A Hamas TV sermon details the rewards for a Muslim believer who dies in battle for Allah. Via Palestinian Media Watch:

The privileges that are bestowed upon the one who dies for Allah and mentioned in the hadith are:

1- The Shahid’s sins are forgiven
2- He sees his place in Paradise and lives a full life of joy with Allah
3- He is protected from “the Great Shock” on Judgment Day
4- He is crowned with a crown of honor
5- He marries 72 dark-eyed wives
6- He will be able to intervene on behalf of 70 of his family members on Judgment Day, thereby ensuring them the reward of Afterlife

For years, both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have promoted the ideal of dying as a Martyr for Allah. The promotion has been successful.
Palestinian Media Watch has collected many examples of Palestinian children and adults expressing belief in and desire for Shahada. Men and women aspire to become Shahids, and parents express pride and happiness when their children fulfill their aspirations and become Martyrs for Allah.

Via Palestinian Media Watch:

In the latest episode of the weekly children’s program Tomorrow’s Pioneers on Hamas TV, a Palestinian boy chose to sing the following children’s song:

“Daddy gave me a present, a machine gun and a rifle.
When I am a big boy, I will join the Liberation Army.
The army of [Izz Al-Din] Al-Qassam (Hamas),
which has taught us how to defend our homeland.
Our homeland is precious, precious.
We [are] victorious, victorious over America and Israel.
[Improvises:] Son of a bitch – what brought you to this land?”

About that rumor that Hamas is ready to accept Israel as a legitimate and sovereign nation? Forget about it. It ain’t gonna happen. Via Al Bawaba-Jordan:

Hamas on Thursday denied a report in an Israeli newspaper that it is ready to accept Israel’s right to exist. Dr. Aziz Dwaik, Hamas’ senior representative in the West Bank and speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, told the Hamas website on Thursday that the report quoting him was “inaccurate.”

Via JCPA:

According to the 1993 Oslo Agreements, Jerusalem is one of the issues to be discussed in future permanent status negotiations. The Swedish move to have the European foreign ministers back a declaration recognizing eastern Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state clearly pre-judges the outcome of those talks. When the EU foreign ministers met on December 8, they issued a statement that only partly softened the Swedish draft. It dropped the reference to the Palestinian state being comprised of “the West Bank and Gaza with East Jerusalem as its capital,” but still retained a proposal that envisions “Jerusalem as the future capital of two states.”

The EU statement insisted that the EU “will not recognize any changes in the pre-1967 borders” without the agreement of the parties. Yet by enshrining the 1967 lines as a previous political border, the EU was ignoring that these were only armistice lines and not a recognized international boundary. In fact, it was UN Security Council Resolution 242 which acknowledged that the pre-1967 lines might change. By waving the carrot of a statement of support for eastern Jerusalem to be part of a Palestinian state, the Swedes are causing Mahmoud Abbas’ advisors to believe that if they avoid bilateral negotiations with Israel, they can create the political environment for third party intervention to their advantage.

What is needed is an ongoing Israeli diplomatic effort for Jerusalem, underlining Israel’s legal rights and its role as the protector of the holy sites. Unfortunately, European states, which once sought to protect the holy sites of Christianity in Jerusalem, today appear to be oblivious to what would happen to their churches were the Old City of Jerusalem to be given to a Palestinian regime under the influence of Hamas.

If there had been no Hamas war crimes, there would have been no need for an Israeli response. Via JPost:

The issue is not whether Israel must respect human rights, but that the human rights of Israel and its people have not been respected. The discrimination emerges not from suggesting that human rights standards should be applied to Israel – which they must be – but from the fact that these standards have not been applied equally to anyone else.

It was Hamas that fired deliberately on Israeli civilians.

It was Hamas that boasted – only days before the conflict exploded in December – that Israel was “hopeless and desperate” when faced with its attacks.

It was Hamas that painted Israel and Jews as the sons of apes and pigs and that called for their murder in its charter and publicly incited to their genocide.

Once the war began, it was Hamas that continued to target Israeli civilians as part of a systematic, widespread attack.

It was Hamas that chose to position its fighters in Palestinian civilian areas.

It was Hamas that misused ambulances to transport fighters to launch attacks.

It was Hamas that recruited children into armed conflict.

These are all indisputable war crimes. Yet they do not find their way into the resolution establishing the Goldstone Commission.

Simply put, if there had been no Hamas war crimes, there would have been no need for an Israeli response.

Via PalestinianMediaWatch:

On the second anniversary of the Hamas military takeover of Gaza, PA (Fatah) TV broadcast a public Fatah event held in the presence of senior Fatah leaders, which focused on intense vilification of Hamas.

This included the showing of a graphic video of Hamas members brutally beating a Fatah member in Gaza. The screams of the victim can be heard in the video, along with others calling “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is Great).

The Fatah moderator introduced the video with the following words:
“Hamas’s name is written on every arm and leg which was crushed by their [Hamas's] acts of terror.”

The Hamas – Fatah hatred is very deep and this intense hate propaganda is typical of the current Fatah – Hamas relations. This animosity has led to the arrest of numerous Hamas members by the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority. This is important to note, as these arrests have been mistakenly reported in the press to be a sign that the Palestinian Authority is fighting  Palestinian terror on behalf of Israel.

Click here to view. Warning – the video contains graphic material.

Via Ha’aretz:

Hamas has smuggled a new arsenal into Gaza that would upset the balance of power, Israel believes.

Muslims currently have 160 tunnels beneath the Sinai border that they are using to smuggle longer range rockets, anti-tank missiles and perhaps even anti-aircraft missiles, security sources say. Some of the tunnels are large enough to let small all-terrain vehicles pass.

With the help of Hizbullah, Hamas has drawn up a new strategy of engagement with the IDF based on anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles.

In addition, Iranian technology has been used to increase the range of Kassam rockets Hamas is producing in Gaza to more than 20 km.
Israeli officials believe Egypt has not managed to reduce the flow of arms into Gaza.

Of course, if the IDF were to hit a mosque, all Jew-hating nations around the world would be against Israel; however, when Muslims target a synagogue, there is deafening silence from the global community. Via Haaretz:

Palestinian Muslims on Thursday fired a Grad rocket that struck a synagogue in the Israeli town of Netivot, damaging the building.

The Israel Air Force retaliated shortly after the attack, striking four smuggling tunnels. The Israel Defense Forces said: “As the sole authority in the Gaza Strip, Hamas bears full responsibility for all terror originating within its area of control. The IDF will continue to respond to any attempts to destabilize southern Israel.”

Palestinians also fired six Kassam rockets and two mortar shells on Thursday.

On the second day of the Gaza War, PMW released the text of the speech by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, in which he blamed Hamas for the start of the hostilities. He lamented that the violence in the Gaza Strip could have been avoided had Hamas not broken the ceasefire. Due to its importance PMW has subtitled the speech and made it available for viewing.

Click here to view Abbas’ speech blaming Hamas for start of hostilities.

h/t DailyAlert. Via Guardian:

Hamas has flatly rejected Israel’s demand that it free a captive soldier in return for lifting the blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian movement called instead for international pressure on Israel to force the borders open. Mousa Abu Marzook, the deputy leader of Hamas, told the Guardian in Damascus Thursday that Corporal Gilad Shalit would only be released in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

The soldier is believed to be alive but his whereabouts are unknown and he has not been seen by the International Red Cross.