Day: October 11, 2023

Senior Hamas official Ali Baraka said in an October 8, 2023 interview that aired on Russia Today TV that Hamas had been secretly planning the invasion of southern Israel for two years, even as it was making it seem like it was busy governing the Gaza Strip. He explained that this is the reason Hamas did not join the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in its previous round of fighting against Israel. He said that Hamas notified its allies in other Palestinian factions, in Hizbullah, in Iran, in Turkey, and in Russia only after the invasion started, and he stated that any prisoner exchange deal should involve Hamas prisoners held in the United States. Later in the interview, Baraka said that Hamas has a license from Russia to locally produce bullets for Kalashnikovs, that Russia sympathizes with Hamas, and that it is pleased with the war because it is easing American pressure on it with regard to the war in Ukraine.

To view the clip of senior Hamas official Ali Baraka, click here or below:

“We Made Them Think Hamas Was Busy With Governing Gaza, And That It Wanted To Focus On The 2.5 Million Palestinians [In Gaza]… All The While, Under The Table, Hamas Was Preparing For This Big Attack”

Ali Baraka: “The zero hour was kept completely secret. A limited number of Hamas leaders knew it. The number of people who knew about the attack and its timing could be counted on one hand.

[…]

“In the past couple of years, Hamas has adopted a ‘rational’ approach. It did not go into any war, and did not join the Islamic Jihad in its recent battle.”

[…]

Interviewer: “But all this was part of Hamas’s strategy in preparing for this attack.”

Baraka: “Of course. We made them think that Hamas was busy with governing Gaza, and that it wanted to focus on the 2.5 million Palestinians [in Gaza], and has abandoned the resistance altogether.

“All the while, under the table, Hamas was preparing for this big attack.

[…]

“The rockets of the resistance cover all of Palestine. Where would [Netanyahu] take [the Israelis who were attacked]? To Tel Aviv? We bombed Tel Aviv on the very first day of the attack. Does he want to take them to the Galilee? The northern front – with Lebanon – has opened today. The Galilee is no longer safe for the Zionist enemy. We can bomb the Galilee from inside occupied Palestine.

[…]

“In order to keep the attack secret and successful, the different factions and our allies did not know the zero hour. But after half an hour, all the Palestinian resistance factions were contacted as were our allies in Hizbullah and Iran. The Turks were also notified, and a meeting was held with them three hours later, at 9 am. We updated anyone who contacted us. Even the Russians sent a message and enquired, and they were updated about the situation and about the goals of the war.”

[…]

“We Demand That The U.S. Free Our Sons From Prisons”

Interviewer: “There are also Palestinian prisoners outside of Israel, in European countries.”

Baraka: “There are also prisoners in the U.S. We want them. Of course. There are Hamas members sentenced for life in the U.S. We want them too. Of course. We demand that the U.S. free our sons from prisons. The U.S. conducts prisoner swaps. Only recently, it did one with Iran. Why wouldn’t it conduct a prisoner swap with us? After all, it is participating in this war. Biden, the highest authority in the U.S., declared that he stands with Israel against Hamas and the Palestinian people. Therefore, he is a partner to this aggression, he must pay the price.

[…]

Iran Is Giving Us Weapons And Money; Hizbullah Stands By Us; Russia Sympathizes With Us, Is Happy That America Is Getting Embroiled In Palestine

“The Israelis are known to love life. We, on the other hand, sacrifice ourselves. We consider our dead to be martyrs. The thing any Palestinian desires the most is to be martyred for the sake of Allah, defending his land.

[…]

“We have been preparing for this for two years. We have local factories for everything. We have rockets with ranges of 250 kms, 160 kms, 80 kms, 45 kms, and 10 kms.

“We have factories for mortars and their shells. We have factories for manufacturing B-7 and B-10 guns and their shells. We have factories for manufacturing Kalashnikov rifles and their bullets. We have a Russian license to produce Kalashnikov bullets in Gaza.

[…]

“Our allies are those that support us with weapons and money. First and foremost it is Iran that is giving us money and weapons. There is also Hizbullah, and the Arab and Islamic people who are standing by us. There are countries that support us politically. Even Russia sympathizes with us. Even the Russians sent us messages yesterday morning. They sympathize with us. Russia is happy that America is getting embroiled in Palestine. It alleviates the pressure on the Russians in Ukraine. One war eases the pressure in another war. So we are not alone on the battlefield.”

Senior Hamas official Ali Baraka said in an October 8, 2023 interview that aired on Russia Today TV that Hamas had been secretly planning the invasion of southern Israel for two years, even as it was making it seem like it was busy governing the Gaza Strip. He explained that this is the reason Hamas did not join the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in its previous round of fighting against Israel. He said that Hamas notified its allies in other Palestinian factions, in Hizbullah, in Iran, in Turkey, and in Russia only after the invasion started, and he stated that any prisoner exchange deal should involve Hamas prisoners held in the United States. Later in the interview, Baraka said that Hamas has a license from Russia to locally produce bullets for Kalashnikovs, that Russia sympathizes with Hamas, and that it is pleased with the war because it is easing American pressure on it with regard to the war in Ukraine.

To view the clip of senior Hamas official Ali Baraka, click here or below:

“We Made Them Think Hamas Was Busy With Governing Gaza, And That It Wanted To Focus On The 2.5 Million Palestinians [In Gaza]… All The While, Under The Table, Hamas Was Preparing For This Big Attack”

Ali Baraka: “The zero hour was kept completely secret. A limited number of Hamas leaders knew it. The number of people who knew about the attack and its timing could be counted on one hand.

[…]

“In the past couple of years, Hamas has adopted a ‘rational’ approach. It did not go into any war, and did not join the Islamic Jihad in its recent battle.”

[…]

Interviewer: “But all this was part of Hamas’s strategy in preparing for this attack.”

Baraka: “Of course. We made them think that Hamas was busy with governing Gaza, and that it wanted to focus on the 2.5 million Palestinians [in Gaza], and has abandoned the resistance altogether.

“All the while, under the table, Hamas was preparing for this big attack.

[…]

“The rockets of the resistance cover all of Palestine. Where would [Netanyahu] take [the Israelis who were attacked]? To Tel Aviv? We bombed Tel Aviv on the very first day of the attack. Does he want to take them to the Galilee? The northern front – with Lebanon – has opened today. The Galilee is no longer safe for the Zionist enemy. We can bomb the Galilee from inside occupied Palestine.

[…]

“In order to keep the attack secret and successful, the different factions and our allies did not know the zero hour. But after half an hour, all the Palestinian resistance factions were contacted as were our allies in Hizbullah and Iran. The Turks were also notified, and a meeting was held with them three hours later, at 9 am. We updated anyone who contacted us. Even the Russians sent a message and enquired, and they were updated about the situation and about the goals of the war.”

[…]

“We Demand That The U.S. Free Our Sons From Prisons”

Interviewer: “There are also Palestinian prisoners outside of Israel, in European countries.”

Baraka: “There are also prisoners in the U.S. We want them. Of course. There are Hamas members sentenced for life in the U.S. We want them too. Of course. We demand that the U.S. free our sons from prisons. The U.S. conducts prisoner swaps. Only recently, it did one with Iran. Why wouldn’t it conduct a prisoner swap with us? After all, it is participating in this war. Biden, the highest authority in the U.S., declared that he stands with Israel against Hamas and the Palestinian people. Therefore, he is a partner to this aggression, he must pay the price.

[…]

Iran Is Giving Us Weapons And Money; Hizbullah Stands By Us; Russia Sympathizes With Us, Is Happy That America Is Getting Embroiled In Palestine

“The Israelis are known to love life. We, on the other hand, sacrifice ourselves. We consider our dead to be martyrs. The thing any Palestinian desires the most is to be martyred for the sake of Allah, defending his land.

[…]

“We have been preparing for this for two years. We have local factories for everything. We have rockets with ranges of 250 kms, 160 kms, 80 kms, 45 kms, and 10 kms.

“We have factories for mortars and their shells. We have factories for manufacturing B-7 and B-10 guns and their shells. We have factories for manufacturing Kalashnikov rifles and their bullets. We have a Russian license to produce Kalashnikov bullets in Gaza.

[…]

“Our allies are those that support us with weapons and money. First and foremost it is Iran that is giving us money and weapons. There is also Hizbullah, and the Arab and Islamic people who are standing by us. There are countries that support us politically. Even Russia sympathizes with us. Even the Russians sent us messages yesterday morning. They sympathize with us. Russia is happy that America is getting embroiled in Palestine. It alleviates the pressure on the Russians in Ukraine. One war eases the pressure in another war. So we are not alone on the battlefield.”

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NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) adopted on October 9 a resolution – “Strengthening Stability and Security in the Black Sea Region Following Russia’s Full Scale Invasion of Ukraine,” which, among other issues, denounces Russia’s occupation of Georgia, condemns the Kremlin’s plan to build a naval base in occupied Abkhazia, and reiterates support for Georgia’s eventual NATO membership.

• 07/10/2023 – Context | Russian Navy Base in occupied Abkhazia?

NATO PA denounced “continued illegal occupation” of the Georgian territories, saying it demonstrates daily “the Russian Federation’s significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.”

The Assembly also condemned Russia’s recent “declared intention” to open a naval base in Ochamchire in occupied Abkhazia, saying it further destabilizes the Black Sea region.

NATO PA expressed its backing for the implementation of the Alliance’s tailored support packages for its “vulnerable” Black Sea partners, including Georgia, and reiterated its support for the 2008 Bucharest Summit decision, according to which “Georgia will become a member of NATO with the Membership Action Plan as an integral part of that process.”

NATO PA urged the Allied governments and parliaments “to quickly implement the enhanced tailored support packages for Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, while continuing to actively support the Euro-Atlantic integration of Georgia, as well as support Georgia in taking steps towards eventual NATO membership through its efforts to progress its reform agenda, including key democratic reforms, and making best use of the Annual National Programme.”

The 69th Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 7-9 October and was also attended by the Georgian delegation headed by Irakli Beraia, Chairman of the Defense and Security Committee of the Parliament of Georgia.

“Our primary objective is to vividly convey to NATO Allies the pressing necessity of Georgia’s integration into NATO, hastening the political decision-making process, and the significance of garnering increased support from member states’ capitals toward this end,” Beraia said, further asserting that “Georgia fulfills all the criteria for NATO membership, and it has long earned and is prepared for NATO accession.”

Also Read:

• 29/06/2022 – NATO Parliamentary Assembly Delegation Visits Georgia

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)

On October 11, Armenia’s Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan responded to a proposal by Azerbaijan’s President to consider Georgia as a venue for negotiations and for bilateral and trilateral meetings in Tbilisi. Pashinyan expressed concern that Aliev’s suggestion, made while discussions about a meeting in Brussels are underway, could be interpreted as an attempt to undermine the already agreed principles and shift to a different negotiation platform.

The Armenian Prime Minister said in an interview with Armenia’s Public Television: “A meeting was held in Granada and the principles of regulation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan were established on the platform of the European Union, from our point of view and from the point of view of the European Union. And it is clear that when we meet in Brussels, the conversation should be held within the framework of these principles, which I will not say that they correspond only to the interests of the Republic of Armenia. The Republic of Armenia has accepted them and, by the way, Azerbaijan has also accepted them… if Azerbaijan tries to propose another platform, it can be interpreted by us that by changing to another platform Azerbaijan wants to neutralize the already agreed principles.”

Pashinyan further expressed concerns about the possibility of hidden agendas that might lead to the use of force, a new conflict, or heightened tensions. He clarified: “We do not oppose dialogue but are opposed to a course of action that would deviate from the established principles.”

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made this proposal during his one-day surprize visit to Georgia on October 8. At a joint press conference, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili emphasized Georgia’s readiness to make a “humble contribution through mediation or facilitation – establishment of a friendly format in general,” adding: “Our future should be peaceful, stable and we – all three countries of the South Caucasus – should be able to decide on our own about the regional affairs and our development ahead.”

In turn, President Aliyev expressed hope for a political environment in the South Caucasus that would allow for trilateral cooperation involving Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, saying: “If Armenia agrees, we will immediately start, through our respective agencies, bilateral and trilateral meetings here in Georgia.”

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)