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Post by Tulameen on Feb 17, 2005 19:13:41 GMT -5
Exclusive: NASA Researchers Claim Evidence of Present Life on Mars By Brian Berger Space News Staff Writer posted: 16 February 2005 02:09 pm ET
WASHINGTON -- A pair of NASA scientists told a group of space officials at a private meeting here Sunday that they have found strong evidence that life may exist today on Mars, hidden away in caves and sustained by pockets of water.
The scientists, Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, told the group that they have submitted their findings to the journal Nature for publication in May, and their paper currently is being peer reviewed.
What Stoker and Lemke have found, according to several attendees of the private meeting, is not direct proof of life on Mars, but methane signatures and other signs of possible biological activity remarkably similar to those recently discovered in caves here on Earth.
Stoker and other researchers have long theorized that the Martian subsurface could harbor biological organisms that have developed unusual strategies for existing in extreme environments. That suspicion led Stoker and a team of U.S. and Spanish researchers in 2003 to southwestern Spain to search for subsurface life near the Rio Tinto river—so-called because of its reddish tint—the product of iron being dissolved in its highly acidic water.
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 28, 2006 10:46:17 GMT -5
The US state department has dismissed as "outrageous" a suggestion by Israel that it has been authorised by the world to continue bombing Lebanon. "The US is sparing no efforts to bring a durable and lasting end to this conflict," said spokesman Adam Ereli. Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon made the suggestion after powers meeting in Rome refrained from demanding an immediate ceasefire. UK PM Tony Blair has arrived in Washington for talks on the crisis. His meeting with US President George W Bush comes amid growing pressure for the UK and US to join calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel has carried out dozens of fresh strikes on Lebanon. Lebanese officials said at least 12 people had been killed. Meanwhile about 50 Hezbollah rockets have landed on northern Israel, hitting towns including Nazareth, Kiryat Shemona and Safed. Seven people have been injured. Hezbollah and Israeli television report that Hezbollah has fired a new type of missile - described as a Khaibar-1 - at northern Israel, striking near the town of Afula. Convoy hit Elsewhere, two mortar rounds hit a convoy of vehicles carrying civilians escaping the violence in southern Lebanon. The BBC's Jim Muir, who was with the convoy, said two people were wounded when the rounds exploded next to their vehicle. The convoy, organised by the Australian embassy, was returning to the port city of Tyre from the border village of Rmeish, where hundreds of people have been trapped by the Israeli offensive. Our correspondent says the cars were clearly marked as a press and civilian convoy, and that individual journalists had been in contact with the Israelis who knew about the journey. A BBC security adviser travelling in a car behind the German television car said he believed the mortar rounds had been fired from the Israeli side. At talks in Rome on Wednesday, the US, UK and regional powers urged peace be sought with the "utmost urgency", but stopped short of calling for an immediate truce. That prompted Mr Ramon to declare Israel had received "permission from the world... to continue the operation". But questioned by reporters on the sidelines of a summit in Kuala Lumpur, Mr Ereli said: "Any such statement is outrageous." The US has said a ceasefire is only worth it if it can be made to last. Mr Bush reiterated the US's rejection of a "false peace" on Thursday evening. The BBC's world affairs correspondent, Nick Childs, points out that Mr Bush also emphasised how troubled he was by the mounting casualties, a suggestion - perhaps - that he is increasingly conscious of the price Washington is paying for its closeness to Israel. According to Mr Blair's official spokesman, the UK leader wants to step up a gear in securing a UN agreement for an international stabilisation force in southern Lebanon. But the BBC's James Coomersamy in Washington says that for the moment, there has been no sign that either leader is wavering in his much-criticised opposition to the idea of an immediate ceasefire. Air strikes Some 425 Lebanese, the vast majority civilians, are confirmed killed in the 17 days of the conflict - but a Lebanese minister has suggested scores more bodies lie under the rubble. Fifty-one Israelis, including at least 18 civilians, have been killed, mostly by Hezbollah rockets. The Israeli assault began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in a cross-border raid on 12 July. In the latest developments: * A Jordanian man was killed and at least three other people wounded in one of several strikes in Kfar Joz, close to the southern Lebanese market town of Natabiyeh * There were multiple strikes on the Bekaa Valley to the east, on villages around Tyre, and roads in the south-east * Sporadic clashes were reported in Bint Jbeil, where Israel suffered its worst single losses on Wednesday * Unarmed UN observers have been temporarily relocated from border positions in southern Lebanon after the deaths of four UN observers in an Israeli strike on Tuesday In Israel, few people still speak of being able to neutralise Hezbollah, our correspondent in Jerusalem Katya Adler says. Instead Israel speaks of trying to establish a "secure zone" empty of Hezbollah fighters north of the border with Israel. The Israeli government's announcement that it is calling up three divisions of reservists - said to number between 15,000 to 40,000 - suggests it is preparing for the possibility of a protracted war, our correspondent says. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5223940.stmPublished: 2006/07/28 15:23:09 GMT © BBC MMVI
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 26, 2006 12:54:29 GMT -5
Israeli leader expresses regret at tragedy, talks in Rome fail BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- A diplomatic furor erupted Wednesday after four U.N. observers died in southern Lebanon in what the U.N. secretary-general said was an "apparently deliberate" Israeli airstrike. Israel angrily denied the accusation. The U.N. observers were killed when an Israeli bomb made a direct hit on their bunker in southern Lebanon on Tuesday. They had called an Israeli military liaison about 10 times in the six hours before they died to warn that the aerial attacks were getting close to their position, according to a U.N. officer. (Full story) Lebanese security sources told CNN Wednesday at least three precision-guided bombs were dropped by Israeli aircraft on the U.N. observers' bunker. A Western diplomat familiar with preliminary U.N. assessments of the scene also said that it appeared the munition that hit the bunker was precision-guided. But Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni denied that the strike was deliberate. "Of course it was not a deliberate action," she said. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and "expressed his regret at this tragedy in Lebanon." Annan was attending tense diplomatic talks with key Middle East figures in Rome. Those negotiations -- being held to agree to a plan to halt the hostilities in Lebanon -- have failed, according to sources involved in the talks and sources in Jerusalem and Washington. The stormy meeting, which saw the United States pitted against European and Arab leaders, resulted in calls for a truce but little concrete action to end the fighting. (Watch leaders outline their differences -- 8:43) The talks had been made even more urgent by the observers' deaths, in what Annan called an "apparently deliberate" strike that "deeply distressed" him. "This coordinated artillery and aerial attack on a long-established and clearly marked U.N. post at Khiyam occurred despite personal assurances given to me by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that U.N. positions would be spared Israeli fire," he said in a statement. The airstrike came as Israeli forces continued to battle Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, seeking to end the Islamic militia's rocket attacks on northern Israel. At least 398 Lebanese people, the large majority civilians, have been killed and as many as 1,486 wounded since strikes began, Lebanese security officials said Wednesday. The Israeli military said 41 people have been killed -- 19 civilians and 22 soldiers -- and more than 300 civilians and more than 60 soldiers have been wounded. Those figures do not include the casualties suffered by Israeli forces in intense fighting near the southern Lebanese city of Bint Jbeil on Wednesday. The conflict began July 12 when Hezbollah militants killed three Israeli soldiers and seized two in a cross-border raid. 'Caught in the middle' Daniel Ayalon, Israel's ambassador to the United States, said that "UNIFIL obviously got caught in the middle" of a gunfight between Hezbollah guerrillas and Israeli troops. "We do not have yet confirmation what caused these deaths. It could be [Israel Defense Forces]. It could be Hezbollah," he said. UNIFIL sent a rescue-and-medical team to the city of Khiyam, where the post was located. Attacks in the vicinity continued as rescuers tried to reach those killed or injured, UNIFIL said. UNIFIL said at least 14 incidents of fire have happened near the post since Tuesday afternoon. Airlift of relief supplies begins Two Jordanian military planes landed at Beirut International Airport on Wednesday to deliver medical supplies, a Lebanese security source said. The first plane, which landed Wednesday morning, carried a Jordanian field hospital, the source said. Two more planes were expected Wednesday. These are the first planes to land at the Beirut airport since Israeli bombs struck its runways early in the fighting. Israeli officials agreed Tuesday to expand measures to get humanitarian aid into Lebanon, including landing airplanes at Beirut's airport with advanced coordination and opening corridors in Lebanon to deliver aid. Hezbollah leader's threat Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday threatened again to take the fight "beyond Haifa." Haifa is an Israeli port city that has been frequently targeted by Hezbollah rocket attacks. Nasrallah also alleged that Israel and the United States had planned to invade Lebanon later this year but put the plan into effect early after Hezbollah seized the two Israeli soldiers. Olmert on Wednesday said his country wants to establish a strip of land in south Lebanon a little more than a mile wide that will be free of Hezbollah guerrillas -- giving the dimensions of Israel's new "security zone" for the first time, The Associated Press reported. No letup in the fighting Israeli soldiers battled Hezbollah fighters in and around Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon early Wednesday, a day after the Israeli military announced it had taken control of the village, Israeli military sources said. There were 10 casualties among the Israeli troops, Israeli sources said. Arab TV networks reported at least nine Israeli soldiers had been killed. Israeli troops have pushed into southern Lebanon trying to reduce Hezbollah's capability to fire Katyusha rockets into northern Israel. Hezbollah militants launched 37 Katyusha rockets into northern Israel Wednesday morning, wounding 14 people -- one seriously -- Israeli police said. In northern Gaza, meanwhile, Israeli tank artillery fire killed seven people Wednesday morning, Palestinian sources said. An IDF spokesman said the military carried out an airstrike on militants in Gaza but did not confirm any tank shelling. CNN's Brent Sadler, Nic Robertson, Marcia Biggs, John King, Karl Penhaul, John Roberts and Fionnuala Sweeney contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. Find this article at: www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/26/mideast.main/index.html
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 26, 2006 9:53:41 GMT -5
UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon contacted Israeli troops 10 times before an Israeli bomb killed four of them, an initial UN report says. The post was hit by a precision-guided missile after six hours of shelling, diplomats familiar with the probe say. UN-led crisis talks in Rome ended with no agreement to urge an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. In the latest fighting, up to 13 Israeli soldiers were reported killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday. Israel has not confirmed any deaths from among its soldiers, but says there have been 20 casualties in the clashes around the town of Bint Jbail. More than 400 Lebanese and 42 Israelis have died in two weeks of conflict, which began after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on 12 July. In other developments:
* A Jordanian military plane arrived in Beirut to evacuate some of the most seriously wounded Lebanese civilians
* Ten lorries loaded with food and medical supplies arrived in the southern town of Tyre from the capital, Beirut
* Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah warned on TV that his organisation would begin firing rockets further south into Israel than Haifa
. Israeli regrets The four unarmed UN observers from Austria, Canada, China and Finland, died after their UN post in the town of Khiam was hit by an Israeli air strike on Tuesday. The UN report says each time the UN contacted Israeli forces, they were assured the firing would stop. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed "deep regrets" over the deaths. Israel is conducting an investigation into the deaths. It has rejected accusations made by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that the targeting of the UN position was "apparently deliberate". White House spokesman Tony Snow said "something went really wrong" to cause the deaths, but also said there was no reason to suggest the bombing was deliberate. 'Utmost urgency' The Rome summit, called by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, brought together EU and Arab nations plus the US and Russia, but not Israel, Iran or Syria. The conference released a declaration expressing "determination to work immediately to reach with utmost urgency a ceasefire to put an end to the current hostilities". It also said a ceasefire "must be lasting, permanent and sustainable". The statement called for an international force with a UN mandate for south Lebanon, and the full implementation of existing UN Security Council resolutions calling for the disarming of militias and deployment of Lebanese troops in the border region. Mr Annan said it was important to work with the countries of the region, including Syria and Iran, to find a solution to the crisis. But Condoleezza Rice was critical of the role of both countries. "It's not a question of talking to Syria, it's whether Syria's prepared to act," she said. In an impassioned speech, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora warned that more people would die if the ceasefire was delayed, and called for a Lebanese-Israeli prisoner exchange as part of plan to end the fighting. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5217176.stmPublished: 2006/07/26 14:39:55 GMT © BBC MMVI
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 25, 2006 9:01:13 GMT -5
Secretary of state meets with Israeli, Palestinian leaders BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is proposing an ambitious plan with up to two international military forces that would help the Lebanese government stabilize the situation in southern Lebanon, Lebanese political sources said. The plan initially would involve putting an international force of up to 10,000 Turkish and Egyptian troops under a NATO or U.N. commander into southern Lebanon following a cease-fire. That force ultimately would be replaced by another international force of up to 30,000 troops that would help the Lebanese government regain control over the southern part of the country, where the Shiite militia Hezbollah now dominates. Rice presented the plan to Lebanese officials Monday and was showing the same proposal to Israeli officials Tuesday, the political sources said. The plan, which Rice also will offer to European foreign ministers this week in Italy, depends on several conditions, the sources said. The first is that Hezbollah either would have to agree to the plan or be defeated militarily. The second is that Israel wants to drive as far as 20 miles (32 kilometers) into southern Lebanon to end the threat of Hezbollah missiles hitting northern Israel. Such a military campaign might take weeks to accomplish. Hezbollah sparked the crisis July 12 when it captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight other troops in a cross-border raid into northern Israel. Israel responded with an air campaign and ground offensive against the militants in southern Lebanon. The conflict has left more than 400 people dead on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border. The fighting has displaced an estimated 800,000 civilians, and humanitarian relief has been stymied by bombing that has made many roads impassable. Rice vows 'new Middle East' Lebanese officials have demanded the United States back an immediate cease-fire for the region. President Bush has said that the United States wants to change the equation on the ground fundamentally. Bush has said that moving to an immediate cease-fire would leave the components of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict in place. After meeting with Rice on Tuesday in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to keep up the fight against Hezbollah. "We will not hesitate to take the most severe measures against those who are aiming thousands of rockets and missiles against innocent civilians for one purpose -- to kill them," Olmert said. At the start of her meeting with Olmert, Rice said that it's time for "a new Middle East." "It is time to say to those who do not want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail, they will not," Rice said. In a whirlwind tour, Rice went from her meeting with Olmert to one with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Around 1,000 protesters marched to the seat of the Palestinian government to protest her visit there. Difference of opinion on cease-fire The Bush administration has been walking a tightrope between supporting Israel's right to self-defense while also trying to avoid destabilizing Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora's government, which the United States has embraced since it came to power. In a surprise trip Monday to Beirut, Rice conferred with Siniora and Nabih Berri, Lebanon's parliament speaker, who has close ties with Hezbollah and Syria. "President Bush wanted this to be my first stop -- here in Lebanon -- to express our desire to urgently find conditions in which we can end the violence and make life better for the Lebanese people," she said. After a closed-door meeting, a source in the parliament speaker's office said that Berri considered Rice's comments "not encouraging." The source said Rice had wanted any cease-fire agreements, deployment of international troops, the disarming of Hezbollah, return of the displaced Lebanese and plans for reconstruction to occur at the same time. Berri considered such a course impractical and believed that a cease-fire should come first, the source said. U.S. officials said privately not to expect a cease-fire to come out of Rice's mission to the Middle East. She does not plan to meet with Hezbollah or with Syrian leaders during her trip. Although Syria is thought to hold much influence with Hezbollah, the Bush administration has argued that direct talks with the Damascus government would be pointless. Rice also won't be making stops in Jordan, Egypt or Saudi Arabia, all of which sent word that she shouldn't visit unless the United States was ready to press for an immediate cease-fire. The secretary of state plans to head next to Rome, Italy, to meet with Arab leaders and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Dana Bash, Paul Courson, Schams Elwazer, John King, Anthony Mills, John Roberts, Nic Robertson, Brent Sadler and Ben Wedeman contributed to this report. Find this article at: www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/25/mideast.diplomacy/index.html
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 21, 2006 18:49:31 GMT -5
By Jenny Matthews BBC News, Cyprus The many thousands of extra people flooding into Cyprus because of the Lebanon crisis are putting a strain on the Mediterranean island's infrastructure, the government has warned - and it could be reaching "maximum capacity". Cypriot authorities estimate that more than 20,000 people fleeing Lebanon have arrived on the island in less than a week, and say the numbers could swell to anything up to 100,000. "Our set-up is functioning 24 hours a day - we have people on location and are using all the facilities at ports and airports, other facilities in hotels, in apartments, even in restaurants to receive people for a few hours," Foreign Minister George Lillikas said. "The problem is that this is peak season, end of July, and the hotels they have very high capacity already, and buses also, and the capacity at ports and airports is difficult." In particular, he wants more planes to make sure that Cyprus is just a temporary transit point for as many as possible. 'Fully booked' Many evacuees move on to other countries almost straight away - but others stay because of delays, or because they choose to do so. Of about 2,600 Britons evacuated to Cyprus so far, for example, only 1,200 have returned to the UK, the RAF estimates - despite everyone being offered a flight. There's plenty of room - anyone who wants to come, please feel welcome Stavros Lambrou Pizza Plus restaurant, Limassol And thousands of extra people, in an island where the total population is only just over 800,000, and during peak holiday season, could make a big difference. The US, for example, is putting up many of its 5,500 or so evacuated citizens in hotels "wherever there's availability", said an embassy spokesman. But others are being put up in makeshift accommodation at the State Fair exhibition centre in the capital, Nicosia. Larnaka, the busy port town where US citizens, and those of many other countries, first arrive, is certainly packed. The streets are thronging and many hotels say they are indeed full. However, whether this is because of the Lebanon situation, rather than just normal tourist trade, is less clear. "We don't have availability, we're fully booked already, but we'd be busy at this time of year anyway," said a spokeswoman for the 193-room Golden Bay hotel in the town. Another Larnaka hotel, Sun Hall, was also fully booked, but a spokeswoman said this was "definitely not because of Beirut". Business as normal And about 70km (44 miles) away in Limassol, the port town where most British evacuees have been arriving, the picture was more mixed. One hotel, the Amathus Beach Hotel, said it had had to turn some people away because it was so busy, and that was "partly to do with the situation". Others also said they were fully booked, but other hotels said they did have availability. "Our hotel certainly isn't full, nowhere near," said one British holidaymaking couple, who did not want to be named. "You wouldn't know there was a problem at all, where we are. It's fine." And other parts of the Cyprus infrastructure, such as shops, bars and restaurants, do not seem to be overly strained with extra business. Stavros Lambrou, co-owner of the large 350-cover restaurant Pizza Plus in Limassol, laughed when asked if he had had any extra trade. "No, it's normal," he said. "There's plenty of room. Anyone who wants to come, please feel welcome. "Limassol is not really any busier, I don't think," said his wife Toulla. "I think most people who are staying, are just staying mainly for one or two days before heading back to their own country. They're not really going out, just staying in their hotels." But whether buckling under the strain or not, Cypriots would want to carry on helping anyone who arrived, anyway, said Mr Lillikas. "I know how the Cypriot people are," he said. "We did our maximum, I think. We will continue anyway. "It would not be in line with our tradition and customs to refuse to offer services to people in need." Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5204922.stmPublished: 2006/07/21 19:54:53 GMT © BBC MMVI
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 21, 2006 18:45:12 GMT -5
Israel has massed troops and tanks on the border with Lebanon and called up thousands of reserve troops, in a possible prelude to a ground offensive. Planes dropped leaflets on southern Lebanon warning any civilians to leave. Israeli soldiers are already fighting Hezbollah inside Lebanon, but the army chief of staff said any incursion into the country would be limited in scope. The US secretary of state is to travel to the Middle East on Sunday in an attempt to resolve the crisis. Condoleezza Rice said she was seeking an "endurable peace" - but not an immediate ceasefire that would return the region to the pre-conflict era. The crisis was triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants on 12 July. The tenth day of fighting saw fresh Israeli air raids and shelling and Hezbollah rocket-fire on Israel's city of Haifa. In other developments: - Italy will host an international conference on the crisis next Wednesday
- Israel's military chief said the country's forces had killed nearly 100 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon
- Top UK aid agencies united to call for a ceasefire
- The evacuation of foreign nationals from Lebanon continued.
Bulldozer burials The call-up has widened speculation the Israeli army is preparing for a major ground offensive, after days of what they call "restricted pinpoint attacks" into southern Lebanon in search of Hezbollah weapons and facilities. Correspondents in Jerusalem say it is understood the Israeli reservists being called up could fill in for troops in the West Bank and Gaza, releasing other soldiers to go up to the northern front. Hundreds of armoured vehicles are backed up south of the Lebanese border. However, Israeli army chief of staff Dan Halutz said they would "conduct limited ground operations as much as needed" to "harm the terror that harms us". Senior Lebanese officials said the country's army would go into battle if Israel invaded Lebanon. The call-up came as residents of southern Lebanon continued to flee the area, and in the city of Tyre a bulldozer was used to bury 80 people killed in the region. The regional capital of south Lebanon, Sidon, says about 28,000 internally displaced people have already crammed into the small sea port - and it is becoming dangerously overcrowded. Sidon's mayor has warned that food, medicines, water and accommodation are running out. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said the number of Lebanese killed in the 10 days of violence is now more than 330. In northern Israel, two fresh waves of Hezbollah rockets hit the city of Haifa, causing at least 15 injuries. Three were injured, though none seriously, when a rocket landed on a post office on Masarik square. Thirty-four Israelis have been killed in the fighting, including 15 civilians killed by rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5205150.stmPublished: 2006/07/21 23:36:40 GMT © BBC MMVI
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 19, 2006 10:41:49 GMT -5
Rockets kill two in Nazareth, Israel saysBEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Israeli soldiers battled with Hezbollah militants inside Lebanon Wednesday in the latest incursion since violence broke out a week ago. Lebanon said Wednesday that 212 people have been killed and 498 injured since Israel launched attacks across the country after two of its soldiers were captured by guerrillas inside Israel on July 12. Barrages of Hezbollah rockets were fired into northern Israel, one strike killing two Israeli civilians in Nazareth on Wednesday afternoon, Israel Defense Forces said. The strike represents the southernmost point where Israeli casualties have been reported thus far. Nazareth is mostly populated by Muslims and Christians, and is revered by Christians as the childhood home of Jesus Christ. With the deaths, 27 Israelis -- including 15 civilians -- have been killed in the weeklong fighting, according to the IDF. Other cities hit Wednesday were Haifa, Tiberias, Acre, Shlomi and Carmiel. A house in Carmiel and another in Tiberias were hit, according to Israeli medical emergency sources and the military, but no one was hurt there, medical sources said. (See map of the area) Most residents are staying in bomb shelters or have left the region. Earlier, Israel sent troops across the border to "surgically" attack Hezbollah targets, officials said. (Watch a soldier describe his orders to 'dismantle, attack, destroy' -- 1:25) Ground forces in northern Israel backed the incursion with howitzers, able to fire up to 17 miles (28 kilometers) inside Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its ground troops launched what it described as a pinpoint operation inside southern Lebanon, but the IDF did not say where the incursion took place. "Their mission is to destroy Hezbollah outposts," an Israel Defense Forces spokesman told CNN early Wednesday. Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Hezbollah was the biggest obstacle to Lebanese sovereignty and Israel's end game was to disband and disarm it. Regev said Israel will not initiate conflict with Syria or Iran -- the financial and military backers of Hezbollah -- unless they attack Israel. "I can tell you unequivocally we have no intention of widening this conflict ... The idea is to come out of this conflict ... with the disarmament of Hezbollah," he said. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman stressed the latest operation was "in no way an invasion of Lebanon." For days a "small group" of Israeli troops has been traveling into Lebanon near the border fence, the IDF said. The goal is to pinpoint Hezbollah infrastructure such as mines and tunnels. Throughout the night, a CNN team in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the Israeli border, heard explosions, drones and helicopters. An IDF spokesman declined to say whether the helicopter movements there were linked to the ground operation. 'The most dangerous place' Israeli airstrikes also pounded Beirut's southern suburbs near the main airport, triggering explosions that lit up the night. The United States and Israel consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The group, which has claimed responsibility for terrorist acts, also operates an extensive network of social services in Lebanon. In addition, Hezbollah holds 14 seats in the 128-member Lebanese Parliament, according to the Parliament's Web site. Hezbollah officials gave CNN access into the southern suburbs of Beirut -- the area thought to house the organization's headquarters -- to show the damage inflicted on civilians there. They also wanted to show they do not house military stockpiles there, CNN's Nic Robertson reported, but he could not confirm what, if anything, was being stored. "You never know when Israeli jet fighters come and hit any target in this area," Hussein Nabulsi, Hezbollah press officer, told CNN on the tour. "It is very, very dangerous. We are now at the most dangerous place at the most dangerous moment." (Watch attack fears force a CNN crew from ruined Beirut neighborhood -- 4:46) Pausing before an apartment building, Nabulsi said, "Look what happened to this building, inhabited by innocent civilians ... no military bases, nothing." He said he was surprised that the United Nations and international community had not expressed outrage at the damage inflicted on the Lebanese. "Where is the international community? Where is the Security Council? Where's the United Nations? Where's the whole world? We are under fire." Support for Hezbollah A poster of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah dominates the view heading in to the port city of Tyre. A billboard adorned with Hezbollah militia fighters says, "We stay and fight." Many in this Lebanese city support the militant group. Mohammed Swyel, 18, said he and his family evacuated their home near the Israeli border to allow Hezbollah rocket teams more space to maneuver and fire into Israel. "Everybody in Lebanon needs Hezbollah," he said. "Of course, we need peace for this country but not over our dignity. Our dignity is first." The continuing violence is raising fears that others in the region would join the conflict. (Watch why and how Syrians are backing folks labeled as terrorists -- 2:30) In other developments: * The evacuation of Westerners from Lebanon picked up steam Wednesday as foreign governments moved to get their citizens to safety by land, sea and air. (Full story) * Israeli troops moved into central Gaza on its second military front and fierce clashes erupted there, according to Palestinian security sources. Israel says the military operation is necessary to recover a captured soldier and stop attacks on Israel. CNN's Matthew Chance, Nic Robertson, Elise Labott and Karl Penhaul contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. Find this article at: www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/19/mideast/index.html
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 19, 2006 10:29:52 GMT -5
At least 55 civilians have been killed in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon. The latest raids hit targets in the east and south of Lebanon, where at least 12 people died in one village. Two Israeli soldiers died in clashes with Hezbollah militants in the south, after troops crossed the border to look for Hezbollah weapons and facilities. Three people have been killed by rockets in the Israeli city of Nazareth, in the first attack on Israel's largest exclusively Arab city. Twenty-eight Israelis have been killed - including 16 civilians killed by rocket attacks - since the Israeli offensive against Hezbollah militants began last Wednesday. More than 280 Lebanese - mostly civilians - have been killed in the conflict. Israel launched attacks on Lebanon after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. Many thousands of people continue to flee Lebanon, and several countries have sent ships and helicopters to move their nationals. Heavy ground clashes Israeli ground troops have continued to mount what they call "restricted pinpoint attacks" across the border in southern Lebanon. The Israeli army said the clashes had been going on for hours, with heavy exchanges of fire. An army spokesman told the Associated Press news agency there had been casualties on both sides. The Israelis say they are fighting to end the control of Hezbollah over the lives of ordinary people on both sides of the border. "We won't have a terrorist organisation deployed on our northern border and Hezbollah is the one that has destabilised the entire region," Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin told the BBC. A senior Israeli army commander, Gen Alon Friedman, warned it could take weeks to reach a turning point in the combat. The BBC's Paul Adams in Jerusalem, who has been talking to UN diplomats, says he understands Israel has no interest in diplomacy at this stage. Exodus Navy ships and chartered vessels have been shuttling back and forth between Cyprus and Lebanon to help evacuate foreign nationals. FOREIGNERS IN LEBANON Canada: 40,000 Philippines: 30,000 Australia: 25,000 US: 25,000 UK: 22,000 (inc. 10,000 with dual nationality) France: 20,000 A British warship has dropped off 180 UK citizens in Cyprus, and is returning to Beirut to pick up more people. A Norwegian ferry has taken hundreds of Norwegians, Swedes and Americans to Cyprus, while a US-chartered ship has left Beirut with US citizens. Tens of thousands of people - including many Lebanese families - have fled across the border to Syria. Relief agencies say there is a growing need for water, sanitation and medical facilities for more than 500,000 people displaced within Lebanon. International diplomacy Israeli air strikes have been taking place in the east and south of Lebanon. Residents in the southern village of Srifa said at least 10 members of one family died, and reports suggest many more were killed in other houses. At least six people died in the southern town of Nabatiyeh, while civilian deaths were also reported in other parts of the south and near Baalbek in the east. Israeli planes also struck Beirut, with a Christian district coming under fire for the first time, as well as more Hezbollah rocket attacks on the northern Israeli city of Haifa. No deaths were reported in either incident. Diplomatic efforts are continuing. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana held talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Afterwards Mr Solana condemned the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah and called for a ceasefire. A UN team that has been in the region over the past few days is preparing to fly back to New York to brief Secretary General Kofi Annan, who is due to address the Security Council on Thursday. Israel also conducted separate operations in Palestinian areas. At least nine Palestinians have been killed in fresh Israeli operations in Gaza and the West Bank. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5193662.stmPublished: 2006/07/19 15:20:11 GMT © BBC MMVI
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 17, 2006 11:34:02 GMT -5
Bush lunch chat is caught on tape
US President George W Bush has been caught on microphone using an expletive as he discussed Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel.
Mr Bush was heard telling UK Prime Minister Tony Blair privately that Syria should press the Lebanese militants to "stop doing this nuts".
The remarks were picked up by closed-circuit TV at the G8 summit which both leaders are attending.
Mr Bush also said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would go to the area.
Mr Blair was heard saying Ms Rice had to succeed in the mission.
He also appeared to discuss a proposal to send international forces to Lebanon to prevent the attacks on Israel.
Crisis talks
The remarks came as the two leaders were sitting down to lunch at the summit in the Russian city of St Petersburg.
"The irony is, what they really need to do is to get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this nuts, and it's over," Mr Bush was heard to say.
Soon after Mr Blair noticed that the microphone was open and switched it off, reports say.
The summit has been discussing what to do about the crisis, triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah last week.
Israeli has been attacking targets in Lebanon for six days, while Hezbollah has responded by firing rockets into Israel.
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 16, 2006 19:06:28 GMT -5
Israeli air raids have killed at least 23 people in southern Lebanon hours after Israel warned that the area would come under further heavy attack. More than 120 Lebanese have died since clashes with Israel began on Wednesday. Twelve Israeli civilians have been killed from Hezbollah rockets, including eight in Haifa on Sunday. Early on Monday, Israel planes targeted the port of Tripoli, Lebanon's second city, for the first time. There is so far no word on casualties. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Haifa attack - the worst on Israel since clashes started - would have "far-reaching consequences". These extremist elements... cannot be allowed to plunge the Middle East into chaos G8 nations statement The Israeli air strikes began after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a raid into Israel on Wednesday. In other developments: * The Israeli army says Hezbollah rockets fired from Lebanon have struck deeper into Israel than ever before, hitting the town of Afula, 50km from the border, and the outskirts of Nazareth * New Israeli air strikes late on Sunday set fuel tanks ablaze at Beirut's international airport * Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says the battle against Israel is "just at the beginning", in his first televised appearance since the offensive * Iran's foreign ministry denies Israeli allegations that it supplied missiles to Hezbollah # Top European Union and United Nations officials arrive in Beirut for talks on the crisis. The UN envoy backs Lebanon's call for a ceasefire but urges the release of the captured soldiers # Leaders of the G8 nations blame extremist forces for the crisis, but call on Israel to end military operations. Israel rattled At least 16 died in Israeli air strikes on Sunday the city of Tyre, while attacks on a border village killed at least seven, including five with Canadian and Lebanese citizenship. Rescuers searched the debris in Tyre with more feared trapped under the rubble. The strikes came hours after the Hezbollah attack on Haifa, which prompted Israel to warn the perpetrators would pay a "very heavy price". Correspondents say the large death-count in a strike on Israel's third-largest city has rattled the whole country. The eight killed were part of a train repair crew working at a railway depot when the rocket crashed through the roof. It is the second time in three days that Haifa has been hit by Hezbollah rockets, and raises Israel's death toll from the fighting to 24 overall. According to Israel Radio a second wave of four rockets then hit, followed by a new barrage of rockets to the north of the city. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying it was retaliation for the deaths of Lebanese civilians and the destruction of the country's infrastructure during the Israeli air raids. Israel has carried out a heavy bombing campaign across Lebanon, hitting Hezbollah sites, but also a wide range of civilian targets. City exodus On Sunday, warplanes renewed attacks on Beirut's airport. Hezbollah's al-Manar TV was attacked in the southern suburbs of Beirut, and a major power station in the city was struck. There was also a raid in the eastern city of Baalbek, where local Hezbollah leaders were believed to have gathered. US security teams have landed at the US Embassy in Beirut to start planning the evacuation of Americans. Foreign nationals have been leaving Lebanon to escape the violence. As the violence has escalated the number of locals attempting to flee has grown, but with the Israelis targeting the border areas and nearby roads, this has become increasingly difficult. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5185624.stmPublished: 2006/07/16 22:15:44 GMT © BBC MMVI
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 12, 2006 10:24:26 GMT -5
Reuters Wednesday, July 12, 2006; 10:29 AM
Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed up to seven Israelis in Lebanese border violence on Wednesday, inflaming Middle East tensions.
Here is a short chronology of the Middle East conflict since the beginning of the year.
Jan. 25 - Islamic militant group Hamas defeats Fatah movement of moderate President Mahmoud Abbas in first Palestinian parliamentary election in a decade.
March 29 - Abbas swears in Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and his government.
June 9 - Hamas armed wing calls off 16-month-old truce after seven family members are killed on a Gaza beach during a day of Israeli shelling. Israel denies responsibility for the deaths.
June 13 - Israel kills 11 Palestinians, nine of them civilians, in a missile strike on a van carrying militants and rockets in Gaza.
June 25 - Gaza militants launch deadly raid into Israel, killing two soldiers and capturing Corporal Gilad Shalit. Three days later Israel pushes into Gaza.
June 29 - Israeli troops in the West Bank detain one third of the Palestinian cabinet and nearly two dozen Hamas lawmakers.
July 3 - Israeli forces move into northern Gaza. Three days later the offensive is expanded after a rocket fired by Hamas hits the Israeli city of Ashkelon for the first time.
July 8 - Haniyeh calls for a ceasefire with Israel. Jewish state says militants must first free the captured soldier and halt rocket attacks.
July 12 - Hezbollah guerrillas capture two Israeli soldiers and kill up to seven around the Lebanese border. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert calls it an "act of war" by Lebanon.
-- Israel broadens Gaza offensive and cuts the strip in two. Attacks, including an air raid that kills nine family members, take the Palestinian toll from the offensive to well over 70.
2006 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 14, 2006 19:26:02 GMT -5
Both militant and civilian targets have been hit in Beirut Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has promised "open war" against Israel, in an address broadcast shortly after his Beirut offices were bombed by Israel. The militant group said its leader was unhurt in the attack. It was not clear when his remarks were recorded. Israel is demanding Hezbollah free two Israeli soldiers. More than 60 Lebanese have been killed in the offensive. Meanwhile Israeli military officials say a naval ship has been badly damaged by a Hezbollah explosive drone. If confirmed, it is thought it would be the first time Hezbollah has used such a weapon. Israel says a Hezbollah rocket aimed at one of its ships early on Saturday missed, and hit a civilian ship instead. Reported missing In his address on Hezbollah's TV channel in Lebanon, Sheikh Nasrallah referred to an Israeli warship he said had launched attacks from of the coast of Lebanon, saying: "Look at the warship that has attacked Beirut, while it burns and sinks before your very eyes." Israel later confirmed that one of its warships had been "lightly" damaged by rockets fired from the shore. But later unnamed military officials were reported as saying that the ship's steering had been damaged, that its helicopter deck had been hit and that it was still on fire hours after the attack. There were no reports on casualties, and reports on al-Jazeera TV that four seamen were missing were unverified. Sheikh Nasrallah threatened Israel, saying: "You wanted an open war and we are ready for an open war." ISRAEL IN LEBANON March 1978: Israel invades to stop Palestinian attacks 1982: Full-scale invasion; Israel occupies Beirut; pro-Israel militias massacre Palestinian refugees May 1983: Israel pulls back, but keeps "security zone" February 1992: Israeli air strike kills Hezbollah leader 1996: Israel launches "Grapes of Wrath" raids on Hezbollah; 100 civilians die under Israeli shelling of UN base at Qana May 2000: Israel withdraws troops from Lebanon January 2004: Prisoners-bodies swap agreed between Hezbollah and Israel The Hezbollah leader promised "war on every level". He said the Israeli coastal city of Haifa would come under attack, "and believe me, even beyond Haifa". "Our homes will not be the only ones to be destroyed, our children will not be the only ones to die," he said. Hezbollah has continued rocket attacks on northern Israel - 70 were fired on Friday alone. A mother and daughter died in an attack on the town of Meron. Two Israelis died in attacks on Thursday. Leaflet warnings The crisis began when Hezbollah guerrillas seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid from Lebanon on Wednesday. Eight Israeli troops were also killed. Israel responded with a major offensive - its biggest in more than two decades. The targets included not only Hezbollah positions but strategic sites like main roads, bridges and Beirut's international airport. HAVE YOUR SAY Violence should always be a last resort, not the first Stephen Macadam, Rugby, UK Residential areas near Hezbollah positions have been hit in air strikes, the group said. Israel has warned residents by leaflet to stay away from Hezbollah locations. Israel's chief of staff, Dan Halutz, said the two captured Israeli soldiers were still alive. A third soldier, captured by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip where Israel is conducting a separate operation, is also still alive, he said. Calls for restraint In an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Lebanon called for an end to the Israeli operation. The offensive was destroying infrastructure and causing the death of innocent civilians in full view of the international community, said Nouhad Mahmoud, Lebanon's ambassador to the UN. Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman said Israel had no choice but to react to Hezbollah's aggression, describing the group as "merely the finger on the bloodstained and long-reaching arms of Syria and Iran". The escalation has sparked international calls for restraint. French President Jacques Chirac said the Israeli air strikes were "completely disproportionate" and the Vatican described them as an attack on a sovereign and free nation. Mr Olmert said he would agree to a ceasefire if Hezbollah returned the two captured soldiers and stopped firing rockets at northern Israel, and Lebanon implemented UN Security Council resolution 1559, calling for the disarmament of the militant group. Hezbollah has said the captured soldiers will not be returned without a release deal for Palestinian, Lebanese and other Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails. Story from BBC NEWS: news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/5182048.stmPublished: 2006/07/15 00:21:45 GMT © BBC MMVI
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 12, 2006 11:04:58 GMT -5
Yesha rabbis call for 'extermination of the enemy' By JPOST.COM STAFF
The Yesha Rabbinical Council blamed the attack on the north on Wednesday morning on a "weakening of our grip on the land of Israel."
The rabbis saw the attack as a "direct continuation of relinquishing [territory] and weakness."
The Council called on the IDF to ignore Christian morals and "exterminate the enemy in the north and the south." They advised that an emergency government be established to "fight the true enemy as is appropriate, and to rescind orders to destroy and evict Jews."
From The Jerusalem Post
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Post by Tulameen on Jul 12, 2006 10:30:21 GMT -5
Middle East Times Israel bombards Lebanon after Hizbullah seizes two soldiers By Jihad Siqlawi AFP Published July 12, 2006
Israel bombarded Lebanon from the land, sea, and air to retrieve two soldiers snatched by Hizbullah on Wednesday, the first such major offensive against its neighbor since a 2000 pullout. The abduction in a Hizbullah raid on an army post on the volatile Lebanese border opened a new front in the Middle East after the capture of another Israeli soldier by Palestinians two weeks ago plunged the region into chaos. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert held the government in Beirut fully responsible and vowed not to negotiate as aircraft, gunboats, and artillery pounded Hizbullah targets in southern Lebanon. "The Lebanese government is responsible. Lebanon will pay the price," Olmert warned. "This morning's events are not a terror attack but the action of a sovereign state, which attacked Israel without any reason." World powers, already concerned about the situation in Gaza where at least 68 Palestinians have been killed in two weeks, issued urgent appeals for the release of the soldiers and for all sides to show restraint. "This is, in the judgment of the United States, a very dangerous escalation. We do not see how this will contribute to our effort to resolve the crisis in Gaza and to get back on a path toward a more peaceful relationship between Israel and the Palestinians," US Middle East envoy David Welch said. The fundamentalist Shia Hizbullah, whose militia was instrumental in forcing Israeli troops out of Lebanon six years ago and that is backed by Israel's arch-foes Syria and Iran, demanded the release of Arab prisoners in exchange for the soldiers. The Hizbullah raid came amid intense cross-border exchanges in which at least four civilians were wounded in northern Israel and another four in south Lebanon, including a correspondent of Hizbullah television. Two Lebanese civilians were killed and five others wounded as the Israelis mounted their incursion, Lebanese police said. "Israel will react in a decisive way so that those responsible for the attack will pay a high and painful price," vowed Olmert, who is facing his second major crisis since taking office only in May. Clearing his schedule, Olmert has called an emergency cabinet meeting for 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) as the military called up a rapid-reaction force of 6,000 troops headed for Israel's northern border. Hizbullah said that its military wing had captured the two soldiers in a bid to extract the release of detainees. "To fulfill a promise to free the prisoners and detainees, the Islamic Resistance captured at 9:05 am [0605 GMT] two Israeli soldiers at the borders with occupied Palestine," Hizbullah said. The Shia group, which has ministers in the Lebanese government and whose armed wing controls the south of the country, said that the two soldiers "were moved to a safe place." As soon as news of the capture was announced, celebratory gunfire erupted across Beirut's southern suburbs - a Hizbullah stronghold. Some residents were also seen distributing sweets to passing motorists. The governing Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, whose military wing is one of three groups holding another soldier captive in Gaza, also congratulated Hizbullah, saying that the abduction showed the "weakness of the Israeli army." Israel sent tanks across the border in the first ground incursion since the Jewish state ended its 22-year occupation in May 2000, while warplanes and ground and naval artillery pounded Hizbullah targets, the army said. "Our planes, tanks, and artillery are operating inside Lebanese territory," a spokesman said. Israel has been on high alert for possible retaliation from Hizbullah following its threats to kill Hamas leaders based in Damascus and since it sent warplanes over a Syrian presidential palace late last month. "We will take Lebanon 20 years back," Israel's army chief Dan Halutz was quoted as saying by the private Channel 10 television. "We must stop the restraint and the diplomatic dialogue and move to a serious military move against anyone who is linked and sends these people," said Avigdor Yitzhaki, the leader of Israel's coalition bloc in parliament. The return of Israeli troops to the Gaza Strip to rescue a soldier captured on June 25 had already evoked painful memories of the army's disastrous invasion of Lebanon where soldiers became bogged down in a deadly quagmire before finally leaving. Wednesday's flare-up on the northern border came shortly after Israeli tanks and troops pushed a new offensive in the central Gaza Strip, killing nine members of the same family in an airstrike on a house owned by a Hamas leader. The situation continued to deteriorate in the Gaza Strip, where Palestinian militants are still holding Gilad Shalit, a 19-year-old Israeli corporal. At least 16 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in Gaza on Wednesday, including nine from the same family who died when aircraft bombarded a house belonging to a Hamas leader, medics said. Shalit's capture sparked the worst crisis in the region since the Islamist movement - which is branded a terrorist group by Israel and the West - took office in March. In an interview published on Wednesday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said that his mediation efforts for Shalit's release had been sabotaged by an unnamed party. He said that he had reached a deal with Israel for "a large number of prisoners" to be released but that Hamas came under fresh pressure and the mediation was scuppered. Hizbullah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah have repeatedly urged Hamas not to release the Israeli soldier, arguing that his capture was the best bargaining chip for the release of Palestinian and Arab prisoners. The three groups detaining Shalit in the Gaza Strip have demanded the release of 1,000 Palestinian, Arab, Muslim, and other prisoners but Israel has so far refused to negotiate. Copyright © 2006 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
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