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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel: 'extreme measures' |
| 2006-06-28 |
| ISRAEL launched a ground and air assault on the Gaza Strip Wednesday, vowing to used "extreme measures" to rescue a teenage soldier captured by Palestinian militants. Palestinians warned the offensive would only trigger more bloodshed, with the Hamas-led government slamming it as "military madness" and Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas branding it collective punishment. It was the first major ground incursion into Gaza since Israel pulled out of the impoverished coastal strip last year in a highly controversial operation that ended a 38-year occupation. "We decided to use extreme means to bring Gilad (Shalit) home and we have no intention of reoccupying the Gaza Strip," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted as saying in by public radio referring to the 19-year-old conscript. "Last night's operation will continue. No one who is involved in terror will be immune. We have one central goal: to bring Gilad home." Much of Gaza was plunged into darkness after war planes waged night-time strikes to blow up a power plant and three bridges as militants prepared for an invasion by building barricades and blocking roads. Before dawn, tanks, armoured cars and bulldozers rolled several kilometres (miles) into southern Gaza, where the missing soldier was believed to be held, pushing into the disused international airport near Rafah. No casualties were reported. The move followed intensive efforts to free Shalit after his seizure in an attack Sunday that killed two soldiers and was claimed by three groups including fighters loyal to Hamas. Israeli planes later raided a Hamas training camp in Rafah. White House spokesman Tony Snow backed Israel's "right to defend itself" and blamed Hamas for the incursion, but urged Israel to ensure "innocent civilians are not harmed." |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #19 EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner urged both sides to end hostilities. Bonita Benita. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-06-28 23:43 |
| #18 White House spokesman Tony Snow backed Israel's "right to defend itself" and blamed Hamas for the incursion, but urged Israel to ensure "innocent civilians are not harmed." It's Ok Mr Snow. There are no innocent civilians in |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-06-28 23:41 |
| #17 What happened to the Roadmap? Are the Israelis lost? I think it's now an Airmap straight over baby Assad's palace by the IAF, lol! Flying's much cheaper and faster these days, ya know? |
| Posted by: BA 2006-06-28 22:23 |
| #16 Some Holy Land, Texas style "re-districting." Blame Karl Rove. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-06-28 21:31 |
| #15 What happened to the Roadmap? Are the Israelis lost? |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-06-28 21:30 |
| #14 What happened to the Roadmap? |
| Posted by: john 2006-06-28 21:27 |
| #13 It's going to be interesting to see how much of the tab the Euros are willing to pick up to rebuild this rubble pile. Especially as we all know it will be returned to rubble before the rebuilding is completed. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-06-28 20:55 |
| #12 Serious Mooslim seething begins now, lol. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2006-06-28 20:30 |
| #11 Abu Mazen can call it whatever he wants. But it's punishment. Punishment for electing Hamas to the majority of the Govt, for being a pain in the ass, and for bagging a soldier and a citizen. Now it's pay time, and the tab is very, very large. Let them sit in the dark for the next few months and think about it. Let them walk 6 blocks for a bottle of water. Let them wait another 4 months for a paycheck. But somehow I don't think it is going to sink into their thick heads anytime soon that they may be their own worst problem. Word, bigjim-ky. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-06-28 20:28 |
| #10 I hope their "extreme measures" include a lot of extreme prejudice. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-06-28 18:41 |
| #9 The more I think about it, the more I believe the Gazans should all be deported to Syria. Hopefully they will do for Syria what they did for Jordan and Lebanon. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-06-28 18:32 |
| #8 Darfur, Gaza. What the hell's the difference? Ignore 'em both. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-06-28 18:15 |
| #7 It's time for Israel to break the back of the paleostains. I would strongly urge Israel to pull back from gaza, line up all the artillery they can muster, and walk shells back and forth across the entire gaza area for a week or so, THEN send in a strike force to take care of anyone that survived. Once they've finished, do the same thing to the west bank, starting with Ramallah. There won't be a "palestine" problem if there are no "palestinians". That means wiping out the paleostain refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan as well. Good riddance to a world nuisance. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2006-06-28 18:12 |
| #6 EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner urged both sides to end hostilities. They "need to step back from the brink before this becomes a crisis that neither can control," she said in a statement. Can someone hand me a paper towel? I just spewed a mouthful of wine all over my monitor. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2006-06-28 17:57 |
| #5 ...accused Israel of seeking to cause "chaos and provoke a new bloody conflict". Translation: "We're the only ones allowed to do that." |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2006-06-28 16:36 |
| #4 One extreme thing out of this is that it has been very humiliating for Hamas. 1. a split between Hamas factions, which always existed was made public 2. The Hamas leader was shown to be powerless to control his own troops. 3. The Hamas troops were shown to be powerless to stop the Israelis. 4. The PA was shown as powerless to get an instant condemnation of Israel by the Arab League, Jordan or Egypt. |
| Posted by: mhw 2006-06-28 16:32 |
| #3 Israel needs to do the deeds and not talk about them. Take out the Hamas leadership now. Abbas can talk to his soup bowl for all we care. He is as useless as the Arafish. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2006-06-28 16:16 |
| #2 Extreme measures?!? Crap. I was hoping for carpet bombing. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2006-06-28 15:54 |
| #1 Abu Mazen can call it whatever he wants. But it's punishment. Punishment for electing Hamas to the majority of the Govt, for being a pain in the ass, and for bagging a soldier and a citizen. Now it's pay time, and the tab is very, very large. Let them sit in the dark for the next few months and think about it. Let them walk 6 blocks for a bottle of water. Let them wait another 4 months for a paycheck. But somehow I don't think it is going to sink into their thick heads anytime soon that they may be their own worst problem. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2006-06-28 15:44 |