Carter: Fighting in Gaza could renew peace talks By WALTER PUTNAM, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 8, 8:17 pm ET
ATLANTA – Former President Jimmy Carter said Thursday that Israel's assault on Gaza has been destructive and disproportionate to rocket attacks on Israel but could result in new efforts for a long-term Middle East peace plan.Carter, in a telephone interview with The Associated Press, said although animosity toward Israel in the Arab world has probably increased dramatically, there may be renewed interest among European leaders in trying to find a lasting resolution.The former president, who brokered peace between Israel and Egypt 30 years ago, also expressed hope the incoming Obama administration would take a more active role in negotiations. Carter said he discussed the Middle East with President-elect Barack Obama in a meeting this week, but he would not disclose what Obama said.Publicly, Obama has deferred to President Bush on the Gaza conflict, insisting two administrations cannot run foreign policy simultaneously. The Bush administration has blamed Hamas for the conflict, citing the continued rocket attacks and smuggling of arms.Carter, speaking from his hometown of Plains, said the rockets and arms smuggling must be stopped, but the Israelis have destroyed a thousand other sites in addition to tunnels used for smuggling under the Egyptian border.Almost 750 Palestinians and 12 Israelis, including nine soldiers, have died since Israel's assault began Dec. 27.Whether that's an appropriate response, I'll let you make the judgment on that. I don't think it is, said Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.He said he was hopeful Egypt and France can broker a cease-fire, and that diplomats can resume efforts for a long-term peace plan with a two-state solution.Later Thursday, Arab and Western leaders drafted a cease-fire resolution that would allow for opening of border crossings to Gaza and called for the U.N. Security Council to vote on it. Although Israel and Gaza were not parties to the agreement, it was supported by the United States, Israel's closest ally, and Arab nations which have close ties to Hamas.In talks with Hamas leaders last spring, Carter helped engineer a six-month cease-fire that began June 19. It dramatically reduced the number of Hamas rockets, and Israel allowed resumed shipments of food, fuel and other supplies to ease the plight of the 1.5 million people in Gaza.
The rocket attacks resumed last month.
Carter, whose latest book We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land will be released Jan. 20, will travel to China on Saturday for the 30th anniversary of the U.S. resuming relations with Beijing. He was in Lebanon and Syria last month but has no immediate plans to return to the Middle East.Carter's last book on the region, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, drew criticism two years ago from some Jewish groups in the U.S. because of comparisons to Israeli treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza to racial oppression in 20th century South Africa.
Western, Arab ministers agree to UN draft on Gaza truce: diplomats by Gerard Aziakou – Thu Jan 8, 6:09 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – Western and Arab foreign ministers on Thursday agreed on a draft resolution calling for an immediate Gaza ceasefire, and will put the compromise measure to a UN Security Council vote, diplomats said.There's an agreement accepting the amendments of the Arabs, Palestinian observer to the UN Ryad Mansour told reporters, adding that he expected the draft resolution would receive unanimous support from the 15-member council.The text, which was released to reporters, stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire, leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
It calls for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment and welcomes initiatives aimed at creating and opening humanitarian corridors and other mechanisms for the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid.The compromise draft also condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism and urged member states to intensify efforts for arrangements and guarantees in Gaza to sustain a durable ceasefire and calm, including to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition and to ensure the reopening of the crossing points (into Gaza).The UN Security Council meanwhile scheduled closed-door consultations for 5:00 pm (2200 GMT) Thursday, possibly to hold a vote on the text that reconciles rival drafts proposed by the Arab and Western ministers.Adoption by the 15-member council of the compromise draft, which was sought by Libya on behalf of the Arab UN group, is virtually certain given that the three key Western members -- the United States, Britain and France -- are now apparently onboard.The draft also welcomes the Egyptian initiative (the three-point truce proposal unveiled by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Tuesday) and other regional and international efforts that are under way.The Mubarak plan included an immediate ceasefire for a specific period to allow delivery of humanitarian aid; an invitation for Israel and the Palestinians to come to Egypt for talks on securing Gaza borders, reopening of its crossings and lifting the Israeli blockade on the Palestinian enclave.
Even before the compromise deal was announced, Arab ministers said Thursday they were confident they would secure the nine votes necessary for passage of their own draft provided there was no veto from the five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the US.The agreement was announced after four days of intensive bargaining involving British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and several Arab foreign ministers, as well as Arab League chief Amr Mussa.Arab ministers are under public pressure to secure an immediate end to Israel's 13-day military onslaught in Gaza that has killed nearly 768 Palestinians.Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmud told reporters that the Arab side wanted a Council vote Thursday either on a compromise text or on the revised Libyan draft.He said the Arab ministers particularly insisted on an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the reopening of the crossings into Gaza and the lifting of the crippling Israeli blockade of the territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians.In a related development, Senior Israeli official Amos Gilad was in Cairo on Thursday for talks on the Egyptian Gaza truce proposal, a plan that Palestinian groups including Hamas described said was not valid.Gilad, a senior aide to Defense Minister Ehud Barak, was to hold confidential talks with Egypt's intelligence chief and pointman for Israeli affairs Omar Suleiman, the Israeli embassy said.Meanwhile, the main UN agency operating in the Gaza Strip, UNRWA, halted its operations Thursday, after an attack on a UN-flagged truck convoy and amid mounting calls for Israel to abide by international humanitarian law.The decision came after one person was killed when two tank shells hit the truck convoy as it traveled to the border with Israel to pick up humanitarian assistance. The Israeli military said it was probing the incident. On Tuesday, 43 people were killed at a UN-run school in the northern town of Jabaliya after Israeli forces fired tank shells at the building where families fleeing the fighting had sought shelter. Two other schools were hit, killing five more people.
Who Fired on Israel from Lebanon? By NICHOLAS BLANFORD /
BEIRUT Nicholas Blanford / Beirut – Thu Jan 8, 5:30 pm ET Israel and Hamas reject truce calls BBC Lebanon's traditionally volatile border with Israel reprised its role as a bellwether of Israeli-Arab tensions Thursday morning as unknown militants fired at least three Katyusha rockets into Israel. It was the third such attack since the end of Israel's 2006 Lebanon war. The first two attacks involved a number of 107-mm Katyusha rockets, which have a range of seven miles, but were poorly executed - some did not explode, one did not make it across the border, and one did not even leave the launcher.This time, however, the rocket attack showed a greater level of proficiency. Larger-caliber 122-mm rockets, with a range of 12 miles, were employed and carefully aimed at Nahariyah, a coastal town six miles south of the Lebanon border with a population of 50,000. Two Israeli civilians were slightly hurt when one of the rockets struck the roof of a nursing home. (See pictures of Heartbreak in the Middle East.)The intention appears to be to keep Israel on edge along its northern border without eliciting a disproportionate reaction. Indeed, Israel's response to the Katyusha attack - firing a few artillery shells into a deserted valley in southern Lebanon - neatly fits within the finely calibrated rules that define violence and retaliation along the border, rules tacitly observed by both Israel and Hizballah, the radical Shi'ite group that dominates much of Lebanon. Israel's artillery shelling was a step up from no response at all - which was how Israel greeted the two earlier rocket attacks. But it was sufficiently limited to deny Hizballah a pretext to respond in kind. I don't think it will get worse than that, says Timur Goksel, university lecturer in Beirut and former long-serving official with the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. You don't open a second front with a couple of Katyusha rockets.
Since the Gaza war began on Dec. 27, the Israelis have kept one eye open on its northern border. What is unexpected is why it took so long for rockets to be fired, says Goksel, voicing the view of analysts who had expected just such an incident since the onset of Israel's offensive against Hamas. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack, although suspicion has fallen on militant Palestinian groups such as the Damascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine–General Command (PFLP-GC), which may have acted with a nudge and a wink from Hizballah. Hizballah, Hamas and other Palestinian groups denied responsibility. When Hizballah does something, it announces it and has no problem doing so, says Mohammed Fneish, minister of labor in Lebanon's national unity government and also a Hizballah lawmaker. (See pictures from inside Hizballah.)The PFLP-GC, however, maintained a deliberately ambiguous stance. It is not the time to say who is responsible; it is time to be united to confront the Israelis, Anwar Raja, PFLP-GC spokesman in Lebanon, told TIME. We support the launching of rockets on Israel because of the massacre that is occurring in Gaza.Israel has been wary of Hizballah coming to the aid of its Palestinian ally Hamas by opening up a fresh front. The Shi'ite group has done so in the past. In April 2002, during Israel's Defensive Shield operation to reoccupy the West Bank, Hizballah militants staged nearly daily assaults against Israeli military outposts in the Shebaa Farms, a strip of mountainside running along Lebanon's southeast border. This time around, however, Hizballah has confined its actions to fiery statements, speeches and demonstrations of support for the beleaguered Palestinians in Gaza. (See pictures of the heartbreak in Gaza.)The powerful organization has little to gain from triggering a new conflict with Israel at this time, despite having given the Israeli military a bloody nose during the monthlong war in 2006. Lebanon heads to the polls in June for knife-edge parliamentary elections. If Hizballah and its allies in the opposition win and form the new parliamentary majority, it will greatly strengthen the organization's ability to deflect domestic and foreign demands that it dismantle its military wing. But with Lebanon still recovering from the 2006 conflict, few Lebanese, including its core Shi'ite support base, will thank Hizballah if it provokes a new war with Israel for the sake of its Hamas ally in Gaza.With reporting by Rami Aysha / Beirut
US army engineers helping detect Gaza tunnels: Pentagon Thu Jan 8, 5:21 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Army Corps of Engineers has been helping the Egyptian government detect tunnels used to move weapons and other contraband into Gaza, the Pentagon said Thursday.A small number of US civilians with the Corps have been providing technical advice to the Egyptians over a period of months, said Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary.There has been a concerted effort for some time by the Egyptians to go after some of these tunnels -- detect them, block them, eliminate them -- and I think the Army Corps of Engineers has provided some technical advice on how to do so, Morrell said.The Army Corps of Engineers role was providing strictly technical advice, he said.Morrell said no US civilians were working near the border with Gaza currently because of the violence arising from an Israeli ground offensive.Border tunnels were targeted by Israeli aircraft from the outset of the conflict.The Pentagon press secretary said they were suspected of being used to smuggle in rockets that Hamas has used to attack Israel.
US condemns rocket attacks into Israel from Lebanon Thu Jan 8, 1:30 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States on Thursday condemned the launch of rockets into northern Israel from Lebanon and stressed it did not want to see a second front open up in the Gaza war.We condemn the attack that took place into Israel, State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters, referring to the four rockets that slammed into northern Israel from Lebanon on Thursday.It is clearly a violation of UN Security Council resolution 1701, which helped bring an end to the devastating 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran.We definitely do not want to see this conflict widen, Wood added.He said that as part of her diplomatic push for a resolution of the Gaza crisis, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made at least seven phone calls to Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni Wednesday and that the two top diplomats may have discussed the rocket attacks from Lebanon into Israel.Wood also said he believed Israel showed some restraint in its minimal return of fire into Lebanon, saying the army in the past has used heavier firepower to counter attacks from north of the border.Hezbollah has denied responsibility for the attack that sowed panic on both sides of the tense border. Local police said the rockets lightly wounded two people. No group has claimed responsibility.Israel says its blistering offensive into the Gaza Strip is aimed at rooting out Hamas militants who launch rockets into Israel. The incursion has left more than 760 Palestinians dead and sparked a humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Analysis: Lebanese rockets raise fear of 2nd front By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 8, 10:25 am ET
NAHARIYA, Israel – Residents of this northern Israeli town awoke Thursday to one of their country's worst nightmares: Rockets from Lebanon, and the possibility of a second front in a battle that has raged for two weeks in Gaza.No armed group claimed responsibility for the two Katyusha rockets that lightly injured two Israelis. But the most likely suspects were small Palestinian factions operating in south Lebanon and known to possess Katyushas.The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006, denied it was behind the attack. But Hezbollah has been suspected in the past by Israel and its opponents in Lebanon of using allied radical groups to irritate Israel with a lower risk of retaliation.Quiet returned to the border after a brief retaliation by Israeli artillery. But the point had been made: Israel may be tied up in an offensive in the Gaza Strip in the south aimed at halting rocket fire from Hamas, but millions more Israelis are vulnerable to rockets from Lebanon to the north of its border.Israel now faces threats on two of its borders from Islamic organizations with close ties to Iran. Hamas rockets threaten about 1 million Israelis in the south out of a population of 7 million, and Israel's military believes that the rockets in the Hezbollah's arsenal can hit most of the remaining 6 million.
We're all a bit traumatized at the moment, said Sarit Arieli, 44, who awoke to the sound of the rocket's impact in the border town of Nahariya and was standing outside the nursing home it hit several hours later. But she added, I think we're stronger than them.The rockets were fired from territory under Hezbollah's de facto control. But Hezbollah — which ignited the devastating war in the summer of 2006 that left swaths of Lebanon in ruins — has said it does not want to drag the country into another conflict.Backed by Iran and Syria, Hezbollah likely wants to avoid damaging its newfound standing as a credible player on Lebanon's political stage. After showing its military strength against Israel in 2006 and then again in May 2008 against its Lebanese rivals — when it took control of large parts of Beirut by force — Hezbollah is now a partner in Lebanon's government with veto power over all decisions.Its leaders have been making do with fiery speeches.One of the small radical groups in Lebanon allied with Hezbollah, the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, had warned it might open other fronts against Israel if the Gaza offensive continues.Its officials refused to deny or confirm they were behind the rocket attack. But spokesman Anwar Raja in Syria seemed to voice support, telling the AP it was a natural outcome ... of the Israeli aggression.Lebanon has the most to lose from a new war, having only recently begun recovering from the ravages of the last one. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said Thursday the rocket fire is the work of parties who stand to lose from the continued stability in Lebanon.Israel, too, does not appear to be eager for a second fight.Even though we have the ability to respond with great force, the response needs to be carefully considered and responsible, Cabinet minister Meir Sheetrit told Army Radio. We don't need to play into their hands.
Gaza must not become Iran satellite: Peres Thu Jan 8, 4:26 am ET
ROME (AFP) – Israeli President Shimon Peres said Gaza must not become a satellite of Iran, in an interview published Thursday by an Italian daily.Our goals are clear: we do not want to make Gaza a satellite of Iran, and we don't want a ceasefire but the end of the terror, Peres told La Repubblica. Hamas must stop firing.He added: We do not want to prolong the war, and we have no territorial ambitions for Gaza. With this operation, there is a chance for peace.Israel is currently in the 13th day of a massive offensive in the Gaza Strip, launched in response to consistent rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave.The war has killed more than 700 Palestinians, including some 220 children, and wounded more than 3,100 people.Tehran does not recognise Israel and is a staunch supporter of Hamas but rejects allegations that it supplies arms to the movement, saying it provides moral backing only.Angry protests against the Israeli offensive have been staged across Iran, and some Islamist students have been pressing the authorities to allow them to go to Gaza to fight against Israel.Peres said a ceasefire plan proposed by Egypt that calls for a resumption of talks between Israel and the Palestinians and dialogue between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas was a general idea with the details to be hammered out.The process could take several days, he said.It's an unprecedented situation, Peres said. We are facing a terrorist group that controls territory that it appropriated illegally. They care little about saving the lives of their children and women, and they fire rockets on our schools.
Israel has told the UN secretary general that several United Nations buildings are used as protection for terrorist activities, and asked him to resolve this problem. That hasn't been done, the Israeli president said when asked about an Israeli attack on a UN-run school in Gaza that claimed 30 or 43 lives, according to different sources.Hamas is using children as shields, they hide terrorists in hospitals and weapons in mosques. They have fired on us from these schools. It's Hamas who has no limits, they stop at nothing, Peres said.Iran's revolutionary guards chief on Sunday ruled out providing military support to Hamas, saying Gazan resistance does not need other countries' military help.Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last week urged Muslims to punish Israel and said that anyone who died in the defence of Gaza would be deemed a martyr.
EU's Solana in Turkey for Gaza talks: ministry Thu Jan 8, 2:55 am ET
ANKARA, (AFP) – EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana was in Turkey Thursday for talks on the Gaza conflict and the situation in the region, the Turkish foreign ministry said.Solana, who earlier this week visited Egypt and Israel in a bid to broker a truce, will meet President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a statement said.In remarks Wednesday on Spanish radio, Solana said Egypt's invitation to Israel to discuss the Gaza offensive could bear fruit in the coming hours.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday invited Israel to an urgent meeting to discuss security on the Egypt-Gaza border -- an issue Israel says is key to ending its offensive in Gaza.Diplomatic activity is currently at its zenith, and we have to see if we are capable all together of making efforts that would allow an immediate stop to hostilities, Solana said.Israeli officials have said that they viewed the Egyptian initiative positively and would send an envoy to Cairo for further talks.The Israeli offensive in Gaza, which began on December 27, has so far killed more than 700 Palestinians and wounded over 3,000, according to Gaza medics.
Turkey, one of Israel's few Muslim allies, has harshly criticized the Jewish State for what it called disproportionate use of force and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Rockets from Lebanon hit northern Israel: police Thu Jan 8, 1:14 am ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Three rockets fired from Lebanon exploded in northern Israel on Thursday, the first since the Jewish state launched an offensive in Gaza two weeks ago, Israeli police said.Israeli medical staff said two people were lightly wounded by one of the rockets.
Iran's Larijani meets Hamas in Damascus Wed Jan 7, 8:17 pm ET
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – A senior Iranian politician met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Damascus on Wednesday as the Palestinian Islamist group considered an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.Ali Larijani, speaker of parliament and one of the major figures in the Islamic Republic, met Meshaal and several high level officials from Hamas at the Iranian embassy in the Syrian capital, witnesses said.
The meeting stretched into the early hours of Thursday, with no details emerging from the deliberations. Larijani earlier met leaders of Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian group with close links to Iran.Iran and Syria are the major backers of Hamas, and Syria hosts members of Hamas's exiled leadership, including Meshaal.The two countries have influence on Hamas but little is known about what advice Tehran and Damascus have been giving Hamas in the current crisis.Larijani also met President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday to discuss the dangerous situation in Gaza, the official Syrian news agency said. He is the second Iranian official to visit Syria since Israel's ground invasion of Gaza began on Saturday.Saeed Jalili, a senior Iranian security official, met Hamas and Islamic Jihad officials in Damascus this week, before Egypt announced a plan for a truce in Gaza brokered by France.
Hamas said it was looking at the plan, which aims to prevent Hamas rearming through smuggling tunnels from Egypt and tackles Hamas's demand for an end to Israel's blockade on Gaza, a major reason cited by Hamas behind its decision not to renew a truce with Israel last month.(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis)
UN Security Council weighs competing texts on Gaza truce Wed Jan 7, 5:35 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The UN Security Council on Wednesday weighed two rival texts on prospects for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza conflict.Libya, the lone Arab member of the current 15-member council, insisted on an early vote on a draft resolution demanding an immediate end to Israel's 12-day military onslaught in Gaza aimed at stopping rocket firing by Palestinian militants.But a rival non-binding statement circulated by France, which chairs the council this month, would merely stress the urgent need for an immediate and durable ceasefire and would welcome the truce initiative unveiled Tuesday by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.There is no unanimity on either of these texts, France's UN ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said. We have decided to continue our discussions.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her French and British counterparts spent most of Wednesday locked in intensive bargaining with key Arab foreign ministers to try to reach a compromise.Of course, we are very much applauding the efforts of a number of states, particularly the efforts that President Mubarak has undertaken, Rice told reporters on her way to a meeting with UN chief Ban Ki-moon. We are supporting that initiative.
Rice said she had been in very close discussions with my Arab colleagues but also with the Israelis about the importance of moving that initiative forward.We are also talking about how the Council can best support the effective action that could be taken on the ground.On Tuesday after talks with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy, Mubarak presented a three-point proposal for ending Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza.The Mubarak plan included an immediate ceasefire for a specific period to allow humanitarian aid to pass; an invitation to Israel and the Palestinians to come to Egypt for talks on securing Gaza borders, reopening of its crossings and lifting an Israeli blockade; and a renewed call for Palestinian reconciliation talks under Egypt's mediation.We are trying to find some kind of product (statement) which bolsters what has happened in the region, a Western diplomat said, referring to the Mubarak initiative.Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said Arab foreign ministers came to New York to get the Security Council to take immediate action to end the hostilities in Gaza.One diplomat said the Arab ministers did not want to leave empty-handed and face the wrath of public opinion back home.We hope that the council will be ready to vote on the text tomorrow, a diplomat quoted the Libyan delegate as saying during closed-door council consultations.
Sudanese demonstrators threaten attacks on Westerners: US Wed Jan 7, 11:40 am ET
KHARTOUM (AFP) – Sudanese protestors angry at the Israeli offensive in Gaza have called for attacks on Westerners, US embassy officials warned on Wednesday.Khartoum has seen several small-scale demonstrations outside embassies and United Nations offices, protesting against the ongoing fighting in Gaza in which at least 680 Palestinians have been killed.During demonstrations in recent days near the US embassy and elsewhere in Khartoum, some speakers have made threats against US and other Western citizens in Sudan, a statement posted on the United States embassy in Khartoum warned.At least one speaker called for attacks against foreigners in Khartoum and named specific locations, the statement read.The speaker listed sites in Khartoum popular with Westerners including a cafe, shopping mall and restaurant, it added.Further demonstrations are expected this week, with the embassy urging all Americans to take precautions and avoid public places.The protests come as Sudanese officials prepare for an expected ruling from International Criminal Court (ICC) judges on whether to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Beshir on genocide and war crimes in Darfur.Some fear an anti-Western backlash if a warrant is issued, with concerns a furious Sudan could evict UN peacekeepers and aid workers.
All possibilities open against Israel: Hezbollah chief by Jocelyne Zablit JAN 7,09
BEIRUT (AFP) – Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday all possibilities are open against Israel and warned the Jewish state's 2006 war with his party would resemble a walk in the park in the event of renewed conflict.We have to act as though all possibilities are real and open (against Israel) and we must always be ready for any eventuality, said Nasrallah, whose Shiite militant party is backed by Syria and Iran.His comment marked the first time he has spoken so openly on the possibility of a renewed conflict with Israel since the war in Gaza began on December 27.Nasrallah, addressing tens of thousands of supporters via video link at his stronghold in Beirut's suburbs on the occasion of Ashura, said that the 2006 conflict would be nothing compared to what awaits Israel if it opens a second front.
I say to (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert, the loser, the vanquished in Lebanon that you cannot overcome Hamas or Hezbollah, Nasrallah said. Your 2006 war will be but a walk in the park compared to what we have prepared for you in the event of a new offensive.We are ready to sacrifice our souls, our brothers and sisters, our children, our loved ones for what we believe in, he added. We will not abandon the fight or our weapons.The July-August 2006 war devastated much of southern Lebanon and killed more than 1,200 mostly Lebanese civilians.Hezbollah, whose powerful militia is the only armed faction in Lebanon, claimed victory over Israel after the war.There have been fears since the Gaza war began that Nasrallah would call his troops into action but for now he has stuck to almost daily speeches to furiously denounce the Israeli offensive.And the Lebanese government, in which Hezbollah has a representative, has repeatedly stressed that it is keen on not being dragged into a new conflict.Nasrallah in his speech Wednesday also reiterated criticism of Egypt for refusing to open its border with Gaza and blasted the UN Security Council for failing to denounce the Israeli offensive that has killed nearly 700 Palestinians.
Does the government in Egypt need more than 650 martyrs and 2,500 wounded to open the Rafah crossing once and for all to help the people of Gaza toward victory? Nasrallah said. I am simply asking for the opening of a crossing and not another front.He also commended Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez for expelling Israel's ambassador to Caracas saying that all countries, including Arab states, must follow his example.Chavez's decision is a slap in the face for all countries that host an Israeli ambassador, he said. Arab governments must learn from this great Latin American leader.Jordan and Egypt are the only two countries in the Middle East to have diplomatic relations with Israel.
European Peace Efforts on Gaza Hit Roadblocks By BRUCE CRUMLEY / PARIS Bruce Crumley / Paris – Wed Jan 7, 4:25 am ET
Palestinians flee destruction as Israel's offensive continues AFP Efforts by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other European leaders to broker a cease-fire in Gaza have so far come to naught. The problem confronting them and any potential peacemakers in the region is that the Israelis don't want a truce that falls short of their goal of defanging Hamas, while the Palestinian radical group is hardly ready to run up the white flag. We know perfectly well that all this is difficult, and the European effort is risky, Sarkozy said on Monday after his meetings with Egyptian, Palestinian and Israeli leaders made virtually no headway toward a truce. But if we don't take the initiative to come and find paths to peace when confronted with such a dramatic situation as this, when would we? The approach of Sarkozy and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg in their parallel missions was basic enough: win agreement for an immediate, 48-hour cease-fire by both Israel and Hamas to allow humanitarian aid to enter and circulate throughout Gaza and treat civilian victims caught in the violence. Once the guns were silent, a longer-term peace process was to flow from that, beginning with opening and policing Israeli and Egyptian border crossings into Gaza and lifting the crippling economic blockade of the area, which Hamas has cited as its prime reason for abandoning the previous cease-fire that had kept things largely quiet from June to November. To accommodate Israel's security concerns, the Europeans are also proposing the deployment of international troops to prevent the smuggling of weapons that would allow Hamas to rearm for future attacks on Israel. See pictures of Heartbreak in the Middle East.But that proved a tough sell to the main players. First off, Israel has no interest in stopping its military mission until its primary aims have been achieved, and those aims appear to be evolving from simply stopping rocket fire into southern Israel into what Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni calls changing the equation in Gaza - i.e., hobbling Hamas to the point that it loses control of Gaza. The Israelis believe they have Hamas on the ropes, and may be in no hurry to back off from trying to deal a mortal blow to the radical group. That means their diplomatic posture will be to seek more time for their military operation and then to hold out for truce terms that essentially codify a military disabling of Hamas. (See pictures of Israel's invasion of Gaza.)
But Israel's agenda is hardly the only obstacle. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who met with Sarkozy on Monday, rebuffed the idea of international forces patrolling his border in search of smugglers sending weapons into Gaza. Mubarak insists Egyptian police and military have choked off that supply and that the weapons now come by sea - although Israeli officials see the tunnels from Egypt as the primary smuggling route. Mubarak is hostile to Hamas, an offshoot of Egypt's banned but popular Muslim Brotherhood, and has long insisted that he will open the Rafah border crossing into Gaza only if the Palestinian side is policed by security forces loyal to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Sarkozy ran into further trouble on Monday afternoon when he met in Ramallah with Abbas and sought to ingratiate himself with the Palestinian Authority President by declaring that Hamas is to blame for the suffering of the Palestinians. That may have been music to the ears of Abbas, but he is a marginal figure in the conflict currently raging, and Sarkozy's comments prompted Hamas - the key Palestinian player in Gaza - to denounce the total bias of Sarkozy's initiative. What's more, by having followed the U.S. lead in declaring Hamas off-limits because it is a terrorist organization, the E.U.'s own rules now prevent it from engaging directly with the organization in a mediating role. Sarkozy played his diplomatic trump card on Tuesday, visiting Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad - the key regional patron of Hamas, who also owes the French President a favor for his controversial diplomatic rehabilitation of the Syrian strongman last summer - to plead with Syria to weigh on the actors, notably Hamas, so that peace may return. Assad's response, denouncing Israeli war crimes in Gaza, suggested little enthusiasm for holding Hamas' feet to the fire. The limited traction of the efforts by Sarkozy and the Czechs, who currently hold the rotating E.U. presidency, is a reminder that the diplomatic centers of influence in the current conflict lie elsewhere. Europe has no real influence to dramatically change things in a region where the U.S. remains the only power anyone listens to, says Philippe Moreau Defarges, a European-affairs specialist at the Institute for International Relations in Paris. Still, Europe had to try something in the face of two dire factors: America's irresponsible refusal to get involved now, and the terrible failure of Bush Administration policy in the region that the current crisis arose from.Indeed, Washington is not just remaining on the diplomatic sideline; it is actively restraining the efforts of others to force an immediate halt to the Israeli operation. Sarkozy was angered by the Bush Administration's move last Saturday to block a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate halt to hostilities. Those who applaud today, Sarkozy growled, won't be there tomorrow to get us out of this mess. Nor will the European efforts, however. Achieving a truce will require involvement by those with leverage over the key players. It's evident the movement we're seeking to create needs the support and assistance of the big actors in the area, a French diplomat involved in the current initiative says. That means Egypt, Turkey and Syria using the different pull they have - especially with Hamas - and the U.S. in its unique relationship with Israel.
Israel to stop Gaza bombing for three hours daily: army Wed Jan 7, 3:32 am ET
JERUSALEM, (AFP) – Israel will halt bombing the Hamas-run Gaza Strip for three hours every day beginning on Wednesday, an army spokeswoman told AFP.It was decided to suspend bombings between 1 and 4 o'clock (1100 GMT and 1400 GMT) every day starting today, Avital Liebovich told AFP.
Egypt and France propose plan to end Gaza conflict By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer – Wed Jan 7, 12:24 am ET
UNITED NATIONS – A cease-fire initiative Tuesday to halt the increasingly bloody Israeli offensive in Hamas-rule Gaza won support from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on rival sides to follow up on the proposal.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said the initiative seeks an immediate cease-fire by Israel and Palestinian factions for a specific period to allow secure corridors for delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza and give Egypt time to continue efforts to reach a permanent cease-fire.Egypt is inviting the warring Israeli and Palestinian sides for urgent meetings to resolve issues underlying the fighting, including securing Gaza's borders, reopening all crossings and lifting the Israeli siege, Mubarak said.The U.N. Security Council held a high-level emergency meeting late Tuesday as international pressure mounted for an end to the 11-day Israeli offensive in Gaza that has killed nearly 600 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, and injured at least 2,500, according to U.N. and Palestinian officials.
Israel says it launched the air and ground attack to end Hamas rocketing that has traumatized southern Israel. Hamas, a militant Islamic group which the U.S. and Israel consider a terrorist organization, wrested control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in June 2007.At Tuesday's four hour council meeting, virtually every Arab speaker denounced the Security Council's failure to adopt a legally binding resolution to stop the Israeli offensive and demand a durable cease-fire.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the council's deafening silence placed a big question mark over its credibility and the entire system of international security.Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa said the Egyptian and French presidents launched their initiative, which the league's 22 members support, because of the council's procrastination.We do not see any contradiction between that initiative and the work of the Security Council, he said. In fact, they both complement each other ... since our objective is the same.To try to spur speedy council action, Libya formally circulated a revised Arab draft resolution Tuesday that, in party, calls for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the opening of all crossings into Gaza.But the draft makes no mention of a key U.S. and Israeli demand — for border monitors to destroy tunnels that Hamas has used to smuggle arms since seizing control of Gaza. In fact, it never mentions Hamas by name.
The Security Council scheduled another meeting Wednesday morning.Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit read Mubarak's statement in Sharm-el-Sheik, Egypt to the council.Mubarak also renewed Egypt's invitation to the Palestinian Authority and all Palestinian factions to try again to achieve Palestinian reconciliation, a move considered essential for a settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The Egyptian president said the Israelis and Palestinians should also be willing to discuss border security and other issues that led to the conflict with the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers which includes the U.N., the U.S., the European Union and Russia.French President Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters at a joint news conference with in Sharm-el-Sheik that he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to inform him of the initiative.He said Mubarak invited Israel to come discuss the question of border security ... (and) that could be in the hours ahead.I have good hope that the reaction of Israeli authorities will allow us to imagine an end to the operation they have undertaken in Gaza, that is not only a cease-fire but a withdrawal, Sarkozy said. At U.N. headquarters, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told members a halt to violence is the immediate priority.We are awaiting the Israeli response and we harbor hope that it will be a positive one, Kouchner said. Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said at U.N. headquarters that Israel takes the Egyptian-French initiative very, very seriously.In Jerusalem, Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, told AP: We are holding off comments on that for the time being.U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Security Council that the United States, Israel's closest ally, understands the urgency of an end to the fighting and is working around the clock to achieve it. In this regard, we are pleased by, and wish to commend, the statement of the president of Egypt and to follow up on that initiative, Rice said.
But she cautioned that any solution must include an end to Hamas rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel, the opening of all borders in Gaza, and an end to arms smuggling into the Palestinian territory. I express my support for the plan set in motion today by president Mubarak and president Sarkozy, Abbas told the council. A Hamas delegate who attended talks Tuesday with Egypt's intelligence chief said Hamas representatives would discuss Mubarak's proposals. He did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the talks. Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gabriela Shalev defended the country's military action in Gaza, saying Hamas has no interest in making peace and only wants to inflict terror on Israel and tyranny in Gaza, where its forces hide among innocent civilians. Associated Press Writers Rebecca Santana and Salah Nasrawi in Cairo, Mark Lavie in Jerusalem and John Heilprin at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Report: Al-Qaida No. 2 blames Obama for Gaza fight By HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 6, 8:23 pm ET
CAIRO, Egypt – Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader lashed out at President-elect Barack Obama in a new audio message Tuesday, accusing him of not doing anything to stop Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to an intelligence monitoring center.The recording purportedly by Ayman al-Zawahiri was al-Qaida's first comments on the Gaza crisis since Israel launched its offensive against the Islamic militants of Hamas on Dec. 27.In the comments, which were posted on a militant Web site and obtained by the SITE Monitoring Service, al-Zawahiri described Israel's actions in Gaza as a crusade against Islam and Muslims and called it Obama's gift to Israel before he takes office later this month.This is Obama whom the American machine of lies tried to portray as the rescuer who will change the policy of America, al-Zawahiri said, according to SITE. He kills your brothers and sisters in Gaza mercilessly and without affection.Al-Zawahiri, who is Egyptian, also criticized Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, calling him a traitor for keeping Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip closed since Hamas seized power.At the time when Israeli planes drop their bombs from the air, he closes the borders with his forces so that the plan of the killing of believers in Gaza is fulfilled, al-Zawahiri said, according to SITE.He urged Egyptians and Muslims around the world to pressure Mubarak into opening the border and to take a more active role in fighting Israel.Thousands of people in cities worldwide have held mass street demonstrations to protest Israel's offensive, but al-Zawahiri said those were not enough.Fight the Zionist Crusader campaign, al-Zawahiri said, according to SITE. Strike its interests everywhere you can reach them. Support and back your mujahedeen brothers and children against them.The audio message was accompanied by a still photograph of the al-Qaida leader sitting with a gun in his lap.The recording could not be immediately verified, but SITE said it was posted on Web sites commonly used by Islamic militants. The recording also carried the logo for al-Qaida's media production house, Al-Sahab.
Hamas responsible for deadly Gaza attack: Canada Tue Jan 6, 5:59 pm ET
OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian government blamed the Palestinian militant group Hamas for the deaths of more than 40 civilians who were killed by Israeli shells on Tuesday in some of the most hard-line comments by any leading western nation on the deadly incident.Medical officials in Gaza said the civilians had been sheltering at a United Nations school. The Israeli army accused Hamas of using the civilians as human shields and of firing mortars at its troops from inside the school.Hamas bears a terrible responsibility for this and for the wider deepening humanitarian tragedy, Canadian Junior Foreign Minister Peter Kent told Reuters when asked for Ottawa's reaction to the attack.The burden of responsibility is on Hamas to stop its terrorist rocketing of Israel.Canada's current Conservative government, which took power in early 2006, is an outspoken supporter of Israel.It is a tragedy and Canada is concerned about the loss of civilian life, Kent said of the school shelling, adding that Ottawa did not yet know much about the incident.Hamas's record is to use civilians -- the population and civilian infrastructure -- as shields and it would seem quite possible that this is yet another tragic instance, he said.France and Egypt are at the forefront of efforts to stop the fighting, in which more than 600 civilians have been killed. Kent said a short-term truce might not have much effect.
The problem is that Hamas's record is that they've used temporary cease-fires in the past merely to rearm and then resume their terrorist activities, he said.Kent, echoing the line of previous Canadian governments, said Ottawa was ready to play a constructive role in a future Middle East peace process.(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Rob Wilson)
