Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Olmert, Barak Disagree on Gaza Timeline
Foreign Confidential....
Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are at odds over the time line for the Gaza offensive, according to reports.
Officials close to the prime minister have criticized the defense minister for his support of a weeklong humanitarian cease-fire, Ha'aretz reported Wednesday. Barak also has expressed support for an Egyptian initiative to bring about a cease-fire, which Olmert loyalists also have criticized, Ynet reported.
Olmert did not meet with the political-security Cabinet on Wednesday to discuss the future of the Gaza operation. The previous day he had canceled a meeting with Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who also supports a cease-fire.
Hamas officials met in Cairo with Egyptian intelligence officials, including intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, on Wednesday. Israeli officials have said that senior Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad will travel to Cairo once Hamas has approved the Egyptian cease-fire proposal.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon arrived in Cairo Wednesday to push for a Gaza cease-fire. He is scheduled to visit Israel on Thursday.
"I repeat my call for an immediate and durable cease-fire," Ban said during a news conference following a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. "I ask that all those who have influence with any parties to this conflict, use all means to end the violence and to find a durable solution."
- JTABinladen Calls for Holy War Against Israel
Foreign Confidential....
Al Qaeda leader Osama Binladen in a new message called for an Islamic holy war against Israel over its operation in Gaza.
The audio tape, the terrorist leader's first since last May, was posted Wednesday on Islamic militant Websites. Binladen chastised Arab leaders for "avoiding their responsibility" toward the Palestinians.
Binladen also threatened that his terror organization would attack the United States and its allies throughout the world.
"We are on the way to opening new fronts," he said.
The authenticity of the tape has not yet been confirmed.Israel Warns Lebanon After Rockets Hit N. Israel
Foreign Confidential....
Israel sent telephone warnings to residents of south Lebanon on Wednesday after militants fired three rockets over the border threatening a second front in the 19-day-old war in Gaza.
"People of Lebanon, launching rockets from southern Lebanon against innocents in northern Israel harms your own interests," one of the warnings said, according to an AFP correspondent who was at the receiving end.
"We warn you against any repetition of these destructive acts."
A second message warned: "This is a statement from the state of Israel to the residents of southern Lebanon.
"If you allow groups like Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah to launch rockets against innocents in northern Israel as you did before, remember what happened to you last time."
The statement was alluding to the devastating 34-day war in Lebanon in the summer of 2006 sparked by the capture by the Shiite militants of Hezbollah of two Israeli soldiers in a deadly cross-border raid.
Wednesday's rocket salvo, which caused no casualties, was the second since Israel launched its onslaught against Gaza which has left nearly 1,000 Palestinians dead since January 27.
- AFP
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
THREATENS NEW ATTACKS ON US AND ITS ALLIES
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