Israel pushes further into Gaza

The Swiss Red Cross has criticised the Israelis for 'targeting Palestinian ambulance crews'

Israeli troops have made their deepest push yet into Gaza since the beginning of the 18-day-old conflict, as Palestinians prepare for another night of heavy shelling.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday its air force had hit what it described as 60 Hamas targets overnight, while 19 rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel in the same period.

Israeli jets have continued to pound the city of Rafah in southern Gaza near the border with Egypt.

Israel is using "bunker-busting" bombs in an attempt to destroy underground tunnels it says have been used to smuggle weapons and goods into the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said tens of thousands of Palestinians had fled their homes after the Israeli military dropped leaflets warning them of intensive air strikes.
"A large part of Rafah has been completely reduced to rubble... it has been described as hell on earth by some of the witnesses we have met," he said.

Moyheldin said Israeli troops were also closing in on Gaza City, which is now surrounded by both tanks and navy vessels along the coast.

He said the Israelis appeared to be intensifying their assault on Gaza City after dark.

"The pattern [that is emerging is] the Israeli military engaging overnight in fierce fighting and then by early morning the military returns to its position.

"As the sun sets around us that's what many Palestinians are bracing themselves for - another night of deadly and intense firing," Mohyeldin said.
Israelis 'softening up' targets

Mohyeldin said there was speculation that Israeli soldiers were limiting their operation during the day because of stiff resistance from Palestinian fighters on the ground during daylight hours.

Many also suggest that the Israelis might also be looking to "soften up" what they believe to be Hamas targets - such as booby-trapped homes and weapons stores.

Al Jazeera - the only international broadcaster with journalists based both inside Gaza and Israel - reported on Tuesday that the heaviest fighting between Israeli and Palestinian fighters was in Tal al-Hawa, in the south of Gaza City.

Serious clashes were also reported in Beit Lahiya, to the north of the city, and east of Khan Younis.

The AFP news agency reported Israeli tanks, supported by warplanes, had moved into several southern neighbourhoods of Gaza City and that Palestinian fighters were responding with mortar fire.

A spokesman for the Palestinian health ministry said dozens of calls for ambulances had been received, but none could be dispatched because of the fighting.

Combat continued despite another day of pleas from both the United Nations and the European Union to stop the violence, which has so far killed around 970 Palestinians and wounded 4,300 others.

Civilians make up about 40 per cent of casualties, with the majority of those being women and children.

Diplomatic frustration

Expressing frustration at the failure of both sides to adhere to a legally binding UN resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, said he planned to visit the region in a bid to help end Israel's air and ground offensive in Gaza, as well as Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel.
"To both sides, I say: just stop, now," the UN chief told a news conference on Monday. "Too many people have died. There has been too much civilian suffering. Too many people, Israelis and Palestinians, live in daily fear of their lives."

But Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said the offensive which includes the latest deployment of reservists into Palestinian neighbourhoods, must continue until Hamas is completely disarmed.

He said the military operation would end once Hamas's military wing halted its rocket attacks.

"We want to end the operation when the two conditions we have demanded are met: ending the rocket fire and stopping Hamas's rearmament. If these two conditions are met, we will end our operation in Gaza," he said in the southern Israeli town of Ashkelon.

The Israeli military said air raids were carried out on at least 25 targets across the Gaza Strip and Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, said on Monday that the army had "achieved in 16 days what no other country in the world fighting terror has done in 16 years".

Ismail Haniya, the Hamas leader and ousted Palestinian prime minister, said that Israel would not emerge victorious from Gaza City.

"This holy blood that has been spilt will never be in vain, it will make the victory. The children's and women's blood and bodies will be a curse which will haunt this occupation," he said.

Meanwhile, Christer Zettergren, the secretary-general of the Swedish Red Cross, said seven ambulances operated by the Red Crescent were damaged last week in Gaza.

Zettergren on Tuesday accused Israeli soldiers of firing at emergency crews and described the shootings as "very deliberate".

He is due to travel to the region on Wednesday to donate 10 ambulances to the Red Crescent.

Also on Tuesday, the AFP news agency reported that the US military had been forced to cancel a shipment of munitions from a Greek port to a US warehouse in Israel because of objections from Athens.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Israel sends reservists into Gaza

Israel has begun sending reserve units into the Gaza Strip as the military continues to pound the territory for the 16th consecutive day.

The move came amid some of the most intense fighting since the ground offensive began on January 3, with Palestinian fighters putting up stiff resistance to the Israeli advance around Gaza City.

Israel has not specified how many extra troops it is sending in, but it called up tens of thousands of reservists two weeks ago after it launched the air, naval, and land bombardment of the territory.

"I can confirm that a few reserve units have entered Gaza to participate in the operation," major Avital Leibovich, an Israeli military spokeswoman, told Al Jazeera.

"We are not talking about a massive amount of forces, rather a limited one to join in the fighting."

Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from the Israel-Gaza border, said: "I think what we are seeing here is preparations for what the media, according to the Israelis, is calling stage three, which is moving troops into the towns and cities of Gaza.

"They have called up a number of reservists, but by no means all the reservists that have been put on standby, and moved them into Gaza.

"They are there, ready for if the word comes that stage three is to begin. If there is to be this massive push then the soldiers are there ready to act," he said.

Palestinian fears

Medical sources said that dozens of Palestinian fighters were killed in clashes on Sunday, taking the total number of Palestinian deaths since Israel began its war on the territory to 890, many of them women and children.
Almost 4,000 Palestinians have also been wounded since the beginning of the offensive.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from Gaza City, said that the Israeli manouevres had raised speculation that a full attack on targets in the city was being planned for the coming days.

Israeli tanks were positioned on the edge of the city to the north and east, while a column of tanks to the south advanced only to later pull back.

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, told an Israeli cabinet meeting on Sunday that the military had nearly completed the goals set for the war on Gaza.

"Israel is getting close to achieving the goals it set for itself," he said.

He told ministers that Israel had "dealt Hamas an unprecedented blow ... It will never be the same Hamas," Oved Yehezkel, the Israeli cabinet secretary, said.

The cabinet meeting had been expected to include discussion of a possible "third stage" of the offensive in which the military would enter Gaza's urban areas.

However, several Israeli officials suggested that the offensive could be drawing to a close after last week's UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

"The decision of the security council doesn't give us much leeway," Matan Vilnai, the deputy defence minister, told public radio.

"Thus it would seem that we are close to ending the ground operation and ending the operation altogether."

Military goals

Giroa Eiland, a former Israeli national security adviser, told Al Jazeera that there was a debate within the Israeli government and security establishment about what the goals of the operation should be at this stage.

"The main question is how to conclude and accomplish the missions," he said.
"As far as I can understand one of the reasons the military option might be expended is in order to give an Israeli solution to the situation."

Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli official, was expected to travel to Cairo in the coming days to discuss a plan to end the fighting after Hamas officials met Egyptian officials on Sunday.

The Israeli military onslaught has, so far, failed to achieve the stated aim of stopping Palestinian fighters from firing rockets into southern Israel.

At least 17 rockets had been fired across the border by mid-afternoon on Sunday, but failed to cause any casualties.

Thirteen Israelis have been killed since the military offensive began, including three civilians hit by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel.

Khaled Meshaal, the exiled political chief of Hamas, said Hamas would not accept any truce initiative while "we are still under attack".

"I address the Israelis and say to them; 'What have you achieved through this war you have supported? And you supported your leaders to conduct it,'" he said.

"You have achieved nothing but killing innocent children and leaving Gaza in a sea of blood."

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Israel resumes Gaza raid after lull

Violence has escalated again in Gaza after Israel temporarily halted attacks in Gaza City in the north of the strip for three hours as a "humanitarian respite".

In the latest incident, an Israeli air raid on a car in Beit Lahia, near Gaza's northern border with Israel, killed three children and their father, who was described as a civilian by medical workers in the besieged strip.

Israel on Wednesday also approved an even tougher war on Hamas, warning residents to flee southern Gaza ahead of planned bombardments of cross-border tunnels, as the Palestinian death toll passed 700.

After a brief lull to allow Gaza's beleaguered population to hunt for food and fuel, Defence Minister Ehud Barak was given the green light by the security cabinet to order a deeper offensive into Gaza towns as part of the campaign to halt Hamas cross-border rocket attacks.

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, chaired the security cabinet meeting in Jerusalem which "approved continuing the ground offensive, including a third stage that would broaden it by pushing deeper into populated areas," a senior defence official said.

The final decision will be left with Barak, the official added.

Israel also warned thousands of people in the Rafah zone on the Egyptian border to leave their houses or face air strikes.

"You have until 8:00am (0600 GMT)" on Thursday, said leaflets which were dropped by the Israeli military.

At least 700 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel began its assault on December 27, and that number continues to climb. About 3,085 people have also been wounded.

Seven Israeli soldiers and three civilians have died in the same period.

Temporary lull

Palestinians and aid workers in and around Gaza City had used Wednesday's respite to recover dead bodies, treat the wounded, and gather much-needed supplies in and around Gaza City.
Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, announced "offensive" military action across the strip would be suspended for three hours every alternating day, although the timings may vary.

Despite this, Israeli air raids were reported on other parts of the Palestinian territory during Wednesday's announced timeframe of 1pm-4pm (11:00GMT).

Most of Wednesday's clashes occurred in northern Gaza, with explosions reported in Jabalya and Beit Lahia.

In Gaza City, four people were killed and seven injured outside a Mosque in the Sheik Radwan neighbourhood.

Two people were also killed earlier when the Zeitoun district was targeted from the air.

Further south, air raids hit the towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, where over 20 houses were destroyed.

No Israeli injuries have been reported on Wednesday after around eight rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.

Civilian deaths

Israel is facing mounting pressure to agree a ceasefire after an attack on a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) in the northern town of Jabaliya on Tuesday left 43 Palestinians dead and around 100 wounded.

Doctors said all the dead were either people sheltering in the school or residents of the nearby Jabalya refugee camp.

Israel claims missiles were fired from the UN building and that their troops were simply returning fire.

Around 15,000 Palestinians have had to flee the fighting so far, but have found few safe havens, as Israel and Egypt continue to largely keep border crossings shut.

Heba, a Gaza resident and mother of two, told Al Jazeera there was no place left in Gaza that can be considered safe.

"What happened in the school was a hugely offensive and inhumane thing. We never expected that people who sought refuge in a UN building would be attacked and killed," she said.

While earlier attempts to agree a ceasefire resolution at the UN have so far floundered, a French-Egypt proposal appears to be gaining some support.

The deal, which could include stationing international monitors at the Egyptian-Gaza border, has received qualified backing from the US and support from Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president and leader of Hamas-rival Fatah.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Fighting rages in Gaza

Heavy fighting has taken place in and around Gaza City with Palestinian fighters putting up a stiff resistance to advancing Israeli ground forces.

Large explosions and intense gun battles were reported from the Shejaiya neighbourhood late on Monday.

Flares lit up the skies as Israeli helicopter gunships and fighter jets flew low over the the city.

A spokesman of the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, told Al Jazeera that Israeli tanks were trying to move into Gaza City.

He said that the group's fighters had destroyed an Israeli armoured personnel carrier in the clashes.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin, reporting from the Gaza Strip, said that much of the fighting took place around a high area on the outskirts of the city.

"The strategic overlook essentially gives an overview of the entire northern part of Gaza .. that's why it probably has some significance to the Israeli military," he said.

"Because of its height and elevation it has probably also been used to fire rockets into Israel."

Fierce fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters was also reported in eastern Jabliya in the northern Gaza Strip.

'Everywhere bombed'

"All of Gaza is dark except for the flares fired by F-16s and Apaches [helicopter gunships]. The F-16s for the first time are flying very low and shooting missiles everywhere," Moussa el-Hadda, a retired doctor in the Gaza Strip, said.

"Nobody can leave their home, we have no shelters and Israel knows this. They just bombed everywhere and most of their bombs are hitting houses," he told Al Jazeera.
Earlier, Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister, told members of parliament that Gaza City was partially surrounded.

"We have hit Hamas hard, but we have not yet reached all the goals that we have set for ourselves," he said.

Dozens of Palestinians were reported to have been detained during the Israeli push into the Gaza Strip.

Despite 10 days of constant bombardment of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military, causing the deaths of at least than 548 Palestinians, a senior Hamas official said on Monday that "victory is coming" for Palestinian fighters.

Mahmoud al-Zahar said that the movement's armed wing had "given the most beautiful performances during its confrontation with the army that the world thought invincible".

"We will defeat it, God willing," he said.

Israeli officials say the assault on Gaza is aimed at stopping Hamas firing rockets into southern Israel.

Al-Zahar warned that Israel's war on Gaza had opened it up to retribution by Palestinian fighters.

"They have legitimised the murder of their own children by killing the children of Palestine," he said.

"They have legitimised the destruction of their synagogues and their schools by hitting our mosques and our schools."

Rocket attacks

Palestinian fighters have continued to fire rockets into southern Israel despite the Israeli military operation.

But Major Avital Leibovitch, an Israeli military spokeswoman, told Al Jazeera that the cross-border attacks were being slowed.
"Those rockets are coming less and less, because today we have had approximately 20 launchings which is one-tenth of Hamas's original launching capabilities ... there are signs that Hamas is weakening," she said.

"The second stage of the operation is going as planned, we have a variety of forces joining in this and it is proceeding according to the plan."

Abu Obeida, the spokesman for Hamas's Izz-e-din Al-Qassam Brigades, warned the Israeli military that it had many fighters ready to face it in the Gaza Strip.

"We have prepared thousands of brave fighters who are waiting for you in each corner of the street and will welcome you with fire and iron," he said.

"As long as the aggression intensifies, your losses will increase and you will sink further into the Gaza quagmire."

Al Jazeera's Mohyeldin said that the ongoing fighting was "not a battle between two armies".

"The Palestinian factions' biggest weapon, they say, is their will and resolve. What they are using are small to medium sized machine guns ... nothing particularly sophisticated," he said.

"The style of warfare they are engaging in is a cladestine one where they can simply melt away, they have the agility advantage over the Israelis because they are not operating large vehicles, they are mostly on foot."

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

Muslims get on the bus

By Rashid Abbara
Florida Muslims are putting ads on city buses to promote tolerance and teach their neighbours about Islam.

The voices of reason, moderation and tolerance in any faith must always be louder than those of extremists. Unfortunately, every time terrorists falsely claim Islamic justification for their violence, all Muslims are tarred with the same broad brush. The voices of mainstream Muslims condemning these unjustifiable acts are often drowned out by the inflammatory rhetoric of those same terrorists.

It is important that people of other faiths know that Muslims in America and around the world are speaking out against terrorism. That is why the South Florida Muslim community embarked on a campaign this fall, designed to reach out to our fellow Americans and teach them about Islam and Muslims.

Since November 25, and continuing for eight weeks, the Dade and Broward County transit systems in south Florida are displaying large, colourful banners about Islam on the sides of 120 buses. We thought the buses would be the most exotic way to promote our message. These large ads, floating around the city, are very visible to drivers and pedestrians. Similar campaigns in Chicago and New York have been successful and generated great curiosity. The public is used to seeing ads that promote products and services, but not ads like ours. This American Islamic awareness campaign is designed to bring positive awareness of Islam and Muslims to our fellow Americans.

Our campaign started on Thanksgiving, the beginning of the holiday season and gorgeous weather. This is a perfect opportunity for the Muslim community to bring positive awareness about Islam not only to Floridians but also to tourists to take back home.

It is time for mainstream Muslims to stand up and speak more loudly than the tiny minority of extremists who are dragging Islam's name through the mud. We hope that this positive, pro-active campaign will enhance understanding of Islam and encourage dialogue and mutual understanding.

At one fundraising event at a local mosque, we asked everyone to participate in the bus ad project and donate whatever they could afford, even if it was just one dollar. One child gave three dollars and said: "Now I could walk out and say I am a co-founder of this project that will defend Islam and Muslims." A Muslim man in his late 50s told us: "I don't have any money, but I could volunteer to drive the bus." It is this type of attitude that keeps us going. His words brought tears to my eyes, knowing that he is willing to do whatever it takes to demand respect and live righteously.

These are just small examples of ordinary Muslims who want to make a difference in this world. I remember a friend of mine telling me that it would be hard to raise $60,000 in a short period because the Muslim community cannot afford to sponsor another project in a period of economic hardship. I told him that we cannot afford to be misperceived as silent on the issue of terror.

Since its launch, our website, www.CallingIslam.com, has had more than 220,000 views. Our call centre has received hundreds of calls on our US toll-free number 1-888-ISLAM-55. Most callers had misconceptions about Islam and wanted to learn more about their Muslim neighbours.

It is through such initiatives that we will all come together as people of faith to marginalise the extremists so that the voice of moderation is heard loud and clear.

Source : Guardian.co.uk

Arabia Desert

Arabia Desert inhabited by nomadic tribes in Akkadian called Aribi, often invade neighboring countries, such as Arabia Felix and Mesopotamia, which they sometimes gain victory. To understand the isolation that is known as a person without a history of hard work is required, however they are known as a camel rider in the century to the ninth or ten before Christ (BC). In 250 BC the various tribes of Arabia began to move toward Levant. Tribe noted that the tribe is Qedar and Nabatu the road to the area Edomit, Moabite and Jews. In the Parthian and the Roman period, several dynastic grip on the city in Arabia Syam (France) and Iraq. The city is among other Palmyra, Emesa, Edessa, Hatra, Chacene and Gerrha. Meanwhile, modern people generally think that the population of Arabia as the Arab Peninsula, experts in ancient history often refer people with the name of their tribe directly. This merupakjan which is very important to find people who are indeed Arab.
Petra Arabs living between Egypt and Mesopotamia, which finally set the odyssey of them as a way of life, build some of the city. The main people in this region and the Nabasia people are Petra as their capital. The oldest reference to the Arab people can be found in the Book of Genesis Gospel, where Arab traders buy and sell children with Josep Jacob. References in the report found other war King Assyirian Salmanasser in 853 BC and a report about a kingdom called Aribi, mentioned from Tiglath-Pileser III (745 - 727 BC) to the front and the followers of Asssyrian to mid-second century ketujuah. Then, by Arab kings Babilonia be caused to bow Nabonidus, which create a relaxing oasis theme, and reached the capital Yatribu (Medina). According to Greek researchers, Herodotus, the Persian king Cambyses is not occupying the Arab attack on Egypt 525 BC. Its successor, Darius I did not mention in the Arabic inscription Behistun from the first year of reign, but note them in the end. This shows that Darius is only part of the area subjected Arabia. There are no instructions that indicate loyal or not loyal to the king of Persia. After the Macedonian king Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire between 335 to 323 BC, part of Arabia which left more or less autonomy for centuries. In 106 CE (M), the Jordan Arabia related to the province as the Roman empire under the power of Trajan. There are few cities in this province from north to the medical, Adraa (dara '), Dion, Gerasa (Jerash), Philadelphia (Amman) and Aila (Aqaba). During the Roman period, and the historian Josephus Strabo with the free use of the word jumble Nabasia with the Arab kings and vice versa Nabasia known as the king of the Arab kingdom and they are known as Arabia. But this is only the suitability to become the Province of the Kingdom of Nabasia Arabia, which include the Empire Rowawi. Although, the control of sea routes by Himyar very convincing. At the end of the third century, the king Samir Yuhar unify Yemen. He was considered important enough to negotiate with the king kestaraan in the Persian Empire.

News, Aboutaleb, Mayor of Rotterdam First Muslim

Rotterdam, Netherlands second largest city will have a mayor birth of the first Muslim Morocco since January 1, 2009. Ahmed Aboutaleb, Friday, introduced as a future mayor by the city council.

The government will still approve the adoption Aboutaleb, 47 years old, but this is considered a formality. Labor Party politician is the first mayor who was born and bred in the Netherlands. He also became the first Muslim citizens mayor in the Netherlands.

Aboutaleb was born in Morocco and wander to the Netherlands at the age of 14 years. He now serves deputy minister of social affairs, and was a member city council in Amsterdam.

The second largest party in the city council of Rotterdam, Leefbaar Rotterdam, responding to a serious development, the fact that the censure Aboutaleb have two nationalities, Morocco and the Netherlands. Fleur Agema, council members from the Freedom Party (PVV), supports it and will ask for an emergency meeting of parliament about the possibility of lifting it.

Kontoversi about citizenship Aboutaleb political arena in the Netherlands is the second time in the last two years. About pengangkatannya as deputy minister, Freedom Party also criticize the fact that Aboutaleb have dual citizenship. "Most do not cause the look of the dual loyalty," said Agema.

Both parties that support a policy of strict immigration and violent actions against crime by migrants. However, Mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen (Labor) praised Aboutaleb with the call "Highly".

But, he also criticize the fact that Labor is now occupying the three positions of mayors from the four largest Dutch cities, and the majority of the city's middle-sized cities. "No party has the mayor of the largest Christian Democratic government will be difficult to receive national funding for local projects," said Cohen.

The citizens of Morocco can not revoke their citizenship. Even their children born in the Netherlands automatically citizens of Morocco.

Dutch business that repeatedly tried to negotiate with Morocco Morocco to revoke the citizenship they always failed. Around 45 percent of the 582,000 citizens not born in Rotterdam Rotterdam or have parents who were born in foreign countries.

In Rotterdam, which has broad issues of social economy, crimes that involve the community in the problem of migrants is now a cause tensions with residents, the birth of Dutch citizens, reported by Republika News.

THE JEWS CITY IN ARABIA : Khaybar (2)

Modern historians agree that one reason for Muhammad's decision to attack Khaybar was the need to raise his prestige among his followers, which had been eroded by the Treaty of Hudaybiyya, in March 628. In addition, the Hudaybiyya agreement gave Muhammad the assurance of not being attacked by the Meccans during the expedition.Watt sees the intriguing of the Banu Nadir in Khaybar as the primary motive for the attack. The Banu Nadir had paid Arab tribes to go to war against Muhammad, Watt argues, leaving him little choice but to attack Khaybar. Vaglieri concurs that the Jews were responsible for the coalition that besieged the Muslims in the Battle of the Trench, but suggests that Muhammad's attacks against the Jews, first in Medina and then in Khaybar, had economic roots similar to those which have brought about persecutions and pogroms in other countries in the course of history. The conquest of Khaybar, Vaglieri argues, would enable him to satisfy with ample booty his companions who hoped to capture Mecca and were discontented at the treaty with the Quraysh. Stillman adds that Muhammad needed the victory to show the Bedouins, who were not strongly tied to the rest of the Muslim community, that the alliance with him would pay off. Shibli Nomani, sees Khaybar's alliance with the Ghatafan tribe, which had attacked Muhammad during the Battle of the Trench, as the main reason for the battle. He also draws attention to the actions of Banu Nadir's leader Huyayy ibn Akhtab, who had gone to the Banu Qurayza during the battle to instigate them to attack Muhammad. As war with Muhammad seemed imminent, the Jews of Khaybar entered into an alliance with the Jews of Fadak oasis. They also successfully persuaded the Bedouin Ghatafan tribe to join their side in the war in exchange for half their produce. However, the lack of central authority at Khaybar prevented any further defensive preparations, and quarrels between different families left the Jews disorganized. The Banu Fazara, related to the Ghatafan, also offered their assistance to Khaybar, after their unsuccessful negotiations with the Muslims.

Hazrat Ali slays Marhab.
Before the battle, the people of Khaybar no doubt knew of the war. The Muslims set out for Khaybar in May 628, Muharram 7 AH. According to different sources, the strength of his army varied from 1,400 to 1,800 men and between 100 and 200 horses. Some Muslim women (including Umm Salama) also joined the army, in order to take care of the wounded. Compared to the Khaybarian fighting strength of 10,000, the Muslim contingent was small, but this gave Muslims advantages. It allowed Muslims to swiftly and quietly march to Khaybar, catching the city by surprise. It also made Khaybar over-confident in themselves. As a result, the Jews failed to mount a centrally organized defense, leaving each family to defend its own fortified redoubt. Knowing the outcome of Muhammad's battles with other Jewish tribes, the Jews of Khaybar put up fierce resistance, and Muslims were forced to take fortresses one by one. During the battle, the Muslims were able to prevent Khaybar's Ghatafan allies (consisting of 4,000 men) from providing them with reinforcements. One reason given is that the Muslims were able to buy off the the Bedouin allies of the Jews. Watt, however, also suggests that rumors of a Muslim attack on Ghatafan strongholds might also have played a role. The Jews, after a rather bloody skirmish in front of one of the fortresses, avoided combat in the open country. Most of the fighting consisted of shooting arrows at a great distance. On at least one occasion the Muslims were able to storm the fortresses. There were also some single combats, the most notorious one being between Ali and Marhab, a famed Arab warrior.
The besieged Jews managed to organize, under the cover of darkness, a transfer of people and treasures from one fortress to another as needed to make their resistance more effective. Neither the Jews nor the Muslims were prepared for an extended siege, and both suffered from a lack of provisions. The Jews, initially overconfident in their strength, failed to prepare their water supplies even for a short siege. After the forts at an-Natat and those at ash-Shiqq were captured, there was little resistance. The Jews speedily met with Muhammad to discuss the terms of surrender.The people of al-Waṭī and al-Sulālim surrendered to the Muslims on the condition that they be "treated leniently" and the Muslims refrain from shedding their blood. Muhammad agreed to these conditions and did not take any of the property of these two forts.
Muhammad met with Ibn Abi Al-Huqaiq, al-Katibah and al-Watih to discuss the terms of surrender. As part of the agreement, the Jews of Khaybar were to evacuate the area, and surrender their wealth. The Muslims, would cease warfare, and not hurt any of the Jews. After the agreement some Jews approached Muhammad, with a request to continue to cultivate their fine orchards, and remain in the oasis. In return, they would give one-half of their produce to the Muslims. Muhammad accepted the proposal. He also ordered the restitution to the Jews of their holy scriptures.
According to Ibn Hisham's version of the pact with Khaybar, it was concluded on the condition that the Muslims "may expel you [Jews of Khaybar] if and when we wish to expel you." Norman Stillman believes that this is probably a later interpolation intended to justify the expulsion of Jews in 642.[29] The agreement with the Jews of Khaybar served as an important precedent for Islamic Law in determining the status of dhimmis, (non-Muslims under Muslim rule). After hearing about this battle, the people of Fadak, allied with Khaybar during the battle, sent Muḥayyisa b. Masūd to Muhammad. Fadak offered to be "treated leniently" in return for surrender. A treaty similar to that of Khaybar was drawn with Fadak as well. Among the Jewish women there was one who was chosen by Muhammad as wife. It was Safiyya bint Huyayy, daughter of the killed Banu Nadir chief Huyayy ibn Akhtab and widow of Kinana ibn al-Rabi, the treasurer of Banu Nadir. According to Ibn Ishaq, when Muhammad asked him to locate the tribe's treasure, al-Rabi denied knowing where it was. A Jew told Muhammad that he had seen Al-Rabi near a certain ruin every morning. When the ruin was excavated, it was found to contain some of the treasure. Muhammad ordered Al-Zubayr to torture al-Rabi until he revealed the location of the rest, then handed him to Muhammad ibn Maslamah, whose brother had died in the battle, to be beheaded.
Muslim biographers of Muhammad tell a story that a Jewish woman of the Banu Nadir tribe attempted to poison Muhammad to avenge her slain relatives. She poisoned a piece of lamb that she cooked for Muhammad and his companion, putting especially much poison into the shoulder — Muhammad's favorite part of lamb. The attempt on Muhammad's life failed because he reportedly spat out the meat, feeling that it was poisoned, while his companion ate the meat and died. Muhammad's companions reported that, on his deathbed, Muhammad said that his illness was the result of that poisoning. The victory in Khaybar greatly raised the status of Muhammad among his followers and, local Bedouin tribes, who, seeing his power, swore allegiance to Muhammad and converted to Islam. The captured booty and weapons strengthened his army, and he captured Mecca just 18 months after Khaybar.
The traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad report that in one of the fortresses, first Abu Bakr, then Umar, took up the standard in the hope of breaking down their resistance, by putting themselves at the head of the attacks, but both failed. According to this tradition, Muhammad then called to his standard-bearer Ali, who killed a Jewish chieftain with a sword-stroke, which split in two the helmet, the head and the body of the victim. Having lost his shield, Ali is said to have lifted both of the doors of the fortress from its hinges, climbed into the moat and held them up to make a bridge whereby the attackers gained access to the redoubt. The door was so heavy that forty men were required to put it back in place. This story is one basis for the Muslim view, especially in Shi'a Islam, of Ali as the prototype of heroes.
One single narration regarding temporary marriage (Arabic: Nikah Mut'ah) that most, but not all Sunnis regard as authentic claim that Nikah Mut'ah was forbidden by Muhammad at this moment. Shi'a view that narration as fabricated. On one occasion, Muslim soldiers killed and cooked a score of donkeys, which had escaped from a farm. The incident led Muhammad to forbid to Muslims the meat of horses, mules, and donkeys, unless consumption was forced by necessity. Muhammad ordered the felling of 400 palms around one fortress to force its defenders to capitulate. Finally, the Jews surrendered when after a month and a half of the siege, all but two fortresses were captured by the Muslims.

THE JEWS CITY IN ARABIA : Khaybar (1)

Khaybar is the name of an oasis some 95 miles to the north of Medina (ancient Yathrib), Saudi Arabia. It was inhabited by Jews before the rise of Islam, and was conquered by Mohammad in 628 A.D.In the 7th century, Khaybar was inhabited by the Jews, who pioneered the cultivation of the oasis and made their living growing date palm trees, as well as through commerce and craftsmanship, accumulating considerable wealth. Some objects found by the Muslims when they entered Khaybar — a siege-engine, 20 bales of Yemenite cloth, and 500 cloaks — point out to an intense trade carried out by the Jews. While in the past some scholars attempted to explain the presence of a siege-engine, suggesting that it was used for settling quarrels among the families of the community, nowadays the common opinion among academics is that it was stored in a depôt for future sale, in the same way that swords, lances, shields, and other weaponry had been sold by the Jews to Arabs. Equally, the cloth and the cloaks must have been intended for sale, as it is not conceivable that such a quantity of luxury goods was kept for the exclusive use of the Jews. The oasis was divided into three regions: al-Natat, al-Shikk, and al-Katiba, probably separated by natural diversions, such as the desert, lava drifts, and swamps. Each of these regions contained several fortresses or redoubts containing homes, storehouses and stables. Each fortress was occupied by a separate family and surrounded by cultivated fields and palm-groves. In order to improve their defensive capabilities, the fortresses were raised up on hills or basalt rocks.
Jews continued to live in the oasis for several more years afterwards until they were finally expelled by caliph Umar. The imposition of tribute upon the conquered Jews of the Khaybar Fortress served as a precedent for provisions in Islamic law requiring the exaction of tribute known as jizya from dhimmis, i.e. non-Muslims under Muslim rule, and confiscation of land belonging to non-Muslims into the collective property of the Muslim community.
For many centuries, the oasis at Khaybar was an important caravan stopping place. The center developed around a series of ancient dams that were built to hold back run-off water from the rain. Around the water catchements date palms grew, and soon Khaybar became an important date producing center. The Jews were exiled from Khaybar in reign of caliph Umar (634-644) for betrayal during the battle of Khaybar. During his caliphate, the Muslims conquered vast territories in the Middle East, bringing to the Arabia large numbers of workers, and the Jewish labor force was no longer necessary. The Jews of Khaybar settled in many areas throughout the Middle East, and they maintained a distinctive identity until the 12th century. In later times, the Jews of Khaybar became popular figures in Arabic folklore. One of the stories went that on the road to Mecca many Jewish tent-dwellers lived in the desert in the neighborhood of many Arabs who robbed everybody passing by. The Jews and the Arabs then had an equal share in the booty. Legends such as this one persisted well into the modern times.
In modern times, Khaybar has inspired an Arabic chant commonly used in demonstrations against Israel. The chant essentially goes, Khaybar Khaybar ya Yahud, jaysh Muhammad sawfa ya‘ud, and the translation is "Khaybar, Khaybar oh Jews, the army of Muhammad will return". Another version is Khaybar, Khaybar ya Sahyun, Hizbullah qadimun "Khaybar, Khaybar you Zionists, Hizbullah is coming".
The Battle of Khaybar was fought in the year 629 between Muhammad and his followers against the Jews living in the oasis of Khaybar, located 150 kilometers (95 miles) from Medina in the north-western part of the Arabian peninsula, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. The Mulims attacked Jews who, having reached agreement with the Muslims and then broken their word, had barricaded themselves in a fort. Contemporary scholars such as Norman Stillman and Laura Veccia Vaglieri believe that one reason for Muhammad's decision to attack Khaybar in order to raise his prestige among his followers, as well as to capture booty to sustain subsequent conquests.[4][5] Furthermore, William Montgomery Watt notes the presence of the Banu Nadir in Khaybar, who were inciting hostilities along with neighboring Arab tribes against Muhammad. They surrendered on condition of paying tribute to Muhammad and giving up all their land to Muslims. According to Stillman, this agreement did not cover the Banu Nadir tribe, which had sought refuge in Khaybar after their expulsion from Medina, and the Muslims beheaded all the men of Banu Nadir, taking the surviving women and children as slaves, and sparing only the lives of the Khaybar Jews.[6] Jews continued to live in the oasis for several more years until they were finally expelled by caliph Umar. The imposition of tribute upon the conquered Jews served as a precedent for provisions in the Islamic law requiring the exaction of tribute known as jizya from non-Muslims under Muslim rule, and confiscation of land belonging to non-Muslims into the collective property of the Muslim community.
In the 7th century, Khaybar was inhabited by the Jews. The inhabitants had stored in a redoubt at Khaybar a siege-engine, swords, lances, shields and other weaponry. While in the past some scholars attempted to explain the presence of the weapons, suggesting that they were used for settling quarrels among the families of the community, nowadays the common opinion among academics is that it was stored in a depôt for future sale.
The oasis was divided into three regions: al-Natat, al-Shikk, and al-Katiba, probably separated by natural diversions, such as the desert, lava drifts, and swamps. Each of these regions contained several fortresses or redoubts containing homes, storehouses and stables. Each fortress was occupied by a separate family and surrounded by cultivated fields and palm-groves. In order to improve their defensive capabilities, the fortresses were raised up on hills or basalt rocks.[4]
In 625, after the defeat in the Battle of Uhud at the hands of the Meccan army, Muhammad besieged and expelled the Jewish tribe of Banu Nadir from Medina. Many of the Banu Nadir found refuge in Khaybar. They understood that Muhammad might attack them again along with the other Jews living in Khaybar. In 627, the Nadir chief Huyayy ibn Akhtab together with his son joined the Meccans and Bedouins besieging Medina during the Battle of the Trench. Although the Banu Qurayza provided the instruments to dig the trench, the Muslims soon afterward besieged the Banu Qurayza. Upon surrender, all the men of the Banu Qurayza were killed, while their women and children were enslaved.
Huyayy ibn Akhtab and his son who unsuccessfully attempted to recruit them to join the fight were also killed at that time.[citation needed] After the death of Huyayy, Abu al-Rafi ibn Abi al-Huqayq took charge of the Banu Nadir at Khaybar. Al-Huqayq soon approached neighbouring tribes to raise an army against Muhammad. After learning this, the Muslims, aided by an Arab with a Jewish dialect, assassinated him.
Al-Huqayq was succeeded by Usayr ibn Zarim. It has been recorded by one source [13] that Usayr also approached the Ghatafan and rumors spread that he intended to attack the "capital of Muhammad". The latter sent Abdullah bin Rawaha with a number of his companions, among whom were Abdullah bin Unays, an ally of Banu Salima, a clan hostile to the Jews. When they came to him they spoke to him and treated him saying that if he would come to Muhammad he would give him an appointment and honour him. They kept on at him until he went with them with a number of Jews. Abdullah bin Unays mounted him on his beast until when he was in al-Qarqara, about six miles from Khaybar, Usayr changed his mind about going with them. Abdullah perceived his intention as he was preparing to draw his sword so he rushed at him and struck him with his sword cutting off his leg. Usayr hit him with a stick of shauhat wood which he had in his hand and wounded his head. All Muhammad's emissaries fell upon the thirty Jewish companions and killed them except one man who escaped on his feet. [14] Abdullah bin Unays is the assassin who volunteered and got permission to kill Banu Nadir's Sallam ibn Abu al-Huqayq at a previous night mission in Khaybar.