Thank you again to everyone who submitted questions to us yesterday.  In yesterday’s posts, we went over and “transcribed” the questions and answers from the Twitter session. During the session itself, we had time to answer only a limited amount of questions. This post summarizes the first batch of our answers to questions we could not answer at the conference itself.

As promised, we have continued to answer your questions posed to us during the “Press Conference.”  A number of the questions were similar to each other, so we’ve posted some of the unique ones below.
We are working on posting other questions similar to the ones below together with links to the appropriate answers.

@rataelprince Is a 48-hour ceasefire (as proposed by France) a possible scenario for assessing Hamas intentions?
Israel believes there is no place for a unilateral ceasefire. During the last 6 months the cease fire was used by Hamas to gain power and arms, the effects of which we are seeing now. Israel  isn’t rejecting a cease fire, if that cease fire will be a bilateral one. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/01/world/middleeast/01mideast.html?hp continue reading…

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Summary:

• 12 Palestinians from Gaza transferred to Israeli hospitals
• 2500 tons of humanitarian aid transferred to Gaza

Details:
Today 12 Palestinians entered Israel for medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. Two of those evacuated were children injured during the military activates, the remaining are chronically sick people, and their escorts, who entered Israel for treatment that is not available within the Gaza Strip.

Furthermore, despite ongoing rocket fire, Israel continues with the extensive humanitarian effort in coordination with the international organizations, Palestinian Authority and various donors. Ninety three trucks, with approximately 2500 tons of humanitarian aid, medical supplies and medication were conveyed through Kerem Shalom cargo terminal. The World Food Programme has informed Israel that they will not be resuming shipment of food commodities in to Gaza due to the fact that their warehouses are at full capacity and will last for approximately two weeks.

Since the beginning of operation “Cast Lead” some 6500 tons of aid have been transferred at the request of the international organizations, the Palestinian Authority and various governments. Preparations are underway to facilitate further shipments expected to arrive in the coming days.

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Enough said:

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This morning, a missile from Gaza hit a kindergarten classroom in Beersheva (the largest city in the Negev). Fortunately, schools were kept closed as a result of the Hamas threat. We don’t want to think about other possibilities. The BBC has a short article and video of the missile strike.

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During yesterday’s Twitter conference, we got a few questions about Hamas. While the answers to the specific questions will be coming shortly, following are selected sections from the charter of Hamas (aka the Islamic Resistance Movement) with some emphasis added. The full document can be found at http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp.

Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it. (Preamble, quoting Hassan al-Banna) continue reading…

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