Israel, the mid-east, and Russia

[Shammu]

Alert level raised to second highest
Rebecca Anna Stoil and JPost staff, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jul. 12, 2006

Following the Wednesday morning attack on an IDF patrol and ensuing firefights that left eight soldiers dead and two captured, the Police and the Prisons Service raised the alert level to the second highest, scrambling to prevent a third front from being opened - by Palestinian terrorists within Israel's cities.

In light of the security situation, Israel Police Insp.-Gen Moshe Karadi instructed all of the districts, as well as the Border Police and the Traffic Division, to increase security operations throughout seam line areas as well as the cities. The increased operations include rolling and stationary checkpoints, patrols and security checks, with an emphasis on a high-visibility police presence at public transportation sites as well as crowded areas.

In the hours after the attacks, which occurred near the Western Galilee moshav of Zar'it, Palestinian prisoners in the Damon and Shikma Prisons expressed happiness, and wardens heard cries of joy after the prisoners found out that the soldiers had been captured and taken to Lebanon. The Prisons Service said that wardens responded swiftly and firmly, immediately punishing the prisoners. Prisons Service spokeswoman Orit Stetzler said that the IPS hoped that swift, decisive reactions would reduce such occurrences in the future, and described the incident as "exceptional" and a "disturbance of prison discipline."

Like other security forces, the IPS also increased the alert level within the prisons. Wardens received briefings about Wednesday's incidents and were given special instructions to exercise operational alertness. One of the main goals of the IPS planning, said Stetzler, was to prevent the day's events from spilling over into the jails. The IPS held a second situation assessment later Wednesday evening.

Alert level raised to second highest

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Just on FOX. Spoken by Ollie North. The situation is a powder keg. He was asked what do you say to Damascus. Ollie said, "Be afraid.. Very afraid."

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Lebanon's Ambassador to US called back to Beirut
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jul. 13, 2006

Lebanon's Ambassador to the US Farid Abboud was summoned back to Beirut on Wednesday night after expressing his support for Hizbullah in the US media.

Abboud was reported as saying that Israel was the only one who could bring about the release of the kidnapped IDF soldiers by agreeing to negotiate with the movement via mediators.

Officials in Beirut stressed that Abboud's view did not represent that of Lebanon, which is vehemently opposed to Hizbullah's actions on Israel's northern border.

Lebanon's Ambassador to US called back to Beirut

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Israel authorizes 'severe' response to abductions

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- The Israeli Cabinet authorized "severe and harsh" retaliation on Lebanon after Hezbollah guerillas kidnapped two soldiers and killed three others in a cross-border raid Wednesday.

Israel quickly blamed the Lebanese government for the raid -- and charged it with the soldiers' safe release -- and the Israel Defense Forces began hammering Lebanon with artillery and airstrikes hours before the Cabinet met to discuss a response.

It is the second time in three weeks that an Israeli soldier has been abducted. Concerns abound that the situation on Israel's northern border will escalate to the level it has reached in Gaza, where the IDF launched an ongoing offensive June 28 after the abduction of Army Cpl. Gilad Shalit three days prior. (Watch as people in Lebanon flee the violence -- 2:42)

At least 19 Palestinians were reported dead in Gaza in Wednesday's fighting, according to Palestinian sources. (Full story)
'Act of war'

Israel called Wednesday's abductions an act of war, and Maj. Gen. Udi Adam, head of Israel's Northern Command, said he has "comprehensive plans" to battle Hezbollah throughout Lebanon, not just in its southern stronghold.

"This affair is between Israel and the state of Lebanon," Adam said. "Where to attack? Once it is inside Lebanon, everything is legitimate -- not just southern Lebanon, not just the line of Hezbollah posts." (Watch as Israeli forces enter Lebanon -- 2:29)

Earlier, Israel's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, told Israel's Channel 10, "If the soldiers are not returned, we will turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years."

Five more Israeli soldiers died in fighting following the raid. Four died in an attack on their tank, and another died as soldiers tried to help them, the IDF reported.

Four Israel civilians and six soldiers have been wounded so far in the fighting, which has included attacks on eight Hezbollah bases and five bridges in southern Lebanon, the IDF said.
Talks or bust

Shortly after Hezbollah fighters attacked an IDF military vehicle between Zar'it and Shtula and kidnapped the soldiers, the Islamic militia's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, called the abductions as "our natural, only and logical right."

He further said that the soldiers had been taken "far, far away" and that no Israeli military campaign would secure their release. Hezbollah has demanded "direct negotiations" regarding a prisoner exchange with Israel.

"We want our prisoners released," Nasrallah said.

But Israel has rebuffed that demand, saying -- as it has to the Palestinians -- that a prisoner exchange would encourage more kidnappings. Government spokesman Gideon Meir said Israel wanted the soldiers returned "immediately without any precondition -- no negotiation."

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, like his general, pointed the finger at Lebanon, not just Hezbollah.

The raid was "not a terror attack, but an operation of a sovereign state without any reason or provocation," he said. "The Lebanese government, which Hezbollah is part of, is trying to undermine the stability of the region, and the Lebanese government will be responsible for the consequences."

Hezbollah, which enjoys substantial backing from Syria and Iran, is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and Israel. The group holds posts in Lebanon's government.
Ambassador pulled

Lebanon has tried to distance itself from the raid that sparked the most recent hostilities, recalling its ambassador to the United States, Farid Abboud, for making "irresponsible" public comments, said Lebanese Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh.

Hamadeh would not divulge the comments. But Abboud appeared to endorse Hezbollah's call for a prisoner swap during an interview Wednesday with CNN International.

"We have our prisoners. They have prisoners. An exchange would be appropriate, and I think it will resolve the problem," Abboud said.

Israel, which pulled its troops out of southern Lebanon in 2000 after 22 years of occupation, has exchanged prisoners with Hezbollah before, most recently in 2004 when Israel exchanged more than 400 Palestinian, Lebanese and Arab prisoners for an Israeli businessman and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers.
An international plea

The United States and the United Nations urged Hezbollah to release the soldiers, and the White House called the raid "an affront to the sovereignty of the Lebanese government." Washington also called on Syria and Iran to cut off their support to the group.

"Hezbollah's actions are not in the interest of the Lebanese people, whose welfare should not be held hostage to the interests of the Syrian and Iranian regimes," the White House said in a statement.

Syria and Iran are the scapegoats because of their support for Hezbollah and because the Lebanese government does not have the capacity to expand its authority into the south, where Hezbollah maintains control, U.S. State Department officials said.

As U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on regional leaders to exercise restraint to prevent the conflict from spreading, a former U.S. ambassador warned that the fighting "could easily widen further."

"We may see reoccupation of southern Lebanon, which would be unfortunate," said Edward Walker, who oversaw U.S. missions in Israel, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke three times Wednesday with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Sinora, who came to power in the 2005 Cedar Revolution that ousted a pro-Syrian government.

Sinora is seen as friendly to the United States. The Bush administration has urged him to disarm Hezbollah through a process of national reconciliation.

Rice asked Sinora to exercise what influence his government has to secure the freedom of the soldiers captured on Wednesday. She also spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni twice, and with Olmert and Annan.

Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit was in the Syrian capital, where he was urging Damascus to exercise its influence over Hezbollah.

Israel authorizes 'severe' response to abductions

[Shammu]

Ambush in the Upper Galilee
How Hizballah turned the Israel-Lebanon border area into a new warzone
By CHRISTOPHER ALLBRITTON/NORTHERN ISRAEL

Posted Wednesday, Jul. 12, 2006
The forest-covered mountains of northern Galilee were burning today, after missile strikes from Hizballah hit several villages and kibbutzim along the border in what Israeli Northern Command officers said was a well-coordinated attack. Multiple Katyusha rocket attacks, as well as several cross-border incursions by Hizballah fighters, left at least seven Israeli soldiers killed, a tank destroyed, two soldiers injured and two infantrymen held captive by Hizballah.

Israel responded with the largest ground invasion into south Lebanon since its 2000 pullout. Dozens of targets in south Lebanon were hit, according to Col. Boaz Cohen, chief of operations for Israel's Northern Command. Targets included Hizballah positions, three to five bridges, "and more." Cohen declined to say what was included in the latter category.

The ambush in Israel occurred shortly after 8 a.m. this morning, said the colonel, who described the events of the attack. Near the northern town of Zar'it, about two miles from the border, two Israeli humvees were on patrol when Hizballah fighters attacked with either rocket-propelled grenades or anti-tank weapons—possibly a roadside bomb—and set the vehicles on fire. Three soldiers were killed, two were injured and the remaining two soldiers were captured.

"[Hizballah] has been planning this a long time," Cohen said. In addition to the attack near Zar'it, there were several other attacks, but Cohen declined to say where.

Cohen said the Lebanese government has asked for a cease-fire through UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force stationed in southern Lebanon since the first Israeli withdrawal in 1978. "There will be none until we see our soldiers," Cohen said. He added that Beirut was included in the possible targets in addition to others around Lebanon, but declined to say whether the capital would be attacked. "You'll find out in a few days."

A few miles away, in the escarpment village of Shomela, Gabriel Peretz, the owner—with his wife, Ada—of a bed and breakfast bemoaned the latest violence. "The situation is very bad," he said from his garden. Israeli artillery fire and its crack-boom followed by a lingering zing of the outgoing shell punctuated his sentences. "We've had six years of peace, but everything has come back to us. All the fear and the bad economics." As Peretz spoke, loudspeakers in the village called for residents to get into hardened shelters immediately. He and Ada ignored them.

Gabriel himself was stationed in southern Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war when Israel invaded for the first time. He doesn't believe Israel should negotiate with Hizballah. "I don't agree with him," Ada said fiercely. She has cause to worry. They have three sons, aged 18, 20 and 25. The youngest is about to serve in the army and the oldest will soon be summoned by the widespread reserve call-up.

Ambush in the Upper Galilee

[Shammu]

Israeli HQ hit by mortar shells
From:
By staff writers and wires

July 13, 2006

LEBANON'S Shiite Muslim Hezbollah militia claimed today to have hit the Israeli army's northern headquarters twice in two hours with mortars, causing casualties.
The Israeli army confirmed a mortar shell had hit the Branit army base near the Israeli border town of Netua, but said no one was injured. Branit is the headquarters of the army division in charge of the Lebanese border.

After the second attack, the Shiite militia boasted of having "once again bombarded the Branit base."

Hezbollah's armed wing, the Islamic Resistance, said it had "bombarded the command centre of the Galilee contingent with artillery and rockets in retaliation for the continued aggressions by the Israeli army."

"The post took a direct hit and there were losses in enemy ranks," it said in a statement.

An Israeli army spokesman said a second mortar shell had landed inside the Israeli army headquarters. "There's been another mortar shell, but so far no injuries or damage."

Israeli HQ hit by mortar shells

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Mideast envoys have war of words in U.N. hallway
Israeli: 'You're paying the price'; Palestinian: 'Leave us alone'

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The Palestinian and Israeli ambassadors to the United Nations engaged in an impromptu debate Wednesday in the hallway outside the Security Council.

Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman said sarcastically that Palestinians must be "in love" with the idea of Israeli occupation; Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour responded, "I wish you'd leave us alone."

The exchange came amid heightened tensions and fighting in the region.

An Israeli airstrike hit the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in Gaza early Thursday, part of a campaign Israel says is aimed at recovering an Israeli soldier kidnapped June 25 and stopping militants from firing rockets into Israel.

And Israeli artillery and airstrikes pounded Hezbollah installations in southern Lebanon on Wednesday after a cross-border raid that left three Israeli soldiers dead and two others captive.

Despite the tense situation at the United Nations, both diplomats remained cordial, shaking hands at the end of their one-minute exchange.

"You are so in love with occupation that you, you cling to it even when we leave every single inch," Gillerman said.

In the middle of Gillerman's sentence, Mansour injected, "We hate occupation."

"You are not leaving us; I wish you'd leave us alone," Mansour said.

Gillerman told Mansour that the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza last year was "one of the most heart-wrenching acts by any Israeli leader."

"Why are the soldiers inside?" Mansour asked. "Leave us alone."

When Gillerman said Israel had left the Palestinians alone, Mansour disagreed.

But Gillerman responded: "Your own people, your government had two choices. Take care of its people or turn it into a terrorist. You chose the latter, and you're paying the price."

"No, that is not true," Mansour said.

"The problem is occupation," Mansour said. "Once occupation is completely out, then peace and freedom will prevail. Consider it seriously."

(Watch the testy exchange caught on camera -- :57)

Mideast envoys have war of words in U.N. hallway

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 Larijani briefs Syrian president on Iran's nuclear issue
Damascus, July 12, IRNA

Syria-Nuclear-Larijani
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani in a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday briefed him on the latest developments in Iran's nuclear issue and the outcome of his talks with European officials.

At the meeting, which was attended by Iran's Ambassador to Damascus Mohammad-Hassan Akhtari the two officials also discussed the current regional issues.

Larijani underlined that the two countries should cooperate to promote tranquility in Iraq and strengthen the country's permanent government headed by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maleki.

Iran's top negotiator also expounded on the regional developments and stressed Iran's support for the resistance of the Palestinian nation and their rights.

Stressing that the regional countries should cooperate to solve the Palestinian issue, he said, "Syria's resistance and call for its rights mainly account for its achievement in overcoming all the ups and downs encountered along the path.

For his part, al-Assad said that Iran and Syria should continue their cooperation in support of the Iraqi nation and prepare the grounds for withdrawal of the US troops from the country.

The Syrian president underlined that his country supports Iran's legitimate rights, including its right to access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

He referred to Iran's foreign policy in various fields as successful.

Larijani and his entourage arrived in Damascus from Brussels Wednesday morning and will return to Tehran after holding talks with Syrian officials.

During his visit to Brussels, the SNSC secretary conferred with the EU High Representative for security and foreign policy Javier Solana on the proposal submitted to Iran by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany (5+1 group) on the country's nuclear issue.

Larijani briefs Syrian president on Iran's nuclear issue

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 Iran, Tunisia to broaden parliamentary cooperation
Tehran, July 12, IRNA

Iran-Tunisia-Parliament
Tunisian Ambassador to Tehran Moldi al-Sakeri conferred here Wednesday with the Head of Iran-Tunisia Parliamentary Friendship Group Mahmoud Mohammadi on expansion of parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.

At the meeting, Mohammadi highlighted the two sides relations as very good and said bilateral relations should be further consolidated through the efforts of political and parliamentary officials of both countries.

Exchange of political, economic and parliamentary delegations would help promote and deepen mutual ties and would prepare grounds for expansion of regional and international cooperation between the two countries.

He also voiced satisfaction with development of ties between Iran and Tunisia and described it as 'satisfactory'.

He expressed the hope that the upcoming visit of the Tunisian parliament speaker to Tehran would serve to bolster mutual political, cultural and economic ties to the highest level.

The Tunisian ambassador, for his part, highlighted his activities for expansion of ties between the two countries during his tenure.

Given the assistance and cooperation of the Iranian officials for expansion of bilateral relations, he expressed the hope that the upcoming visit of the Tunisian parliament speaker to Tehran would mark a turning point for promotion of friendly relation and cooperation between the two sides.

Iran, Tunisia to broaden parliamentary cooperation

[Shammu]

 Police Move to High Alert Nationwide
05:38 Jul 13, '06 / 17 Tammuz 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Israel Police has moved to a level 3 alert level, one level below a state of emergency, in light of the fighting in the north and south.

Police are placing an emphasis on public locations, areas more likely to be targeted by terrorists, as well as along the seamline, the areas between pre-1967 Green Line Israel and areas under Palestinian Authority (PA) control.

Police Move to High Alert Nationwide

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 European Socialists condemn arrest of Palestinian leaders by Zionist regime
Brussels, July 12, IRNA

EU-Socialists-Israel
Europe's Socialists are calling for the immediate release by the Zionist regime of Doctor Hassan Khrreishe, vice-president of the policy committee of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly
His arrest by the Israeli Army "marks a flagrant breach of international law as well as an act of provocation towards the European Union," said the Socialist group in the European Parliament in a statement.

Members of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament have expressed their profound anger and unreservedly condemned this fresh series of unjustifiable arrests of Palestinian leaders by the Israeli Army and, at the same time, have urged the Israeli Government to release them unconditionally, it said.

The arrest by the Israeli Army of democratically elected members of the Palestinian Authority is 'unjustifiable and illegal.' "Such arrests merely serve to fuel tension in the region, with severe repercussions for peace and democracy,'' noted the statement.

Europe's Socialists also called on to Israel to release without delay the five members of the Belgian association Artistes Contre le Mur (Artists against the wall), which is known and supported for its pacifist actions aimed at safeguarding culture in Palestine.

European Socialists condemn arrest of Palestinian leaders by Zionist regime

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Well on Special Report with Bret Hume now, the Lebanese airport is now closed. Israel closed it for them.
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Bush urged to declare Israeli raids as war crime



By Masood Haider


NEW YORK, July 12: An alliance of 11 Muslim organisations has urged the US president to condemn as “war crime” Israel’s continued targeting of the civilian population in Gaza that has killed scores of Palestinian men, women and children and injured thousands of others. “The international community must not allow the Israeli government to use this crisis to remove the democratically-elected Palestinian government, thus striking a devastating blow to the nascent democratic process in the region,” the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Elections (AMT) said in statement issued here on Wednesday.

At the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Tuesday, Jan Egeland, Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, called for greater access and protection for humanitarian workers so that they could help civilians in the besieged Gaza territory.

At a press briefing here, he said that they were constantly having access problems, which is in violation of international laws.

On the worsening situation in Gaza, he reiterated international calls on both sides to end the conflict.

The official said that Israel’s “excessive use of force” had disproportionately hurt the civilian population. He described Israel’s “surgical” bombing of Gaza’s only power plant as a disastrous act.

“With the electricity now gone, we have the downward spiral that we had predicted,” he said, adding that although Israel had allowed some fuel to go through, it was not enough to power hospitals and sanitation infrastructure permanently. The provided fuel was just enough to power backup generators for a few hours at a time and avoid the total breakdown of clean water and sewage systems, he added.

He said that they had appealed to the international community for an amount of $385 million for the occupied Palestinian territories but as of July 7, a total of $117 million - which is less than one-third or 31 per cent of the demanded sum - had been received. “So we need money; and as we need access, we need security [also],” he said.

Meanwhile, in its statement, the AMT said: “The Israeli army has been waging a full-fledged war against the Palestinian population, killing scores of civilian men, women and children. These crimes followed an unprecedented act of the kidnapping of dozens of democratically-elected Palestinian officials and cabinet ministers, including the deputy prime minister. Such acts are nothing short of state-terror.

Bush urged to declare Israeli raids as war crime

[Soldier4Christ]

Bush urged to declare Israeli raids as war crime

I get really irritated over this. These poor muslims.     It's a war crime to attack them but they can do worse atrocities and it is to be commended instead.

[Shammu]

It's a war crime to attack them but they can do worse atrocities and it is to be commended instead.

How many times have the Arab countries tried to wipe out Israel brother?  You would think they would have learned after the 1967 war. 

I get really irritated over this. These poor muslims. 

Brother you aren't the only one. One of the reasons, I'm praying that Jesus returns soon.

[Shammu]

 France condemns Israeli bombing of Lebanon as act of war

PARIS, July 13 (KUNA) -- France on Thursday firmly condemned the bombing during the night by Israel of Beirut airport, calling it a "disproportionate act of war," with serious consequences for Lebanese life and the stability in the region.

Israel put out both of Beiruts runways at the Rafiq Hariri international airport at about 6 am this morning, an action it said was in retaliation for Hezbollah attacks against Israeli forces in south Lebanon.

Those attacks killed eight Israeli soldiers and two more were taken prisoner.

The French condemnation of the Beirut attacks was unusually forceful at a time when the government here has been relatively restrained in criticizing Israeli actions in Gaza.

"Obviously, we condemn this disproportionate act of war which has other consequences, the first is to force anyone who wants to return to Lebanon to pass either by sea or through Syria," Douste-Blazy said on "Europe 1" radio here.

But even those solutions will be difficult for the Lebanese given the climate in the region and the fact that Israel is also putting a maritime blockade on Lebanon.

"The second consequence is to take the risk of plunging once again Lebanon into the worst years of the war, with the departure of thousands of Lebanese who are going to want to flee at a time when they were in the process of rebuilding their country," the French Minister said.

Israeli air raids in Beirut and in the south of the country have killed 36 people over the past two days, including children, according to local sources, and the fighting could spread further.

"We are taking the risk of a very dangerous spiral of violence which could destabilize the whole region," Douste-Blazy said.

France, he noted, will support a Lebanese demand to bring the issue before the UN Security Council "as soon as possible," and he added that Lebanon had full support from the French government with regard to respect for its territorial integrity.

France, along with the United States and Britain, are the major sponsors of the UN resolution that in the year 2000 set out the "Blue Line" that delineates the border between Israel and Lebanon.

Israel regularly violates this border with flyovers of Lebanese territory and also with incursions to hit Hezbollah resistance positions after clashes with that militant group.

While Hezbollah can also be accused of violations, it is not a sovereign government like Israel and is not necessarily bound by international law to the same degree.

Israel, on the other hand, has acted with impunity concerning UN resolutions -both in Lebanon and relative to the Palestinian issue - despite its claim to being a state of laws, respectful of international conventions.

France condemns Israeli bombing of Lebanon as act of war

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Syria said on Wednesday Israel was responsible for an operation by its ally Hizbollah in which two Israeli soldiers were captured.

"Occupation is what provokes the Palestinian and Lebanese people," Vice President Farouq al-Shara told reporters. "The resistance in south Lebanon and among the Palestinian people decides solely what to do and why."

Syria says Israel deserved Hizbollah attacks