Occupied Palestine: News and Articles

News

Israel defies peacemakers and prepares for invasion
Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem and Anne Penketh, The Independent 1/1/2009
Israel has defied a formidable international consensus in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza by opting to continue its unprecedentedly fierce air attacks on Hamas targets and stepping up preparations for a possible ground offensive. As the security cabinet rejected an EU-backed French proposal for a 48-hour humanitarian halt to the bombing, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: "We did not begin the Gaza operation in order to finish it with rocket fire continuing like it did before. Israel has restrained [itself] for years and given plenty of chances for a calm. "With Palestinian sourcesputting the total death toll in Gaza since the bombing began last Saturday at 390, with 1,600 wounded, Associated Press reported that a long column of tanks and armoured vehicles was visible along an access road to Gaza from Israel, while dozens of other tanks were parked in a field close to the border.

'If there is an Israeli invasion hospitals will collapse'
Electronic Intifada 12/31/2008
GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - In Gaza’s main hospital, the director’s office is under virtual siege, according to an IRIN journalist in Gaza. Relatives of the injured are desperate to get their kin transferred to Egypt for emergency treatment. There is a fear here that the already overstretched healthcare system will collapse if Israel mounts a ground offensive into the tiny coastal strip, home to 1. 5 million Palestinians. As of the night of 30 December the death toll from the Israeli offensive had reached 380, with 1,800 wounded, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UN World Health Organization (WHO) said 30 children and nine women were among the dead and 250 children had been injured. Fifteen medical patients passed through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt for emergency care on that day, said WHO.

Russian intelligence: USA participating in Israeli war on Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 12/31/2008
MOSCOW, (PIC)-- American aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea are assisting the Israeli occupation forces in the military campaign on Gaza Strip, a well informed source in the Russian intelligence said on Wednesday. The source explained that the American aircraft carriers were extending information and logistical support to the IOF air force in its savage raids on the Strip. The source, who requested anonymity, said that the White House had endorsed a proposal by senior staffers to offer a batch of advanced weaponry to the IOF on condition that the deal would not be disclosed at present due to the current sensitive conditions in the USA such as transfer of power and the economic crisis. The source also revealed that the American defense department, the Pentagon, had advised the IOF to surprise the Palestinian resistance in Gaza and launch an attack from Egyptian lands.

Obama’s Gaza silence condemned
Al Jazeera 12/31/2008
Despite growing pressure on Barack Obama to speak out on the crisis in Gaza, the US president-elect has remained silent on the issue. Obama, holidaying in Hawaii, has made no public remarks on Israel’s unrelenting military assault on the Palestinian territory, which has left more than 380 people there dead. The former Illinois senator spoke out after last month’s attacks in Mumbai and has made detailed statements on the US economic crisis. But some fear that the US president-elect’s reluctance to speak out on the Gaza raids could be sending its own message. "Silence sounds like complicity," Mark Perry, the Washington Director of the Conflicts Forum group, told Al Jazeera. "Obama has said that Israel has the right to defend itself from rocket attacks but my question to him is ’does he believe that. . .

Hamas accuses senior Abbas ’spies’ of colluding with Israel
Ben Lynfield in Jerusalem, The Independent 1/1/2009
Hamas has accused senior aides of the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, of spying for Israel, underscoring an intensification of Palestinian infighting even in the face of Israel’s bombardments in the Gaza Strip. The charges are part of a wider Hamas media campaign depicting Fatah leaders as colluding with the Israeli military onslaught that has taken the lives of 390 Palestinians in Gaza. This includes allegations that the former Fatah strongman in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, whose forces were defeated by Hamas in its June 2007 takeover of the Strip, met Israeli intelligence officials several weeks ago to discuss Israeli plans for a strike in Gaza. Mr Dahlan, according to an account on the Islamist movement’s website, urged Israel to deal a "painful blow" to Hamas. The charge of spying was made by a Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, also on the movement’s website and in remarks broadcast on al-Jazeera, the satellite television station based in Qatar.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator says Gazan civilians facing humanitarian catastrophe
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Maxwell Gaylard warned the international community Wednesday that if Israel’s attacks on Gaza do not stop immediately hundreds of thousands of civilians face a humanitarian catastrophe. “Conditions for parents and children in Gaza are dangerous and frightening,” said Gaylard’s statement. “We are in a life or death situation for many people today. It is absolutely crucial that there is an end to the fighting. Without it, more civilians will continue to be killed. ”“Without the violence stopping, it is extremely difficult to get food to people who need it, we cannot assess where the most urgent needs are, and it is too dangerous for civilians to leave their homes to seek urgent medical treatment, buy supplies and assist people in distress. ”Gaylard explained that if Israel does not open the Karni crossing, east of. . .

IDF gets green light to continue Operation Cast Lead
Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
The Israel Defense Forces yesterday recommended a major, but relatively short-term, ground offensive in the Gaza Strip as military preparations continued on the border. The army was given the green light to forge ahead with Operation Cast Lead, which enters its sixth day today. Detailed briefings have been underway for the past two days at Southern Command, with officers receiving their orders. The General Staff believes that more pressure must be put on Hamas to make it agree to a long-term cease-fire under conditions more favorable to Israel. The IDF said rocket fire on the south was expected to continue during a ground operation. The army recommends that a diplomatic exit plan be prepared while a cease-fire agreement is formulated. While defense officials tend to favor a clear agreement with Hamas, even if it is not enshrined in a written document, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is considering another idea.

For the fifth day Gaza still under attack, death toll 390
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 12/31/2008
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll by Wednesday now stands at 390 as a result of repeated Israeli air raids on the coastal region. According to the Ministry of Health, at least 1,884 Palestinians have been injured by the relentless Israeli bombing. Among the injured 300 are in critical conditions. Local sources reported that the Israeli bombing continued on Tuesday night, and Wednesday morning. Targets included ambulance crews and civilian homes. The Ministry of Health said among those killed on Wednesday at dawn, were Dr. Iyhab Al-Madhom, and medic Mahmoud Abu Hassira. The Ministry said that the two were aiding injured people during the targeting of Gaza City, when an Israeli unmanned plane fired directly at them. Among the civilian targets that were shelled on Wednesday at dawn, was the oxygen refilling plant which is used by local hospitals in the Gaza Strip.

IDF bombs ’"terror" mosque’
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 12/31/2008
Gloves are off: Air Force razes Gaza Strip mosque used by Palestinian rocket cells targeting Israeli communities; several people reportedly hurt in strike. Army officials say rockets, explosives stored inside mosque - IDF razes "terror" mosque: The IDF confirmed Wednesday afternoon that Air Force jets bombed a mosque in western Gaza City. Medical sources in the Strip said that several people were hurt in the attack. IDF officials said that the mosque was used by "terrorists" as a storage site for missiles and explosive materials. The army said that Palestinian rocket cells were firing at Israel from the mosque area and from nearby sites. A short while after the Air Force attack, additional explosions could be heard in the mosque, apparently as result of arms blowing up. In recent days, the army had been closely monitoring the mosque. . .

Air force bombs mosque ’used for rocket attacks’
Yoav Stern Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
The Israel Air Force continued its bombing of Gaza Strip targets yesterday, reporting it hit 25 terror-related targets including the offices of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and a mosque in the city of Gaza where Hamas activists were hiding. Rockets had also been fired at Israel from the mosque. Palestinian militants fired about 70 rockets and mortar shells from the Gaza Strip at Israel yesterday, hitting Be’er Sheva and Ashkelon among other targets. Five Israelis were injured in the attacks. At least six Palestinians were killed yesterday in the Israeli attacks including a Palestinian doctor and medic. Until now, 395 Palestinians have been killed in Operation Cast Lead and 1,600 injured. The Philadelphi route along the Egyptian border was bombed again yesterday in a further attempt to destroy the tunnels used by Hamas for smuggling weapons into Gaza from Egypt.

’Eight civilians killed’ in surgical strike on truck
Peter Beaumont in London and Hazem Balousha in Gaza City, The Guardian 1/1/2009
Rights group calls for inquiry into alleged error - An Israeli human rights group said yesterday it was investigating claims that an apparent surgical strike on a Hamas missile truck in Gaza, which is being publicised by Israel’s armed forces on its website, is a case of mistaken targeting that has left eight civilians dead. Monochrome images of the attack have been repeatedly shown by media around the world after being released by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to demonstrate both the accuracy of their attacks and that Hamas was trying to move and hide rockets. The footage was also posted on the Israeli military’s YouTube site. However, the Israeli-Palestinian B’Tselem group in Gaza has testimony from the owner of the truck, as well as photographs taken at the scene, which. . .

Fifteen percent of Israel’s victims are children like Ismail Hamdan and his two sisters
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Gaza – Ma’an – The most recent victim of Israeli airstrikes was 10-year-old Ismail Hamdan, who succumbed to his injuries after being hit by a missile while running an errand for his mother near their home in Beit Hanoun. Ismail was with his two sisters when the missile struck, they were both torn to pieces on impact Tuesday afternoon. The three were pulled out of a rubble pile by a passerby and transported to hospital via donkey-cart. The girls, 5-year-old Lama Hamdan, 12-year-old Haya Hamdan, were declared dead on arrival, but Ismail still had a faint heartbeat. Dr Ibrahim Abu Ghazala treated fractures in each of Ismail’s limbs, removed damaged portions of his liver and pancreas and feared that if the boy survived he would have massive brain damage. He died on the operating table. During a lull in the air and artillery strikes Wednesday afternoon Ismail’s mother sent. . .

Gaza hospital director: Israel lying
Daniel Edelson, YNetNews 12/31/2008
Gaza doctors slam ’crazy’ Shin Bet charges that hospitals in Strip used as Hamas hideouts - Doctors at Gaza’s Shifa hospital say they are outraged by Israeli charges that the medical facility has been used as a Hamas hideout. The charges, made by Shin Bet Director Yuval Diskin earlier in the day, were dismissed by doctors as "nonsense," "complete lies," "crazy," and "an attempt to score political points. " Diskin, who briefed the cabinet Wednesday, told ministers that Hamas sustained grave blows and that many of its members were hiding in hospitals, with some dressed as doctors and nurses. Shifa Hospital Director Khaled Hassan told Ynet that Diskin’s remarks were a political statement by a general who in the future expects to join the political establishment. "We are dealing with lies of a person who is trying to be Israel’s future leader," he said.

The Palestinian Medical Relief Society: Emergency appeal for Gaza
Palestinian Medical Relief Society - PMRS, Palestine Monitor 12/31/2008
Ramallah, 31. 12. 08 - The Palestinian Medical Relief Society issued today an emergency appeal regarding the collapse of the health and sanitation sectors in Gaza. Gaza’s humanitarian situation was already declared a "˜crisis’ by the international community after nearly two years of siege. The situation has now been exacerbated by the bombing. The heath sector in Gaza is currently in a state of collapse, with hospitals full to overflowing and medical teams cannot provide an adequate response to the growing needs. Sunday, the main medical supplies store in Gaza was bombarded. Severely injured patients cannot be taken abroad for treatment due to prolonged closures of border crossing. Hundreds of injured people are impossible to transport by land due to closures and the severity of their harms.

Israeli troops attack Bethlehem and Ramallah, kidnapping 22 Palestinian civilians
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 12/31/2008
Palestinian security sources reported that the Israeli Army kidnapped 22 Palestinian civilians from the central West Bank city of Ramallah, and the Southern West Bank city of Bethlehem during pre-dawn attacks on Wednesday. In Ramallah, Israeli troops kidnapped four civilians during house-to-house-searches, targeting al-Jalazon refugee camp, located in the Northern part of the city. Meanwhile, another Israeli force attacked several parts of Bethlehem City and nearby al-Khader and Hussan villages, kidnapping 18 civilians, local sources reported. Among those kidnapped from Bethlehem by the army were Mohammed Sabaten, age 18, Issa Sallah,age 15, and Sami Sabaten, age 19. [end]

Israeli troops detain 22 Palestinians from the central West Bank
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli troops detained 22 Palestinians from the central regions of the West Bank on Tuesday night. Four were detained from the Al-Jalazun refugee camp north of Ramallah, 15 from Hussan village and three from Al-Khader village both in the Bethlehem governorate. The identities of those detained were not released. [end]

Israeli forces arrest five youths near Bethlehem
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Bethlehem – Ma’an – Israeli forces arrested three Palestinian youths from the southern West Bank towns of Al-Khadr and Husan, near Bethlehem, on Wednesday morning, local sources said. Israeli forces raided the town at dawn and ransacked several homes before seizing 17-year-old Haytham Sayil Issa, 17-year-old Builal Ali Sbeih and 16-year-old Issa Fayiq Salah, residents said. In the Bethlehem-area village of Husan village, Israeli soldiers raided several houses overnight, seizing 23-year-old Sami Sabatein and 18-year-old Muhammad Sabatein, according to Palestinian Authority (PA) security sources. [end]

Israeli troops search homes near Jerusalem and kidnap one civilian
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 12/31/2008
Palestinian sources reported that the Israeli Army attacked and searched a number of homes in Selwan town near Jerusalem City on Wednesday at dawn, kidnapping one civilian. [end]

Palestine Today 311208
Ghassan Bannoura, International Middle East Media Center News 12/31/2008
Click on Link to download or play MP3 file|| 3 m 00s || 2. 74 MB || Welcome to Palestine Today, a service of the International Middle East Media Center www. imemc. org, for Wednesday December 31st 2008. For the fifth day Gaza under attack; Death toll reached 390, while in the West Bank the Israeli army kidnaps 22 Palestinian civilians. These stories and more coming up. Stay tuned. The News Cast The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll by Wednesday midday stands at 390 due to the Israeli attack on the coastal region. According to the Ministry, at least 1,884 Palestinians have been injured by the ongoing Israeli shelling. Among those injured are 300 in critical condition. Local sources reported that the Israeli shelling continued on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Civilians Suffer as Missiles Fly in Gaza and Israel
Richard Boudreaux and Ahmed Burai, MIFTAH 12/31/2008
Reporting from Ashkelon, Israel, and Jabaliya Refugee Camp, Gaza Strip -- Pierced by an Israeli missile, the mosque exploded at 1 in the morning, crushing the Balousha family’s flimsy metal roof next door. Anwar Balousha awoke on the floor, covered by rubble, and heard moans from the bedroom next to his. Neighbors crawled over a collapsed wall and pulled him, his wife and four of their nine children to safety. Five Balousha girls -- Tahir, 17; Ikram, 14; Samar, 12; Dina, 8; and Jawaher, 4 -- were dead, swelling the list of Palestinian civilians killed in three days of Israeli airstrikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. About 8 1/2 hours later and 10 miles away, air raid sirens wailed across the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, but Hani Mahdi, 27, reacted too late. A Grad missile fired from Gaza tore through a building site for the city’s new library, killing Mahdi and wounding 23 other construction workers.

War on Gaza diary: The frontline
Alan Fisher in southern Israel, Al Jazeera 12/31/2008
There’s been a build up of military forces. Just driving south, shadowing the Israeli Gaza boundary, men and machines are being brought into the area. Low loaders carry tanks and personnel carriers, which then churn their way on to the fields, their guns pointed towards Gaza. Men in uniform struggle through the clawing mud which would hinder any advance. Our attempts to film what is going on are quickly snuffed out by Israelis who constantly remind us we are in a closed military zone. This Israelis are showing that the possibility of a ground incursion is more than just talk. But there is the argument a ground attack would be a no-win war for the Israelis. It would be difficult. They run the risk of inflicting high civilian casualties on the Palestinian side, world opinion would be against it; if they started losing soldiers, Israeli public opinion could turn and, when they leave,

IOF raids kill paramedic, wounds others
Palestinian Information Center 12/31/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- A Palestinian paramedic was killed and a number of other citizens were wounded in fresh Israeli aerial raids on the Gaza Strip at dawn Wednesday that claimed the lives of almost 390 citizens and wounded 1800 others since Saturday. Dr. Muawiya Hasanein, the director of ambulance and emergency in the health ministry, told the PIC over the telephone that paramedic Mahmoud Abu Hasira was killed, another paramedic and doctor wounded when the IOF warplanes shelled an ambulance car carrying the international Red Cross flag while on its way to rescue wounded persons east of Gaza. He said that many other casualties were registered in various areas of the Strip, adding that the IOF warplanes shelled and destroyed nine ambulance cars and three vehicles for civil defense. Meanwhile, legal centers refuted IOF claims of bombing a truck loaded with missiles on Tuesday after investigating the incident which the IOF filmed and circulated.

Mezan Center: '315 Palestinians, including 41 children, killed and 939 wounded'�
Mezan Center for Human Rights, International Middle East Media Center News 12/31/2008
Following is a report prepared and published by the , in Gaza, documenting the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. The statistics published in the report are according to data collected by the center in the Gaza Strip. The report is pasted here exactly as it was published by the Mezan Center on Wednesday December 31, 2008. It is worth mentioning that the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported on Wednesday that the death toll now stands at 390 as a result of repeated Israeli air raids on the coastal region. The ministry also said that at least 1,884 Palestinians have been injured by the relentless Israeli bombing. 300 are in serious conditions. IOF Continues to Perpetrate War Crimes in Gaza; Targets an Ambulance Crew and Other Civilian Objects- Number of Palestinian Casualties Rises to 315 (41 Children) & the Injured 939 (85 Children) 12:30pm. . .

Authorities name 187 dead Palestinians, four slain Israelis
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Ramallah – Ma’an – The Palestinian Health Ministry on Wednesday released a list of 187 Palestinians killed in the first two days of Israeli airstrikes. According to Dr Omar Nasr, director of the Health Ministry’s Public Relations department, the death toll through Wednesday at midday had exceeded 395, and the ministry is trying to collect all the names of the slain and the wounded. The Health Ministry, Dr Omar Nasr added, will soon provide details of how many civilians were killed and injured in order to present documents to international humanitarian organizations when it files legal proceedings against Israel. On Tuesday, the United Nations announced that 51 innocent Palestinian civilians have been killed since the airstrikes began. On Wednesday, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said that 31 of the dead were children.

Under fire, Gaza’s Al-Aqsa TV fights on
Middle East Online 12/31/2008
GAZA CITY - Ibrahim Zaim knows that any day could be his last. "I expect to become a martyr at any time," says Zaim, chief correspondent for Al-Aqsa TV, the flagship in the media arsenal of Gaza’s embattled rulers. The Hamas channel’s five-storey headquarters was reduced to rubble in an air strike on Sunday, the second day of Israel’s mammoth offensive that has killed at least 390 Palestinians. Staff evacuated the building shortly before it was hit and Al-Aqsa continued broadcasting from a mobile studio. "We can broadcast from anywhere because we have a mobile studio that cruises the streets," said programming director Mohammed al-Thuraya. "Our coverage in the field has not been affected. " But the broadcaster, which first took to the airwaves in 2006, lost much of its equipment, said Thuraya, who estimates the damage at four million dollars. . .

IFJ condemns IOF shelling of Aqsa TV
Palestinian Information Center 12/30/2008
PARIS, (PIC)-- The International Federation of Journalists has condemned the Israeli occupation forces for shelling and completely destroying the Aqsa TV premises in Gaza city during its air raids on Gaza. "Once again, Israel shows contempt for international law, which forbids attacks on media installations, even when they are instruments of propaganda,"� said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "Putting media people in harm’s way does not advance one inch the cause of security as it only hardens attitudes and undermines Israel’s claim to be the region’s leading democracy,"� he elaborated in a statement. The IFJ and other press freedom advocates have consistently condemned attacks on unarmed media installations which are not being used for military purposes and which are protected under international law.

Al-Quds, Al-Qassam and An-Nasser Brigades launch projectiles at Israeli targets
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Gaza – Ma’an – Brigades step-up projectile fire on fifth day of Israeli military operation. Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades announced that they launched 8 projectiles at Beersheva, Keryat Mlakhi, Ofakim, Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod. Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades claimed 8 projectiles that landed near Ashkelon and Sderot. The Popular Resistance Committees’ An-Nasser Brigades said they launched a projectile at Sderot. All factions said their resistance activity is a direct response to the continued Israeli violence against the people of Gaza. [end]

DFLP: Two projectiles fired toward Israeli city, military base
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Gaza – Ma’an – The armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) claimed responsibility on Wednesday evening for firing two homemade projectiles toward the western Negev. The DFLP-affiliated National Resistance Brigades said in a statement that the group fired two projectiles at the southern town of Ashkelon and Israel’s Sufa military post, which is near Gaza. The Brigades said in a statement that they would continue to lob rockets toward Israeli towns “in retaliation for the Israeli holocaust in Gaza. ”[end]

Fatah affiliates fire five more projectiles at Israeli targets
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Gaza – Ma’an – Fatah’s armed wing claimed responsibility on Wednesday for firing five more projectiles toward the Israeli town of Sderot and the military post of Zekeim, it said in a statement. The Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Brigades said the projectile attacks were ongoing, and that fighters are working together in light of recent Israeli airstrikes. [end]

Defiant Hamas launches new rockets deeper into Israel
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem, The Guardian 1/1/2009
Despite Israel’s intense five-day bombing campaign of Gaza, Palestinian militants have begun using longer-range rockets that now reach up to 25 miles inside Israel, hitting cities such as Ashdod and Be’er Sheva for the first time. Israeli military officials say the rockets are 122mm Grads, which they believe have been smuggled into Gaza through tunnels under the Egyptian border in recent months. The rockets, which are up to three metres in length, can be disassembled and were almost certainly brought through the tunnels in parts, under the border town of Rafah. In the past, regular Grad rockets had reached up to 12 miles inside Israel, hitting cities such as Ashkelon. But now an enhanced, longer version with a slightly larger 22kg warhead has reached ranges of 25 miles. Rockets fired on Tuesday night and yesterday hit the city of Be’er Sheva, in the Negev desert, for the first time, although they remain inaccurate and are not fired from sophisticated launchers.

Rocket barrages hit Beersheba, Ashkelon; 5 lightly hurt
Ilana Curiel, YNetNews 12/31/2008
Long-range rocket fire continues: Two projectiles fired at Negev city, land in school, open area. More rockets hit Ofakim and Ashkelon, where five residents were evacuated with shrapnel injuries. Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi, Kiryat Gat also targeted - Two long-range rockets fired from northern Gaza landed in Beersheba Wednesday morning. No injuries or damage were reported, but eight people were treated for shock. Residents were instructed to remain in secure spaces. One rocket landed in a schoolhouse located in a residential area. The school was empty at the time of the attack. Severe damage was caused to the structure. The second rocket exploded in an open area in the northern part of the Negev city. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack. The Home Front Command reported that the siren did not sound prior to the landing of the first rocket at around 8 am due to a technical glitch.

Beersheba under attack; ’special situation’ expanded
Ilana Curiel, YNetNews 12/31/2008
Terrorists fire more rockets at Israel’s largest southern city Wednesday evening; meanwhile, Defense Minister Barak orders ’special situation on home front’ status to be expanded to 40-kilomter radius - Israel’s largest southern city under fire: Rocket alert sirens were activated in Beersheba Wednesday evening as terrorists from Gaza fired more rockets at the southern city. Residents reported hearing two explosions; there were no reports of injuries or damages. The siren was activated around 10 pm, prompting local residents to take cover. However, many locals complained that they did not hear the siren ahead of the explosions. The rockets are believed to have landed outside the city. Earlier, Defense Minister Ehud Barak ordered all communities in a 40km (25 miles) range of the Gaza Strip be placed under a "special situation in the home front" status.

IDF: Rocket that hit Beersheba school made in China
Yael Barnovsky, YNetNews 12/31/2008
Home Front Command’s deputy chief says rocket fired at Negev city can cause much greater damage than the Qassam; adds that all events with 100 or more guests will be cancelled due to attacks - "We are witnessing the expansion of the rocket fire emanating from Gaza to a radius of 30 - 40 kilometers (about 19 - 25 miles)," the deputy commander of the IDF’s Home Front Command said Wednesday. Brigadier-General Avraham Ben-David told reporters that in light of the rocket attacks on Beersheba, all planned events with over 100 participants will be cancelled, including New Year’s Eve parties. Referring to the rocket attack that severely damaged a Beersheba school earlier in the day, Ben-David said the IDF’s decision to cancel classes in all of the Negev city’s educational institutions "saved lives", adding that school will be out at least until the end of the week.

Negev’s largest cities targeted by Hamas
Yaakov Lappin, Jerusalem Post 12/31/2008
The Negev’s large cities were targeted again by Palestinian rocket-firing crews Wednesday, as two Grads slammed into residential neighborhoods in Ashkelon, and one that hit Beersheba heavily damaged a classroom that was fortunately empty. In Ashkelon, air-raid sirens rang out to warn residents of both attacks, bringing cars to a stop and sending the few residents who had ventured outdoors scrambling for cover. The thud of a rocket landing could be heard shortly after each siren. One rocket landed at a busy intersection while a second slammed into a road. Four people were lightly wounded by shrapnel, police said. By Wednesday evening, well over 60 rockets had been fired at the South from Gaza. Police sappers managed to recover 21 projectiles. One rocket fell in Ashdod, three in Sderot, one in Kiryat Malachi, and 14 in the western Negev region.

Palestinian projectiles reach outskirts of Beersheva; 12 fired since dawn Wednesday
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Since sunrise on Wednesday 12 projectiles were launched from the Gaza Strip as Israel continues shelling the coastal area. One Ashkelon resident was taken to hospital after one of the projectiles landed near his home. Palestinian projectiles reached the outskirts of Beersheva Tuesday evening, damaging an empty building as factions continue to launch projectiles at Israeli towns and cities bordering Gaza. Israeli media reported that the projectile hit an empty kindergarten, and announced that at least 34 were treated for “shock. ”This is the first time Palestinian projectiles have reached the 35 kilometers from Gaza’s borders and the large Israeli city. Israel claimed that reaching the target has been a principal aim of Hamas for months. Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for firing the projectiles.

Armed groups step up projectile fire despite five days of attacks
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - "If you assassinate one leader, the body of fighters will continue to act against Israel," said the spokesperson for Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades on Wednesday. For five days Israel has waged a massive campaign to root out the factions responsible for firing homemade projectiles at towns near the Gaza-Israel border. Israeli warplanes, artillery tanks and warships have been bombarding de facto government buildings, workshops and the homes of known leaders, relentlessly. Since the start of the Israeli bombardment, however, armed factions have stepped up their projectile attacks. It appears that attacks are now coordinated between factions, meaning volleys of larger numbers of projectiles are being launched over the Gaza border wall. Factions have also started to launch Grad rockets, used first by Russian soldiers in the 1960s.

Diskin: Hamas dealt a ’serious blow’
Herb Keinon, Jerusalem Post 12/31/2008
Hamas has been attacked in a manner in which it has never been attacked before, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin told the security cabinet Wednesday, a week after the same forum approved Operation Cast Lead. According to Diskin, Hamas’s ability to govern has been seriously harmed, and the organization’s leaders are in hiding. He said that some are hiding in hospitals, disguised as doctors or nurses, while others are hiding in mosques. Diskin said that Hamas has turned some of Gaza’s mosques into command and control centers, assuming that Israel would not bomb them. He also said Hamas has stockpiled weapons in mosques. According to Diskin, the IAF has destroyed Hamas’s weapons-manufacturing capabilities, as well as numerous arms-smuggling tunnels. He said Hamas was trying to rebuild the tunnels to smuggle its leadership to Egypt.

Shin Bet: Hamas has been hit by IAF’s Gaza offensive like never before
Barak Ravid, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
Shin Bet Security Services Director Yuval Diskin said Wednesday that the current Israel Air Force offensive on the Gaza Strip has caused unprecedented damage to Hamas’ infrastructure and personnel. Hamas "has been hit like it has never been hit before," Diskin told a meeting of cabinet officials in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. The Cabinet meeting was attended by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, and the head of Military Intelligence, Amos Yadlin. Diskin told the officials present at the meeting that the Islamic group’s ability to govern the Strip has been seriously damaged, and that senior Hamas officials are hiding out in Gaza’s hospitals, where they have "disguised themselves as doctors and nurses.

IDF: We’re ready for battle
Hanan Greenberg, YNetNews 1/1/2009
Military officials say IDF ready to face 15,000-men Hamas army; Israeli troops expected to face massive roadside bombs, Palestinian snipers. ’Anyone who thinks we’ll be conducting ourselves gently is wrong,’ senior officer tells Ynet - IDF prepares for major Gaza battle: Israeli forces are ready to embark on a ground assault in Gaza, a senior military officer told Ynet Wednesday, adding that "anyone who thinks we’ll be conducting ourselves gently is wrong. " "Hamas has indeed prepared for this, but so did we," the IDF official said. IDF officers say they are closely familiar with Hamas’ military buildup but add that troops are prepared for the mission ahead. Ever since the Second Lebanon War, the IDF has been engaged in intensive training sessions and preparations ahead of a possible clash in the Strip.

U.S. counterterror expert: Hamas has adopted Hezbollah-like tactics in Gaza
The Associated Press, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
Hamas rockets have struck the large southern cities of Be’er Sheva and Ashdod, home of Israel’s largest port, for the first time since the militant group broke its cease-fire with Israel on Dec. 19. A former U. S. intelligence official said Hamas is now using Iranian versions of the Katyusha and Grad rockets with a range of 18. 6 to 21. 7 miles (30 to 35 kilometers). The new rockets dramatically extend Hamas’ reach. Hamas had relied heavily on the shorter-range homemade Qassams that fly only up to 1. 8 miles (3 kilometers), the former official said. He spoke anonymously in order to discuss Israeli intelligence. The rockets do not have guidance systems so they are indiscriminate in targeting. But that makes them well suited for a barrage on a town or a dispersed battlefield of soldiers, particularly if fired in great numbers.

Israel launches one-ton seismic bombs at Rafah tunnels
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Gaza - Ma’an - Israeli warplanes targeted Rafah tunnels for a third time Wednesday, launching new one ton seismic bombs are the area. The bombs, which had not been used before Wednesday, created holes at least 30 meters deep in the areas around the tunnels. [end]

IN PICTURES / Israel battles Hamas in Gaza: Day five
News Agencies, Ha’aretz 12/31/2008


School closure saves lives of pupils
Abe Selig, Jerusalem Post 12/31/2008
Beersheba experienced its second day on the front lines Wednesday as Hamas stepped up Grad-type rocket attacks, striking an open area and a high school - the second educational institution in the city to be hit since rockets began falling there Tuesday night. Over 60 rockets from Gaza pound southern Israel A day earlier, a kindergarten was hit. Fortunately, both schools were closed due to the security situation, and no one was hurt. It had been unclear late Tuesday if children were to return to their classrooms on Wednesday in the south’s largest city. But a final decision came at 4 a. m. ,when Mayor Rubik Danilovitz met with officials from the Home Front Command and other security services.

Hamas rockets hit Beersheva
Globes Online 12/31/2008
Defense Minister Ehud Barak: A ground operation is probably inevitable. Hamas fired four Grad rockets at Beersheva last night, the first time that the city has been hit since the start of Operation Cast Lead. One rocket hit a kindergarten - fortunately empty at the time - in a residential neighborhood, and nine residents were treated for shock at Soroka Medical Center. Another rocket landed in open space. Beersheva Mayor Rubik Danilovich said, "There are no reported casualties. We ask Beersheva’s residents to say near their protected rooms. We’ve taken responsibility with the Home Front Command and we’re ready for all scenarios. " Danilovich added, "People who live in Israel know that this can happen anywhere. We’ve said that we won’t be complacent, and this city won’t fall into panic.

Wounded Gaza civilians treated in Israel
Judy Siegel-itzkovich, Jerusalem Post 12/31/2008
A seven-year-old Gaza boy who suffered a serious head wound in Israel’s retaliatory air strikes was rushed through the Erez Crossing and taken to Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva on Wednesday. The boy, whose transfer was facilitated by the Peres Peace Center, was in critical condition in the intensive care unit on Wednesday night. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, which favors the transfer of Gaza civilians hurt in the bombings, said the Palestinian Authority is unwilling to pay for their medical care in Israel because Hamas is responsible. The PHR-Israel has urged the PA to facilitate such transfers immediately and argue later about who would finance the treatment to save their lives. Three wounded children had been transferred during the past two days via the Erez Crossing, with help from UNRWA.

Analysis: The weather favors Hamas
Amir Mizroch, Jerusalem Post 12/31/2008
According to the Israel Meteorological Institute there is still a possibility of very light rain in the Center and South on Thursday, and it will get significantly cooler. On Friday it will be fair and slightly warmer, but still cooler than normal for the season. On Saturday, it will be partly cloudy-to-clear with a rise in temperatures and a drop in humidity. But this is not a weather report - it is a crucial element in the diplomatic and operational calculations of the Israeli leadership for the next few days. The air campaign in Gaza has all but run its course, and now is the time to switch focus - either to a ground operation or a cease-fire. The hesitation we are seeing, choosing neither option, is reminiscent of the indecision displayed during the Second Lebanon War. The IDF has not followed up on its initial operation with any comparable, meaningful strike on Hamas.

Wednesday forecast
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Bethlehem – Ma’an – The Palestinian Meteorological Department expects Wednesday’s weather to be cloudy with showers expected during the day. Temperatures will drop down below seasonal. Winds will be westerly to moderate while the sea is expected to be tranquil. On Thursday temperatures are expected to drop further. Skies will stay cloudy and showers are expected. Winds will be southwesterly to moderate. The sea will be tranquil. Frost will cover the streets overnight Wednesday and fog is expected to cover the mountain areas. Expected temperatures are as follows (°C):Jerusalem: 6 to 11/ Bethlehem: 5 to 10 /Ramallah: 5 to 10/ Tulkarem: 6 to 11 /Qalqiliya: 6 to 11/ Salfit: 6 to 11 /Nablus: 7 to 12/ Jenin: 5 to 18 /Tubas: 7 to 14/ Hebron: 4 to 10 /Jericho: 9 to 19/ Gaza City: 8 to 13 /Khan Younis: 8 to. . .

Despite poor weather, airstrikes continue; 398 killed, 2,000 injured
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Gaza – Ma’an – Gaza’s Hospitals are the source of the latest dead as yesterday’s wounded head to overcrowded morgues and medical supplies dwindle. Medical sources put the number of dead at 398. Among those who succumbed to their wounds on Wednesday were:*Mahmoud Abu Nahl, who died in an Egyptian hospital*Ismail Hamdan, a 10-year-old boy who was hit with a missile Tuesday along with his two sisters*Paramedics Eyhab Al-Madhoun and Mahmoud Abu Hasira who were hit while rescuing civiliansFresh airstrikes bring more deadAfter a several-hour noontime lull Israel resumed airstrikes in the Gaza Strip Wednesday afternoon. The lull coaxed many families out of their homes to inspect damage, find family or replenish food reserves. By four o’clock however, Israeli strikes resumed and targeted a donkey-cart in Bani Suhayla Square in Khan Younis, killing two and injuring several others.

News in Brief - Home Front Command calls up Bedouin reserves
Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
The Home Front Command is mobilizing hundreds of Bedouin reserve soldiers, using emergency orders, in the wake of rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into the southern Negev, which has a large Bedouin population. Officials in the command believe that Bedouin communities can be better served by Bedouin reservists working with emergency services due to their language and cultural skills, and that they will be better received by locals than their Jewish colleagues. The Negev Bedouin communities are particularly vulnerable to rocket damage, as many of the residents live in tents and shacks, there are no reinforcements against rockets and the siren alarm system is flawed. (Amos Harel) The state is to respond today to a High Court of Justice proposal that would permit small groups of foreign journalists to enter the Gaza Strip, thus partially ending Israel’s November ban on reporters from abroad entering the area.

SS Dignity to be forensically analyzed to verify Israeli attacks in international waters
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an - Thousands of Lebanese supporters gathered to welcome the SS Dignity to the Tyre port on Tuesday, after the boat from the Free Gaza movement was damaged during a confrontation with Israeli navy ships that morning. According to the movement’s organizers the Lebanese government has pledged to provide a forensic analysis of what happened to the ship. Israel says the boat collided with a naval vessel after being warned to turn around, but the ship’s crew say they were deliberately attacked after identifying themselves as a humanitarian vessel. The boat was en route to Gaza where it was set to deliver three tons of medical supplies and three volunteer doctors to assist in the overburdened hospitals. According to the crew the ship was more than 140 kilometres offshore, in international waters, when they were attacked.

VIDEO - Free Gaza Movement: Dignity docks in Lebanon
Al-Jazeera English, International Solidarity Movement 12/31/2008
(Lebanon, Tuesday 30 December) Today the Free Gaza ship "Dignity" carefully made its way to safe harbor in Tyre, Lebanon’s southern-most port city after receiving serious structural damage when Israeli warships rammed its bow and the port side, Waiting to greet the passengers and crew were thousands of Lebanese who came out to show their solidarity with this attempt to deliver volunteer doctors and desperately needed medical supplies to war-ravaged Gaza. The Lebanese government has pledged to provide a forensic analysis of what happened in the dark morning, when Israel rammed the mercy ship in international waters, and put the people on board in danger of losing their lives. The Dignity was on a mission of mercy to besieged Gaza, and was attacked by. . .

Journal: Tuesday by the sea
Sharon in Gaza, International Solidarity Movement 12/31/2008
Last night was a hectic scramble to get to our Jabaliya house soon after dark; the further into the night, the greater the danger. On Sunday night, other commitments had delayed us, and then over the phone the family said any car on the road late would for sure be hit and they couldn’t bear any more loss, even new friends like us. So we arrived at about 6 yesterday evening, and F told us they hadn’t spent more than brief moments up from the basement that day, since heavy bombing had begun at 5am. The night was manageable; an Apache helicopter seemed perched above the house for a lot of it, but that meant it was firing rockets away from us. Nearer to morning we had some hours of it being the other way round and the explosions being pretty loud.

On the 4th Day of IOF Offensive on the Gaza Strip, the Number of Palestinians Killed Mount to 310, Mostly Civilians, Including 37 Children and 9 Women
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 12/30/2008
On the 4th Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued their offensive on the Gaza Strip for the fourth consecutive day. They have increasingly bombarded civilian facilities, mosques and houses, without paying attention to the lives and safety of Palestinian civilians. Israel claims that such civilian facilities, mosques and houses were related to Hamas, but investigations conducted by PCHR indicate that IOF have used excessive lethal force and that the majority of the facilities that have been targeted are public and private property located in densely populated areas, making Palestinian civilians pay a heavy price from their lives and property. All of the victims of recent attacks are civilians, and dozens of houses have been heavily damaged. Due to the current siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, the reconstruction or reparation. . .

9 Palestinian Children Killed Raising the Number of Children Killed Since the Beginning of the Current IOF Offensive against the Gaza Strip to 31
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights 12/29/2008
Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have continued to launch an open war against the Gaza Strip for the third consecutive day. IOF have continued to attack children, women and old people in disregard to their lives, humanitarian appeals and international humanitarian law and human rights law. PCHR’s investigations indicate that IOF have used excessive lethal force throughout the Gaza Strip, which is the most densely populated area in the world. They have launched dozens of heavy missiles from the air and the sea on houses, civilian facilities and mosques in densely populated areas. In a very horrible crime, last night and this morning, 22 Palestinian children were killed or wounded while they were sleeping at homes. Five sisters were killed in Jabalya refugee camp; 3 brothers were killed in Rafah refugee camp; and a 9th child was killed in Gaza City.

Bethlehem activist sentenced to three life terms, plus 25 years
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Bethlehem – Ma’an – An Israeli military court on Wednesday sentenced an Al-Aqsa Brigades activist to three life terms in an Israeli prison, with an additional 25 years. The Offar military court had convicted 35-year-old Nasser Ibrahim Ubeijat of killing three Israeli soldiers and other clashes with occupying forces. Ubeijat was originally arrested in 2006 by Israeli forces in the Halhul area of Hebron. [end]

Ninety people arrested in East Jerusalem as Israeli police look to prevent protests of solidarity with Gaza through intimidation
International Solidarity Movement 12/31/2008
29th December 2008 - Occupied East Jerusalem - At 6pm on the 29th December, another demonstration of solidarity with Gaza people took place in Jerusalem. The demonstration to support the people in Gaza took place at 6 o’clock, starting at Damascus Gate and continuing into the old city of Jerusalem. Around 150 people joined the demonstration which was calm and non violent. People marched and chanted slogans of solidarity. The demonstration lasted for about one hour, watched by a very large number of border police who were surrounding the demonstration. After 30 min of demonstration, without any apparent reason Israeli Police prevented access through the gate and surrounded the protesters. One women wanted to leave the demonstration, but the police forcefully blocked her.

Israeli soldiers hurl tear gas canisters at Palestinian homes in Hebron 'for fun'
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Hebron – Ma’an – Israeli soldiers hurled tear gas canisters at a Palestinian house in Hebron on Wednesday evening near the illegal Israeli Kiryat Arba settlement in the southern West Bank. Several members of one family suffered from teargas inhalation, said Farid Ar-Razim, who lives in the home targeted by soldiers, told Ma’an over the phone from the scene of the attacks. According to Ar-Razim the soldiers threw the canisters at the home entirely unprovoked, most likely to "amuse themselves. "The vehicle from which the soldiers threw the canisters is permanently stationed near the fence between his house and the nearby Israeli settlement. [end]

Palestinian demonstrator dies of wounds from clash with Israeli forces
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Ramallah - Ma’an - A young man injured in clashes with Israeli forces in Na’lin died from his wounds Wednesday. Twenty-one-year-old Mohammed Said al-Khawaja was injured in protests that broke out following the first Israeli airstrikes on Gaza Saturday. The protest took place in the central West Bank city of Na’lin, the site of the weekly Friday demonstrations against the wall. When airstrikes broke out the day after the weekly protest, demonstrators gathered for a second day to condemn the Israeli violence. Medical sources in Ramallah Hospital confirmed the death. [end]

VIDEO - Ni’lin holds funeral for Arafat al Khawaja
International Solidarity Movement 12/31/2008
29th December 2008 - Funeral for the 22 year old resident of Ni’lin village killed by Israeli army while protesting against Israeli massacres in Gaza. After the Israeli attacks against Gaza strip, Ni’lin village has been continuously protesting in solidarity with the people in Gaza. Photos courtesy Activestills - During the demonstration on the 28th December, Israeli soldiers used live ammunition against the protesters, hitting three people from the village. 22 year old Arafat Khawaja, was killed after having been shot in the back. The two others were Mohammed Khawaja, 19, who was declared brain damaged yesterday afternoon after taking a bullet in the forehead and Mohamed Srour who was shot in the leg. At around 10am a procession of vehicles followed the ambulance carrying the body of Arafat from Ramallah hospital.

Protest Broken up in Jerusalem, Four Detained
Grace Walsh, International Middle East Media Center News 12/31/2008
A protest and vigil of approximately 35 people was swiftly broken up in Jerusalem and 4 Palestinians were detained according to sources. [end]

Vice President of the European Parliament, Luisa Morgantini visits Um Kamel and the Sheikh Jarah protest camp
International Solidarity Movement 12/31/2008
Jerusalem Region - Photos - 29th December 2008 - At around mid-day on the 29th December, in the neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem, Luisa Morgantini, Vice-President of the European Parliament, led a delegation of fifty people to express solidarity with Um Kamel al-Kurd. She also expressed her deep concern about the situation in Gaza to the people that were in the tent when she arrived. From the protest tent in Sheikh Jarrah, a march in solidarity with the people in Gaza, with about 30 people participating, went towards the French consulate. The protest was aimed at the French president, who is this periods president of the European Union. The demonstration lasted for about one hour. After some time, a representative from the consulate came out to meet the protesters and invited one spokeperson from the demonstration, who then delivered the group’s message for. . .

Vice President of the European Parliament tells Hebronites to continue fighting for rights
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Hebron – Ma’an - Vice President of the European Parliament Luisa Morgantini went to Hebron on Wednesday with a delegation of Europeans to show solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack. The delegation was received by Hebron mayor Khalid Al-Useili and other members of the city’s municipal council. The delegation was given an update on the situation in Hebron in light of the recent settler attacks against Palestinian homes following the eviction of right wing settlers from the Rajabi home. He called the actions in Hebron a “prelude to the bloodshed by an Israeli war machine which targets residential buildings, mosques, hospitals and schools paying no attention to international conventions and laws. ”Al-Useili asked members of the delegation to exert pressure on their home governments and on the European Union to stop Israeli aggression both in Hebron and in the Gaza Strip.

Bethlehem University to host prayer service for Gaza
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Bethlehem - Ma’an/BU - The interim vice chancellor of Bethlehem University announced the institution’s sadness over the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday:The Bethlehem University community is deeply saddened over the events of the past several days in Gaza – and we are especially concerned for the hundreds of our graduates and their families who live there. On 28 December Pope Benedict XVI called for an end to the violence in the Holy Land and asked the international community to do everything possible to help the Israelis and Palestinians find a solution to the current conflict. The Pope stated that he is “profoundly saddened by the deaths, the wounded, the material damage, the suffering, and the tears of the peoples [who are] victim to this tragic recurrence of attacks and reprisals. ”The extraordinary and disproportionate amount of bombing carried. . .

'Peace process' blown to bits
Adam Morrow and Khaled Moussa al-Omrani, Electronic Intifada 12/31/2008
CAIRO (IPS) - Formally, the Israeli-Palestinian "peace process" appears set to continue, in line with the last United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution. But the chances of finding a resolution are virtually nil in light of Israel’s new campaign against the Gaza Strip. "Even before Israel’s latest bombardment of Gaza, the so-called peace process was dead," Magdi Hussein, secretary-general of Egypt’s Islamist-leaning Labor Party (officially frozen since 2000), told IPS. On Saturday, 27 December, Israel began a series of punishing air strikes throughout the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip, whose interior is controlled by Hamas. According to Israeli officials, the campaign comes in retaliation for rockets fired at Israel by Palestinian resistance factions. On Monday, 29 December, Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Ahmed Qureia announced the suspension of negotiations with Israel.

President Abbas to ensure ceasefire, Israel continues warfare on Gaza
Rami Almeghari&Agencies, International Middle East Media Center News 12/31/2008
Palestinian president , Mahmoud Abbas is slated to head for New York shortly in order to press for a U. N biding resolution that ensures an Israeli ceasefire against Gaza. According to the WAFA News Agency , Abbas decided to go after he was advised by the Secretary General of the Arab States league , Amr Mousa, on the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. On the ground , Israeli cabinet decided Wednesday to keep up Israeli military attacks on the coastal territory, as foreign minister, Tsibi Livni is set to pay a shuttle visit to Paris, where she is supposed with Frecnh officials on an update of the current situation. Israeli military officials ordered the deployment of 2500 Israeli reserve soldiers around the Gaza Strip, apparently in preparation of a ground offensive on the besieged Gaza. Israeli aerial raids on Gaza entered their fifth day today with an increased. . .

Abbas to ask UN Security Council for ceasefire resolution
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
Jerusalem – Ma’an – Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will ask the United Nations Security Council to release a ceasefire resolution for the Gaza Strip, according to official Palestinian news agency Wafa. Abbas reportedly made the decision after being called to do so by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mousa. For its part, the Israeli cabinet decided to extend military operations in the Gaza Strip rather than agreeing to a ceasefire. The decision apparently followed a long internal debate. Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will meet with French President Nicholas Sarkozy before returning late on Wednesday evening. [end]

American protests stop traffic in San Francisco
Ma’an News Agency 12/31/2008
San Francisco – Ma’an Report – From California, Ma’an United States correspondent Abu Samra describes chaos surrounding a massive demonstration outside Israel’s San Francisco consulate on Tuesday:A protest started in front of the Israeli Consulate on Tuesday evening with a few hundred protestors, but it eventually grew into over three thousand people demonstrating on the streets for several hours. Most of the protestors were Arab Americans joined by many Americans from many different origins. I should also mention a large number of Jews who are anti-Zionism, anti-Israeli terrorism, and pro-human rights, pro-Palestine. They were there too. Load chanting, lots of screaming, flags waving, drums playing, all to protest against the cruel Israeli attacks in Gaza, to stop the massacres, to save the children, and to show the Americans what their media is hiding from the; all those. . .

Progressive Jewish Groups See Test in Crisis
Spencer Ackerman, MIFTAH 12/31/2008
As the Israeli bombardment of Gaza enters its fourth day, there is no shortage of tests. The wisdom of Israeli strategy is being tested. The resilience of the Palestinian people is being tested. The ability of the U. S. and the international community to impose a ceasefire is being tested. And the might of the new progressive American Jewish infrastructure that emerged in 2008 — unapologetically pro-peace and pro-Israel — is undergoing its own test as well: How to effectively argue that an Israeli war is counterproductive to Israel’s long-term security while the bombs are falling. “Absolutely,” said Jeremy Ben-Ami, executive director of J Street, a new liberal Jewish lobby group. “This is a real testing moment for those of us who honestly believe you can be supportive of Israel but questioning of steps its government takes.

MIDEAST: Jewish Organisations Call For End to Gaza Bombings
Ali Gharib, Inter Press Service 1/1/2009
WASHINGTON, Dec 30(IPS) - With a fresh outbreak of violence between Israel and Palestine, a battle of a different sort is being waged in Washington between various interests in Mid- East policy circles. As Israeli air strikes continue to pummel the Gaza Strip for a fourth day and crude home-made rockets launched by Palestinian militants land in Israeli towns near the densely populated and besieged Strip, Jewish groups in the U. S. are taking two distinctly differing tacks at addressing the latest Middle East bloodshed. Some of what are traditionally thought of as pro-Israel groups are undertaking a major public relations campaign to support the bombing runs against Hamas that have claimed more than 370 Palestinian lives -- largely parroting the Israeli government that the attacks are a justified defence of Israelis.

White House: Hamas must cease rocket fire as first step to truce
The Associated Press and Haaretz Service, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
President George W. Bush believes the militant group Hamas needs to stop firing rockets at Israel as a first step to a cease-fire, the White House said on Wednesday, following the outgoing leader’s talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "President Bush thinks that Hamas needs to stop firing rockets and that is what will be the first steps in a ceasefire," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in Texas where Bush was on holiday. "We want to see a cease-fire that’s durable and lasting and the most important thing is that Hamas respect it. They had a cease-fire until about Dec. 19. . . but then they failed to renew the cease-fire and substantially increase the level that forced the Israelis to live in bomb shelters," Johnroe said. "The onus is on Hamas. "He added that officials are seeing a good flow of medical and food supplies into Gaza, addressing a concern that Bush raised earlier.

White House backs Israel, says ’onus is on Hamas’
Yitzhak Benhorin and AP, YNetNews 12/31/2008
Bush backs Israel’s demand for halt to rocket attacks as pre-condition to ceasefire - American support for Israel: United States President George W. Bush spoke with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Wednesday evening and offered words of support for Israel’s operation in Gaza. During the conversation, Bush backed Israel’s demand that a ceasefire with Hamas take effect only after the rocket fire at Israeli communities end. However, the US president asked Olmert to make an effort to end violent clashes in the Strip. Earlier Wednesday, the National Security Cabinet decided to continue the Gaza operation. The White House spokesman said that Bush spoke with Olmert from his Texas ranch, adding that there is no point in a ceasefire that will not last. The two leaders "discussed their mutual desire" for peace, presidential spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters.

US students spending winter break volunteering in Negev
Jessica Freiman, Jerusalem Post 12/31/2008
Instead of spending their winter vacation with their families, 120 American college students have come to volunteer in the Negev - despite the proximity to the war in Gaza. The students, participating in the Jewish National Fund’s weeklong Alternative Winter Break, had to raise a minimum of $950 each toward construction of a JNF protected indoor playground in Sderot, set to open later in 2009. "Even though there’s a war, I wanted to show my support and that I wasn’t going to be afraid to go to the place that I love," said Jesse Golodner, 23, from Philadelphia. He studies at the University of Central Florida, and arrived in Israel on Tuesday night. Golodner and his fellow students spent the day painting inside a community center in Arad, and were personally greeted by Mayor Gideon Bar-Lev. "Everyone else was more scared for me than I was," said Jennifer Schwarz,. . .

Bush wants truce Hamas will respect
Associated Press, Jerusalem Post 12/31/2008
US President George W. Bush on Wednesday discussed with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ways to "end the violence" in Gaza, the White House said. "They both discussed their mutual desire" for peace, presidential spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters. He said the president consulted by phone early Wednesday with the Israeli leader from Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas. The call came amid news that Israel decided against a two-day unilateral cease-fire, a proposal pushed especially by France. Bush voiced concern about the strikes in Gaza and the attacks in Israel and also raised again his concern about civilian casualties in Gaza. Johndroe said that Olmert gave Bush assurances that Israel was focusing its attack on the Hamas leadership governing the Gaza Strip and that it is trying to limit civilian casualties.

Israel rebuffs Gaza ceasefire calls
Al Jazeera 1/1/2009
Israel has rejected calls for a temporary halt to its attacks on the Gaza Strip, as the Palestinian president threatened to abandon peace talks in response to Israel’s deadly "aggression" against Gaza. Mahmoud Abbas told the Palestinians in a television address on Wednesday that Israel’s bombardment was "barbaric and criminal aggression". "The most important obligation is to rally the forces, nationally and regionally, to end the barbaric and criminal Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip," he said. At least 393 Palestinians, including dozens of civilians, have been killed and about 1,600 injured as Israeli warplanes and helicopter gunships have dropped hundreds of bombs and missiles on the densely populated strip over the past five days.

Israel rejects Gaza ceasefire
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem, The Guardian 12/31/2008
Israel today rejected calls for a ceasefire and said it would continue its attack on Gaza. The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, told a meeting of the security cabinet that Israel would continue military operations until all its goals had been achieved, news agency reports and the Ha’aretz newspaper website said. The British prime minister, Gordon Brown, today added to the pressure for an urgent ceasefire amid what he called a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza. He said it was "vital that moderation must now prevail". The Israeli security cabinet met to discuss military options, including a ground invasion of Gaza or continuation of the current strategy of air strikes. It rejected a European Union proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza. If conditions will ripen and we think there will be a diplomatic solution that will ensure a better security reality in the south, we will consider it.

Haniyeh: If IDF stops aggression, we’ll talk about all issues
Jerusalem Post 12/31/2008
Only if Israel stops its aggression unconditionally, lifts the blockade and opens the Gaza crossings will Hamas agree to "talk about all issues - and seriously," Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday night, at the end of the fifth day of the IDF’s Operation Cast Lead. In a televised address, the Hamas prime minister added that only after these conditions have been met, will an internal Palestinian dialogue be launched. Haniyeh turned to Palestinians in Gaza. "The situation in Gaza before the war will be different from after the war," he assured them. "This is a war that divides two eras and, with God’s help, victory will be ours, because these people stand firm, the resistance stands firm and because the occupation will fail to achieve anything. "Our blessings are with all those who have fallen in battle, all the casualties and all the operatives on the ground," he said.

Hamas ready for Gaza truce, but Israel not
Middle East Online 12/31/2008
MOSCOW - Hamas is ready to halt its attacks on Israel if the Jewish state lifts its blockade of Gaza, Russia’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday. In a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the head of Hamas, Khaled Meshaal, "voiced readiness to cease armed confrontation but on condition of the lifting of the blockade of Gaza," the ministry said. Hamas said on Wednesday it had not received any truce proposals but was ready to consider any that are made that would end the Israeli offensive on its Gaza stronghold and its blockade of the enclave. "No truce initiative has been sent to us," senior Hamas official Ayman Taha said. "If such a proposition is made to us, we will examine it as we are favourable to any initiative that will put an end to the aggression and totally lift the blockade," he said.

VIDEO -Cabinet: Gaza op will not end under fire
Roni Sofer, YNetNews 12/31/2008
(Video) National Security Cabinet orders Gaza offensive continue unless rocket fire on south, western Negev stops - srael News VIDEO - Day five of Operation Cast Lead saw the National Security Cabinet decide to forge on with the Gaza offensive. "Israel did not launch the Gaza offensive only to end it while rockets are still fired at us," said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. "Can you imagine ending the operation unilaterally after a few days only to have a rocket barrage hit Ashkelon? Israel has been restraining itself for years. We gave the ceasefire a fair chance and we did it knowing there would be a price; we did it so the residents of the south could have some sort of a normal life, free of Color Red alerts every few minutes. We were willing to give it a try but Hamas kept violating the truce. "

Cabinet rejects 48-hr truce proposal
Herb Keinon And Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post 12/30/2008
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is scheduled to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy Thursday in Paris to discuss diplomatic options to end the operation in the Gaza Strip, as Israel decided to keep the pressure on Hamas while starting to work on the diplomatic track. There is no contradiction between Livni’s going to Paris to talk about how to end the military action, even as the security cabinet decided Wednesday that the operation would continue, one senior diplomatic official said. "The operation will continue, but that doesn’t mean we are not talking about the day after or the conditions for ending it," the official said. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at the end of a five-hour security cabinet discussion that Israel did not launch the comprehensivemilitary operation only to have it end with missiles still falling on the south.

Hanneya gov’t: IOF committing genocide in Gaza
Palestinian Information Center 12/31/2008
GAZA, (PIC)-- The PA caretaker government of premier Ismail Haneyya has described the Israeli occupation forces’ savage bombardment of the Gaza Strip as a war of genocide. Dr. Mohammed Awad, the cabinet’s secretary general, said in a press release on Wednesday that the IOF military campaign was "state terrorism" that aims at destroying everything in a bid to subdue the population of Gaza and force them to bow to occupation’s dictates. The Palestinian government would continue in its responsibility in serving the citizens regardless of the "sinful Israeli war", he said, stressing that the goals of the Israeli military campaign would not be fulfilled and Gaza would remain steadfast in face of "Israeli terrorism". Meanwhile, IOF air strikes on Wednesday killed two doctors in Gaza city and two citizens in Khan Younis district among other casualties other than the destruction of numerous houses and vehicles that included ambulance cars.

Hamas PM: Crazy war must end unconditionally
Roee Nahmias, YNetNews 12/31/2008
For first time since start of Gaza Strip operation, Ismail Haniyeh delivers pre-recorded televised address, presents group’s conditions for ceasefire; ’victory shall be ours with Allah’s help,’ Hamas leader says - Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh presented Hamas’ conditions for a ceasefire Wednesday evening, in his first televised address since the start of Israel’s Gaza operation. The Hamas leader extended his well wishes to Palestinian casualties and to "all the teams operating on the ground," adding that the Palestinians were closely monitoring global public opinion, and particularly Arab public opinion. Haniyeh said he was satisfied with the response to the Israeli campaign. "We feel that Israel faces the free Arab and Muslim world, which shall never accept this crazy war against a nation without weapons, in such small area, yet showing rare endurance," he said. "Gaza is not the only one facing the aggression"¦this storm within the Arab nation proved that the Strip is not alone. "

Israel Warns Attack on Gaza Has Just Begun
James Hider and Nico Hines, MIFTAH 12/31/2008
Israel warned today that the aerial attack on Gaza, which has now entered its fourth brutal day, is only “the first of several” military stages intended to wipe out Hamas. As the army said it was ready to launch a ground incursion and tanks and infantry forces massed on the border, Israeli officials claimed the military “has made preparations for long weeks of action”. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, upped the stakes further today when he said he had informed Shimon Peres, the country’s ceremonial president, that the current aerial phase of the operation was the “the first of several stages approved by the security cabinet”. Hamas continued to fire rockets back at the Jewish state as Israeli forces carried out a fourth day of attacks on the Gaza Strip, broadening the offensive to include naval as well as aerial bombardments.

Israel rejects ceasefire move as divisions emerge in leadership
Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem, The Guardian 12/31/2008
Israel rejected any temporary halt to its five-day bombing campaign in Gaza ­today and continued to hit targets in the Palestinian territory amid the first signs of disagreement over strategy among Israel’s leaders. Israeli troops and tank crews gathered in larger numbers on the Gazan border ready for a new stage in the fighting. A ­possible invasion by Israeli forces could range from limited ground incursions to a much larger land invasion of Gaza, home to 1. 5 million Palestinians. Another call-up of reservists has been approved, bringing the total to 9,000. Israel extended its buffer zone under military authority around Gaza to a radius of 25 miles after the reach of Hamas ­rockets to the town of Be’er Sheva. In the first indication of a division over the course of the engagement since the conflict began on Saturday, the prime ­minister, Ehud Olmert, personally championed a continuation

Haniyeh: Palestinian victory in Gaza is near
Yoav Stern, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that Israeli attacks on Gaza had to stop before any truce proposals could be considered. "First, the Zionist aggression must end without any conditions. . . Second the siege must be lifted and all the crossings must be opened because the siege is the source of all of Gaza’s problems," he said in a televised speech to Palestinians. "After that it will be possible to talk on all issues without any exception," Haniyeh said, referring to recent truce proposals raised by all parties, including Israel. Haniyeh was speaking from an undisclosed location in the Gaza Strip, home to 1. 5 million Palestinians, which has suffered the deadliest Israeli attacks in the past four decades in which at least 394 Palestinians have been killed.

Israel decides to push on with Gaza op until ’all goals reached’
Barak Ravid Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, and Reuters, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
Israel decided on Wednesday to continue its offensive on the Hamas infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, according to the original plan of the defense establishment. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told cabinet ministers, who reached their decision following a presentation by defense officials, that Israel would not conclude its operation until all of its goals had been reached. ]"We did not begin the Gaza operation in order to finish it with rocket fire continuing like it did before," Olmert said. "Israel has restrained for years and given plenty of chances for a calm. ""We knew what the price would be to enable people living in the Negev to recuperate and to live for some time without concern," the prime minister added. "But Hamas breached the calm. " Israel earlier Wednesday rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour cease-fire. . .

ANALYSIS / Rivalry among Israel’s leaders at root of row on Gaza cease-fire
Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
Four days after the launch of "Operation Cast Lead" in the Gaza Strip, the first signs of a rift among the Israeli leadership over the campaign’s management began to emerge. Even though the IDF operation has thus far been considered a relative success (and the ministers who approved it have benefited from an improvement in their political standing as a result), a dispute has erupted among the country’s senior political echelon over the question of when to begin the process of winding down the operation. The disagreement is rooted in the antipathy that has taken hold among the major players on the Israeli side as well as the tense jockeying for votes. In addition, there remains much confusion in the decision-making process that is similar to that which was cited by the Winograd committee report which investigated the lapses during the Second Lebanon War.

Olmert sets terms for cease-fire: International body to enforce future deal
Barak Ravid, Ha’aretz 1/1/2009
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is interested in the establishment of an international supervision and enforcement mechanism for any cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Olmert has made that a precondition of any deal and emphasized it in talks with U. S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other world leades. "Israel cannot agree that the only party responsible for implementing and regulating the cease-fire be Hamas," a senior Israeli diplomatic source said yesterday. According to the source, lack of an external supervisory body was the central reason for the collapse of the calm earlier this month. "The situation in which Hamas didn’t have to account for implementing the cease-fire did not prove viable," the source said. Olmert clarified in yesterday’s cabinet meeting that Israel will not end the Gaza operation until it achieves its goals.

MIDEAST: Israel Looking to Silence Hamas Forever