Biblical countries, in the news.

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Palestinians Love to Hate Condoleezza Rice
"Rice is the Raven", "terrorist and child murderer"

Above and beyond the steady anti-American hatred promoted by the Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders for years, they seem to have a special penchant for hating Condoleezza Rice. Some of the attacks have included expressions of racial hatred, as in an article this week referring to Rice as a "raven" and a previous article that referred to her as "the colored... the dark skinned... the black lady."

In another racist  article attacking Condolezza Rice, the PA referred to her as the ”black woman” [three times], the “black spinster” and continues that he even considered the term “black widow” but rejected it. Her father is called the "black clergyman” [who filled her head with Bible stories] and Colin Powell is the “black man”, the “black gentleman” and even the “brave and moderate black.”

All appeared in the official PA daily, then controlled by Arafat, today under Mahmoud Abbas.

A cartoon this week mocked her hope for the birth of a new Middle East by drawing Rice pregnant with a monkey.

In addition to the offending news articles, the PA society is orchestrating demonstrations, children's activities, and hateful visual displays all personally attacking Condoleezza Rice. Yesterday's PA daily published pictures of demonstrators with posters of Rice drinking blood droplets dripping from the picture of a dead infant and saying, "I need more blood." Another showed an anti Rice protest of the PA Children's Parliament, which displayed an American flag with the words in English and Arabic "Murderer- Rice [Ryse-lit] go to Hell". Condoleezza Rice's picture appears on the flag adjacent to a picture of a dead child while children lay on the ground simulating dead children.
This appeared prominently on the back page in the official PA daily Al Hayat Al Jadida controlled by Mahmoud Abbas' office.

Also this week was an article in the same official daily entitled Condoleezza-Stan written by the paper's editor in chief attacking Rice for American policy, which the PA charges, is intentionally designed to promote war and US involvement, and not peace. The newspaper gave prominent coverage to an anti Rice demonstration where the demonstrators demand she "get out" and "return to where she came from."

The following are the latest personal attacks in articles and graphics directed at Condoleezza Rice:

    "The masses and the activists in Ramallah… received the visit (of Condoleezza Rice) with denunciation and condemnation.A general strike brought life to a halt, at a time when anger is exploding in marches and demonstrations... Signs and slogans in Arabic and English called Rice a terrorist and a child murderer... and they told her to get out...

    The street which is mobilized against American policy, did not wait for Rice's words to the president (Machmud Abbas), for the protestors demand she go back to where she came from, after describing her as a "raven" who brings only destruction."

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 Israel rejects UN aid truce call
Israel has rejected a United Nations call for a three-day truce in southern Lebanon, as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Israel.

The UN says children, the elderly and disabled people are trapped and supplies are short.

But an Israeli spokesman said there was no need for a truce as a humanitarian corridor to the area had been opened.

Israeli missiles landed near the main Lebanese border crossing into Syria on Saturday, witnesses and officials said.

In a separate incident, two Indian soldiers with the UN peacekeeping force were wounded in an Israeli strike on their observation post, the UN said.

The incident came days after four UN observers died in an Israeli air strike.

Israeli officials have indicated to the BBC that Israel may be willing to stop fighting as soon as a UN resolution is passed next week - before the arrival of an international peace force - and that they will not insist on the Hezbollah disarming first.

The UN says some 600 people - about a third of them children - have been killed by Israeli action in Lebanon.

They include a mother and her five children killed in a new wave of Israeli air raids in southern Lebanon, Lebanese medics said. Israel said it was investigating.

On Saturday Israeli forces withdrew from the southern Lebanese village of Bint Jbeil - a Hezbollah stronghold - which they had been trying to take for some days and where they sustained their heaviest one-day losses since the campaign began.

Hezbollah has continued firing hundreds of rockets into Israel - several hit the northern Israel town of Safed on Saturday.

In a new message, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said more central Israeli cities would be targeted if the Israeli offensive continued.

A total of 51 Israelis, including at least 18 civilians, have been killed during the conflict.

The Israeli assault began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid on 12 July.

'Concessions'

The US secretary of state is expected to talk to Israeli and Lebanese leaders about proposals to deploy a multinational force, as part of what US President George W Bush calls a viable plan for ending hostilities.

World leaders are due to discuss a deployment at a meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday.

Israeli officials told the BBC that a ceasefire must meet certain key conditions, including a guarantee that Hezbollah will not move back into positions close to the border.

Meanwhile, Israeli military sources have indicated that the fighting could intensify.

BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams says Israel would prefer a deal but it is publicly prepared to continue fighting if it does not get one.

Earlier, the UN deputy chief issued a warning over the observers' deaths in an Israeli strike on a UN base.

Mark Malloch-Brown said they had accepted Israel's apology, but still had "serious concerns" about what happened.

UN officials said they had contacted Israel a dozen times before the bombing and asked them to stop firing, which Israel did not.

Israel rejects UN aid truce call

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UN aid chief says Israel has 'created a generation of hatred'
HILARY LEILA KRIEGER AND TOVAH LAZAROFF, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jul. 27, 2006

United Nations humanitarian chief Jan Egeland accused Israel on Wednesday of committing "catastrophic mistakes" in its attack on Hizbullah, which have caused civilian casualties and alienated the Lebanese public.

"It will create a generation of hatred," he said in an interview held with The Jerusalem Post after he had concluded tours of northern Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

"I'm talking more as a friend of Israel than as an aid worker," said Egeland, who noted that he studied at Jerusalem's Hebrew University as a Truman Fellow, while his brother lived on a kibbutz.

The UN's under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Egeland called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. "The rockets have to stop. The terror has to stop. But please remember that for every civilian killed in Israel there are more than 10 killed in Lebanon. It has to stop on both sides." He charged that Israel had used "excessive" and "disproportionate" force in violation of international humanitarian law, and dismissed Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's contention that proportionality is measured in relation to the threat posed by a force.

"You cannot invent new kinds of proportionalities. I've never heard that the threat is supposed to be proportional to the response," he said. "Proportionality is there in the law. The law has been made through generations of experience on the battlefield. If you kill more civilians than military personnel, one should not attack," he said.

Egeland reiterated his condemnations of Hizbullah's tactics. "Armed men should not cowardly hide among civilians. It will inflict civilians casualties," he said, calling Hizbullah's cross-border kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers "a mega-catastrophe."

But, he stressed, "Civilians must be protected, and when there are many more dead children than armed men, something is fundamentally wrong, not only with how the armed men behave and where they seek hiding, but also in the response."

He criticized Israel for telling residents of southern Lebanon to flee but destroying the roads that would let them escape.

At a press conference held earlier Wednesday, Egeland said the UN was distributing more than 100 tons of medical supplies and would be sending additional convoys on Friday, Sunday and Monday. He called on the international community to come up with the $150 million in aid money he estimated would be needed to get through the next three months.

While agreement in principle had been reached on a sea route, he said, the UN was still waiting to establish an air channel.

Egeland placed the current number of displaced Lebanese at upward of 600,000 and said he expected it to soon top a million people. He indicated he could not provide a figure for displaced Israelis because Israel hadn't asked the UN for assistance. The Government Press Office puts the number at 250,000 individuals.

He said he was deeply struck by what he had observed first-hand during his tour of the region, particularly the "Christians, Druse, Maronites, Sunnis, who all hated Israel" when before they had hated Hizbullah, and the rubble of Beirut, which he said looked "a little bit like the end of the Second World War. It was block after block after block down in some kind of a carpet bombing."

While the results of the attacks might be different, Egeland said that Israelis and Lebanese suffered "the same sense of terror." He described his distress by the scene that had greeted him in Haifa.

"I remember Haifa as a city of moderation and reconciliation and peace, and now to see people running to shelters and see many of its citizens being wounded is just terrible," he said. "It's heartrending to hear the stories."

Egeland toured Haifa with Livni and the city's mayor Yona Yahav.

Egeland was taken to the site of a apartment in the city's coastal area that had been destroyed by a missile and to a lookout point on top of the hill where the police and army observe the location of rocket hits.

Livni later told reporters that she had wanted to meet in him Haifa so that he could see first-hand what life was life for residents in the North suffering under the daily barrage of Hizbullah rockets.

Yahav said he had showed Egeland the small metal pellets that are packed into the rockets so he would understand the lethal potential of each missile.

Egeland got a taste of daily life in Haifa when several warning sirens shrieked across the city during his visit.

Egeland told Yahav and Livni that both Israelis and Lebanese were paying a high price for the violence that had to be stopped.

Yahav said he thought the visit had gone well.

"I had a profound feeling that I succeeded in converting him. He was able to see the reality in front of him and what it means. I asked him what he would have said if I had given shelter to a terrorist group in my city. He said, 'You are right,'" reported Yahav.

UN aid chief says Israel has 'created a generation of hatred'

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Rice meets Olmert, hopes cease-fire can be reached by Wednesday
By Haaretz Staff and Agencies

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Israel on Saturday for a new round of diplomacy aimed at ending more than two weeks of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Rice, who dined with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday evening, said she hoped for agreement on the main conditions for a cease-fire to be outlined in a United Nations resolution that could be tabled as early as Wednesday. She was also to meet with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

"I expect the discussions to be difficult, but there will have to be give and take," Rice told reporters.

"I assume and have every reason to believe that leadership on both sides of this crisis would like to see it end."

Rice's plan to stop the fighting envisages the deployment of a multinational force in southern Lebanon, the disarming of Hezbollah and the return of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldiers, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.

Rice welcomed as a "positive step" the agreement by Hezbollah cabinet members to seek an immediate cease-fire that would include the disarming of militias.

In Beirut, Hezbollah politicians signed on to a proposed peace package that includes strengthening an international force in south Lebanon and disarming the guerrillas, the government said.

The agreement, reached at a cabinet meeting, was the first time Hezbollah had agreed to a proposal for ending the crisis that includes the deploying of international forces.

Speaking to reporters en route to Jerusalem, Rice also praised Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora for persuading Hezbollah to agree.

"The most important thing that this does for the process is that it shows a Lebanese government that is functioning as a Lebanese government," Rice told reporters traveling with her. "That is in and of itself extremely important."

Olmert, meanwhile, met with Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz for consultations Saturday, Israel Radio reported.

U.S. President George W. Bush said Friday that Rice would return to the region with a cease-fire proposal package to present to Israel and Lebanon.

Rice will also hold talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who has been pleading for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Saturday he believed it was possible to get agreement on a peacekeeping force for Lebanon within days and that this could clear the way for a cease-fire.

Asked if he believed it was possible to get agreement on a multinational force and even a cease-fire within days, Blair told a BBC television interviewer: "I think that it is possible to do that, provided we are clear about the ambitions."

"You won't get the force actually in [to Lebanon] within a few days but I think you could get agreement in principle to the international stabilization force. You then have to work out the details of it," he said.

"I think you could get a United Nations resolution based on an agreement between the governments of Israel and Lebanon and I think if people can see then a pathway to a proper, stable lasting resolution of the conflict then I think you can get a cease-fire, yes," said Blair, who is in San Francisco during a five-day U.S. visit.

Blair has come under strong criticism in Britain for supporting Bush and refraining from calling for an immediate cease-fire.

He denied in the interview that he was giving a green light to Israel to do what it wanted.

"What is happening in the Lebanon is absolutely terrible for the people there. ... But you're not going to resolve it unless you can get the cease-fire on both sides," he said.

The conflict began on July 12, when Hezbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon carried out a cross-border raid on Israel Defense Forces soldiers patrolling the frontier, kidnapping two and killing eight others.

U.S. officials said much diplomatic work remained and it was unclear whether a UN resolution would be ready by Monday.

Key elements under discussion include a prisoner exchange, creating an international force and disarming Hezbollah.

Speaking Friday at joint press conference in Washington with Blair after the two met on the two-week long conflict, the president said that Rice would be charged with working with Beirut and Jerusalem to come up with an acceptable UN resolution.

"Her instructions are to work with Israel and Lebanon to come up with an acceptable UN Security Council resolution that we can table next week," Bush said.

cont'd next post

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The president also stressed the need for an international force to be deployed in Lebanon to assist the Lebanese army in efforts to regain control of the southern part of the country, where Hezbollah has been the dominant military presence since the IDF withdrew from the area in May 2000.

"We agree that a to augment the Lebanese army as it moves the south of that country. An effective multinational force will help speed delivery of humanitarian relief," Bush said.

He said the plan developed by he and Blair would "make every effort to achieve a lasting peace out of this process."

"This is a moment of intense conflict in the Middle East," the president added. "Yet our aim is to turn it into a moment of opportunity and a chance for broader change in the region."

"In Lebanon, Hezbollah and its Iranian and Syrian sponsors are willing to kill and use violence to stop the spread of peace and democracy," he said. "They're not going to succeed."

He added: "The stakes are larger than just Lebanon."

Blair said he and Bush agreed a UN resolution is needed as soon as possible to stop hostilities in Lebanon.

The prime minister said it was important not only to get a cessation of violence but to use the opportunity to set out and achieve a "different strategic direction for the whole of that region."

"We've got to deal with the immediate situation" but also realize that the violence in recent weeks is part of a bigger picture that must be addressed," said Blair.

He told reporters that three steps were being implemented to end the conflict - the return of Rice to the region, a meeting of Monday on the deployment of an international force in southern Lebanon, and a UN resolution as soon as possible to allow a cessation of hostilities.

"Nothing will work, unless, as well as an end to the immediate crisis, we put in place the measures necessary to prevent it from occurring again," Blair said. "We take this opportunity to set out and achieve a different strategic direction for the whole of that region."

He urged Iran and Syria to stop supporting terrorism and become responsible mmebers of the international community.

But Blair also revealed the difficulty of restoring calm to a long-volatile region. "This can only work if Hezbollah are prepared to allow it to work," he said.

Britain and France said earlier Friday that they would press for a UN resolution to end the violence between Israel and Hezbollah.

Blair's spokesman said the prime minister would seek to "increase the urgency" of diplomacy to end the violence between Israel and Hezbollah in his talks with Bush in Washington.

Speaking aboard Blair's plane as it flew to Washington, the spokesman said Britain hoped a UN resolution could be in place by next week. He said Britain sought "to increase the urgency, the pace of diplomacy, in identifying the practical steps that are necessary to bring about a cease-fire on both sides."

French President Jacques Chirac said Friday that France will press for the rapid adoption of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, his office said.

Meanwhile, Portugal said Friday it would be willing to join any European Union peacekeeping force in an effort to stop the fighting.

"Portugal is willing to, within the EU, help find a strong solution for this conflict," said Portuguese Foreign Minister Luis Amado.

Italy, Germany, Ireland, France and Turkey have said they are considering
joining a United Nations-run multinational force.

However, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday
cast doubt on major UN involvement in any international force in Lebanon, saying more professional and better-trained troops were needed for such a volatile situation.

"I do think it is important that groundwork be laid so I can make the most of whatever time I can spend there," Rice told a news conference in Malaysia, where she has been attending a conference on Asian issues.

The United States, adopting a diplomatic stance that has not been embraced by allies, has been insisting that any cease-fire to the violence over the last three weeks must come with conditions.

Otherwise, Rice and other U.S. officials have said repeatedly, they fear just a repetition of the on-again, off-again violence of recent years.

Asked what she hoped to accomplish when she does return to the region, Rice said, "We hope to achieve an early end to this violence, that's what we hope to achieve."

"That means that we have to help the parties establish conditions that will make it possible for an early cease-fire that, nonetheless, does not return us to the status quo," she said. Referring to a summit about Lebanon that was held in Rome, she said: "I think everybody in Rome agreed that we can't return to the circumstances that led us to this in the first place."

Rice said the terms and conditions of a such a cease-fire would involve "a multinational force under UN supervision" that would have a mandate to enforce a peace agreement.

Rice's spokesman, Adam Ereli, took strong issue with an assertion by Justice Minister Haim Ramon, who said the failure of world leaders to call for an immediate cease-fire at a summit in Rome gave Israel a green light to carry on with its campaign to crush Hezbollah.

"Any such statement is outrageous," Ereli said. "The United States is sparing no effort to bring a durable and lasting end to this conflict."

Rice has spent three days dashing to high-stakes meetings in Beirut, Jerusalem, the West Bank and Rome, and then traveled to Malaysia on Thursday for the long-planned conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

At her news conference Friday, Rice said that before returning to the region, she wanted to confer with aides Elliot Abrams and David Welch, both U.S. envoys for the region, to work on a second trek there.

Rice meets Olmert, hopes cease-fire can be reached by Wednesday

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Int'l aid goes to pay Hamas salaries
Hilary Leila Krieger, THE JERUSALEM POST    Jul. 28, 2006

Some of the Arab League money recently transferred to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been paid out to Hamas ministers this week, according to PA sources.

The United States has been leading a campaign to keep international funds from paying Hamas officials' salaries ever since the Islamic militant group won parliamentary elections this winter. The freezing of international money to the PA for this end has kept some 165,000 civil servants, about half of them armed police officers, from receiving wages this spring, helping plunge the Palestinian areas into financial crisis.

The Arab League raised money to help the Palestinians in March but was unable to transfer it until earlier this month. America has pressured banks not to allow money to flow to the PA, lest they be held in violation of US anti-terror laws, which forbid sending money to organizations that the government has designated terrorist groups, as Hamas has been. At the time of the transfer, the Arab League declined to specify how the $100 million provided by it and Saudi Arabia had reached Abbas.

Now in Abbas's hands, a PA official confirmed to The Jerusalem Post, it was used to make "downpayments" this week to all civil servants in the PA - including the prime minister and all the cabinet ministers, even though they are members of Hamas. The official stressed that the money was given to the PA and not to Hamas directly, but that there could be no discrimination in the payment of government workers.

Only a fraction of the total salaries owed to workers was paid.

Meanwhile, European Union Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner announced Thursday that the EU had begun to transfer money to PA health workers, in concert with a mechanism designed to ensure that no money reach Hamas. Some $40 million has been designated by the EU for health purposes.

According to an EU statement on the funding, "The intention is to support up to 13,000 workers. The payments will be made progressively and directly into workers' bank accounts."

Israel's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mark Regev said Thursday that "We support aid directly to the Palestinian people that bypasses the Hamas government," repeating the long-held Israeli position. But Regev said the government would have to review the EU's application of the mechanism in the case of the health workers before commenting on this specific transfer.

Regev also declined to comment on the money which had reached Hamas, saying he didn't have the facts.

American press officers stationed in Israel also said they didn't know enough about the circumstances surrounding the salary payments which had reached Hamas to comment on them. They also wouldn't comment on how the transfer had reached Abbas despite America's stand against banks allowing funds to flow to the PA, or make any general statement on the subject of international funds reaching Hamas.

But one diplomatic source who tracks the funding issue closely asserted that, "The Americans have total control over the banking system. I don't think it could happen without American collusion."

He suggested that the timing of the payments was hardly a coincidence. "This was a good time because everyone's attention is being diverted by Lebanon," he said, charging that the Americans don't want to be fingered for changing their policy and having "made a mistake" by cutting off funds to the Palestinians, only to find themselves dealing with a humanitarian crisis.

He also noted, "The same logic applies to Abbas," whom Washington regards as a moderate and has even suggested might receive more funds. Abbas might not want to be seen doling out money to Hamas, the official said.

At any rate, the source added, the move made the Europeans "look ridiculous" for spending time and money developing a complicated mechanism for funneling money for specific purposes to the Palestinians while circumventing Hamas, if general purpose aid was getting through and paying salaries.

He accused the Americans of "making their allies the Europeans look bad."

Int'l aid goes to pay Hamas salaries

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Give up your nuclear weapons

WASHINGTON — President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair teamed together Friday to call on Syria to help end the growing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah military forces in southern Lebanon.

"My message to Syria is: You know, become an active participant in the neighborhood for peace," Bush said during a joint press conference at the White House with his British counterpart.

The two leaders also told reporters they were going to pursue a U.N. Security Council resolution to create a multinational force to aid the Lebanese government in taking control of Hezbollah guerillas and bring peace to the region. Britain and the United States hope a U.N. resolution could be in place by next week.

Bush said any resolution should provide "a framework for the cessation of hostilities on an urgent basis and mandating the multinational force."

Blair added: "Provided that is agreed and acted on, we can indeed bring an end to this crisis. But nothing will work unless, as well as an end to the immediate crisis, we put in place the measures necessary to prevent this occurring again."

Despite growing calls for an immediate cease-fire, Bush and Blair said they instead would move forward with plans for more long-term solutions.

"The prime minister and I have committed our governments to a plan to make every effort to achieve a lasting peace in this crisis," Bush said.

Bush also announced in the East Room news conference that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be dispatched a second time on Saturday to the Middle East to continue diplomatic efforts to broker peace. Rice on Friday was in Indonesia meeting with Asian foreign ministers, but her return to the Middle East means the United States is continuing its push to resolve the violence.

It's also part of a western attempt to prevent broader conflict that some fear could draw in Syria, Iran and western nations.

"The message is very, very simple to them. It is that you have a choice. Iran and Syria have a choice," Blair said. "They can either come in and participate as proper and responsible members of the international community, or they will face the risk of increasing confrontation."

Bush also addressed Iran by saying: "Give up your nuclear weapons and your nuclear weapon ambitions."

Bush and Blair also outlined a number of other actions that will be taking place in the coming days, including continued commitments to humanitarian efforts to aid hundreds of thousands of people displaced on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border.

Bush also noted: "The alliance between Britain and American is stronger than ever."

Israeli Ambassador Danial Ayalon agreed to the need to call in an international peacekeeping force, but said they must be strong enough to be able to defend themselves.

"It has to be a force which first and foremost can defend itself and then can enforce law and order in this very troubled land," Ayalon told FOX News. "So it has to be strong in terms big numbers, in terms of equipment, in terms of intelligence capabilities. And of course, it will have to have the cooperation and support of the Lebanese government, and the Lebanese forces themselves."

Former ambassador and special Middle East coordinator Dennis Ross said that what's needed is a solution that "doesn’t leave Hezbollah as a state within a state."

Ross said he did not believe Israel could disarm Hezbollah, but it's possible for an international force to give the Lebanese army the strength to keep Hezbollah contained.

In addition to foreign governments asking the close allies to use a heavy shoulder on Israel to stop its heavy attacks on Lebanese soil, a bipartisan group of senators were adding their voices into the mix Friday.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., announced that she would introduce a resolution that "expresses support to attain a cessation in hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel," which is cosponsored by Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn; Carl Levin, D-Mich.; and John Sununu, R-N.H.

"I believe it is time for us to assert our leadrership and put a stop to the violence as soon as possible. The innocent people of Lebanon and Israel have had enough ... of the violence and bloodshed. It is time for them to be able to live their lives in peace," Stabenow said.

Consultations continue on the makeup and mandate of a possible international peacekeeping force to stabilize the more than 2-week-old situation and supplement the Lebanese army. A senior State Department aide was meeting with European Union officials in Brussels and there were plans for talks at the United Nations as well.

White House press secretary Tony Snow expressed doubt that world leaders could come together on wording by next week.

The United States insists that any solution address long-standing regional disputes, particularly the call contained in a 2004 U.N. Security Council resolution that Lebanese militias such as Hezbollah be disarmed — something the Lebanese government has not done.

"It's all about getting the right conditions for that U.N. resolution," Snow said.

Snow suggested that one sensitive piece of the ongoing negotiations is which country would offer the resolution, to make it more likely to influence Hezbollah. But "to being talking about ongoing negotiations in some ways could jeopardize some of the things that are going on," Snow said.

U.S. officials say European troops would likely dominate any international peacekeeping force.

"I don't anticipate American combat power, combat forces, being used in this force," Rice told reporters Thursday while traveling to Malaysia for an Asian regional conference.

With Israel signaling it is settling in for a much longer battle than had initially been expected, Bush has suggested that he would support the offensive for as long as it takes to cripple the Shiite Muslim militant group. The fighting began after Hezbollah crossed the border and captured two Israeli soldiers. Defying some members of his own parliament, Blair has insisted that Hezbollah must first free the soldiers and stop firing rockets into Israel, a similar position to that taken by Bush.

Israel's punishing campaign of airstrikes, artillery shelling and clashes has killed an estimated 600 Lebanese. More than 50 Israelis have died, most of them soldiers.

Many countries in Europe and the Middle East are calling for an immediate cease-fire and have deplored the impact of Israel's campaign on Lebanon. The gap between the United States and Britain and other nations has intensified some of the diplomatic strains that have existed since Bush invaded Iraq in 2003 with Blair as one of his chief international backers.

Blair came to Washington for the second time in two months politically weakened, both by Iraq and by domestic woes in Britain.

Blair's government recently has had to deal with allegations that two U.S.-chartered planes carrying missiles to Israel stopped to refuel at a Scottish airport without filing the proper paperwork for hazardous materials. The missile dispute has added to questions about what Britain gets for its "special relationship" with the United States.

From Washington, Blair was to fly to California for meetings with business leaders.

Give up your nuclear weapons

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You should understand, this is being posted as KNOW YOUR ENEMY!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hezbollah: we’ve planned this for 6 years
Hala Jaber, Beirut

Until now Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group, has refused to reveal much about its response to Israel’s assault. But in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Times yesterday, Sheikh Naim Qassem, Hezbollah’s second in command, spoke out — and attacked Britain for allowing US planes carrying bombs to Israel to transit through a British airport.

“The transportation of American weapons to Israel is a blatant scandal of America’s full involvement in the battle,” he said, “and flying them over London bears large responsibility over Britain.

“Instead of working on solving the continuous conflicts in the Middle East, the powerful nations are participating in intensifying and complicating the issues. This is dangerous for peace, and for future relationships between this region and these countries.”

Qassem, a founding member of Hezbollah in 1992 and deputy general secretary, claimed Sheikh Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, has remained in Lebanon and has not taken refuge outside the country as has been rumoured.

“The Israelis have said several times that they were targeting the general secretary and some of his leadership in bunkers because they are certain that they are indeed in Lebanon. Hezbollah’s leadership is used to being in the field.”

Qassem admitted Hezbollah had been preparing for conflict since Israel withdrew from south Lebanon in 2000. He claimed it had not been convinced that Israel’s aspirations in Lebanon were over, despite its withdrawal.

“The fact that Israel kept the Shebaa Farms (a strip of disputed land on the border), held on to the prisoners and its continuous reconnaissance flights over Lebanon were all indications of its aggressive intentions towards Lebanon,” he said.

Hezbollah’s stockpiling of arms and preparation of numerous bunkers and tunnels over the past six years have been key to its resistance. “If it was not for these preparations Lebanon would have been defeated within hours,” he said.

Hezbollah is believed to be in possession of four types of advanced missile: Fajr missiles with a range of 100 kilometres; Iran 130 missiles with a range of 110km; and Shahin missiles and 355mm rockets with ranges of 150km. He said that Hezbollah will use its weapons to strike deep into Israel should the attacks in Lebanon continue.

“Had (Nasrallah) wanted to name the rockets and cities that can be targeted he would have mentioned those in his statements.

“For now we shall refrain from giving details and let Israel deduce what it wants from this,” he said.

Qassem refused to reveal Hezbollah’s position on issues such as the deployment of international forces across south Lebanon before an unconditional cessation of Israeli aggression against Lebanon and the return of displaced people to their villages and towns.

“There is no other solution now but for an unconditional ceasefire after which all other political issues will be discussed in and through the right channels,” Qassem said.

Hezbollah leaders have agreed to join a Lebanese government peace proposal.

The plan does not include a new multinational force favoured by Tony Blair and President George W Bush. Instead, it calls for beefing up the existing, but ineffective, 2,000 member United Nations force already in place in the south.

The Lebanese proposal, which calls for an immediate ceasefire, also does not directly address the issue of disarmament that Israel, the United States and Britain consider essential to any settlement. Instead it offers a prisoner exchange for the two Israel soldiers captured by Hezbollah on July 12.

The plan further calls for the Lebanese government to exercise full control over its southern region and for the UN security council to put the contested Shebaa Farms under the jurisdiction of the UN.

Qassem said that Hezbollah would not discuss disarmament. It “is not an issue up for negotiation at this stage”, he said.

For Bush and Blair, however, disarmament and the removal of Hezbollah’s weapons are key. They believe that no lasting peace can be achieved while Israel faces the threat of rockets being fired at its towns and cities and of Hezbollah raids targeting its soldiers on the border.

Hezbollah: we’ve planned this for 6 years

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Israel Is Powerful, Yes. But Not So Invincible.
By JOHN KIFNER

NO exit?

As the bloodbath in Lebanon spilled past its second week — with at least 400 Lebanese dead and many more presumed buried in rubble; some 800,000 refugees, nearly a quarter of the population, on the run; and the fragile nation’s infrastructure shattered — there was no easy way out for either Israel or Hezbollah, the combatants locked in what each saw as a deadly existential struggle.

The very clear winner, for the moment at least, was Hezbollah and its leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. (Unless, of course, Israel succeeds in its efforts to assassinate him.) As the only Arab leader seen to have defeated the Israelis — on the basis of their withdrawal in 2000 from an 18-year occupation — he already enjoyed wide respect. Now, with Hezbollah standing firm and inflicting casualties, he has become a folk hero across the Muslim world, apparently uniting Sunnis and Shiites.

The standoff stunned Israel, whose offensive came in response to a Hezbollah cross-border raid that resulted in the death of eight Israeli soldiers and the capture of two others. Central to the embattled nation’s sense of survivability is the idea of its invincibility. Its intelligence knows everything, the mythology goes, and no army dare stand against it. In truth, Israel has, in part, been lucky in its enemies, mostly Arab regimes with armies suitable mainly for keeping their own populace in check.

What was clearly conceived two weeks ago as a quick battle using air power and strikes on specific targets with commando raids to degrade Hezbollah’s resources, particularly its stores of thousands of rockets, has turned into a crisis. “Israel is far from a decisive victory and its main objectives have not been achieved,” wrote the country’s most respected military analyst, Zeev Schiff, in the daily Haaretz.

Hezbollah, Sheik Nasrallah has said, “needs only to survive to win.” That seemed increasingly likely by week’s end. Deeply entwined among the Shiite community that makes up perhaps 40 percent of Lebanon’s population, it would be impossible to eliminate. But there is more. Although the Israelis announced within days that they had destroyed 50 percent of Hezbollah’s munitions, the guerrillas have continued to rain more than a hundred rockets a day on Israel. And on Wednesday, in Bint Jbail, a town the Israelis said they controlled, a well-laid Hezbollah ambush pinned down infantrymen from the elite Golani Brigade for hours. At times the firing was so heavy the brigade’s soldiers could not return it; eight Israelis were killed. The highly advanced Merkava tanks were reduced to ambulances and several were destroyed.

The idea that a supposedly ragtag group of guerrillas could trap the Golani Brigade was a visceral threat to the future. Still, while there has been criticism of the conduct of the war in Israel, with the rockets hitting northern Israel and Hezbollah still entrenched, there is wide popular support for continued combat.

Yoel Marcus, a columnist for Haaretz who had earlier acidly asked if this was the same army that had defeated all of the Arab forces in just six days, ended the week writing: “It is unthinkable to walk away from the battlefield with the depressing sense that out of all the wars Israel has ever fought, only Hezbollah, a mere band of terrorists, was able to bombard the Israeli home front with thousands of missiles and get off scot free.

“Before any international agreement, Israel must sound the last chord, launching a massive air and ground offensive that will end this mortifying war, not with a whimper but a thunderous roar.”

It is the United States that may well come out the worst in this impasse, particularly in terms of its influence in the Arab and Muslim world. Already widely seen throughout much of that world as the lapdog of Israel, it is now viewed as publicly sanctioning the continued pounding of Lebanon, blocking efforts for a cease-fire and even rushing the Israelis more laser-guided bombs.

“I think this is a loser,” said Augustus Richard Norton, an expert on the Shia of Lebanon who teaches at Boston University. “Time is working against us, not with us. The options stink.”

Vali R. Nasr, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School, said that “the reason it’s an impasse is that there is a lot riding on it for the U.S. and Israel.” He added: “It potentially puts into question the entire rationale of whether overwhelming military force can shape the region. The bar for victory for the U.S. and Israel is growing every day and for Hezbollah it is lowering every day.”

Israel has been down this road in Lebanon before. In both 1978 and 1982 it invaded to drive out Palestinian guerrillas and employed a heavy bombing campaign that drove many Shiites from the south to Beirut’s southern slums. Its 18-year occupation of the south brought Hezbollah into existence.

“Hezbollah had 20 years to hone their skills and hatred against Israel,” said Mr. Norton, a former Army officer who served with the United Nations in southern Lebanon and taught at West Point. “That hatred was created by Israel; it wasn’t there at the beginning.”

Israel’s battle plan rested on air power, hoping that heavy bombing would demoralize the population and turn it against Hezbollah, although many military experts say that rarely works. Officials last week seemed uncertain how to proceed: they said they would keep bombing rather than launch any big land attacks, but still called up as many as 30,000 reserves.

As international concern grew over the destruction, there was a flurry of diplomatic maneuvers aimed at creating a peacekeeping force. But while there was widespread support in principle, no nation seemed eager to send its own troops, particularly if the mandate was to disarm Hezbollah, in effect, to become another combatant.

On Friday, as crowds spilled out of a Sunni mosque in Cairo, capital of one of America’s key allies, they waved posters with the bearded, black-turbaned portrait of Sheik Nasrallah.

“Oh, Sunni! Oh, Shiite! Let’s fight the Jews,” the crowds chanted. “The Jews and the Americans are killing our brothers in Lebanon.”

Israel Is Powerful, Yes. But Not So Invincible.

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Israel backed by army of cyber-soldiers

  Saturday, July 29th, 2006

Yonit Farago in Jerusalem

WHILE Israel fights Hezbollah with tanks and aircraft, its supporters are campaigning on the internet.

Israel’s Government has thrown its weight behind efforts by supporters to counter what it believes to be negative bias and a tide of pro-Arab Propaganda. The Foreign Ministry has ordered trainee diplomats to track websites and chatrooms so that networks of US and European groups with hundreds of thousands of Jewish activists can place supportive messages.

In the past week nearly 5,000 members of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) have downloaded special “megaphone” software that alerts them to anti-Israeli chatrooms or internet polls to enable them to post contrary viewpoints. A student team in Jerusalem combs the web in a host of different languages to flag the sites so that those who have signed up can influence an opinion survey or the course of a debate.

Jonny Cline, of the international student group, said that Jewish students and youth groups with their understanding of the web environment were ideally placed to present another side to the debate.

“We’re saying to these people that if Israel is being bashed, don’t ignore it, change it,” Mr Cline said. “A poll like CNN’s takes just a few seconds to vote in, but if thousands take part the outcome will be changed. What’s vital is that the international face of the conflict is balanced.”

Doron Barkat, 29, in Jerusalem, spends long nights trawling the web to try to swing the debate Israel’s way. “When I see internet polls for or against Israel I send out a mailing list to vote for Israel,” he said. “It can be that after 15 minutes there will be 400 votes for Israel.

“It’s very satisfying. There are also forums where Lebanese and Israelis talk.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry must avoid direct involvement with the campaign but is in contact with international Jewish and evangelical Christian groups, distributing internet information packs.

Amir Gissin, the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s public relations director, said: “The internet’s become a leading tool for news, shaping the world view of millions. Our problem is the foreign Media shows Lebanese suffering, but not Israeli. We’re bypassing that filter by distributing pictures showing how northern Israelis suffer from Katyusha rocket attacks.”

Israel backed by army of cyber-soldiers

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Israeli forces kill Islamic Jihad head

ALI DARAGHMEH
Associated Press

NABLUS, West Bank - Israeli troops killed a top leader of the radical Islamic Jihad in a West Bank raid Saturday, the group said, and the Israelis pressed ahead with their offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Islamic Jihad said the leader of its militant wing in Nablus, Hani Awijan, 29, was killed by Israeli undercover troops. They came to arrest him while he was playing soccer with friends and relatives, the group said. Another Islamic Jihad militant was also killed.

The army confirmed soldiers operated in Nablus and said a militant was killed in an exchange of fire.

Israel Radio said Awijan was responsible for a series of attacks on Israelis. Over the past 17 months, Islamic Jihad has been responsible for all 12 suicide bombing attacks in Israel, killing 71 people.

Islamic Jihad announced Awijan's death from mosque loudspeakers, As news of the raid spread through Nablus, large crowds gathered. Militants burned tires in the streets and called for a general strike in the city. Shops were quickly closed.

While most attention is on the Israel-Lebanon conflict and the monthlong Israeli offensive in Gaza, Israeli forces carry out nightly arrest raids in the West Bank, searching for suspected militants. Often more than 20 are detained in a single night.

Israel moved tanks and troops into Gaza and started an intensive campaign of airstrikes after Hamas-linked militants tunneled under the border and attacked an Israeli army post at a crossing point, killing two soldiers and capturing a third, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, 19.

Palestinian officials said they have not received a response to their demand that Israel guarantee that it will free women, children and long-serving Palestinian prisoners before Shalit is released.

Dr. Salah Bardawil, a senior Hamas official, said Israel's refusal to guarantee the release of prisoners before the release of Shalit had created a stalemate.

Early Saturday, Israeli tanks moved back into Gaza a day after completing a two-day raid in the northern part of the seaside strip in which 30 Palestinians were killed. Most of the dead were armed militants, but some were civilians, including an elderly woman and a child.

Late Saturday, residents reported Israeli tanks moving east of Gaza City, a frequent area of Israeli operations to try to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets at Israeli communities.

In airstrikes early Sunday, Israeli aircraft destroyed a house belonging to a militant in Gaza City, residents said. Israel warned the occupants to leave, and the house was empty. Another target was the house of a militant leader in the town of Beit Hanoun. Eight people were wounded in the attacks, three seriously, hospital officials said.

Also, Israeli aircraft fired missiles near the southern town or Rafah, knocking out electricity. The Israelis said they were aiming at a site where Palestinians were tunneling under the Gaza-Egypt border.

Since Israel pulled out of Gaza last summer, turning control of the border over to Egypt and the Palestinians, the Israeli military has said that cross-border smuggling of weapons and explosives has increased considerably.

Israeli forces kill Islamic Jihad head

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 Chirac: First Cease Fire, Then Int'l Force
00:46 Jul 30, '06 / 5 Av 5766

(IsraelNN.com) French President Jacques Chirac said Saturday he opposes placing a United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon before there is a cease fire. He spoke with British Prime Minister Tony Blair as both leaders tried to forge ahead with a cease fire plan.

The Bush administration has resisted the proposal, arguing that it would not solve the crisis. Several western countries, including Germany and the United States, have said they are not prepared to place their soldiers in the area at this time.

Chirac: First Cease Fire, Then Int'l Force

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 Psychological Warfare Against Hizbullah
01:48 Jul 30, '06 / 5 Av 5766

(IsraelNN.com) Israeli airplanes Saturday dropped leaflet in Lebanon stating, "Hassan [Nasrallah] ignited the fire like a child playing with matches, but found out that the IDF’s fire is much stronger than he had anticipated. Hassan continues to destroy Lebanon. Will he understand that he was wrong and end your suffering?"

IDF officers have said that Nasrallah is feeling intense pressure after Israeli soldiers eliminated a large percentage of his army and wiped out at least one third of Hizbullah's rocket firing potential.

Psychological Warfare Against Hizbullah

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France, Lebanon to deploy to border with Israel

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meets with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at his Jerusalem residence Saturday night; Rice reveals initial plans for international peacekeeping force: France, Lebanese army to take part, and will also guard Syria-Lebanon border. Leaders agree diplomatic agreement dependant on release of kidnapped soldiers
Ronny Sofer

The French and Lebanese armies will take part in the multinational peacekeeping force expected to take position along the southern Lebanese border, it was revealed following a meeting between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem.

The two met at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Jerusalem late Saturday night for nearly two hours, most of which was spent in one-on-one talks.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs C. David Welch, National Security Council Director for Near East and North African Affairs Elliot Abrams on the American side and Olmert’s chief-of-staff Dr. Yoram Turbovitz, his diplomatic advisor Shalom Turgeman, and his military adviser Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni for the Israeli side also joined in for some of the talks.

Productive meeting betwee Rice, Olmert

The meeting was reportedly held in a cordial atmosphere, and between the diplomatic deliberations, Rice and Olmert took dinner together. Olmert’s office said that during the entire meeting, Rice did not at all press the issue of a ceasefire .

Towards a diplomatic solution

The two leaders agreed that any diplomatic arrangement to end the fighting would be dependent on the release of kidnapped IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev .

Regarding the establishment of a multinational peacekeeping force, the conditions for its establishment, the length of its mandate and its responsibilities were not yet finalized, although Rice expressed optimism that it would be set up very soon.

Olmert and Rice did not discuss the size of multinational peacekeeping force to be established. Likewise, the question of which countries, other than France and Lebanon, would partake in the force was not confronted.

However, Rice did note that the Lebanese and French armies would deploy along the Syrian-Lebanese border to the east, as well as along the southern border with Israel.

Minimizing humanitarian crisis

The two also did not discuss Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s proposal for a ceasefire. However, Rice did request of the prime minister that Israel avoid striking Lebanese infrastructure.

The Prime Minister’s Bureau noted that Rice expressed her appreciation to Israel for its actions towards easing the humanitarian crisis for Lebanese citizens by opening channels for the transport of aid.

According to Rice, Israel’s cooperation in enabling aid delivery via the Beirut airport, seaports and by land greatly contributed to the US’s stance during the Rome summit last week in which representatives from 15 nations convened to brainstorm solutions for the Israel-Lebanon crisis.

France, Lebanon to deploy to border with Israel

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 IDF Dismisses U.N. Charges of Attack on Convoy
02:56 Jul 30, '06 / 5 Av 5766

(IsraelNN.com) The IDF has vehemently rejected accusations by the United Nations that Israel fired on a convoy. The Australian embassy contacted the IDF Saturday morning to allow safe passage of a convoy from Tyre to pick up foreign nationals. Army officers replied that they did not have enough time to coordinate the operation and asked that it be delayed due to shooting in the area.

The convoy ignored the request and left Tyre toward an area of conflict. The Foreign Ministry twice urged the convoy to return, but it ignored the warnings until a mortar shell hit the ground near one of the vehicles, which veered from the road and resulted in injuries to two youths. The IDF said that despite media reports, there was no evidence that the IDF fired the shell.

IDF Dismisses U.N. Charges of Attack on Convoy