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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| IDF recommends major, but brief Gaza ground offensive |
| 2009-01-02 |
| The Israel Defense Forces recommended a major, but relatively short-term, ground offensive in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, as military preparations continued on the border. The army was given the green light to forge ahead with Operation Cast Lead, which entered its sixth day Thursday. Detailed briefings have been underway for the past two days at Southern Command, with officers receiving their orders. The General Staff believes that more pressure must be put on Hamas to make it agree to a long-term cease-fire under conditions more favorable to Israel. Cabinet ministers on Wednesday approved the mobilization of 2,500 army reservists, expanding on an earlier call-up of 6,500 soldiers for the force on the Gaza border. The IDF said rocket fire on the south was expected to continue during a ground operation. The army recommends that a diplomatic exit plan be prepared while a cease-fire agreement is formulated. While defense officials tend to favor a clear agreement with Hamas, even if it is not enshrined in a written document, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is considering another idea. She reportedly believes that it might be better to aim for a situation in which there is no clearly set-out agreement, but Israel would make clear beforehand that it would respond forcefully to any firing from Gaza after hostilities ended. Olmert, for his part, has conditioned any future truce between Israel and Hamas on the establishment of an international mechanism to monitor the cease-fire. On Wednesday, some 70 rockets were fired from Gaza at the Negev, among them some 10 Katyushas with a range of about 40 kilometers. These landed in Be'er Sheva and around Ashdod. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday that Israeli attacks on Gaza had to stop before any truce proposals could be considered. He added in a speech that "the siege must be lifted and all the crossings must be opened because the siege is the source of all of Gaza's problems." Olmert told cabinet ministers on Wednesday that Israel would not conclude its operation until all its goals had been reached. Meanwhile, Israel said it would continue to let humanitarian supplies into Gaza and that more than 90 truckloads with food and medicine would be permitted into the territory on Thursday. Israel opened the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday to allow in 93 trucks carrying humanitarian aid. Olmert seeks international body to enforce future truce Prime Minister Ehud Olmert clarified at Wednesday cabinet meeting that Israel would not end the Gaza operation until all its goals had been reached. The cabinet did not debate any cease-fire proposals and resolved to continue the operation already approved. Earlier, Israel rejected a French proposal for a 48-hour cease-fire. "We did not go into the Gaza operation only to end it while rocket fire continues," Olmert told cabinet ministers. According to Olmert, a decision now to opt for a cease-fire would carry a heavy price. "Let's say we unilaterally stopped and a few days from now a barrage fell on Ashkelon," he said. "Do you understand the consequences in Israel and the region? For Israeli deterrence, for Israeli measures." However, Olmert left the door open for a possible future deal. "If the conditions mature and we think they offer a solution that ensures a better security situation for southern Israel, then we will consider the matter. We aren't there yet," he said. Olmert is interested in the establishment of an international supervision and enforcement mechanism for any cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The prime minister has made that a precondition of any deal and emphasized it in talks with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other world leades. "Israel cannot agree that the only party responsible for implementing and regulating the cease-fire be Hamas," a senior Israeli diplomatic source said on Wednesdat. According to the source, lack of an external supervisory body was the central reason for the collapse of the calm earlier this month. "The situation in which Hamas didn't have to account for implementing the cease-fire did not prove viable," the source said. Olmert believes that any cease-fire must include the end of rocket and mortar fire, an end to terror attacks on the border fence and the end of arms smuggling and the growth of Hamas power. He strives for an enforcement mechanism that can measure whether Hamas meets its commitments. Senior Hamas official Ayman Taha said Wednesday that his organization was willing to consider a proposal that would end the Israeli attack and end the siege of the Gaza Strip. "As soon as we receive a proposal, we will study it," Taha said. "We support any initiative that would end the aggression and lift the siege." According to Jerusalem sources, Olmert's conditions for a truce were passed on to the United States and other entities in the international community. The U.S. is trying to "sell" Israel's conditions to other groups, including those that talk to Hamas. "The Americans understand what we want and accept the parameters," the sources said. "The world wants to stop the operation - no problem, but on our terms." In Wednesday's security cabinet meeting, ministers were updated on several cease-fire initiatives, but none yet meet Israel's terms. The most prominent is the U.S. effort to push Israel's conditions. Olmert also spoke Wednesday to U.S. President George W. Bush and promised him Israel is working to avoid harm to Gazan civilians. Bush emphasized that "Hamas must stop the missiles." "We must reach a long-term and stable cease-fire Hamas will honor," Bush said. Also on the table is a Turkish-Egyptian push for a cease-fire. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Damascus on Wednesday and is slated to arrive in Cairo today. Turkish president Abdullah Gul Wednesday told Israeli president Shimon Peres that "Turkey wants a cease-fire that will last." "Other countries in the region take advantage of Hamas, which could lead to a deterioration in the entire Middle East," he added. In addition, the European Union is attempting to broker a cease-fire deal. On Monday, a delegation including the foreign minister of the Czech Republican - which currently holds the EU presidency rotation, the Swedish foreign minister and the EU foreign affairs commissioner, is slated to arrive in the region. In addition, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and foreign minister Bernard Kouchner are scheduled to arrive Monday. On Thursday, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will meet the pair in Paris ahead of that visit. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 And they will regrow under the kind financing of the Euros, Iranians, and Sauds. And the US. America is a major financer of those who danced in the streets after 9/11. |
| Posted by: JFM 2009-01-02 14:36 |
| #6 If you're going to plow the earth and salt the fields, ok. However, as we've seen elsewhere, you're going to have to occupy ground to prevent the weeds from regrowing. And they will regrow under the kind financing of the Euros, Iranians, and Sauds. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-01-02 12:10 |
| #5 Would have worked perfectly depends on the goal, methinks. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2009-01-02 09:51 |
| #4 Meh, something about a flyboy in charge.... |
| Posted by: .5MT 2009-01-02 08:03 |
| #3 It would've worked perfectly sans concern for "innocent civilians" |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-01-02 07:36 |
| #2 Well, you could always rely on air strikes alone. Because it worked so well in Lebanon a couple years ago. |
| Posted by: lotp 2009-01-02 07:05 |
| #1 Gotta sacrifice some IDF soldiers to World Opinion. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2009-01-02 06:28 |