instead of Iran.
CNN is misleading the people, all these are lies meant to divert attention from the real reason why it all started, Netanhahu is seeking reelection and he wants to consolidate power through bloody war. Shame on you CNN for such pathetic reporting, you are culpable for this crime just like your country which is sponsoring terrorists Israel. There is no credibility in lying but only in truth and its time that Israel should be held accountable for their crimes against humanity.
No Kujio, CNN is reporting how weapons are smuggled into Gaza, however you want to justify the War is on you but this is not an article intended to bias you one way or another. Iran is most certainly involved in smuggling weapons to Hamas and it doesn't even hide this... your particular viewpoint just shows which way you feel about the conflict it does not mean CNN is making anything up.
So glad you aren't in charge of ANYTHING.
How about doing a story on the weapons pipeline to Israel, including where the money comes from to purchase them? Some folks may also find this to be interesting.
But publishing a story for weapons pipe line to Israel will not help the news agency, because such a story will not be funded by their sponsors. They get paid only for the stories justifying Israel to kill innocent children and women.
Arab idiot,
Hamas hides behind women and children because they are gutless cowards.
Want peace? It's simple.
to PE: there are 22 arab countries, loaded with arms, arab population 50 times bigger than Israeli, but they lost 5 wars to Israel.
Funny you say that even though all the weaposn they own have been given to them by USA. With out America Israel wouldn't have any weapons
'But he acknowledged that Sinai-based smugglers were formidable opponents.
"Bedouin have different tactics like releasing the air of the tires of their 4×4 trucks in order to counter the soft deep desert sand, as they avoid any highways," he said.'
Oh yes, that sounds quite formidable. Whatever will you do??
To all HamaSS supporters: Gaza has all reqvairements to be popular European resort, if Hamas build hotels, not missile lunching tunnels, Israel would be never ever attack Gaza!! Iranian control HamaSS needs Palestinian blood to fuel conflict and cover their plans to control Middle East.
But to do that they'd have to throw out their kooky religion. You might say that they are "clinging" to it
Hotels are not an option. They would attract foreigners who don't share the same values as Hamas. The amoral habits of tourists would continue to pollute the values of the natives.
You mean like honor killings? Yeah the arabs would have to stop that if they want to attract europeans.
to FKMA: Most of Arab countries are ruled by brutal regimes, how you can get "freedom'. Myth "freedom" from HamaSS??
Good article.
And you better believe that China's presence in North Sudan is playing heavily into this. They are complicit in this matter. The Chinese are also racist and anti-semitic. They are very low key about it but HATE Israel and the Jews, in part because they know Jews are more intelligent.
Zionists are Satan's chosen to kill the Subhuman Chinese, Arabs, Caucasians, Blacks . .. ..
If there is a "Satan's Chosen" – it is Muslim extremists.
Because they are more intelligent? Hardly. They might hate Jews because of the stereotype of the 'selfish Jew who is a moneygrubber'. Yeah, that's more likely the basis of the hatred.
The Jews are "more intellegent" lerianis.
Look around you. Much of the world's most popular music has come from Jewish composers both classical as well as movie and everyday themes – the world of medicine is populated by a high number of Jews especially in highly specialized fields – and the list could go on.
Jews highly value education – which correspondingly contributes to "being intellegent". As to the "money grubber" comment you made – JEALOUS MUCH?? That they are good business people is not because they are stupid, it's becaus they are good business people. You – are you a composer, a doctor, a successful business man or just a pathetic, bigoted loser?
What about sports? Can you name any Jewish sports stars?
No cheeseball, it is because the Jews are Masters in the Sciences. The chinese are spending billions paying for Israeli companies to develop the next generation photovoltaics.
Is CNN preparing public for war with Iran?
Middle East is just a distraction,
Real action will be WW III - China, U$ and Russia nuking each other ?
Evil Malthusian Elite will emerge from their bunkers fter a couple of years
all the Surplus Annoying, Sub Human Serfs Dead.
Lay off the psychotropics.
Watch and see once the economy of western powers improve Israel will retake the Sinai to preserve it's National Security. It's been proven the Egyptians are unwilling or unable to stop the bedouines from smuggling weapons into Gaza. Once Israel re-takes the Sinai it will plug in the last leak of weapon flow into Hamas and the region will finally have peace.
Zionists will not rest, until most of the Ahabs are Genocided.
Seems you have that backwards...The Arabs are bent on the destruction of Israel for the greater part.
No way! Iran is arming the Hamas?.... Really??
Honestly, CNN, if you didn't know that already, I would be disappointed, but thanks anyways for letting these anti-Zionist losers know about it who I'm sure will dismiss it as a lie because Israel is, of course, the aggressor. Not Iran. And Israel, of course, wants to bomb Iran's enrichment plants because of greed, not because they pose a threat to their national security. Yes, it seems the left has it all right.
arming Hamas and the Palestinian cause sounds good and why question it? when we know arming Israel and supporting it to mass murder babies in cold blood is more worse and all those who are providing the Zionist with weapons deserves an investigation
el-CIA-duh are U$ mercenaries - MI7 controls the Ahab Brotherhood
Fake opposition is armed ,orchestrated to provoke hate, and motivate expanded war..
(Behghazi Embassy was into arms dealing, near a secret CIA torture outpost)
If anyone knows about killing babies it's the africans. How many wars have you troglodytes waged in the last 40 years. BTW, Bokassa, ate children, of the opposing tribe when he was in power. Remember the central african empire?????
Hamas hides behind women and children because they are gutless cowards.
Want peace? It's simple.
The Iranina government with the crazy Ayatollah's care about war. Iranian people are blinded by their own government that is trying to kill off Isreal and anyone that gets in the way of their propaganda machine. Trust me when I say you are an ignorant brain washer fool. I another country were to attack my country I would be the first to slap the crap out of their leader/President. These fools have no idea how to be civilized and not the aggressor. Hamas has been an agressor towrds Isreal for decades. Iran had been the golbal aggresor for decades and won't stop until you punch out the Ayatollah for his arrogance and ignorance.
are you sure, check the history. open comment of annihilating the jews, even call for help to destroy isreal has been a sheer speech of Iranian president, if you are not bias what do you think a nation like isreal do about a such nation's quest for nuclear power?
Go Israel Go!
Yes, go Israel!
Even if Fundamentalist Christian - Go Zionists Go !
CNN reports that the rockets coming out of Gaza are largely fertilizer rockets....Rockets being brought into Gaza in tunnels under the Gaza-Egyptian Border.....CNN announces new fertilizer plant being built by Egyptians in Iowa....is it possible that the Muslim Brotherhood is establishing a future munitions base inside US to take over just like they did in Egypt and are now doing in Syria, Libya, Sudan.....Why can't the Egyptians build a cotton processing plant here and broaden production in Egyptian cotton? Why fertilizer?
Hamas, if you want peace, stop firing rockets into ISRAEL,!!! SEE HOW QUICK YOU HAVE PEACE!!
Firing missiles into Israel cities is our basic right.
Killing Jews is our duty.
Our counter offer is to resume normalcy – firing at Israel a few missiles per day – like in the old good days.
Our duty is to stick a missile up your ass and and send you to your virgins
Firing Rockets is normal, And when you get attacked go run to Egypt to broker a cease fire. Israel can flatten Gaza in minutes. But they don't because they are not animals like you cowards. Look there own people help Israel with attacking Hamas militants, Hamas time is coming to an end.
Why do you think Hamas wants peace? They think they can bring all of the local muslim nations against Israel and of course they might be right.
Interesting that the only open border in Gaza is the Egyptian border and now the Muslim Brotherhood in charge in Egypt...and suddenly we have more rockets than usual being fired on Israel from Gaza, a poverty stricken nation that is getting it's weapons from somewhere else. We need UN inspection of tunnels under the Gaza-Egyptian border. It is becoming crystal clear that the strategy of the Muslim Brotherhood is to take over the governments of Israel's neighbors and thereby be able to attack on all Israeli borders and destroy them as they have threatened. The terrorists are invading Syria, Libya, Sudan in order to establish bases to accomplish their vindictive goals of hatred against Israel at all costs including the lives of the citizens of these countries.
Cut off the head of the snake – Khameni, and there will be lasting truce and may be even peace.
Organized religions. The true downfall of the human race. 5000 years ago one group of bedouins decided to follow one of Abraham's sons and the other group of the "SAME RACE" decided on the other son. Now they each believe that the other side should be killed in the "name of God". Arabs and Jews, "I'm right because God (Allah) is on my side". On Judgement Day, they are both going to be in for a real rude surprise. But then, you would think that if any group would know what it's like to be without a homeland, it would be the Jews. How quickly they forget!
Who says prophesy doesn't come true.
The blessing on the father of the Arab tribes was that they will be a wild men whose fist is raised against everyone and everyone fist is raised against his, AND he will dwell in the same land as his kin (the Jews).
Well the Arab world does seem to be fighting everyone and everyone does seem to be fighting with the Arab world and they do live among the Jews so yeah that one defiantly came true.
Actually this is not accurate.
Jews have no problem with Arabs, except that the latter are bent on killing them.
In other words, if Arabs leave Israel alone, then there will be no conflict.
More specifically, the Balestinians were handed Gaza as the first step to have their own state.
Regrettably, the experiment has failed badly.
No, you have that wrong,it's "Never forget", bloody fool.
There is only ONE MESSAGE on this earth now
that may bring about TRUE PEACE between Israel and Palestine,
and REAL PEACE on this whole World:
I am just pleasantly surprised that CNN is showing an article like this. Seems like all other articles reference the tunnels as only transporting stuffed animals, diapers, high level literature, suduku puzzles, and candy.
That's is what they put in the rockets. Diapers, candy and toys.
one day the world as we know it, is going to go comboom becouse of palastinian and isreal, some of this crazy countrys will get a hold of nucler bomb and they will say Alohhhhhhhhhhhha wakeber need seven vergin coboom see ya better some one come with a solution real quick.
""Bedouin who are involved in arms smuggling receive the weapons from Sudan on small fishing boats through the Red Sea and by land through rugged mountain terrain only familiar to them and are almost impossible to intercept by security forces who have little power over the Bedouin community,"" If Israel hadn't pointlessly removed them from the Negev, and wickedly bulldozing their homes and gardens and showing no compassion for them, or rather Israel's govt. and had done the wise thing by paying Bedouins to be informants instead, they would have had a friend, but no, they decided to be prideful, racist and to disobey God by being unfriendly to strangers. – eternian.wordpress.c0m
Uh, Bedouins are nomadic herders. They are not citizens to any state, thus they do not own land. They have no homes and gardens to bulldoze. I'm not sure who wrote that crap you posted.
The Bedouins of Israel serve in the IDF.
""Bedouin who are involved in arms smuggling receive the weapons from Sudan on small fishing boats through the Red Sea and by land through rugged mountain terrain only familiar to them and are almost impossible to intercept by security forces who have little power over the Bedouin community,"" If Israel hadn't pointlessly removed them from the Negev, and wickedly bulldozing their homes and gardens and showing no compassion for them, or rather Israel's govt. and had done the wise thing by paying Bedouins to be informants instead, they would have had a friend, but no, they decided to be prideful, racist and to disobey God by being unfriendly to strangers.
If someone attacked the US, the way Hamas is attacking Isreal, we would invade and remove the threat. Any country would do the same. Hamas started the current conflict but no one seems to see that, just Isreal attacking.
Lets go back to 1948. Israel beat all the arab countries, now they want the land back. What if Israel had lost the 1948 war, do you think the arabs would give the land back to the Jews?
Still waiting for an answer......
Whats the problem... The arabs got your tongue?
That is historically incorrect. The United Nations declared a two state solution in 1948,. Palestinians were shuttled off to UN refugee camps in Gaza, these camps that still are listed as refugee camps are now called cities. Israel did fight a war with its neighbors in the 60's.
Idiot , thats Palestinians Land cense Always
No they would have fed them, given them one way first class tickets to the country of their choice, thrown flowers and tearfully waved BubBye!
They love a Piece of Palastine, a Piece of Egypt, a Piece of Syria, a Piece of Jordan, a Piece of Lebanon, a Piece of Iran, a Piece of Iraq.
Is that why Israel gave back the sinai for a PEACE treaty? For the second time you bloody idi0t.
Before we start blaming Iran, why don't we make sure that those missiles aren't stamped with US serial numbers, huh? Past extrapolation really suggests that's a much more likely scenario.
why don't they want Israel to exist anyway? What's the big deal? Who cares- get over it, move on, live the life you deserve- things will get way better for them in a short period if they would just chill already, stop all this nonsense about whose land it is- WHO CARES... live your life already- wake up. And your religion ain't helping, so lose that too.. and that goes for all of you! Israeli's, Jew's, pedophile Catholic priests, Hindu's -etc its all made up people- get over it already.
If the U.S. was being bombarded by hundreds of missles/rockets, trust me, we would invade our nieghbor and get to the root of the problem. Why is the Palestinians throwing the rock and then hiding thier hands? I believe in PEACE! But riddle me this, If the Palestinians would not lob missles into Isreal would the Isrealies have a reason to shut them down???? Come on. Stop this war already!!!!!!!!!!
I know! Enough already... this is such nonsense. Lots of Education and way less religion is what is needed – FROM EVERYONE.
you're so pathetic... US is not confiscating and "occupying land"...
how about invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan?
Really????? Ask the Native American.
Everyone one supporting Palestinians at this point are the cause for Palestinian suffering that includes Nasrallah, Hamas, El Qaeda, Ayatollah , Ahmadinejad, and now Anonymous, and all leaders around world helping Palestinians to continue their suffering. That is exactly what Hamas wants you to do, it's their goal to have Palestinian people suffer, get as much media coverage so the world reacts the way you do, and fuel Palestinian kids with anger and hate for Israel. Hamas do not want Israel to exist period, giving back the land would not help, if anything Israel needs more land so they can be as far away as possible from Hamas and other terror groups.
Stop supporting Hamas and you'll save many innocent Palestinians from being killed by Israelis who is trying to stop terrorists from bombing their back yard. At the same time you will stop donations to Hamas and they will have to close their business.
The problem is Islam .
Gaza has peace, all they need to do is stop launching rockets into their neighbors area. Try it, just go 6 months without
launching one rocket, and see how much peace they will have.
Israel had been anxiously anticipating the rocket that ignited this war. They pressurized HAMAS into launching that missle by unjustfly prosecuting Palestineans. Now that that home-made missle has landed, Israel has an excuse to drop hundreds off drones in 'self defence'. This is absud, and it shocks me, being a 14 year old, that none of you can realize this. Don't get me wrong I see this from a completely human perspective, and I see nothing but genocide. Isreal is totally wrong here. What's worse is that newstations like CNN aren't broadcasting the Palestinean part of the story, and they don't dare to show the thousands of people protesting which include Jewish Rabbis.
The Truth – Hamas, and Iran dont want peace, they want peices... and peices they shall get...
What do u call killing of Syrian people by asad ?is it not genocide?why Israel precisely target Hamas location.they can kill more people then what is killed.
14yrs old? i expect more wisdom, this hate has long existed even before your own generation history should have kept you abreast of hapnings. what persecution should make you launch rocket into civilian area? hamas is not a peace loving group should isreal address them? wake up stop the rocket and u will stop licking your fingers.
free palestine
"The Truth", how Orwellian not a word of it is truth.
Yawn............more idiotic BS from a terrorist sympathizer.
The best possible solution is to just let them fight it out. Until there is only 1 winner. I'm really sick and tired of this shadow type battle. Just get it over with it.
like say wipe out gaza....
Reblogged this on World Chaos and commented:
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the Fajr-3 is a ROCKET not a missile
The Middle East never changes. They feed off each other's anger. Israel is not without blame but Iran and Syria will not let them rest. The big showdown will come and the US and her allies will be drawn into this mess. I just hope my children do not have to fight in this ridiculous hate filled battle. I long for post WWII America where peace was a much desired and appreciated concept. So much so that the world experienced peace for many years but I fear that appreciation has now given way to a globe full of hatred. God be with us!
The simple part is "stop" trying to crush Israel or denying Israel's existence. Palestinians, wake up and understand that you are a pawn in the larger politics of the the region. Your Arab cousins have no love for you, nor do are they willing to open their countries to you. If they continue the Patestinian "distraction", the regimes of Iran, Syria and Saudia Arabia can continue their backward dictatorships. Palestinians, embrace Israel and you will find a friend.
I wish this was true but it isn't, Israeli's and Palestinians will never embrace, the hate and bias has become so blind, most don't even know why anymore and if the reasons they invent for themselves are resolved there will be new ones... Make no mistake, Gaza is an internment camp because Israel fears the unknown faces of their masses that will kill Jews if given the chance, it doesn't make it right, but I believe its the reason we have the stalemate we do.
I made a joke about the Gaza strip earlier, but it Israeli inappropriate.
Israel is chosen by God nation. THis country will survive as it was many times since Moses leadersip. God bless you Israel
A nation chosen by God? Is that what you meant? Would you like to know our number one hurdle for the success and continuation of our race? Religion. However, it is the right of every individual to hold firm to their own opinions and beliefs, even if it's wrong. I love you anyways.
Are these God's chosen.You are joking.The killed Jesus Christ denied he is the savior and still denies him and Christianity.You are a joker
What did the USA do when the missels were on the way to Cuba. Call a truce in the middle East and see who is the first to send rockets. Israel would love peace.
Digging will continue regardless! We won't stop until we get our freedom like everybody else!!


text:
Nokia reported fourth-quarter sales down about 19 percent year on year. The company sold fewer phones than a year earlier, and its market share also dropped, it said Thursday.
Sales for the last three months of 2008 totalled EUR12.7 billion (US$17.9 billion as of Dec. 31, the last day of the period reported), lower than analysts had expected.
The economy has continued to worsen, and that has affected the mobile industry, according to Nokia.
Nokia is still making money, but a lot less than it did a year ago. The company reported a net profit at EUR576 million, compared to EUR1.8 billion a year earlier.
Just like other vendors in the sector, Nokia aims to lower costs by more than EUR700 million by 2010. The plan will include staff cuts, but Nokia isn't ready to announce any details, Nokia Chief Financial Officer Rick Simonson said during a conference call.
The company sold 113.1 million phones during the fourth quarter, 15 percent fewer than it sold a year earlier, and also lower than the 117.8 million it sold during the third quarter.
Those figures disappointed analysts.
"Volumes were a little bit lower than we expected. We predicted their sales to be flat quarter on quarter rather than down," said Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner, via e-mail.
The drop in volume reflects not only the current economic climate but also Nokia's relative weakness in high-end phones for markets such as Western Europe, according to Milanesi.
Nokia now estimates its market share at 37 percent, down from 38 percent in the third quarter and 40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007.
In 2009 Nokia hopes to turn this around and increase its market share, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo said during a conference call.
The company had been expecting a less-than-rosy fourth quarter. It lowered sales expectations twice during the last months of 2008.
On Nov. 14 Nokia said it expected 330 million phones to be sold worldwide during the fourth quarter, and 1.24 billion for the whole of 2008. It had previously expected 1.26 billion devices to be sold. Then on Dec. 4 Nokia had some more bad news: the mobile phone market had continued to deteriorate and sales would be even lower than the November estimate.
In the end, Nokia estimates that 305 million phones where sold during the fourth quarter, a 9 percent drop compared to 2007. The company's estimates of overall sales are significant because it has such a huge share of the market.
To set itself apart from the competition, Nokia must now improve the usability of its phones so buyers can take advantage of the growing set of services it provides through its Ovi portal, Milanesi said.
To improve its high-end portfolio, Nokia needs to refresh the Nseries of smartphones, according to Geoff Blaber, analyst at CCS Insight. Sales of its smartphones where down in the fourth quarter, according to Nokia.
The mobile phone market is becoming increasingly polarized around cheap entry-level phones and high-end smartphones. So Nokia needs to maintain its market leading position in the first space, and at the same time improve high-end portfolio, Blaber said.
Nokia has seen the traction that the smartphone sector has experienced, and the company will now increase its investment in the sector, according to Kallasvuo.
The company aims to expand the definition of a smartphone, officials said during the conference call. Nokia aims to combine hardware and service offerings to come out with smartphones for sectors that are not covered, and announce products at different price points. Product details were not provided.
Nokia expects mobile phone sales to continue to decline in the first quarter of 2009.

subset: commoncrawl