Israel escalates offensive into Gaza cities by Mai Yaghi Mai Yaghi – Tue Jan 6, 9:16 am ET
GAZA CITY (AFP) – Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships went blazing into towns across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, attacking Hamas targets and searching for its leaders as the war death toll approached 600.Troops fought Islamist militants around the back alleys of Gaza's main city in the heaviest fighting of the 11-day-old offensive to halt rocket attacks on Israel. Hamas made its deepest rocket strike yet into Israel.On the diplomatic front, Arab nations pressed the case for a UN Security Council resolution condemning the onslaught, but Israel rejected ceasefire calls by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other leaders.Europe must open its eyes, President Shimon Peres told an EU ministerial delegation that demanded a truce. We are not in the business of public relations or improving our image. We are fighting against terror and we have every right to defend our citizens.Black smoke covered districts of Gaza City and the edges of Deir al-Balah and al-Bureij where heavy fighting raged on Tuesday.Tanks backed by helicopter gunships rolled into the southern town of Khan Yunis before dawn, to be met by return fire from Hamas and its allies, witnesses said.One air strike killed 12 people -- including seven children --from the same family in Gaza City. Israeli strikes also hit two UN-run schools, one crowded with refugees, killing at least five Palestinians, medics and UN officials said.Two people were killed when an artillery shell slammed into a school in Khan Yunis and three people were killed in an air strike on a school in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, they said.Four Israeli soldiers were killed in two friendly fire incidents during the overnight surge in fighting, the army said. Five have now died since Saturday.About 12 Hamas rockets were fired over the border, one reaching 45 kilometres (28 miles) inside Israeli territory, the deepest yet, lightly wounding a baby, the army said.Three civilians and one soldier have been killed by rocket fire inside Israel since the offensive was launched.Protests against Israel's action have spiralled around the globe and the French president led new calls for a truce in talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Monday.
We, Europe, want a ceasefire as soon as possible, Sarkozy said in Jerusalem. Time is working against peace. The weapons must be silenced and there must be a temporary humanitarian truce.But Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed that the campaign will continue until Israel completely wipes out Hamas's ability to fire rockets into Israel.Sarkozy also called Hamas rocket attacks irresponsible and unforgivable, sparking the Islamists' retort that he was totally biased towards Israel.Israel launched Operation Cast Lead on Hamas on December 27 with a massive air bombardment of Gaza , and sent in thousands of ground troops a week later.Since then, at least 592 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 160 children, and more than 2,700 wounded, according to Gaza medics.Israel has denied there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza but the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday that there is a full blown crisis and people are dying because ambulances cannot reach them. I cannot sufficiently underline the level of concern and anxiety that is felt at the ICRC in relation to the crisis in Gaza, said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, the ICRC director of operations. There is no doubt in my mind that we are dealing with a full blown and major crisis in humanitarian terms. The situation for the people in Gaza is extreme and traumatic as a result of 10 days of uninterrupted fighting.
Kraehenbuehl said ICRC staff in Gaza described the past night as the most frightening to date in the territory where there is no power or water and finding food is a daily struggle. Israeli officials have insisted they are doing all to prevent civilians casualties and have blamed Hamas for operating from civilian centres. Olmert and Sarkozy agreed the French leader should pursue a peace deal involving Egypt which brokered a six-month truce that ended on December 19. Hamas refused to renew the deal, sparking the war. The UN Security Council was to meet again on Tuesday to weigh an Arab call for an immediate ceasefire and for protection of Palestinian civilians, diplomats said. Israel's main ally the United States has given strong support to the operation, with President George W. Bush saying any truce must ensure an end to rocket fire.
Sarkozy urges Syria to put pressure on Hamas Tue Jan 6, 9:12 am ET
DAMASCUS (AFP) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on Syria on Tuesday to put pressure on its ally Hamas to return to a truce in the Gaza Strip where Israeli troops are battling Islamist fighters, and where hundreds of civilians have been killed.It's up to Syria to put pressure on the players (in the conflict) and notably on Hamas so that peace returns, Sarkozy told journalists after talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.Sarkozy arrived in the Syrian capital Damascus earlier in the day as part of a Mideast tour trying to achieve a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Syria is a key player in the region and is home to the self-exiled chief of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal.The French president, architect of efforts to bring Damascus back into the world scene, added: I am convinced that Syria can make an important contribution to the search for a solution. President Assad can play a role. He must convince Hamas it should choose reason, peace and reconciliation.Sarkozy was referring to the bitter split between the supporters of Hamas and those who back Fatah of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.Speaking at a news conference with Assad, the French leader also said he hoped that humanitarian corridors could be created into the Gaza Strip where United Nations officials are expressing alarm at a growing crisis among civilians there.At least 580 Palestinians, including 160 children, have been killed by Israeli bombs and shelling, medics say. Another 2,700 have been wounded.I hope that today some European non-governmental bodies will be able to enter Gaza, that humanitarian corridors can be installed and medicines distributed, he said.Everything must be done so that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza.
Along with the Europeans we have condemned Israel's disproportionate reaction, said Sarkozy.In the same way, firing of rockets on Israel is inadmissible, he said.Since the offensive began, four Israelis have been killed by militants' rockets and dozens wounded. Five Israeli troops have died in the offensive in Gaza.Addressing the conference, the Syrian president strongly condemned the Jewish state's onslaught. He compared Gaza -- which has been under a tight Israeli blockade for more than 18 months -- to a concentration camp and a war crime.We are now seeking a rapid solution to this human tragedy. We are convinced, with Mr Sarkozy, of the importance of a ceasefire, a withdrawal (of Israeli forces) and the lifting of the blockade, said Assad.For Assad, the Israel blockade was a slow death.It is difficult to impose a ceasefire without lifting the blockade, he said, adding that Israel's aggression will not break the determination of the Palestinian people to build their independent state. said Assad.Sarkozy said also that he wanted a halt to hostilities and the Israeli offensive, accompanied by serious guarantees for the security of Israel, which means an effective and durable halt to the rocket firing.Now, he added, it was up to each side to be wise enough to take the first step. The European Union would help to do this, alongside Syria, Turkey and Egypt, Sarkozy added. The French president, who handed over the rotating presidency of the European Union to the Czech Republic earlier this month, began his trip on Monday, holding talks with leaders in Egypt, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the base of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. Sarkozy later left for Lebanon which had been due to be the last stop of his trip. However in Beirut he confirmed that he would return later to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt for further talks with President Hosni Mubarak. Israel launched its massive air offensive on the Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip on December 27, and followed this with a ground invasion last Saturday night. Israeli leaders say the operation is aimed at halting rocket fire on Israel by Gaza militants. A separate EU delegation is also visiting the region to seek a ceasefire. Israel has rebuffed all calls to halt its offensive, receiving strong backing from the United States.
Saudi royal blasts US reckless position on Gaza Tue Jan 6, 9:05 am ET
RIYADH (AFP) – A member of the Saudi royal family blasted the US government on Tuesday for its reckless position towards Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip.The Bush administration has left you (with) a disgusting legacy and a reckless position towards the massacres and bloodshed of innocents in Gaza, Prince Turki al-Faisal said in a message directed at President-elect Barack Obama.Enough is enough, today we are all Palestinians and we seek martyrdom for God and for Palestine, following those who died in Gaza, Faisal, a former ambassador to the United States, said at a forum on relations between the Gulf region and the US.Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal slammed Israeli politicians for shedding Palestinian blood in what has become a tactic for Israeli parties to settle their election battles.In an address read out at the forum by his deputy, the minister said peace in the region will not be achieved unless Israel pulls out of the territories it occupies.He called on Obama to live up to his campaign message of change, urging cooperation with the Arab world.
Together we can reach a peaceful and permanent solution for the Arab-Israeli conflict, he said.According to Palestinian medics at least 592 Palestinians have died and more than 2,700 have been wounded since Israel unleashed its Operation Cast Lead against the Hamas rulers of Gaza on December 27.
Gaza offensive to go on until south Israel is calm: Barak Tue Jan 6, 7:44 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Defence Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday the Gaza offensive will continue until calm returns to southern Israel, which has faced daily rocket attacks from the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory.We launched this operation to deal a heavy blow to Hamas, to change conditions of life in the south of the country, to bring calm and security to citizens and to stop weapons smuggling into Gaza, he said.Those are the goals and we intend to reach them, Barak said during a visit to the southern Israeli city of Sderot which for the past eight years has been the main target of rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.No country in the world can allow a terrorist group to make life bitter for its citizens, the minister said on the 11th day of Israel's Operation Cast Lead.He also told public radio that Israeli forces have cut the Gaza Strip in two and surrounded Gaza City.
Closing Gaza tunnels could bring quick ceasefire: Blair Tue Jan 6, 5:30 am ET
LONDON (AFP) – Cutting off Gaza's smuggling tunnels from Egypt could secure an immediate ceasefire, Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair said Tuesday, while warning that Israel was otherwise in for a protracted campaign.The former British prime minister said the situation in the Gaza Strip was hell as Israel wages Operation Cast Lead against Hamas fighters.The Quartet, comprising the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, is struggling to mediate the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.There are circumstances in which we could get an immediate ceasefire, and that's what people want to see, Blair told BBC radio in Jerusalem.Those circumstances focus very much around clear action to cut off the supply of arms and money through the tunnels that go from Egypt into Gaza.If there were strong, clear definitive action on that then I think that gives us the best context to get an immediate ceasefire and start to change this situation.
That is the one basis on which you can bring a quick halt to this, otherwise I think we're into a more protracted campaign.And he added: The Egyptians, in principle, are prepared to do this, they want to do it, they recognise it's in their own interests as well.The question is, can this be put together in such a way that we get the immediate ceasefire that people want to see, and then we have to address the longer term question of how you get Palestinian unity.Blair said most people in the international community -- himself included -- wanted to get into a dialogue with Hamas, but there had to be a set of common principles of agreement before doing so.
Citing his experiences resolving the sectarian strife in Northern Ireland, he said discussions with paramilitaries could only take place on the basis that there were certain key principles that everyone understood.One of those principles was that there should be the pursuit of political objectives exclusively through peaceful means, he said.It's very hard to do this if you've got an organisation like Hamas that still says that we're perfectly justified in sending suicide bombers to kill innocent civilians in Israel.Blair said returning Gaza to some sort of civilisation and reuniting it with the West Bank was the only solution in the end.He added, however, that it was really, really difficult to judge whether Hamas were prepared to strike a deal.The truth is for anyone living in Gaza, it's hell. It's bound to be. You've got a situation where you're in an effective warzone, he said.Blair said one of the most frustrating things about his job was that a peaceful settlement between Israel and the Palestinians was achievable.Israeli troops battled Hamas fighters in major cities of overcrowded Gaza on Tuesday as Israel rebuffed appeals to stop a war on the Islamists that has killed at least 560 Palestinians.
UN Security Council to weigh new call for effective Gaza truce by Gerard Aziakou Gerard Aziakou – Mon Jan 5, 11:09 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS, (AFP) – The UN Security Council was to meet again Tuesday to weigh an Arab call for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict in the Gaza Strip and for protection of Palestinian civilians, diplomats said.French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the 15-member body this month, was to chair Tuesday's meeting, scheduled for 5 pm (2200 GMT), according to France's UN Ambassador to the UN Jean-Maurice Ripert said.A Western diplomat said France was working with Arab states to finalize a draft resolution that would call for an immediate ceasefire, specifically an end to the Israeli military assault as well as to rocket firing into Israel by Gaza-based militants.The text would also urge the lifting of the Israeli siege of Gaza to allow humanitarian access to the beleaguered Palestinian population, protection of Palestinian civilians, a resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and a mechanism to monitor the truce and the protection of civilians, diplomats said.Israel has sealed its border with Gaza during its military offensive there, allowing no movement to and from the territory apart from its own armed forces.UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Monday met with a delegation of Arab foreign ministers led by Arab League Arab League chief Amr Mussa and the two reported a convergence of views on the need for the Security Council to act decisively and swiftly to end the Gaza bloodletting.We must insist that Israel end its military assault, which is clearly excessive, Ban told the Arab ministers.
At least 555 Palestinians -- including more than 90 children -- have been killed since Israel launched Operation Cast Lead in Gaza on December 27 to put an end to rocket firing by Gaza-based militants. More than 2,500 have been wounded.We must insist that Hamas (the Palestinian Islamist movement) end immediately its rocket attacks (on Israel), which are so terribly counter-productive, in addition to being completely unacceptable. There must be an immediate ceasefire, durable and fully respected by all, Ban noted.We have also agreed to discuss a credible mechanism to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people, as well as humanitarian assistance, and to prevent the further occurrence of this situation, he later told reporters.
The UN secretary general told reporters that he would make the same point to US President George W. Bush during a White House meeting Tuesday morning.After conferring with Ban, the Arab ministerial delegation met separately with each of the five permanent members of the council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- and later with the 10 non-permanent council members.US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said after his meeting with the Arab team that he shared "their concern about the urgency of the situation.We want this conflict to end as quickly as possible but for an enduring ceasefire, practical arrangements have to be put in place in which everyone has confidence, he added.He was referring to the need to ensure that the rocket firing into Israel will end once and for all and to prevent smuggling of weapons once crossing points between Israel and Gaza are reopened.We did not want them (Arab ministers) to have false expectations that those practical arrangements can be arrived in the coming hours, Khalilzad told reporters.
Mussa meanwhile slammed the Israeli military offensive in Gaza as naked aggression ... that has to be condemned.Japan's UN Ambassador Yukio Takasu, whose country is one of the 10 non-permanent council members, said a key issue was how to set up a credible, effective monitoring mechanism of the truce. But he said details of such a mechanism were not raised during the meeting with the Arab delegation. Earlier, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki expressed hope that the proposed draft resolution could be adopted at Tuesday's meeting, which Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas plans to attend.
Olmert rebuffs Sarkozy call for Gaza ceasefire Mon Jan 5, 7:32 pm ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged Israel on Monday to halt its war in Gaza, but was rebuffed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who rejected any truce that fails to end the Islamist group's rocket attacks on Israel.Sarkozy met Olmert after talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the architect of a six-month truce whose expiry on December 19 unleashed a series of events that resulted in the Israeli invasion of Gaza.Sarkozy said after meeting Abbas: We, Europe want a ceasefire as soon as possible. Time is working against peace. The weapons must be silenced and there must be a temporary humanitarian truce.But Olmert's response was that the results of the operation must be... that Hamas must not only stop firing but must no longer be able to fire.We cannot accept a compromise that will allow Hamas to fire in two months against Israeli towns, his office quoted the premier as saying.The UN Security Council was to hold a ministerial meeting on Tuesday to discuss an Arab call for an immediate ceasefire and for protection of Palestinian civilians, diplomats said.But Olmert said: At this time and in view of the diplomatic developments, it will not be wise to pass a (Security Council) resolution on the issue because experience has shown that Israel cannot afford losing its freedom to act against terrorism.In that vein, a senior Israeli official said peace efforts were under way in the Middle East itself, led by Washington, that would probably be more fruitful than any Security Council action.There are currently a few regional initiatives led by the US... They are making progress... Israel believes that these regional initiatives involving several Arab countries, mainly Egypt, would be more effective than a UNSC resolution.
Concretely, Olmert and Sarkozy agreed that the French president would continue to push for a deal involving Egypt.The French president had harsh words for Hamas, which refused to renew the six-month ceasefire and continued to fire rockets as Israel bombarded Gaza.Hamas acted in an irresponsible and unforgiveable manner... Hamas is to blame for the suffering of the Palestinians, he said.Hamas accused Sarkozy of total bias towards Israel.Abbas called for an immediate and unconditional end to the Israeli aggression against my people in the Gaza Strip.Talks earlier on Monday with Mubarak in Cairo focused on Egyptian efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire in Gaza... and a return to the truce between Palestinians and Israelis, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.Cairo, whose role as mediator has been shaken by accusations of complicity in Israel's campaign, controls Rafah, Gaza's only border crossing which bypasses the Jewish state.Also in Egypt on Monday was a delegation of EU foreign ministers, and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said their talks touched on getting the Security Council to pass a resolution on a ceasefire.After Egypt, the European foreign ministers headed for Jerusalem, Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and Amman, along with EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. Hamas said it was sending a delegation to Egypt for talks on the war in Gaza, the first such contact since the fighting began.
We have received an invitation from Egypt and we're going to Cairo to listen to Egyptian officials and discuss with them suspended issues, notably the (permanent) reopening of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, Beirut-based Hamas official Ossama Hemdan told AFP. We want an immediate end to Israeli aggression and the lifting of the blockade and we will listen to Egyptian proposals on the subject, he added. Hamas, which has controlled the strip since June 2007, has said it would be open to a ceasefire if Israel lifted its blockade and opened the crossings into the densely populated and impoverished coastal strip.
US suggests conditions of a Gaza cease-fire By ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jan 5, 6:58 pm ET
WASHINGTON – The Bush administration stuck to its defense of Israel's expanding offensive in the Gaza Strip on Monday and pushed for a cease-fire including a lasting halt to Hamas' rocket attacks on Israel and a reopening of border crossings that are Gaza's economic lifeline.President George W. Bush, in his first public comments on the conflict since Israel launched a ground offensive over the weekend, said the Jewish state was justified in protecting itself against Hamas militants.
The situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas, Bush told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to the Islamist movement that rules Gaza and is deemed by Washington to be a terrorist group.Instead of caring about the people of Gaza, Hamas decided to use Gaza to launch rockets to kill innocent Israelis, Bush said. Israel's obviously decided to protect herself and her people.While France and many other countries have pressed for an immediate cease-fire, the United States has insisted that any truce be sustainable — and that Hamas go first in ending the exchange of fire. Hamas has launched hundreds of rockets into southern Israel, while Israel has pursued a ferocious campaign that began as a week of aerial bombing and was expanded Saturday into a ground offensive.Bush, without explicitly endorsing Israel's ground campaign, laid blame for the conflict squarely on Hamas. He said he hopes for a cease-fire but added that it would not work unless Hamas stops its attacks.Bush also expressed concern about the grave humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where people have lived under hard and worsening conditions and Israeli bombardment. The violence must stop, Bush said, but not at the expense of an agreement that does not prevent the crisis from happening again.President-elect Barack Obama said that he's been getting daily briefings on the situation in the Middle East, but offered little comment beyond noting that delicate negotiations are taking place and that there can't be two voices coming out of the United States.Obama's chief national security spokeswoman, Brooke Anderson, declined to comment on the three-point cease-fire proposal announced by the State Department, which was quickly rejected by a Hamas official as slanted in favor of Israel.State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had 17 phone conversations over the weekend with foreign leaders in a bid for international consensus on those three points, which include a halt to Hamas' rocket firing into Israel.
The cease-fire proposal also would include a key Hamas demand: an arrangement for reopening crossing points on the border with Israel, McCormack said. The third element would address the tunnels into Gaza from Egypt through which Hamas has smuggled materials and arms.We're doing a lot of work on these three elements. The secretary is trying to get the international system and various actors in the international system to coalesce around those three elements, McCormack said.
McCormack said arrangements to reopen the border crossings could be worked out on the basis of a 2005 movement and access accord that has not been fully implemented by the Israelis and Palestinians. He said some additional equipment and technical expertise might have to be supplied as part of such an arrangement. He offered no further details.In Damascus, Syria, a Hamas official rejected the U.S. proposal, saying it reflects the Israeli view. The deputy head of Hamas' political leadership in Syria, Moussa Abu Marzouk, told The Associated Press the U.S. plan would serve to encourage continued Israeli attacks, creating more massacres in Gaza.Israel has said it intends to press its offensive until it silences the Hamas rockets, but it has been less explicit about its long-term objectives. A senior U.S. defense official said Monday that, so far, Americans see no indication inside Gaza that Israel is preparing for a long-term occupation of the territory. The defense official requested anonymity in order to discuss intelligence.At the Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman said Defense Secretary Robert Gates spoke Sunday with his Israeli counterpart, but Whitman declined to give details. About 100 American troops are in Israel to maintain and provide crew for an advanced U.S. radar that gives Israel early warning in case of a missile attack, Whitman said.An Israeli official in Washington said Monday that his country is not seeking additional equipment or other U.S. military help. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the country's discussions with the Bush administration, also said there are no plans to use cluster bombs in Gaza.The State Department determined a year ago that Israel probably misused U.S.-made cluster bombs during its 2006 war with Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Cluster bomblets are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles, which scatter them over vast areas. Some fail to explode immediately. The unexploded bomblets can then lie dormant for years until they are disturbed, often by children attracted by their small size and bright colors. The State Department has withheld direct comment on the Israel ground thrust into Gaza, which began Saturday. Pressed for comment Monday, McCormack said, Every sovereign state has to decide for itself how best to defend itself. He also reiterated the administration's concern about the conflict's impact on civilians. The Gaza crisis prompted Rice to cancel a long-planned trip to China this week. While Rice has been making phone calls to allies to foster a cease-fire in Gaza, McCormack said Monday that she has no current plans to visit the Mideast as part of that effort. Associated Press writers Ben Feller, Anne Gearan and Pauline Jelinek contributed to this report.
Wanted: Border monitors to oversee Gaza truce By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jan 5, 5:53 pm ET
JERUSALEM – The contours of a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas are emerging, with diplomacy focusing on international guarantees, including foreign border monitors to oversee any agreement.Various truce ideas have been floated in recent days in a swirl of diplomacy in the Middle East and at the United Nations, most involving international monitors.Israel has two key objectives — to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza, and to create enough deterrence to persuade Hamas to halt rocket attacks for good.Once these objectives are achieved and are followed by very strict and credible international guarantees, we will leave Gaza, having created this new situation, said Dan Gillerman, a senior Israeli diplomat.Hamas says it will only halt rocket fire in exchange for lifting the stifling blockade of Gaza, enforced by Israel and Egypt since the Hamas takeover in 2007.Opening the borders without conditions would mean de facto recognition of the rule of Hamas, something Israel, Egypt and much of the international community are loathe to do. The Islamic militants are branded as a terrorist movement by many, and have refused to recognize Israel or commit to previous peace agreements.Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki, who represents the West Bank Palestinian Authority that is a rival to Hamas, suggested Monday that an international force would observe and monitor the Arab crossings and provide protection to Palestinians.Israel's concept is tougher, authorizing international forces to destroy tunnels that Hamas has used to smuggle in large amounts of rockets and explosives since seizing control of Gaza from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in June 2007.Some 300 tunnels were running under the Gaza-Egypt border before the offensive began, the Israeli military says, and Israeli warplanes have bombed them in a series of strikes in the past 10 days, including dozens on Monday.During a six-month truce that expired Dec. 19, Israel only allowed in a trickle of goods, increasing Hamas' frustration and willingness to call off the deal. Hamas fired repeated rocket barrages into southern Israel after the cease-fire lapsed, drawing the latest Israeli invasion.Over the weekend, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to 17 foreign leaders to discuss components of a cease-fire, including preventing smuggling and opening Gaza crossings, said spokesman Sean McCormack.
A Rice-brokered deal in 2005 between Abbas and Israel would likely form the basis for any new arrangement. Under that agreement, EU monitors were deployed at the Rafah terminal on the Gaza-Egypt border to prevent smuggling of weapons and militants, while Israel observed Palestinian-supervised border traffic from a distance, via closed-circuit TV.The European Union is proposing that monitors return to the Rafah terminal, and says the mission could also be expanded to Israel's cargo and passenger crossings with Gaza, according to a European diplomat. He spoke on condition of anonymity because French President Nicolas Sarkozy was discussing truce ideas with Israeli and Palestinian leaders Monday.Europe appears willing to contribute monitors in any number of scenarios.These could include watching entrances and exits from Gaza, monitoring a cease-fire if all sides agree, and even acting as customs agents to police what is coming in and out of Gaza. We'll go as far as possible, the European diplomat said. Everything depends on whether the Israelis trust us. If they want us to go as far as playing a customs role, we will.
Turkey, Israel's closest Muslim ally, also expressed willingness to contribute monitors.Still, a key sticking point is who would be deployed on the Gaza side of the border. Egypt says it will only open Rafah if Abbas' forces staff the crossing. Egypt, worried about Islamic fundamentalism at home, is trying to contain Hamas, which is backed by Iran and Syria.Abbas, who is eager to gain a new foothold in the territory, was to fly to New York later Monday to lobby at the United Nations for reviving the 2005 deal, his aides said. However, Hamas has been cool to the idea of letting Abbas back into Gaza. Similar proposals were raised in the past as part of failed power-sharing talks between the two bitter rivals. It's also not clear what sort of role Israel is ready to give the militant group. There has been no direct contact between Abbas and Hamas in recent days, but a Hamas delegation from Damascus was heading to Cairo to hear what the Egyptians have to offer. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said reviving talks between the rivals is key to any cease-fire. Hamas and Abbas have been at odds since Hamas won 2006 parliament elections, and they view each other with distrust and even hatred. Israel, for its part, won't be satisfied with bringing back EU monitors who lack policing powers.
Israel has been disappointed by the performance of international peacekeepers deployed in southern Lebanon under a cease-fire that ended its 2006 war with Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. Israeli officials say Hezbollah has been amassing weapons, despite the presence of the observers. As a result, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni says international monitors on the Gaza border should be empowered to close tunnels used to smuggle weapons to Hamas from Egypt — broader powers than those apparently envisioned by Abbas and the Arabs. Malki, Abbas' foreign minister, said there is broad Arab support for monitors at Gaza's crossings and the tunnels should be shut down, though he did not say who should be responsible. If you are talking about observers that will go and shut down tunnels, they are not really observers, Malki told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. We are talking about observers that will observe and monitor the performance at the Arab crossings.Within this package, of course, the whole industry of tunnels should be really shut down and should be really closed, and this is really a part of the total objective, he added. Danny Ayalon, a former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said physical obstacles on the Gaza-Egypt border should also be considered. Ideas floated in the past include scaffolding or concrete poured deep into the ground, he said. Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris, Edie Lederer at the United Nations and Sarah El Deeb in Cairo contributed to this report.
Bush says Gaza ceasefire must stop Hamas by Laurent Lozano Laurent Lozano – Mon Jan 5, 4:09 pm ET
WASHINGTON, Jan 5, 2009 (AFP) – President George W. Bush on Monday maintained his firm support for Israel and said any Gaza ceasefire must ensure Hamas militants can no longer fire rockets on Israeli towns.As global calls mounted for a halt to the Israeli military assault aimed at stopping mortar and rocket attacks from the impoverished coastal territory, Bush said he understood Israel's wish to defend itself.I understand Israel's desire to protect itself and that the situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas, Bush said.The United States was concerned about the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Gaza Strip on the 10th day of a relentless Israeli air and land assault against Hamas militants, Bush said.All of us of course would like to see, you know, violence stop, but not at the expense of an agreement that does not prevent the crisis from happening again, the US leader said.
I know people are saying: let's have a ceasefire. (Those are) noble ambitions. But any ceasefire must have the conditions in it so that Hamas does not use Gaza as a place from which to launch rockets.Medics say 555 Palestinians have been killed since Israel's Operation Cast Lead was launched on December 27 to stop Hamas and its militant allies from launching rocket attacks across the border into southern Israel.
The Israeli government has so far rejected European-led calls for a ceasefire, and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told parliament Monday the Hamas war would go on.
Gaza City is partially surrounded, Barak told MPs. We have hit Hamas hard, but we have not yet reached all the goals that we have set for ourselves and the operation continues.Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since breaking with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas and seizing power in June 2007, has also remained defiant.Victory is coming, the movement's senior leader in Gaza, Mahmud Zahar, said in a television address. They (Israel) have legitimized the murder of their own children by killing the children of Palestine.White House spokeswoman Dana Perino reiterated Washington's concern for civilians in the densely populated territory which is home to 1.5 million people, and said Israel was trying to protect innocent life.We urge them to be very cautious when it comes to civilian casualties. We want to keep those to an absolute minimum, Perino said.One of the unfortunate things is that Hamas often hides amongst innocent civilians. And I know that Israel has said that they are trying to take care to make sure that they are protected.
Perino added that the White House wants a ceasefire as soon as possible, but it has to be something that is durable. We don't want to go back to the status quo ante, where it's okay for Hamas to be lobbing rockets into Israel that terrorize innocent people.State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said any ceasefire must meet three conditions: halt rocket fire on Israel, open crossings into Gaza and resolve the problem of tunnels used to smuggle weapons between Gaza and Egypt.He also said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had made 17 phone calls over the weekend, trying to strike a deal for a truce.Meanwhile, president-elect Barack Obama expressed concern about the Gaza crisis but stressed he would not interfere in delicate negotiations by the outgoing US administration. Asked whether Israel's offensive against Hamas was distracting him from his economic agenda a day after he arrived in Washington to prepare his transition, Obama said: Obviously, international affairs are of deep concern.With the situation in Gaza, I've been getting briefed every day, said Obama, who is to be inaugurated on January 20. I will continue to insist that when it comes to foreign affairs, it is particularly important to adhere to the principle of one president at a time, because there are delicate negotiations taking place right now and we can't have two voices coming out of the United States when you have so much at stake.
Calls to use oil as weapon in Gaza fight fall flat By ADAM SCHRECK, AP Business Writer – Mon Jan 5, 2:20 pm ET
Bahrain, oil … DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The call to use oil as a weapon against Israel's friends once would have echoed in capitals across the Middle East. But even as fighting widens in Gaza, threats of an oil embargo by some in Iran and Bahrain are falling flat.Key Persian Gulf producers like Saudi Arabia and even top officials in the countries behind the boycott calls are keeping quiet, reflecting a focus on their struggle to deal with the steep plunge in world oil prices.An oil embargo is just bad for business, said Serene Gardiner, oil products analyst at Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai.On Sunday, Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted an Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander as urging Muslim countries to use oil as a weapon to pressure an end to Israel's offensive in Gaza.Iran's foreign ministry didn't distance itself from Brig. Gen. Mirfaysal Bagherzadeh's comments when asked about them Monday. We do support any action for realizing two main steps: an immediate stop to the invasion and an end to the Gaza blockade, spokesman Hasan Qashqavi said.But Bagherzadeh is not among the top oil officials in Iran, OPEC's second-biggest producer, and his suggestions drew no comment from those leaders.
A few days earlier, members of Bahrain's lower house of parliament said Arab states should use oil and the region's huge investment funds to pressure the West over Israel's offensive. That call drew only silence from leaders of the island kingdom, an important American ally and host to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.Arab oil producers most famously used crude supplies as a weapon during the 1973 Yom Kippur War between Israel and Arab armies led by Egypt and Syria. Their decision to stop shipments to the U.S. and other allies of Israel led to shortages and a steep spike in the price of oil.But analysts said times have changed.We're not in 1973. We've moved beyond that, said Raja Kiwan, a Dubai-based analyst with the consulting firm PFC Energy. The (Persian) Gulf realizes it's plugged into what's happening in the rest of the world.The region's leaders are embracing more pragmatic politics increasingly distant from the angry rhetoric of the past. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal, for example, has repeatedly said his country, the world's biggest oil exporter, would not use oil as a weapon.There hasn't been, in the history of Saudi Arabia's oil production over the past at least 20 years, any attempt to change the demand-supply equilibrium, said John Sfakianakis, chief economist with SABB, formerly known as Saudi British Bank.I don't think that they want to destabilize that, nor do they want to see oil prices go to levels that disturb the ability of the global economy to revive itself, Sfakianakis said.In large part, the pragmatism stems from a focus on economic development that hinges on careful management of energy resources.
Countries in the region are racing to diversify their economies before oil profits run out, seeking to establish themselves as financial, tourism and commercial hubs with glittering skyscrapers and other attractions.Oil resources are for the development of countries, said Abdel Aziz Daghestani, an independent Saudi economist and analyst when asked about the Iranian general's oil-as-weapon proposal.Despite declining oil revenues from the price slide, Saudi Arabia and some other countries like the United Arab Emirates recently set new budgets that call for ramped-up spending on key services and sectors such as education and health care.Even the Islamic government in Iran has to tread carefully. It depends on oil revenue for as much as 90 percent of its foreign income and is suffering badly from the price fall.
As a key backer of the militant groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran also needs money to fuel its proxy fights with Israel and the Arab nations that are ideological opponents, particularly Saudi Arabia. Halting oil sales to the West would be a severe blow for Iran, analysts say. They cannot afford to reduce production, Standard Chartered's Gardiner said. Associated Press writers Tarek El-Tablawy in Cairo, Egypt, and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Iran says 70,000 volunteer for Israel fight Mon Jan 5, 2:04 pm ET
TEHRAN, Iran – More than 70,000 Iranian students have volunteered to carry out suicide bombings against Israel, Iran's state news agency reported Monday, but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not responded to their request for permission.
Volunteer suicide groups have made similar requests in the past and the government never responded, giving the campaigns more of the feel of propaganda.According to the official IRNA news agency, hardline student leader Esmaeil Ahmadi said the students want to fight Israel in support of Hamas, Gaza's Islamic militant rulers.
Iran is Hamas' main backer, though the country denies sending weapons to the Islamic militant movement that took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Iran considers Israel its archenemy, and Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction of the Jewish state.
Five hard-line student groups and a conservative clerical group launched the registration drive for suicide bombers last week and asked the government to allow them to stage the attacks.In an open letter to Ahmadinejad, the students said volunteer student suicide groups ... are determined to go to Gaza. You are expected to issue orders to the relevant authorities to pave the way for such action. A copy of the letter was made available to The Associated Press last week.The hard-liners started signing up volunteers after Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a religious decree Dec. 28 saying anyone killed while defending Palestinians in Gaza against Israeli attacks would be considered a martyr.Khamenei's religious decree was not considered a government decision and did not oblige the government to launch attacks against Israel.At a gathering two days later in Tehran, hard-liners distributed registration forms.Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed hundreds of Palestinians, has outraged many in Iran and throughout the rest of the Muslim world. Israel says it launched its campaign in retaliation for Hamas rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns.On Dec. 30, IRNA reported that dozens of Iranian students broke into the British Embassy residence in Tehran, accusing Britain of supporting the Israeli air assault that started Dec. 27. The report said the students pulled down the British flag and raised a Palestinian flag at the compound's entrance before police forced them to leave.The protest lasted about half an hour, and no injuries were reported.
First major Israel-Hamas fighting in Gaza City: witnesses, army Mon Jan 5, 12:52 pm ET
GAZA CITY (AFP) – Israeli troops and Hamas militants fought their first major battles in Gaza City on Monday night, military sources and witnesses said.Large explosions and heavy exchanges of fire rocked Shejaiya neighbourhood of eastern Gaza City as Israel pressed its campaign to halt Hamas rocket attacks.Hamas said in a statement that its fighters had fired missiles at seven tanks in the same district. The Islamic Jihad movement said several of its members were killed in the fighting.
Israeli military sources confirmed that troops were involved in heavy clashes in that area.Flares lit up the skies over the blacked-out neighbourhood. Assault helicopters were also seen.
Defiant Hamas chief vows victory against Israel by Mai Yaghi Mai Yaghi – Mon Jan 5, 8:18 am ET
GAZA CITY (AFP) – A top Hamas leader defiantly vowed to win victory against Israel on Monday as Islamist fighters battled to prevent Israeli troops from taking over their Gaza stronghold.Victory is coming, God willing, Mahmud Zahar said in his first television address since the launch of Israel's offensive against Hamas on December 27.Zahar insisted the group's armed wing, the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, has given the most beautiful performances during its confrontation with the army that the world thought invincible.We will defeat it, God willing.The statement came as a Hamas delegation was to travel to Egypt for talks on ending the offensive that Israel unleashed in response to persistent rocket fire by Gaza militants.Dressed entirely in black, his face sombre and his tone grim, Zahar read out a statement in what appeared to be a hastily prepared recording, sitting in an empty room.The painful tests of today will help us realise our national aspirations of tomorrow, he said, adding that Hamas was not renouncing its aim to free all of Palestine.The hardliner, widely considered to be the most influential Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, lashed out against the United Nations and the West, accusing the international community of doing nothing to prevent the devastating Israeli offensive.
He called for an end to the aggression, the withdrawal of (Israeli) forces and the lifting of the blockade that Israel imposed on Gaza after Hamas seized control of the territory in June 2007.If that happens, we will be ready to discuss anything that can be in the interest of the Palestinian people, he said.A delegation of senior Hamas officials was to leave for Egypt for talks on how to end the war in the tiny territory sandwiched between Israel and Egypt.We have received an invitation from Egypt and we're going to Cairo to listen to Egyptian officials and discuss with them suspended issues, notably the (permanent) reopening of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, said Hamas politburo member Ossama Hemdan.The delegation heading to Cairo will include two members of Hamas's political leadership, Emad al-Alami and Mohammed Nasr, Hemdan said.We want an immediate end to Israeli aggression and the lifting of the blockade and we will listen to Egyptian proposals, he added.Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the army had dealt a heavy blow to Hamas.A senior Israeli minister said on Sunday that the Islamists may be seeking a respectable way out of the conflict having underestimated the scope of the offensive.The intelligence reports that we've received today in the Israeli cabinet are that the Hamas is looking for a respectable way of finding a way to get out of this situation, Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog told CNN television, adding that the Islamists were under huge pressure.
Israelis relieved as army moves to halt rockets By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jan 5, 7:48 am ET
SDEROT, Israel – Israelis bombarded by Palestinian rockets have begun to emerge from homes and shelters, regaining confidence after columns of Israeli soldiers moved into Gaza to crush the militants who have rained missiles on them for eight years.
Towns near the Gaza Strip virtually shut down after Israel's conflict with Gaza militants escalated into a showdown on Dec. 27. Israel launched an air campaign against the missile launchers and against Hamas, the Islamic militant movement that rules the territory, while the militants stepped up the barrage against Israeli towns and villages.The ground offensive that began Saturday night brought cheer to Israeli civilians, convinced their government meant to end the missile terror even at the cost of what is likely to be heavy army casualties.However, the armored and infantry assault brought no immediate respite from rocket attacks. At least 45 missiles fell on southern Israel on Sunday, wounding five people.It's good that the troops went in. Finally we are doing something, said Yamit Azulai, emptying a shopping cart full of groceries into her car. It was the first time in a week she had been to the supermarket in Sderot, a town just beyond Gaza's northeast corner that has absorbed thousands of missiles since 2001.Until now, it was Hamas who decided when to fire missiles. It was always in their hands. Now we are taking control, she said.Moves toward normalcy were tentative. Some shops and cafes reopened in Sderot, but about half remained shuttered. Schools and nonessential industries stayed shut within a 25-mile reach of Gaza, the maximum range in Hamas' missile arsenal. Some people like Azulai who ventured out finished their chores quickly to return home.I'm not letting the children outside, she said.The offensive brought a kind of vindictive satisfaction to Sderot, which had long urged the government to strike at Hamas and take out the missile threat. With only 20,000 people, many believed the authorities were unwilling to risk a major confrontation on their behalf.
I'm glad Ashdod and Beersheba got hit, said construction worker Zohar Shapado, referring to two large Israeli cities that were rocketed for the first time last month. "It was only then that they decided to act.Sderot has built up formidable defenses. Every bus stop has a small concrete hut to protect against the shrapnel and pellets packed into the warhead of homemade Qassam rockets. Homes and apartment blocks are built with windowless rooms with steel doors.People are edgy, but resigned to being targets.We're used to it, said Shapado, calmly abandoning the coffee he was drinking at a sidewalk cafe and moving inside to safety as yet another rocket alert resounded through town. Seconds later, the boom of the rocket crashing harmlessly in a field outside of town was the signal for customers to return to their tables and resume conversations.Police say 10 people have been killed in Sderot since 2004, including three toddlers. That compares with more than 500 Palestinians killed in Gaza in the last week, including about 100 civilians.But the damage often is psychological. Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, where most casualties from southern Israel are brought, has treated 164 civilian patients since the Israeli air war began. All but 10 were stress related, Shlomi Cabish, the hospital's deputy director, told The Associated Press.Not everyone is happy with the decision to send infantry troops into the narrow warrens of Gaza, where Palestinian resistance was fierce and dozens of soldiers were wounded and at least one was killed in the first 24 hours.Sitting under a date palm in Beersheba's Old City, Benny Fryand argued with his friend Amos Shem Tov over the advisability of a ground war.You want to send in the army like cowboys, said Fryand, 59, arguing that the air war had been conducted with devastating effect without a single military casualty. Fryand, who splits his time between Israel and Brooklyn, New York, expected Hamas to take revenge by firing even more rockets. Shem Tov, 61, voicing what appeared from several interviews to be the majority view, said the war against Hamas cannot be won from the air. What would Stalin say? You can't have war without casualties, said the veteran immigrant from the Caucasus region of Russia. After that comes the victory.
Czech PM says has plan to resolve Gaza situation Mon Jan 5, 7:35 am ET
PRAGUE (AFP) – Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country took the EU presidency on January 1, said Monday he had a plan whose goal is to at least suspend fighting in Gaza following Israel's assault.We have a scenario to take a more active step in this matter to at least suspend the fighting, Topolanek said at a news conference without giving details about the plan.He only said he had discussed the scenario with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and that he was going to call US President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert later Monday.The plan exceeds the borders of the EU. It is necessary first to consult all parties involved as well as other parties that are not involved directly, Topolanek's spokesman Jiri Frantisek Potuznik told AFP without elaborating.Israel unleashed a massive bombing campaign on Hamas targets in Gaza on December 27 in response to constant rocket fire from the territory and poured in ground troops to back up the bombardments a week later.Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg is heading a high-level EU delegation to the Middle East that set off from Prague on Sunday to seek a ceasefire.Topolanek also said on Monday that Potuznik would keep his job despite issuing a statement that had angered the Arab world last Saturday by suggesting the EU saw the ground assault on Gaza as defensive.
Israel allows humanitarian aid into Gaza Mon Jan 5, 5:09 am ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel allowed a convoy of humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip on Monday, as it pressed on with a massive offensive against the Palestinian group Hamas, the army said.A convoy of 80 trucks transporting humanitarian aid has started to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south, a military spokesman said.The aid included medicine and food which was sent from Egypt, Jordan, Greece and UN aid agencies, he said.The Nahal Oz terminal in the north was also opened on Monday to allow the transfer of 200,000 litres of fuel for Gaza's electricity station as well as 120 tonnes of cooking gas, he said.The Erez crossing in the north meantime was opened to allow some 200 Palestinian holders of foreign passports to leave the territory.Israel unleashed a massive bombing campaign of Hamas targets in Gaza on December 27 in response to consistent rocket fire from the territory and poured in ground troops to back up the bombardments a week later.Aid groups have repeatedly warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the densely-populated territory, where most of the 1.5 million residents depend on foreign aid.
