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JPost Middle East- Analysis: Why has the West Bank been quiet? January 6, 2009
- Lebanon doubts Hizbullah will open second front January 6, 2009
- UNSC to meet on Gaza resolution January 6, 2009
- Hamas opens hospital for gunmen January 6, 2009
- Sarkozy urges Assad to press for truce January 6, 2009
- ynet - Updates for RSS
- Bush adviser: Iran, Pakistan key Obama challenges January 7, 2009
- Judge to ponder whether Bernard Madoff dangerous January 7, 2009
- Rice says US supports Mubarak proposal on Gaza January 7, 2009
- Saddam wouldn't have allowed Israel's Gaza raid, says aide January 7, 2009
- UK voices support for Egyptian ceasefire initiative January 7, 2009
- Haaretz.com - News
- Rice: U.S. backs Egypt proposal for Gaza cease-fire January 7, 2009U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday Washington backed a proposal by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. ...
- ANALYSIS / Israel must double, triple, quadruple its medical aid to Gaza January 7, 2009A few days ago, Physicians for Human Rights began soliciting $700,000 in donations for hospitals in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli humanitarian organization also provided a detailed list of the medical equipment Gaza lacks, including portable monitors, respirators, ultrasound and X-ray machines, wheelchairs, needles, dressings, catheters, oxygen, medical gases, endo-tracheal tubes, screws and plates for shattered limbs, and surgical gloves. According to PHR, Gaza also has a severe shortage of intensive-care beds, which cost about $50,000 apiece. Moreover, many Palestinian ambulances are out of commission. ...
- As truce efforts grow, Israel mulls expanding Gaza ground op January 7, 2009Israel's political leadership will meet in Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning to discuss expanding the ground offensive in the Gaza Strip at a time when most of the aims of the operation have been met. ...
- Venezuelan President Chavez: Gaza operation is a Palestinian 'holocaust' January 7, 2009Venezuela expelled the ambassador to Israel on Tuesday in protest over the offensive in Gaza only hours after leftist President Hugo Chavez called the attacks a Palestinian "holocaust." ...
- Israel to establish 'humanitarian corridor' for Gaza Strip January 7, 2009Israel will set up a "humanitarian corridor" to counter a crisis caused by its offensive in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office ...
- Rice: U.S. backs Egypt proposal for Gaza cease-fire January 7, 2009
Gilad Shalit and the War in Gaza
This is a public blog post. Feel free to post and distribute online.
As the battle in Gaza wages on, one soldier must remain in our minds. Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Arab terrorists on June 25, 2006, and has been held hostage by the Hamas in Gaza ever since. Gilad Shalit’s family received three letters from him via Hamas, the last on June 9, 2008. Hamas repeatedly brings up Shalit in the hopes of negotiating a deal for the release of an enormous amount of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Gilad Shalit should be getting out of the army around now, thinking about what career path to choose and what university to study in. Instead he is sitting in a Gazan prison for an indefinite amount of time. These days he is listening to the sound of bombs being rained down on Gaza. He must be wondering how this latest conflict will affect his welfare. Will it speed up his return to Israel or endanger his life?
The current battle in Gaza was not undertaken in order to save Shalit. The Second Lebanon War failed at bringing him back, as did diplomatic attempts by Israel and France (he is also a French citizen) over the last few years. Although Olmert mentioned in his initial speech after the bombing of Gaza began that his heart is with the Shalit family, it is not clear whether precautions have been taken to safeguard him while Israel defends its borders from terrorism.
Israel does not attack its neighbors lightly; remarkable restraint has been exercised over the last eight years while Hamas shelled the southern towns and cities of Israel almost daily. Israel has chosen to defend the citizens of Sderot, Netivot, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Beer Sheva and Shaar HaNegev. It may be that the life of one soldier is endangered by this decision.
Supporters of Israel hope and pray that the opposite is true and that this operation ends with the triumphant return of Gilad Shalit to his family and to his homeland.
–
Hadassah Levy
http://cojs.org
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Harro Bos
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twitter @growline
We know how to strike, Olmert tells
PM, Deputy Defense Minister Vilnai visit Gaza vicinity communities that are under almost daily rocket attacks. In meeting with children, Olmert says he shares their fears, Israel cannot tolerate attacksThe prime minister warned against continued attacks. “I would like to say with the greatest of care that we do not for one moment tolerate such a lifestyle in which we have to run to shelters to hide from our enemies.
“We know what needs to be done, we also know when and how to do it so that you won’t live in fear, you won’t have to run short of breath. We know what to do, how, and when and we will do it.”
Olmert hugging child in Kibbutz Gevim kindergarten (photo: AFP)
Sources: IDF told to show restraint on rockets
Military sources told Haaretz that despite the recent escalation in the volume of rocket fire from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces have been ordered to maintain a policy of restraint.
As a result, the IDF is embarking on very few operations against the rocket-launching crews.
Since the Gaza border flared up again on November 4, following an IDF operation to destroy a tunnel near the border in which six Hamas operatives were killed, more than 200 rockets have been fired at Israel.
This includes 32 Grad Katyushas fired at Ashkelon over the course of a few days. The IDF views this as proof that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have large stockpiles of rockets, including sizable numbers of the longer-range Katyushas.
While Hamas was directly responsible for some of the earlier launches, over the last two weeks, it has largely left the firing to other factions.
Palestinian efforts to lay bombs near the border have also spiked in recent weeks.
However, the IDF’s rules of engagement have remained unchanged. Soldiers are allowed to fire freely at rocket- and mortar-launching cells immediately before, during or after a launch, and with permission from a senior officer, they can also fire at Palestinians trying to lay bombs within half a kilometer of the border fence. Other than that, however, no offensive operations are permitted: For instance, the army cannot attack Hamas’ offices or training facilities or assassinate members of its military wing.
The main method via which Israel has tried to pressure Hamas instead is by tightening the blockade of Gaza. But while Hamas is feeling the pressure, it could opt to respond not by lowering the violence, but by escalating it, in the hopes of achieving a new cease-fire on better terms.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday Israel would allow the entry of aid to the Gaza Strip for the day, following 24 hours without a rocket being fired at the western Negev.
Approximately 40 trucks carrying food and medicine will be allowed to enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing, and additional trucks carrying diesel fuel and cooking oil will be allowed through the Nahal Oz crossing.
The fact that Hamas has asserted almost total control over the smuggling tunnels from Egypt means that it largely determines what kind of merchandise enters the Strip. Israeli defense officials estimate that some 150,000 liters of low-quality diesel fuel enters Gaza via the tunnels every day, which enables trucks and buses to operate on a limited basis.
This also allows Hamas to reserve the fuel that arrives from Israel, which is of much higher quality, for the use of its military wing and key Hamas-run government offices.
Currently, both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are pressing Israel to allow the entry of tens of millions of shekels worth of paper currency into Gaza.
The Strip’s economy is still largely shekel-based, and it is currently facing a serious currency shortage, as many existing bills are too worn out to use. Some of the money would be used to pay salaries to employees of government offices affiliated with the PA.
PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad raised this issue in recent talks with Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the head of the Defense Ministry’s diplomatic unit, Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad. However, Israel has not yet decided whether to accede to Fayyad’s request.
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BIN LADEN VOWS TO UNLEASH CATASTROPHIC NEW ATTACKS AS OLMERT VOWS TO DIVIDE JERUSALEM
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., November 10, 2008) — Tensions in the epicenter are running high as the world watches closely to see if Israel is going to launch preemptive strikes against Iran during this window between the U.S. elections and the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama on January 20th, or if Iran will use this window to launch preemptive strikes against Israel.
I make no predictions about what will happen. My team and I continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the entire region. We’re praying for a peaceful regime change in Tehran and Damascus and for a respite from all the wars and rumors of wars. We have great faith that this can happen. But we don’t pretend to know exactly how events will play out. Thus, we are continuing to prepare for the worst case scenarios.
Among them:
* an apocalyptic, prophetic war in the Middle East involving Israel and Iran
* another “regular” but horrifying geopolitical war in the region as a follow-up to the Second Lebanon War in 2006
* catastrophic al Qaeda attacks in the U.S., Europe and/or in the Holy Land
Most of our Joshua Fund team is on the ground in Israel right now, making preparations to provide more food, clothing, medical equipment and other emergency relief supplies to those who need them presently, and those who could be victims of coming wars and terrorist attacks. Lord willing, I leave for Israel tomorrow to join them and will do my best to send updates during that trip.
That said, here are the key stories my team and I are tracking today:
* Al-Quds Al-Arabi: BIN LADEN HAS ORDERED AN ATTACK BIGGER THAN 9/11 THAT WILL ‘CHANGE THE WORLD POLITICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY’
* REPORT IDENTIFIES UK TERRORIST ENCLAVES: Secret enclaves of al-Qaeda extremists based in London, Birmingham and Luton are planning mass-casualty attacks in Britain, according to a leaked Government intelligence report
* OLMERT AT RABIN MEMORIAL: WE MUST GIVE UP PARTS OF JERUSALEM: “If we want to keep Israel Jewish and democratic, we need to give up parts of the homeland we have dreamed about for generations and [mentioned] in our prayers, even Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and to return to a 1967 Israel with certain amendments,” he said. “The decision must be made now. The moment of truth has arrived. There is no escaping it, but [the opportunity] can be missed. If, God forbid, we dither, we will lose the support for the idea of two states. There is no need to expand on the alternative…Rabin will win.” * OLMERT CALLS FOR CONCESSIONS IN JERUSALEM: Prime minister says during state ceremony in honor of slain prime minister, ‘We must give up parts of the homeland we have dreamt of for generations, as well as Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem’. President Peres says unrestrained minority inciting against leaders must be brought to justice.
NOTE: I have not been able to confirm the Israeli news report last week that an earthquake in Iran may have been triggered by a possible Iranian nuclear test. At this point, I lean strongly towards the view that this was an inaccurate report, but I will let you know if I find out more one way or the other.
Likud MK petitions High Court: Order Olmert to end peace talks
Likud MK petitions High Court: Order Olmert to end peace talks
Knesset Member Limor Livnat says resigning prime minster must not engage in peace talks
Likud Knesset Member Limor Livnat petitioned the High Court of justice Monday, urging judges to rule that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert must immediately end negotiations with Syria and the Palestinian Authority. Livnat says talks should only be renewed once a new government is formed.
Over the weekend, PM Olmert was reported to eye the renewal of talks with Syria, despite the upcoming elections and that fact that he is currently leading a transition government. Subsequently, Livnat turned to Attorney General Menachem Mazuz, who ruled that the prime minister may go ahead with the talks.
Following this ruling, Livnat petitioned the High Court, demanding that Mazuz order Olmert to stop negotiations at once.
In her petition, Livnat notes that Olmert does not serve as Kadima’s chairman, and therefore will not be serving as the next prime minister.
“We are dealing with processes whose implications could significantly affect the country for many years to come,” Livnat wrote in her petition. “Such negotiations must not be conducted by a resigning prime minister.
Livnat also noted that the talks held by Olmert could limit the maneuverability of the next prime minister, saying the current PM may use the months left in office inappropriate in a bid to leave his mark on history.
Abbas rejects Olmert proposal
Palestinian Authority slams offer that would see Israel hand over 92.7% of West Bank and all of Gaza as ‘not serious’
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected an Israeli peace proposal because it does not provide for a contiguous Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, Abbas’ office said on Tuesday.
Nabil Abu Rudeina, who is also a spokesman for the Palestinian leader, said the proposal did not fall in line with requirements of the Road Map and the Annapolis understandings that the borders of the future Palestinian state should correspond with Israel’s pre-1967 borders.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with ‘Abbas last week as part of an ongoing series of meetings to push forward the peace process.
Abu Rudeina was responding to a report in the Israeli daily Haaretz on Tuesday that said Israel had made the proposal, which included land compensation and an offer of a corridor that would connect the Gaza Strip with the West Bank. This corridor would allow free passage of Palestinians between the two areas without security checks.
Under the deal, Israel would maintain large blocs of Jewish communities in post-1967 territories.
Under Olmert’s offer, Israel would keep 7 percent of the West Bank, while the Palestinians would receive territory equivalent to 5.5 percent of West Bank. Israel views the passage between Gaza and the West Bank as compensating for this difference: Though it would officially remain in Israeli hands, it would connect the two halves of the Palestinian state - a connection the Palestinians did not enjoy before 1967, when the Gaza Strip was under Egyptian control and the West Bank was part of Jordan.
Mahmoud Abbas
Is the goverment the enemy?
The people of Israel had the just expectation that their governments would do everything possible to protect them. In the beginning the doctrine was to fight attacking enemies and Terrorists. That continued through 7 major wars and continual “low-level combat” called Terrorism.
Then the doctrine of fighting for survival started to fade, as the Leftist ideology started to take hold in a serious way. Appeasement, pacifism and secret negotiations with the various enemy adversaries became the rule rather than the exception. The IDF (Israel Defense Force) was selected as the incubator for grooming “PC” (Politically Correct) Left-leaning officers who would be slated for political roles after their army service.
Generals of the Left became Leftist politicians. Anyone who was an observant Jew hit a “Political Ceiling” and was kept in lower officer ranks, even though observant Jews were some of the bravest soldiers and officers who practiced the gallant Zionist ideology of “Acharie” (Follow Me!) as they would lead their soldiers into battle from the front - not the rear. They suffered higher losses because they were out in front.
As time passed, the Left gained the political upper-hand and, in effect, became a “Fifth Column” in frequent communication with like-minded Arab Muslim Palestinians. Some will have forgotten the secret meetings in the early 1980s of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres with Yassir Arafat when it was illegal to meet with the PLO Terrorist organizations.
In the early 1980s they outlined plans to evict the pioneering settlers from Judea, Samaria, Gaza and parts of Jerusalem (north, south as well as east) that had been occupied and desecrated by Jordan for 19 years from 1948 to 1967.
After such “ethnic cleansing” of Jews by Jews in the Israeli government, all the territory, homes, gardens, farms, factories, electrical and precious water infrastructure would be passed over to incoming Muslim Arab Palestinians. These meeting were secret and illegal, according to Israel?s law against meeting with her declared enemy. None of the conspirators were investigated, indicted or brought to trial for these deliberate acts of treason against their own people and nation during this protracted, continuous war and Terrorism.
We all remember the secret meetings in Oslo, Norway - led by Shimon Peres, Yossi Beilin - attended by such professors as Dr. Yair Hirschfeld and Dr. Ron Pundak of Haifa University and Yoel Singer, a legal advisor. The meetings were so secret that, although they dealt with national security life-and-death issues, the Army, Secret Services and National Security were not invited.
Also not invited were water experts - since the intention of the Oslo gang was to surrender Land that contained irreplaceable water aquifers. Later, the Oslo Accords were rammed through the Knesset with Rabin?s signature. Once, after Oslo proved to be a dangerous catastrophe, a Knesset member demanded an official inquiry as to who were the collaborators - including the Leftist Israelis and Europeans who were funding this enterprise.
Shimon Peres went ballistic and threatened to quit the government. (Too bad he didn?t.) Then Prime Minister Arik Sharon used his authority to quash the investigation and to protect the Oslo crowd. Later Sharon and Olmert proved their attitude and possible complicity by driving 10,000 Jewish men, women and children from the thriving Gush Katif/Gaza and 4 North Samarian settlements, thereby advancing the Terrorist cause embodied in Oslo.
During the intervening years, the Leftist “Fifth Column” deepened their tentacles into controlling the nation. This was accomplished by corrupting the Police and some officers and soldiers into following their political agenda of harassing Jews of the Right while ignoring the advancing power of the Muslim Arab Palestinians.
Oslo marched on with funding for the Arabs, while money from the Europeans and the Arabist U.S. State Department poured into the Leftist “Fifth Column” organizations to continue their subversive activities. European funding also continues to flow into the Peres Institute and the Beilin Institute, both supportive of Palestinian claims to more Israeli territory and converting “East” Jerusalem into the Capital of the new, second Palestinian State.
A non-people (called “Palestinians”) demanded recognition of their existence where nothing in recorded history spoke of such a people. However, politicians like Rabin, Peres, Beilin, Sharon and Olmert were willing to accommodate their demands because they simply did not value the Land given by G-d to the Jewish people in perpetuity as their sovereign territory, belonging exclusively to the Jews.
The “Fifth Column” of the Left worked tirelessly to subvert the sovereignty of the Jewish State of Israel. They seemed to want a single state, comprised of Arab Muslims and Jewish Israelis, despite the unalterable declaration from the Muslims that they would wipe out the Jewish State when they grew powerful enough to do so - as Mohammed?s Hudabaiya Treaty mandated.
Had such a group existed in Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, among Hezb?Allah, Fatah, Hamas - the arrests, indictments and trials would be short - ending in a summary execution or worse.
Regrettably, high ranking crooks and betrayers in Israel are rarely indicted - let alone go to jail. This is due to the Politically Correct Police and a hopelessly corrupt Supreme Court - which is a political party unto itself.
After the botched Summer 2006 Lebanon War against Hezb?Allah, Olmert hand-picked Judge Eliyahu Winograd to investigate Olmert, then DM Amir Peretz and Chief of Staff Dan Halutz for their failure, both during the war and the lack of adequate supplies of even food and water to the soldiers.
Winograd and his investigating committee made a political decision to keep Olmert in power - because - he was ready to abandon more Land to the Arabs.
Winograd, himself, should have been investigated because his ?cover was blown? by one of the five Committee members, Professor Yehezkel Dror, admitted that the Committee had made a political decision to deliberately fix the outcome so Olmert could keep his power to abandon more Jewish Land. But, the Winograd Committee has not yet been charged with malfeasance of their responsibility.
Olmert continues under some 8 various (dragged out) investigations into his corrupt activities. These botched investigations by the Police seem designed to keep him in power long enough to agree to dangerous surrender of pieces of the Jewish State of Israel. Their intention was that he could finish his assignment to drive the Jews out of Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights, the Jordan Valley, and divide the Jewish Capital of Jerusalem to create a capital for the neo-Palestinian State.
The President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) just met with Israel?s current President Shimon Peres at the official State President?s Residence to discuss a halt to Israeli building so that the second “Palestinian” State can be “contiguous”. Since Peres met with Arafat in the early 1980s to accomplish the same thing, Peres and Abbas pick up where they left off with Arafat.
The Olmert Kadima government has continued to act as the apologist and protector of hostile Muslim Arab Palestinians. The first Terrorist that used a Bulldozer on July 2nd to kill 3 Israelis and maim others still has his house un-demolished. But, the Jews of Gush Katif/Gaza who were thrown from their homes which the State of Israel demolished the same week, are still without homes, jobs and their lives have been sacrificed to create a Global Terror Base in Gaza. Where is the justice in Israel? Clearly, Sharon and Olmert never intended to keep their promises to the Jews uprooted from Gush Katif and Northern Samaria.
A second Tractor Terrorist was killed but first government comments were that he “was a lone Terrorist”. No comments on the continuous flow of hostile propaganda from Abbas (who praised Samir Kuntar, the arch Terrorist Olmert freed) who made so many Palestinians eager to kill Jews. No comments on the viciously anti-Semitic curricula indoctrinating the children from age 3 in their schools and TV to hate and kill Jews.
According to DEBKAfile, Israeli security forces broke ranks on keeping silent and let it be known that 3 covert Palestinian Terror networks coordinate attacks in Jerusalem. Moreover, the report goes on to say that “Masses of weapons and explosives are cached in Palestinian Arab villages and districts of Jerusalem where these three Palestinian Terror networks are working together”. The Terrorist organizations? directors decide whether the “lone killer” should use firearms, explosives, knives or mechanical weapons like the 2 Bulldozers.
Naturally, the Israeli government, acting as a “Fifth Column” and a collaborator of the Muslim Arab Palestinian Terrorists knew all of this from their excellent Intel reports. Apparently, they do not want to speak of the danger cause by Palestinian workers wandering freely through Israeli cities, confident that the Olmert government will protect them.
A Government dedicated to appeasement of both Syria and Iran represents a clear and present danger to all of Israel. Iran?s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly stated his “Mein Kampf” to the effect of “wiping Israel off the map” as he demonstrates the capability of his missiles and advances his nuclear weapons? capability. Check the revealing map in the August 2008 “National Geographic” for the sites - labeled in plain sight - of Iran?s nuclear research, manufacturing and technology. It is as if “National Geographic” has laid out the attack plan.
Given Olmert?s predilection to cowardice and appeasement, Israel may (G-d forbid!) end up a smoking hole in the ground with only Olmert and his gang of scoundrels emerging from the deep government bomb shelters - safe and alive.
I wonder if the Shabak and/or Mossad ever thought of solving this problem - if nothing more than to save their own families?
Final Note! The latest news indicates that Olmert and Kadima are planning to stay in power as follows:
Olmert says he will resign in mid-September, in effect, leaving him in power at least until then. Since he has nothing more to lose, he is free to carry out the moribund, failed Oslo plan and that advice by Rice and Bush at Annapolis which rested on the dead bones of the Road Map.
When one kills a deadly snake, you must watch out as it thrashes about, trying to sink its fangs into whomever it can reach. Then there is the necessity of eliminating the nest of vipers that he has spawned to take his place.
The Kadima Party has several replacements for Olmert who carry the identical plan to re-partition Israel, divide Jerusalem and temporarily appease Syria and Condi Rice?s State Department. Here we find Ehud Barak, Tzippi Livni and Shaul Mofaz. As for Olmert, no doubt, he made a deal with the Courts and Police that, if he finally steps down, he will not serve time in prison and he will be allowed to peacefully fade from public view.
by Emanuel A. Winston, Middle East Analyst & Commentator
BREAKING: Israeli prime minister to resign
olmert
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will resign his office on or about September 17th.
Suffering single digit approval ratings and haunted by numerous on-going corruption investigations, the Prime Minister just announced on national television that he will step down after the Kadima party primaries scheduled.
“I have decided I won’t run in the Kadima movement primaries, nor do I intend to intervene in the elections,” the embattled politician said just moments ago. “When a new (Kadima party) chairman is chosen, I will resign as prime minister to permit them to put together a new government swiftly and effectively….I want to make it clear - I am proud to be a citizen of a country where the prime minister can be investigated like a regular citizen. It is the duty of the police to investigate, and the duty of the prosecution to instruct the police. The prime minister is not above the law…. From my first day in office I was forced to ward off malicious attacks, even while dealing with far-reaching decisions affecting Israel’s defense and existence. I continue to believe with all my heart that the achievement of peace, combating terror, strengthening our security, and the realization of a different type of relationship with our neighbors are all necessary goals for the future of the State of Israel.”
It’s not clear yet when new elections will be held. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently well ahead of all contenders to replace Olmert, but Israeli politics are Byzantine, to say the least, and anything could happen.
Israel’s political crisis could not come at a worse time, with the real threat of war with Iran growing daily.
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