If remarks made by a senior Hamas leader the other day are any indication, then Israel?s planned withdrawal from Gaza is already providing terror groups in the region with a great deal of encouragement to continue with their lethal and inhumane struggle against the Jewish state.



Speaking to the London-based al-Hayat newspaper, Hamas chieftain Khaled Mashaal could barely conceal his glee over the prospect of an Israeli retreat. The withdrawal, Mashaal said, is ?the beginning of the end for Israel?....



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Michael Freund served as Deputy Director of Communications & Policy Planning in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office under former premier Binyamin Netanyahu. He is Founder and Chairman of Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org), which reaches out and assists "lost Jews" seeking to return to the Jewish people.