Saudi Prince warns Obama: US - Saudi relationship at risk

In my decades as a public servant, I have strongly promoted the Arab-Israeli peace process. During recent months, I argued that the peace plan proposed by Saudi Arabia could be implemented under an Obama administration if the Israelis and Palestinians both accepted difficult compromises. I told my audiences this was worth the energies of the incoming administration for, as the late Indian diplomat Vijaya Lakshmi Nehru Pandit said: “The more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war.”

But after Israel launched its bloody attack on Gaza, these pleas for optimism and co-operation now seem a distant memory. In the past weeks, not only have the Israeli Defence Forces murdered more than 1,000 Palestinians, but they have come close to killing the prospect of peace itself. Unless the new US administration takes forceful steps to prevent any further suffering and slaughter of Palestinians, the peace process, the US-Saudi relationship and the stability of the region are at risk.

Bishop's Holocaust remarks spark outrage, threaten Jewish-Vatican ties

The Vatican's relations with Jews risked a new crisis Friday after an excommunicated British bishop - reportedly in line for rehabilitation - said that historical evidence "is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed" during World War II.

I agree ~ ever wonder why the ONLY subject NOT open to research, discussion and debate is the so-called holocaust?

Israel to approve aid for IDF officers accused of Gaza war crimes

The government is set to approve a bill Sunday to grant aid and support to Israel Defense Forces officers in cases where they face suits for alleged war crimes from Operation Cast Lead.

And, I expect they will need it...

Israelis forced to admit White Phosphorous used in Gaza

After weeks of strenuous denial that it had used white phosphorous in the heavily populated Gaza Strip, Israel finally admitted yesterday that the controversial weapon had been deployed in its offensive.

The army's use of white phosphorous -- with its distinctive shell burst of dozens of separate smoke trails -- was revealed on January 5, and denied by the army. Now, in the face of mounting evidence, Israel has been forced to backtrack.

Obama appoints Mitchell as Middle East Envoy

Mr. Mitchell would head to the Middle East as soon as possible to shore up the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Israel must re-open the border crossing into the Gaza Strip "to allow the flow of aid and commerce," Mr. Obama said.

"Hamas must end its rocket fire... The United States and our partners will support a credible anti-smuggling and interdiction regime so that Hamas cannot re-arm," he added.

But Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan told al-Jazeera television that Mr. Obama would fail in the Middle East unless he changed his position.

Israelis are living high on US expense account

There's a memorable scene in the Stephen Spielberg film ‘Munich’. After the 1972 Munich Olympic Games killings of Israeli athletes, prime minister Golda Meir tells confidants she wants to show the plotters that killing Jews "is expensive". She then organises for the assassination of each of the plotters. Today, it is Israel itself that has become expensive. Most directly, it is very expensive to the US, which subsidises and arms it.

UN Special Rapporteur likens Gaza to Warsaw Ghetto

UN special rapporteur Richard Falk called for an independent inquiry into Israel's violation of international humanitarian law. Falk said Israel's actions against the besieged Gazans are reminiscent of "the worst kind of international memories of the Warsaw Ghetto" which included the starvation and murder of Polish Jews by Nazi Germany in World War Two.

Zionism; a Disease of the Mind

To virtually incarcerate the Palestinian people inside degrading cages, destroying their livelihoods, confiscating their lands, stealing their water and uprooting their trees, and then to condemn their legitimate resistance as terrorism is a disease of the mind, notes Zaid Nabulsi.

Travel advisory issued for top IDF (Israeli Death Force) officers

IDF officers intending to travel to Europe, whether for business or pleasure, have been advised to contact the Judge Advocate General's Office prior to leaving Israel; and some may be instructed not to leave the country. The advisory has been issued following Israel's concern that international arrest warrants may be issued against officers who were involved in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, on charges of war crimes.

Gideon Levy / Gaza war ended in utter failure for Israel

On the morrow of the return of the last Israeli soldier from Gaza, we can determine with certainty that they had all gone out there in vain. This war ended in utter failure for Israel.

This goes beyond the profound moral failure, which is a grave matter in itself, but pertains to its inability to reach its stated goals. In other words, the grief is not complemented by failure. We have gained nothing in this war save hundreds of graves, some of them very small, thousands of maimed people, much destruction and the besmirching of Israel's image.

Israel's Treatment of Palestinians Contrasted with the (so-called) Holocaust

The photos on the left were taken during World War Two and show the Nazi's treatment of captive Jews. While the photos on the right illustrate the chilling parallels to be found in modern Israel's treatment of Palestinians. All of which may explain why the Zionists take such offence when compared to Nazis, the similarities are too obvious to ignore and give a new dimension to the label “Zio-Nazi”.

Now we've all seen through the Israeli government's excuses

If the Hamas rockets are so lethal, why doesn't Israel swap an F-16 for some?

The worrying part about whether the ceasefire in Gaza can hold together will be whether the international community can stop the flow of arms to the terrorists. Because Israel's getting their planes and tanks and missiles from somewhere and until this supply is cut off there's every chance it could start up again. The disregard for life from these terrorists and their supporters is shocking. For example Thomas Friedman, the New York Times columnist, wrote that the purpose of the Israeli attack must be to "inflict a heavy death toll and heavy pain on the Gaza population".

Robert Fisk: So far, Obama's missed the point on Gaza...

... for the people of the Middle East, the absence of the word "Gaza" – indeed, the word "Israel" as well – was the dark shadow over Obama's inaugural address. Didn't he care? Was he frightened? Did Obama's young speech-writer not realise that talking about black rights – why a black man's father might not have been served in a restaurant 60 years ago – would concentrate Arab minds on the fate of a people who gained the vote only three years ago but were then punished because they voted for the wrong people? It wasn't a question of the elephant in the china shop. It was the sheer amount of corpses heaped up on the floor of the china shop.

Robert Fisk: Posturing and laughter as victims rot

Mahmoud Abbas stepped further into humiliation by saying the only option for Arabs isto make peace with Israel

The front page of the Beirut daily As-Safir said it all yesterday. Across the top was a terrible photograph of the bloated body of a Palestinian man newly discovered in the ruins of his home while two male members of his family shrieked and roared their grief. Below, at half the size, was a photograph from Israel of Western leaders joking with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister. Olmert was roaring with laughter. Silvio Berlusconi, arms on the back of Olmert's shoulders, was also joshing and roaring – with laughter, not grief – and on Olmert's right was Nicolas Sarkozy of France wearing his stupidest of smiles. Only Chancellor Merkel appeared to understand the moral collapse. No smiles from Germany.

'Israel has achieved nothing from this'

Along a row of shattered houses a veiled woman sat in a chair surrounded by broken pieces of furniture and concrete. She waved towards the sandwiched layers of flattened concrete where her six-story home once stood. "When Israel does this is just makes us stronger," she said. "We have even more sympathy with Hamas now."

International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network condems Israel for Gaza massacre

We write with grief and rage as we watch the horrifying Israeli air and ground attacks on Gaza. As Jews committed to ending Zionism, the founding ideology of Israel, and all forms of colonialism, we stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who continue to struggle in the face of these attacks, much as they have against more than 60 years of ethnic cleansing and racism. As Joseph Massad recently wrote, Gaza is in uprising against genocide, and is receiving today the same indifference from the capitals of the West that the rebels in the Warsaw Ghetto received in 1943.

We stand with the hundreds of thousands who have taken the streets in solidarity with Gaza’s resistance. We stand with all those who struggle against racism, dispossession and genocide. We stand with the majority. We will not be silent on Gaza.

'Vague Israeli hope shattered in Gaza'

"What is clear is that, despite vague Israeli hopes that Hamas could be completely removed, that has not happened," a news analysis by The New Times says. Tel Aviv waged an "all-out" war on Hamas by launching massive attacks against the densely-populated Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008.

Israel must be judged at the International Criminal Court - Universal petition

Approximately 300 among NGOs and associations ask the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation on the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. Our support is indispensable. Sign and circulate this urgent «universal petition».

Saudi Arabia to donate $1 billion to rebuild Gaza

President Hosni Mubarak, of Egypt, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Sabah Al Sabah, Amir of Kuwait and Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Amir of Qatar, from left, walk in to the Arab Economic Summit at the Bayan Palace in Kuwait, Monday, Jan. 19, 2009. The Saudi king said an Arab initiative offering peace with Israel will not remain on the table forever. King Abdullah says Israel has to understand that the choice between war and peace will not always stay open.

The Saudi king said Monday his country will donate $1 billion to help rebuild the Gaza Strip after the devastating Israeli offensive and told Israel that an Arab initiative offering peace will not remain on the table forever.

No comment...

Hamas: We killed 80; Lost 48

Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, insisted on Monday, 19, that 22 days of massive Israeli attacks failed to weaken its forces, giving specific figures of its losses and gains in the war. "We confirm the martyrdom of 48 Qassam fighters in the Israeli attacks," Abu Obeida, Al-Qassam spokesman, told local, Arab and international reporters in downtown Gaza City. He refuted Israeli claims of killing more than 500 Hamas members during its three-week Operation Cast Lead or taking any prisoners. "None of our fighters has been detained by the Israeli occupation forces," insisted a defiant Abu Obeida.

The Hamas military wing insisted it has not only been able to withstand the Israeli offensive, but accomplish some successes for itself. "We have counted closely and accurately the death of 49 Israeli soldiers and injury of hundreds others after being directly hit by our fire," Abu Obeida told reporters. "Others were killed in our mortar attacks on soldiers gatherings, targeting of tanks, sniping of soldiers," he added. "So we estimate that no less than 80 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the battlefield."

As was the case with the 2006 war between Israel and Hizbullah, Hamas' estimate will be quietly confirmed by Israel in about a year...

A pointless war has led to a moral defeat for Israel

Even on its own terms, the campaign has failed. Israeli authorities will insist that they have limited the ability of Hamas to launch rocket attacks. But the ostensible war aim was destroying that capability completely. Israel will also claim that its campaign has exposed a lack of support for Hamas in many Arab capitals; that Hamas' position as the ruling authority in Gaza has been undermined; and that Hamas has been revealed as little more than a terrorist proxy acting on behalf of and armed by Syria and Iran. But the reality is that the status of Hamas as the preferred vehicle for Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation has been enhanced by the indiscriminate brutality of the military assault.

Punishing the Palestinians

In the long sixty-year tortured history of the Palestinian expulsion from their lands, Congress has maintained that it is always the Palestinians, the Palestinian Authority, and now Hamas who are to blame for all hostilities and their consequences with the Israeli government. The latest illustration of this Washington puppet show, backed by the most modern weapons and billions of taxpayer dollars annually sent to Israel, was the grotesquely one-sided Resolutions whisked through the Senate and the House of Representatives.

While a massive bombing and invasion of Gaza was underway, the resolution blaming Hamas for all the civilian casualties and devastation-99% of it inflicted on Palestinians-zoomed through the Senate by voice vote and through the House by a vote of 390 to 5 with 22 legislators voting present. There is more dissent against this destruction of Gaza among the Israeli people, the Knesset, the Israeli media, and Jewish-Americans than among the dittoheads on Capitol Hill.

Another War, Another Defeat

The Gaza offensive has succeeded in punishing the Palestinians but not in making Israel more secure

Israelis and their American supporters claim that Israel learned its lessons well from the disastrous 2006 Lebanon war and has devised a winning strategy for the present war against Hamas. Of course, when a ceasefire comes, Israel will declare victory. Don’t believe it. Israel has foolishly started another war it cannot win.

Obama reaches out to Muslims

“This Tuesday, we can reaffirm our own veneration and love for our country and our democracy,” he said yesterday in a radio address. “We can once again provide an example to the world.” His inauguration presents a “unique opportunity to reboot America’s image in the world and also in the Muslim world in particular”, he said in an interview.

Considering the number of Zionists Obama has named to his administration, I don't expect the good President Elect's reach to extend very far...