HAMAS moving HQ from Syrai to Egypt, warns Netanyahu

[Annette Akerman]

Hamas moving HQ from Syria to Egypt, warns Netanyahu

June 1st, 2011 1:30 pm ET

Jim Kouri  Law Enforcement

The Palestinian terrorist group Hamas will be transferring its headquarters from Syria to Egypt, and the radical Islamist group is strengthening its control in the Sinai, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee on Monday.

Netanyahu also noted that the Muslim Brotherhood, from which Hamas is an offshoot, also has become a more powerful force in Egypt since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak.

The Israeli Prime Minister voiced his concerns over the inability of provisional military regime in Egypt to exercise control the activities in the Sinai, which borders Israel and from where Bedouin -- such as the Army of Islam -- and Hamas terrorists smuggle weapons from Iran, Syria, Turkey and elsewhere into Gaza Strip and the waiting arms of the terrorist groups that populate the area..

In addition to Hamas, Al-Qaeda also has brought 400 terrorists into the area, according to an Egyptian official quoted by an Arab news agency, a former American police officer and military intelligence agent currently living in Israel told the Law Enforcement Examiner.

Prime Minister Netanyahu confirmed several reports that Hamas' supreme leader Khaled Mashaal had fled Damascus, where his presence and welcome by Syrian President Bashar Assad is an additional worry for him due to the violent uprising and the threat of international sanctions

"The vacuum of power in the Sinai has been illustrated by the two gas explosions that occurred there” this year, Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Knesset committee. “Global terrorist organizations are interfering, there and their presence is increasing because of the geographic connection between Sinai and Gaza."

The Sharon government had agreed to pull out of Gaza following the 2005 expulsion of nearly 10,000 Jewish settlers in the area. However, agreements between Israel and Egypt on security in the Sinai began falling apart after Hamas won political power from Fatah in Gaza four years ago.

Following an Israeli counterterrorism operation at the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009, Israel relied on American and European guarantees to monitor the transfer of goods and merchandise from the Sinai to Gaza, but this process also eroded.

The opening of the Rafiah crossing by Egypt this past Saturday has further harmed security and sent Israel a signal that Egyptian tolerance and support may be a thing of the past.

The de facto dominance of Bedouin tribes and allied terrorists in the Sinai has set the stage for further stockpiling of advanced arms by Hamas and for plotting terrorist attacks at tourist and holy sites in Egypt, the Israeli source told the Law Enforcement Examiner.

http://www.examiner.com/law-enforcement-in-national/hamas-moving-hq...

Jim Kouri, CPP, formerly Fifth Vice-President, is currently a Board Member of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, an editor for ConservativeBase.com, and he's a columnist for Examiner.com.  In addition, he's a blogger for the Cheyenne, Wyoming Fox News Radio affiliate KGAB (www.kgab.com). Kouri also serves as political advisor for Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor Michael Moriarty. 

He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for several major organizations.  He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country.   Kouri writes for many police and security magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer and others. He's a news writer and columnist for AmericanDaily.Com, MensNewsDaily.Com, MichNews.Com, and he's syndicated by AXcessNews.Com.   Kouri appears regularly as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Fox News Channel, Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, etc.