Biblical countries, in the news.

[Shammu]

Nasrallah: 'We Love Martyrdom'
05:45 Jul 26, '06 / 1 Av 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Hizbullah terrorist leader Hassan Nasrallah has told an Arab interviewer, "We love martyrdom." Speaking to an the Arab Al Jazeera television reporter, Nasrallah added, "For 23 years, we have been talking to our people, motivating them, talking about martyrdom, the honor of martyrdom, and the place of the martyrs.... We love martyrdom... As a personal aspiration, each and every one of us hopes to be destined to martyrdom at the hands of those people, the killers of the prophets and the messengers."

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) translated the interview.

Nasrallah: 'We Love Martyrdom'

[Shammu]

North Korea accuses US of defending Israeli massacre in Lebanon


North Korea on Wednesday accused the United States of defending a massacre by Israel in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and called for an immediate halt to escalating violence in the Middle East.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman, in comments carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, said the US was defending brutal killings by Israel by calling them "self-defense." "This clearly shows how hypocritical, dangerous and reckless the Bush administration is as it claims to be an apostle of peace and defender of human rights," the unnamed spokesman said.

North Korea accuses US of defending Israeli massacre in Lebanon

[Shammu]

Israel US ambassador Ayalon: Annan has to apologize 

Israel's Ambassador to Washington Danny Ayalon said Wednesday that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan should apologize to Israel for saying that dropping a bomb on a UN post in south Lebanon was a deliberate act.

Speaking to CNN Ayalon said Annan's comments are "scandalous," and demanded he apologize.

Israel US ambassador Ayalon: Annan has to apologize

[Shammu]

Abbas presented Rice with plan for release of Gilad Shalit

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas presented a plan for the release of kinapped Corporal Gilad Shalit to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Palestinian sources told the London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.

According to al-Awsat the plan calls for a cease-fire and the release of Shalit in return for a commitment by Israel to release a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

Abbas presented Rice with plan for release of Gilad Shalit

[Shammu]

HIZBALLAH SIGNALS BATTLEFIELD SETBACKS, BLAMES AND TARGETS U.S.

By Michael Widlanski 25 July 2006

Hizballah's main media outlet tonight appeared to be preparing its home
audience for serious military setbacks for the Iranian-sponsored Islamic
terror group, and it deepened its hostile focus on the United States-not
just Israel-perhaps as an explanation for the difficult days ahead.

"Land is not the most important factor, but rather the spirit of the
people," declared a strategic commentator identified as Dr. Col. Amin
Akhtai, interviewed on the television station that until now has been
bragging about battlefield successes.

Dr. Akhtai said that Hizballah was not concerned about loss of terrain,
because "perhaps the remaining terrain is better suited for defense."

But perhaps the most telling symptom of his remarks was the fact that he
prefaced them with a lengthy and uncharacteristic eulogy to "those heroes
who have become martyrs in the defense of Lebanon."

It was a stark departure for Hizballah, which has until now almost not
admitted any battlefield deaths or injuries, but according to Israeli
sources more than 150 Hizballah fighters have been killed and tens have been
captured especially in the fighting for Bint Jbeil, an area the Israelis
have called "the Hizballah capital."

Another sign of definite Hizballah weakness and even panic was the
growing tendency of Hizballh commentators and talk show hosts to place blame
on Arab governments for not coming to the aid of Hizballah.

"Where are the Arabs?" one tv host asked an Egyptian military expert.

But the most venomous tones were reserved for the United States.

"America is the greatest enemy," shouted an Egyptian security expert
identified as Egyptian parliament member Mustafa Baqri.

His view was seconded by strategic expert Dr. Akhtai, who was especially
critical of the Bush Administration's decision to send Israel GPU
"bunker-buster" laser-guided "smart bombs."

"America is the one who is confronting Hizballah," said Akhtai, but he
added, "the new weapons don't frighten us. Even one thousand such weapons
will not change the situation."

Another new feature of Al-Manar television's regular war programming is
increasingly anti-American cartoons and film montages that are shown
sometimes ten or twenty times a day.

One new montage aired Tuesday night features a picture of President
George Bush holding an axe under a headline: "rais al-ijraam"-"the President
of Crime."

HIZBALLAH SIGNALS BATTLEFIELD SETBACKS, BLAMES AND TARGETS U.S.

[Shammu]

Iran: Ignore us at your peril
Alistair Lyon | Beirut, Lebanon   
26 July 2006 07:16
Israel's killing of four United Nations observers piled pressure on an international conference in Rome on Wednesday to end a 15-day-old Middle East conflict, as Hezbollah vowed not to accept any "humiliating" truce terms.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan demanded Israel investigate the "apparently deliberate targeting" of a UN post in southern Lebanon where an Israeli air strike killed the four UN military observers on Tuesday.

Israel, waging a military offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah guerrillas, announced it would hold a probe and expressed regret at the deaths but said it was shocked Annan had suggested the observers may have been deliberately targeted.

A Chinese national was among the four observers killed, China's official Xinhua news agency reported. It said the other three were from Finland, Austria and Canada.

UN officials said the air strike had caused the building housing the observers to collapse and that rescue teams had been sent to retrieve the bodies from the rubble.

"[This] attack on a long established and clearly marked UN post at Khiam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by [Israeli] Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that UN positions would be spared Israeli fire," Annan said in a statement.

With international concern already high over civilian casualties, Lebanon and its Arab allies will plead at the Rome talks -- due to start at 8am GMT -- for an immediate truce but Washington says a lasting solution needs to be agreed first.

Israel, with apparent US approval, has said it would press on with its offensive. It also said it planned to set up a "security strip" in Lebanon until international forces deploy.

"We cannot accept any condition humiliating to our country, our people or our resistance," said Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose group triggered the war by capturing two Israeli soldiers in a July 12 cross-border raid.

The war, in which 418 people in Lebanon and 42 Israelis have been killed, was entering a new phase, Nasrallah said in a televised address.

"In the new period, our bombardment will not be limited to Haifa," he said, suggesting his guerrillas would hit towns deeper inside Israel. Hezbollah has hit Haifa, Israel's third largest city 35km south of Lebanon, for the first time with rockets.

'A durable solution'
Israel has also been waging a military campaign in Gaza since June 28 to recover a soldier seized by Palestinian militants. Eight Palestinians were killed on Wednesday, seven by what witnesses described as a tank shell attack and what the Isareli army said was an air strike aimed at militants.

Arab leaders and Annan want the Rome conference to call a quick halt to the conflict but US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who has visited Beirut and Jerusalem, says she prefers to get conditions right for "a durable solution".

Israel and Syria, Hezbollah's main ally along with Iran, have not been invited to the Rome conference.

Iran warned the West on Tuesday that attempts to broker a peace deal are destined to fail and it predicted a backlash across the Muslim world unless Israel's military forces were immediately reined in.

Hamid Reza Asefi, the foreign ministry spokesperson in Tehran, said: "They should have invited all the countries of the region, including Syria and Iran, if they want peace. How can you tackle these important issues without having representatives of all countries in the region?"

Fears that the conflict could spread across the region intensified on Tuesday. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, a normally placid US ally, warned that "if the option of peace fails as a result of Israeli arrogance, then the only option remaining will be war, and God alone knows what the region would witness in a conflict that would spare no one".

British Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesperson, confronting criticism that the prime minister had failed to call for an immediate ceasefire, insisted he had been working "on a daily, almost hourly basis" for more than a week on the details of a Rome deal.

Hezbollah wants a truce to be followed by talks on swapping the two Israelis for Arab and Lebanese prisoners in Israel. The United States demands Hezbollah free the soldiers unconditionally and pull back from the border before disarming.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Abdelelah al-Khatib spoke of a "clear Arab stance in Rome demanding an immediate ceasefire" and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Italy's priority for the talks was a ceasefire, followed by humanitarian assistance.

Israel, the United States and European countries agree on the need to see Hezbollah disarmed, but some of the Europeans think this should not be a precondition for any peace deal.

The Rome meeting will also seek agreement on what kind of international force could be sent into southern Lebanon -- a mission fraught with danger unless Hezbollah consents.

UN humanitarian agencies said they were still largely blocked from getting relief supplies into Lebanon and from getting wounded and very sick people to hospitals.

Lebanon says Israel's bombardment has displaced a fifth of its population. Most of its dead are civilians.

Israel launched air strikes in Gaza on Wednesday, killing a Hamas militant and wounding at least eight other Palestinians, witnesses said. Israeli tanks backed by helicopter gunships pushed nearly 1km into the northern Gaza Strip.

Iran: Ignore us at your peril

[Rookieupgrade1]

Abbas presented Rice with plan for release of Gilad Shalit

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas presented a plan for the release of kinapped Corporal Gilad Shalit to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Palestinian sources told the London-based newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.

According to al-Awsat the plan calls for a cease-fire and the release of Shalit in return for a commitment by Israel to release a large number of Palestinian prisoners.

Abbas presented Rice with plan for release of Gilad Shalit

not acceptable.

As sec of state Rice stated. this will not guarantee any lasting peace.

[Soldier4Christ]

not acceptable.

As sec of state Rice stated. this will not guarantee any lasting peace.

Nor has it ever been. History has proven that giving these terrorists what they want only makes them want more and they will continue fighting.

[Shammu]

Nor has it ever been. History has proven that giving these terrorists what they want only makes them want more and they will continue fighting.

Yup!!

[Shammu]

Peres: mistake not to invite Israel to conference in Rome

The Vice Premier, Shimon Peres (Kadima), said in an interview to French newspaper 'Liberacion' that "It was a mistake not to invite Israel to the conference (on the current crisis in Lebanon) that took place on Wednesday in Rome."

Peres added that he doesn't understand why Israel was not invited and it would seem that the lack of invitation results from pressure exerted by Arab nations.

Peres: mistake not to invite Israel to conference in Rome

[Shammu]

Hizbullah sending text messages to Israelis?

‘Now Now Now ..Go out from your home Hizballah willing shelling of the area’ reads text message received by dozens of Orange cell phone service subscribers Wednesday. Orange: We'll block messages
Tali Tzin

Dozens of Israeli customers of the Orange cellular service provider received unexpected SMS messages on their phones Wednesday evening, with the English message:

"Now Now Now...Go out from your home Hizballah willing shelling of the area, Israel Government Cheating you And refuse recognition Defeat.”

It was not yet clear whether Hizbullah operatives were in fact behind the messages of intimidation, or whether the messages were no more than a joke in poor taste by other network subscribers.

Upon receiving the message, Shlomit Morad from Or Akiva next to Caesarea, told Ynet, “I immediately understood that someone managed to break into the Orange database and that it of course wasn’t a personal message. This is their psychological warfare. The message came from a foreign number and not a recognized number.”

Hizbullah rockets have not hit the Or Akiva area, some distance south of Haifa, although the terror organization has threatened to target areas south of Haifa such as Netanya and Tel Aviv.

“I immediately understood that it was related to the events here. My daughter also got the same message to her cell phone. I called Orange to report it, and they took all the details,” Morad added.

Regarding how she felt upon receiving the message, Morad said, “I’m generally stressed by the situation. But we can deal with this – it’s not as horrible as all the other things happening in this war.” But all the same, she did not completely disregard the cautions. “Maybe now it is our turn. We’re getting ready,” she said.

'Surprise, a little amused'

Uri Goldberg, a resident of Herzliya near Tel Aviv also received the SMS.

 “I was surprised by the message, a little amused, but not particularly frightened. I’m not taking it seriously. I don’t think someone would send would send me a little message to warn of future bombardments. But I give them credit – they really could be sending text messages, it’s not completely unrealistic.”

Efrat, from the town of Rehovot next to Tel Aviv, received an identical message.

“We didn’t take it seriously. My father told me it was a number from abroad. He noticed that it wasn’t a number from within Israel.”

Rani Rahav, a spokesperson for Orange, responded that the text messages were coming from a small service provider “somewhere out there in the Pacific Ocean. We are working right now to block the provider from transmitting further messages to Orange customers.”

Hizbullah sending text messages to Israelis?

[Shammu]

Olmert: Hizbullah to learn the hard way

PM visits north to support residents; promises that fighting in north will not last for months, but says 'we won't announce end of operation'
Ronny Sofer

In a visit of support to the north on Wednesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that "the IDF operation won't last for months and, even if it lasts for longer than we planned, we'll know how to match the solution to the citizens."

"I don't intend on announcing an end to the operation. They (Hizbullah) will figure it out on their own, the hard way," he continued. Olmert met with 20 heads of local authorities in the north and spoke to them about their distress.

"Our strength is what you give us and I hope that next year – if you invite me – I will be able to formally kick off the Klezmer Festival," added the prime minister.

Pursuant to difficult reports of the fighting in Bint Jbeil, Olmert toured in Safed and met the mayor, members of the local council, defense establishment representatives, and rescue forces. He also visited the Ziv Medical Center in the city, where several civilians and soldiers, wounded as a result of the current crisis, are hospitalized.

Olmert spoke to various sources about activities, both military and civilian, being undertaken in the city to protect its residents. He also expressed support for Safed Mayor Yishai Maimon, stating that "this visit gives me spiritual strength."

"We are running a different kind of war than the wars in the past. It wasn't planned, but, two weeks in and during the fighting, the nation is trying to help, as best it can, those parts of the home front that have turned into a battlefront," he said.

Olmert: Hizbullah to learn the hard way

[Shammu]

 Israel-Lebanon -ISESCO ISESCO condemns Israeli military aggressions on Lebanon
Tehran, July 26, IRNA


Islamic States Educational, Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) has condemned in the strongest term Israeli aggressions on Lebanon.

According to the Public Relations Department of Ministry of Education, ISESCO deplored Israeli bombardment of civilians in Lebanon.

"The attacks so far has targeted civilian infrastructure of Lebanon leading to death of several hundred innocent children and women and destruction of bridges, houses and educational and cultural institutions," ISESCO said in a statement.

ISESCO said that its member states stand by Lebanon in resisting the enemy's disproportionate use of force against civilians living on border areas with the occupied territories of Palestine.

"What the occupying regime of Israel is doing is gross violation of the principles the humanity upheld along the history."
It said that unfortunately the aggression enjoys the blessings of big powers and they are against international laws and human rights.

ISESCO called on international organizations to perform their legal obligations and responsibilities and make Zionist regime to respect laws and the nations' rights for defense against occupation and military aggression.

It deplored that attacks of the occupying regime in past two weeks have targeted women and children, infrastructural facilities, mosques, hospitals and educational centers in Lebanon.

ISESCO was established on January 1981 in Morocco with the goals of improving Islamic culture and Arabic as language of the holy Qur'an, supporting active organizations in the fields of education, science, communications and universities and strengthening special centers to support the scientific and educational bodies.

Iran is one of its members and its regional branch was established on January 2003 in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

ISESCO condemns Israeli military aggressions on Lebanon

[Shammu]

 Iran, Turkey, Morocco condemn Israel's savage strikes on Lebanon, Palestine
Tehran, July 26, IRNA

Iran-Turkey-Morocco
Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel and his Moroccan and Turkish counterparts on Wednesday discussed the latest developments in the Middle East.

In a phone conversation, Haddad-Adel told Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Erinc, "What happened on Muslim Ummah due to the Zionist regime's brutal attacks on the defenseless Palestinian and Lebanese nations these days is very painful."
Haddad-Adel thanked the Turkish parliament, government and people for the stances they are taking in support for the Lebanese Muslims and said, "Such positive stances have resulted in the Iranian people's extreme respect for Turkey."
Erinc condemned the Zionist regime's dastardly moves against the Lebanese and Palestinian people, calling them 'inhumane and deploring'.

Erinc said the invasions' result is nothing by the killing of innocent people and such savage measures have not only depressed Muslim states but the whole world.

In another phone call, Haddad-Adel told his Moroccan counterpart Abdulwahid al-Radhi that the world of Islam should seriously step in the scene to defend the oppressed Palestinian and Lebanese people.

The Iran's top parliamentarian said parliaments in Islamic states and Muslim governments shoulder a very heavy responsibility in that respect.

Al-Radhi for his part condemned the Zionist Regime's all-out aggression on the Lebanese and Palestinian people.

Iran, Turkey, Morocco condemn Israel's savage strikes on Lebanon, Palestine

[Shammu]

 Iranian embassy condemns Israeli atrocities in Lebanon & Palestine
Kuala Lumpur, July 26, IRNA

Wellington-Embassy
Iranian Embassy in Wellington, capital city of New Zealand, in a statement released on Wednesday, said the aggressive measures of the Zionist regime in Gaza and Lebanon are against the international laws.

The statement, a copy of which was sent to IRNA, said, "It is with great sorrow and deepest concern to witness two weeks of death and destruction brought by the barbaric Israeli regime through constant bombardment of the civilian targets and Lebanon's infrastructure as well as atrocities in Gaza.

Regrettably, all this is happening with the unconditional support of US and another permanent members of the United Nations." "These atrocities which are in clear violation of the
International Laws and Conventions have caused hundreds of deaths, numerous injuries and displacement of thousands of civilians, tearing Lebanon into shreds, and reversing it at least for fifty years," the Statement added.

International Community, United Nations and other International bodies responsible for the global peace and security stand at their lowest level of morality by silently allowing all these tragedies happening, it said.

The Embassy strongly condemns the disproportionate use of force nd the death and destruction caused by the Zionist regime in Lebanon and Palestine, and asks for their immediate cessation.

Middle East crisis is the result of six decades long injustice, deprivation and tyranny resulting in the deep anger and frustration of its population. No military might, excessive use of force or bullying can resolve this problem and will only add to the complexities of the situation. There will be no solution and durable peace unless legitimate rights of the Palestinians, Lebanese and other nations of the region are fully recognized, fulfilled and respected.

Embassy calls on the peace loving and independent nation of New Zealand to raise their voice against this grave tragedy, ask for an urgent end to the bloodshed and also show their generosity to the people of Lebanon and Palestine by contributing to the international relief funds and other agencies announced for the injured and displaced people of Lebanon and Palestine.

Iranian embassy condemns Israeli atrocities in Lebanon & Palestine