Various observers have been busy chattering away for the past week that President Obama may be losing ground in the developing U.S./Israel…um, disagreement(?). Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Obama’s impressive Cairo speech with a rather banal address in which he sort of, kinda, half-way accepted the notion of a Palestinian state, but once again refused [...]

So what are our options, given Mashaal’s refusal to yield on any of the demands made by Obama? Hamas has some inconvenient facts in its favor: it exists, it remains strong in Gaza — as a direct consequence of the real social services it provides and its relative lack of corruption compared with Fatah — [...]

Jim Lobe doesn’t buy Elliot Abrams “route” for weapons shipments from Iran to Hamas in Gaza.
… shipments landing in Somalia would have to be smuggled through Djibouti (where the U.S. has a major military presence) or Ethiopia, whose border with Eritrea is heavily militarized, as both countries have still not settled the border over which [...]

While this isn’t exactly a new statement, this is, perhaps, the most direct and blunt Haniyeh has been about Hamas’ developing position.
By Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Saturday his government was willing to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
The Hamas leader spoke [...]