CINA

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Already in the last weeks the Arroyo regime in Manila was announcing that it want to finish the "conflict"(actually a kind of civil war since over 30 years) with the Communist Party, the NDF and the New People's Army soon by force. Now, even the CPP/NDF is willing to resume talks with the govt, it seems that the regime is ready to launch the final deadly battle against the left opposition in the country.

 

Al Jazeera reported yesterday following:

 

Philippines forces merge in crackdown

Arroyo said she wanted to end 'revolutionary taxation'
  

The president of the Philippines has ordered the police and the military to combine forces to finish off the country's 37-year-old communist insurgency.

In a speech at the national police headquarters on Wednesday, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said she would soon sign an executive order designed to create a police and military "partnership in the battle against the left".

 

Last month, Arroyo announced a campaign against the communists backed by millions of dollars to buy helicopters and other equipment.

 

"As we run to ground the armed core of the terrorist left, we will erase the fear they want to instil in our people and we will defeat their objectives through nation-building," Arroyo said.

 

She also said that the police and the military would end the "revolutionary taxation" levied by communist fighters and protect those who refuse to pay.

 

 

"Butcher of democracy"

 

 

On Tuesday, Arroyo's spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, dismissed communist calls to resume peace talks, saying they must first agree to a cease-fire.

 

The communists broke off Norwegian-negotiated talks two years ago to protest against the government's refusal to lobby for their removal from US and European terror lists.

 

The National Democratic Front, which represented the fighters in the negotiations, has called for the talks to resume and for the end of a government crackdown on left-wing groups.

 

More than 600 activists and supporters have been killed and more than 170 others have gone missing since 2001, the group said.

 

"Unless the Arroyo regime wants to continue to be known as the butcher of democracy and political activists, it must issue an order to its military, police and paramilitary forces to cease and desist from these atrocities," the group said in a statement.

 

The communists say they will not sign a cease-fire before agreeing a political settlement.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/7E877E4B-6CEA-4144-9FC0-19481F5D69D9.htm

 

 

The Philippine(bourgeois) Daily Inquirer wrote yesterday this:

 

Gov’t sticks to war, rejects Reds’ peace bid

NDF works out revival of talks in Norway

 

MALACAÑANG remains committed to pursuing its all-out war against communist rebels even if exiled leaders of the communist-led National Democratic Front have asked Norway to convince President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo to return to the negotiating table.

In a statement, the NDF said it had sent its top leadership to Oslo on Monday for four days of consultations with the Norwegian foreign ministry...

 

Please read the full article here:

http://newsinfo.inq7.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=8166

 

 

Bulatlat:

Bishop Says Arroyo’s All-Out War Promotes Death

A Catholic bishop said that the all-out war declared by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo against the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) is a promotion of death. He also said the declaration of all-out war after the abolition of the death penalty is a “contradiction of policy.”...

http://www.bulatlat.com/news/6-21/6-21-bishop.htm

 

 

To learn more about the history of the "conflict" please check out for example wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_People%27s_Army

 

 

Just now I'd to learn that the web sites of CPP, NDF.. are disappeared...(what a surprise! It's already WAR!)

 

 

 

 

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North Korea test- fires 7th missile (IHT/NYT)

 

North Korea test-fired at least six missiles over the Sea of Japan on Wednesday morning, including an intercontinental ballistic missile that apparently failed or was aborted 42 seconds after it was launched, White House and Pentagon officials said.

Later Wednesday, North Korea launched a seventh missile amid international outrage that had erupted over the first missile test, the Associated Press reported, citing an official at the South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launchings came in defiance of warnings from President Bush and the governments of Japan, South Korea and China. Of the launchings, intelligence officials focused most of their attention on the intercontinental missile, called the Taepodong 2, which American spy satellites have been watching on a remote launching pad for more than a month. It is designed to be capable of reaching Alaska, and perhaps the West Coast of the United States, but American officials who tracked its launching said it fell into the Sea of Japan before its first stage burned out. "The Taepodong obviously was a failure - that tells you something about capabilities," Stephen Hadley, President Bush's national security adviser, told reporters in a phone call on Tuesday evening in Washington. But other officials warned that even a failed launching was of some use to the North Koreans, because it will help them diagnose what went wrong with the liquid-fueled rocket. The missiles have been the source of considerable diplomatic tension in recent weeks, because of North Korea's declarations that it already possesses nuclear weapons. American intelligence agencies have told President Bush they believe that North Korea has the fuel for such weapons. However, the country is not believed to have developed a warhead small enough to fit atop one of its missiles, and it has never conducted a nuclear test, to the knowledge of American officials. The other missiles that the North fired Wednesday morning appeared to be a mix of short-range Scud-C missiles and intermediate-range Rodong missiles, of the kind that the North has sold to Iran, Pakistan and other nations. Those missiles also landed in the Sea of Japan. None of the launchings were announced in advance. But the first came just minutes after the space shuttle Discovery lifted off in Florida - an event the North Koreans could monitor on television. Administration officials said they could only speculate as to whether the missile launching had been timed to coincide with the shuttle launching, or with Independence Day, but outside analysts had little doubt. "It's very in your face to do it on the Fourth of July," said Ashton Carter, a Harvard professor who, with former defense secretary William Perry, had urged the Bush administration to destroy the Taepodong missile on the launching pad, advice the administration rejected."Hooray if it failed," Carter said. While the test itself was a sign of North Korea's defiance of the United States, for the administration, the outcome was as favorable as officials could have hoped for: the North's capacity was called into question, and the North's enigmatic leader, Kim Jong Il, has now put himself at odds with the two countries that have provided him aid, China and South Korea. "Our hope is that the Chinese are going to be furious," said one senior American official, who declined to be identified. Another official noted that only days ago, the Chinese indicated that they were trying to put together an "informal" meeting of the long-dormant six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program. The North has boycotted the talks since September, citing American efforts to close down the banks it uses overseas. But North Korea had apparently not responded to the Chinese invitation, and American officials said last week that the Chinese would not have made that gesture if they believed that they were about to be embarrassed by the country that they once considered a close ally. The launching also makes it difficult for the South Koreans to continue their policy of providing aid and investment to the North, a program that has caused deep rifts with Washington. Administration officials said that Christopher Hill, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the main negotiator with North Korea, would leave for Asia on Wednesday, and that they expected him to use the launchings to try to bring South Korea and China into the fold on imposing some kind of sanctions. At the same time, the launching is likely to strengthen the hand of hard-liners in the Bush administration who have long argued that the six-party talks were bound to fail. They now have what one American diplomat called "a clear runway" to press for a gradually escalating series of sanctions, which some officials clearly hope will bring down Kim's government. But it is far from clear that China - which provides the North with its oil and much of its food - would go along with any move for sanctions. As one central figure in American policymaking told visiting Asian officials late last month, "the Chinese are very worried about collapse," and likely would try to prevent that form happening. The firing ended weeks of speculation about the intentions of Pyongyang, which had rolled out the Taepodong 2, its new long-range missile, in full view of American spy satellites, and came despite severe warnings from the United States and countries in this region that a test would entail further isolation and sanctions. The first missile was fired around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to the Japanese government. American officials said they believe the Taepodong 2 was the third missile fired, with the U.S. Northern Command saying that it was launched at 5 a.m. on Wednesday. American and Japanese officials immediately condemned the launchings Wednesday morning. But American officials had never considered it a serious threat to the United States, especially because there was no evidence the missile was equipped with a warhead. Bush's spokesman, Tony Snow, only went so far as to call the launching "provocative behavior." The Japanese government said it would take "severe actions" against the North, possibly including economic sanctions. Those could include shutting down the ferry service to North Korea and attempting to stem the flow of the transfer of cash to the North from Koreans in Japan, though officials acknowledge that would be difficult. At the United Nations, John Bolton, the United States ambassador, was "urgently consulting" with other members of the Security Council to try to schedule a meeting of the panel, according to his spokesman, Richard Grenell. Later in the evening, it was announced that the Council would meet to take up the matter at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the request of Japan. Hadley acknowledged that "what we really don't have a fix on is, you know, what's the intention of all this, what is the purpose of all this? " He noted it was a violation of North Korea's previous pledges to hold to a moratorium on missile tests. He said one possibility was that the North was attempting to seize the spotlight from Iran, whose efforts to develop its nuclear program - which is years behind North Korea's nuclear abilities - had grabbed all the headlines. But he noted that "it's hard to get a sense on what they think is to be achieved by this." It was also unclear why it fired short- and mid-range missiles, which it has tested successfully in the past and of which it is said to own several hundred. "One theory is that they knew that there was a probability that things with the Taepodong 2 wouldn't work, so it was good to fire off a few missiles that would actually work," said a senior Bush administration official, who asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak about this issue. In 1998, the last time the North tested a missile outside its territory, Pyongyang fired the Taepodong 1, which flew over Japan before falling into the sea. That test set off a negative reaction in the region, especially in Japan, which responded by strengthening its military capabilities and its alliance with the United States. Wednesday morning's tests are likely to increase calls inside Japan to strengthen its missile defense efforts with the United States, and could increase support for hawkish candidates in the race to succeed Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who is scheduled to retire in September. Shinzo Abe, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, who is the leading candidate to succeed Mr. Koizumi and who has gained popularity in recent years by being tough on North Korea and China, said the tests were "a serious problem from the standpoint of our national security, peace and stability of the international community and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." The tests are sure to anger China - which expended considerable diplomatic prestige in pressing the North not to go ahead with the launching and to rejoin the six-nation talks - and raise doubts anew about the real extent of Beijing's influence on Pyongyang. The Chinese foreign ministry said it had no comment to make yet on the launching. In South Korea, whose government publicly urged the North not to test-fire but privately played down the risk, opponents of the government's engagement policy toward the North might gain support in presidential elections next year. Intelligence from American satellite photographs indicated in mid-June that the North was proceeding with the test-firing of the Taepodong 2 at a launching pad on North Korea's remote east coast. Satellite photographs showed that the North Koreans had taken steps to put fuel into the missile, but the missile sat there until Wednesday morning, leading to speculation that the North was simply staging the event in order to gain attention from the United States. American officials had suggested that they might use missile defense to shoot down the Taepodong 2 in midair. Bad weather in this region was said to have delayed the launching, because poor visibility would prevent the North from tracking its missile.

But the North contradicted expert opinion by launching its long-range missile in predawn darkness today

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/07/05/asia/web.0705missile.php

 

North Korea Test-Fires Seventh Missile (Washington Post)

 

Anger at N Korea missile tests (Al Jazeera)

Australia predicts more launches 

 

 

N Korea's missiles met by Japanese sanctions (Asia Times) 

Just hours after North Korea's provocative series of missile launches, Japan has reacted by banning the docking of the Mangyongbyon-92, a ferry that shuttles between Wonson in North Korea and Niigata, and which is the main direct link between the two countries...

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/HG06Dg02.html

 

 

 

Here the latest news by IHT/NYT:

 

UN Security Council meets to discuss North Korean missiles

China caught off guard, but strong rebuke is unlikely

 

 

CNN reported a short while ago(ha, now its already 7.05, 11 P.M. CET..) following:

U.S.: World firm against NK threat

 

 

 

 

 

Later perhaps more about the issue..

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DAY 6

 

 

Here just the latest news:

 

Guardian:

 

Palestinians end talks on Israeli hostage


Palestinian students stand around the rubble of a building destroyed following an

Israeli missile strike on the Islamic University in Gaza City.

Photograph: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty
 

 

 

Palestine Information Center(a news"agency" close to Hamas) wrote about the arrests in Ramallah/El Bireh(see also the article before by Ynet) following story: 

 

IOF storm El-Bireh police station, kidnap three citizens

 

IOF troops at an early hour Tuesday stormed the main police station in El-Bireh city and arrested three citizens working in the Palestinian national security force, witnesses in the city reported.

They said that around 50 IOF soldiers encircled the building in Balo' suburb north of the city and called on all those inside via loudspeakers to surrender or else they will be killed.

The soldiers fired at the building live bullets and sound bombs then broke into it and arrested the three, no information are available on those citizens so far.

The IOF troops prevented journalists and correspondents from approaching the scene and detained them hundreds of meters away from the police headquarters.

Local sources noted that the IOF troops last night burst into the Balo suburb and used trained dogs in combing the suburb under heavy gunfire other than the presence of reconnaissance planes overhead.

IOF disguised soldiers used civilian cars to roam the streets of the suburb at the pretext of looking for citizens who took part in abducting and killing the Israeli conscript Eliyahu Asheri early last week.

http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/am/publish/article_19008.shtml

 

...................................................................................

 

Well, here the very, very latest news for today:

 

Olmert: Hamas will be first to get hurt (Ynet)

 

In first response to rocket fired at Ashkelon, prime minister says 'this serious act and this criminal attempt to hurt Israel's citizens will have far-reaching consequences.' Cabinet to convene Wednesday for emergency meeting. Sources in Jerusalem: Harsh response expected...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3271253,00.html

 

 

Aeh~ I think he(Olmert) just wanted to say: "NOW we really wanna FUCK Hamas!", or something like that..

 

BTW.. only few hours before IAF missiles were "landing" in the University of Gaza.. 

 

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Four days ago(6.30) the German(bourgeois) magazine Der Spiegel made a interview with Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook..

 

 

..the second Hamas' commander in Syria:

 

"No Matter What, the Violence Will Never Stop"

 

Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook is second in command of the political Hamas leadership in Syrian exile. In an interview, he tells SPIEGEL ONLINE that the agreement with Fatah on the foundation of a Palestinian state does not mean that his organization will recognize Israel. Hamas, he say, will remain committed to violence against its occupier.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Israel has accused the political office of Hamas of organizing the abduction of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Was this kidnapping ordered by Damascus?

 

Abu Marzook: No, that is not true. Israel has often falsely accused us in similar instances. It is not our task to make such decisions: They are made by the military wing. The military and political wings work independently of each other.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: That means that the political leaders are not consulted prior to an action?

 

Abu Marzook: We are no experts here on military issues. We never know in advance about military actions, when or how they take place.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: That would indicate that there is no coordination between the wings of Hamas.

 

Abu Marzook: But of course there is, because our actions relate to the same strategy, under which everything is organized. And that strategy is to resist the occupation of Palestine. A part of Hamas pursues this goal politically, and another pursues it militarily.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Now, Hamas has approved the so-called "Prisoners' Paper," which recommends a two-state solution. Does that mean that Hamas is now prepared to recognize the state of Israel?

 

Abu Marzook: With this agreement, we have primarily agreed to strengthen the resistance in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Aside from that, we have agreed on the goal of establishing a Palestinian state in these areas.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Doesn't that mean that Hamas inevitably accepts the Israeli state in the rest of that area?

 

Abu Marzook: The paper does not say that at all. It is purely about the future of our people and about how a government uniting all Palestinian factions can work on building their independent state.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: And does Hamas also believe that an Israeli state can exist alongside a Palestinian state?

 

Abu Marzook: Hamas has always said clearly: We will never accept the occupation, because it is not legal, not correct and not just.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Hamas approved the agreement at the very moment the Israeli invasion began. Did Hamas hope that this concession would ward off the military action?

 

Abu Marzook: The one has nothing to do with the other. Hamas said from the start: 90 percent of the paper is good. But we wanted to push through some changes. For example, we insisted on including a paragraph that says that we will never recognize the legitimacy of the occupation. In addition, we wanted to more strongly emphasize that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have the right to resist. When Fatah accepted these changes, Hamas supported the paper.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: After the abduction of the soldier, Israel began to bomb Gaza. Would that not suggest that such actions only lead to violence against Palestinians?

 

Abu Marzook: The Israeli aggressions will never stop anyway. In the last two weeks alone, 11 Palestinian children have been killed in attacks. Now it is about one soldier who was taken in combat. And suddenly the whole world rises up and demands that he be set free. At the same time there are more than 400 Palestinian children in Israeli jails. No one asks about them.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Looking at the consequences, one has to recognize that violence against Israel will never really help the Palestinian people.

 

Abu Marzook: Of course such actions help. Because every Israeli now knows that there will always be a reaction to violence. If Palestinians are killed, Israelis will be killed. That should be clear to all Israelis.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: It is hard to imagine that approach would ever bring an end to reciprocal violence.

 

Abu Marzook: No matter what, the violence will not stop. We are on the weaker side and we do whatever we can. The Palestinians have no other choice.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Palestinian head of government Ismail Haniyeh, also from Hamas, recently showed himself to be more diplomatic than the political leadership in Damascus. That suggests a certain lack of unity in Hamas.

 

Abu Marzook: No, there is no split, just various approaches. The government, the military wing and the political office all follow the same strategy, but each one works in a manner appropriate to his tasks.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Now Hamas is no longer only a terrorist group or a resistance group, but also a governing party. Do you think - given all the chaos since the election success - that Hamas has carried out this transformation successfully?

 

Abu Marzook: Our task was not to change. The Palestinian people live under occupation, so we are still a resistance movement. The people elected us because they did not get the feeling that all the negotiations by Fatah had brought them closer to having their own state. We respect their choice, but we did not seek to be in the government.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: But now that Hamas is in the government: Should it not handle its conflicts with negotiations rather than attacks?

 

Abu Marzook: Of course. On the other hand, we are not a government like any other independent state. We are a government under occupation. And the task of such a government is to carry out resistance, in every possible way. I think that every single Palestinian should resist, and should keep it up until there is an independent Palestinian state.

 

SPIEGEL ONLINE: In other words, not even the current military attacks by Israel will lead Hamas to change its strategy?

 

Abu Marzook: No. I think that our strategy is a promising one, and that it will eventually bring the Palestinians to a point where they can build their own state.

 

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DAY 4 & 5 (日/月)

 

 

First of all the latest news: It seems that the three militant Palestinian groups(PRC's Salah Ed-Din Brigade, Islamic Army and Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing) who kidnapped one week ago the Israeli soldier G. Shalit want to push the current situation now to the final battle. Just a few while ago they announced a ultimatum in which thay gave the Israeli govt. time until 6 AM local time(Gaza/Tel Aviv/Jerusalem, 5 AM CET, 12 AM KST) to release 1,000 Arab/Palestinian prisoners. "Military Communique 3" Issued on Monday by Hamas' armed wing and two other factions said: "If the enemy does not agree to our humanitarian demands ... We will regard this case as closed."(Ynet) Israel's first reaction: "FORGET IT! NO WAY!!" ..of course!!

So - likely - in the next few hours the situation on the ground will be increasing extremely.

Already in the last 24 hours more attacks by the IDF/IAF against Palestinian targets, such as PA institutions but also militants' facilities were reported. But also clashes between Palestinan militants and the IDF were increasing in the last hours, mainly with deadly results on the Pal. side. Since the morning, local time, the first time some(smaller) IDF units are operating in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

 

 

Here the latest news by int'l news agencies, newspapers..:

 

Guardian, GB:

Soldier's captors issue ultimatum to Israel



Relatives of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel demonstrate at the headquarters

of the Red Cross in Gaza city. Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters
 

Ynet/Yedioth Ahronot:

 

Palestinian terrorists issue ultimatum

 

Factions behind Corporal Gilad Shalit's kidnapping give Israel until 6 a.m. Tuesday to meet their demands for release of Palestinian prisoners, threaten Israel will bear 'full responsibility for consequences' if it fails to comply. Israel not likely to meet ultimatum..

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3270345,00.html

 

Israel rejects Palestinian ultimatum

 

Statement issued by PM's office in reply to Palestinian ultimatum regarding hostage's release says: We will hold no negotiations over prisoners' release..

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3270554,00.html

 

 

Haaretz:

 

PM's bureau says Israel won't succumb to extortion

Israel rejects militants' ultimatum on prisoner exchange   The bureau of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday that Israel rejected an ultimatum issued earlier in the day by Palestinian militants holding an Israel Defense Forces soldier, saying that Israel would not give in to blackmail. The three militant groups behind the kidnap of Corporal Gilad Shalit said they were giving Israel until 6 A.M. Tuesday to agree to release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners or "pay the consequences.".. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733789.html     IHT/AP: Ultimatum from militants   IHT/NYT: Israel steps up raids in bid to free soldier

Washington Post: Israel Orders Army to Free Soldier at All Costs .......................

Here, how I promised some days before, (a part of) my opinion about the future of the "crisis":   When I read articles like that (Ynet reported this today)..   Muhammad Deif presents: Hamas' military academy   In al-Jazeera interview, senior wanted Palestinian terror suspect presents academy which prepares thousands of activists to fight against Israel; 'Jew that came to lands of Palestine is a murderer, occupier and he is the one we fight.."... http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3270338,00.html (I was asking Palestinians here who are able to see Al Jazeera TV, and they nearly confirmed this article..)       ..I’m convinced that there will be no solution in the Israeli/Arab, Palestine conflict in the near future. Even the Isreali govt will meet the demands of the Palestinian militants to release Shalit, the IDF will withdraw from Gaza... What will be happen? Likely the militant groups will resume the Qassam attacks against s. Isreali towns and villages – just for example.. (how they did this immediately after the complete withdrawal of the Isreali Occupation Forces last year).   Until now for the majority of the Palestinian "resistance" organizations the "liberation of Palestine" means the "67-territories"(West Bank and Gaza) and "48-teritories", a.k.a. the entire present State of Israel.   Even secular organizations, such as PLO, PFLP, DFLP (the last two were called in the past as "communist" parties), see Palestine only in the borders of 1948(even at this time this territory had no real borders, because there was no state).   PLO   PFLP   DFLP     And until now for this kind of Palestine they want to fight... by all means. .....................................       Finally here the latest news(perhaps the latest for today/local time):   Haaretz: Israel rejects militants' ultimatum on prisoner exchange Minister Ramon: IDF operations in Gaza will be 'far far worse' if Shalit harmed Justice Minister Haim Ramon on Monday warned of a harsh military response in the Gaza Strip if an abducted Israeli is harmed by his Palestinian captors. Justice Minister Haim Ramon made the threat after the militants holding Israel Defense Forces Corporal Gilad Shalit implied the soldier would be killed if Israel does not begin releasing Palestinian soldiers by Tuesday morning. "If God forbid, they should hurt the soldier, our operations will be far far worse," Ramon told Channel 2 TV.. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733789.html   Ynet/Yedioth Ahronot:   Minister: Unprecedented price if Gilad harmed   Hours before deadline set by kidnappers of IDF soldier runs out, Absorption Minister Boim says: 'We will work according to the Jabotinsky doctrine – respond to pressure with pressure.' Soldier’s father: 'I hope State doesn't retrieve deterrence on the back of my son'    Interior Minister Ronnie Bar-On has warned that the kidnappers of Gilad Shalit will pay "an unprecedented price if they harm the soldier."   Bar-On spoke with Ynet on Monday hours before the ultimatum set by Shalit's kidnappers expired.   "There's no connection between this incident and past incidents. This is a kidnapping of a soldier inside the State of Israel by a terror cell which set out from Gaza. This government's worldview is that it won't surrender to blackmail. We have done everything possible and appropriate under the circumstances. Despite the ongoing military and diplomatic pressure, the results are clear: There's no one to talk to," he said.   "We probably won't talk with them," Bar-On said. "We need to remember that we left Gaza and they set out from there to harm us and kidnap a soldier. It is unfathomable that we will hold negotiations under these circumstances.".. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3270674,00.html   IHT/NYT:   Israel shuns ultimatum from militants

I have to stop it now. Later more about it. (That's just the beginning of MY thoughts..)

 

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THE 4th DAY

 

Actually Friday and Saturday was Shabbath, the Jewish holiday, but of course IDF wasn't resting, not at all. According to news agencies seven main roads were bombed in Gaza by IAF and even, late Sat. afternoon, clashes between Palesinian fighters and IDF near Khan Younis were reported. But until now the main invasion by IDF isn't realized.

 

Here a summary of the latest developments:

 

Israel: Either free Shalit or we will act to free him (Haaretz)
 
Peretz meets with IDF, Shin Bet officials on Shalit 
 
Defense Minister Amir Peretz told U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday that Syrian President Bashar Assad to influence Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshal to bring about the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.

Peretz met with senior IDF and Shin Bet security service officials on Saturday evening regarding Shalit...

A statement released by the office of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas earlier Saturday said mediation efforts by Egypt and other countries to resolve the crisis over Shalit had yet to bear fruit mainly because it was unclear who in Hamas - the militants or the group's leadership abroad - was authorized to make decisions about Shalit's fate. Abbas later said that the statement should not be attributed to him.

Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, apparently has no say in the matter, according to a statement from Abbas' office.

 

"The next hours are critical, sensitive and serious. And though the efforts are still ongoing, we have not reached an acceptable solution until now," Abbas' office said in a separate statement.

 

"After a week of continuous and long contacts with all parties, Palestinian, Arab, international and particularly Egyptian, the [Abbas] ... is still exerting efforts to stop the Israeli aggression and avoid more disasters for the Palestinian people," the statement said.

 

Abbas also appealed to all parties to work to find "an acceptable solution" to the crisis.

Israel said Saturday that it rejects a demand by the three Palestinian militant groups holding Shalit to free 1,000 security prisoners being held in its jails and end the IDF offensive launched in Gaza in the wake of his kidnap.

 

Meanwhile, a Palestinian deputy minister said Saturday that Shalit has received medical treatment for wounds sustained during his abduction and that he is in stable condition.

Speaking at a news conference in Ramallah, Deputy Minister for Prisoner Affairs Ziad Abu Ein cited unidentified "mediators" as telling him that Shalit had been wounded during his abduction.

 

"He has three wounds," Abu Ein said. "I guess shrapnel wounds." He did not give further details.

 

But Abu Ein told Haaretz later Saturday that he had simply been quoting media reports and had not received any new information.

 

Channel 1 television, citing a senior Israeli security official, reported Friday night that a Palestinian doctor treated Shalit for minor shoulder and stomach wounds, and that the soldier was in good condition. Israel Radio said the doctor's visit took place Thursday.

A statement released overnight Friday by the three groups did not say explicitly that the soldier would be freed should their demands be met. But a spokesman for the military wing of the governing Hamas party, one of the three factions involved in the kidnapping, said the demands specified in the statement were in fact conditions for releasing Shalit.

Repeating Israel's refusal to bargain for Shalit's release, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in response to the statement that "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has reiterated that there will be no deals, that either Shalit will be released or we will act to bring about his release."

 

IDF troops entered the southern Gaza Strip in the early hours of Wednesday, in a bid to pressure the Palestinians to release Shalit.

 

The militants' demand Saturday for the release prisoners was the second statement by the groups since Shalit's abduction. "We are declaring to the public our just and humanitarian demands," the statement said.

 

The statement repeated an earlier demand for the release of women prisoners and minors in exchange for information on Shalit, but made the added request for Israel to free 1,000 "Palestinian, Arab and Muslim prisoners."

 

It said these would have to include all Palestinian faction leaders as well as humanitarian cases.

 

The statement cast doubt on hopes voiced by mediators that Shalit could be freed soon.

"In spite of the good efforts of the mediators who tried in silence to speed up the treatment of this humanitarian matter, the enemy and their political leadership are still under the pressure of the security and military command," it said.

 

"The escalation and arrogance mean the enemy will be responsible for the bad consequences," it said.

 

Strikes across Gaza

Meanwhile, the Israel Air Force attacked several sites late Friday and early Saturday in the latest round of raids across the Gaza Strip. There were no casualties in any of the incidents, Palestinian medical workers said. (Click here for a map of Gaza)

The attacks were on what the IDF called a "terrorist training facility" in the south of the Strip, and on a building in Gaza City which Palestinians said was used by Hamas militants.

 

The military confirmed attacking a Hamas facility in Gaza and a former Israeli settlement near Rafah, close to the Egyptian border, which was abandoned in last year's Israeli withdrawal and taken over by militants.

 

Palestinians said the new occupants, activists of the Abu Rish Brigades,
loosely affiliated with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah, recently evacuated the complex, fearing just such a strike.

 

The military could not confirm reports of a missile landing on open ground near the southern town of Khan Yunis.

 

Also early Saturday, IAF aircraft reportedly hit a Hamas training facility in central Gaza. There were no injuries, but the building was set on fire, Palestinian officials said. The IDF said it was looking into the claim.

 

Earlier Friday evening, three Palestinians were hurt in an IAF strike in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian security sources said. According to witnesses, an IAF missile was fired and landed adjacent to a vehicle in Gaza City.

 

The IDF said the strike targeted an Islamic Jihad Qassam rocket-launching cell. Palestinian sources said four militants were in the vehicle at the time of the strike. Three managed to flee.

 

Qassam lands hundreds of meters from Ashkelon
Also Friday, a Qassam rocket fired from the Gaza Strip landed within hundreds of meters of Ashkelon, in what police said was the closest a Qassam strike has come to the southern city.

 

Police confirmed that the rocket was an improved version of the Qassam. No injuries were reported in the incident.

 

Early Friday, the IAF struck the Palestinian Interior Ministry in downtown Gaza City, Palestinian witnesses said, setting it on fire. There was no word of casualties.

The Interior Ministry is nominally in charge of Palestinian security forces, though Abbas removed most of its authority.

 

The IDF confirmed its planes hit the office of Interior Minister Saeed Siyam, which it called "a meeting place to plan and direct terror activity."

 

A Palestinian militant injured in the strike died of his wounds early Friday, the first fatality in the IDF incursion in Gaza, hospital officials said. The local leader of Islamic Jihad, Mohammed Abdel Al, 25, had been seriously wounded in an air strike in Rafah in southern Gaza.

 

Three Fatah militants said they were wounded early Friday in a gun battle with IDF forces in northern Gaza, while the army denied troops had entered or fired into the territory, where forces have been massing.

 

Palestinian hospital officials said a 5-year-old girl was wounded in an air strike in northern Gaza early Friday. Doctors said her condition was not serious.

On Thursday night, IDF artillery shells hit the electricity distribution network in the northern Gaza Strip, plunging parts of the area into darkness.

 

Palestinian officials said two power transformers were struck, and two security officers were wounded by shrapnel. Dr. Ali Mousa, director of the Abu Yousef al-Najar Hospital in Rafah, also said a 15-year-old boy was moderately wounded by shrapnel in the blast.

The strike came two days after IAF aircraft attacked a major Gaza City power station, reportedly leaving roughly two-thirds of Gaza's 1.3 million residents without electricity.

The IDF confirmed it had been firing artillery at open spaces in the area at the time of Thursday's incident. The army said it has a report of an electrical pole being hit and was checking if the artillery fire was in any way related.

 

According to information gleaned by the PA, Shalit is being held in the Khan Yunis refugee camp in southern Gaza. Peretz said Thursday afternoon that the IDF would sustain its blockade on the Gaza Strip until Shalit is brought home safely.

 

Militants killed in Nablus

In the West Bank, IDF troops Friday shot and killed two Palestinian militants during a fierce gunbattle in a Nablus cemetery, Palestinian security officials said.

 

The soldiers surrounded the cemetery, trapping four militants inside. Initially, two of the militants were arrested, one fled and one was killed, the security officials said. The militants belong to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, which is tied to Fatah.

 

A military source said shooting broke out when troops entered Nablus on a raid to arrest militants. The troops fired back, killing the first militant, the IDF said. The second militant was killed in a exchange of fire which pursued after he had already been arrested by troops.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/733349.html
 

Ynet/Yedioth Ahronoth wrote this:

 

Abbas: Hamas indecision obstacle to ending hostage crisis

 

Egyptian efforts to diplomatically resolve crisis over abducted soldier are being set back by confusion about who has decision-making power on Palestinian side - Hamas government or militants holding the captive

 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that Egyptian efforts to diplomatically resolve a crisis with Israel over an abducted soldier are being set back by confusion about who has the decision-making power on the Palestinian side: The Hamas government or the militants holding the captive...

 

.."Hamas political leadership outside are saying the decision is in the hands of its military wing inside Gaza, while the military wing is saying the decision is in the hands of the political leadership outside. Ismail Haniyeh, the current prime minister of Hamas government, appears not to have any say in what is going on in this regard," Abbas said in a statement issued by his office.

 

"If things do not change, all indications are leading into one direction, more bloodshed, more chaos and poverty, more catastrophes, and worse instability in our region," Abbas said of the hostage crisis... 

 

Read the full article here:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3269703,00.html

 

 

 

Perhaps today(Sunday) the Israeli govt. will lose its "patience"..

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eKantipur reported before y'day:

 

PLA

 

 

Let's put two armies under a single command: Prachanda

 

Maoist supremo Prachanda has proposed to put the Nepali Army and "People's Liberation Army"(PLA) under the same command after formation of interim government.
Talking with officials of the Federation of Nepalese Journalists on Thursday in Lalitpur, the top rebel leader floated the idea. "We are ready to put the armed forces of both sides under a single command when a government is formed as per the new interim statute," the Maoist leader said. "The Prime Minister of the day will be the supreme commander of the combined army."

He argued that it was the only way to resolve the problem of "two armies" during the transitional period. "There will be a joint committee comprising Nepali Army generals and PLA commanders, but camps will be separate." He said it was a process toward creating a national army."

Referring to pressures coming from all sectors of society to settle the question of arms before joining the interim government, Prachanda said he had put the proposal even during his June 16 meeting with leaders of the ruling seven party alliance.

"We will reach a conclusion soon after taking up the matter with alliance leaders," said Prachanda.

Another senior Maoist leader Dr Babu Ram Bhattarai was also present on the the occasion.

Prachanda termed the concept of inviting foreigners to settle arms and armies as "meaningless" and said, "Why do we need to invite foreigners? Let's try to manage it by ourselves first. If there is any technical problem, we can invite them later on." When journalists asked if his proposal was a response to widespread call for him to give up the post of PLA's supreme commander, Prachanda said, "No, I just wanted to make the way clear for solution."

He said he and Dr Bhattarai came back to Kathmandu as they smelt some conspiracy against the 8-point agreement. "But signs are positive now."

The rebel leader also said contentious issues like people's court, Maoist's local governments, and display of arms by the rebel army will be settled once the interim government is in place. "If we give up our stance on these issues, there will be no bargaining card left with us." He also admitted that "some mistakes" have been committed by rebel cadre at the local level.

Prachanda expressed disappointment over debate on the interim constitution drafting committee and "unnecessary" delay in starting the draft work. "A five-page document based on the 25-point code of conduct and 8-point agreement is enough but there are attempts to make a 25-member committee."

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?&nid=78247

 

PLA

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THE 3rd DAY

 

ISRAEL: STILL SHOOTING

BUT NOT MOVING

(Today's headline in CNN World News Asia, midday edition)

 

First of all some summaries about the latest developments in the last 24 hours:

 

Government orders freeze on IDF operation in north Gaza

Mubarak: Hamas offers terms for soldier's release

(Haaretz, Israel, reported in the morning)

 

Read the full text here:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/732506.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Guardian, GB, published following in the midday(local time, CET):

 

Hope for captive as Gaza bombing goes on


Officials inspect the damage to the Palestinian interior ministry building following

Israeli air strikes on Gaza city. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images
 

Jets and helicopters fired missiles at government buildings and roads while the army fired hundreds of artillery shells at northern Gaza. Israeli jets caused sonic booms over Gaza City through the night and morning.

Israeli officials said that military operations were continuing to maintain pressure on Palestinians holding Corporal Gilad Shalit, although a plan to take over the town of Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza had been postponed.

Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president, said in a newspaper interview that Hamas had given conditional approval for the release of the 19-year-old soldier. He said that Israel had not yet agreed to the conditions, which he did not stipulate.

Cpl Shalit is believed to be in the custody of militants of Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees, who are demanding that Israel free Palestinian prisoners in return for his release.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry, said: "We are talking to the international community, such as the European Union and Egypt. If we can achieve the release of our soldier through international intervention, then we can de-escalate the situation."

He said that Israel's limited military action was an important factor in diplomatic activity. "We waited a full three days before we moved. Our limited operations have augmented the chances of success of diplomacy."

Israel has massed troops and armour in and around Gaza, carried out scores of air raids and fired hundreds of artillery shells. One man, a member of Islamic Jihad, has been killed and several people have received light injuries. However, the entire population of Gaza has been subjected to electricity cuts, fuel shortages and the constant threat of violence.

Since Sunday, Israel has closed all the terminals that supply Gaza with food and goods. John Ging, the Gaza operations director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides services for refugees in Gaza, said that his organisation had stockpiled food in recent weeks and had reserves to last a couple of weeks.

"The main problem is fuel and electricity. We have limited reserves of fuel and we are facing increasing demands for the little we have. Fuel is needed for generators to power hospitals and water and sewage pumps. The electricity cuts are causing real hardship," he said.

Mr Regev said that Israeli action was also aimed at harassing Hamas and preventing the firing of homemade Qassam rockets at Israel. "There was a long period of time when Hamas was not involved in hands-on terrorism and we did not target them. If they are going to get back into terrorism, we have every right to respond," he said.

Israel today revoked the right of four prominent members of Hamas to live in Jerusalem. The four, Khaled Abu Arafa, the minister of Jerusalem affairs, and three Palestinian legislative council members, Mohammed Abu Teir, Ahmed Abu Atoun and Mohammed Totach, were among the 64 Hamas members arrested yesterday.

Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem, which was annexed by Israel in 1967, have many of the same rights as other Israelis but are not citizens and do not vote in Israeli elections. The removal of the men's residency right means they and their family will be in effect exiled in the West Bank.

Israel also fired missiles at the individual offices of Hamas officials of the interior ministry in Gaza City. Senior members of Hamas have been in hiding for most of the week, fearing that Israel will assassinate them as it did with two other Hamas leaders, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, in 2004.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1809847,00.html

 

Hamas says Israel is out to destroy its administration

 

In Gaza, Shelter Sought (Washington Post)

 

 

Just a short while ago Ynet/Yedioth Ahronoth reported this(its includes a video report about last night's attack against the ministry of the Interior in Gaza City):

 

Haniyeh: We won't fall

 

Palestinian prime minister says in Gaza, 'when they kidnapped ministers they meant to hijack government's position, but we say no positions will be hijacked, no governments will fall'

In his first public address since Israel began its offensive into the Gaza Strip, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas on Friday said his government would not cave into Israeli demands but said he was working hard to end a five-day-old crisis with Israel.

 

Though Haniyeh did not directly address Israel's demand that Palestinian militants hand over an abducted Israeli soldier, he implied that the government would not trade him for eight Cabinet ministers and 56 other Hamas officials arrested on Thursday.

 

"When they kidnapped the ministers they meant to hijack the government's position, but we say no positions will be hijacked, no governments will fall," he said. ..

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3269456,00.html

 

 

 

I think there will be no more news anymore today, because the entire Friday for the (muslim) Palestinians is holiday and in Israel right now the Shabbath is beginning..

 

 

 

IDF is shelling the north of Gaza

 

One of the resultsof IAF attacks: the Ministry of Interior was hit last night

 

As usual: crowds are gathering at the scene..

 

Burning ministry..

 

Since two nights: living without electricity..

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps tomorrow I'll write down some of my thoughts about the current "crisis" there..

 

 

 

 

 

LATEST "NEWS":

 

According to the German magazine Der Spiegel the Al Aqsa Brigades (a part of Abbas' Fatah) boasted themselves today with a new kidnapping of a Israeli soldier in the West Bank..

But actually especially Isreali sources didn't confirm it until now. Just two days ago Al Aqsa Brigades announced a similar thing... but in fact it was just empty prattle. The problem (or perhaps better said the luck): sometimes the Palestinian "resistance fighters" can't differentiate between their wishes and the reality.. Hopefully today it is the same!

 

Ynet news ticker right now is writing: "The Israel Defense Forces is looking into a claim made by a group belonging to the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades that its people have abducted an IDF soldiers in the West Bank area.

IDF officials said that there was no official confirmation of the Palestinian report at this stage, but the issue was being checked. Senior al-Aqsa members told Ynet that they were not aware of a soldier being kidnapped by the organization."

 

 

Already yesterday(6.29) the German(bourgeois) magazine Der Spiegel published following article:

 

"There Will be More Abductions"

 

As Israel worries about the well-being of a soldier held hostage in the Gaza Strip, an abducted Jewish settler in the West Bank has been found dead in Ramallah. Have militant Palestinians decided to copy the tactics used by Islamic extremists in Iraq? A visit with Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Brigade.

 
The office in Ramallah is sparsely furnished and unmarked outside. But the space on the seventh floor of this building in the center of the West Bank town belongs to Hamas. Over the past six months -- since the militant Islamic group took power over the Palestinian Authority -- it was possible to meet smiling and smirking Hamas politicians here, patting each other on the backs because they had finally come to power.

 

But these days, the situation is different. The tired eyes of Ziad Dayeh, a Hamas spokesman, are proof he hasn't gotten much sleep lately. He's been left to handle the group's PR efforts alone following Israel's arrest of two dozen Hamas parliamentarians. "Hamas isn't responsible for this escalation," he claims. "It's not our fault that Israel wasn't prepared from the outset to pay a price for the release of this soldier."

 

What the spokesman is trying to play down is actually an act of psychological and physical brutality. After two of his companions were killed, Palestinian militants kidnapped a 19-year-old Israeli corporal. For his freedom they demanded the release of some 300 Palestinians women and youths allegedly held in Israeli jails. A deal that Israel's government quickly rejected, even though such prisoner exchanges have taken place in the past. According to the Palestinians, some 12,000 of their people are held in Israeli custody.

 

Since the incident, the turbulent Middle East has become even more violent. The Israeli army has already moved into the Gaza Strip. Many in the region are asking whether militant Palestinians have developed a horrible new strategy after watching terrorists in Iraq carry out countless kidnappings. Such abductions have so far been rare in Israel and the West Bank. But on Thursday morning, the body of an Israeli settler who had been kidnapped was found in Ramallah. A group called the Popular Resistance Committees said the settler had been "executed," borrowing similar terminology used by Islamists in Iraq.

 

Two abductions only a few days apart have sparked concerns of a new form of terrorism. Hamas spokesman Dayeh, however, finds nothing wrong with the new tactics. "It's our right!" he says, rationalizing it with a claim that the Israeli army abducts people all the time. It certainly is true that Israeli commandos carry out raids and frequently arrest militant Palestinians by the dozens, holding them for months or longer without charges. But Dayeh won't accept the difference that the Palestinian "hostages" aren't killed in cold blood.

 

Kidnapping terror

 

Israel has traditionally been prepared to suffer heavy losses when its security is at stake -- just like the Palestinians. But a living hostage is a traumatic affair. No Israeli who has ever been abducted by Palestinian terrorists -- regardless whether by Hezbollah or leftist Palestinian nationalists -- has ever survived. That goes a long way toward explaining why Israel has threatened to retaliate hard to either free the hostage or extract revenge.

"We aren't afraid," say three young men on the main street of Ramallah. Bombings. Tanks. Curfews. "We've seen it all before and survived," the men, named al-Rahman, Thair and Wisam, say. They justify the kidnappings and murders with the same argument as that of the Hamas-led government, even though they themselves support the Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas. Abductions of Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers in the occupied territories are fine, they argue, but not other civilians or foreigners like in Iraq. "That is forbidden, cowardly and inhumane. But everything else is part of our right to armed resistance."

 

Such kidnappings might even be organized in the future by a man who calls himself Abd al-Salam. Thin and in his mid-thirties, he's dressed in a white polo shirt and drives a white Fiat Uno. "There will be more of these kinds of abductions," the mid-level member of the al-Aqsa Brigade, the militant wing of Fatah, says. "We have also taken setters as hostages and killed them," he says, referring to the alleged death of a 62-year-old man from Tel Aviv. Israeli authorities claim the man died of natural causes. "They're just trying to calm their people -- pure propaganda," says the Palestinian militiaman.

 

"You could say we've developed a new tactic," says al-Salam, adding that abductions in the West Bank are likely to become more frequent. Over 100,000 Jewish settlers live in the occupied territories -- handy living targets for militants. Following the deaths of a dozen Palestinian civilians recently, many are ready to extract revenge. "We are sick of it, we must avenge ourselves," says al-Salam, adding that if kidnappings are so painful for the Israelis, the Palestinians should have started doing it earlier.

 

The scenario of mass kidnappings is the "ultimate nightmare of the Israeli army," according to Israel's press. In the worst case scenario, it could escalate the crisis in the Middle East as the advent of suicide bombings once did. But at the moment, it's impossible to tell whether the militants are simply using the threat of abductions as propaganda. They certainly aren't supported by Palestinian leaders. Both President Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh are opposed to taking hostages. As is the majority of the Palestinian population. "These idiots," complains an auto mechanic named Salih. "Now the West will think we're just brutal terrorists."

 

 

....................................................................................

 

And when I read/understand it well - just now IDF is intensifying its killing operations in Gaza.. And this might be (unfortunately) really true..

 

 

 

 

본문

 

 

THE 2nd DAY..

 

 

Settler teen’s body found in Ramallah

(Ynet/Yedioth Ahronoth today morning, CET)

 

IDF finds body of 18-year-old Eliyahu Asheri in Ramallah; teen was kidnapped earlier in week by Popular Resistance Committees..

 

IDF soldiers discovered early Thursday the body of 18-year-old Itamar settler Eliyahu Asheri in Ramallah’s Tira neighborhood.

 

At around 5 a.m. Itamar settlement spokesman Rabbi Avi Ronsky informed the teen's parents that their son's body was found...

 

Wednesday’s arrest and interrogation of a senior Fatah member suspected of murdering Asheri led security forces to the body. The investigation revealed that the teen was shot in his head from short range...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3268843,00.html 

 

 

PRC: Kidnapping settler teen was easy

 

Spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committee says Eliyahu Asheri’s abduction, execution proves 'Israel’s security is paper tiger'; adds: Teen killed when Gaza offensive launched. We will kidnap and kill you and burn the earth beneath you. We promise to drown you in fear and terror,' spokesman says..

“We promise that this will not be our last attempt,” Abu Abir declared. “Operation ‘Cavaliers’ Wrath’ is continuing and there will be more kidnappings. I promise Olmert and Peretz that when they spill Palestinian blood, our only response is through our operation: We will kidnap and kill you and burn the earth beneath you. We promise to drown you in fear and terror.”...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3269003,00.html

 

 

Al-Aqsa Brigades: We're preparing deathtraps for IDF (Ynet)

 

While IDF is warming up the engines ahead of its entrance to northern Gaza, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member says: 'We are preparing suicide bombers, car bombs, explosive devices, tunnels, and booby trapped donkey'..

 

At a joint press conference held by armed organizations, the groups announced their joint preparations in order to repel the IDF operation.

 

They said that Israeli side should expect surprised and unprecedented resistance, which will cause many casualties among IDF soldiers...

 

..Palestinian fighters will use massive amounts of rockets and mortars against the IDF forces that will advance towards them. "We will use tonight and in coming days in weapons and rockets that have not yet been operationally used. The Israelis won't know from where they are being it. Northern Gaza will turn into one large cemetery for the invaders. We also commit to carry on firing rockets on Sderot and Ashkelon during the Israeli operation."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3268821,00.html 

 

 

 

Both sides still ready for the final clash

 

 

Israelis batter Gaza and seize Hamas officials
(IHT/NYT)

 

Peretz: No Hamas member immune

(Ynet)

 

In the early morning: IDF arrested 64 Hamas cabinet ministers,

lawmakers and activists in the West Bank

 

Abducted West Bank Settler Found Dead

(Washington Post)

 

Israel denies tactical role of arrests

(Al Jazeera)

 

Israel rounds up Hamas politicians

(Guardian)

 

Gaza: Air strike targets senior terrorist

(Ynet)

 

 

Palestinian Militants Blow Hole in Wall

(AP)

 

Defense Minister okays next stages of Gaza raids (Haaretz)

 

Defense Minister Amir Peretz authorized the next stages of the Israel Defense Forces' incursion into Gaza, and ordered troops to monitor the humanitarian situation in the Strip.

Peretz told the defense establishment that despite the diplomatic standstill, a breakthrough was still possible in Israel's efforts to to pressure Palestinian militants into releasing the IDF soldier seized in an attack on a military position near the Gaza border...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/732506.html

 

 

 

 

 

IDF delays entry into northern Strip

 

Soldiers stationed in field informed on cancellation of operation planned for Thursday night. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert convenes security consultation; decision to delay entry to northern Strip possibly related to diplomatic efforts

Chance for diplomacy?

Following the entry of the Israel Defense Forces into the southern Gaza Strip, IDF soldiers stationed in the field were informed that the entry into the northern Strip has been postponed. The entry planned for the later hours of Thursday evening has been cancelled for now.

 

The decision was made following a security consultation held by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Tel Aviv and is possibly related to the tendency to give the diplomatic efforts one last chance.

 

However, any security escalation, such as the firing of Qassam rockets, or any other incident in which Israelis are hurt, may lead to a change in plans.

 

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said earlier that "we are now in one of the most significant moments in terms of determining the rules of the game between us and the terror groups in the Palestinian Authority in the near future."...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3269183,00.html

 

 

Israel puts off further Gaza incursion

(Al Jazeera) 

 

 

 

Meanwhile during the afternoon Palestinian Information Center, close to Hamas, reported this:

IOF invasion of Gaza escalates as Qassam Brigades fire back at IOF positions

 

.............................................................................................................................

 

BTW.. around noon Haaretz reported that several Qassam rockets were shot in the direction of Sderoth. Actually without any real result. But the report said also that Al Aqsa Bigades(a part of Fatah, Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas is the boss of Fatah) announced that the group for the first time was using "chemical war heads". "Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades sources claimed Thursday they fired a rocket with a chemical warhead at Israel. The IDF said they did not identify an impact of any such rocket nor was there even evidence of a launch.", according to Haaretz.

 

 

A little earlier Haaretz new ticker quoted S. Erekat, one of the Palestinian top politicians: "We have no government, we have nothing!". Already yesterday morning in a telephone interview with BBC World he was screaming "War crime, crime against humanity.."... and until that time, even not until now, no Palestinian was injured or killed. What he will say when IDF really will commit war crimes(I'm 100 per cent sure, if the invasion will continue the Israeli military will commit war crimes!!!)? Perhaps then he will scream "GENOCIDE"

 

본문

 

A WAR, CALLED "SUMMER RAIN"

 

 

While the main German newspapers this morning(local time/CET) were headlining "HAMAS IS RECOGNIZING ISRAEL", IDF was already crossing the border to Gaza to launch the operation called "Summer Rain".

How not other to expect IDF last night moved into the territory of Gaza. Now, after they bombed last night three bridges(to split Gaza in two parts) and the power plant, about 5,000 Israeli troops, including hundreds of tanks are stying two KM inside the southern part of Gaza and waiting for further orders.

 

 

Palestinian fighters, there are ten thousands in arms, already yesterday were building roadbolcks(but it seems more like sandbox games..) and promised "bloody resistance", but until now no real resistance was happen..

 

Right now, only few minutes ago, CNN reported that IAF was attacking a Hamas training camp.

 

Ok, here the latest news by international and Israeli agencies/newspapers:

 

Israel enters Gaza

Conal Urquhart in Tel Aviv
Wednesday June 28, 2006
The Guardian


A Palestinian boy walks over a bridge destroyed by an Israeli missile in the Gaza Strip.

Photograph: Mohammed Salem/Reuters
 

As tension mounted in Gaza, the Israeli army introduced checkpoints in the West Bank, fearing an 18-year-old man had also been abducted there. The Israeli police said today they still had no proof that Eliyahu Asheri had been kidnapped despite not being seen since Sunday.

A spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees told al-Jazeera satellite TV that the group was holding Mr Asheri, who is from the West Bank settlement of Itamar. The spokesman, known as Abu Abir, said the man would be "butchered in front of TV cameras" if Israel did not stop its raid on the Gaza Strip.

Mr Asheri was last seen at a Jerusalem hitchhiking stop used by settlers heading into the West Bank. News agencies were told of the kidnapping by militants on Monday and his family called police about his disappearance yesterday.

The three bridges destroyed in the air strikes were the main links between north and south Gaza, crossing the Wadi Gaza, a valley filled with untreated sewage.

Israeli jets also broke the sound barrier over Gaza several times, causing sonic booms. An Israeli army spokeswoman said: "During the night, the Israeli airforce hit three bridges in central Gaza and a power station south of Gaza City. Israeli forces entered the south of Gaza near the village of Dahaniya and the airport and they remain there at the moment."

She said the operations were designed to stop the kidnappers moving the soldier. However, security sources told Israeli media that the attacks were also motivated by revenge. "To exact a price for the kidnapping incident and to restore deterrence," one official told the Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Aronoth.

The army was positioned about a mile from Rafah, the southern Gaza town that has witnessed much fighting in recent years. Residents living close to the town's outskirts fled their homes as militants began laying explosive devices and making barriers in anticipation of a full invasion.

Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, said Israel's military action had only just begun. "We won't hesitate to carry out extreme action to bring Gilad back to his family," he said. "We do not intend to reoccupy Gaza. We do not intend to stay there. We have one objective, and that is to bring Gilad home."

Speaking at an awards ceremony at his residence in Jerusalem, Mr Olmert insisted Israel would not negotiate for the soldier's release.

Security officials are debating the next step. Options include kidnapping an important Palestinian leader or assassinating Hamas leaders.

Haim Ramon, the justice minister, said Israel would try to assassinate Khaled Mashaal, a Hamas leader based in Damascus, who Israel believes gave the order for the kidnapping. "He is definitely in our sights ... he is a target," Mr Ramon told Army Radio.

Mr Mashaal has always been an Israeli target. In 1997, Israeli agents injected poison in his ear in Amman but were caught by Jordanian police. Israel was forced to send a doctor with the antidote to Amman and free dozens of Palestinian prisoners including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the Hamas leader later assassinated by Israel.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1807825,00.html

 

 

PHOTOS: Troops Move Into Palestinian Territories

 

 

Israel Launches Military Operation in Gaza Strip

(Washington Post)

 

Israeli troops move into Gaza
(IHT/NYT)

 

Israel launches Gaza offensive

(Al Jazeera)

 

Please check out also the Israeli media, such as

 

Haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/

 

Jerusalem Post

http://www.jpost.com/

 

Yedioth Ahronoth

http://www.ynetnews.com/

 

..for the latest news on the battle field.

 

Meanwhile Arab activists opened a new front-line:

 

Major Israeli websites hacked

More than 750 Israeli websites hacked in recent hours. Among them: Soldier’s Treasury Bank, Rambam Hospital, and Globus Group ticket center. Hackers: You’re killing Palestinians, we’re killing servers 

Unprecedented number of Israeli websites hacked: Hundreds of websites were damaged by hackers in recent hours, following IDF activity in the Gaza Strip. The hackers are members of the Moroccan “Team Evil” group, responsible for most of the website damage in Israel in the past year. This is the largest, most concentrated attack on Israeli websites in recent years.

 

A Ynet investigation revealed that more than 750 Israeli websites, on a number of different domains, were hacked into and damaged in recent days. Prominent among them were the Soldier’s Treasury Bank, Bank Hapoalim (not the main page), Rambam Hospital, the Society for Culture and Housing, BMW Israel, Subaru Israel, Jump Fashion, non-profit organization “Yedid,” Kadima’s youth website, and the Globus Group ticket center. Many of these sites have not yet returned to normal..

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3268449,00.html

 

The IDF, ready to take "extreme actions"(E. Olmert)

 

 

BBC World:

Israel warns of 'extreme' action

 

Hamas official: We'll kidnap more soldiers

If Israelis do not negotiate a prisoner swap, Palestinians militants will conclude that they should capture more IDF soldiers or "kill soldiers even if they have the opportunity to capture them,"...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/732368.html

 

 

IDF: Green light to enter northern Gaza

 

Forces stationed in Strip receive approval to continue operation; entry expected to be slower, more complex, mainly due to terror cells' resistance 

Green light to continue operation: The Israel Defense Forces received a green light to expand Operation Summer Rains in the Gaza Strip.

 

Defense Minister Amir Peretz approved the plans presented to him by the army. The next stage of the operation, which began Tuesday night, will include an entry into the northern Gaza Strip and taking hold of central posts...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3268715,00.html

 

 

IDF operates in Ramallah in search of news on

missing teen

 

The Israel Defense Forces operated in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday in an attempt to obtain information on the fate of abducted Itamar settler Eliyahu Asheri.

 

PRC member presents picture of Eliyahu Asheri's ID card

 

Later in the day the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades militant group declared they were holding an Israeli man. If the declaration were true, this would be the third kidnapping of an Israeli by Palestinians since Sunday.
The group said it was holding a 62-year-old Israeli from the central city of Rishon Lezion.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/731937.html

 

 

The very, nery latest news (pm 8:00 CET):

 

BREAKING NEWS (CNN) 
Israeli warplanes flew over home of Syrian leader Bashar Assad, Israeli officials say..

(btw.. its not really clear, if this is true..)

 

 

Well, just few minutes later Israeli sources confirmed it:

 

IAF: Aerial flight over Assad's palace

While ground forces launch Gaza operation, Air Force conveys harsh message to Syrian president in aerial flight over his palace; Israel points finger at Syria as sponsor of Hamas leaders, headed by Khaled Mashaal, who Israel views as directly responsible for Kerem Shalom operation 

Message to Assad: While ground forces launched an operation in Gaza early Wednesday, four Israel Air Force F-16 aircrafts carried out an aerial flight over Syrian President Bashar Assad's palace, near the city of Latakia...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3268747,00.html

 

 

Finally, I think, the time of "funny games" is over.. definitely!!

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PS: The German newpaper Tageszeitung(a little similar with Hankyoreh) wrote in its today's edition "despite the threat of a invasion by the IDF a clear majority(of the Palestinians in Gaza) is in solidarity with the kidnappers of the Israeli soldier"..

http://www.taz.de/pt/2006/06/28/a0170.1/text

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be updated as soon as there are more news available..