IDF kills Two

Während einer kleineren Operation einer israelischen Eliteeinheit in Khan Younis werden ein namentlich noch nicht identifizierter "senior Islamic Jihad Militant" und ein einmonate altes Kind getötet. Einige Islamic-Jihad-Mitglieder werden verhaftet, bei den Kämpfen werden acht "Gunmen" verletzt. Abzuwarten ist die Bestitigung der al-Aqsa-Brigaden [Fatah] das Kämpfer ihrer Miliz sich an den Kämpfen beteiligt hätten. Drei Verletzte sollen es unter ihnen gewesen sein. [Die Frage eines einheitlichen Widerstandes beschäftigt auch die IDF, die am Abend die Vorgänge in Jabalia als "unorganisierten aber heftigen Widerstand" bezeichnet. Wird wichtig wenn die IDF ihre große Offensive startet.] Derweil darf der Besuch der amerikanischen Aussenministerin Conis Riceauflauf mit Quark in Ramallah als wie gewohnt gescheitert angesehen werden: The U.S.-backed Palestinian president rebuffed the Bush administration's request Tuesday to quickly end a walkout of peace talks with Israel, saying Israeli military bombardment of civilians in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable under any circumstance. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said negotiations are the only solution, and defended Israel's right to seek out militants who use the tiny Hamas-held territory as a launching pad for increasing numbers of rockets targeting civilians in southern Israel. "I understand the difficulties of the current moment," Rice said following meetings with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "We all must keep an eye on what is important." She won no public promise that Palestinians would end their boycott soon. Die Proteste auch in Israel reissen nicht ab: Thousands of people, including Arab-Israeli Knesset members, marched in the streets of the northern town of Umm al-Fahm Tuesday evening to protest "Israel's crimes" and the "massacre," as they characterized it, committed by the IDF against Gaza's civilian population., wobei die israelische Friedensbewegung den Beweis antritt das sie vollständig erodiert ist. Hingegen schlägt die UNRAWA Alarm: The food supplies distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to the residents of Gaza are due to run out in a few weeks' time, a spokesman for the agency told Ynet on Tuesday. According to Chris Gunness, the IDF's recent operation has left the Strip's public health system on the brink of collapse. He said that the agency would not be able to complete its construction projects unless Israel allows the transfer of cement into the coastal enclave, adding that UNRWA had already invested more than $93 million in these projects. Unsere Freundin Ctschippi Llifni macht sich dagegen andere Sorgen: The official's statement came a day after Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ripped into the Qatar-based network at a meeting with ambassadors posted here, saying that "when depicting Israeli attacks, Al-Jazeera abuses the situation on the ground by telling lies. Unfortunately, during these attacks, civilians were killed. I am not trying to change facts. But, of course, when it comes to Al-Jazeera, everything is exaggerated."

Hier der komplette Bericht des oben Erwähnten: More than 24 hours after the end of Operation Warm Winter in the northern Gaza Strip, its commanders, from the Givati and the Barak armored brigades, met Tuesday for a debriefing. While the resistance they encountered was fierce, they said, it was less organized than they thought it would be based on information about Hamas' increasing strength. Da es sich um ein massiv zensiertes Objekt handelt ist Vorsicht angebracht den Beschreibungen Glauben zu schenken.

Following Tuesday's Haaretz report, Hamas has decided to let a Fatah activist return to the Gaza Strip to visit the burial site of two of his children who were killed Sunday during an Israel Defense Forces' raid in Jabalya.

Fachtext Alon Ben-Meir: Even before it begins the Arab summit scheduled for the latter part of March in Damascus, is in serious trouble; there are several political discords among Arab states as well as the region's continuing violent conflicts. Whereas a resolution to the crisis in Lebanon over the selection of a new president seems a prerequisite to holding the summit, no one expects its leaders to even attempt to resolve the many other crises that have plagued the Arab world. The one critical issue that will resurface in Damascus is what to do about the languishing Arab peace initiative with Israel to prevent it from becoming another relic in the annals of the unending Arab-Israeli conflict. + US President George W. Bush accused Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday of blocking the election of a new head of state in Lebanon and impeding the success of the country's government. "I am extremely disappointed that the Syrian leader continues to make it harder for the Lebanese government to succeed," Bush said. "I really don't appreciate the fact that they've made it hard for this government to elect a president." Also Tuesday, visiting EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said Tuesday that the EU backs the three-point Arab plan to end the Lebanese impasse.