Rare snowstorm hits the Middle East By IAN DEITCH, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 30, 11:25 AM ET
JERUSALEM - A rare snowstorm swept the Middle East on Wednesday, blanketing parts of the Holy Land in white, shutting schools and sending excited children into the streets for snowball fights. The weather in Jerusalem topped local newscasts, eclipsing a government report on Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon.Men in long Arab robes pelted each other with snowballs in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and the West Bank city of Ramallah, seat of the Palestinian government, came to a standstill.I'm originally from Gaza where snow never falls, said Bothaina Smairi, 28, who was out in Ramallah taking photographs. The white snow is covering the old world and I feel like I am in a new world where everything is white, clean, and beautiful.Jerusalem's Old City was coated in white. A few ultra-Orthodox Jews, wearing plastic bags over their hats to keep them dry, prayed at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site.Snow falls in Jerusalem once or twice each winter, but temperatures rarely drop low enough for it to stick. The Israeli weather service said up to 8 inches of snow fell in the city.By late morning, the snow changed to rain, turning the city into a slushy mess. But forecasters said temperatures were expected to drop, and the snow would continue through Thursday morning.
Heavy snow also was reported in the Golan Heights and the northern Israeli town of Safed, and throughout the West Bank.In Ramallah, residents were surprised to see snow when they awoke. For some, it was their first time.I am just astonished with the snow. When I saw the snow this morning, I felt happy, my heart was laughing, said Mary Zabaro, 17.In Amman, where a foot of snow fell, children used inflatable tubes as sleds. Some roads were temporarily closed.Snow covered most mountain villages and blocked roads in Lebanon. The storm disrupted power supplies in most Lebanese towns and villages, exacerbating existing power cuts. Parts of the Beirut-Damascus highway were closed.Temperatures in Syria dipped below freezing and snow blanketed the hills overlooking the capital, Damascus.
Israel PM mostly unscathed by war report By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer JAN 30,08
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert emerged relatively unscathed from the final report Wednesday on his handling of Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon, even though the inquiry criticized both the government and the army for serious failings and flaws.The report stopped short of blaming Olmert personally for what many Israelis saw as a stunning debacle that emboldened the Jewish state's enemies. A harsher indictment could have threatened Olmert's rule and his stated goal of signing a peace treaty with the Palestinians within a year.The head of a five-member investigative panel, retired judge Eliyahu Winograd, described a U.N.-brokered cease-fire as an achievement for Israel. And he said Olmert, in ordering a last-minute ground offensive, acted out of a strong and sincere perception of what the prime minister thought was Israel's interest.
The final report stood in sharp contrast to a strongly worded interim report last April, which criticized Olmert personally for severe failure in hastily going to war.The war erupted on July 12, 2006, when Hezbollah guerrillas crossed into Israel, killed three Israeli soldiers and captured two others.Olmert entered the conflict with enormous support from the Israeli public, but his popularity plunged after the campaign failed to achieve his declared goals — winning the soldiers' release and crushing Hezbollah. The two soldiers have still not been heard from.
The 629-page report was delivered to Olmert an hour before it was made public at a news conference, and the prime minister's office was breathing a sigh of relief, Olmert's spokesman, Jacob Galanty, was quoted as saying.In a statement, Olmert's office said he had begun reading the report and would study its conclusions.The prime minister relates to the final report of the Winograd commission ... with full seriousness, the statement said.Hussein Haj Hassan, a Hezbollah member of Lebanon's parliament, told The Associated Press that the report underlined Hezbollah's victory. The Winograd report is an acknowledgment of Israel's responsibility for the war and its defeat, he said.Despite calls for his resignation from political opponents, the conventional wisdom was that Olmert would weather the inquiry's findings — a comfort to those who are relying on him to pursue a U.S.-sponsored peace push with the Palestinians after seven years of bloodshed.I think that Olmert has a good chance to survive the report, but that still can change, said Tamir Sheafer, professor of politics at Jerusalem's Hebrew University. Olmert will not resign, that's for sure.The commission did not pull punches in describing the failures of Olmert's government during the 34-day conflict that, according to official figures from both sides, killed between 1,035 and 1,191 Lebanese civilians and combatants, in addition to 119 Israeli soldiers and 40 civilians.Winograd told a packed news conference in Jerusalem that Israel did not win the war and the army did not provide an effective response to a sustained, deadly barrage of rocket fire from Hezbollah guerrillas.
Despite a heavy Israeli aerial campaign, the guerrilla group rained nearly 4,000 rockets on northern Israel. Israeli reservists returning from the battlefield complained of poor training and a lack of ammunition and key supplies.The overall image of the war was a result of a mixture of flawed conduct of the political and military leadership ... of flawed performance by the military, especially the ground forces, and of deficient Israeli preparedness, the 81-year-old Winograd said. We found serious failings and flaws in the lack of strategic thinking and planning.
Winograd said the committee had decided not to assign personal blame for the war's shortcomings, preferring to search for ways to prevent similar mistakes in the future. It should be stressed that the fact we refrained from imposing personal responsibility does not imply that no such responsibility exists, he said.A large section of the report was devoted to the last-minute offensive that stirred controversy because it was ordered just as the U.N. truce was about to take effect. More than 30 Israeli soldiers were killed in that fighting. Winograd said the 11th-hour offensive failed in its mission, did not improve Israel's position and that the army was not prepared for it. However, he said the operation's goals were legitimate. There was no failure in that decision in itself, despite its limited achievements and its painful costs. Winograd said both Olmert and his then-defense minister, Amir Peretz, acted in what they thought at the time was Israel's interest.Since most of the army's wartime commanders, including Peretz and the chief of staff at the time, have resigned, the big mystery Wednesday was how Olmert would fare. The prime minister was able to beat back calls for his resignation after the interim report was released. This time, Labor Party leader Ehud Barak, the former prime minister who now serves as defense minister, is under pressure to deliver on his promise to push for Olmert's resignation or advance elections.
If Barak pulls Labor's 19-member faction out of the coalition, Olmert will no longer have a parliamentary majority and could be forced to call an election. His coalition now controls 67 of parliament's 120 seats. Polls show Olmert trailing far behind Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the hawkish Likud Party. A Netanyahu victory would bode poorly for President Bush's goal of brokering a Mideast peace accord before leaving office next January. Opposition lawmakers, from dovish supporters of peace talks to hard-line critics, insisted Olmert must go. The report paints a very dark picture, said Yossi Beilin, a dovish lawmaker. This should not have happened and the man who is responsible cannot continue in his job.
Silvan Shalom, a Likud leader, called the report an indictment of the gravest sort and urged Olmert to announce new elections, to go to the people and let the people say what they think.Associated Press writers Matti Friedman, Aron Heller, Rory Kress and Josef Federman contributed to this report.
Gaza deal elusive as Palestinian rivals toughen stand by Lamia Radi JAN 30,08
CAIRO (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Hamas hardened their positions on Wednesday over ways to control the Egypt-Gaza border as Cairo scrambled for a deal between the rivals. After meeting President Hosni Mubarak, Abbas reiterated his rejection of talks with Hamas and said the Islamist group's breach of the border last week amounted to an invasion.Hamas has to go back on its coup d'etat and ... accept the legitimacy (of the Palestinian Authority), and then hearts and minds would be open for dialogue, he said, referring to Hamas's ouster of the PA from Gaza last June.
We talked about what happened in Gaza, the Israeli blockade and what happened after that concerning the invasion of the Egyptian borders, Abbas told reporters.A Hamas delegation led by political supremo Khaled Meshaal was expected in Cairo for talks on Thursday with Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, a Hamas spokesman there told AFP.On Wednesday, the movement accused Abbas of neglecting Gazans.The statements of president Mahmud Abbas in Cairo ... confirm his intention that the talks in Cairo should fail, spokesman Fawzi Barhum said in a statement from Gaza.He is challenging Palestinian public opinion and turning his back on the pain and suffering of the people of the Gaza Strip.Abbas, supported by the West and Israel, met Mubarak before leaving for Amman, as security forces in the divided border town of Rafah moved to secure the frontier.Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have swarmed across the border since border barricades were blown up on January 22 after Israel imposed a punishing blockade.Hamas militants guarded the Palestinian side of the border as Egyptian forces barred traffic at all but two crossing points.A limited number of trucks headed to Rafah to replenish dwindling supplies has been allowed to reach the border town, after being barred from entering Sinai for three days, a security source told AFP.We have received some of the medication we ordered, one pharmacist in the Egyptian town of Rafah told AFP.Egyptian security also intensified its search of Palestinians who had travelled further than Rafah.
The trouble is that now the police are trying to track us down. We no longer have the right to go anywhere but Rafah, but there's nothing left there, said Hani Hamdan in the coastal town of Al-Arish, ducking the manhunt.Hamas has rejected any international presence on crossings between Egypt and Gaza.Any attempts to supplant the vision of Hamas, especially regarding the operation of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, will yield nothing but failure, spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.Under a 2005 deal, the crossing was to be supervised by European Union monitors with cameras to allow Israel to see those passing through.
Mubarak was not expected to meet the Hamas representatives given their historic links to Egypt's own powerful Islamist opposition, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the West's rejection of Hamas as a peace partner. In the past, the Egyptian president, a key US ally, has criticised Hamas's takeover of Gaza as illegitimate. The visit to Cairo will be first by a Hamas delegation since June. The diplomatic push in Cairo follows the UN Security Council's failure on Tuesday to adopt a compromise statement on the Gaza breakout amid disagreements between Arab states and Israel's key ally the United States. An Egyptian security force of around 20,000 has been deployed in the north of the Sinai peninsula since Saturday, a security source told AFP, many of them picking up Palestinians and returning them to the border. Egypt's official Al-Ahram newspaper quoted security sources as saying a deadline for Palestinians to return to Gaza had been set for the start of next week, and that Gazans remaining in Egypt would be punished. The White House has described Israel's blockade of Gaza -- where most people rely on outside aid -- as an act of justifiable self-defence in the face of rocket attacks from the territory into Israel. Meanwhile, Israel's Supreme Court backed the state's decision to cut fuel supplies to Gaza, rejecting an appeal by rights groups, who voiced fears of a humanitarian crisis.
Obama speaks to Jewish voters on Israel By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Tue Jan 29, 11:13 AM ET
JERUSALEM - Barack Obama wooed Jewish voters and skeptical Israelis in interviews published Tuesday, voicing support for key Israeli demands in peace talks with the Palestinians. Winning over Israel could help the Democratic presidential candidate gain favor with American Jews, who make up large voting blocs in key states like New York and Florida.But he faces a difficult task. Israeli officials say privately they would prefer Obama's main rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton, due to her experience and the backing her husband, Bill Clinton, gave Israel during his two terms as president in the 1990s. In contrast, Obama is relatively unknown here.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office declined comment.
In a conference call with Israeli and Jewish reporters from Florida on Monday, Obama sought to put such concerns to rest, backing Israeli positions on key issues in its dispute with the Palestinians. He also took aim at a virulent smear campaign on the Internet that has depicted him as an observant Muslim.The interview was published in two Israeli dailies, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz.Obama said he opposes the literal return of Palestinian refugees to homes they fled in Israel. This position is similar to Israel's stance in the talks, which were renewed after a U.S.-hosted peace conference in November.Palestinians insist that the refugees from fighting in 1948 and their descendants — who by U.N. estimates now number more than 4 million — be allowed to return to their original homes. Israel fears such a flood of Palestinians into its borders would endanger its existence as a Jewish state. Instead, it says refugees should be resettled in a future Palestinian state.
The outlines of any agreement would involve ensuring that Israel remains a Jewish state, Obama said, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Last spring, Obama said while he is committed to protecting Israel's security, he would also reach out to Arab leaders who are committed to recognizing Israel and renouncing violence.President Bush hopes to get the sides to agree, by the end of 2008, on a final deal that includes the formation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.In the interview, Obama insisted that Palestinians set up a security force that can ensure militants cannot attack Israel, The Jerusalem Post and Haaretz reported. A future Palestinian state must be able to provide the security apparatus that would prevent constant attacks against Israel from taking place, Obama said, according to The Jerusalem Post.Obama said he opposes talks with the Islamic militant Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip from Palestinian moderates in June, until it recognizes Israel's right to exist, Haaretz said.In addition to their lack of familiarity with Obama, Israeli officials could be concerned by Obama's commitment to offer Iran carrots and sticks on its efforts to produce nuclear weapons. Obama told the reporters that he believed there should be diplomatic contacts between low-level U.S. and Iranian officials, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Israel has strongly backed the Bush administration's efforts to impose tighter sanctions on Iran to persuade it to drop its nuclear program. Israel fears Iran, whose president has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction, is developing nuclear arms. Iran insists its program is for energy-producing purposes only.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
BUSH ON MIDEAST STATE OF THE UNION
BUSH STATE OF THE UNION ON MIDEAST JAN 28,08
In the coming year, we will work with Iraqi leaders as they build on the progress they are making toward political reconciliation. At the local level, Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds are beginning to come together to reclaim their communities and rebuild their lives. Progress in the provinces must be matched by progress in Baghdad. And we are seeing some encouraging signs. The national government is sharing oil revenues with the provinces. The parliament recently passed both a pension law and de-Ba'athification reform. Now they are debating a provincial powers law. The Iraqis still have a distance to travel. But after decades of dictatorship and the pain of sectarian violence, reconciliation is taking place — and the Iraqi people are taking control of their future.
The mission in Iraq has been difficult and trying for our Nation. But it is in the vital interest of the United States that we succeed. A free Iraq will deny al Qaida a safe haven. A free Iraq will show millions across the Middle East that a future of liberty is possible. And a free Iraq will be a friend of America, a partner in fighting terror, and a source of stability in a dangerous part of the world.
By contrast, a failed Iraq would embolden extremists, strengthen Iran, and give terrorists a base from which to launch new attacks on our friends, our allies, and our homeland. The enemy has made its intentions clear. At a time when the momentum seemed to favor them, al Qaida's top commander in Iraq declared that they will not rest until they have attacked us here in Washington. My fellow Americans: We will not rest either. We will not rest until this enemy has been defeated. We must do the difficult work today, so that years from now people will look back and say that this generation rose to the moment, prevailed in a tough fight, and left behind a more hopeful region and a safer America.
We are also standing against the forces of extremism in the Holy Land, where we have new cause for hope. Palestinians have elected a president who recognizes that confronting terror is essential to achieving a state where his people can live in dignity and at peace with Israel. Israelis have leaders who recognize that a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state will be a source of lasting security. This month in Ramallah and Jerusalem, I assured leaders from both sides that America will do, and I will do, everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year. The time has come for a Holy Land where a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine live side-by-side in peace.
In the coming year, we will work with Iraqi leaders as they build on the progress they are making toward political reconciliation. At the local level, Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds are beginning to come together to reclaim their communities and rebuild their lives. Progress in the provinces must be matched by progress in Baghdad. And we are seeing some encouraging signs. The national government is sharing oil revenues with the provinces. The parliament recently passed both a pension law and de-Ba'athification reform. Now they are debating a provincial powers law. The Iraqis still have a distance to travel. But after decades of dictatorship and the pain of sectarian violence, reconciliation is taking place — and the Iraqi people are taking control of their future.
The mission in Iraq has been difficult and trying for our Nation. But it is in the vital interest of the United States that we succeed. A free Iraq will deny al Qaida a safe haven. A free Iraq will show millions across the Middle East that a future of liberty is possible. And a free Iraq will be a friend of America, a partner in fighting terror, and a source of stability in a dangerous part of the world.
By contrast, a failed Iraq would embolden extremists, strengthen Iran, and give terrorists a base from which to launch new attacks on our friends, our allies, and our homeland. The enemy has made its intentions clear. At a time when the momentum seemed to favor them, al Qaida's top commander in Iraq declared that they will not rest until they have attacked us here in Washington. My fellow Americans: We will not rest either. We will not rest until this enemy has been defeated. We must do the difficult work today, so that years from now people will look back and say that this generation rose to the moment, prevailed in a tough fight, and left behind a more hopeful region and a safer America.
We are also standing against the forces of extremism in the Holy Land, where we have new cause for hope. Palestinians have elected a president who recognizes that confronting terror is essential to achieving a state where his people can live in dignity and at peace with Israel. Israelis have leaders who recognize that a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state will be a source of lasting security. This month in Ramallah and Jerusalem, I assured leaders from both sides that America will do, and I will do, everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year. The time has come for a Holy Land where a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine live side-by-side in peace.
ABBAS GETS EU, ARAB BACKING
Abbas gets European, Arab backing in Gaza showdown By Nidal al-Mughrabi JAN 28,08
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won European and Arab backing on Monday for taking control of Gaza's breached border with Egypt, intensifying his power struggle with the Hamas Islamists who rule the enclave. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has largely been closed since June after Hamas seized control of the territory and the European Union pulled its monitors out of the Gaza Strip. The EU said on Monday it would consider returning them to the crossing.Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit endorsed Abbas's proposal to deploy his own, Western-trained forces at the crossing along with the EU monitors, though the presence of neither force was imminent, given Hamas's command on the ground.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt after Hamas militants blew up the border wall to allow the territory's 1.5 million people to stock up on food in short supply due to a blockade, which Israel said was tightened in response to cross border rocket attacks.Hamas fighters cooperated with Egyptian forces on Monday to patch up the frontier barrier.
Gaza's border crossings have become the main battleground in a larger factional power struggle pitting Hamas against Abbas, whose authority has been limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, home to 2.5 million Palestinians.Of course they should give the border to Abbas. But where is he? asked 28-year-old school teacher Ahmed Zaqtan as he returned to Gaza from the Egyptian side on Monday.
Before Hamas's takeover, EU monitors had been posted at Rafah under a deal with Egypt and Israel in 2005 that aimed to allay the Jewish state's concerns about arms and fighters coming into Gaza when it pulled out its own troops and settlers.In a statement on Monday, EU foreign ministers said the bloc was ready to consider resuming its monitoring mission in Rafah under that deal -- provided Abbas, Egypt and Israel all approve.At Rafah, traffic was back down to a trickle, partly due to Egypt's efforts to stem the flow of goods to the border area.Egyptian and Hamas forces used concrete and fencing to close two gaps. Two other breaches in the frontier remain open, an entry and an exit, under joint Hamas and Egyptian guard.
CAIRO TALKS
A Hamas source said those openings could be closed on Wednesday provided talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials prove positive for Hamas by giving it a say on the border in future.Hamas has rejected Abbas's proposal to run the border. Rafah is an Egyptian-Palestinian crossing, official Sami Abu Zuhri said. It must be reopened under a new arrangement.Salam Fayyad, prime minister of Abbas's West Bank-based government, countered that there was no need for new arrangements and cautioned Hamas against interfering in a way that could obstruct the reopening of the border crossings.
Both Hamas leaders and Abbas are expected in Cairo on Wednesday. Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, does not want to be seen as aiding the Israeli blockade. However, it also fears the spread of Islamist influence and the effects of hosting so many Palestinians without identity papers.Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak put the onus on Egypt to close its border, adding: The crossings on our side will remain closed except for the transfer of humanitarian items.European diplomats said the EU, which like Israel shuns Hamas as a terrorist organization, would only send monitors back to the border crossing at Rafah under the auspices of Abbas's Palestinian Authority, and provided there would be assurances they would not be at risk from Hamas. It is unclear how EU security concerns can be addressed. Israel's Foreign Ministry held preliminary talks over the weekend with members of the EU mission. While Israeli officials were considering Abbas's proposal for taking over the crossings, including Rafah, they doubted his forces were strong enough. (Additional reporting by Adam Entous and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Wafa Amr in Ramallah, Will Rasmussen in Rafah, Egypt and Aziz El-Kaissouni in Cairo; Writing by Adam Entous; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Sami Aboudi)
US roadmap monitor meets Israeli FM Mon Jan 28, 6:38 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Monday met a former US general appointed by US President George W. Bush to monitor compliance with the Middle East peace blueprint known as the roadmap. During the talks with Lieutenant General William Fraser, Livni reiterated Israel's position that the Palestinians must crack down on militants in order to implement any peace deal, her ministry said in a statement.The implementation of the roadmap is crucial for the success of the process... because the road to the creation of a Palestinian state runs through guaranteeing Israel's security, Livni was quoted as telling Fraser.Bush earlier this month appointed Fraser to monitor the implementation of the first stage of the 2003 internationally-drafted blueprint, which calls for Palestinians to end violence and for Israelis to freeze settlement construction in occupied Palestinian land.
Israel and the Palestinians reaffirmed their commitment to the roadmap at a US-hosted conference last November where the two sides revived Middle East peace talks after a seven-year hiatus.Livni briefed Fraser on the current security situation and stressed that the implementation of the roadmap also concerns the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip from where militants regularly fire rockets against Israel, the statement said.We are sincere in our desire to reach an agreement and there are certain security parametres we cannot compromise. The world cannot afford a new terror state and the implementation of the roadmap is crucial in preventing it, Livni said.Fraser was also set to meet Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak before holding talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Tuesday.Although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ordered a freeze of all West Bank settlement expansion, Israel continues construction in occupied east Jerusalem and has yet to dismantle over 100 wildcat outposts in Palestinian areas.
Blair wants Mideast peace in 2008 By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Sun Jan 27, 8:08 PM ET
DAVOS, Switzerland - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the final session of the World Economic Forum on Sunday that he wants an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and a pact on climate change by the end of 2008. Sharing the same level of ambition, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel called for China to open its doors to the Dalai Lama and for an end to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.The final session of this year's forum seemed to shrug off any pessimism about what can be achieved in the coming months despite fears that the U.S. economic downturn could lead to a global recession.The mood was moderately optimistic because we have many, many opportunities, said Klaus Schwab, the forum's founder. But if we do not address the challenges, one day even the greatest opportunities will not be enough to guarantee our continuation as humankind if you look at climate change, terrorism, poverty.The five-day political and economic brainstorming session that brought nearly 2,500 of the world's movers and shakers to this Swiss ski resort was short on glitz this year — with the exception of rock star Bono and Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, who are both also anti-poverty campaigners.Politically, there was much talk about whether President Bush's goal of a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians by the end of the year will be reached.
I would like to see an agreement that gives us the prospect of a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine because I do think that would be the greatest signal of reconciliation with which the 21st century could start, said Blair, who is now the chief envoy for the key international Mideast mediators known as the Quartet.Wiesel said he also wanted to see Mideast peace this year, and to alleviate the suffering in Darfur which has become the capital of human suffering in the world today.I'd like China to open its doors to the Dalai Lama so I could accompany him to go to Tibet. That would be a great, great victory, Wiesel said, as the audience burst into applause.Blair said he'd also like to see us get the climate change deal or framework of it.PepsiCo Inc. chief Indra Nooyi said she'd also like to see a climate policy and efforts to bring down rising food prices.We've taken years to get people out of poverty, give them a couple of meals a day when they were only eating one meal a day or less, she said. We run the risk of slipping back to poverty if food prices are escalating much too fast.
Many participants touched on another major theme at Davos this year: how to stem terrorism.Afghanistan's president warned that the world could suffer terribly from the wildfire of terrorism engulfing his region. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf pledged to carry on the fight against terrorism and extremism.Wiesel said the greatest threat to humanity today is the globalization of fear because of terrorism — especially suicide bombings and fanaticism.
Somehow the future today is much more dangerous than it used to be because of people we don't know who have a cult of death ... and practice the cult of death, he said.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended Bush's push for democracy in the Middle East and elsewhere, and tried to calm economic fears, stressing that the U.S. economy is resilient and would remain an engine of growth.
Whether the U.S. economy is heading toward recession — or just slowing down — and the likely impact on the rest of the world was the subject of intense discussion. There was much speculation about whether Asia's two giants, China and India, would be able to absorb some of the shock. I am optimistic about the future, Wang Jianzhou, chairman and CEO of China Mobile Communications Corp., told Sunday's closing session. If there is the recession in the world, generally speaking it will have an impact on China, but I don't think it will be very big.There would be a reduction in Chinese exports, but we still have very, very strong domestic consumption, Wang said.
Gazan exodus slows as Egypt tries to seal border by Ines Bel Aiba JAN 28,08
RAFAH, Egypt (AFP) - The number of Palestinians crossing into Egypt from the Gaza Strip slowed on Monday as security forces tried to seal the border blown up by militants six days ago, an AFP correspondent reported. Egyptian security forces erected barbed wire along one crossing in the divided border town of Rafah as Hamas militants stood nearby, although hundreds of Palestinians managed to cross through other breaches, mainly on foot.Several hundred thousand Palestinians have swarmed into Egypt since militants blew up the Rafah barricades on Tuesday night after a punishing Israeli lockdown of the Hamas-run territory cut vital fuel and aid supplies.Shops in Rafah are running out of stocks after Egypt on Sunday began preventing trucks coming from Cairo to border towns, where the authorities have imposed a security cordon to prevent Palestinians travelling further afield.Israel said on Sunday it was in talks with Egypt on how to seal the border with Gaza, which has been increasingly isolated since the Islamist movement Hamas violently seized control of the tiny strip in June.
Israel imposed a full blockade of the impoverished territory on January 17 but began allowing supplies of fuel and aid back in five days later amid international alarm over the situation.Israel, which imposed the blockade in response to militant rocket fire, has become increasingly concerned about unfettered access in and out of Gaza by Hamas, a group pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state.Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Sunday his country would take all the appropriate measures to control border as soon as possible.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had told Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas at a meeting on Sunday that Israel would allow vital goods to enter territory, where most of the population rely on aid.Rights groups asked Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday to order the state to restore full fuel supplies to prevent a humanitarian crisis from erupting in the territory.At the hearing, Israel promised to supply fuel to keep its sole power plant running in Gaza, which continues to suffer power cuts.The amount of fuel oil supplied to the power plant will remain at this point at 2.2 million litres per week, the state said, according to a copy of its response seen by AFP.This amount is considered the minimum required for the plant, which provides power to the main population centre of Gaza City, to remain in operation.But the rights groups dismissed the state's pledge as the latest in a series of promises that have not been kept.
LUKE 16:19-31(THE WAITING CELL FOR SINNERS)(THE LOCAL JAIL)
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
REVELATION 20:11-15(THE FINAL JUDGEMENT OF SINNERS)(THE PENITENARY)
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
THE TORMENTS THIS MURDERER IS IN, IN HELL RIGHT NOW IS HIS REWARD FOR STARTING THE MURDEROUS GROUP HE DID. THE DEMONS WILL BE ENJOYING RIPPING HIS FLESH OFF HIS BODY. HE CAN SEE HITLER AND ALL THE OTHER MURDERERS THAT CAME AGAINST ISRAEL ALSO DOWN THERE IN TORMENTS. HE CAN SEE ALL THE SO CALLED MARTYRS OF ISLAM DOWN THERE ALSO THAT WERE DECIEVED INTO THINKING THEY WOULD GO TO PARADISE FOR MURDERING IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MEANWHILE ENDING UP IN TORMENTS IN THE WAITING CELL OF HELL UNTIL JESUS LATER ON IN THE FUTURE SENDS THEM ALL TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER. THESE ARE NOT MY WORDS, THE BIBLE SAYS MURDERERS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE WILL BE SENT TO HELL (1ST),THE LOCAL JAIL, THEN AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT IN JESUS' PRESENCE, THEIR DEEDS AND MOTIVES AND SINS WILL BE REVEALED AND THEY WILL BE THROWN IN TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER, THE PENITENTARY OF HELL THE FINAL BURNING FOR ALL TIME TO COME.
Thousands bid farewell to Palestinian leader Habash JAN 28,08
AMMAN (Reuters) - Thousands attended the burial of Palestinian Marxist leader George Habash in Jordan on Monday, chanting against Israel and vowing to carry on his struggle for a Palestinian state.
Veteran supporters mingled with leading Palestinian politicians and representatives of secular and leftist Arab groups at a cemetery outside Amman to pay their respects to Habash, who died on Saturday from a heart condition.Hailed as a hero by many Palestinians but branded a terrorist by Israel, Habash's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) carried out a string of airline hijackings and kidnappings to publicize the Palestinian cause in the 1970s.No to a peaceful settlement and yes to armed struggle, supporters chanted in the Sahab cemetery east of the Jordanian capital.They waved pictures of Habash which had the slogan: He lived as a fighter and died a fighter for his people.Before his burial, a religious ceremony had been held in a Greek Orthodox church where his coffin was draped in Palestinian flag.Habash, who was in his early 80s, was born in the town of Lydda in what was then British-ruled Palestine and is now part of Israel.He was in medical school at the American University of Beirut when war broke out in 1948 over the creation of Israel, turning his wealthy Christian family and thousands of other Palestinians into refugees.
Habash founded the PFLP in the late 1960s, building the group into a force in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), second in size to Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction.He opposed peace deals with Israel and strongly believed in the right of Palestinian refugees displaced in 1948 to return to their homes.The PFLP adopted the Marxist-Leninist creed of revolutionary violence. In 1970, the PFLP destroyed three hijacked Western airliners in Jordan in front of the world's press, leading King Hussein to crack down on the guerrillas.In 1976, some PFLP members were involved in the hijacking of an Air France plane to Entebbe, Uganda, where Israeli commandos stormed the plane and rescued Israeli and Jewish hostages. The PFLP disavowed the hijacking, which experts say was carried out by Wadi Haddad, a leader of a PFLP splinter group.
Habash stepped down as PFLP leader in 2000, handing over to Abu Ali Mustafa, who was later killed by Israel.(Writing by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Keith Weir and David Cutler) ((Reuters Messaging: suleiman.al-khalidi.reuters.com@reuters.net; Amman Newsroom +9626 4623776)
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas won European and Arab backing on Monday for taking control of Gaza's breached border with Egypt, intensifying his power struggle with the Hamas Islamists who rule the enclave. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has largely been closed since June after Hamas seized control of the territory and the European Union pulled its monitors out of the Gaza Strip. The EU said on Monday it would consider returning them to the crossing.Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit endorsed Abbas's proposal to deploy his own, Western-trained forces at the crossing along with the EU monitors, though the presence of neither force was imminent, given Hamas's command on the ground.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt after Hamas militants blew up the border wall to allow the territory's 1.5 million people to stock up on food in short supply due to a blockade, which Israel said was tightened in response to cross border rocket attacks.Hamas fighters cooperated with Egyptian forces on Monday to patch up the frontier barrier.
Gaza's border crossings have become the main battleground in a larger factional power struggle pitting Hamas against Abbas, whose authority has been limited to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, home to 2.5 million Palestinians.Of course they should give the border to Abbas. But where is he? asked 28-year-old school teacher Ahmed Zaqtan as he returned to Gaza from the Egyptian side on Monday.
Before Hamas's takeover, EU monitors had been posted at Rafah under a deal with Egypt and Israel in 2005 that aimed to allay the Jewish state's concerns about arms and fighters coming into Gaza when it pulled out its own troops and settlers.In a statement on Monday, EU foreign ministers said the bloc was ready to consider resuming its monitoring mission in Rafah under that deal -- provided Abbas, Egypt and Israel all approve.At Rafah, traffic was back down to a trickle, partly due to Egypt's efforts to stem the flow of goods to the border area.Egyptian and Hamas forces used concrete and fencing to close two gaps. Two other breaches in the frontier remain open, an entry and an exit, under joint Hamas and Egyptian guard.
CAIRO TALKS
A Hamas source said those openings could be closed on Wednesday provided talks in Cairo with Egyptian officials prove positive for Hamas by giving it a say on the border in future.Hamas has rejected Abbas's proposal to run the border. Rafah is an Egyptian-Palestinian crossing, official Sami Abu Zuhri said. It must be reopened under a new arrangement.Salam Fayyad, prime minister of Abbas's West Bank-based government, countered that there was no need for new arrangements and cautioned Hamas against interfering in a way that could obstruct the reopening of the border crossings.
Both Hamas leaders and Abbas are expected in Cairo on Wednesday. Egypt, the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, does not want to be seen as aiding the Israeli blockade. However, it also fears the spread of Islamist influence and the effects of hosting so many Palestinians without identity papers.Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak put the onus on Egypt to close its border, adding: The crossings on our side will remain closed except for the transfer of humanitarian items.European diplomats said the EU, which like Israel shuns Hamas as a terrorist organization, would only send monitors back to the border crossing at Rafah under the auspices of Abbas's Palestinian Authority, and provided there would be assurances they would not be at risk from Hamas. It is unclear how EU security concerns can be addressed. Israel's Foreign Ministry held preliminary talks over the weekend with members of the EU mission. While Israeli officials were considering Abbas's proposal for taking over the crossings, including Rafah, they doubted his forces were strong enough. (Additional reporting by Adam Entous and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem, Wafa Amr in Ramallah, Will Rasmussen in Rafah, Egypt and Aziz El-Kaissouni in Cairo; Writing by Adam Entous; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Sami Aboudi)
US roadmap monitor meets Israeli FM Mon Jan 28, 6:38 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Monday met a former US general appointed by US President George W. Bush to monitor compliance with the Middle East peace blueprint known as the roadmap. During the talks with Lieutenant General William Fraser, Livni reiterated Israel's position that the Palestinians must crack down on militants in order to implement any peace deal, her ministry said in a statement.The implementation of the roadmap is crucial for the success of the process... because the road to the creation of a Palestinian state runs through guaranteeing Israel's security, Livni was quoted as telling Fraser.Bush earlier this month appointed Fraser to monitor the implementation of the first stage of the 2003 internationally-drafted blueprint, which calls for Palestinians to end violence and for Israelis to freeze settlement construction in occupied Palestinian land.
Israel and the Palestinians reaffirmed their commitment to the roadmap at a US-hosted conference last November where the two sides revived Middle East peace talks after a seven-year hiatus.Livni briefed Fraser on the current security situation and stressed that the implementation of the roadmap also concerns the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip from where militants regularly fire rockets against Israel, the statement said.We are sincere in our desire to reach an agreement and there are certain security parametres we cannot compromise. The world cannot afford a new terror state and the implementation of the roadmap is crucial in preventing it, Livni said.Fraser was also set to meet Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak before holding talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Tuesday.Although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has ordered a freeze of all West Bank settlement expansion, Israel continues construction in occupied east Jerusalem and has yet to dismantle over 100 wildcat outposts in Palestinian areas.
Blair wants Mideast peace in 2008 By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Sun Jan 27, 8:08 PM ET
DAVOS, Switzerland - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair told the final session of the World Economic Forum on Sunday that he wants an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal and a pact on climate change by the end of 2008. Sharing the same level of ambition, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel called for China to open its doors to the Dalai Lama and for an end to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.The final session of this year's forum seemed to shrug off any pessimism about what can be achieved in the coming months despite fears that the U.S. economic downturn could lead to a global recession.The mood was moderately optimistic because we have many, many opportunities, said Klaus Schwab, the forum's founder. But if we do not address the challenges, one day even the greatest opportunities will not be enough to guarantee our continuation as humankind if you look at climate change, terrorism, poverty.The five-day political and economic brainstorming session that brought nearly 2,500 of the world's movers and shakers to this Swiss ski resort was short on glitz this year — with the exception of rock star Bono and Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, who are both also anti-poverty campaigners.Politically, there was much talk about whether President Bush's goal of a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians by the end of the year will be reached.
I would like to see an agreement that gives us the prospect of a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine because I do think that would be the greatest signal of reconciliation with which the 21st century could start, said Blair, who is now the chief envoy for the key international Mideast mediators known as the Quartet.Wiesel said he also wanted to see Mideast peace this year, and to alleviate the suffering in Darfur which has become the capital of human suffering in the world today.I'd like China to open its doors to the Dalai Lama so I could accompany him to go to Tibet. That would be a great, great victory, Wiesel said, as the audience burst into applause.Blair said he'd also like to see us get the climate change deal or framework of it.PepsiCo Inc. chief Indra Nooyi said she'd also like to see a climate policy and efforts to bring down rising food prices.We've taken years to get people out of poverty, give them a couple of meals a day when they were only eating one meal a day or less, she said. We run the risk of slipping back to poverty if food prices are escalating much too fast.
Many participants touched on another major theme at Davos this year: how to stem terrorism.Afghanistan's president warned that the world could suffer terribly from the wildfire of terrorism engulfing his region. Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf pledged to carry on the fight against terrorism and extremism.Wiesel said the greatest threat to humanity today is the globalization of fear because of terrorism — especially suicide bombings and fanaticism.
Somehow the future today is much more dangerous than it used to be because of people we don't know who have a cult of death ... and practice the cult of death, he said.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended Bush's push for democracy in the Middle East and elsewhere, and tried to calm economic fears, stressing that the U.S. economy is resilient and would remain an engine of growth.
Whether the U.S. economy is heading toward recession — or just slowing down — and the likely impact on the rest of the world was the subject of intense discussion. There was much speculation about whether Asia's two giants, China and India, would be able to absorb some of the shock. I am optimistic about the future, Wang Jianzhou, chairman and CEO of China Mobile Communications Corp., told Sunday's closing session. If there is the recession in the world, generally speaking it will have an impact on China, but I don't think it will be very big.There would be a reduction in Chinese exports, but we still have very, very strong domestic consumption, Wang said.
Gazan exodus slows as Egypt tries to seal border by Ines Bel Aiba JAN 28,08
RAFAH, Egypt (AFP) - The number of Palestinians crossing into Egypt from the Gaza Strip slowed on Monday as security forces tried to seal the border blown up by militants six days ago, an AFP correspondent reported. Egyptian security forces erected barbed wire along one crossing in the divided border town of Rafah as Hamas militants stood nearby, although hundreds of Palestinians managed to cross through other breaches, mainly on foot.Several hundred thousand Palestinians have swarmed into Egypt since militants blew up the Rafah barricades on Tuesday night after a punishing Israeli lockdown of the Hamas-run territory cut vital fuel and aid supplies.Shops in Rafah are running out of stocks after Egypt on Sunday began preventing trucks coming from Cairo to border towns, where the authorities have imposed a security cordon to prevent Palestinians travelling further afield.Israel said on Sunday it was in talks with Egypt on how to seal the border with Gaza, which has been increasingly isolated since the Islamist movement Hamas violently seized control of the tiny strip in June.
Israel imposed a full blockade of the impoverished territory on January 17 but began allowing supplies of fuel and aid back in five days later amid international alarm over the situation.Israel, which imposed the blockade in response to militant rocket fire, has become increasingly concerned about unfettered access in and out of Gaza by Hamas, a group pledged to the destruction of the Jewish state.Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said on Sunday his country would take all the appropriate measures to control border as soon as possible.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had told Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas at a meeting on Sunday that Israel would allow vital goods to enter territory, where most of the population rely on aid.Rights groups asked Israel's Supreme Court on Sunday to order the state to restore full fuel supplies to prevent a humanitarian crisis from erupting in the territory.At the hearing, Israel promised to supply fuel to keep its sole power plant running in Gaza, which continues to suffer power cuts.The amount of fuel oil supplied to the power plant will remain at this point at 2.2 million litres per week, the state said, according to a copy of its response seen by AFP.This amount is considered the minimum required for the plant, which provides power to the main population centre of Gaza City, to remain in operation.But the rights groups dismissed the state's pledge as the latest in a series of promises that have not been kept.
LUKE 16:19-31(THE WAITING CELL FOR SINNERS)(THE LOCAL JAIL)
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
REVELATION 20:11-15(THE FINAL JUDGEMENT OF SINNERS)(THE PENITENARY)
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
THE TORMENTS THIS MURDERER IS IN, IN HELL RIGHT NOW IS HIS REWARD FOR STARTING THE MURDEROUS GROUP HE DID. THE DEMONS WILL BE ENJOYING RIPPING HIS FLESH OFF HIS BODY. HE CAN SEE HITLER AND ALL THE OTHER MURDERERS THAT CAME AGAINST ISRAEL ALSO DOWN THERE IN TORMENTS. HE CAN SEE ALL THE SO CALLED MARTYRS OF ISLAM DOWN THERE ALSO THAT WERE DECIEVED INTO THINKING THEY WOULD GO TO PARADISE FOR MURDERING IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MEANWHILE ENDING UP IN TORMENTS IN THE WAITING CELL OF HELL UNTIL JESUS LATER ON IN THE FUTURE SENDS THEM ALL TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER. THESE ARE NOT MY WORDS, THE BIBLE SAYS MURDERERS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE WILL BE SENT TO HELL (1ST),THE LOCAL JAIL, THEN AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT IN JESUS' PRESENCE, THEIR DEEDS AND MOTIVES AND SINS WILL BE REVEALED AND THEY WILL BE THROWN IN TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER, THE PENITENTARY OF HELL THE FINAL BURNING FOR ALL TIME TO COME.
Thousands bid farewell to Palestinian leader Habash JAN 28,08
AMMAN (Reuters) - Thousands attended the burial of Palestinian Marxist leader George Habash in Jordan on Monday, chanting against Israel and vowing to carry on his struggle for a Palestinian state.
Veteran supporters mingled with leading Palestinian politicians and representatives of secular and leftist Arab groups at a cemetery outside Amman to pay their respects to Habash, who died on Saturday from a heart condition.Hailed as a hero by many Palestinians but branded a terrorist by Israel, Habash's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) carried out a string of airline hijackings and kidnappings to publicize the Palestinian cause in the 1970s.No to a peaceful settlement and yes to armed struggle, supporters chanted in the Sahab cemetery east of the Jordanian capital.They waved pictures of Habash which had the slogan: He lived as a fighter and died a fighter for his people.Before his burial, a religious ceremony had been held in a Greek Orthodox church where his coffin was draped in Palestinian flag.Habash, who was in his early 80s, was born in the town of Lydda in what was then British-ruled Palestine and is now part of Israel.He was in medical school at the American University of Beirut when war broke out in 1948 over the creation of Israel, turning his wealthy Christian family and thousands of other Palestinians into refugees.
Habash founded the PFLP in the late 1960s, building the group into a force in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), second in size to Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction.He opposed peace deals with Israel and strongly believed in the right of Palestinian refugees displaced in 1948 to return to their homes.The PFLP adopted the Marxist-Leninist creed of revolutionary violence. In 1970, the PFLP destroyed three hijacked Western airliners in Jordan in front of the world's press, leading King Hussein to crack down on the guerrillas.In 1976, some PFLP members were involved in the hijacking of an Air France plane to Entebbe, Uganda, where Israeli commandos stormed the plane and rescued Israeli and Jewish hostages. The PFLP disavowed the hijacking, which experts say was carried out by Wadi Haddad, a leader of a PFLP splinter group.
Habash stepped down as PFLP leader in 2000, handing over to Abu Ali Mustafa, who was later killed by Israel.(Writing by Suleiman al-Khalidi; Editing by Keith Weir and David Cutler) ((Reuters Messaging: suleiman.al-khalidi.reuters.com@reuters.net; Amman Newsroom +9626 4623776)
Saturday, January 26, 2008
ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT SOON
ONE WORLD ORDER COMES SOON
EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)
REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)
REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
OK ITS ALL COMING TOGETHER FOLKS THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT IS I BELIEVE THE U.N WILL FOLD AND THE EU WILL BE THE LEADER OF THIS NEW WORLD ORDER OR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT.
Secret talks to reform UN Security Council to New World Order of 10 Kingmakers
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has begun secret talks with other world leaders on far-reaching reform of the United Nations Security Council as part of a drive to create a new world order and global society.Brown is drawing up plans to expand the number of permanent members in a move that will provoke fears in his country that the veto enjoyed by Britain could be diluted eventually.The United States, France, Russia and China also have a veto but the number of members could be doubled to include India, Germany, Japan, Brazil and one or two African nations.
Brown has discussed a shake-up of a structure created in 1945 to reflect the world's new challenges and power bases during his four-day trip to China and India. British sources revealed intense discussions on UN reform were under way and Brown raised it whenever he met another world leader.The Prime Minister believes the UN is punching below its weight. In 2003, it failed to agree on a fresh resolution giving explicit approval for military action in Iraq. US President George W. Bush then acted unilaterally, winning the support of then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.His aides are adamant that the British veto will not be negotiated away. One option is for the nations who join not to have a veto, at least initially. In a speech in New Delhi, the Prime Minister was to say: I support India's bid for a permanent place - with others - on an expanded UN Security Council. However, he is not backing Pakistan's demand for a seat if India wins one.Brown will unveil a proposal for the UN to spend £100 million ($257 million) a year on setting up a rapid reaction force to stop failed states sliding back into chaos after a peace deal has been reached.There is limited value in military action to end fighting if law and order does not follow, he will say. So we must do more to ensure rapid reconstruction on the ground once conflicts are over and combine traditional humanitarian aid and peace-keeping with stabilisation, recovery and development.
THE UNITED NATIONS: EYE ON THE WORLD
* The UN Security Council's membership has remained virtually unchanged since it first met in 1946.
* Great Britain, the United States, the then Soviet Union, China and France were designated permanent members of the powerful body.
* Initially, six other countries were elected to serve two-year spells on the council in 1946. They were Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, the Netherlands and Poland.
* The number of elected members, who are chosen to cover all parts of the globe, was increased to 10 in 1965. They are currently Belgium, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Indonesia, Italy, Libya, Panama, South Africa and Vietnam.
* Decisions made by the council require nine yes votes out of 15. Each permanent member has a veto over resolutions.
* The issue of UN reform has long been on the agenda. One suggestion is that permanent membership could be expanded to 10 with India, Japan, Germany, Brazil and South Africa taking places. Any reform requires 128 nations, two-thirds, to back it in the assembly.
EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)
REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)
REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
OK ITS ALL COMING TOGETHER FOLKS THE ONLY THING DIFFERENT IS I BELIEVE THE U.N WILL FOLD AND THE EU WILL BE THE LEADER OF THIS NEW WORLD ORDER OR ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT.
Secret talks to reform UN Security Council to New World Order of 10 Kingmakers
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has begun secret talks with other world leaders on far-reaching reform of the United Nations Security Council as part of a drive to create a new world order and global society.Brown is drawing up plans to expand the number of permanent members in a move that will provoke fears in his country that the veto enjoyed by Britain could be diluted eventually.The United States, France, Russia and China also have a veto but the number of members could be doubled to include India, Germany, Japan, Brazil and one or two African nations.
Brown has discussed a shake-up of a structure created in 1945 to reflect the world's new challenges and power bases during his four-day trip to China and India. British sources revealed intense discussions on UN reform were under way and Brown raised it whenever he met another world leader.The Prime Minister believes the UN is punching below its weight. In 2003, it failed to agree on a fresh resolution giving explicit approval for military action in Iraq. US President George W. Bush then acted unilaterally, winning the support of then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.His aides are adamant that the British veto will not be negotiated away. One option is for the nations who join not to have a veto, at least initially. In a speech in New Delhi, the Prime Minister was to say: I support India's bid for a permanent place - with others - on an expanded UN Security Council. However, he is not backing Pakistan's demand for a seat if India wins one.Brown will unveil a proposal for the UN to spend £100 million ($257 million) a year on setting up a rapid reaction force to stop failed states sliding back into chaos after a peace deal has been reached.There is limited value in military action to end fighting if law and order does not follow, he will say. So we must do more to ensure rapid reconstruction on the ground once conflicts are over and combine traditional humanitarian aid and peace-keeping with stabilisation, recovery and development.
THE UNITED NATIONS: EYE ON THE WORLD
* The UN Security Council's membership has remained virtually unchanged since it first met in 1946.
* Great Britain, the United States, the then Soviet Union, China and France were designated permanent members of the powerful body.
* Initially, six other countries were elected to serve two-year spells on the council in 1946. They were Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico, the Netherlands and Poland.
* The number of elected members, who are chosen to cover all parts of the globe, was increased to 10 in 1965. They are currently Belgium, Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Croatia, Indonesia, Italy, Libya, Panama, South Africa and Vietnam.
* Decisions made by the council require nine yes votes out of 15. Each permanent member has a veto over resolutions.
* The issue of UN reform has long been on the agenda. One suggestion is that permanent membership could be expanded to 10 with India, Japan, Germany, Brazil and South Africa taking places. Any reform requires 128 nations, two-thirds, to back it in the assembly.
Friday, January 25, 2008
THOUSANDS PROTEST GAZA
THE US IS STUPID ENOUGH TO GIVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO ARAB NATIONS WHO WANT TO DESTROY THE U.S AND ISRAEL. DOES THIS MAKE SENSE?????
Thousands protest against Gaza blockade JAN 25,08
AMMAN (AFP) - More than 3,000 people held an anti-Israeli and anti-US protest in the centre of the Jordanian capital on Friday against Israel's more than week-long blockade of the Gaza Strip. God is the greatest, and America is the enemy of God, chanted the demonstrators, in a protest called by Jordan's opposition parties, including the Islamic Action Front, and trade unions.God is the greatest, and Israel is the enemy of God, rang out from the protesters, who carried Jordanian and Palestinian flags, and burnt those of Israel and its ally, the United States.Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have poured into Egypt to stock up on desperately needed supplies since the Palestinian territory's border with Egypt was blasted open on Tuesday night.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called on Egypt to control its border as Israel defended its week-old Gaza lockdown that has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished Hamas-ruled territory.
In Doha, thousands of Qataris and expatriates demonstrated after the weekly Friday prayer in mosques against the Israeli army's raids, with participants chanting slogans in support of Hamas.Oh (Ismail) Haniya, Oh (Mahmud) Zahar... You are the sword, we are the fire, chanted the protestors in support of the Hamas leadership besieged in Gaza. We are ready to fuel the lanterns of Gaza with our blood.
Hamas challenges Egypt's bid to close Gaza border By Nidal al-Mughrabi JAN 25,08
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Egypt started to close its breached border with the Gaza Strip on Friday but Palestinian militants bulldozed a new opening in a challenge to Cairo and Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run territory. Palestinian crowds cheered as Hamas militants used a bulldozer to flatten sections of the chain and concrete fence. In a scene broadcast live on television around the world, Egyptian riot police watched from a distance as hundreds of people poured into Egypt.Tens of thousands of Gaza Palestinians have been pouring into Egypt stock up on food and fuel in short supply because of an Israeli blockade since militants blew up a border wall on Wednesday.The fall of the Rafah wall punched a new hole in a U.S.-backed campaign to curb the clout of Hamas and strengthen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, nearly eight months after the Islamist group routed Abbas's Fatah forces in Gaza.
Pressed by the United States and Israel to take control of the situation, Egyptian forces in riot gear lined the border and began placing barbed wire and chain-link fences to prevent more Gazans from entering Egyptian soil.Egyptian security forces told the crowd over loudspeakers that the border would close at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. EST), but a security source said orders had yet to be given to fully seal the area.Tensions flared as some Palestinians threw stones at the police, who responded with batons and water cannon.
I have two brothers still inside Egypt. They should not close the border until everyone returns, said one Palestinian stone thrower, 20-year-old Mohammed al-Masri.The Egyptian government faces a difficult balancing act. It does not want to be seen as aiding Israel in its blockade of Gaza, but it fears the spread of Islamist influence and the effects of becoming home to so many undocumented Palestinians.Israel said it had tightened its Gaza blockade last week to counter cross-border rocket fire, but after an international outcry, fuel and aid supplies were partially restored.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in an interview to be published on Saturday, urged Hamas and Fatah to end their differences and invited both sides to meet for talks in Cairo.Abbas, who is also leader of Fatah, has been seeking U.S. and Israeli support to take over control of all of the border crossings, a move Hamas hopes to prevent.
STANDOFF AT BORDER
By challenging Egyptian efforts to re-close the Gaza border, Hamas hoped to win assurances from Cairo that it would have a say in any future agreement to oversee the border crossings, including the one with Egypt at Rafah, Hamas sources say.Israeli officials said Abbas, whose authority is largely limited to the West Bank, planned to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday, seeking support for controlling the crossings and for renewed peace talks despite the setbacks.Citing the breach in Gaza's southern border, some top Israeli officials have advocated cutting Israel's remaining links with the coastal territory and putting the onus on Egypt.Hamas sources said the group decided to open a new section in the border fence to increase pressure on Egypt.We insist and urge our Egyptian brothers that there must be a mechanism to allow the passage of people and goods through the Rafah crossing in a legal and organized manner, Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nono said. Israel, which occupied Gaza in 1967, pulled troops and settlers out in 2005, but it still controls the strip's northern and eastern borders, airspace and coastal waters. Earlier on Friday, Israel killed four Palestinian militants in an overnight air strike on Rafah. Violence has also flared in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager one day after militants killed an Israeli border policeman and infiltrated a Jewish settlement near Bethlehem. Hamas's armed wing claimed responsibility for the infiltration in which the two Palestinian attackers were killed. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Yusuf in Rafah, Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia, Egypt, and Cynthia Johnston in Cairo; and Avida Landau and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Writing by Adam Entous in Jerusalem; Editing by Sami Aboudi)
IF THIS WAS AGAINST ISRAEL THE USELESS UN WOULD BE CALLING FOR SANCTIONS AND SCOLDING, BUT FOR THE MURDEROUS ARABS THE USELESS UN CAN'T DECIDE A STATEMENT.........SICKOS
Security Council fails yet again to agree Gaza statement Fri Jan 25, 12:17 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council failed yet again on Thursday to agree a compromise statement urging an end to Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip and to the rocket attacks on the Jewish state. After day-long talks by experts and ambassadors, it was agreed that a new attempt would be made Friday to overcome US objections to a text accepted by the council's 14 other members.
We still do not have an agreement and the way it's going it's not hopeful, said South Africa's UN envoy Dumisani Kumalo. But the president (of the council) has asked us to try again tomorrow (Friday).The United States, a staunch ally of Israel, insists that the crippling Israeli blockade of Gaza is a self-defense move in the face of rockets fired from the impoverished territory controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas.After consulting with Washington, the US delegation here on Thursday put forward a series of oral amendments, including a call for the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza militants in 2006 and a condemnation of terrorism under all its forms.But most of these amendments were deemed irrelevant and unacceptable by Arab countries which feel strongly that the council has to react to what they view as the collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5 million residents by Israel in reprisals for the rocket attacks.Our view is that getting a product will be difficult, US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff told reporters after the consultations.He added that his delegation would be prepared to accept a balanced, credible, constructive statement that looks at this issue realistically, including condemning the rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.
Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman for his part dismissed the whole debate as a futile waste of time that only serves to reward Hamas.
Israel should take note that 14 members of the Security Council, a significant number of them friends of Israel, are saying that this humanitarian situation in Gaza cannot be tolerated, the Palestinian observer to the UN, Ryad Mansour, retorted.And Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari accused the United States of trying to politicize a humanitarian issue and of trying to turn the victims into victimizers and the victimizers into victims.He warned that if Washington manages to block a consensus on the non-binding statement, Arab countries were likely to turn the text into a resolution and dare the United States to veto it.The latest version of the draft expresses deep concern about the steep deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade.
It calls on all parties to immediately cease all acts of violence, including the firing of rockets into Israeli territory and all activities which are contrary to international law and endanger civilians, a reference to the Israeli siege.And it takes note of Israel's decision to suspend the closure of the crossing points (into Gaza) and calls for it to be fully implemented.Thursday, Arab League chief Amr Mussa described the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip as a campaign to starve the people there.Speaking on the sidelines of the Davos meeting in Switzerland, he also said that the Gaza blockade undermined the already struggling peace process revived after the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis in the United States.Thursday, desperate Palestinians swarmed out of Gaza into Egypt for a second consecutive day to stock up on supplies after militants blew open the border of the Hamas-run territory.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council criticized Israel for its blockade in a resolution that EU member states on the council abstained from voting on, citing a lack of balance. The resolution, passed by a vote of 30 to one, called for urgent international action to put an immediate end to the grave violations committed by the occupying power, Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory.
On Tuesday Israel allowed in shipments of cooking gas and fuel to power Gaza's sole power station, which had ground to a halt on Sunday night.
Thousands protest against Gaza blockade JAN 25,08
AMMAN (AFP) - More than 3,000 people held an anti-Israeli and anti-US protest in the centre of the Jordanian capital on Friday against Israel's more than week-long blockade of the Gaza Strip. God is the greatest, and America is the enemy of God, chanted the demonstrators, in a protest called by Jordan's opposition parties, including the Islamic Action Front, and trade unions.God is the greatest, and Israel is the enemy of God, rang out from the protesters, who carried Jordanian and Palestinian flags, and burnt those of Israel and its ally, the United States.Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have poured into Egypt to stock up on desperately needed supplies since the Palestinian territory's border with Egypt was blasted open on Tuesday night.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called on Egypt to control its border as Israel defended its week-old Gaza lockdown that has raised fears of a humanitarian crisis in the impoverished Hamas-ruled territory.
In Doha, thousands of Qataris and expatriates demonstrated after the weekly Friday prayer in mosques against the Israeli army's raids, with participants chanting slogans in support of Hamas.Oh (Ismail) Haniya, Oh (Mahmud) Zahar... You are the sword, we are the fire, chanted the protestors in support of the Hamas leadership besieged in Gaza. We are ready to fuel the lanterns of Gaza with our blood.
Hamas challenges Egypt's bid to close Gaza border By Nidal al-Mughrabi JAN 25,08
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Egypt started to close its breached border with the Gaza Strip on Friday but Palestinian militants bulldozed a new opening in a challenge to Cairo and Israel's blockade of the Hamas-run territory. Palestinian crowds cheered as Hamas militants used a bulldozer to flatten sections of the chain and concrete fence. In a scene broadcast live on television around the world, Egyptian riot police watched from a distance as hundreds of people poured into Egypt.Tens of thousands of Gaza Palestinians have been pouring into Egypt stock up on food and fuel in short supply because of an Israeli blockade since militants blew up a border wall on Wednesday.The fall of the Rafah wall punched a new hole in a U.S.-backed campaign to curb the clout of Hamas and strengthen Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, nearly eight months after the Islamist group routed Abbas's Fatah forces in Gaza.
Pressed by the United States and Israel to take control of the situation, Egyptian forces in riot gear lined the border and began placing barbed wire and chain-link fences to prevent more Gazans from entering Egyptian soil.Egyptian security forces told the crowd over loudspeakers that the border would close at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. EST), but a security source said orders had yet to be given to fully seal the area.Tensions flared as some Palestinians threw stones at the police, who responded with batons and water cannon.
I have two brothers still inside Egypt. They should not close the border until everyone returns, said one Palestinian stone thrower, 20-year-old Mohammed al-Masri.The Egyptian government faces a difficult balancing act. It does not want to be seen as aiding Israel in its blockade of Gaza, but it fears the spread of Islamist influence and the effects of becoming home to so many undocumented Palestinians.Israel said it had tightened its Gaza blockade last week to counter cross-border rocket fire, but after an international outcry, fuel and aid supplies were partially restored.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, in an interview to be published on Saturday, urged Hamas and Fatah to end their differences and invited both sides to meet for talks in Cairo.Abbas, who is also leader of Fatah, has been seeking U.S. and Israeli support to take over control of all of the border crossings, a move Hamas hopes to prevent.
STANDOFF AT BORDER
By challenging Egyptian efforts to re-close the Gaza border, Hamas hoped to win assurances from Cairo that it would have a say in any future agreement to oversee the border crossings, including the one with Egypt at Rafah, Hamas sources say.Israeli officials said Abbas, whose authority is largely limited to the West Bank, planned to meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday, seeking support for controlling the crossings and for renewed peace talks despite the setbacks.Citing the breach in Gaza's southern border, some top Israeli officials have advocated cutting Israel's remaining links with the coastal territory and putting the onus on Egypt.Hamas sources said the group decided to open a new section in the border fence to increase pressure on Egypt.We insist and urge our Egyptian brothers that there must be a mechanism to allow the passage of people and goods through the Rafah crossing in a legal and organized manner, Hamas government spokesman Taher al-Nono said. Israel, which occupied Gaza in 1967, pulled troops and settlers out in 2005, but it still controls the strip's northern and eastern borders, airspace and coastal waters. Earlier on Friday, Israel killed four Palestinian militants in an overnight air strike on Rafah. Violence has also flared in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager one day after militants killed an Israeli border policeman and infiltrated a Jewish settlement near Bethlehem. Hamas's armed wing claimed responsibility for the infiltration in which the two Palestinian attackers were killed. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Yusuf in Rafah, Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia, Egypt, and Cynthia Johnston in Cairo; and Avida Landau and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Writing by Adam Entous in Jerusalem; Editing by Sami Aboudi)
IF THIS WAS AGAINST ISRAEL THE USELESS UN WOULD BE CALLING FOR SANCTIONS AND SCOLDING, BUT FOR THE MURDEROUS ARABS THE USELESS UN CAN'T DECIDE A STATEMENT.........SICKOS
Security Council fails yet again to agree Gaza statement Fri Jan 25, 12:17 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council failed yet again on Thursday to agree a compromise statement urging an end to Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip and to the rocket attacks on the Jewish state. After day-long talks by experts and ambassadors, it was agreed that a new attempt would be made Friday to overcome US objections to a text accepted by the council's 14 other members.
We still do not have an agreement and the way it's going it's not hopeful, said South Africa's UN envoy Dumisani Kumalo. But the president (of the council) has asked us to try again tomorrow (Friday).The United States, a staunch ally of Israel, insists that the crippling Israeli blockade of Gaza is a self-defense move in the face of rockets fired from the impoverished territory controlled by the Islamist movement Hamas.After consulting with Washington, the US delegation here on Thursday put forward a series of oral amendments, including a call for the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza militants in 2006 and a condemnation of terrorism under all its forms.But most of these amendments were deemed irrelevant and unacceptable by Arab countries which feel strongly that the council has to react to what they view as the collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5 million residents by Israel in reprisals for the rocket attacks.Our view is that getting a product will be difficult, US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff told reporters after the consultations.He added that his delegation would be prepared to accept a balanced, credible, constructive statement that looks at this issue realistically, including condemning the rocket attacks on Israeli civilians.
Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman for his part dismissed the whole debate as a futile waste of time that only serves to reward Hamas.
Israel should take note that 14 members of the Security Council, a significant number of them friends of Israel, are saying that this humanitarian situation in Gaza cannot be tolerated, the Palestinian observer to the UN, Ryad Mansour, retorted.And Syrian Ambassador Bashar Jaafari accused the United States of trying to politicize a humanitarian issue and of trying to turn the victims into victimizers and the victimizers into victims.He warned that if Washington manages to block a consensus on the non-binding statement, Arab countries were likely to turn the text into a resolution and dare the United States to veto it.The latest version of the draft expresses deep concern about the steep deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade.
It calls on all parties to immediately cease all acts of violence, including the firing of rockets into Israeli territory and all activities which are contrary to international law and endanger civilians, a reference to the Israeli siege.And it takes note of Israel's decision to suspend the closure of the crossing points (into Gaza) and calls for it to be fully implemented.Thursday, Arab League chief Amr Mussa described the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip as a campaign to starve the people there.Speaking on the sidelines of the Davos meeting in Switzerland, he also said that the Gaza blockade undermined the already struggling peace process revived after the Middle East peace conference in Annapolis in the United States.Thursday, desperate Palestinians swarmed out of Gaza into Egypt for a second consecutive day to stock up on supplies after militants blew open the border of the Hamas-run territory.
In Geneva, the UN Human Rights Council criticized Israel for its blockade in a resolution that EU member states on the council abstained from voting on, citing a lack of balance. The resolution, passed by a vote of 30 to one, called for urgent international action to put an immediate end to the grave violations committed by the occupying power, Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory.
On Tuesday Israel allowed in shipments of cooking gas and fuel to power Gaza's sole power station, which had ground to a halt on Sunday night.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
GAZA BORDER OPEN
UN seeks 10 million dollars in Gaza aid from Gulf Arabs Thu Jan 24, 8:51 AM ET
AMMAN (AFP) - The cash-strapped UN agency for Palestinian refugees appealed on Thursday to oil-rich Arab states in the Gulf to provide nearly 10 million in aid for the besieged Hamas-run Gaza Strip. We are seeking 9.8 million dollars from Arab Gulf countries for food aid, fuel supplies and cash assistance for the most needy in the Gaza Strip, said Peter Ford of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).If we get this aid, we would be able to provide the necessary assistance in an immediate and tangible manner despite all the current obstacles, Ford told reporters.The appeal came a week after Israel imposed a lockdown on the impoverished, densely populated territory, where 80 percent of the population depends on humanitarian aid.It's not in Israel's interest to starve the Palestinians in Gaza. We will take advantage of any available opportunity to deliver the aid to the strip, where the poverty rate stands at 57 percent and food insecurity affects 34 percent of the population, he added.
On Thursday, Palestinians poured out of Gaza into Egypt for a second consecutive day to stock up on supplies after militants blew open the border of the territory, where the Islamist Hamas seized power seven months ago.Although Israel eased the lock-down on Tuesday amid mounting fears of a humanitarian crisis, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has vowed to keep up the pressure on Gaza as long as militants there continue to fire rockets and mortars on Israel.In December, the United Nations appealed to donor countries to raise 462 million dollars for the Palestinian territories in 2008, of which only 60 percent was raised by mid-November.
Human Rights Council slams Israel over Gaza; EU abstains JAN 24,08
GENEVA (AFP) - The UN Human Rights Council criticised Israel on Thursday for its blockade of Gaza, in a resolution that EU member states on the council abstained from voting on, citing a lack of balance. By a vote of 30 to one, the council adopted the resolution that had been tabled by Pakistan and Syria on behalf of the Islamic and Arab blocs. Canada cast the lone opposing vote, while a total of 15 other states abstained.The resolution called for urgent international action to put an immediate end to the grave violations committed by the occupying power, Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory.It marked the fourth time that the council, established in 2006 to replace the Human Rights Commission as the United Nations' main forum for human rights, had lambasted Israel in a special session.The Palestinian ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Mohammad Abu-Koash, said the vote was significant but urged greater international pressure upon Israel.Israel cannot have a free hand, a free licence against the Palestinian people, he told journalists after the session.Western states took issue with the resolution, arguing that it made no mention of Palestinian rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel.Both the United States and Israel were absent from the session.Neither country is a member of the 47-strong Council but both can attend as observers.
US ambassador Warren Tichenor said the Council's unbalanced approach had squandered its credibility by failing to address continued rocket attacks against Israel.Today's actions do nothing to help the Palestinian people, in whose name the supporters of this session claim to act, he said in a statement.Supporters of a Palestinian state must avoid the kind of inflammatory rhetoric and actions that this session represents, which only stoke tensions and erode the chances for peace, he added.Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Slovenia's representative said the resolution lacked an acknowledgement of civilian casualties on both sides.
Slovenia currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, which has seven member states on the council.Last week Israel turned its prolonged blockade of Gaza into a full-scale lockdown, blocking all fuel shipments and humanitarian aid, in a bid to stop the firing of rockets from the Hamas-controlled territory.On Tuesday, Israel allowed in shipments of cooking gas and fuel to power Gaza's sole power station, which had ground to a halt on Sunday night.Earlier this week, tens of thousands of Gazans poured into Egypt to stock up on goods in defiance of the Israeli siege, after militants blew up parts of the barrier that marks the border.Like its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission, the Human Rights Council has been criticised by mainly Western countries for focusing too much on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Barak says Israel may go back into Gaza By DAN PERRY and BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writers JAN 24,08
DAVOS, Switzerland - Israel's defense minister said Thursday his government has not ruled out a large-scale military operation to counter continuing rocket attacks from Gaza. He added that Israel would not rush to reconquer the teeming, impoverished seaside strip. Probably we will find ourselves there, Ehud Barak said in an interview with The Associated Press. We are not rushing to reconquer Gaza, but we will not remove any option from the table when it comes to the security of our citizens.Barak, who holds the key to Israel's tenuous coalition government, also hinted that he would not step down — as promised to his Labor party's voters in last year's leadership primary — even if next week's much-anticipated report into the conduct of the 2006 Lebanon war is damning. Barak became defense minister after the war.He said accountability on his part must be weighed against political stability at a critical time for Israel's security, and the quiet but possibly critical peace talks with the Palestinians. How exactly to balance between those two elements, that's what I will have to bear in mind when making my decision, he said.
Barak was interviewed at the World Economic Forum at Davos, which he attended as part of a high-level delegation that included Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and President Shimon Peres — all former or aspiring prime ministers.Notably absent from the Alpine gathering of political and business leaders was the current holder of the post, Ehud Olmert — who awaits an inquiry commission's report next week on his handling of the 2006 conflict with Hezbollah, a campaign widely judged as a costly misadventure.The big question in Israel — and for Barak as well as Olmert — is whether the report will blame the prime minister directly and harshly. That would spark calls for Olmert to resign and for Barak to do the same if his senior coalition partner instead tries to hang on.A world away from the idealism and buzz of Davos, tumult reined in the Middle East as Palestinians this week breached their border with Egypt and streamed into the neighboring country by the thousands. Israeli sanctions imposed on the strip in an attempt to force the end of the rocket attacks have led to severe shortages there.Barak refused to echo a statement by his deputy, who was quoted as saying Thursday that the border breach meant Israel could now relinquish all responsibility for the strip, including the supply of electricity and water.
Israel pulled troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005 but the strip is sealed off from the world and still dependent on the Jewish state.In comments confirmed by his office, deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai said that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it.I don't go too far in my interpretation of this, Barak gruffly offered.Complicating the picture are ongoing negotiations with the Palestinians that began after the U.S.-sponsored November peace conference in Annapolis, Md.President Bush has expressed optimism that a deal can be reached by the end of the year, and low-key but high-level talks between Israelis and Palestinians grind on behind a certain cloak of mystery.I hope that he's right and we clearly will do all possible efforts to make it happen, Barak said, but he added: "Having some experience in the Middle East ... I cannot tell you for sure there will be a peace agreement in 2008.Most Israelis and Palestinians probably share that skepticism, given the weakness of both Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who last year lost control of the Gaza Strip — where about a third of his people live — to the militant group Hamas.Barak, who led Israel from 1999 to 2001, was voted out when peace talks collapsed amid the outburst of a new Palestinian uprising that lasted some four years and in some ways continues. Given his clear interest in returning to his old job, the former military chief was careful in his responses, mindful of the political storm that may be coming and could either propel him back to the top or sink his aspirations.
He said 80 percent of Israelis now agreed with the idea of a Palestinian state and a withdrawal from the Palestinian-populated lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. But are they ready to pay the price? Will Olmert's government offer at least what Barak himself did, as prime minister, some seven years ago — a near total-pullout and a division of sorts of the holy city of Jerusalem? Not these terms necessarily to the last detail, Barak said. The key, he said, was that most Israelis now understand that two states for two nations is a compelling imperative.If there is no two-state solution, if there is only one entity called Israel reigning over the whole area, it will become inevitably either non-Jewish or non-democratic.
Hamas Beats Israel's Gaza Siege By TIM MCGIRK/RAFAH CROSSING JAN 24,08
It took explosives to do what diplomacy couldn't: allow Palestinians to go on a shopping spree. The siege of Gaza, imposed by Israel and the international community after Hamas seized control of the Palestinian territory last July, ended abruptly before dawn on Wednesday when militants blew as many as 15 holes in the border wall separating the territory from Egypt. In the hours that followed, over 350,000 Palestinians swarmed across the frontier, nearly one fifth of Gaza's entire population. Some Palestinians craved medicine and food - goats appeared to be a hot item - because Israel had cut off most supplies from entering Gaza as punishment for militants' firing rockets into southern Israel. Students and businessmen joined the throng heading for Egypt. There were scores of brides-to-be, stuck on the Egyptian side, who scurried across to be united with their future bridegrooms in Gaza. And some, like teacher Abu Bakr, stepped through a blast hole into Egypt simply to enjoy the air of freedom.The previous day, President Housni Mubarak faced the wrath of the Arab world when his riot police used clubs and water hoses to attack Palestinian women pleading for Egypt to open the Rafah crossing in Gaza. And despite pressure from Israel and the United States, Mubarak wasn't about to order his men to use force to restrain Palestinians rendered desperate by Israel's siege. The Egyptian President said he ordered his troops to let them come to eat and buy food and go back, as long as they are not carrying weapons.At 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Palestinian militants detonated explosive charges knocking out slabs in the 26-foot concrete border wall, and by dawn, Gazans were racing to the open border on donkey carts and tractors and in cars. Once through the holes, they trampled across barbed wire, vaulted over fences and picked their way gingerly through cactus. Many carried heavy suitcases and said that they were never coming back to captivity in Gaza.But most Gazans were in a mad scramble to go shopping, and they returned with everything from goats to tires to jerricans full of gasoline. One stout woman in a veil threaded nimbly through barbed wire with a tray of canned fruit balanced on her head. The Palestinians cleaned out every shop on the Egyptian side: By afternoon, there was nothing to buy within a six-mile distance of the border; and even the Sinai town of El-Arish, three hours drive away, had been sucked dry of gasoline. One taxi driver who brought back cartons of cigarettes and gallons of gas to resell for a profit in Gaza said, This should help feed my family for several months.
Israel expressed fears that Hamas militants would use the breach in the border to bring in weapons. One Palestinian said he witnessed dozens of Hamas men who had been stuck in Egypt for months crossing into Gaza. Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aryeh Mekel told newsmen, We have real concerns that they can now freely smuggle explosives, missiles and people into Gaza, which makes an already bad situation even worse.Hamas moved quickly to capitalize on the mass celebration of the border's breach. The movement's parliamentary leader, Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh, called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt to join in urgent talks to find a formula for keeping the Gaza-Egypt border permanently open. Haniyeh said Hamas was prepared to set up joint control of the border with the President's forces, bringing an end to a hostilities between the two factions that erupted last July when Hamas militants chased the President's Fatah militia out of Gaza. Now that Gazans have exploded out of their besieged enclave, it may be up to Israel to seal up the border again, since the Egyptians are showing no signs of doing so. Israel had put the economic squeeze on Gaza's 1.5 million people - a policy described as collective punishment by many aid organizations - hoping it would turn the Palestinians against Hamas. But with the siege broken, even if temporarily, Hamas has earned the gratitude of hungry Palestinians and reinvigorated its popularity in Gaza.
Palestinians blow up border wall, flood into Egypt By Nidal al-Mughrabi Wed Jan 23, 7:45 PM ET
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after militants blew up a border wall, and stocked up on food and fuel in short supply because of an Israeli blockade. Those people are hungry for freedom, for food and for everything, said an Egyptian shopkeeper who gave her name only as Hamida, surveying shelves emptied swiftly by Gazans paying with Egyptian pounds and Israeli shekels.The fall of the Rafah wall punched a new hole in efforts by Israel, under frequent rocket attack from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, to keep pressure on the territory in the face of an international outcry over shortages and Palestinian hardship.The flood of people into the Egyptian part of Rafah -- some on donkey carts and carrying bags and cases to fill with consumer goods -- also forced Israel into a delicate diplomatic balancing act with its first Arab peace partner.Egypt proposed that it take a new look, with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, at how to reactivate their border agreement, the Foreign Ministry in Cairo said.
Residents of Rafah, a divided town straddling the Egypt-Gaza border, said militants set off explosions that demolished a 200-metre (200-yard) length of the rusting, six-meter (20-foot) high metal border wall put up by Israel in 2004, a year before it pulled its troops and settlers from the territory.Locals estimated at least 200,000 people crossed over in a rare opportunity to leave what Gazans call a giant jail.Pushing a trolley among the crowds that turned Rafah into a bazaar, Mohammed Saeed said: I have bought everything I need for the house for months. I have bought food, cigarettes and even two gallons of diesel for my car.Israel tightened its Gaza border closure last week, briefly halting fuel delivery to a main power plant and cutting supplies to petrol stations, as well as food and other humanitarian aid.
LIVING UNDER CHAOS
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, under pressure to prove his security mettle before publication next week of an inquiry's report on the costly 2006 Lebanon war, reiterated a vow to maintain pressure on Gaza until the rocket salvoes cease.But, addressing an annual policy conference in Herzliya, he also said he would not let Palestinian privations reach crisis point.We will not harm the supply of food for children, medicine for those who need it and fuel for institutions that save lives.But there is no justification for demanding we allow residents of Gaza to live normal lives while shells and rockets are fired from their streets and courtyards at Sderot and other communities in the south, Olmert said in his speech.The United States rallied to its ally's defense.The Palestinians living in Gaza are living under chaos because of Hamas, and the blame has to be placed fully at their feet, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.The border terminal in Rafah, once a main avenue to the outside world for Gazans, has been largely closed since Hamas Islamists opposed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's peace efforts with Israel seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he told the security forces: Let them come in to eat and buy food. The Gazans could then go back as long as they are not carrying weapons, Mubarak said. Israeli defense Minister Ehud Barak, visiting Paris, was careful not to criticize Egypt. I believe that they (the Egyptians) know and will respect their role in this whole picture, he told reporters. Past Israeli criticism of Egypt's failure to curb weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip through tunnels running under Rafah provoked an angry response from Cairo, a key supporter of U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The European Union and international agencies have called the closure collective punishment -- banned by the Geneva Conventions -- of Gaza's 1.5 million people.
The Israeli army says about 250 rockets and mortar rounds have pounded Israel since last week. Over the same period, Israeli troops killed more than 30 Palestinians. (Additional reporting by Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia, Mohammed Yusuf in Rafah, Jonathan Wright in Cairo and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem) (Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; editing by Tim Pearce)
Egypt starts to control crowds from Gaza By SARAH EL DEEB and OMAR SINAN, Associated Press Writer JAN 24,08
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Egyptian border guards took measures to control huge crowds of Palestinians streaming from Gaza to Egypt across a breached border for a second day Thursday, but they did not try to halt the flow. On Wednesday, Palestinian gunmen used land mines to blast down the border partition so Gazans could escape an Israeli closure imposed last week that was making food, fuel and other goods scarce. Tens of thousands of Gazans have rushed into Egypt without any border controls.On the frontier, guards were patrolling access roads while helmeted police with sniffer dogs used batons to beat the hoods of private cars and pickup trucks that massed at the border, trying to stop them from carrying Palestinians further into Egyptian territory.Egyptian officials said the border would eventually return to normal.
In the past two days, Gazans stocked up on supplies in Egypt, including cement, fuel, cigarettes and other staples.In response to continuing Palestinian rocket attacks, Israel stopped emergency shipments of industrial diesel fuel, arguing that Gazans could now get those supplies from Egypt. However, Palestinian officials said Gaza's power plant would shut down Sunday for the second time in a week if fuel shipments do not resume.The border breach effectively ended Israel's tight blockade of Gaza imposed in response to a spike in the attacks on Israeli border towns.Some Palestinian travelers in the Egyptian town of El Arish, about 15 miles from the border, said they were told by local police they should start making their way back if they had no urgent business in the city, signaling that authorities were trying to start resealing of the border.Gazans had hoped the temporary border opening would become permanent. Both Egypt and Israel had restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza after Hamas won parliament elections in 2006, and further tightened the closure after Hamas seized control of the area from moderates by force.The Egyptians started doing good deeds by letting us in. For God's sake, why don't they keep allowing us to pass through? said Mohammed Abu Amra, a Palestinian walking across the border on crutches. Everyone is rushing into Egypt before they seal it off.Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, meanwhile, caused a stir when he said Israel gradually wants to relinquish responsibility for Gaza now that a border fence with Egypt has been blown open.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel struck a similar tone, saying that once Gazans are getting supplies from elsewhere, there is less need for Israel to provide for them.Privately, Israeli officials said the border breach could pave the way for increasingly disconnecting from the territory.However, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, speaking to The Associated Press on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, did not echo Vilnai's remarks.I don't go too far in my interpretation of this, Barak said.Egypt angrily rejected the Israeli ideas, and said it would not change border arrangements.The border will go back as normal, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki, adding that Egypt had not been approached by Israel about a possible change in the status of Gaza.Egypt has not yet indicated how it plans to reseal the border, but it would not be that difficult for it to rebuild some type of physical barrier fairly quickly. Egypt is highly unlikely to leave the border town of Rafah united, instead probably aiming to re-create some type of partition in roughly the same position as the old one. For now, it appeared Egypt was moving slowly, putting its forces in the area as a first step toward later pushing Gazans back and then re-erecting a barrier. In a previous major breach, after the Israeli pullout from Gaza in 2005, Egypt closed the border after four days and issued a deadline for Gazans to return home. Troops searched for, detained and fined stragglers who were then sent to their side of the border. Egypt also lined up armored personnel carriers and riot police as a makeshift border barrier, and eventually rebuilt a small border fence.
The border breach has boosted the popularity of Gaza's Hamas rulers, who in recent months had struggled to govern because of border closures. The sanctions have led to severe shortages of cement, cigarettes and other basic goods, deepened poverty and drove up unemployment. Hamas has used the breach — carefully planned with militants weakening the metal wall with blow torches about a month ago — to push its demand for reopening the border passages, this time with Hamas involvement. Such an arrangement would in effect end the international sanctions that have isolated the Islamic militants. Hamas government spokesman Taher Nunu suggested Thursday that Hamas would seek a future role on the Gaza-Egypt border. An open border like this has no logic, he said. We are studying the mechanism of having an official crossing point.
However, it was not clear whether Egypt will acquiesce. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been under intense public pressure at home in recent days to alleviate the suffering of Gazans under blockade. However, Egypt would likely be reluctant to have an open border with a territory ruled by Islamic militants. In Tel Aviv, visiting U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said that while Hamas itself was to blame for the shortages in the Gaza Strip, it was Egypt's responsibility to restore order at its border. Obviously it is going to be up to the Egyptian government to bring under control the situation along the border, he said at the start of a meeting with Israeli Cabinet minister Shaul Mofaz.
Cargo shipments across the border picked up. Trucks and donkey carts pulled up to the Egyptian side, the goods were unloaded and carried across to the Gazan side where they were put in waiting trucks. Gaza businessman Abu Omar Shurafa received a shipment of 100 tons of cement, seizing an opportunity to stock up before the border closes again. Everyone is exerting all efforts to stock the reserves for six to seven months. We have to find a way to continue living, he said. Still, he was also hopeful that this could be the beginning of a new arrangement. A solution has to be like this, he said, referring to the flow of goods from Egypt. Some Gazans just wanted to get out, even for a few hours. We just want freedom, said Adel Tildani, who was bringing his mother-in-law from Egypt into Gaza to meet grandchildren she had never seen before. I don't need to buy anything. Freedom is more important.AP reporters Omar Sinan, Salah Nasrawi and Dan Perry contributed to this report from Rafah, Egypt, Cairo and Davos, Switzerland, respectively.
AMMAN (AFP) - The cash-strapped UN agency for Palestinian refugees appealed on Thursday to oil-rich Arab states in the Gulf to provide nearly 10 million in aid for the besieged Hamas-run Gaza Strip. We are seeking 9.8 million dollars from Arab Gulf countries for food aid, fuel supplies and cash assistance for the most needy in the Gaza Strip, said Peter Ford of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).If we get this aid, we would be able to provide the necessary assistance in an immediate and tangible manner despite all the current obstacles, Ford told reporters.The appeal came a week after Israel imposed a lockdown on the impoverished, densely populated territory, where 80 percent of the population depends on humanitarian aid.It's not in Israel's interest to starve the Palestinians in Gaza. We will take advantage of any available opportunity to deliver the aid to the strip, where the poverty rate stands at 57 percent and food insecurity affects 34 percent of the population, he added.
On Thursday, Palestinians poured out of Gaza into Egypt for a second consecutive day to stock up on supplies after militants blew open the border of the territory, where the Islamist Hamas seized power seven months ago.Although Israel eased the lock-down on Tuesday amid mounting fears of a humanitarian crisis, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has vowed to keep up the pressure on Gaza as long as militants there continue to fire rockets and mortars on Israel.In December, the United Nations appealed to donor countries to raise 462 million dollars for the Palestinian territories in 2008, of which only 60 percent was raised by mid-November.
Human Rights Council slams Israel over Gaza; EU abstains JAN 24,08
GENEVA (AFP) - The UN Human Rights Council criticised Israel on Thursday for its blockade of Gaza, in a resolution that EU member states on the council abstained from voting on, citing a lack of balance. By a vote of 30 to one, the council adopted the resolution that had been tabled by Pakistan and Syria on behalf of the Islamic and Arab blocs. Canada cast the lone opposing vote, while a total of 15 other states abstained.The resolution called for urgent international action to put an immediate end to the grave violations committed by the occupying power, Israel, in the occupied Palestinian territory.It marked the fourth time that the council, established in 2006 to replace the Human Rights Commission as the United Nations' main forum for human rights, had lambasted Israel in a special session.The Palestinian ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Mohammad Abu-Koash, said the vote was significant but urged greater international pressure upon Israel.Israel cannot have a free hand, a free licence against the Palestinian people, he told journalists after the session.Western states took issue with the resolution, arguing that it made no mention of Palestinian rocket attacks launched from Gaza into Israel.Both the United States and Israel were absent from the session.Neither country is a member of the 47-strong Council but both can attend as observers.
US ambassador Warren Tichenor said the Council's unbalanced approach had squandered its credibility by failing to address continued rocket attacks against Israel.Today's actions do nothing to help the Palestinian people, in whose name the supporters of this session claim to act, he said in a statement.Supporters of a Palestinian state must avoid the kind of inflammatory rhetoric and actions that this session represents, which only stoke tensions and erode the chances for peace, he added.Speaking on behalf of the European Union, Slovenia's representative said the resolution lacked an acknowledgement of civilian casualties on both sides.
Slovenia currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, which has seven member states on the council.Last week Israel turned its prolonged blockade of Gaza into a full-scale lockdown, blocking all fuel shipments and humanitarian aid, in a bid to stop the firing of rockets from the Hamas-controlled territory.On Tuesday, Israel allowed in shipments of cooking gas and fuel to power Gaza's sole power station, which had ground to a halt on Sunday night.Earlier this week, tens of thousands of Gazans poured into Egypt to stock up on goods in defiance of the Israeli siege, after militants blew up parts of the barrier that marks the border.Like its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission, the Human Rights Council has been criticised by mainly Western countries for focusing too much on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Barak says Israel may go back into Gaza By DAN PERRY and BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writers JAN 24,08
DAVOS, Switzerland - Israel's defense minister said Thursday his government has not ruled out a large-scale military operation to counter continuing rocket attacks from Gaza. He added that Israel would not rush to reconquer the teeming, impoverished seaside strip. Probably we will find ourselves there, Ehud Barak said in an interview with The Associated Press. We are not rushing to reconquer Gaza, but we will not remove any option from the table when it comes to the security of our citizens.Barak, who holds the key to Israel's tenuous coalition government, also hinted that he would not step down — as promised to his Labor party's voters in last year's leadership primary — even if next week's much-anticipated report into the conduct of the 2006 Lebanon war is damning. Barak became defense minister after the war.He said accountability on his part must be weighed against political stability at a critical time for Israel's security, and the quiet but possibly critical peace talks with the Palestinians. How exactly to balance between those two elements, that's what I will have to bear in mind when making my decision, he said.
Barak was interviewed at the World Economic Forum at Davos, which he attended as part of a high-level delegation that included Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and President Shimon Peres — all former or aspiring prime ministers.Notably absent from the Alpine gathering of political and business leaders was the current holder of the post, Ehud Olmert — who awaits an inquiry commission's report next week on his handling of the 2006 conflict with Hezbollah, a campaign widely judged as a costly misadventure.The big question in Israel — and for Barak as well as Olmert — is whether the report will blame the prime minister directly and harshly. That would spark calls for Olmert to resign and for Barak to do the same if his senior coalition partner instead tries to hang on.A world away from the idealism and buzz of Davos, tumult reined in the Middle East as Palestinians this week breached their border with Egypt and streamed into the neighboring country by the thousands. Israeli sanctions imposed on the strip in an attempt to force the end of the rocket attacks have led to severe shortages there.Barak refused to echo a statement by his deputy, who was quoted as saying Thursday that the border breach meant Israel could now relinquish all responsibility for the strip, including the supply of electricity and water.
Israel pulled troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005 but the strip is sealed off from the world and still dependent on the Jewish state.In comments confirmed by his office, deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai said that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it.I don't go too far in my interpretation of this, Barak gruffly offered.Complicating the picture are ongoing negotiations with the Palestinians that began after the U.S.-sponsored November peace conference in Annapolis, Md.President Bush has expressed optimism that a deal can be reached by the end of the year, and low-key but high-level talks between Israelis and Palestinians grind on behind a certain cloak of mystery.I hope that he's right and we clearly will do all possible efforts to make it happen, Barak said, but he added: "Having some experience in the Middle East ... I cannot tell you for sure there will be a peace agreement in 2008.Most Israelis and Palestinians probably share that skepticism, given the weakness of both Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who last year lost control of the Gaza Strip — where about a third of his people live — to the militant group Hamas.Barak, who led Israel from 1999 to 2001, was voted out when peace talks collapsed amid the outburst of a new Palestinian uprising that lasted some four years and in some ways continues. Given his clear interest in returning to his old job, the former military chief was careful in his responses, mindful of the political storm that may be coming and could either propel him back to the top or sink his aspirations.
He said 80 percent of Israelis now agreed with the idea of a Palestinian state and a withdrawal from the Palestinian-populated lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war. But are they ready to pay the price? Will Olmert's government offer at least what Barak himself did, as prime minister, some seven years ago — a near total-pullout and a division of sorts of the holy city of Jerusalem? Not these terms necessarily to the last detail, Barak said. The key, he said, was that most Israelis now understand that two states for two nations is a compelling imperative.If there is no two-state solution, if there is only one entity called Israel reigning over the whole area, it will become inevitably either non-Jewish or non-democratic.
Hamas Beats Israel's Gaza Siege By TIM MCGIRK/RAFAH CROSSING JAN 24,08
It took explosives to do what diplomacy couldn't: allow Palestinians to go on a shopping spree. The siege of Gaza, imposed by Israel and the international community after Hamas seized control of the Palestinian territory last July, ended abruptly before dawn on Wednesday when militants blew as many as 15 holes in the border wall separating the territory from Egypt. In the hours that followed, over 350,000 Palestinians swarmed across the frontier, nearly one fifth of Gaza's entire population. Some Palestinians craved medicine and food - goats appeared to be a hot item - because Israel had cut off most supplies from entering Gaza as punishment for militants' firing rockets into southern Israel. Students and businessmen joined the throng heading for Egypt. There were scores of brides-to-be, stuck on the Egyptian side, who scurried across to be united with their future bridegrooms in Gaza. And some, like teacher Abu Bakr, stepped through a blast hole into Egypt simply to enjoy the air of freedom.The previous day, President Housni Mubarak faced the wrath of the Arab world when his riot police used clubs and water hoses to attack Palestinian women pleading for Egypt to open the Rafah crossing in Gaza. And despite pressure from Israel and the United States, Mubarak wasn't about to order his men to use force to restrain Palestinians rendered desperate by Israel's siege. The Egyptian President said he ordered his troops to let them come to eat and buy food and go back, as long as they are not carrying weapons.At 2 a.m. on Wednesday, Palestinian militants detonated explosive charges knocking out slabs in the 26-foot concrete border wall, and by dawn, Gazans were racing to the open border on donkey carts and tractors and in cars. Once through the holes, they trampled across barbed wire, vaulted over fences and picked their way gingerly through cactus. Many carried heavy suitcases and said that they were never coming back to captivity in Gaza.But most Gazans were in a mad scramble to go shopping, and they returned with everything from goats to tires to jerricans full of gasoline. One stout woman in a veil threaded nimbly through barbed wire with a tray of canned fruit balanced on her head. The Palestinians cleaned out every shop on the Egyptian side: By afternoon, there was nothing to buy within a six-mile distance of the border; and even the Sinai town of El-Arish, three hours drive away, had been sucked dry of gasoline. One taxi driver who brought back cartons of cigarettes and gallons of gas to resell for a profit in Gaza said, This should help feed my family for several months.
Israel expressed fears that Hamas militants would use the breach in the border to bring in weapons. One Palestinian said he witnessed dozens of Hamas men who had been stuck in Egypt for months crossing into Gaza. Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aryeh Mekel told newsmen, We have real concerns that they can now freely smuggle explosives, missiles and people into Gaza, which makes an already bad situation even worse.Hamas moved quickly to capitalize on the mass celebration of the border's breach. The movement's parliamentary leader, Prime Minister Ismael Haniyeh, called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Egypt to join in urgent talks to find a formula for keeping the Gaza-Egypt border permanently open. Haniyeh said Hamas was prepared to set up joint control of the border with the President's forces, bringing an end to a hostilities between the two factions that erupted last July when Hamas militants chased the President's Fatah militia out of Gaza. Now that Gazans have exploded out of their besieged enclave, it may be up to Israel to seal up the border again, since the Egyptians are showing no signs of doing so. Israel had put the economic squeeze on Gaza's 1.5 million people - a policy described as collective punishment by many aid organizations - hoping it would turn the Palestinians against Hamas. But with the siege broken, even if temporarily, Hamas has earned the gratitude of hungry Palestinians and reinvigorated its popularity in Gaza.
Palestinians blow up border wall, flood into Egypt By Nidal al-Mughrabi Wed Jan 23, 7:45 PM ET
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Palestinians poured into Egypt from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after militants blew up a border wall, and stocked up on food and fuel in short supply because of an Israeli blockade. Those people are hungry for freedom, for food and for everything, said an Egyptian shopkeeper who gave her name only as Hamida, surveying shelves emptied swiftly by Gazans paying with Egyptian pounds and Israeli shekels.The fall of the Rafah wall punched a new hole in efforts by Israel, under frequent rocket attack from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, to keep pressure on the territory in the face of an international outcry over shortages and Palestinian hardship.The flood of people into the Egyptian part of Rafah -- some on donkey carts and carrying bags and cases to fill with consumer goods -- also forced Israel into a delicate diplomatic balancing act with its first Arab peace partner.Egypt proposed that it take a new look, with Israel and the Palestinian Authority, at how to reactivate their border agreement, the Foreign Ministry in Cairo said.
Residents of Rafah, a divided town straddling the Egypt-Gaza border, said militants set off explosions that demolished a 200-metre (200-yard) length of the rusting, six-meter (20-foot) high metal border wall put up by Israel in 2004, a year before it pulled its troops and settlers from the territory.Locals estimated at least 200,000 people crossed over in a rare opportunity to leave what Gazans call a giant jail.Pushing a trolley among the crowds that turned Rafah into a bazaar, Mohammed Saeed said: I have bought everything I need for the house for months. I have bought food, cigarettes and even two gallons of diesel for my car.Israel tightened its Gaza border closure last week, briefly halting fuel delivery to a main power plant and cutting supplies to petrol stations, as well as food and other humanitarian aid.
LIVING UNDER CHAOS
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, under pressure to prove his security mettle before publication next week of an inquiry's report on the costly 2006 Lebanon war, reiterated a vow to maintain pressure on Gaza until the rocket salvoes cease.But, addressing an annual policy conference in Herzliya, he also said he would not let Palestinian privations reach crisis point.We will not harm the supply of food for children, medicine for those who need it and fuel for institutions that save lives.But there is no justification for demanding we allow residents of Gaza to live normal lives while shells and rockets are fired from their streets and courtyards at Sderot and other communities in the south, Olmert said in his speech.The United States rallied to its ally's defense.The Palestinians living in Gaza are living under chaos because of Hamas, and the blame has to be placed fully at their feet, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.The border terminal in Rafah, once a main avenue to the outside world for Gazans, has been largely closed since Hamas Islamists opposed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's peace efforts with Israel seized control of the Gaza Strip in June.In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he told the security forces: Let them come in to eat and buy food. The Gazans could then go back as long as they are not carrying weapons, Mubarak said. Israeli defense Minister Ehud Barak, visiting Paris, was careful not to criticize Egypt. I believe that they (the Egyptians) know and will respect their role in this whole picture, he told reporters. Past Israeli criticism of Egypt's failure to curb weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip through tunnels running under Rafah provoked an angry response from Cairo, a key supporter of U.S.-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The European Union and international agencies have called the closure collective punishment -- banned by the Geneva Conventions -- of Gaza's 1.5 million people.
The Israeli army says about 250 rockets and mortar rounds have pounded Israel since last week. Over the same period, Israeli troops killed more than 30 Palestinians. (Additional reporting by Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia, Mohammed Yusuf in Rafah, Jonathan Wright in Cairo and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem) (Writing by Jeffrey Heller and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; editing by Tim Pearce)
Egypt starts to control crowds from Gaza By SARAH EL DEEB and OMAR SINAN, Associated Press Writer JAN 24,08
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Egyptian border guards took measures to control huge crowds of Palestinians streaming from Gaza to Egypt across a breached border for a second day Thursday, but they did not try to halt the flow. On Wednesday, Palestinian gunmen used land mines to blast down the border partition so Gazans could escape an Israeli closure imposed last week that was making food, fuel and other goods scarce. Tens of thousands of Gazans have rushed into Egypt without any border controls.On the frontier, guards were patrolling access roads while helmeted police with sniffer dogs used batons to beat the hoods of private cars and pickup trucks that massed at the border, trying to stop them from carrying Palestinians further into Egyptian territory.Egyptian officials said the border would eventually return to normal.
In the past two days, Gazans stocked up on supplies in Egypt, including cement, fuel, cigarettes and other staples.In response to continuing Palestinian rocket attacks, Israel stopped emergency shipments of industrial diesel fuel, arguing that Gazans could now get those supplies from Egypt. However, Palestinian officials said Gaza's power plant would shut down Sunday for the second time in a week if fuel shipments do not resume.The border breach effectively ended Israel's tight blockade of Gaza imposed in response to a spike in the attacks on Israeli border towns.Some Palestinian travelers in the Egyptian town of El Arish, about 15 miles from the border, said they were told by local police they should start making their way back if they had no urgent business in the city, signaling that authorities were trying to start resealing of the border.Gazans had hoped the temporary border opening would become permanent. Both Egypt and Israel had restricted the movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza after Hamas won parliament elections in 2006, and further tightened the closure after Hamas seized control of the area from moderates by force.The Egyptians started doing good deeds by letting us in. For God's sake, why don't they keep allowing us to pass through? said Mohammed Abu Amra, a Palestinian walking across the border on crutches. Everyone is rushing into Egypt before they seal it off.Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, meanwhile, caused a stir when he said Israel gradually wants to relinquish responsibility for Gaza now that a border fence with Egypt has been blown open.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel struck a similar tone, saying that once Gazans are getting supplies from elsewhere, there is less need for Israel to provide for them.Privately, Israeli officials said the border breach could pave the way for increasingly disconnecting from the territory.However, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, speaking to The Associated Press on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, did not echo Vilnai's remarks.I don't go too far in my interpretation of this, Barak said.Egypt angrily rejected the Israeli ideas, and said it would not change border arrangements.The border will go back as normal, said Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki, adding that Egypt had not been approached by Israel about a possible change in the status of Gaza.Egypt has not yet indicated how it plans to reseal the border, but it would not be that difficult for it to rebuild some type of physical barrier fairly quickly. Egypt is highly unlikely to leave the border town of Rafah united, instead probably aiming to re-create some type of partition in roughly the same position as the old one. For now, it appeared Egypt was moving slowly, putting its forces in the area as a first step toward later pushing Gazans back and then re-erecting a barrier. In a previous major breach, after the Israeli pullout from Gaza in 2005, Egypt closed the border after four days and issued a deadline for Gazans to return home. Troops searched for, detained and fined stragglers who were then sent to their side of the border. Egypt also lined up armored personnel carriers and riot police as a makeshift border barrier, and eventually rebuilt a small border fence.
The border breach has boosted the popularity of Gaza's Hamas rulers, who in recent months had struggled to govern because of border closures. The sanctions have led to severe shortages of cement, cigarettes and other basic goods, deepened poverty and drove up unemployment. Hamas has used the breach — carefully planned with militants weakening the metal wall with blow torches about a month ago — to push its demand for reopening the border passages, this time with Hamas involvement. Such an arrangement would in effect end the international sanctions that have isolated the Islamic militants. Hamas government spokesman Taher Nunu suggested Thursday that Hamas would seek a future role on the Gaza-Egypt border. An open border like this has no logic, he said. We are studying the mechanism of having an official crossing point.
However, it was not clear whether Egypt will acquiesce. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been under intense public pressure at home in recent days to alleviate the suffering of Gazans under blockade. However, Egypt would likely be reluctant to have an open border with a territory ruled by Islamic militants. In Tel Aviv, visiting U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said that while Hamas itself was to blame for the shortages in the Gaza Strip, it was Egypt's responsibility to restore order at its border. Obviously it is going to be up to the Egyptian government to bring under control the situation along the border, he said at the start of a meeting with Israeli Cabinet minister Shaul Mofaz.
Cargo shipments across the border picked up. Trucks and donkey carts pulled up to the Egyptian side, the goods were unloaded and carried across to the Gazan side where they were put in waiting trucks. Gaza businessman Abu Omar Shurafa received a shipment of 100 tons of cement, seizing an opportunity to stock up before the border closes again. Everyone is exerting all efforts to stock the reserves for six to seven months. We have to find a way to continue living, he said. Still, he was also hopeful that this could be the beginning of a new arrangement. A solution has to be like this, he said, referring to the flow of goods from Egypt. Some Gazans just wanted to get out, even for a few hours. We just want freedom, said Adel Tildani, who was bringing his mother-in-law from Egypt into Gaza to meet grandchildren she had never seen before. I don't need to buy anything. Freedom is more important.AP reporters Omar Sinan, Salah Nasrawi and Dan Perry contributed to this report from Rafah, Egypt, Cairo and Davos, Switzerland, respectively.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
GAZA IN MASS CONFUSION
AS THE STOCK MARKETS PLUNGED AROUND THE WORLD TODAY THE MIDEAST IS IN TURMOIL. DOES NATIONS IN DISTRESS WITH MASS CONFUSION RING A BELL TODAY AROUND THE WORLD.
US urges Israel to avert Gaza crisis Tue Jan 22, 9:21 AM ET
BERLIN (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Tuesday urged Israel to not let a humanitarian crisis develop in the Gaza Strip as Israel eased a fuel blockade in the Hamas-run territory.
Ultimately, Hamas is to blame for this circumstance because if they were more responsible toward the international community, then Gaza would be connected to the outside world rather than cut off, Rice said upon arriving in Berlin for negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.But that said, nobody wants innocent Gazans to suffer so we have spoken to the Israelis about the importance of not allowing a humanitarian crisis to unfold there.They have said they do not want a humanitarian crisis and they understand the need to permit fuel and electricity in Gaza, she added.Fuel trucks entered Gaza early on Tuesday as Israel eased a punishing blockade of the territory imposed last Thursday.Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak had ordered the coastal strip sealed off in response to rockets being fired into the Jewish state but there has been mounting international fears of a humanitarian crisis.The blockade also raised warnings that it could sink the peace talks that Israel and the Palestinians revived in late November under US stewardship.I think the Israelis are trying to deal with also an untenable situation from their point of view... I am hopeful that perhaps people can look at different ways of dealing with Gaza, Rice said.
Abbas: peace talks must continue Tue Jan 22, 6:12 AM ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that peace talks with Israel must continue despite the escalating confrontation between Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza. We insist that the negotiations continue, and that we reach a solution this year that will satisfy our people and our national demands, he said.Abbas had come under growing pressure at home to suspend negotiations after an escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas in recent days.Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza last week in response to a sharp increase in rocket attacks by Palestinian militants but partially lifted it Tuesday with a delivery of fuel for Gaza's power plant.
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR NATO TROOPS TO COME INTO GAZA TO CONTROL THE MURDEROUS ARAB VIOLENCE BUT IT HAS NOT HAPPENED YET, IT HAS TO SHORTLY THE BIBLE SAYS THE EU WILL GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY.
UN Security Council set for emergency meeting on Gaza by Gerard Aziakou Tue Jan 22, 7:13 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council was to meet in emergency session Tuesday on the humanitarian crisis triggered by Israel's crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip in response to militant rocket fire. The 15-member body was to meet at 10 am (1500 GMT) at the request of Arab and Islamic states.The decision to hold the emergency session was made during closed-door consultations late Monday amid a growing international outcry at what the European Union termed the collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5 million residents.The strong international reaction and warnings of a humanitarian crisis led Israel to ease the blockade from Tuesday.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak authorized the impoverished territory to be resupplied with fuel for its sole power plant on Tuesday and with basic foods and medicines on Wednesday.The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) had warned it would be forced to stop food distribution to hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents within days if the lockdown continued.
The easing of the blockade was welcomed by Khaled Meshaal, the exiled chief of Hamas, the Islamist movement which seized control of Gaza last June.But Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose forces Hamas ousted from the territory, called on Israel to fully lift its blockade, calling Tuesday's partial easing insufficient.
This is insufficient and we will continue our efforts to get a total lifting of the blockade, Abbas told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Palestinian UN observer Ryad Mansour told reporters here Monday that he wanted the 15-member council to adopt a resolution or a statement demanding that Israel lift its crippling, cruel siege on the Palestinian civilian population.Israel planned to oppose the passing of the resolution, the foreign ministry said in a statement in Jerusalem.We can't tolerate a situation where the Security Council debates only the situation of residents in the Gaza Strip and completely ignores that of Israelis living under the constant threat of Qassam rockets, it said.The Gaza Strip, where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on aid, has been sealed off since Thursday when Israel closed all crossing points into the territory in response to persistent rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.
The lockdown came as Gaza was already reeling from restrictions Israel imposed after Hamas seized power seven months ago.Over the past week, Israeli raids in Gaza have killed 37 people, mostly militants, while gunmen have launched some 200 rockets or mortar rounds into Israel, lightly wounding at least 10 people.US ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said that while Israel had the right to defend itself, it had to take the impact on the civilians into account.EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero Waldner warned that neither the blockade nor the deadly air and ground strikes of the past week would bring Israel security from militant rocket fire.Only a credible political agreement this year ... can turn Palestinians away from violence, she said. Israel revived peace talks with Abbas at a conference in the United States last November. During a visit to the Holy Land less than two weeks ago, US President George W. Bush said he hoped to see a final agreement before he leaves office next January. In London on Tuesday, Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad said the Gaza crisis should not stop the renewed peace process. Life has become completely unbearable, that should not be allowed to continue, Fayyad told reporters, referring to the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
But he added: Negotiations clearly can proceed even under the very difficult situation that we have right now.
Lights back on in Gaza as Israel eases blockade by Adel Zaanoun JAN 22,08
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Lights went back on in parts of Gaza City on Tuesday as Israel eased a punishing blockade and allowed in limited amounts of fuel to the impoverished Hamas-run territory.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on the Jewish state to completely lift the lockdown, now in its fifth day, amid mounting international fears of a humanitarian crisis in the territory where most people depend on foreign aid.At least five people were wounded when a Hamas-called protest turned violent at the Rafah crossing into Egypt -- Gaza's sole crossing bypassing Israel -- with a gunfire exchange between the Palestinian protesters and Egyptian security forces.Trucks carrying cooking gas, industrial diesel and fuel oil entered Gaza early on Tuesday for the first time since Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the strip sealed off late Thursday in response to persistent rocket fire.Hours later the territory's sole power plant went back online and electricity returned to blocks in Gaza City that had been without power since it shut down on Sunday after running out of fuel.Several trucks carrying food also entered the territory, aid officials said, and others with medicine and humanitarian aid are expected in on Wednesday.
Israel warned that Tuesday's fuel deliveries were a one-off shipment that would be reassessed based on rocket and mortar fire from Gaza.We want to send a clear message to Hamas but at the same time, we do not wish to get into clashes with the international community, foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel told AFP.The impact of the Israeli blockade had sparked an international outcry on Monday, with the European Union accusing Israel of a collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5-million civilian population.On Tuesday, international aid agencies warned that Gaza was at risk of a total collapse of its infrastructure if Israeli blockade measures continued.The blockade measures have an enormous human cost and we have asked Israel to immediately lift all retaliatory measures, Dorothea Krimitsas, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in Geneva.There were also concerns that the blockade could sink the peace talks that Israel and the Palestinians revived in late November under US stewardship.
Israel's main ally Washington on Tuesday reiterated that Hamas bore responsibility for the lockdown because of continuing rocket fire from Gaza, but said it had warned Israel about not allowing a humanitarian crisis to develop.Ultimately, Hamas is to blame for this circumstance because if they were more responsible toward the international community, then Gaza would be connected to the outside world rather than cut off, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.But that said, nobody wants innocent Gazans to suffer so we have spoken to the Israelis about the importance of not allowing a humanitarian crisis to unfold there, she said.The Palestinian president called on Israel to fully lift the lockdown of the territory from which his forces were ousted by Hamas seven months ago.This is insufficient and we will continue our efforts to get a total lifting of the blockade, Abbas told reporters.In London, Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad described the situation in Gaza as intolerable but said it would not stop the renewed peace process. Life has become completely unbearable, that should not be allowed to continue, Fayyad told reporters. Negotiations clearly can proceed even under the very difficult situation that we have right now.
At the Rafah crossing, four Palestinians and an Egyptian policeman were wounded after gunfire erupted as security forces tried to prevent the demonstrators from breaking through to the Egyptian side. The UN Security Council was to hold an emergency meeting later on Tuesday to discuss the crisis at the request of Arab states. Militants fired 17 rockets at Israel early on Tuesday, five of them landed in Israeli territory without causing casualties, the army said. The number of rockets fired from Gaza has fallen markedly in recent days. Over the past week, Israeli strikes against militants in Gaza killed 38 people, most of them gunmen, while militants fired more than 200 rockets and mortar rounds into Israel, lightly wounding at least 10 people.
SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN LAWLESS MURDERERS ARE LEFT TO CONTROL A PLACE AND DO NOT GET THEIR WAY BUT REBELL. WELL THIS IS HAMAS AND FATAH AND THE CHAOS IN GAZA TODAY.
Gunfire wounds five as Gazans storm Egypt border by Joseph Krauss JAN 22,08
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AFP) - At least five people were wounded on Tuesday when a Hamas-called protest at Gaza's Rafah border crossing turned violent with an exchange of fire between Egyptian forces and Palestinians. Gunfire erupted from both sides as helmeted Egyptian security forces tried to push back hundreds of Palestinian protesters, many of them women, who were trying to force their way to the Egyptian side of the crossing.At least four Palestinians were shot and wounded, medics said. Egyptian security sources said 11 policemen were injured, including one from gunfire. The other 10 were hurt by rocks thrown at them.Several bloodied people were rushed from the scene on stretchers and to be whisked away by ambulances, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.Amid the mayhem, dozens of Palestinians managed to break through to the Egyptian side of the crossing -- Gaza's sole border crossing that bypasses Israel.
They ran past Egyptian security forces who had pulled back after the shooting broke out, an Egyptian security source said.Egypt called on Hamas to urge Gaza residents to avoid further unrest and expressed deep regret over the incidents.Cairo asks those in control of the Gaza Strip to work to avoid the repetition of such a situation, foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said.The protest began when mostly women and young people gathered at the crossing, demanding to be let into Egypt amid a punishing Israeli blockade on the territory.Egyptian security forces detained dozens of people after using a water cannon to try to prevent them from breaking through.A group of 40 women and 10 young people was returned to Gaza later.No one in the world sees us, no one is helping us, Samia Arafat, a veiled mother of six dressed in black told AFP.The entire Arab world should be helping us, but they are standing with Israel because they are scared of America and of Israel.
This was echoed by Umm Mohammed, a 42-year-old mother of five. Why doesn't Egypt open the crossing? she wailed. Because (US President George W.) Bush gives them dollars.After about two hours, Egyptian security forces regained control of the border, Egypt's official MENA news agency said.Egyptian security forces have succeeded in closing both entrances at the Rafah border crossing and buses have begun to take Palestinian women and children back to the Gaza Strip, it reported.The protesters on the Palestinian side were dispersed by baton-wielding Hamas forces, with loudspeakers announcing that Hamas is not responsible for anything that happens here... Everyone has to leave immediately.Rafah has been closed nearly continuously with few exceptions since June 2006, following the seizure of an Israeli soldier by Gaza-based militants in a deadly raid. Several Hamas-called demonstrations have been held on the Gaza side of Rafah since Israel imposed a punishing blockade on the territory last Thursday in response to persistent rocket and mortar fire. Israel eased the blockade on Tuesday, allowing limited amounts of fuel to enter the impoverished territory where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on foreign aid.
Trucks with medicine and other humanitarian supplies were expected to be allowed in on Wednesday. The Islamist movement Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip seven months ago, routing forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after a week of deadly street clashes. Since the takeover Israel has gradually clamped down on the movement of goods and people from the coastal strip.
US urges Israel to avert Gaza crisis Tue Jan 22, 9:21 AM ET
BERLIN (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Tuesday urged Israel to not let a humanitarian crisis develop in the Gaza Strip as Israel eased a fuel blockade in the Hamas-run territory.
Ultimately, Hamas is to blame for this circumstance because if they were more responsible toward the international community, then Gaza would be connected to the outside world rather than cut off, Rice said upon arriving in Berlin for negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.But that said, nobody wants innocent Gazans to suffer so we have spoken to the Israelis about the importance of not allowing a humanitarian crisis to unfold there.They have said they do not want a humanitarian crisis and they understand the need to permit fuel and electricity in Gaza, she added.Fuel trucks entered Gaza early on Tuesday as Israel eased a punishing blockade of the territory imposed last Thursday.Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak had ordered the coastal strip sealed off in response to rockets being fired into the Jewish state but there has been mounting international fears of a humanitarian crisis.The blockade also raised warnings that it could sink the peace talks that Israel and the Palestinians revived in late November under US stewardship.I think the Israelis are trying to deal with also an untenable situation from their point of view... I am hopeful that perhaps people can look at different ways of dealing with Gaza, Rice said.
Abbas: peace talks must continue Tue Jan 22, 6:12 AM ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Tuesday that peace talks with Israel must continue despite the escalating confrontation between Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza. We insist that the negotiations continue, and that we reach a solution this year that will satisfy our people and our national demands, he said.Abbas had come under growing pressure at home to suspend negotiations after an escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas in recent days.Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza last week in response to a sharp increase in rocket attacks by Palestinian militants but partially lifted it Tuesday with a delivery of fuel for Gaza's power plant.
I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR NATO TROOPS TO COME INTO GAZA TO CONTROL THE MURDEROUS ARAB VIOLENCE BUT IT HAS NOT HAPPENED YET, IT HAS TO SHORTLY THE BIBLE SAYS THE EU WILL GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY.
UN Security Council set for emergency meeting on Gaza by Gerard Aziakou Tue Jan 22, 7:13 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The UN Security Council was to meet in emergency session Tuesday on the humanitarian crisis triggered by Israel's crippling blockade of the Gaza Strip in response to militant rocket fire. The 15-member body was to meet at 10 am (1500 GMT) at the request of Arab and Islamic states.The decision to hold the emergency session was made during closed-door consultations late Monday amid a growing international outcry at what the European Union termed the collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5 million residents.The strong international reaction and warnings of a humanitarian crisis led Israel to ease the blockade from Tuesday.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak authorized the impoverished territory to be resupplied with fuel for its sole power plant on Tuesday and with basic foods and medicines on Wednesday.The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) had warned it would be forced to stop food distribution to hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents within days if the lockdown continued.
The easing of the blockade was welcomed by Khaled Meshaal, the exiled chief of Hamas, the Islamist movement which seized control of Gaza last June.But Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose forces Hamas ousted from the territory, called on Israel to fully lift its blockade, calling Tuesday's partial easing insufficient.
This is insufficient and we will continue our efforts to get a total lifting of the blockade, Abbas told reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah.
Palestinian UN observer Ryad Mansour told reporters here Monday that he wanted the 15-member council to adopt a resolution or a statement demanding that Israel lift its crippling, cruel siege on the Palestinian civilian population.Israel planned to oppose the passing of the resolution, the foreign ministry said in a statement in Jerusalem.We can't tolerate a situation where the Security Council debates only the situation of residents in the Gaza Strip and completely ignores that of Israelis living under the constant threat of Qassam rockets, it said.The Gaza Strip, where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on aid, has been sealed off since Thursday when Israel closed all crossing points into the territory in response to persistent rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.
The lockdown came as Gaza was already reeling from restrictions Israel imposed after Hamas seized power seven months ago.Over the past week, Israeli raids in Gaza have killed 37 people, mostly militants, while gunmen have launched some 200 rockets or mortar rounds into Israel, lightly wounding at least 10 people.US ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said that while Israel had the right to defend itself, it had to take the impact on the civilians into account.EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero Waldner warned that neither the blockade nor the deadly air and ground strikes of the past week would bring Israel security from militant rocket fire.Only a credible political agreement this year ... can turn Palestinians away from violence, she said. Israel revived peace talks with Abbas at a conference in the United States last November. During a visit to the Holy Land less than two weeks ago, US President George W. Bush said he hoped to see a final agreement before he leaves office next January. In London on Tuesday, Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad said the Gaza crisis should not stop the renewed peace process. Life has become completely unbearable, that should not be allowed to continue, Fayyad told reporters, referring to the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
But he added: Negotiations clearly can proceed even under the very difficult situation that we have right now.
Lights back on in Gaza as Israel eases blockade by Adel Zaanoun JAN 22,08
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Lights went back on in parts of Gaza City on Tuesday as Israel eased a punishing blockade and allowed in limited amounts of fuel to the impoverished Hamas-run territory.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas called on the Jewish state to completely lift the lockdown, now in its fifth day, amid mounting international fears of a humanitarian crisis in the territory where most people depend on foreign aid.At least five people were wounded when a Hamas-called protest turned violent at the Rafah crossing into Egypt -- Gaza's sole crossing bypassing Israel -- with a gunfire exchange between the Palestinian protesters and Egyptian security forces.Trucks carrying cooking gas, industrial diesel and fuel oil entered Gaza early on Tuesday for the first time since Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the strip sealed off late Thursday in response to persistent rocket fire.Hours later the territory's sole power plant went back online and electricity returned to blocks in Gaza City that had been without power since it shut down on Sunday after running out of fuel.Several trucks carrying food also entered the territory, aid officials said, and others with medicine and humanitarian aid are expected in on Wednesday.
Israel warned that Tuesday's fuel deliveries were a one-off shipment that would be reassessed based on rocket and mortar fire from Gaza.We want to send a clear message to Hamas but at the same time, we do not wish to get into clashes with the international community, foreign ministry spokesman Arye Mekel told AFP.The impact of the Israeli blockade had sparked an international outcry on Monday, with the European Union accusing Israel of a collective punishment of Gaza's 1.5-million civilian population.On Tuesday, international aid agencies warned that Gaza was at risk of a total collapse of its infrastructure if Israeli blockade measures continued.The blockade measures have an enormous human cost and we have asked Israel to immediately lift all retaliatory measures, Dorothea Krimitsas, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said in Geneva.There were also concerns that the blockade could sink the peace talks that Israel and the Palestinians revived in late November under US stewardship.
Israel's main ally Washington on Tuesday reiterated that Hamas bore responsibility for the lockdown because of continuing rocket fire from Gaza, but said it had warned Israel about not allowing a humanitarian crisis to develop.Ultimately, Hamas is to blame for this circumstance because if they were more responsible toward the international community, then Gaza would be connected to the outside world rather than cut off, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.But that said, nobody wants innocent Gazans to suffer so we have spoken to the Israelis about the importance of not allowing a humanitarian crisis to unfold there, she said.The Palestinian president called on Israel to fully lift the lockdown of the territory from which his forces were ousted by Hamas seven months ago.This is insufficient and we will continue our efforts to get a total lifting of the blockade, Abbas told reporters.In London, Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad described the situation in Gaza as intolerable but said it would not stop the renewed peace process. Life has become completely unbearable, that should not be allowed to continue, Fayyad told reporters. Negotiations clearly can proceed even under the very difficult situation that we have right now.
At the Rafah crossing, four Palestinians and an Egyptian policeman were wounded after gunfire erupted as security forces tried to prevent the demonstrators from breaking through to the Egyptian side. The UN Security Council was to hold an emergency meeting later on Tuesday to discuss the crisis at the request of Arab states. Militants fired 17 rockets at Israel early on Tuesday, five of them landed in Israeli territory without causing casualties, the army said. The number of rockets fired from Gaza has fallen markedly in recent days. Over the past week, Israeli strikes against militants in Gaza killed 38 people, most of them gunmen, while militants fired more than 200 rockets and mortar rounds into Israel, lightly wounding at least 10 people.
SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN LAWLESS MURDERERS ARE LEFT TO CONTROL A PLACE AND DO NOT GET THEIR WAY BUT REBELL. WELL THIS IS HAMAS AND FATAH AND THE CHAOS IN GAZA TODAY.
Gunfire wounds five as Gazans storm Egypt border by Joseph Krauss JAN 22,08
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AFP) - At least five people were wounded on Tuesday when a Hamas-called protest at Gaza's Rafah border crossing turned violent with an exchange of fire between Egyptian forces and Palestinians. Gunfire erupted from both sides as helmeted Egyptian security forces tried to push back hundreds of Palestinian protesters, many of them women, who were trying to force their way to the Egyptian side of the crossing.At least four Palestinians were shot and wounded, medics said. Egyptian security sources said 11 policemen were injured, including one from gunfire. The other 10 were hurt by rocks thrown at them.Several bloodied people were rushed from the scene on stretchers and to be whisked away by ambulances, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear.Amid the mayhem, dozens of Palestinians managed to break through to the Egyptian side of the crossing -- Gaza's sole border crossing that bypasses Israel.
They ran past Egyptian security forces who had pulled back after the shooting broke out, an Egyptian security source said.Egypt called on Hamas to urge Gaza residents to avoid further unrest and expressed deep regret over the incidents.Cairo asks those in control of the Gaza Strip to work to avoid the repetition of such a situation, foreign ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said.The protest began when mostly women and young people gathered at the crossing, demanding to be let into Egypt amid a punishing Israeli blockade on the territory.Egyptian security forces detained dozens of people after using a water cannon to try to prevent them from breaking through.A group of 40 women and 10 young people was returned to Gaza later.No one in the world sees us, no one is helping us, Samia Arafat, a veiled mother of six dressed in black told AFP.The entire Arab world should be helping us, but they are standing with Israel because they are scared of America and of Israel.
This was echoed by Umm Mohammed, a 42-year-old mother of five. Why doesn't Egypt open the crossing? she wailed. Because (US President George W.) Bush gives them dollars.After about two hours, Egyptian security forces regained control of the border, Egypt's official MENA news agency said.Egyptian security forces have succeeded in closing both entrances at the Rafah border crossing and buses have begun to take Palestinian women and children back to the Gaza Strip, it reported.The protesters on the Palestinian side were dispersed by baton-wielding Hamas forces, with loudspeakers announcing that Hamas is not responsible for anything that happens here... Everyone has to leave immediately.Rafah has been closed nearly continuously with few exceptions since June 2006, following the seizure of an Israeli soldier by Gaza-based militants in a deadly raid. Several Hamas-called demonstrations have been held on the Gaza side of Rafah since Israel imposed a punishing blockade on the territory last Thursday in response to persistent rocket and mortar fire. Israel eased the blockade on Tuesday, allowing limited amounts of fuel to enter the impoverished territory where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on foreign aid.
Trucks with medicine and other humanitarian supplies were expected to be allowed in on Wednesday. The Islamist movement Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip seven months ago, routing forces loyal to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after a week of deadly street clashes. Since the takeover Israel has gradually clamped down on the movement of goods and people from the coastal strip.
Monday, January 21, 2008
PERES CALLS FOR REFERENDUM
Gaza plunged into darkness after Israel lockdown by Adel Zaanoun JAN 21,08
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Gaza was in darkness early Monday after its only power plant shut down for lack of fuel as Israel kept up a blockade of the Hamas-run territory in retaliation for rocket fire, despite warnings of a humanitarian crisis. The closure of the plant, which accounts for 30 percent of the population's needs, plunged entire city blocks in Gaza City into darkness, and was set to sharply worsen power cuts already hitting the impoverished coastal strip.
We have had to close the power plant for want of fuel, its director Rafiq Mliha told reporters, warning of very serious consequences for residents, but also for the operation of hospitals and water treatment plants.Mliha said he had no word on when Israel might allow in the fuel to enable the power station to resume generating electricity.The Gaza Strip, where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on aid, remained sealed off for a third consecutive day Sunday as the Israeli cabinet decided to maintain the closure of crossing points amid escalating violence.The Gaza director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees called on Israel to reopen the crossings and appealed to the international community to help the civilian population.The power station's shutdown has plummeted Gaza City, which has 600,000 people, into darkness, John Ging told a news conference, adding that the loss of electricity affects every aspect of the civilian population's lives here in Gaza.If you visit any of the hospitals you will find that its generators are only producing enough electricity to keep essential equipment going. They are very cold, all of the wards, adding to the misery of the patients, Ging said.In the darkened streets of Gaza City, hundreds of people held a candlelit vigil chanting: No, no to the siege.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the crossings into Gaza closed late on Thursday, saying the move was aimed at pressuring militants inside to stop firing rockets and mortars into Israel and that it would be reassessed.On Sunday, Barak told the cabinet that the army was weakening daily life in Gaza.We are targeting the terror elements and we are trying to show the international community that we are exhausting all possible options before Israel decides on a broad (military) operation, a senior government official quoted him as saying.The Islamist Hamas movement, which has controlled Gaza since seizing power after a week of deadly clashes last June, said the Israeli measures amounted to a death sentence for the territory and called for international intervention.Closing the crossings into the Gaza Strip and stopping fuel shipments, alongside the continuation of the criminal killings, represents a death sentence and a slow death for the Palestinian people, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose forces Hamas defeated in Gaza, joined the calls for an end to the Israeli closure. Abbas called on the Israeli government to lift its blockade of Gaza immediately and allow the entry of fuel to facilitate the lives of the innocent and enable the proper functioning of hospitals which are facing a crisis that is putting lives at risk, his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said.The Palestinian president also called for a special meeting of foreign ministers of the Arab League to discuss the crisis and threatened to raise the matter with the UN Security Council if Israel did not relent in the coming hours.The power cuts come amid peak winter demand and with Gaza already reeling from a previous package of restrictions Israel imposed after the Hamas takeover. This is a very fragile system that is suffering from seven months of closure and every additional blow is reverberating throughout hospitals, water wells and homes in Gaza, said Sari Bashi, who heads the Israeli human rights watchdog GISHA. Israel has been carrying out air and ground strikes inside Gaza for months but it has so far failed to halt the rocket and mortar fire. On Sunday an Israeli air strike wounded four Palestinians, who an army spokesman said were transporting rockets ahead of an attack.
A Palestinian activist with a group linked to Fatah was killed later Sunday and two other Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli air raid east of Gaza City, Palestinian medical sources reported.
Clashes between the army and Gaza militants sharply escalated after an Israeli operation killed 19 Palestinians, mostly gunmen, on Tuesday in the deadliest single day in Gaza in more than a year.
Since then, Israeli raids have killed 37 people, most of them militants, and gunmen have launched some 200 rockets or mortar rounds into Israel, wounding at least 10 people.
Israel's Shimon Peres calls for referendum on any peace deal Sun Jan 20, 5:29 PM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's President Shimon Peres said on Sunday any peace deal with the Palestinians should be put to a vote in the Jewish state either through a referendum or elections.
Israel and the Palestinians re-launched peace talks after a seven-year hiatus at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November.Both Israel and the Palestinians agreed to try and reach a deal on Palestinian statehood before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in a year.I propose either a referendum or elections but this should be at the end of negotiations, Peres told Reuters on the sidelines of Israel's annual Herzliya security and policy conference which held its opening session in parliament.Peres, who holds the largely ceremonial position, said the government, as well as Israel's opposition parties in parliament, needed to put together its position .... so the people can decide.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government faces stiff opposition to this peace drive from right-wing members of the 120-member parliament. A key coalition partner quit his cabinet last week in protest over the talks.
Asked if a referendum could potentially weaken Olmert, Peres said: I think if he (Olmert) comes up with a plan it would bolster him rather than make things more difficult for him.Israel has never held a referendum, which would require a change in the state's basic laws.(Reporting by Dan Williams; Writing by Avida Landau, Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)
Orthodox Christians mark Jesus baptism in Jordan River Fri Jan 18, 3:48 PM ET
JERICHO, West Bank (AFP) - Thousands of Orthodox Christians made a pilgrimage on Friday to the Jordan River site where Jesus is believed to have been baptized. The event marked the Feast of the Epiphany, when Jesus began his public ministry by receiving baptism from John the Baptist.Western Christians celebrate Epiphany on January 6, or 12 days after Christmas. The Orthodox, who continue to use the old Julian calendar, mark the date on January 18.The celebrations began with prayers by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, at the fifth-century monastery of St. John the Baptist on a hill overlooking the river.The monastery and the riverside site where the baptism is believed to have taken place are located in what has been a closed Israeli military zone since the September 2000 outbreak of the Palestinian uprising.
Visitors are only allowed in on special occasions, under heavy security.A similar ceremony was held on the east side of the river, in what is Jordanian territory, where several thousand people also gathered.Traditionally, the patriarch blesses the waters, after which people press toward the river down steep banks lined with scrubby trees and rushes.Many will bathe in the river as a re-enactment of their own baptisms, while the less adventurous will fill bottles with water from the river.This year, however, authorities prevented pilgrims on both sides of the river from entering the water.
GAZA CITY (AFP) - Gaza was in darkness early Monday after its only power plant shut down for lack of fuel as Israel kept up a blockade of the Hamas-run territory in retaliation for rocket fire, despite warnings of a humanitarian crisis. The closure of the plant, which accounts for 30 percent of the population's needs, plunged entire city blocks in Gaza City into darkness, and was set to sharply worsen power cuts already hitting the impoverished coastal strip.
We have had to close the power plant for want of fuel, its director Rafiq Mliha told reporters, warning of very serious consequences for residents, but also for the operation of hospitals and water treatment plants.Mliha said he had no word on when Israel might allow in the fuel to enable the power station to resume generating electricity.The Gaza Strip, where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on aid, remained sealed off for a third consecutive day Sunday as the Israeli cabinet decided to maintain the closure of crossing points amid escalating violence.The Gaza director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees called on Israel to reopen the crossings and appealed to the international community to help the civilian population.The power station's shutdown has plummeted Gaza City, which has 600,000 people, into darkness, John Ging told a news conference, adding that the loss of electricity affects every aspect of the civilian population's lives here in Gaza.If you visit any of the hospitals you will find that its generators are only producing enough electricity to keep essential equipment going. They are very cold, all of the wards, adding to the misery of the patients, Ging said.In the darkened streets of Gaza City, hundreds of people held a candlelit vigil chanting: No, no to the siege.
Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered the crossings into Gaza closed late on Thursday, saying the move was aimed at pressuring militants inside to stop firing rockets and mortars into Israel and that it would be reassessed.On Sunday, Barak told the cabinet that the army was weakening daily life in Gaza.We are targeting the terror elements and we are trying to show the international community that we are exhausting all possible options before Israel decides on a broad (military) operation, a senior government official quoted him as saying.The Islamist Hamas movement, which has controlled Gaza since seizing power after a week of deadly clashes last June, said the Israeli measures amounted to a death sentence for the territory and called for international intervention.Closing the crossings into the Gaza Strip and stopping fuel shipments, alongside the continuation of the criminal killings, represents a death sentence and a slow death for the Palestinian people, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, whose forces Hamas defeated in Gaza, joined the calls for an end to the Israeli closure. Abbas called on the Israeli government to lift its blockade of Gaza immediately and allow the entry of fuel to facilitate the lives of the innocent and enable the proper functioning of hospitals which are facing a crisis that is putting lives at risk, his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said.The Palestinian president also called for a special meeting of foreign ministers of the Arab League to discuss the crisis and threatened to raise the matter with the UN Security Council if Israel did not relent in the coming hours.The power cuts come amid peak winter demand and with Gaza already reeling from a previous package of restrictions Israel imposed after the Hamas takeover. This is a very fragile system that is suffering from seven months of closure and every additional blow is reverberating throughout hospitals, water wells and homes in Gaza, said Sari Bashi, who heads the Israeli human rights watchdog GISHA. Israel has been carrying out air and ground strikes inside Gaza for months but it has so far failed to halt the rocket and mortar fire. On Sunday an Israeli air strike wounded four Palestinians, who an army spokesman said were transporting rockets ahead of an attack.
A Palestinian activist with a group linked to Fatah was killed later Sunday and two other Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli air raid east of Gaza City, Palestinian medical sources reported.
Clashes between the army and Gaza militants sharply escalated after an Israeli operation killed 19 Palestinians, mostly gunmen, on Tuesday in the deadliest single day in Gaza in more than a year.
Since then, Israeli raids have killed 37 people, most of them militants, and gunmen have launched some 200 rockets or mortar rounds into Israel, wounding at least 10 people.
Israel's Shimon Peres calls for referendum on any peace deal Sun Jan 20, 5:29 PM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's President Shimon Peres said on Sunday any peace deal with the Palestinians should be put to a vote in the Jewish state either through a referendum or elections.
Israel and the Palestinians re-launched peace talks after a seven-year hiatus at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November.Both Israel and the Palestinians agreed to try and reach a deal on Palestinian statehood before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in a year.I propose either a referendum or elections but this should be at the end of negotiations, Peres told Reuters on the sidelines of Israel's annual Herzliya security and policy conference which held its opening session in parliament.Peres, who holds the largely ceremonial position, said the government, as well as Israel's opposition parties in parliament, needed to put together its position .... so the people can decide.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government faces stiff opposition to this peace drive from right-wing members of the 120-member parliament. A key coalition partner quit his cabinet last week in protest over the talks.
Asked if a referendum could potentially weaken Olmert, Peres said: I think if he (Olmert) comes up with a plan it would bolster him rather than make things more difficult for him.Israel has never held a referendum, which would require a change in the state's basic laws.(Reporting by Dan Williams; Writing by Avida Landau, Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)
Orthodox Christians mark Jesus baptism in Jordan River Fri Jan 18, 3:48 PM ET
JERICHO, West Bank (AFP) - Thousands of Orthodox Christians made a pilgrimage on Friday to the Jordan River site where Jesus is believed to have been baptized. The event marked the Feast of the Epiphany, when Jesus began his public ministry by receiving baptism from John the Baptist.Western Christians celebrate Epiphany on January 6, or 12 days after Christmas. The Orthodox, who continue to use the old Julian calendar, mark the date on January 18.The celebrations began with prayers by the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III, at the fifth-century monastery of St. John the Baptist on a hill overlooking the river.The monastery and the riverside site where the baptism is believed to have taken place are located in what has been a closed Israeli military zone since the September 2000 outbreak of the Palestinian uprising.
Visitors are only allowed in on special occasions, under heavy security.A similar ceremony was held on the east side of the river, in what is Jordanian territory, where several thousand people also gathered.Traditionally, the patriarch blesses the waters, after which people press toward the river down steep banks lined with scrubby trees and rushes.Many will bathe in the river as a re-enactment of their own baptisms, while the less adventurous will fill bottles with water from the river.This year, however, authorities prevented pilgrims on both sides of the river from entering the water.
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