Israel, the mid-east, and Russia - Part 2

[Shammu]

Support in New York, condemnation in Berlin

Thousands demonstrate in support of Israel in front of UN headquarters in New York, but in Berlin more than 1,000 Lebanese, Palestinians chant ‘death to Israel, while some carry placards bearing the image of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah
Yitzhak Benhorin

Thousands of people demonstrated in support of Israel in front of the UN headquarters in New York Monday.

Among the speakers at the demonstration were Senator Hillary Clinton and Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Gillerman.

Arye Mekel, Consul General of Israel in New York, said some Muslims also confirmed their participation in the rally, adding that there is a ‘deep sense of understanding’ among Jews that the events along Israel’s northern border pose a real threat.

The United Jewish Communities (UJC) has allocated some USD 2 million for summer camps for northern Israel children and for the treatment of trauma victims.

Other Jewish organizations have also announced that they would provide financial assistance for Israelis hurt by rocket fire in the north and south.

A delegation of The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations is expected to meet this week with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and visit the Qassam-stricken towns of Sderot and Ashkelon, as well as northern communities being targeted by Hizbullah.

Meanwhile, more than 2000 people have joined pro-Israel rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

The rallies were billed to support the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, who was taken captive by Palestinians in Gaza three weeks ago.

More than 1000 people signed a petition in Melbourne, said Zionist Federation of Australia president Philip Chester.

'Israel wants peace'

“If a thousands rockets were launch into cities and suburbs in Australia, how would the Australian Government react,” he told media after the event.

In Sydney, a giant 10-metre blue ribbon was signed by more than 800 people.

In Canberra last Friday, about 40 members of Hineni Zionist youth movement demonstrated outside the Syrian Embassy in protest at Palestinian and Hezbollah terrorists.

Among the slogans on posters they displayed were “Israel wants peace” and “HypocriSyria”.

However, more than 1,000 Lebanese and Palestinians staged an anti-Israeli protest at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Monday, police said.

A Reuters witness said demonstrators were chanting "death to Israel" and "death to Zionists", while some carried placards bearing the image of Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Police said around 1,200 people took part in the protest at the German capital's famous landmark, not far from a major memorial to the millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust.

Support in New York, condemnation in Berlin

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Hizbullah rejects ceasefire terms

Member of group’s central committee says ‘Israeli demand to see Lebanese army deploy along border matter for Lebanese to settle themselves’; when asked whether Nasrallah, was still in Lebanon despite Israeli efforts to target him, he says, ‘our leadership and Nasrallah are at the heart of the battle’
AFP

Hizbullah on Monday rejected a ceasefire on terms dictated by Israel.

“We accept no conditions for a ceasefire, whatever the pressure," Abdullah Kasir, a member of Hizbullah's central committee, told AFP.

Sources in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office said during the weekend that the possibility of a ceasefire will not be considered before three conditions are met: The release of the kidnapped IDF soldier’s by Hizbullah, the cessation of rocket attacks on Israel from Lebanon and the disarming of Hizbullah in accordance with UN Resolution 1559.

Kasir said Israel's demand to see the Lebanese army deploy along the border with Israel, replacing Hizbullah who currently control the area, was a matter for the Lebanese to settle themselves.

‘More surprises coming’

He added that the two Israeli soldiers, abducted in a cross-border raid by Hizbullah last Wednesday, were in "a secure place" but did not specify whether they were still in Lebanon.

Asked whether Hizbullah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was still in Lebanon despite Israeli efforts to target him, Kasir said that "Hizbullah's leadership and Nasrallah are at the heart of the battle…

"We will never leave, even if Lebanon is reduced to scorched earth."

Hizbullah, he said, was "ready to fight and to inflict painful blows on the enemy. The Islamic Resistance (Hizbullah's armed wing) has only begun to reveal its abilities and its forces."

Israel, he added, should brace for more "surprises", such as last Friday's anti-ship missile which stuck an Israeli Navy vessel off Lebanon and the rocket attacks on Haifa, Israel's third-largest city.

Hizbullah rejects ceasefire terms

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 Iran Claims Solidarity With Lebanon...So Do the French
Written by Jim Kouri
Monday, July 17, 2006

Late Sunday night, Iran's top religious leader praised the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group Hezbollah for launching attacks on Israel.

"The [Israelis] want Lebanon to be a meat in their mouth, but the powerful Hezbollah has prevented their dream from being realized." Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a televised speech on Iran's state-controlled news.

"The crimes and the atrocities in the recent weeks in Palestine and Lebanon have proved again that the existence of Israel in this region is an evil and cancerous being and an infected tumor," he added.

Meanwhile, former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami hailed Hezbollah as "a radiant sun that emblazons and warms the all Muslims and free nations, including the Palestinians," Iran's Fars news agency reported.

 "What is going on in Lebanon today eliminates all the possible doubts about the necessity for the powerful presence of the resistance movement in that country," Khatami was quoted as saying.

The Iranian Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar stressed that Israel would "regret its crimes once [the] Muslim states resort to action," according to the Fars report.

Najjar condemned the Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian and Lebanese people, accusing Washington of indulging Israeli escalation. He also warned Israel of the consequences of invasion into Syria.

In an obvious show of unanimous support for the terrorists, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also expressed support for Syria. "Iran [is] standing by the Syrian people and Israel [will] face unimaginable losses if it attacks Syria."

"We have offered and will still offer Syria and Lebanon [military] and humanitarian support," he added.

On Saturday, the Israeli army said that it had bombed the no-man's land laying between Lebanon and Syria. But Israel's head of military operations General Gadi Azincot told a news conference in Jerusalem that Syria was not an objective.

Israel launched its offensive Wednesday on Lebanon in retaliation for the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerillas.  Over 700 rockets have been fired on northern Israel by Hezbollah since the intense and escalating battle broke out.

It's no secret that Iran wishes to see the Jewish State annihilated. It's been a constant theme for that terrorist-supporting nation. However, many American observers appear surprised that France said it is sending Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin to Beirut to express support for Lebanon's government and solidarity between the French people and the Lebanese.

De Villepin did not offer any praise or sympathy to Israel, but that shouldn't surprise anyone familiar with Frances history of anti-Semitism.

During the Nazi occupation of France, the French police and security forces were more than willing to help the Nazis round up Jews to send them to the concentration camps. In fact, the French were so good out apprehending Jewish people, the Nazis allowed them to operate practically unsupervised by the Gestapo and the SS.

Even in unoccupied France, under the Vichy government, Jews were rousted by the French police and military as a symbol of their allegiance to the Third Reich. But French anti-Semitism didn't end with their liberation from the Nazis. France has a track record of opposing Israel at every turn and voting for every United Nations resolution condemning Israel. In fact, according to United Nations observers, the UN has passed more resoultions condemning Israel than they have any other country including Iran, Cuba, North Korea, etc. And the Israel-haters could always count on the French vote.

In addition, the French have been experiencing a great deal of civil unrest on the part of their Muslim population, and France's leftist President Chirac was slow to act when riots broke out within the Islamic community and spread into the heart of Paris. It's believed de Villepin trip to Lebanon is a symbolic gesture of solidarity with France's own Muslims. Some may point out that in France, there is a very thin line between solidarity and appeasement; just as there's a thin line between appeasement and cowardice -- appeasers and cowards.

Iran Claims Solidarity With Lebanon...So Do the French

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Israel Claims Iran Has Inserted Longer-Range Missiles Into Lebanon

by Steve Soto

I know that some of you disagree with me about Iran’s role in the current crisis and what should be done about it. Some of you feel that Iran and Syria will come out of this current mess in better position than they were, and that Israel made a big mistake here in its overreaction. As I said yesterday, Israel did overreact, but it is easy for me to say that from thousands of miles away when their soldiers were fired upon by Hezbollah in Israeli territory and were taken hostage by Hezbollah. But frankly, no matter how much I disagree with the Bush foreign policy, I am trying not to let that cloud my analysis of the basic facts on the ground.

Iran will have no sway with Israel or with the world community in resolving this mess if they were involved in its execution, or if they have armed Hezbollah with short-range Chinese missiles that have the capability of hitting Tel Aviv. On that first point, I will post the contents of emails I received from retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner over the weekend about Iran’s role in the Hezbollah kidnapping.

    Iran has conducted a preemptive strike.

    After my e-mail yesterday (Thursday of last week), I continued to receive notes and calls from press, former CIA, and overseas diplomatic sources. A major piece of what I was being told was shocking. Iran and Syria were involved in the planning for the hostage takings. I was even told where and when their planning meeting took place. An individual with former connections to the CIA told me the current situation is all is about the Iranian nuclear program. I was skeptical of that explanation until I heard Zal Khalilzad, the US Ambassador to Iraq, on CNN late in the day. He said, "It is about the Iranian nuclear program."

    In other words, Iran did not wait for the US preemptive strike. It conducted its own.

    There is something important to keep in mind. If my sources know about the Iranian and Syrian planning meeting, the US and Israeli Governments knew about the plan. Both governments face a profound dilemma. Do they talk about the connection and make a major issue of it? Policy very often follows rhetoric. If Iran is guilty, do we take the fight to Iran? Too much talk can create pressure to act, self-induced pressure that would lead to a greater Middle East war.

    [snip]

    The situation-defining next move is Iran's. I'm told by an individual who sometimes talks to people on the Iranian Supreme National Security Council that the hard-liners think they can gain from a limited escalation. They overestimate their negotiating power. They underestimate the dangers of confrontation.

As for Iran sneaking missiles into Lebanon through Syria, I give you this from the AP in the last hour:

    Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Monday destroyed at least one long-range Iranian missile capable of hitting Tel Aviv, military officials said.

    Israeli aircraft targeted a truck carrying the weapons before they could be launched, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of military regulations. The force of the blast sent at least one missile flying into the air, but it fell nearby.

If true, there is no way Iran comes out of this in better shape diplomatically than before. And if true, then it confirms Israel's fears that Syria and Iran have taken advantage of a weak Lebanese government and military to arm Hezbollah with weapons that threaten a large part of Israel.

Update: For those among us who believe that this overreaction was hatched by the Neocons and the Israelis to regain the initiative for the PNAC solution in the aftermath of the Iraq meltdown, think again. The Bush Administration didn’t see this coming, and Hezbollah, according to Newsweek this afternoon, caught Bush’s foreign policy team (Elliot Abrams of all people) flat-footed. And if the Israelis saw it coming, why didn’t the Bush Administration know about it in advance? The administration and the Israelis are rightly concerned to make sure that Hamas and Hezbollah not link up here and cement a four-way relationship with Iran and Syria, but it may be too late for that. Also, at least Bush was able to get the Saudis, the Jordanians, and the Egyptians to come out against Hezbollah on this. The pending opportunity that Hamas and Israel had for progress must go forward if at all possible without linking Gaza with a reward of Hezbollah for what they did here.

As Michael Hirsh also notes here, one of the key problems facing the Bush Administration is that their disengagement from the region leaves them with no contacts among the main actors here. We have no ongoing contacts with Hezbollah or Hamas, by design, and we have spurned repeated efforts by both Syria and Iran for a dialogue. In this environment, and given the possible if not probable role Iran had in facilitating this, the key opportunity for Bush here would be to reach out quietly to Syria to see how interested they are in bringing about a solution and earning some points for doing so. Syria is more militarily vulnerable than Iran, and was a valuable intelligence asset for us in the months right after 9/11. And anything we can do to stop radicalizing them, buy their support here, and peel them away somewhat from Iran will also help us in Iraq. But I doubt the Bush Administration is flexible enough to do any of this.

Israel Claims Iran Has Inserted Longer-Range Missiles Into Lebanon

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Arabs Fear Iran More Than They Hate The Jews

The New York Times provides an interesting analysis regarding the surprising criticism coming from Arab capitals towards Hezbollah. Yesterday, its chief complained that the Arabs had not rallied around his organization while it fights the hated "Zionists". However, the Arabs understand that Hezbollah represents a non-Arab threat that presents a much bigger problem than Israel.

With the battle between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah raging, key Arab governments have taken the rare step of blaming Hezbollah, underscoring in part their growing fear of influence by the group’s main sponsor, Iran.

Saudi Arabia, with Jordan, Egypt and several Persian Gulf states, chastised Hezbollah for “unexpected, inappropriate and irresponsible acts” at an emergency Arab League summit meeting in Cairo on Saturday....

The way some officials see it, Arab analysts said, Israel is the devil they know, but Iran is the growing threat.

“There is a school of thought, led by Saudi Arabia, that believes that Hezbollah is a source of trouble, a protégé of Iran, but also a political instrument in the hands of Iran,” said gotcha98 Abu Odeh, a Jordanian sociologist. ‘This school says we should not play into the hands of Iran, which has its own agenda, by sympathizing or supporting Hezbollah fighting against the Israelis.”

Hanna Seniora, a Palestinian analyst with the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, lauded the Arab opposition to Hezbollah on Sunday.

“For the first time ever, open criticism was heard from countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan against the unilateral actions carried out by radical organizations, especially Hezbollah of Lebanon,” wrote Mr. Seniora, who favors coexistence with Israel and opposes radical Islam. “It became clear and beyond doubt that the most important Arab countries did not allow their emotions to rule their judgment.”

What is clear is that even the various kleptocracies in the region have becomed unnerved by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rhetoric and brazen pursuit of nuclear weapons. The fall of Saddam Hussein removed the one military force that could stack up against Israel, and the American occupation puts Israel out of reach for most of the rest of the Arab nations.   That makes any nation that deliberately invites Israeli and American retaliation a little less than rational, and the nutty rhetoric raghead coming from Teheran only means that the Americans will stick around a little longer.

Iranian provocation threatens to engulf all of the Arab nations in a war they cannot hope to win. Why should they back Hezbollah's play, when Sheikh Nasrallah and Iran didn't bother to consult them?

For all their talk, the Arabs understand that Israel really presents no long-term threat to their own regimes. Israel does not covet land outside of their own territory and parts of the West Bank. They do not want Lebanon for themselves, nor Jordan nor Syria. They want to be left alone. Iran, on the other hand, wants to pick up where Saddam Hussein left off. Rather than a pan-Arab vision, though, the mullahcracy wants to reestablish the Caliphate, a pan-Islamism with Teheran in charge. That puts all of their regimes at risk, regardless of whether Iran fails or succeeds.

The result, we now have the singular event of Arabs taking Israel's side in a conflict with other Arabs.

Check your window this evening, because pigs may soon begin to fly.

Resting in the hands, of the Lord.
Bob

[Soldier4Christ]

I wondered what that big pink thing going by my window was. 


I actually don't believe that they are siding with Israel any more than I could beleive that the devil is siding with God. I can believe that they are afraid of the Iranian pres. They are afraid of him simply because they would lose the power they have in their own countries and they know that they will get beat by those greater in power than themselves. They don't have much faith in their God.

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Holocaust claims a Zionist lie: mufti
Richard Kerbaj

THE nation's Islamic leader, Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali, has dismissed the Holocaust as a "Zionist lie" in a series of fiery sermons in which he also lashed out at the West and the US-led occupation of Iraq.

And Sheik Hilali -- the Mufti of Australia and a member of John Howard's Muslim Community Reference Group -- also accuses the Government of being dishonest for claiming the anti-terrorism laws were not designed specifically for Muslims.

"These laws are tailored to target us precisely," he said in a sermon recorded at Sydney's Lakemba Mosque in November - one of a number of recordings The Weekend Australian has of Sheik Hilali's religious addresses delivered in Arabic over the past eight months.

Revelations that the nation's most senior Islamic cleric has been openly preaching extreme messages to his mainstream followers will be a major setback for the Howard Government.

Sheik Hilali is a senior member of the Prime Minister's Muslim advisory board. Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs Andrew Robb will tomorrow unveil details of federal funding for national projects to help address problems within the Islamic community.

Mr Robb, who oversees the advisory group, told The Weekend Australian Sheik Hilali's reported comments were "inflammatory and unacceptable".

Last night, the mufti stood by his sermons: "We are always saddened and always remember with great sorrow what Nazism did to the Jewish people," he said in a statement.

"However, we do not wish to see these crimes repeated by other hands. "Some who see themselves as supporters of Israel do abuse the Holocaust whenever Israel is engaged in its indefensible wars and crimes against humanity.

"People, myself included, are within their right to question the morality of exploiting the memory of the Holocaust."

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the mufti's intolerance of other religions was hypocritical. "It is not the time for anyone in positions of responsibility to make comments about other groups, particularly if you are someone who has been concerned about a lack of tolerance towards Muslims," he said.

In a February sermon, Sheik Hilali attacked the Western press for being afraid to admit that the Holocaust was "a ploy made by the Zionists".

He also trivialised the number of Jews killed by the Nazis.

"What's that six million all about? Is there six million?", said the Egyptian-born cleric, before calling on Muslims worldwide to boycott Danish goods over the publication of cartoons that offended Muslims for their depiction of the prophet Mohammed.

"The West say we have freedom and freedom of speech," he told thousands of his followers on February 3. "But journalism stops and shuts up when it discusses the burning of the Jews - the Holocaust -- the Zionist lie and the industry that the West deals in."

In another Friday sermon, delivered two weeks ago at Lakemba Mosque - titled The Zionists Murder Palestinians and the World Watches and the Muslims Are Silent - he called the US the breeders of oppression and labelled Israel a "cancer that is planted in the heart of the Ummah (Muslim community)".

Holocaust claims a Zionist lie: mufti

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ADL Spokesmans Says Israel Has to Defend Its Citizens
July 17th, 2006 @ 2:45pm
by Doug Ramsey/KTAR

A Jewish community leader insists Israel is doing what it has to do.

Bill Straus of the Anti-Defamation League said Israel has the right and the responsibility to defend its citizens. He denies any overreaction in attacking Lebanon.

"I don't think we would hold any other independent sovereign state in the world hostage to the standards that many want to apply to Israel," he said.

Straus gave two conditions for ending the fighting - one, a commitment from the Lebanese and Iranian governments to reign in Hezbollah and Hamas, and two...

"A commitment from the Arab world that Israel does indeed have the right to exist," he said.

On that point, Straus believes the Arizona Jewish community is united.

ADL Spokesmans Says Israel Has to Defend Its Citizens

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Caritas says Middle East violence illegal and immoral


Calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, Caritas International has said that "indiscriminate bombings and hostage taking are against all moral and humanitarian laws and principles."

ReliefWeb reports that as the violence escalates in Lebanon and in the Gaza strip, Caritas International is calling on all sides to end the carnage, hold an immediate ceasefire and come to the negotiating table.

The Israeli attacks on Lebanon was triggered by Hezbollah's kidnapping of two of its soldiers last Wednesday. In response, Lebanon reeled yesterday under a sixth day of air and sea strikes that have pounded the country's infrastructure and killed over a hundred civilians.

Caritas says that its staff in Gaza and Lebanon are risking their lives to cater to the needs of the wounded, supply goods for civilians to survive and bring food for the children.

"Guided by the social teaching of the Catholic Church, and in line with International Humanitarian Law, we are calling today for an immediate ceasefire, an end to all violence, and the beginning of constructive negotiations geared towards long-term solutions," a Caritas International statement says.

"International humanitarian law decrees that states and authorities must protect civilians caught up in conflict, allow free access by humanitarian agencies to provide assistance to those affected and ensure attacks are not aimed at civilian targets. Any state or authority which ignores these rules is in breach of the very conventions that they have signed up to and which help keep our world civilised.

"Caritas believes that a just peace is possible in the Middle East, and urges the international community and political leaders to uphold international law and help the people of Israel, of Palestine and of Lebanon to step back from the brink of full-scale war."

Caritas says Middle East violence illegal and immoral Catholic Telecommunications

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Syria vows to retaliate

DAMASCUS: Syria yesterday warned it would respond directly and by all means necessary to any Israeli attack on its territory, in its first official reaction to Israel's offensive on neighbouring Lebanon.

"Any Israeli attack against Syria will provoke an unlimited, direct and firm response using all means necessary," Information Minister Mohsen Bilal said.

Damascus-ally Iran also warned Israel of "unimaginable losses" if it attacks Syria and vowed that it was standing by the Syrian people.

"We hope the Zionist regime does not make the mistake of attacking Syria, because extending the front would definitely make the Zionist regime face unimaginable losses," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.

Hizbollah's deadliest rocket strike ever on Israel will spark a punishing response including a possible ground invasion of southern Lebanon, threatening to broaden a conflict some fear is spinning out of control.

Some analysts said the attack on the port city of Haifa that killed eight people could spur Israel to send troops over the northern border on a limited incursion to destroy Hizbollah positions and weaponry that have escaped air strikes.

The objective would be to empty the area of the Shi'ite guerrillas, not get bogged down again in Lebanon after a bloody 22-year occupation that ended in 2000, they added.

"It's clear there will be a severe escalation," said Mark Heller of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv.

But analysts and former government officials said they believed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wanted to keep the objective focused on dealing a death blow to Hizbollah, not attacking Syria or Iran, which both back the group.

The Israeli army believes the missiles fired at Haifa were probably made in Syria, a senior political source said.

International alarm has grown that the violence could spill beyond Israel and Lebanon, threatening to drive world oil prices even higher and sparking more losses on global stock markets.

Israel's chief ally the United States - the only country with any serious influence over the Jewish state - has called for restraint but said Israel had the right to defend itself.

The European Union and Russia have called Israel's attacks and air and sea blockade of Lebanon disproportionate.

Syria vows to retaliate

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EU would be ready to support Lebanon force: presidency
Document Actions

17/07/2006

The European Union and its member states stand ready to participate in a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, the bloc's leadership said on Monday, while stressing it is only an idea for the moment and that it is up to the United Nations to decide.

"I'm confident that the European Union and its member states... will stand ready to take part if the conditions are there for such a mission," said Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

"But ... at the moment nothing more can be said, this is only an idea," added Tuomioja, after chairing a regular meeting with his EU counterparts clouded by the upsurge of violence in the Middle East.

The proposal for an international stabilisation force was made by leaders of the G8 nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia and the United States -- at a weekend summit in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The UN already has a monitoring force on the Lebanese-Israeli border, UNIFIL, set up in March 1978 to oversee an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon that finally took place 22 years later.

The UN Security Council met behind closed doors Monday to discuss Israel's military offensive in Lebanon but the United States cautioned against expecting action to stop the bloodshed before the return of a UN mission this week.

The EU's leadership underlined that the question of new peacekeepers for Lebanon was for the UN.

"It is primarily the United Nations and Security Council which will have to deal with this issue and take the necessary decisions," he told reporters after the Brussels talks.

But he said: "Our member states have made clear that they are ready to favourably consider participating in any such mission."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Monday that the proposed deployment must have more bite and "far greater" numbers than the 2,000-strong UNIFIL force.

Israel said on the same day that it was "too early" to discuss the creation of a new international peacekeeping force in Lebanon, where more than 200 people have been killed in attacks over the past week.

Twenty-four Israelis have also been killed since fighting began last Wednesday, including 12 civilians in a barrage of Hezbollah rocket fire across the border.

EU would be ready to support Lebanon force: presidency

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3 reserves brigades called up

Defense ministry approves draft Monday night. Reserves to take over in Judea and Samaria, regular forces to move north
Hanan Greenberg

Defense Minister Amir Peretz approved Monday night the draft of three reserves brigades – infantry and engineers. The forces will be drafted starting Tuesday morning and will replace regular forces in Judea and Samaria. The regular forces will help in the northern array.

As of today, infantry and engineer corps are operating to destroy Hizbullah outposts in the line of fire. Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Maj. Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, revealed, in a Monday press conference at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, that in recent days, forces were operating in a ground offensive against Hizbullah outposts in Rajar village.

'This stroke was a destructive one'

There were several exchanges of fire during the operation, which took place east of the Lebanese border. The forces entered the village and destroyed two of the organization's outposts. The outposts, in the northern part of Rajar (in Lebanese sovereign territory), constituted a constant threat to IDF forces in the southern part of Rajar, which is in sovereign Israeli territory. Rajar is a weak point in terms of security and has been the focus of many difficult confrontations. For example, in November 2005, a kidnapping attempt took place, which was foiled at the last minute by an Israeli sniper.

In the press conference, Kaplinsky also mentioned the IDF's hits on Hizbullah strongholds in the Dahiya neighborhood in Beirut. "This stroke was a destructive one, and this region, which was a symbol of Hizbullah, turned into an island of abandoned swords. Very few terrorists are still in the neighborhood."

He added, "I can say that we've already attacked dozens of targets in Beirut, targets that served as Hizbullah headquarters. We attack 130 sites for launching rockets and other missiles. We attacked more than 105 targets serving as terrorist infrastructure in southern Lebanon and tens of targets for storing weapons and munitions. We struck down directly more than 20 terrorist cells that tried to operate weapons during the course of the operation in Gaza. We attacked naval radars and several bridges. We blocked several roads in Lebanon and tried to impose an aerial blockade by attacking airport runways."

He concluded by saying, "despite our many accomplishments, and despite the fact that things are progressing well, Hizbullah is still firing rockets. Granted they are being launched smaller quantities, but the barrage still continues against Israeli population centers. We will do everything to reduce this shooting."

3 reserves brigades called up

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Iran’s Ahmadinejad warns West of “dire fate”
Mon. 17 Jul 2006

Tehran, Iran, Jul. 17 – Iran’s hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that Israel should exchange key Hezbollah leaders it has in custody for its army personnel taken hostage by the Lebanese militia fiercely loyal to Tehran.

“This occupying regime (Israel) came into existence in the heart of the Islamic world and the Middle East 60 to 70 years ago with plots and ruses and has no duty other than terror, crimes, aggression, violence, and creating tension. Its mission is to sow discord among countries in the region”, Ahmadinejad said.

He accused the United States of lying that it sought a two state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

He urged the West to remove the Jewish state from the region. “For certain, you cannot withstand the power of the nations of the region”, he said.

“If you do not contain this criminal regime and end your support for it and give a positive response to the people of the region you will face a dire fate”, he said.

His comments were reported by the state-run news agency ISNA.

Iran’s Ahmadinejad warns West of “dire fate”

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Israel grants safe passage to Filipinos from Lebanon

The Israeli government has guaranteed safe passage to Filipinos fleeing Lebanon, ANC reported Tuesday.

Antonio Modena, Philippine ambassador to Tel Aviv, said the Israeli army will not block Filipinos who want to enter their territory.

Modena said he sees no reason to evacuate Filipinos in Israel since they are safe there. He added that Israeli residences have bomb shelters that ensure the safety of Filipinos in the event of Hezbollah rocket attacks.

Philippine authorities had initially identified two possible routes for Filipinos fleeing Lebanon. One is by sea, from Beirut to Cyprus; and the other by land, from Beirut toward Syria.

At least 30,000 Filipinos are living and working in Lebanon.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said Alert Level 3 has been raised by the Philippine embassy in Beirut. Evacuation efforts are underway.

Israel grants safe passage to Filipinos from Lebanon

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French PM heads for Beirut to show Paris' solidarity

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin left Paris for Beirut on Monday to show "France's solidarity" with the Lebanese people affected by the conflict between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

A statement from the office of French President Jacques Chirac, who is in St Petersburg, Russia, for the Group of Eight summit, said he "decided to send the prime minister to Beirut today to meet Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and convey to him the support of France and the solidarity of the French people with the Lebanese people in their ordeal."

Villepin's office released a brief statement on his departure for Beirut after his second meeting over the Lebanese situation with Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.

According to the statement, they examined the measures brought in to help French nationals to leave Lebanon, especially the first chartered ferry, which can carry some 2,000 people and is scheduled to leave Beirut on Monday evening.

Villepin is the first foreign head of government to visit Beirut since the crisis broke out last week.

The military conflict between Israel and Lebanon has flared up in recent days following the cross-border raid by Hezbollah militants who captured two Israeli soldiers.

France began on Monday to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon, which was administered by Paris under a League of Nations mandate from 1920 to 1943.

The French Foreign Ministry estimates that there are around 20,000 French nationals in Lebanon, including some 4,000 tourists.

French PM heads for Beirut to show Paris' solidarity