In an article in the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram on the economic situation in the Gaza Strip, journalist Ashraf Abu Al-Houl wrote about the burgeoning recreation industry and of the low merchandise prices.

Excellent analysis, plus some very enlightening links.

"The Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip have ordered lingerie shops to display more modesty.

"Senior Israeli Defense Forces officials have provided the following video about the "Flotilla Incident" that took place on May 31, 2010. It reveals the truth behind the event, which has been ignored by the international community and buried by the mainstream media.

Ehad Ever is a religious Zionist. In this video he explains his views on Israel, Zionism, race, policies of the current Israeli government (Olmert's Kadima Party), etc.

Please scroll down below for photos of the new shopping mall that opened today in Gaza.

"The Turkish charity that led the flotilla involved in a deadly Israeli raid has extensive connections with Turkey's political elite, and the group's efforts to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza received support at the top levels of the governing party, Turkish diplomats …

"Israel's decision to ease its blockade on Gaza has had an odd effect on the region: it has apparently thrown Gaza retailers into a panic, causing them to pressure their rulers.

Reuters reports that Germany has banned the International Humanitarian Relief Organization (IHH) from operating in the country due to its funding for Hamas.

Foreign Ministry releases amended list of products, services Israel will allow into Strip as part of its efforts to alleviate residents' daily lives, while impeding efforts to carry out terror attacks.

"Hamas's security forces in the Gaza Strip detained over the weekend dozens of Fatah activists in one of the largest crackdowns in recent months, Fatah officials said.The latest clampdown on Fatah comes after fresh mediation efforts to solve the crisis with Hamas failed.

"Scenes from around Gaza. Such misery, some may find it difficult to watch."

"Unknown gunmen attacked and vandalized a UN summer camp on the beach of central Gaza Strip at dawn Monday, a source from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said.

"Human Rights Watch charged Friday that Hamas militants are violating the rules of war by prohibiting a captive Israeli soldier from having contact with his family and the Red Cross.

"Hamas profiteering from the "suffering" Arabs in Gaza. They blame Israel's "siege" or economic "blockade", but the shops are full of smuggled goods from Egypt that Hamas taxes, including fuel and cigarettes.

"Hamas sent thousands of rockets into Israel, and aided Muslim Brotherhood attacks in Egypt: hence the blockade and closure of Egypt's and Israel's borders with Gaza.

"Charlie Rose, PBS. Vice President Joe Biden discusses flotilla incident. Aired on Wednesday, June 2, 2010"

"Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is opposed to lifting the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip because this would bolster Hamas, according to what he told United States President Barack Obama during their meeting at the White House Wednesday.

Firas Press reports that Hamas is refusing to allow shipments into Gaza of cheese, milk, juices, detergents, soft drinks and biscuits - items that up until now had been restricted.

"Turkish journalist Adem Ozkose was aboard the Mavi Marmara when it was boarded by the IDF, and he is the person credited with the photos that were misleadingly cropped by someone unknown.

I must politely disagree with those who have come to denounce the Israeli blockade of Gaza as an act of "piracy" etc. Those who hold these contentions are as wrong as wrong can be on the legality of the Israeli boarding of so-called "humanitarian aid" flotilla ships.

Although most of the recent talk regarding flotillas has revolved around ships sailing toward Gaza, at least two plans have emerged for "reverse flotillas" – from Israel toward Turkey – to highlight what organizers have labeled the Turks' "shameless hypocrisy" in th …

"On June 6, Senator Charles E.

"Were it not for Israel's presence between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Fatah and Hamas would most likely be dispatching suicide bombers and rockets at each other. And they would perhaps still be throwing each other's supporters from the fifteenth and sixteenth floors of …

"The Palestinian Authority is concerned about Turkey's increased support for Hamas, a PA official in Ramallah said on Monday.

"In this audio recording of the radio transmission between the Israeli Navy and the 7th flotilla ship, the Israeli Navy offers to transfer all humanitarian supplies on board to Gaza through land crossings in coordination with a third party (including a number of independent aid o …

The relationship between Mr. Erdogan's government and the IHH ought to be one focus of any international investigation into the incident.

"During radio transmissions between Israeli Navy and the ships of the "Free Gaza" Flotilla on 31 May 2010, the Israeli Navy ship attempts to make contact with the 'Defne Y' on channel 1-6. Other ships from the flotilla respond on the channel, without identifying themselves.

If the press is going to be crazy... then why not at least be FUNNY!!

Terrorist groups based in Gaza have increased their rocket fire on southern Israel in recent weeks, launching dozens of attacks and murdering one kibbutz worker from Thailand.

"Vice President Joe Biden offered the White House's strongest defense yet of Israeli's actions off the coast of Gaza this week in an interview with Charlie Rose airing tonight on PBS.

Let's help Turkey's Foreign Relations Minister Ahmet Davutoglu with the definition of "Murder conducted by a state"

Israel has attempted to deliver humanitarian aid from an international flotilla to Gaza, but Hamas - which controls the territory - has refused to accept the cargo, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.

"Before boarding the Marmara, Ali Khaider Benginin told his family he dreamt of becoming a shahid. Turkish press reports two other slain flotilla participants expressed similar wish. A Dutch activist arrested on flotilla suspected of ties with Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood

ISTANBUL — Since 2007, a small group of hard-core activists has repeatedly tried to sail cargo-laden ships into Gaza in an effort to thwart Israel's blockade.

Ultimately, Turkey was forced to ban the IHH from participating in earthquake aid efforts because it was counted among several "fundamentalist organizations" operating "secret bank accounts" that were refusing to allow local authorities to oversee the distribution of thei …

"Riad Malki, the PA's Foreign Minister was in Buenos Aires yesterday and gave an interview to Pagina/12. With regard to the Hamas regime running Gaza he said the following,

""If the ships reach Gaza, it's a victory for Gaza," Haniyeh told some 400 supporters after touring Gaza City's small fishing harbor, where several smaller vessels breaking the blockade have docked in the past.

We've been given to understand that you intend to stage another media stunt, wherein you're again going to float some empty ships – they may be full this time, they were mostly empty last time – in the general direction of the Gaza Strip.

As I mentioned previously, the moonbats who are trying to sail to Gaza have to document how terrible the lives of Gazans are have wonderful choices for fine dining and for working out.

Sarah Weiss Maudi, the Foreign Ministry's expert on maritime and humanitarian law, was interviewed by the FMA website about the justification for the blockade on Gaza.

" Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas came out against Iran on Wednesday, calling his people "hijacked, at the hands of the Iranians."

Egypt has also kept its border with Gaza largely closed, despite the intense public anger it arouses here and throughout the Muslim world.

We hear about the Hamas Charter quite often... but we only see an occasional extract from it. I though it might be useful to post the whole document: The Hamas Charter

This is Israel's answer to the Goldstone report. It first goes into great detail, describing the processes used by the IDF to ensure that any suspicion of wrong-doing is effectively investigated.

"At the request of the Palestinian Authority, an Islamic scholar published a fatwa on Tuesday banning Muslims from digging or working in tunnels under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.

Only 8.4% of Gazans use Internet cafes, though. Which is probably a good idea, since those cafes have a habit of blowing up.

Last September, Ma'an reported: A Palestinian man was killed and four others were wounded by a powerful electric shock while they were working inside a smuggling tunnel under the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip overnight.

"Aid convoys bound for the Gaza Strip will now be banned from traveling across Egypt after activists this week clashed with police, the foreign minister said in remarks published on Saturday

"Egyptian security escorted MP George Galloway to take a flight out of the country on Friday and he was barred from returning after violent protests over an aid convoy he led into Gaza, MENA news agency said.

"From Detroit to Afghanistan, scattered terrorists inspired and equipped by al-Qaida have attacked recently with surprising speed and worldwide reach, challenging the U.S. strategy of slowly and deliberately targeting the terror group's top leaders.

"Ingenuity, creativity, and guts have sustained this People longer than any other identifiable group of people in existence today. The only thing that may have outdone this is their sensitivity to needs of others.

"A senior Palestinian Authority official on Wednesday accused Hamas of serving Iran's interests in the region at the expense of the Palestinians and Arabs.

The study, by the Gaza-based Palestinian Women's Information and Media Center, found that violence against women in Gaza has increased since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in the June 2007 coup and Israel subsequently imposed restrictions on the coastal enclave.

Facing the common enemy:

"With Reuters correspondents perennially focused on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and violent incidents on the border between Gaza and Israel, it is sometimes easy to forget that Gaza also shares a border (and wall) with Egypt and that that border can be just as dangerous.

Meet Yussuf Khoury, a 23-year old Palestinian refugee living in the West Bank. Unlike those descendents of refugees born in United Nations camps, Mr. Khoury fled his birthplace just two years ago.

WHY ARE AMERICANS so pro-Israel?

Jamal Nazzal, a spokesman for Fatah in the West Bank, warned Hamas against accepting Israel's demand that some of the prisoners be exiled to other countries.

"Here are some pictures of that awful "apartheid wall" separating Arab families from each other and causing big problems among Palestinian Arabs.

Egypt has begun the construction of a massive iron wall along its border with the Gaza Strip, in a bid to shut down smuggling tunnels into the territory. The wall will be nine to 10 kilometers long, and will go 20 to 30 meters into the ground, Egyptian sources said.

Israel-bashing enjoys widespread support in Western media, as well as in universities, NGOs, trade unions and international organizations. The UN reserves most of its ire for the most liberal, free and progressive country in the Middle East.

"Pictures taken this week, from Palestine Today"

The Hamas-controlled ministry issued a special statement saying it would not allow for elections to be held in the Strip in January, and that the security forces will investigate anyone cooperating or taking any part in the planned vote.

Robert Bernstein says in New York Times editorial that human rights organization, 'Lost critical perspective on conflict in which Israel has been repeatedly attacked by Hamas, Hezbollah.' On Gaza war crimes allegations: Reporting often relies on witnesses whose stories cannot be  …

'One of the most notable political processes currently taking place in Hamas-ruled Gaza is the growing prominence of "Salafi jihad" organizations. These are groupings committed to the rigorous, apocalyptic version of Sunni Islamism associated with the al-Qaida network.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. President Barack Obama that he intends to resign his post, Channel 10 television reported on Monday.

"I have been here before and I know what is about to happen. Nonetheless, my guide has insisted on talking me through the local ground rules again:

Islamist group steps up 'virtue campaign' in Strip, say women can no longer ride on back seat of motorcycles

Exchanges of fire have been reported Saturday in a Gaza neighborhood between members of Army of Islam and gunmen belonging to an al-Qaeda-affiliated group. The clashes left seven wounded. Both sides involved in the shootout belong to the Doghmush clan.

"The protests by Palestinians on Friday were not enough even to appear to be pathetic copies of the demonstrations during the first days of the two intifadas, in December 1987 and late September 2000.

A popular Hamas children's program that usually gives advice to youngsters, such as instructing them to listen to their parents, aired a call for the "slaughter" of Jews in Israel late last month, according to Palestinian Media Watch.

Much has been written about the 575-page anti-Israel tirade known as the Goldstone Report (formally known as the report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict), which charges that Israel intentionally targeted Palestinian civilians and likely committed "c …

One of Israel's main arguments in disputing the findings of the Goldstone Report is that the Geneva Conventions pertaining to the protection of civilians in wartime are outdated because they cannot be applied to the war against terrorism.

"Deriving accurate and reliable information from within the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip is not easy. The Strip is largely closed to journalists, and its inhabitants are reluctant to speak in detail of events there.

It just so happens that Hamas declared war a full three days before Israel did. And this little fact has all but disappeared. On Wednesday, December 24th, a full three days before Israel's response, Hamas announced "Operation Oil Stain" (or, "Oil Slick" in some translations.)

"Activists from the Campaign to Free Gilad Schalit met with Palestinian activists at the Gaza border on Saturday afternoon, ahead of a combined rally planned for later in the week.

"In February 2007, the North London Central Mosque – better known as Finsbury Park Mosque – received a grant of £20,000 for a report "on combating extremism and terrorist propaganda in communities and institutions".

A child killed by Hamas forces in the Ibn Taymiyyah mosque (Picture from an Islamic forum, August 20, 2009). ii) Searches of ambulances evacuating the wounded and detentions of the wounded: A senior commander instructs his operati …

"Hamas's approval rating has sunk to significantly low levels in the West Bank and even lower levels inside the Gaza Strip

In the conventional politically correct narrative, terrorism is a kind of desperate activism taken in reaction to oppression or some form of action taken against it. So for example, Osama bin Laden carried out 9/11 in reaction to US foreign policy.

"The gold is in the form of Swedish tax revenues paid dutifully by hard-working Swedes lucky enough to still have a job.

""No one should be forced to wear religious clothing, including the headscarf, to receive an education" said Nadya Khalife, the women's rights researcher for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch. "These new orders are simply arbitrary."

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip: Hamas spiritual leader on Monday called teaching Palestinian children about the Nazi murder of 6 million Jews a "war crime," rejecting a reported U.N. proposal to include the Holocaust in Gaza's school curriculum.

The U.N.

Two bombs went off near a mosque and inside Gaza's main security compound early Sunday in the latest violence to shake the troubled coastal territory, security officials said. No injuries were reported.

"Thirty Palestinians killed. Women and children caught in the crossfire. Missiles fired at a Mosque. Muslim prisoners 'executed' in cold blood. A massacre. Media restrictions. A familiar tale? Indeed. International outrage and demonstrations in the streets of London? Nope.

Hamas has denied repeatedly that they want to turn Gaza into an Islamist regime-- yet the evidence show otherwise.

Hamas has embarked on a massive campaign this summer to woo Gazan children away from UNWRA (United Nations Works and Relief Association) summer camps to its own camps. At Hamas summer camps, kids learned to wage war against Israel and were indoctrinated with Islamic ideology.

"A group accused of plotting attacks in Egypt for the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah has gone on trial in Cairo.

From an Arab source.