Israel, the mid-east, and Russia

[Shammu]

Abbas visits Jordan following attempt to fire Qassams from West Bank

A senior Palestinian source told Ynet that Jordan was very concerned over the possibility of a serious Palestinian rocket infrastructure in the northern West Bank.

 
According to the source, "the surprise visit by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Amman is related to the reports on the armed organizations' attempts to launch rockets from the West Bank to Israel, and especially to the report on the launching attempt of a rocket from Tulkarem on Saturday."

Abbas visits Jordan following attempt to fire Qassams from West Bank

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 IDF Drops Warning Notices on Gaza
08:21 Jul 12, '06 / 16 Tammuz 5766

(IsraelNN.com) The Israel Defense Forces Tuesday night scattered thousands of notices throughout the Gaza region, warning residents to stay away from areas where Israeli is trying to destroy the Arab terrorist infrastructure.

The notices warned, "For your own sake and because our wish to prevent injuries to citizens who are not connected with attacks against our forces, stay away from places where the IDF is acting."

IDF Drops Warning Notices on Gaza

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Abbas Threatens to Quit
07:50 Jul 12, '06 / 16 Tammuz 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas recently told American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that he might quit, according to the London-based Arab daily A-Shrak.

Secretary Rice told Abbas in a phone conversation that he should exercise his authority, and he replied, "What authority are you talking about? I have no more authority and no money. Maybe the simplest thing would be for me to quit and Israel would return to control Gaza," the newspaper reported.

Abbas Threatens to Quit

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Northern border: 4 Israelis injured

Several explosions heard along northern border, western Galilee residents enter reinforced rooms. One person moderately injured. Northern Command fears Hizbullah will attempt to divert attention from Gaza to Lebanon; Jerusalem conveys harsh messages to Beirut
Hagai Einav

While all eyes were turned toward the Gaza Strip Wednesday morning following the IDF strike which killed six Palestinians and injured top Hamas leader Muhammad Deif, it appeared that Hizbullah was once again attempting to divert the attention to the northern border.

Western Galilee residents woke up to loud sounds of exchanges of fire on both sides of the border. Explosions were heard on the central and eastern zones. Four people were injured on the western area of the border, one of them sustaining moderate wounds. They were evacuated to the Nahariya hospital.

In the villages of Natua and Zar'it, which are close to the fence, residents reported hearing sounds of light and heavy weapons. At least two Katyusha rockets or mortar shells landed in the area. The alert level was raised in Israel Defense Forces posts.

"We received instruction that all residents should enter reinforced rooms and shelters," said Gabi Neeman, head of the Shlomi Regional Council. "Our first concern is of course for the children in kindergartens and summer camps.

Avi Karampa, head of the Maale Yosef Regional Council, heard from the residents about "clouds of smoke near Hizbulllah posts on the Lebanese side of the border."

The situation on the northern border escalated about a month and a half ago following massive fire of Katyusha rockets aimed at Israel. Northern residents were forced to enter shelters once again, and in response the IDF blasted Hizbullah posts along the border.

Recently, according to reports, Israel conveyed a harsh message to the Lebanese government through the Americans and other elements, following warnings on plans to "inflame" the northern border while Gaza is on fire.

Northern border: 4 Israelis injured

[Shammu]

Israelis shaken as Hizbollah raid adds to fears
(Reuters)
12 July 2006

JERUSALEM - Shaken Israelis voiced anger and frustration at growing violence on Wednesday after Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas seized two soldiers and killed up to seven.

The attack has opened a second battle front for the Jewish state as it wages an offensive in the Gaza Strip to try to recover a captured soldier, plunging the region into the worst bloodshed since the height of a Palestinian uprising.

“The situation is tense and we are shaken. It is as if we are in mourning,” said Yehuda On, 52, who owns a food stand at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem.

“The army needs to react strongly,” he said.

The violence has knocked the hopes of many Israelis that it might one day be possible to break from conflict with various foes through a mixture of withdrawing from some occupied land and protecting boundaries with overwhelming force.

Israel quit Gaza last year after 38 years of occupation and southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year stay. Forces returned to Gaza after the capture of Corporal Gilad Shalit by Palestinian militants on June 25.

A big push back into Lebanon is now expected.

“Israel’s nerves are already on edge. This is going to convince a great deal of people that something drastic needs to be done to re-establish some kind of credibility,” said Israeli analyst Mark Heller.

The capture of military hostages is a particular nightmare for Israel with its conscript army. Saying he does not want to encourage kidnapping, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has refused to discuss a prisoner swap with Palestinian militants.

Olmert under scrutiny

While questions have been raised over Olmert’s handling of the crisis, they are mostly from Israelis who believe he has not been harsh enough -- despite the fact that 74 Palestinians have been killed so far in the Gaza offensive.

“Olmert isn’t doing anything,” said Haim Lazau, a 21-year-old student of a religious school. “He talks, but he doesn’t act.”

The crises have eclipsed Olmert’s centrepiece plan for reshaping Israel’s presence in the West Bank by giving up isolated Jewish settlements to strengthen the bigger blocks.

The aim was to set a permanent border with the Palestinians whether peace talks took place or not, but the latest violence has raised doubts in the minds of many Israelis as to whether it would bring any greater security.

The big fear now is of open-ended entanglements in both the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon that would bring a steady rise in casualties.

“First the kidnapping of Gilad, and now this. It makes me think twice about the army,” said 18-year-old Yael Ilan, expecting her draft into the army with a year.

Israelis shaken as Hizbollah raid adds to fears

This Arabaic news source definitely has a bit of an anti-Israeli twist.

[Shammu]

Reserve IDF division called up in wake of attack; Nasrallah: Prisoner swap only way to free soldiers
8 soldiers killed, 2 snatched in Hezbollah border attacks
By Amos Harel, Avi Issacharoff, Jack Khoury and Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondents, and Agencies

Eight Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed and two others were abducted Wednesday in attacks by guerillas from the militant Hezbollah organization.

Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday evening that a prisoner exchange was the only way to secure the release of the soldiers, who he said were being held in a "secure and remote" location.

"No military operation will return them," Nasrallah told a news conference in Beirut. "The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade."

The militants attacked two IDF armored Hummer jeeps patrolling along the border with gunfire and explosives, in the midst of massive shelling attacks on Israel's north. Three soldiers were killed in the attack and two were taken hostage.

Later in the day, four IDF soldiers were apparently killed when their tank hit a mine some 6 kilometers inside Lebanese territory.

One of the soldiers, Sargeant Nimrod Cohen, was seriously wounded during the attempted rescue of his comrades trapped in the tank. Cohen later died of his wounds, Israel Radio reported.

Earlier, the army released the names of two of the soldiers killed: Shani Turgeman, 24, of Beit Shean and Eyal Benin, 22, from Be'er Sheva.

The army withheld news of the deaths for several hours while the soldiers' families were notified.

Hezbollah said its guerrillas destroyed two Israeli tanks that attempted to cross the border into Lebanon on two different occasions Wednesday.

The IDF had Wednesday afternoon sent troops across the border to search for the missing soldiers, marking the first incursion into Lebanon since the withdrawal in May 2000.

Army Radio reported large numbers of troops, as well as aircraft, were taking part in searches on the Lebanese side of the border.

According to Channel 10 television, the IDF later said that it had lost all hope of retrieving the abducted soldiers with ground forces.

The IDF also ordered troops deployed on the Lebanon and Gaza borders on high alert in the event that armed groups may attempt to fire Katyusha and Qassam rockets into Israel.

GOC Northern Command Udi Adam told reporters that Israel plans to "push back" Hezbollah guerrillas controlling southern Lebanon, adding that the IDF has "no intention at the moment of involving Syria," which has great influence over Hezbollah.

"We think at the moment the debate is beween us and the government of Lebanon," he said.

Immediately after the Hezbollah attack, the organization's Al-Manar television station began broadcasting clips calling on Israel to release Lebanese prisoners held in Israel in return for the soldiers.

The group in particular emphasized the release of Lebanese militant Samir Kuntar, jailed in Israel since a 1979 attack in the northern town of Nahariyah, in which he entered an apartment and murdered three family members and an Israeli police officer.

Al-Manar also broadcast video clips of previous Palestinian and Lebanese attacks on IDF troops.

"Fulfilling its pledge to liberate the [Arab] prisoners and detainees, the Islamic Resistance... captured two Israeli soldiers at the border with occupied Palestine," the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah said in a statement.

"The two captives were transferred to a safe place," it said, without stating what condition the soldiers were in.

Reserve troops called up
In the wake of the attack, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz headed into the military's war room at the Defense Ministry complex in Tel Aviv, Channel 10 television reported.

During consultations, senior IDF officers called for an end to the restraint against Hezbollah and said Lebanon should be made to pay a heavy price.

Halutz ordered the IDF to mobilize a reserve infantry division that was expected to be sent to the northern border. General Staff exercises held over the past several years tested a number of possible responses to kidnapping scenarios.

One of these responses involves the massive incursion of IDF ground forces into Lebanese territory. Military sources told Haaretz that Israel is liable to act with the aim of "altering the rules of the game on the northern front."

Two Israelis were wounded when gunmen in Lebanon began pounding the IDF's Zarit position and other posts along the border before 9 A.M. According to Al-Manar, Hezbollah kidnapped the two IDF soldiers at 9:05 A.M. and transferred them to a safe location.

The two were wounded either by mortar shells or rockets that slammed into Moshav Zarit. One was lightly to moderately wounded and the second was lightly hurt. Two other people suffered from shock. All four were evacuated to a hospital in Nahariya.

IDF responded to the attacks from Lebanon with heavy artillery and tank fire. Al-Manar television reported that IDF artillery was pounding the fringes of the villages of Aita el-Shaab, Ramieh and Yaroun in the hills east of the coastal border port of Naqoura.

Israel Air Force jets struck roads, bridges and Hezbollah guerrilla positions in southern Lebanon, Lebanese security officials said. The air raids were apparently intended to block any escape route for the guerrillas who may be taking the captured IDF soldiers to areas further removed from the border in order to prevent an Israeli rescue mission.

Lebanese security sources said two Lebanese civilians were killed and a Lebanese soldier was wounded in the IAF air strike on the coastal Qasmiyeh bridge in the south of the country.

The fighting apparently began when at least two rockets fired from south Lebanon exploded near Shlomi, located about 15 kilometers east of the Mediterranean coast, Reuters reported. Hezbollah guerrillas also attacked IDF positions in the Shaba Farms area to the east, Lebanese security sources said. Channel 10 said that the Hezbollah attack and kidnapping took place the same day that IDF units were switched in the border area.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in response to the violence in the north that enemies are putting Israel to a test. He said they would fail in their efforts and would pay a "heavy price" for their actions.

Olmert called a special cabinet session on Wednesday in the wake of the incident. Olmert's office said the cabinet would convene at 7 P.M. An official said the ministers would discuss "today's events."

"These are difficult days for Israel and its citizens," Olmert told reporters. "There are elements, to the north and the south, that are threatening our stability and trying to test our determination," he said. "They will fail and pay a heavy price for their actions."

Media reports said that before the cabinet meeting, Olmert would consult with IDF and defense officials on a military response to the events on the border.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese government-affiliated press said Israel Navy warships had entered Lebanese territorial waters and IDF forces were massing in the border area.

The possibility of border clashes in the north was raised during security situation meetings over the past two weeks since the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit next to the Gaza Strip.

Reserve IDF division called up in wake of attack

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Mubarak: Foreign elements thwarted likely prisoner swap deal
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that Egyptian mediations aimed at securing the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces Corporal Gilad Shalit, who has been held by militants linked to Hamas in the Gaza Strip since June 25, were foiled by foreign elements pressuring Hamas.

"I had reached a solution for the crisis of the Israeli soldier who is kept in captivity and I had received a commitment by Israel to release a big number of Palestinian detainees," Mubarak was quoted as saying in Wednesday's edition of the government daily newspaper al-Ahram al-Massai.

He said that both Khaled Meshal, Hamas' Damascus-based exiled political leader, and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas had been notified of Israel's commitment to release Palestinian prisoners, and that Hamas officials had initially accepted the deal.

There were "other parties," President Mubarak said, that had led to the failure of Egyptian mediations to resolve the tension in Gaza. He did not specify who these parties were, but his comments were apparently referring to Syria, which is host to the top leadership of the Hamas militant group.

"(Hamas) was being pressured by opposing elements, and other elements that I don't want to name interfered in the negotiations. This led to the abortion of an agreement which was close to being finalized," Said Mubarak, and added that "It is no secret that I had worked to bring the crisis to an honorable solution."

Meshal denied in a Monday press conference that foreign elements, such as Syria or Iran, are making decisions for the Hamas. He added that Shalit must be released as part of a prisoner swap, and thanked the Egyptians for their mediation attempts.

Mubarak: Foreign elements thwarted likely prisoner swap deal

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Moscow to try to stop escalation of tensions on Israeli-Lebanese border

MOSCOW. July 12 (Interfax) - Moscow is seriously concerned over the recent escalation of tensions and military clashes on the Israeli- Lebanese border, a statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry and published on Wednesday reads.

"This threatens to undermine the fragile stability in Lebanon, to add more tension in the region in general, where the fire of Palestine- Israel confrontation is raging," the ministry said.

"Russia in the current complicated conditions will make active efforts through bilateral and multilateral channels to prevent the escalation and to contribute to moving the situation toward a search for political solutions," the statement reads.

"The priority is to cut short the new escalation of tensions in order to prevent the conflict from growing into a full-blown confrontation. One needs to achieve the swiftest possible release of Israeli soldiers and an end to the firing on Israeli territory," the ministry said in the statement.

Moscow to try to stop escalation of tensions on Israeli-Lebanese border

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Israel approves wave of Lebanon air strikes - TV
12 Jul 2006 14:46:08 GMT
Source: Reuters

JERUSALEM, July 12 (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz on Wednesday authorised a campaign of air strikes in Lebanon that would target both Hizbollah guerrilla installations and Lebanese civilian infrastructure, Israel's Channel 10 said.

The television station described the planned blitz as part of Israel's response to the capture of two of its soldiers and killing of several others in a Hizbollah border raid earlier in the day. Israel's military had no immediate comment. Channel 10 said Peretz also ordered Israel's homefront command to prepare northern communities, including the port city of Haifa, for possible Hizbollah rocket strikes. Residents of Israeli border towns had already received orders to take shelter.

Israel approves wave of Lebanon air strikes - TV

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U.S. Blames Syria, Iran for Kidnappings

By TERENCE HUNT
AP White House Correspondent

The United States blamed Syria and Iran on Wednesday for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants and an eruption of violence along the southern border of Lebanon.

The White House called for the immediate and unconditional release of the two soldiers.

"We condemn in the strongest terms Hezbollah's unprovoked attack on Israel and the kidnapping of the two Israeli soldiers," National Security Council spokesman Frederick Jones said as President Bush flew here for a visit. He said Hezbollah had also launched unprovoked rocket attacks on civilian targets in Israel as part of its offensive.

Israel sent troops, warplanes, tanks and gunboats in a military offensive into southern Lebanon after Hezbollah militants crossed into Israel and captured two Israeli soldiers. Israel said seven of its soldiers had been killed in the violence.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed determination to achieve the release of the kidnapped soldiers and urged all sides to "act with restraint to resolve this incident peacefully."

"Syria has a special responsibility to use its influence to support a positive outcome," she said in a statement.

Southern Lebanon became the second front in the fight against Islamic militants by Israel, which already is waging an operation to free a soldier captured by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"This is a terrorist attack and it is clearly timed to exacerbate already high tensions in the region and sow further violence," Jones said.

He said Rice, on a diplomatic trip to Paris, had been in direct contact with the parties in the region "with the purpose of holding Hezbollah accountable for its action."

"We also hold Syria and Iran - which directly support Hezbollah - responsible for this attack and for the ensuing violence," Jones said. "Hezbollah's terrorism is not in Lebanon's interest.

"This attack demonstrates that Hezbollah's continued impunity to arm itself and carry out operations from Lebanese territory is a direct threat to the security of the Lebanese people and the sovereignty of the Lebanese government," Jones said.

Syria's vice president, Farouk al-Sharaa, blamed Israel for the violence both in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories and denied that his country had a role in the abductions of the soldiers.

"For sure, the occupation (of the Palestinian territories) is the cause provoking both Lebanese and Palestinian people, and that's why there is Lebanese and Palestinian resistance," he said.

Some of Hamas' top leaders live in Syria, putting Damascus at the center of blame by Israel and the United States.

U.S. Blames Syria, Iran for Kidnappings

[Shammu]

And from Irans news service.

 Tyranny on verge of collapse: President
Jolfa, East Azarbaijan Prov, July 12, IRNA

Iran-Ahmadinejad-Hadishahr
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said here Wednesday that peoples of the world have awakened and tyrannical governments are now on the verge of collapse, thanks to the example of resistance set by the Iranian youth and with the grace of God.


Ahmadinejad, who arrived in the city of Hadishahr in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan Wednesday morning, made the remarks while addressing a huge crowd of local residents of Jolfa and Hadishahr cities.

"Bullying powers, including the Zionist regime, are bound to collapse in in the near future," he said.

The Zionist regime is a clear example of governments that hardly believe in God as shown in the regime's indiscriminate shooting of people and capturing of women and children.

He said certain powers commit the most heinous of crimes because they have distanced lost their values.

"But those who believe in God respect the rights of others and will do no harm to anybody."
Pointing to the resistance showed by the Iranian nation during the eight years of Iraqi-imposed war soon after the victory of the Islamic Revolution (in 1979), the president said the nation tasted victory and success thanks to its right moves.

Elsewhere in his remark, Ahmadinejad said it was the government's responsibility to develop Iran by using the country's rich resources.

He said progress and development were well in sight with the "people's unity, faith and efforts."
He cited justice as a main element of development, and stressed that development and progress should be enjoyed by the entire country.

The president, who arrived in East Azarbaijan on Tuesday, has already visited the cities of Tabriz, Malekan, Bonab, Maragheh, Ajabshir and Azarshahr and addressed residents of these cities.

Hadishahr has a population of 20,000 and is located 115 kilometers northwest of East Azarbaijan's capital, Tabriz.

President Ahmadinejad's current provincial visit is his 16th to various provinces of the country since the start of his initiative of bringing the government closer to the people.

He and his cabinet have already visited the provinces of South Khorasan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Ilam, Qom, Hormuzgan, Bushehr, Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari, Lorestan, Golestan, Kohgilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad and Khorassan Razavi, Zanjan, Markazi, Qazvin and Hamedan.

Tyranny on verge of collapse: President

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More from Iran.............

 A quick response from Iran would be destructive: official
Beijing, July 12, IRNA

Iran-Response-Nuclear
A quick response from Iran to a package of incentives offered by the world's six powers (Group 5+1) before ambiguities therein are removed will bring destructive results, an Iranian official has said.


Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mohammadi, who is currently in Beijing on an official visit, made the remarks while speaking to IRNA and a Hong Kong reporter.

On June 6, Iran was offered a package of incentives by the UN Security Council's five permanent members -- Russia China, US, UK and France -- plus Germany (5+1 Group) through EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in exchange for suspension of uranium enrichment and resumption of talks to settle the dispute over its nuclear program.

"The atmosphere in which the Group 5+1 works is one of patience.

Negotiations are underway to settle Iran's nuclear case.

"For as long as ambiguities in the package are not removed, any response by Iran will be immediate and could bring destructive results," he said.

He denied Iran was being pressured by the negotiating states, saying they cannot pressure Iran as they know it will have no impact on efforts to resolve the nuclear case.

"The West and Russia and China have reached the conclusion that threats will have no desirable impact in resolving the nuclear issue," Mohammadi said.

"Iran's nuclear issue should be settled through diplomacy, without pressure and taking into consideration Iran's inalienable rights," he added.

Mohammadi expressed the hope ambiguities and contradictions pointed out by the Iranian side in the package of incentives would be removed through negotiations and in cooperation with China and Russia before Iran submits its reply, and talks would continue to materialize them.

He added that since the contents of the package have not been disclosed to the world there would be room to amend certain objectionable parts.

The official reminded that as far as Iran was concerned, enforcement of its legal rights in the nuclear field was of crucial importance.

"Tehran will accept the package if it upholds the country's nuclear rights," he said.

He rejected Western accusations and negative propaganda that Iran was out to build a nuclear bomb.

"Iran believes nuclear bombs are no longer effective in securing political power. Access to such bombs will not strengthen a country."

A quick response from Iran would be destructive: official

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 Mottaki, Libyan envoy confer
Tehran, July 12, IRNA

Iran-Libya-Ties
Libyan Ambassador to Tehran Ali Mahmoud Mariah met on Tuesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki and discussed avenues for increasing bilateral ties.


Referring to the age-old friendship between the two countries, Mottaki said mutual efforts have opened a new chapter in bilateral ties.

He said holding joint commission meetings in Tehran can help boost the current level of ties.

He described bilateral cooperation in oil exploration and its various industries as the "common working ground" for fruitful cooperation at the international level.

Mottaki also voiced concerns of the Iranian and Lebenese nations over the fate of Imam Musa Sadr.

"Iran does not need nuclear weapons. We have maintained the Islamic Revolution without nuclear weapons for 27 years," he said, and added that Iranian officials are currently examining the package of incentives offered by the West to remove international concerns over its nuclear activities as well as ways to strengthen the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The Libyan ambassador, who is on the last day of his mission in Tehran, hailed the cooperation extended to him by Iranian officials during his tenure and called for further expansion of mutual cooperation.

"Iran is my second homeland," he said with nostalgia, and added that Libya backs Iran's right to access nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

He lauded the resistance of Iran against foreign pressure and hailed Iranian officials for their unwavering support for the oppressed Palestinian people.

Mottaki, Libyan envoy confer

[Shammu]

Syrian VP blames Israel for escalation amid worry over Israeli retaliation
By Associated Press  July 12, 2006
 
Syria's vice president blamed Israel for the escalating violence in Lebanon and Palestinian territories Wednesday, and Arab countries worried over possible Israeli retaliation against Syria after the capture of two Israeli soldiers by its ally, Hezbollah.

Syria also is host to the top leadership of the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, whose fighters seized an Israeli soldier two weeks ago -- putting Damascus at the center of blame by Israel and the United States in the crisis.

Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa denied his country had a role in either abduction.

"It's up to the resistance -- both the Lebanese and the Palestinian -- to decide what they are doing and why are they fighting," he told reporters in Damascus.

But he put ultimate blame on Israel for the seizures of the soldiers, saying, "For sure, the occupation (of the Palestinian territories) is the cause provoking both Lebanese and Palestinian people, and that's why there is Lebanese and Palestinian resistance."

Al-Sharaa made the comments at a press conference with Ali Larijani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, whose country is also a top backer of Hamas and Hezbollah.

"When the Zionist entity attacks and slaughters the Palestinian people ... resistance is necessary," Larijani said.

Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid Wednesday, triggering an Israeli assault with warplanes, tanks and gunboats against southern Lebanon as Israeli troops crossed the frontier to hunt for the captives.

Israel has already been waging an offensive in the Gaza Strip aimed at winning the freedom of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, seized by Hamas-linked fighters in a cross-border raid on June 25.

Soon after Shalit's abduction, Israeli warplanes buzzed low over a summer home of Syrian President Bashar Assad in an attempt to pressure Damascus to secure his release.

The Arab League planned an urgent meeting on the crisis Thursday amid "fears of widening of tension and possible Israeli strike against Syria," a senior league official in Cairo said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

In Cairo, a top U.S. diplomat accused Syria of interfering to prevent a solution to Shalit's abduction.

"We are dismayed that so far there are some who are intending to interfere, to prevent a solution," David C. Welch, the U.S. assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, said.

He called the Hezbollah capture of the two Israeli soldiers a "very dangerous escalation" that complicated efforts for Shalit's release.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak also indirectly criticized Syria, suggesting it disrupted his country's attempts to mediate a deal for Shalit's release.

Hamas was subjected to "counter-pressures by other parties, which I don't want to name but which cut the road in front of the Egyptian mediation and led to the failure of the deal after it was about to be concluded," Mubarak said in an interview with Egypt's Al-Massai newspaper published Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Mubarak called Jordanian King Abdullah II to discuss latest developments on Israel's border with Lebanon and in Gaza, Egypt's official news agency reported Wednesday.

Hani Khallaf, Egypt's representative at Arab League, said "the developments at the Lebanese border is a serious and important development that has to be urgently studied and closely followed at the Arab level." He said Arab foreign ministers could meet in the coming days after the league session.

Syrian VP blames Israel for escalation amid worry over Israeli retaliation

[Shammu]

Israel is Tested Again

By Clifford D. May - Scripps Howard News Service

What must Hamas leaders have been thinking? Last month they sent guerrillas through a secret tunnel from Gaza into Israel where they launched an attack, killing two Israeli soldiers and kidnapping a third, 19-year-old Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Since no civilians were targeted, this was not an act of terrorism. It was an act of war.

Perhaps they had come to believe their own spin; their boast that it was "armed resistance" that had caused then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to withdraw Israeli soldiers and settlers from Gaza. Maybe they believed that more violence would lead to more Israeli concessions - especially now that Israel is led by a center-left coalition, the hard-line Likud Party having split and then collapsed over the wisdom of the Gaza withdrawal.

So far, at least, Israel's new prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has proven Hamas wrong. He has responded to Hamas' military attack with a military counterattack. He returned Israeli forces to Gaza, ordering them to search for Shalit, and also to stop the missiles - hundreds of them - that have rained down on Israeli cities and towns virtually every day since the Israelis left Gaza.

Hamas has suggested that it might let Shalit go if Israel were to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange. No doubt, Olmert is tempted. But those prisoners are convicted terrorists. Were he to release even a few as part of such a deal, he would be inviting further incursions and kidnappings in the months and years ahead.

Olmert has been trying to inflict pain on Hamas (while providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians), promising that if Shalit is released and missile attacks cease, Israeli troops will walk away. Were Hamas to comply, a new peace process could begin.

But that is the last thing Hamas wants. Its leaders have stated their goal candidly and repeatedly: They mean to wipe Israel off the map. Living peacefully next door to a Jewish neighbor is not on their agenda.

For some reason, however, many Europeans and Americans can't bring themselves to accept that Hamas is articulating not a negotiating posture but a religious conviction. By now, most people understand that Islamists consider it impermissible for a Muslim ever to convert to another religion - conversion brings a death sentence in Saudi Arabia and other countries where extreme variants of Islam hold sway.

What most people may not realize is that Islamists also believe it is impermissible for land to convert: Territory once conquered by Muslims, they insist, must never revert to the rule of infidels. That includes not just Israel, but large parts of Europe. Also Kashmir, they demand, must be Muslim-ruled; that almost certainly was the motive behind this week's railway bombings in India.

No one is likely to change Hamas' dogma. The most Israelis can do is demonstrate that Hamas' goal is not achievable at present, that the price of sending guerrillas and rockets into Israel is too high.

Such an understanding was long the basis for a tense standoff with Hezbollah, the terrorist group that controls large areas of Lebanon along Israel's northern border, territories Israel once occupied - but from which Israel withdrew taking what was called "a risk for peace."

On Wednesday, Hezbollah, too, committed an act of war against Israel, firing a barrage of Katyusha rockets and mortar shells, attacking Israeli border posts and kidnapping two Israeli soldiers.

What is Hezbollah thinking? Almost certainly, that it is coming to the aid of Hamas and doing the bidding of its Iranian and Syrian masters who apparently believe Israel is not prepared to fight on two fronts simultaneously.

Are they correct? Israelis - in particular the new prime minister - are being tested. To prevail will not be easy, just as it was not easy for Israelis to defend themselves in 1948 when they were was attacked by all their Arab neighbors, and in 1967 when a second coordinated military effort to push Israelis into the sea was attempted. Both wars ended with Israel stronger - and in possession of more territory - than when the wars began.

Youseff Ibrahim, the Egyptian-born veteran American journalist, recently wrote an open letter to Palestinians. It said in part: "The truth is the Palestine you could have had in 1948 is much bigger than the one you could have had in 1967, which in turn is much bigger than what you may have to settle for now or in another 10 years. Struggle means less land and more misery and utter loneliness."

But this is not what Hamas and Hezbollah are thinking.