tagged w/ WAR & PEACE
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* At Lincoln Center's Furman Gallery during the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival - June 12-25
(New York) - Human Rights Watch today launches a new photographic exhibit, Long Story Bit by Bit: Liberia Retold. The show, featuring the work of award-winning journalist Tim Hetherington, opens on June 12, 2009, at Lincoln Center's Furman Gallery.
Long Story Bit by Bit: Liberia Retold explores the dynamics of power, international complicity, and the search for justice in recent Liberian history. Liberia's last three presidents have each faced a dramatic end - William Tolbert was disemboweled during a coup d'état, Samuel Doe was filmed being tortured to death, and Charles Taylor is standing trial for war crimes in The Hague. The exhibit tracks both the terrible years of war and corruption and the more hopeful present, as Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has taken charge of the country as Africa's first elected female head of state.* At Lincoln Center's Furman Gallery during the Human Rights Watch International... more
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Two out of three Britons have lied about reading books they have not, and George Orwell's "1984" tops the literary fib list, according to a survey published on Thursday.
Commissioned by organisers of World Book Day, an annual celebration of reading in Britain, the study also shows that the author people really enjoy reading is J.K. Rowling, creator of the bestselling Harry Potter wizard series.
According to the survey, 65 percent of people have pretended to have read books, and of those, 42 percent singled out "1984." Next on the list came "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy and in third place was James Joyce's "Ulysses."Two out of three Britons have lied about reading books they have not, and George... more
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This Web page was created to explain why it is in America's self-interest to support Israel.
Israel and those who attack it are not moral equals. Israel is, like the United States, a "mixed economy," which retains a significant respect for individual rights. Its citizens, whatever their race or religion, enjoy many freedoms, including freedom of thought and speech, and the right to own property. The purpose of Israel's military is only self-defense: to protect its citizens from aggressors. Consequently, Israel has a moral right to exist.
Those attacking Israel, by contrast, are terrorist organizations, dictatorships and theocracies, which deliberately violate the rights of their own subjects. Even if these organizations and regimes had never initiated force against Israel, they still would have no moral right to exist.
ARI's moral support of Israel is obviously not an endorsement of all of its actions or policies. We are critical, for instance, of Israel's failure fully to separate state from both religion and economics, as the principle of individual rights demands. But we recognize that those who attack Israel are not seeking to establish an even freer nation: they are seeking to wipe out the only outpost of freedom in the Middle East.
We support Israel not for its failings but for its virtues, and we understand that those who threaten Israel's freedom also threaten America's. If they succeed in destroying Israel, they will turn their full attention to the United States.
Thus, in the name of justice and self-preservation, we hold that America should openly support Israel against our common enemies.
Ayn Rand on Israel (Ford Hall Forum lecture, 1974)
Q: What should the United Sates do about the [1973] Arab-Israeli War?
AR: Give all the help possible to Israel. Consider what is at stake. It is not the moral duty of any country to send men to die helping another country. The help Israel needs is technology and military weapons—and they need them desperately. Why should we help Israel? Israel is fighting not just the Arabs but Soviet Russia, who is sending the Arabs armaments. Russia is after control of the Mediterranean and oil.
Further, why are the Arabs against Israel? (This is the main reason I support Israel.) The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures. They are typically nomads. Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it's the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent. When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter who they are. Israel is a mixed economy inclined toward socialism. But when it comes to the power of the mind—the development of industry in that wasted desert continent—versus savages who don't want to use their minds, then if one cares about the future of civilization, don't wait for the government to do something. Give whatever you can. This is the first time I've contributed to a public cause: helping Israel in an emergency.
Op-EdsThis Web page was created to explain why it is in America's self-interest to... more
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KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistani police arrested more than a dozen Islamist militants in the southern city of Karachi Thursday after a fierce gunbattle following a pre-dawn raid on their hideout, officials said.
Two policemen were killed and nine wounded before the militants' resistance was broken after several hours of shooting.
The raid came at a time when tensions were running high between Pakistan and India in the wake of a militant attack on the Indian city of Mumbai in November, and there is pressure from the international community for Pakistan to crack down harder on jihadi groups.
There were no immediate details of whether the militants had any affiliations with anti-India groups, but Karachi's police chief Waseem Ahmed said authorities were investigating links to pro-Taliban fighters in the lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan.
"We were getting reports for a long time that some jihadi elements were active in this area. Today, we raided the area and arrested many of them," Ahmed said.
(Reporting by Imtiaz Shah and Aftab Borka; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Jerry Norton)KARACHI (Reuters) – Pakistani police arrested more than a dozen Islamist... more
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United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon is heading for talks with Israeli leaders, amid signs of progress in efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
More than 1,000 Gazans and 13 Israelis have reportedly died as Israel's war on Hamas militants enters its 20th day.
Hamas officials on Wednesday said they were happy with the broad outlines of an Egyptian peace initiative, but details remained to be worked out.
Israel's chief negotiator Amos Gilad is expected in Cairo for talks later.
The diplomatic initiatives have not stopped fierce fighting between Israeli troops and Hamas gunmen around Gaza City.
The intensive fighting came after militant rocket attacks continued on Wednesday despite Israel striking some 60 targets.
Palestinian medics said seven people were killed in two separate airstrikes on Gaza City in the early hours of Thursday.
Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip have passed 1,000, according to Gaza medical sources. Nearly a third of the dead are said to be children and more than 4,500 people have been injured.
Intense diplomacy
Mr Ban is meeting regional leaders as part of the most intensive diplomatic efforts yet to end the fighting.
Destroyed building in Gaza City
Aid diary: Water shortage
Bowen diary: Syrian warning
Gazan families: Pulling together
In pictures: Inching into Gaza
Egypt has been leading efforts to broker a ceasefire that could include a peacekeeping force bUnited Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon is heading for talks with Israeli leaders, amid signs... more
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RAMALLAH, West Bank – Israel's fierce assault on Gaza's Hamas rulers has destroyed at least $1.4 billion worth of buildings, roads, pipes, power lines and other infrastructure in already impoverished territory, Palestinian surveyors estimate.
Arab and Western countries will be called on to foot much of the bill to rebuild — which Palestinian economists say could take five years or more.
The Israeli military says it has bombed over 2,500 Hamas-linked targets since Dec. 27, including 250 tunnels the militant group used to smuggle in arms as well as large amounts of weapon stockpiles and rocket launcher squads.
Even with the Israeli offensive going full throttle, the international community is starting to tackle the formidable postwar challenge. Europe's top four fundraisers for the Palestinians — the foreign ministers of France and Norway, the European Union external relations commissioner and the international Mideast envoy — are meeting in Paris on Thursday to discuss Gaza's reconstruction and the possibility of holding a new donors' conference.
The last one, held in December 2007 at a time of renewed Mideast peace hopes, secured promises of $7.7 billion in aid through 2010. However, donors may have a tougher time contributing large sums in the current global financial crisis.
Another concern is whether a cease-fire deal will lift the blockade Israel and Egypt imposed on Gaza after Hamas seized the coastal strip in June 2007 and ousted the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who now controls only the West Bank.
"You cannot rebuild Gaza without open borders," said Tor Wennesland, the top Norwegian diplomat in the Palestinian territories.
Yet ending Gaza's lockdown will require compromises that seemed impossible before the Israeli offensive.
Hamas will have to relinquish some control by allowing a buffer force to deploy on the crossings, most likelyRAMALLAH, West Bank – Israel's fierce assault on Gaza's Hamas rulers... more
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JERUSALEM (AFP) – The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is "shocking", the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said after a visit to a hospital in the embattled territory.
"I saw this dramatic humanitarian situation. There's an increasing number of women and children being wounded and going to hospitals," Jakob Kellenberger told reporters in Jerusalem.
"It is shocking. It hurts when you see these wounded people and the types of wounds they have. And I think that in addition the number of people coming to these hospitals is increasing," he said.
The Red Cross president called for improved access for ambulances inside Gaza seeking to recover the wounded and to rescue civilians sheltering from the fighting, saying Israel's daily three-hour pause in operations is "not sufficient."
"It is a positive step that you have a three-hour stop in the fighting, for doing humanitarian work, but it is not sufficient," he said.
"Civilians who are being wounded, who are being trapped with problems of hunger, without water, you must be able to say that you can reach them."
Kellenberger -- who also visited the Israeli border town of Sderot, which has been hit by hundreds of Palestinian rockets since the war began -- urged both sides in the conflict to differentiate between militants and civilians.
He said medical supplies are holding up in Gaza, where over 1,000 people have been killed in heavy fighting and aerial bombardments since the December 27 launch of the largest-ever Israeli offensive on the territory.JERUSALEM (AFP) – The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is... more
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BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanese security officials say the Israeli army has fired eight shells at southern Lebanon after rockets were fired into northern Israel.
This is the second such cross-border exchange since Israel launched an offensive in Gaza on its southern flank on Dec. 27, and it threatens to ignite a second front in the north.
The area has been largely quiet since the 2006 Lebanon-Hezbollah war.
The Lebanese officials say several rockets were fired Wednesday and at least one fell short inside Lebanon. Israeli police say the militants' rockets caused no injuries or damage, but residents were told to head to bomb shelters.
The Lebanese officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the press.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Police say three rockets fired from Lebanon have landed in northern Israel.
Police say the rockets landed in open areas near the town of Kiryat Shemona on Wednesday and there were no reports of damage or injuries. People in northern Israel were asked to head to bomb shelters.
Israeli officials have expressed concern that militants in Lebanon could try to open a second front in solidarity with Gaza's Hamas rulers against Israel's 19-day offensive against the militant group.
Four rockets were fired on northern Israel last Thursday. Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group denied responsibility and speculation focused on small Palestinian groups in Lebanon.BEIRUT, Lebanon – Lebanese security officials say the Israeli army has fired... more
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Terrified residents ran for cover Tuesday in a densely populated neighborhood of Gaza City as Israeli troops backed by tanks thrust deeper into the city and sought Hamas fighters in alleyways and cellars.
On the diplomatic front, Egyptian mediators pushed Hamas to accept a truce proposal and, in a hopeful sign, Israel sent its lead negotiator to Cairo for "decisive" talks on a cease-fire. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also headed for the region to join diplomatic efforts.
Israeli military officials say that depending on what happens with what they described as "decisive" talks in Cairo, Israel will move closer to a cease-fire or widen its offensive. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing sensitive policy matters.
Asked if Israel's war aims had been achieved, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said: "Most of them, probably not all of them."
Israeli troops now have the coastal city of 400,000 virtually surrounded as part of an offensive launched Dec. 27 to end years of Palestinian rocket attacks on its southern towns.
Early Wednesday an Israeli warplane fired a missile at the former Gaza city hall, used as a court building in recent years, witnesses said. The 1910 structure was destroyed and many stores in the market around it were badly damaged, they said.
Palestinian medical officials reported at least 42 deaths from the conflict on Tuesday throughout Gaza.
The Israeli military said three soldiers were wounded, including an officer who was searching a northern Gaza house when a bomb exploded.
Palestinian hospital officials say more than 940 Palestinians, half of them civilians, have been killed in the fighting. A total of 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers, have died.GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Terrified residents ran for cover Tuesday in a densely... more
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – One family buried a slain son over his grandfather. Another bundled up the tiny bodies of three young cousins and lowered them into the grave of a long-dead aunt. A man was laid to rest with his brother.
More than two weeks into the Israeli offensive that has killed more than 940 Palestinians, Gazans are struggling to find places to bury their dead. Cemeteries throughout Gaza City that were closed for new burials have now reopened.
"Gaza is all a graveyard," gravedigger Salman Omar said Tuesday as he shoveled earth in Gaza City's crammed Sheik Radwan cemetery, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Just six miles wide and 25 miles long, Gaza has always suffered from a shortage of burial space. But Gazans say Israel's shelling and ground offensive have made it impossible for residents to reach Martyrs Cemetery — the only graveyard in the area with space to dig fresh graves.
The offensive is aimed at crushing the militant group Hamas and ending its rocket attacks on southern Israel. But Palestinian medical officials say roughly half the dead are civilians.
Among them are the Samouni cousins, 5-month-old Mohammed, 1-year-old Mutasim and 2-year-old Ahmed, whose family hurriedly dug up the grave of an aunt to lay them to rest last week.
"We buried them quickly," said Iyad Samouni, 26, speaking from al-Awda hospital in Gaza City, where he was being treated for shrapnel wounds. "We were afraid we'd be shelled. My relatives were trying to open other graves to prepare for the other dead, but we didn't get time."
He said the family fled the graveyard after they came under fire from a.................................GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – One family buried a slain son over his grandfather.... more
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LONDON – Britain's Prince Harry issued a public apology Saturday after a British newspaper published video footage of him using offensive and racist language.
The News of The World reported that Harry, third in line to the British throne, used offensive terms to refer to people from Pakistan and people of Arab descent.
Harry, who is an army lieutenant in the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals, is purported to have made the remarks in 2006 in an airport departure lounge as soldiers waited to travel to Cyprus for training exercises.
The newspaper said in a statement that in the video, Harry referred to one colleague as "our little paki friend" — using a derogatory term for people of Pakistani origin.
It reported that he called another cadet — who was wearing a headscarf — a "raghead." The newspaper said that the video was filmed by other cadets and supplied to the newspaper.
St. James's Palace — the office of Harry and his elder brother Prince William — said on Saturday that Harry was sorry for any offense caused by his use of the word "paki."
"Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offense his words might cause," spokesman Patrick Harrison said in a statement.
"However, on this occasion three years ago, Prince Harry used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon. There is no question that Prince Harry was in any way seeking to insult his friend."
Harrison said that Harry had used the other offensive term to refer to either the Taliban or Iraqi insurgents.
"Neither the army nor the armed forces tolerates inappropriate behavior in any shape or form," Britain's defense ministry said in a statement Saturday. "The Army takes all allegations of inappropriate behavior very seriously and all substantive allegations are investigated."LONDON – Britain's Prince Harry issued a public apology Saturday after a... more
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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel's chief negotiator will go to Egypt for "decisive" talks on a cease-fire with Hamas, officials said Tuesday, as the sound of battles between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants rang out in the crowded streets of Gaza City.
With international outrage mounting over the toll on Gaza's civilians, Israel's decision to send Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad to Egypt on Thursday could be a signal of progress. Gilad had postponed the trip for days.
Diplomatic efforts to end 18 days of fighting have moved slowly, in part because of the wide gaps between Israel and Hamas, who do not negotiate directly.
Israel says it will push forward with the offensive until Hamas ends all rocket fire on southern Israel, and there are guarantees the Iranian-backed militant group will stop smuggling weapons into Gaza through the porous Egyptian border.
Hamas has said it will only observe a cease-fire if Israel withdraws from Gaza.
Much of the diplomacy focuses on an area of southern Gaza just across the Egyptian border that serves as a weapons smuggling route, making Egypt critical to both sides in any deal.
Israel wants smuggling tunnels along the border sealed and monitored as part of any deal, and has been bombing the tunnels throughout the campaign.GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel's chief negotiator will go to Egypt for... more
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon said on Tuesday that 61 former detainees from its military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, appear to have returned to terrorism since their release from custody.
Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said 18 former detainees are confirmed and 43 suspected of "returning to the fight."
He said the figures, updated at the end of December, showed a higher rate of recidivism than seen in a previous report showing 37 former detainees as active militants.
He provided no details about the detainees or their countries of origin.
"The overall known terrorist re-engagement rate has increased to 11 percent" from about 7 percent, Morrell said.
The numbers were generated by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency based on fingerprints, photographs and intelligence reports, he said.
President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office on Tuesday, is expected to issue an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison, possibly within his first week in office.
About 255 men are still held at the U.S.-run naval base in Cuba, a symbol of aggressive interrogation methods that exposed the United States to allegations of torture.
Washington has cleared 50 of the detainees for release but cannot return them to their home countries because of the risk they would be tortured or persecuted there.
Around 500 others have been freed or transferred to other governments since 2002.
Pentagon officials say scores of detainees still in custody should never be released because of the potential danger they pose to U.S. interests.
(Reporting by Andrew Gray and David Morgan)
Collapse ArticlWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Pentagon said on Tuesday that 61 former detainees... more
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GAZA CITY, Jan 13, 2009 (AFP) – Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters fought fierce battles in the streets of Gaza City early Tuesday as a war on Hamas that has killed more than 900 Palestinians entered its 18th day.
Israeli special forces backed by tanks and air strikes lunged ever deeper into Gaza's main city overnight, advancing several hundred metres (yards) into several neighbourhoods in the south, witnesses and correspondents said.
Palestinian fighters fought back with roadside bombs and mortar and gunfire. The explosions of bombs, thuds of tanks shells and the rattle of gunfire kept terrified residents who had not yet fled the area awake through the night.
The clashes come as the Israeli media widely speculated that the country's leadership may approve an expansion of its massive offensive in Gaza despite ongoing talks in Egypt on how to end a war launched to stop rocket fire.
The tanks retreated shortly after dawn from the neighbourhoods of Tal al-Hawa and Sheikh Ajlin, allowing medics to rush into the area.
At least one person was killed in the nightime fighting although the toll was expected to be higher, medics said. Tanks and troops remained camped in the outlying neighbourhood of Zeitun.
Clashes between troops and fighters were also reported around the southern town of Khan Yunis.
Israeli warplanes pounded the densely-populated coastal strip with more than 60 air strikes overnight, targetting rocket launching sites, weapons storage facilities, Hamas outposts and smuggling tunnels on Gaza's border with Egypt, the army said.
Hamas kept up its defiance in the face of the onslaught, vowing it would emerge victorious, but said it was ready to examine truce initiatives.
In a rare televised address on Monday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya vowed: "We are approaching victory."
"I tell you that after 17 days of this foolish war, Gaza has not been broken and Gaza will not fall," said the head of the Hamas government in Gaza, which the Islamists seized from forces loyal to moderate Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in June 2007.
But Haniya, who is not considered to wield influence over the group's armed wing, said the Islamists were ready to "examine in a positive manner any initiative which can put an end to this aggression and the blood of our children being shed."
A Hamas delegation has been holding talks in Egypt on a Western-backed proposal by President Hosni Mubarak on how to end the fighting.
Haniya also said the "blood of children" who have been killed in the conflict would serve as a "curse whiGAZA CITY, Jan 13, 2009 (AFP) – Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters fought... more
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The Palestinian use of lies and disinformation has been well known for many years but, in recent days it has reached new heights, the likes of which we have not seen before.
The false reports published in the Palestinian media, or by their spokespeople in the international media, have a double purpose: on the one hand, to delegitimize Israel and, on the other hand, to distract world attention from the Palestinian Authority's deep involvement in terrorism.
The Palestinian collection of lies is particularly disturbing in light of the well-known phenomenon that when a lie is repeated often enough it becomes the truth, even if it has no basis.
Even more disturbing is the willingness of the international media to serve as the instrument for publicizing the Palestinian claims, without checking their veracity and knowing that in many cases they are without foundation. The denials, if they are published later, receive much less publicity; by then, the damage has been done.
Below are a few examples of fabrications disseminated by the Palestinians:
1.
"The Arafat is in danger" lie
One of the most popular themes, arising from the restrictions placed on Arafat, is the fear for the life of the president. On March 31, Yasser Abed Rabo said, in an interview to the Al Jazeera television station, that a warning was received that the IDF would enter the compound in Ramallah, and that this step was planned by Sharon with the intent to kill Yasser Arafat. The same day, Hassan Asfor said to BBC radio that the IDF had broken into Arafat's offices and that the situation was dangerous, "on the brink of disaster". Also on the same day, Saeb Erekat said on Egyptian television that he was unable to make contact with Arafat and that he feared for his life. Erekat repeated this in an interview he gave to CNN on April 6.
These fears were all proven to be unfounded.The Palestinian use of lies and disinformation has been well known for many years but,... more
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Most Americans wouldn't even watch it. But a majority Current posters would believe Al Jazeera over the word of Walter Cronkite. Once called the most trusted man in America. Why do you FEEL this is.Most Americans wouldn't even watch it. But a majority Current posters would... more
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Jerusalem – Israel and Hamas showed little interest over the weekend in moving toward an internationally brokered cease-fire, as both sides vowed to keep fighting.
As the rockets and missiles fill the skies over Gaza and southern Israel, it sharpens the question: What are the goals – and exit strategies, if any – of each side?
Within the Israeli public, there is a debate about whether the intent of the Israeli military – having already sent large numbers of tanks and ground troops into the Gaza Strip for the first time – is to occupy southern Gaza to prevent smuggling or "go all the way" and topple the Hamas government. Rule of the Gaza Strip might then be turned over to Fatah, the Palestinian party that was ousted in a Hamas military coup some 18 months ago and supports a two-state solution to the conflict.
For Hamas, there appears to be an ideal by which – as part of a cease-fire – the Palestinian militant group will be able to declare itself victorious in reaching all of its demands, including an opening of all crossings into Gaza and an end to the economic blockade enforced by Israel and others in the international community.
The distant likelihood of any of those goals being met is one of the obstacles standing in the way of either side moving with alacrity toward a cease-fire, say analysts. Both sides daily tout their achievements.
After a cabinet meeting Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert praised the troops for reaching "impressive goals ... against terror organizations in Gaza." Israelis have the patience and will to press on, he said.
Similarly, Syria-based Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Mashaal insisted that Israel's losses were much heavier than they have let on. Some 870 Palestinians have been killed since the offensive began – Israel says about 300 of them were Hamas militants. Israel has lost 13 people, 10 of them soldiers and three of them civilians.
"The resistance organizations are still at full strength – they took a beating during the first two days, but have since taken the initiative," Mr. Mashaal said following a meeting in Cairo on Saturday night. "The enemy has failed – it has not achieved its goals. The enemy is hiding its true losses. For this reason it is preventing journalists and reporters from entering the Strip."Jerusalem – Israel and Hamas showed little interest over the weekend in moving... more
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