-------------------------------------------------------- From: "INT-ADI" <•••@••.•••> To: "INT" <•••@••.•••> Subject: INT 482 Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 10:58:56 +0200 --------------------------------------------- Intelligence, N. 482, 3 July 2006, p. 1 ISRAEL/PALESTINE WAR JUST IN TIME TO AVOID PEACE On 10 June, the ruling Hamas group fired a barrage of homemade rockets at Israel hours after calling off its 16-month cease- fire with Israel in anger over an artillery attack that killed seven civilians at the Huda Ghalia beach-side picnic in the Gaza Strip (0610 NYT/AP, Hamas Fires Rockets at Israel After Calling Off Truce, Steven Erlanger). The Palestinian reaction to Huda Ghalia also caused serious internal troubles between the Hamas government and Fatah security forces (0613 ERRI, Hundreds of Palestinian Security Forces Go on Rampage). Then, on 13 June, an Israeli missile strike in Gaza City killed at least eight innocent bystanders (0613 Knight Ridder, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Threatens to Explode, Dion Nissenbaum), pushing Israel and the Palestinians closer to open warfare. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the attack as "state terror" and accused Israel of trying to "wipe out the Palestinian people." Later, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz expressed his regrets that civilians had been killed. The eight civilians included two children and three medical workers and left another 32 wounded, several in a serious condition, according to the Associated Press. The escalation of violence continued with three more Palestinian children killed on 20 June by an Israeli missile attack, the 25 June kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants, the following bombardment and invasion of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military, and the imprisonment of most of the democratically-elected Hamas government. All of this took place just as the Hamas was considering the possibility of officially recognizing the state of Israel. Since those responsible for such a change are now in Israeli prisons, the subject has been moved to the back burner as war continues. (...cut...) --------------------------------------------- -- -------------------------------------------------------- Escaping the Matrix website http://escapingthematrix.org/ cyberjournal website http://cyberjournal.org subscribe cyberjournal list mailto:•••@••.••• Posting archives http://cyberjournal.org/show_archives/ Blogs: cyberjournal forum http://cyberjournal-rkm.blogspot.com/ Achieving real democracy http://harmonization.blogspot.com/ for readers of ETM http://matrixreaders.blogspot.com/ Community Empowerment http://empowermentinitiatives.blogspot.com/ Blogger made easy http://quaylargo.com/help/ezblogger.html
