Wednesday
Dec312008
Gaza Update (2 p.m. Israel, 7 a.m. Eastern US): The Israeli War Continues, Fuel and Food Crisis in Gaza
Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 11:35
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5osk2toY1E[/youtube]
Later Update: Gaza Black Comedy Moments
Israel has rejected a French proposal for a truce to allow aid into Gaza. Using the same line put forward by the US Government on Tuesday, Israeli spokesman Mark Regev insisted on "a real and sustainable solution", one that would "not [be] a Band-Aid that will just kick the can down the road".
Regev's statement, however, hides division in the Israeli Cabinet, which discussed the French proposal for four hours. According to The Daily Telegraph, Minister of Defense Ehud Barak supported the two-day truce but was overruled by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Lvini.
There is no fuel and electricity in Gaza, as Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday again hit the offices of Gazan Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and the Interior Ministry. The Israelis also reinforced their economic stranglehold by bombing the "lifeline" for Gaza, the tunnels connecting it to Egypt.
The European Union again called for "an unconditional halt to rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel and an end to Israeli military action". Gulf Arab leaders agreed on a demand for a cease-fire but unsurprisingly, given Saudi Arabia's backing of the Palestinian Authority against Hamas, were divided over support for the Government in Gaza.
Later Update: Gaza Black Comedy Moments
Israel has rejected a French proposal for a truce to allow aid into Gaza. Using the same line put forward by the US Government on Tuesday, Israeli spokesman Mark Regev insisted on "a real and sustainable solution", one that would "not [be] a Band-Aid that will just kick the can down the road".
Regev's statement, however, hides division in the Israeli Cabinet, which discussed the French proposal for four hours. According to The Daily Telegraph, Minister of Defense Ehud Barak supported the two-day truce but was overruled by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Lvini.
There is no fuel and electricity in Gaza, as Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday again hit the offices of Gazan Prime Minister Ismail Haniya and the Interior Ministry. The Israelis also reinforced their economic stranglehold by bombing the "lifeline" for Gaza, the tunnels connecting it to Egypt.
The European Union again called for "an unconditional halt to rocket attacks by Hamas on Israel and an end to Israeli military action". Gulf Arab leaders agreed on a demand for a cease-fire but unsurprisingly, given Saudi Arabia's backing of the Palestinian Authority against Hamas, were divided over support for the Government in Gaza.