Posted on 05/12/2008 6:13:24 AM PDT by jhpigott
(IsraelNN.com) Defense Minster Ehud Barak warned Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman Monday morning that time is running out before Israel orders a full-scale counterterrorist operation in Gaza in the wake of escalating terrorist attacks. He met with Suleiman in Tel Aviv before the Egyptian official sat down for talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem. The two are meeting at this hour, and Suleiman is scheduled to talk with Foreign Minster Tzipi Livni afterwards.
Defense Minister Barak has declared several times during the past year that "it is only a matter of time" before Israel conducts a large ground invasion in Gaza to stop terror. However, he has limited the IDF to targeted counterterrorist operations and cross-border search and destroy missions.
ping
Apparently, Olmert has rejected the proposal and it shouldn’t be too long now before the IDF/IAF begins attacking in a manner that Hamas hasn’t seen yet in Gaza.
agreed, but they will probably wait for Bush to clear the area. he is going to be in Israel for the next few days. i scratch my head at the people who say Bush isn’t going to be able to accomplish anyhting on this trip. Yea, well maybe not on the “peace” talks, but maybe that isn’t his real purpose for being there??
This may be the final meeting before the ‘greenlight.’
You wouldn’t think the U.S. President would make 2 trips to the ME in a very short timeframe when he hadn’t been there in the first 7 years.
Olmert keeps saying that ‘Iran will not be allowed to have nukes...’ and that’s a definitive statement, and he knows full well that sanctions are a joke.
Something big is likely to happen, IMO.
i wouldn’t doubt it
too much happening over in that corner of the world . . . somethings got to give
Hamas says rejection of truce will lead to blow-out
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3542418,00.html
Senior official from Islamist Palestinian group accuses Israeli defense minister of ‘trying to prove he is a bigger hero than his predecessors,’ says Israel will end up ‘counting casualties’ if it does not accept deal
Ali Waked Published: 05.12.08, 18:19 / Israel News
“If Israel rejects the agreement it will carry the burden of compromising its citizens’ security,” said a senior Hamas official to Ynet, referring to the message relayed to the Egyptian Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman in Israel.
Gaza is threatening that if Israel rejects the agreement presented by the factions for a calm an escalation in the clashes will be unavoidable.
The Hamas senior official claimed that “Barak wants to prove that he is a bigger hero than the defense ministers who preceded him, but he will also fail and will be compelled to count the Israeli casualties when we reveal the strength prevalent in the Palestinian resistance.”
According to him, Hamas demands that each agreement will include the opening of crossings: “An agreement that doesn’t contend with this issue is not an agreement and as far as we are concerned will not be carried out at all or in part. The significance is that we are able to use all our cards, or part of the ones at our disposal. Rejection of the initiative will bring Shalit a lot of playmates from the ‘army of occupation’”
The same Hamas official also expressed a fear that the recent affairs concerning Prime Minister Olmert will contribute to the escalation. “According to reports from the Zionist media, Olmert is in distress.
“History has proven that every time a Zionist leader is placed in internal distress, he tries to avert the fire in the Palestinian’s direction and to change the public’s point of focus. Rejecting the agreement, in our estimation, is a sign of preparations for an all-inclusive clash in which Israelis will raise militancy levels,” he said.
Even threats on the lives of the movement’s leaders don’t affect Hamas’ tone. A senior official said that “if one hair falls off the head of one of our leaders, the gates of hell will open for the Zionists and I am not only referring to Sderot and the surrounding areas. All of Palestine will be under fire and filled with our martyrs.”
In the meantime, Hamas is preparing to flood the Gaza crossings with Palestinians protesting the blocks. Most of the effort will be directed toward the Rafah and Erez crossings, in a plea to break the siege on the Gaza Strip. On Monday, a senior Hamas official Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar said that “the siege on the Gaza Strip is failing and will continue to fail.”
here we go, so much for the cease fire-
Woman dies of wounds caused by Qassam rocket
Published: 05.12.08, 18:58 / Israel News
The woman who was severely wounded by a Qassam rocket that hit her home in Yesha community, Eshkol Regional Council, died of her wounds.
The paramedics that arrived on the scene tried to resuscitate her, but were forced to declare her death. (Yonat Atlas)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3542438,00.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.