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.
