Updates on Gaza war...

continuous updates...

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Hamas threats force Israel to withdraw

Friday, Jan. 21, 2009

Israeli army "retreats" from Gaza
Israel no longer "military power"
Arabs humiliated by Hamas victory, says Iran
Israeli troops meet pull-out "ultimatum"

Israel has completed its troop pullout from Gaza within the one-week deadline Hamas had given to Prime Minister for his soldiers full withdrawal.
Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday, after which Hamas responded positively by giving the IDF a 7 day deadline to withdraw all its forces from Gaza.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya on Sunday declared the Israeli pull-out request as a "great victory" for all Palestinians, saying Tel Aviv had failed to achieve its objectives.
Iran's Foreign Minister said that the "outcome of Gaza offensive shows Israel is no longer in a position to boast of its military capabilities in the Middle East". Mr Mottaki said the "declaration of a unilateral ceasefire by Isirael indirectly acknowledges its admission of defeat; such defeats have burst the regime's bubble of delusion". The Israelis were under "the delusion that they can attain their goals within a week, but today they acknowledge that they had made mistakes in their estimations about Hamas' resistance and military capabilities".
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said "Arabs have been humilaited". He told Hamas leaders in Gaza that their victory has disgraced United Nations, United States, Israel and middle east's hypocrites: "Your jihad has disgraced Zionist regime and all its allies. Israeli army has faced “humiliation” in the face of your “patience and sacrifice” shown by “the brave holy warriors and the oppressed people of Gaza”. Ayatollah Khamenei denounced Arab "traitors" in the gaza crisis. He sent message to Prme Minister Ismail Haniya saying: "Be proud of your patience, courage and sacrifice." He said Arabs will suffer the same fate as Jew. In a 625 AD battle, Prophet Muhammad defeated the Jews of Medina and expelled them from Arabia.

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- Israel declares ceasefire
- Hamas declares "victory"
- Iran congratulates Hamas on defeating Israeli plans in Gaza

Monday 21 January 2009

President Ahmadinejad is first world leader to congralutate Palestinians on their victory against Israeli army. He also called on Arab to break off links with Israel and its allies.
Ahmadinejad said this was "the victory of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza."
Israel gave up its war in Gaza on Sunday and said it is withdrawing its forces.

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Friday, January 16

- Israel blows up UN food depot in Gaza
- Top Hamas leader rejects Iraeli demands to end the war
- Iran President slams Arabs for their silence on Israel

Israeli war planes bombed UN depot and destroyed its food storage compound in Gaza. Hundreds of tons of food aid and medicines were blown up with used white phosphorus bombs. The war enters the third week. UN sectretary general was in Israel and said he was shocked at the incident.
Hamas leader in Syria said he will not bow to Israeli condition to end Gaza war. Speaking to summit in Qatar, Khalid Meshal vowed he would not accpet unjust demands from nyone. "I assure you, despite all the destruction in Gaza, we will not accept Israel's conditions for a ceasefire," the Damascus-based leader told the gathering which included some of Israel's most hardline foes. "We tell our loved ones in Gaza, the aggression will soon crash on the rock of your steadfastness," Meshaal said at the opening of the meeting. "Our demands are: That the aggression stops, that the enemy retreats completely from Gaza, that the blockade is lifted without ever returning to it, and that the border crossing at Rafah (on the Egyptian border) is opened," Meshaal said, adding that only Egyptian and Palestinian forces are to supervise the border. Arab League chief Amr Mussa acknowledged that there was "chaos" in Arab ranks over the Gaza crisis as Arab foreign ministers gathered in Kuwait City for a separate, official meeting. The "Arab situation is in a very big chaos," Mussa told reporters as he entered the talks, which began two hours late. "It is regrettable and harmful."
The summit, attended by Israel's vehement foe Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and 13 of the Arab League's 22 members, went ahead despite objections of the Palestinian leadership and regional heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Before arriving in Qatar, Ahmadinejad accused Arab states of complicity in 'genocide' being carried out against Palestinians in Gaza: "Unfortunately, some states in the Arab and Islamic region tolerate or support this rare genocide with silence or a smile of satisfaction," he said in a letter to Saudi King Abdullah, referring to the Israeli operation in Gaza. "Your Excellency, the king of Saudi Arabia and the custodian of the two holy mosques.., it is expected from you to break the silence over this obvious atrocity and killing of your own children," Ahmadinejad said in the letter, carried on his website. In a stinging rebuke to Arab leaders, Iranian President said on Thursday some of them were standing back in silence and even supporting Zionist attacks on Gaza: "(They) are expecting that this defenceless people's existence will be broken and that they surrender to the oppression of the occupiers," he said, urging King Abdullah "to break his silence and announce his view" on the crisis. Iran does not recognise Israel's right to exist and the president says the Jewish state is destined to disappear, a position he repeated in his letter to the Saudi monarch."With God's help and relying on the Gaza people's resistance and belief in God, undoubtedly the Zionist regime will fail and will eventually collapse," he wrote. Iran has publicly backed Hamas in Gaza as some Western and Arab states have sought to isolate the Islamist group. Analysts say Iran has highlighted its support to win over the Arab public and emphasise its influence in the region to the United States. In another message, Ahmadinejad took the unusual step of addressing Israeli troops, calling on them to disobey their commanders. He also urged "residents of occupied Palestine," a reference to Israelis and Palestinians, to publicly protest. "You soldiers of the Zionist regime ... Why should you kill innocent women and children? The time has come for you to protest against your commanders and disobey their orders," he said in the second message, also published on his website. Iranian hardliners have staged a series of protests in support of Palestinians, in particular gathering outside the Jordanian embassy and Egypt's diplomatic mission. Both Arab countries have peace treaties with Israel. Protesters have focussed on Egypt, which does not have full diplomatic ties with Iran, for closing its border with Gaza. In an interview with Iran's Arabic-language satellite channel Al-Alam, Ahmadinejad urged Egypt to open the crossing. The Saudi government, which sees itself as the leader of mainstream Sunni Islam, has refrained from explicitly blaming Hamas for the offensive, but writers close to the government have blamed Hamas for aligning itself with Shi'ite power Iran. Saudi Arabia has long been wary of Iran and its ambitions in the Gulf.

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January 16: Kaufman: Israeli "Nazis"

UK Jewish lawmaker: Israel behaving like Hitler's Germany
British MP says Israel is "acting like Nazis"

A Jewish member of Britain's parliament accused Israel of exploiting Holocaust guilt to justify its actions in the Gaza Strip.
MP compared the Hamas militants in Gaza to Jewish resistance fighters during the Second World War.

A prominent Jewish MP has compared the actions of Israeli troops with Nazis who forced his family to flee Poland.
Sir Gerald Kaufman, of Manchester, drew the parallel during a Commons debate on the Gaza conflict: He was brought up as an orthodox Jew and Zionist, told Parliament in London: "The present Israeli government ruthlessly and cynically exploit the continuing guilt from Germans over the slaughter of Jews in the Holocaust as justification for their murder of Palestinians. My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home town. A German soldier shot her dead in her bed. My grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza. We had an IRA bomb in Manchester which destroyed much of the centre - we didn't send troops over to Belfast to murder 1,000 Catholics. I am not going to stand by and keep silent when the Israeli troops - with a dreadful government sending them there - kill large numbers of innocent people..."
Some MP thought that Sir Gerald Kaufman has been highly critical of Israel's actions.
Kaufman's chilling and devastating speech during the Parialementt debate on Gaza - in which he compared Israeli "murderers" to Nazis - was breathtaking box office and showed that at 78 Sir Gerald remains one of Parliament's star performers.
Kaufman said "A few days ago on TV, the spokeswoman for the Israeli army, Major Leibovich, was asked about the Israeli killing of, at that time, 800 Palestinians. The total is now 1,000. She replied instantly that '500 of them were militants'. That was the reply of a Nazi. I suppose the Jews fighting for their lives in the Warsaw ghetto could have been dismissed as militants."
After condemning the Gaza operations, the Labour MP called for an arms embargo on Israel.

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Calls for Arab League to move to Venezuela

Wednesday, January 14:

Kuwaiti Member of Parliament called for Arab League to move their headquaters from Cairo to Caracus.
Waleed, a Kuwaiti Islamist MP, called on Wednesday for shifting the Arab League headquarters to the Venezuelan capital after that country's President expelled the Israel's ambassador because of its onslaught on the Gaza Strip.
Mr Waleed said the muslim instituation should be taken to Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez shamed the Arabs by expelling the Israeli ambassador after its war on Gaza.
He criticised Egypt, which hosts the headquarters of the 22-member Arab League, for"refusing to open the Rafah" border to allow the passage of food and medical supplies to the battered Palestinian territory. His call was echoed by other MPs who also called for sending more aid to the Palestinians in Gaza.
Waleed said that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez "has proved that he was more Arab than some Arabs."
President Chavez expelled Israel's ambassador to Caracas in protest against the Israeli killings of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel retaliated a day later, saying it was expelling Venezuela's charge d'affaires.
Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania, the only Arab countries to have diplomatic ties with the Jewish state, have ignored public calls to expel Israeli diplomats. An Israeli trade office in Qatar also remains open.
970 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli in 18 days of air bombing campaign in Gaza. 4250 people had been wounded. Most of the deaths and injuries are civilians including women and children. Only 3 Israeli civilians had died in the same period.

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Iran calls for boycott of Israeli goods

Tuesday, January 13:

Iran urged Muslims to refrain from any business transaction which could benefit the enemiesof Islam.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on all Muslims should avoid buying or promoting anyIsraeli-linked product: "Since the Zionists are now at war with Islam, Muslims should avoid any action which might bring profit to [Israelis]."
"The purchase, import, re-import and promotion of any product whose profits will be given to Israeli occupiers directly or indirectly is forbidden and Muslims are prohibited from doing so," Khamenei said.

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Hamas predicts victory against Israel

Monday, January 12

The defiant leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip vowed on Monday the Islamists would emerge victorious from the war in the Palestinian territory as Israeli tanks advanced on the main city
After 17 days of conflict which have so far killedmore than 900 Palestinians, Ismail Haniya made a rare televised address only hours after his Israeli counterpart threatened to hit Hamas with an "ironfist" if it did not end the rocket attacks which the war itself is designed to halt.
"We are approaching victory," Haniya, the Prime Minister of the Hamas government in Gaza, said in his broadcast from an undisclosed location.
"I tell you that after 17 days of this foolish war, Gaza has not been broken and Gaza will not fall."
Haniya also said the "blood of children" who have been killed in the conflict would serve as a "curse which will come back to haunt" United States.
On Sunday, Iran has also said that Israel faced "defeat" in Gaza.
Defense Minister Mustafa Najjar said "Israel will face a humiliating defeat". He said war in Gaza will be worse for Israel that its 33-day war with Lebanon in 2006.
Iran: Bush 'guilty of condoning Gaza genocide'
Friday, January 10
Top Iranian religious cleric has criticized the Bush administration in U.S. for condoning the genocide carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip.
Ayatolallah Ahmed Khatami slammed Bush: "He leaves office with a trackrecord filled with the murder and massacre of thousands."
The religious leader said "US media outlets have reported that no other American president has told so many lies. In his November 10 United Nation address, Bush used the words, terror, terrorism, and human rights more than 37 times… this is while the U.S. is on the front line of violating human rights."
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Saturday January 10:

Gaza clinic has been destroyed by Israel

Janet Symes of Christian Aid said the clinic for mothers and babies in Gaza, which it funds along with the EU, has been destroyed in an Israeli bomb. Marked ambulances had been parked outside the clinic. The clinic, which was run by the Near East Council of Churches, was struck by a missile after a 15 minute warning was sent to the building's owners.

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Egypt fails to open border to help Palestinians

Tuesday, January 6:
Beirut - Lebanon

Leader of the powerful Lebanese Hezbollah group Hassan Nasrallah reiterated his criticism of Egypt for "failing to open the Rafah border" with Gaza and attacked the U.N. Security Council for "not acting" to condemn the Israeli aggression which began Dec. 27.
Nasrallah slammed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on 6th Jan. for refusing to open the Rafah border crossing:
"A senior Egyptian official asked the Security Council if it needed to see more than 650 Palestinians killed and 2,500 injured in order to act responsibly. And I ask Egypt: Do you need more than 650 dead people to open the Rafah crossing permanently to help the people of Gaza toward their victory? I am only asking (Egypt) for the opening of a crossing and not another front."
Celebrating his victory over Israel in 2006 war, Hezbollah chief promised to make the next war look like 'a walk in the park'.
Nasrallah hailed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for expelling Israel's ambassador to Caracas saying that all countries, including Arab states, must follow his example.
"Arab governments must learn from this great Latin American leader how to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people and must severe relations with Israel," he said.
Nasrallah said his guerrillas are ready to finish Israel: "Lebanon war was just a walk in the park compared to what we have in store for you."
The Hizbullah chief pointed that Hamas had two choices: "Either to extend the truce with Israel and die of hunger, or end the truce and break the siege.
During the gathering, Nasrallah told thousands of supporters that only the Hamas leadership in Gaza is the decision-maker and it alone accepts or rejects calls for calm. "The resistance was never and shall never be anyone's pawn."
During his address Nasrallah mocked Israeli calls for toppling Hamas:
"I tell Olmert, the loser, the defeated leader in Lebanon, that you cannot beat Hamas and Hizbullah," Nasrallah vowed.
"Your jets will not frighten us, and your threats will not frighten us. We are ready for any aggression," Nasrallah said, adding that in the event of a new offensive on Lebanon "you will discover what is waiting for you."
Nasrallah called for massive rally on Wednesday 7 Jan: "Regardless of weather, you are called upon to renew your commitment to the resistance and to renew your animosity to Israel and the Great Satan which orders Israel (to kill Palestinians)."
Hezbollah chief chastised "Arab leaders" for trying to mediate a truce between Hamas and Israel, instead of siding with the embattled Palestinians in Gaza. (Report Jan.6)
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Israel to "lose war in Gaza"

Friday, 2 January:
Beirut - Lebanon

Nasrallah says Israel is doomed to failure despite its massive offensive on the Gaza Strip.
Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah says the Arab leaders of the region are collaborating with the "Israeli aggressor" in Gaza.
On Wednesday, five days after Israel launched its all-out aggression against the Gaza Strip, Arab foreign ministers met in Cairo to seek a common position in response to the Israeli attacks on the impoverished area.
Arab foreign ministers agreed to send a ministerial delegation to New York in order to seek a solution to the crisis. The meeting ended with no apparent results other than the officials urging a cease-fire in the Palestinian territory.
"Why have the Arab foreign ministers delayed their trip to the Security Council until Monday? They could have sent their delegation on Wednesday," Nasrallah responded on Friday.
Hezbollah leader told a crowd in Beirut that the Arabs trip was delayed to give Israel ample time to destroy Hamas.
"We repeatedly told them during our 2006 war, amid Israel's bombing campaigns in Lebanon that we don't seek anything from the Arab leaders, just leave us alone," continued Nasrallah, suggesting that certain Arab leaders are partners in the Israeli crimes against Gaza.
Nasrallah had previously stated that if Arab world cannot alleviate the problems in Gaza, they must avoid fueling tensions on the issue. (Report Jan.2)

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Editorial:

Gaza slaughter shows in its full bloody fury the Arab hatred of Iran. Jews themselves are not blood thirsty people they are made out to be. It is Arabs leaders who are pushing Israel to commit slaughter in Gaza, just as the same Arab leaders urged Israel to wage war on Lebanon in 2006. Powerful Lebanese leader Hasan Nasrallah revealed in speech on 28 December 2008 that Israel was used as a weapon by Arabs to destroy Hezbollah in Lebanon. U.S. is desperately seeking to settle the 60 year old Israeli-Palestinians conflict. U.S. is now using Arabs, and, in turn Arabs are using Israel, in a deadly power game in Middle East.

Previous stories:

http://hasannasrallah.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html

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