Today's News
- Abbas Says Willing to Advance Israel-Hamas Ceasefire
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday afternoon that he would be willing to work toward a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas following the army’s recent operation in Gaza, which left more than 110 Palestinians dead.
A statement released by Abbas’ office said "the president is willing to advance a comprehensive ceasefire to save our people. He calls on Israel to "embrace this initiative."
- Posted on: 03/03/08
- Hamas Claims Gaza ‘Victory’ as Israel Pulls Back
Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza Strip on Monday after a U.S. appeal to end days of fighting that killed more than 100 Palestinians and rescue peace talks.
The Hamas Islamists who control the coastal enclave declared "victory" and vowed to continue firing rockets into Israel, launching one into the main southern city of Ashkelon shortly after the troops withdrew, and wounding one person.
- Posted on: 03/03/08
- Olmert: ‘West Bank Could Become Another Gaza’
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert emphasized Monday that the latest operation in Gaza was by no means the last. …
Nevertheless, the prime minister stressed that Israel had to maintain the diplomatic track with the Palestinian Authority. "There is a leadership now in the West Bank that wants peace in a way that even Arab leaders we previously negotiated with and embraced didn’t want it", the prime minister said. "Absence of negotiations would lead to a ‘Gazaization’ of the West Bank, and anyone who can’t see this is lying to himself," he added.
- Posted on: 03/03/08
- Settler Kills Palestinian Teen Near Ramallah
A 30-year-old resident of the settlement of Neriya shot a 17-year-old Palestinian to death Monday near the West Bank settlement of Talmon. According to the settler, he had encountered rioting Palestinians and was afraid they would lynch him.
An initial IDF inquiry into the shooting incident revealed that the settler’s actions were warranted… The incident took place as Palestinians rioted and hurled stones near the community in protest of the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip.
- Posted on: 03/03/08
Setting the Record Straight
Occupation Not a Solution
“The State of Israel must make a strategic decision to order the IDF to prepare quickly to topple the Hamas terror regime and take over all the areas from which rockets are fired on Israel."
–MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima), interview with Israel Radio, March 1, 2008
VS.
“It [re-occupying Gaza] will not solve the problem. It must be remembered that the Qassams were flying while we were still in Gaza. You may know when you go in to Gaza, but you never know when you’ll get out."
–Major General (ret.) Danny Rothschild, President of the Council of Peace and Security and former head of IDF intelligence and administrator of the occupied territories, radio interview, February 28, 2008
Today's Feature
Escalation Misses Mark
by Haaretz, Editorial
It does not matter how you define what the Israel Defense Forces is waging in the Gaza Strip: a war, a battle or a retaliatory operation. It is extremely important, however - and that was one of the lessons of the Second Lebanon War - to define the goals and the chances of achieving them. Does Israel intend to stop the firing of Qassams, or merely to punish those who fire them, past and present? Is the operation aimed at
Continue Reading Escalation Misses Mark
"[W]hen senior Israeli military and political leaders speak about obliterating neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip ... they must understand the price tag these kinds of retaliatory operations bear for the peace process."
Middle East Analysis
- Waiting for Condoleezza
“We are in a complex situation,” says [Minister without portfolio Ami] Ayalon. “In order to adapt to it we have to adopt for ourselves a decision-making process. And such a process does not exist. The bottom line from all the Winograd reports is that the State of Israel does not have a policy, nor does it have an orderly process for molding a policy. Nobody knows what we want, what we aspire to, and nobody is conducting an orderly process
- Posted on: 03/03/08
Background Basics
- Escalation of Hamas-Israel Conflict
2007
June 14: Hamas stages coup in Gaza, ousting PA. Many of the Gaza crossings are closed, limiting movement and access of people and goods.July 5: In response to continued Qassam rocket shelling from Gaza, IDF penetrates a half-mile into the territory, killing at least 11 militants. Thousands of Gazans march in the funeral procession.
September 3: Rocket fired from Gaza lands near Sderot elementary and preschools. Parents call for school closure.
- Posted on: 03/03/08
Heard on the Street
- Victory Means an Agreement with the PA
Member of Knesset and former Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General (ret.) Ephraim Sneh, blog in The Jerusalem Post, March 2, 2008:
“Why should we speak of employment in Gaza when Grad [Katyusha] -missiles rain down on Ashkelon? But, whoever aims seriously for change on the ground and is not merely satisfied with uttering popular slogans, needs to address the root of the problem. Those with in-depth knowledge of the situation know that we cannot change the military and political
- Posted on: 03/03/08
Upcoming Events
- The Kurds Ascending:The Evolving Solution to the Kurdish Problem in Iraq and Turkey
Who: Michael M. Gunter, professor of political science at Tennessee Technological University
When: March, 6 2008 - 12:00pm-1:00pm
Where: Middle East Institute
The MEI Boardman Room
1761 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036- Posted on: 02/25/08
- Middle East Progress
- 1333 H St. NW, Floor 10
- Washington, DC 20005
- info@middleeastprogress.org
