The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has posted on its website some answers to many of the more frequently asked questions it received during Operation “Cast Lead.” Questions include: Will Israel cooperate with investigations of war crimes? Does Israel permit humanitarian aid to [...]
Archive for January, 2009
January 28th, 2009 - 2:21 pm § in Conflict, International
Iran Stokes Regional Conflict
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit took aim at Iran, Hamas, and Hizbullah for trying to foment conflict in the Middle East. Reuters reports: “(They tried) to turn the region to confrontation in the interest of Iran, which is trying to use its cards to escape Western pressure …[...]
January 27th, 2009 - 3:02 pm § in Uncategorized
Clinton Reacts to Gaza Developments
The new American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, affirmed Israel’s right to defend her citizens in a press conference today, after Israel responded to a Palestinian attack on an IDF patrol. Reuters noted Clinton’s main concern would be to get a durable cease-fire on the ground and[...]
Hamas Breaks Gaza Ceasefire
Palestinians attacked an Israeli patrol this morning ina cross-border raid, killing one soldier and wounding two others. As the body controlling Gaza, Hamas bears direct responsibility for violating the ceasefire and for the consequences of this action. For further information and analysis, see th[...]
Israeli Students Send Aid to Gaza
Ordinary Israeli citizens are doing some pretty extraordinary work to help the people of Gaza: 0 people like this post. Like [...]
January 22nd, 2009 - 5:29 pm § in International, Peace
Israel Welcomes New Middle East Envoy Mitchell
Ambassador of Israel Sallai Meridor made the following statement in response to news that the Obama administration has appointed Senator George Mitchell and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke as special envoys: “As the United States and Israel continue to work jointly on achieving peace and stability in[...]
Tunnels? What Tunnels?
Much has been made of Hamas’s use of tunnels to smuggle arms and fighters into the Gaza Strip. They also used these tunnels to shoot Qassam rockets and hide from the IDF. The following, from Newsweek (emphasis added): “They [the Israelis] were claiming there are tunnels under here,&#[...]
Gazans: Hamas Took Advantage of Us
A report in today’s Corriere della Sera (in Italian) profiles some Gaza residents who say Hamas used some strong arm tactics to keep them in harm’s way. For example, Hamas gunmen forced residents to stay at home while they fired at Israeli troops (rather than telling the civilians to r[...]
Reflections on a Successful Operation
Bret Stephens, in the weekend’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required), analyzes the results of Operation “Cast Lead” in the wake of the recent Israeli ceasefire and troop withdrawal. Israel, he says, has learned a great deal from these past three weeks–but so has Hama[...]
Another Try at the “Depleted Uranium” Charge
As Operation “Cast Lead” has come to a close, charges have once again been raised that Israel used weapons containing depleted uranium. The UN showed this charge to be baseless the last time it was raised, in 2006, but has been raised again under similarly dubious aims. Below is an e[...]
