Israel Air Strikes On Gaza Kill 155

[Gold9472]

Kristol says Gaza invasion 'a favor for Obama'

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Kristo..._for_0104.html

David Edwards and Andrew McLemore
Published: Sunday January 4, 2009

Bill Kristol thinks that President-elect Barack Obama should be thankful for Israel's attack on Gaza.

"If you care about the peace process you should want Israel to embarrass and humiliate Hamas. That's the only chance -- there would be no peace process if Hamas were governing Gaza. That would be the worst thing for Obama. This is a favor for Obama if it de legitimizes and weakens Hamas," Kristol said.

Asked by Wallace how similar the invasion of Gaza is to Israel's battle with Hezbollah in Lebanon in the summer of 2006, Kristol said it would "be an achievement" if Israel could bring peace to its southern border with Palestine the way it did with Lebanon in the north.

But Wallace and Juan Williams of National Public Radio both said there is a real danger that the invasion of Gaza will only "empower" Hamas,

"It seems to me they're aiming for Israel having to occupy Gaza," Williams said. "They say they're not, but how else are you going to in fact stop these folks from firing these rockets?"

"If you really want peace, you cannot have people who do not acknowledge the legitimacy of Israel," Williams said.

Obama has laid low for the Israeli invasion of Gaza, saying nothing to the press about his position on the worsening violence.

Members of Obama's transition team have only said their boss is "monitoring" the situation, where at least 460 people have already been killed in eight days of air raids.

This video is from Fox's Fox News Sunday, broadcast Jan. 4, 2008.

Video At Source

[Gold9472]

US blocks UN Security Council action on Gaza

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...s5dXwD95G3Q387

By EDITH M. LEDERER – 16 hours ago

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States late Saturday blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel and expressing concern at the escalation of violence between Israel and Hamas.

U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the United States saw no prospect of Hamas abiding by last week's council call for an immediate end to the violence. Therefore, he said, a new statement at this time "would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success, would not do credit to the council."

France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, the current council president, announced that there was no agreement among members on a statement. But he said there were "strong convergences" among the 15 members to express serious concern about the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the need for "an immediate, permanent and fully respected cease-fire."

Arab nations demanded that the council adopt a statement calling for an immediate cease-fire following Israel's launch of a ground offensive in Gaza earlier Saturday, a view echoed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Libya's U.N. Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, the only Arab member of the council, said the United States objected to "any outcome" during the closed council discussions on the proposed statement.

He said efforts were made to compromise and agree on a weaker press statement but there was no consensus.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Arab nations demanded Saturday that the United Nations Security Council call for an immediate cease-fire following Israel's launch of a ground offensive in Gaza, a view echoed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Libya circulated a draft statement to council members before emergency council consultations began expressing "serious concern at the escalation of the situation in Gaza" following Israel's ground assault and calling on Israel and Hamas "to stop immediately all military activities."

The 15-member council then met behind closed doors to discuss a proposed presidential statement that would also call for all parties to address the humanitarian and economic needs in Gaza, including by opening border crossings.

Council diplomats said the United States opposed the presidential statement because it was similar to a press statement issued by members after Israeli warplanes launched the offensive a week ago that was not heeded. Presidential statements become part of the council's official record but press statements are weaker and do not.

The five permanent council members — the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China — along with Libya, the only Arab nation on the council, then met privately to discuss possibly issuing another press statement.

"We need to have from the Security Council reaction tonight to bring this latest addition of aggression against our people in Gaza to an immediate halt," Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. observer told reporters.

The statement, if approved, would become part of the council's official record but would not have the weight of a Security Council resolution, which is legally binding.

Mansour said 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and injured since Israeli warplanes starting bombing Gaza a week ago. More than 480 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and four killed in Israel.

International criticism of the offensive has increased steadily, but Israel maintains the offensive is aimed at stopping the rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza that have traumatized southern Israel.

Before the council met Saturday night, Ban telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and said he was disappointed that Israel launched a ground offensive and "alarmed that this escalation will inevitably increase the already heavy suffering" of Palestinian civilians, the U.N. spokesman's office said in a statement.

"He called for an immediate end to the ground operation, and asked that Israel do all possible to ensure the protection of civilians and that humanitarian assistance is able to reach those in need," the statement said.

Ban reiterated his call for an immediate cease-fire and urged regional and international partners "to exert all possible influence to bring about an immediate end to the bloodshed and suffering," the statement said.

The secretary-general said the Israeli ground operation is complicating efforts by the Quartet of Mideast peacemakers — the U.N., the U.S., the European Union and Russia — to end the violence.

France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert echoed Ban.

"We think it's time for both parties to stop fighting and go back to the political track," said Ripert. He said he was speaking as French ambassador not as Security Council president, a job he took over on Jan. 1.

Several Arab foreign ministers are expected at U.N. headquarters on Monday to urge the Security Council to adopt a resolution ending the Israeli offensive. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delayed his arrival until Tuesday so he can meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the West Bank.

[Gold9472]

Israel offensive heightens Gaza humanitarian crisis: aid agencies

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Israel...isis_0104.html

Agence France-Presse
Published: Sunday January 4, 2009

GAZA CITY (AFP) — Israel's military onslaught against Hamas has aggravated Gaza's humanitarian crisis, with electricity and communications cut and the population now facing dire food shortages, aid agencies said Sunday.

The Israeli army said the World Food Programme halted emergency shipments to Gaza because its warehouses are full but the UN agency insisted it was desperate to get supplies into the enclave.

"The military incursion compounds the humanitarian crisis following more than a week of shelling and an 18-month long blockade of the territory," the UN humanitarian coordinatory said in a daily report.

There was an "almost total blackout" across most of Gaza and land and mobile phone networks were also down because they depend on backup generators which had no fuel, the report said.

All Gaza City hospitals have been without mains electricity for 48 hours and now rely on backup generators which the UN said were "close to collapse."

The report said that "for the second consecutive day Israeli authorities have refused to allow an ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) emergency medical team into Gaza" to help at the main Shifa hospital. The territory has been sealed off for more than two days.

At the hospital the breakdown of temporary generators would threaten 70 patients linked to machines in the intensive care unit, including 30 infants.

More than 510 Palestinians have already been killed in Israel's nine day old offensive on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip, which on Saturday was intensified with the launch of a massive ground operation.

The UN said the tank fire and air attacks were preventing medical staff reaching hospitals and ambulances could not get to injured "because of continuous fire."

The World Food Programme has coordinated emergency food deliveries into Gaza in recent months but the Israeli army said there was plenty of food in Gaza warehouses and that the territory's Hamas rulers had halted distribution.

The Israeli government is adamant there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"The WFP stopped sending food in there because their warehouses are full to the top," military spokeswoman Major Avital Leibovitz told AFP

"The question is why Hamas is not moving the food around the territory. They say the roads are blocked. Why are the roads blocked for food but they can get around to fire rockets?"

Christine Van Nieuwenhuyse, the WFP representative for the Palestinian territories, told AFP however that the Gaza food warehouses were at less than half capacity.

She said food could not be distributed because it is "too dangerous" in the conflict or because warehouses were in military zones.

Gaza border crossings have been closed for two days and she said the WFP had asked the Israeli government to allow more trucks to go into Gaza.

"Tomorrow (Monday) we hope to send some in. But some roads have been destroyed and some of the Palestinian transporters are afraid to go to the border," Van Nieuwenhuyse said.

[Gold9472]

West Bank protester shot dead by Israeli troops

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/West_B...d_by_0104.html

Agence France-Presse
Published: Sunday January 4, 2009

NABLUS, West Bank (AFP) — A Palestinian demonstrator was shot dead by Israeli troops in the northern West Bank on Sunday during a protest against the Gaza Strip offensive, medics and security officials said.

Mufid al-Walwil, 21, was killed when Israeli troops opened fire on a group of Palestinians who were throwing stones at them near the separation barrier in Qalqilya.

An army spokewoman confirmed that troops had opened fire after the Palestinians threw stones and "two flaming tyres" towards them during a "violent riot."

She said two demonstrators had tried to climb the barrier and had ignored warning shots fired by the soldiers.

"The soldiers aimed at their lower body and realised that they had hit one of them in the knee," she said.

At least 23 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel's ground offensive began on Saturday.

In total, more than 485 Palestinians have died since Israeli started a week of bombing raids on December 27.

[Gold9472]

Worldwide alarm at Israeli ground offensive

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Worldw...sive_0104.html

Agence France-Presse
Published: Sunday January 4, 2009

PARIS (AFP) — Israel's tank and troop assault on the Gaza Strip unleashed worldwide cries of alarm on Sunday, but Israel won heavyweight US backing and moves for an immediate ceasefire foundered at the United Nations.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown echoed grave European concerns when he said the ground offensive was a "very dangerous moment" in the conflict, and he called for increased efforts to rapidly secure a ceasefire.

The offensive was condemned across the Middle East, with Egypt saying the UN Security Council's silence on Israel's eight-day campaign of air strikes had effectively given Israel "a green light" for the ground assault.

Asian nations expressed alarm, too, with Pakistan and China calling for an immediate end to the assault and Muslims in Indonesia urging war against the Jewish state.

But in New York, the Security Council failed to agree on a statement calling for a ceasefire after the United States argued that a return to the situation that existed before Israel's ground invasion was unacceptable.

US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said after the four-hour sitting that Washington believed it was important that the region "not return to the status quo" that had allowed Hamas militants to fire rockets into Israel.

"The efforts we are making internationally are designed to establish a sustainable, durable ceasefire that's respected by all," Wolff said. "And that means no more rocket attacks. It means no more smuggling of arms."

As thousands of Israeli soldiers and scores of tanks pushed into Gaza Sunday, the British prime minister said assurances needed to be given to both the Israelis and Hamas to secure a ceasefire.

"I think everybody around the world is expressing grave concerns. What we've got to do almost immediately is to work harder than we've done for an immediate ceasefire," Brown said on BBC television.

"I can see the Gaza issues for the Palestinians -- that they need humanitarian aid -- but the Israelis must have some assurance that there are no rocket attacks coming into Israel," he said.

"So first we need an immediate ceasefire, and that includes a stopping of the rockets into Israel."

Russia dispatched President Dmitry Medvedev's special envoy for the Middle East, Alexander Saltanov, to the region, hoping it could help bring about a ceasefire.

"The new dangerous escalation in the armed conflict after the start of the Israeli land operation in Gaza is a matter of extreme concern," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"It is essential, without delay, to put an end to the suffering of the civilian population on both sides, to stop the bloodshed and secure a mutual ceasefire."

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said European nations stand ready to contribute international monitors to help keep the peace.

"The ceasefire has to be a ceasefire complied (with) by everybody and be clearly maintained," Solana told the BBC.

At least 23 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel's ground offensive began on Saturday, medics said Sunday.

In total, more than 485 Palestinians have died, including 80 children, with more than 2,500 wounded according to Gaza medics since Israeli military operations began on December 27.

Rocket fire from Gaza over the same period has killed four Israelis.

European reaction to the ground offensive revealed a sharp difference in tone from the official US line.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the decision to send troops into Gaza was a "dangerous military escalation".

The European Union's new Czech presidency said Israel's ground operation was more "defensive than offensive", although it said Israel did not have the right to take military actions "which largely affect civilians".

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Israel's incursion into the impoverished territory was in "brazen defiance" of international calls to end the offensive -- and he blamed the Security Council for failing to act.

"The Security Council's silence and its failure to take a decision to stop Israel's aggression since it began was interpreted by Israel as a green light," he said.

In Asia, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Israeli offensive was "unjustified" and called for an immediate halt to the fighting.

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso warned that Israel's ground offensive would only aggravate difficulties for all concerned.

"I'm very worried that the dispatch of ground troops will make the situation much worse," he said.

There was outrage in Africa as well.

Senegalese Pesident Abdoulaye Wade, who also holds the presidency of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, called the Israeli ground offensive a "flagrant violation of the most elementary principles of international law".

[Gold9472]

Gaza's underground lifeline in the sights of Israeli warplanes

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Gazas_...s_of_0104.html

Agence France-Presse
Published: Sunday January 4, 2009

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AFP) — Abu Ali vows that once the war in Gaza ends he will quickly repair his tunnel under the frontier with Egypt, one of the many underground links used by Palestinian smugglers that have been blasted by Israeli warplanes.

"Life cannot go on in Gaza if the tunnels are destroyed -- they're our only opening to the outside world," he said, speaking inside the Palestinian enclave that has been blockaded by the Jewish state for more than two years.

Hundreds of tunnels have been carved out beneath the Gaza-Egypt frontier, providing a vital conduit to bring basic needs into the territory which has suffered an increasing stranglehold in the past 18 months.

Foodstuffs, building materials, medicines and electric equipment are all brought from Egypt through the passages -- as well as weapons, notably rockets, and ammunition.

Such contraband provides smugglers with a profitable business. It is also a source of income for Hamas, the Islamist movement which has been the sole ruler in the Gaza Strip since June 2007.

The movement levies taxes on the smugglers' income from the tunnels which are linked to the territory's electricity grid with the blessing of Hamas.

Conscious that the goods, particularly weapons, flowing under the border are vital to Hamas in its conflict, Israel has bombed dozens of tunnels since Israel began its offensive on the Gaza Strip on December 27.

Abu Ali vows that he will fix the bomb-damaged tunnel that he shares with four partners, including a chief of Hamas's military wing. But for the moment, he dare not approach the area because "Israeli planes are attacking anyone approaching the frontiers."

Since the attacks on the smugglers' network began, the Hamas sympathiser, his wife and their daughter no longer sleep in the family home in Rafah for fear that he may also have been singled out for elimination by Israeli forces.

Another contraband operator, Ayman, operates two tunnels -- one for goods and the second for fuel.

"We don't know if our tunnels have been hit or not by the Israeli bombs because no one can go down there to see. After all, our life is more important than money or work," he said of the family-run business.

"We've had to pay to have a batch of tins of jam brought in through another tunnel which remains operational. That's going to increase their price in the marketplace," added the 21-year-old.

As far as Ayman is concerned, his smuggling activities are not motivated by profit but are necessary because of the Israeli blockade. He said dozens of Palestinians have died in recent months when tunnels collapsed.

Another smuggler, Iskandar, believes that Egypt will close its eyes to those tunnels which survive the Israeli attacks.

"Egypt does not want the people of Gaza to die of starvation, not forgetting that the tunnels bring Egyptian traders on the other side up to 45 million dollars a month," he said, pointing out that Cairo is being constantly pressed by Israel to deal ruthlessly with the underground corridors on its side.

The destruction of many tunnels in the Israeli offensive over the past week has already meant shortages of some products in Gaza's shops.

Abdel Wahab, who runs a pharmacy, has smugglers bring in medicines worth 6,000 dollars a month from Egypt for resale in Gaza.

"Our losses are huge because of the destruction of the tunnels, and no-one is going to compensate us," he said. "In other countries, tunnels are generally used for drug trafficking, but in Gaza they enable us to continue to live."

Hamas police keep a close eye on the activities of those operating the tunnels to prevent the entry of drugs or arms, the latter being brought in through special underground routes managed by armed Palestinian groups.

Besides the tunnels, the Jewish state's warplanes have damaged the Al-Nijmeh market in Rafah where wholesalers used to buy many products from Egypt.

Before the offensive, the market swarmed with customers. Today, only a handful venture out in search of gas cylinders or diesel fuel.

[Gold9472]

This reminds me of what we did to the Indians.

[Gold9472]

A look at the "dark side"...

Israel Fights Back: Speak Up Now

http://support.adl.org/site/MessageV...0&dlv_id=33641

1/4/2009

Over the last few days we have been working hard to push back against the unjust, unfair, but sadly all-too-expected criticism of Israel as it works to protect its citizens from Hamas’ terror.

Israel needs your support now.
We are particularly outraged that the UN Security Council, in an act of sheer hypocrisy, issued a statement suggesting an "equivalency" between Hamas' terrorism and Israel's attempts to eliminate that terrorism. The Security Council statement ignores Israel's fundamental right and responsibility to protect its people.

We need thousands of people to sign our petition.
The Security Council needs to understand that it is encouraging and emboldening Hamas and other Islamic extremists whose ideology seeks to undermine the rule of law and thwart democracy. The Security Council must understand that this is a critical moment in the struggle against Islamic extremism -- and the world must hear from us.

As President-elect Obama said a few months ago, "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing." And in the words of the White House spokesman last weekend, "Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas."

The international community and all those who seek the rule of law, moderation and democracy should now stand with Israel, as the United States has done, in this effort to turn the tide against the extremists who not only threaten Israel, but the whole Middle East and the entire civilized world.

[Gold9472]

Israeli army moves into Gaza capital as war toll passes 510

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Israeli..._01042009.html

1/4/2009

Tens of thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks battled Hamas fighters in Gaza on Sunday as the death toll from the offensive to end militant rocket attacks passed 510.

Israeli forces moved into the fringe of Gaza City while families fled or hid in cellars awaiting a second night of combat. The Israeli government fought off intense international pressure over its biggest military operation since its 2006 war in Lebanon.

At least 63 Palestinians were killed by tank shells or missiles fired from warplanes since the ground offensive was launched on Saturday night, Gaza medics said.

Israel said one soldier was killed by a mortar shell and about 30 were wounded.

Columns of Israeli troops and tanks surrounded Gaza City and fighting was reported in outer districts. Fierce clashes were also reported around the northern towns of Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanun and Jabaliya.

Explosions and machine gun fire rocked the territory of 1.5 million people. Hamas fighters fired mortar rounds and detonated roadside bombs in front of the advancing troops, witnesses said.

Moawiya Hassanein, head of Gaza medical emergency services, told AFP the number of Palestinians killed since the Israeli operation was launched on December 27 was now 512, including 87 children.

Five members of the same family died when one tank shell hit their car near Gaza City, emergency services said.

Three ambulance workers were killed when they were hit by a missile as they helped wounded victims of the conflict, medics said.

Aid groups said the offensive had aggravated a humanitarian crisis for the population, who have no electricity, no water and now face dire food shortages. Hospitals were only running on backup generators.

International efforts to halt the conflict sought new impetus after the UN Security Council failed to agree a statement on the conflict, with the United States giving strong backing to Israel.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cancelled a planned trip to China this week because of the Gaza crisis.

A Russian presidential envoy and an EU ministerial delegation headed to the Middle East to make pleas for a ceasefire.

President Nicolas Sarkozy was also to hold talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert refused to call off the offensive in telephone talks with Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and a host of other foreign leaders, his office said.

The Kremlin said that in the conversation, Medvedev "stressed the importance of reaching a ceasefire as quickly as possible."

Olmert told New York mayor Michael Bloomberg: "Israel is determined to continue its military offensive until the complete cessation of terror attacks against it and the return of calm to southern Israel."

Israel unleashed "Operation Cast Lead" on December 27 with the declared aim of ending rocket attacks into Israel from Gaza that resumed after a six-month truce ended in December.

Rocket fire over the past week has killed four people in Israel. Thirty two rockets and mortar rounds were fired across the border on Sunday and hit Sderot, Ashdod and other towns, lightly injuring three people.

Israel believes Hamas may be seeking "a respectable" way out of the conflict having underestimated the scope of the military offensive, Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog said.

He told CNN television that Hamas was under "huge pressure" from the military operation. "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," he said.

Israeli army spokesman Avi Benayahou told public television that "Hamas has come to the conclusion that it has made an enormous strategic error by refusing to extend a ceasefire accord" which ended on December 19.

But the offensive has sparked spiralling anger in the Muslim world and protests across the globe.

Israeli troops shot and killed a protester during a demonstration in the West Bank. Tens of thousands of Turks staged an anti-Israeli rally in Istanbul.

Protesters threw rocks and eggs at police outside the Israeli embassy in Oslo and police responded with tear gas.

The UN Security Council failed to agree a statement calling for a ceasefire in closed-door consultations late Saturday.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum condemned the Security Council action as "a farce" dominated by the United States, which has strongly supported Israel.

Egypt summoned the ambassadors of the UN Security Council's five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- to protest at the delay in passing a ceasefire resolution.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak condemned "in the strongest terms" Israel's ground attack which his office called a "terrifying aggression."

[Gold9472]

Cheney: Israel did not ask US for go-ahead before Gaza incursion

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/ne...Gaza_incursion_

(Gold9472: Why should they when they know the answer would be "yes.")

1/5/2008

Washington - Israel had not sought the green light from the United States before launching its ground incursion against the radical Islamic Hamas in the Gaza Strip, US Vice-President Dick Cheney said Sunday.

'They didn't seek clearance or approval from us, certainly,' Cheney told US television broadcaster CBC in an interview. The Pentagon earlier said Washington had been informed of the military action.

US Senate majority leader Harry Reid - a Democrat senator - meanwhile showed solidarity with Israel. Hamas was an terrorist organization that threatened the Jewish state with rocket attacks, he told CBS.