(Wall Street Journal) Richard Boudreaux and Charles Levinson - Senior Hamas military commander Ayman Nofal, who escaped from confinement in Egypt during a mass prison break, returned to Gaza where he told an interviewer: "We're preparing for the next battle." Two Israeli officials familiar with intelligence reports said this week that Hamas, emboldened by Mubarak's resignation and its own successful crackdown on popular discontent at home, had stepped up the smuggling of militants and weapons through Egypt to be stockpiled in Gaza for use against Israel. "It's not just terrorists coming in. It's dangerous equipment - Grad-type missiles, anti-aircraft missiles," a senior Israeli official said. On Friday, the influential Islamic cleric Yussuf al-Qaradawi, speaking at a large opposition rally, urged Egypt's interim military rulers to open "dignified negotiations" with Hamas and lift a wider blockade of Gaza that Mubarak had coordinated with Israel.
2011-02-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive