IDF-Soldier dies...

am Sonntag Morgen an den bei dem Anschlag auf einen Jeep in der Nähe von Ein Hashlosha am Donnertsag erlittenen Wunden. Sehr lesenswert der Bericht über die Beerdigung.

Über den Anschlag auf eine Talmud-Schule in Jerusalem gibt es nichts wirklich Neues zu berichten. In der Westbank kommt es zu kleineren sicherheitsrelevanten Zwischenfällen [IDF forces patrolling the Trans-Samaria Highway near the West Bank city of Qalqilya on Sunday seized a truck containing 11 gallons of sulfuric acid and about eight gallons of nitric acid, materials that are considered hazardous and are used to manufacture explosives.] Die komplette Abriegelung der Westbank bleibt vorerst bestehen, mal wieder steht dort diese Woche ein Lehrerstreik wegen ausstehender Gahltszahlungen der PA an. Olmerts Unterschrift glänzt mal wieder unter einem besonderen Produkt: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has approved the renewed construction of hundreds of an estimated 750 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Givat Ze'ev near Jerusalem, the Housing Ministry said Sunday. The project approved for the Agan Ayelot neighborhood of Givat Ze'ev drew criticism from the Palestinian Authority over Israel's commitment to the peace process. [...] Gideon Levy: It is still unclear whether the terrorist who entered the Mercaz Harav yeshiva on Thursday night and killed eight of its students knew exactly what place he was entering. But the thousands of people who walked behind the coffins on Friday knew very well. "The flagship of religious Zionism" was the common expression used, the "holy of holies"; there was even a hyperbolic comparison to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in terms of sanctity. Some of the praise of the yeshiva is certainly well deserved, and nothing, of course, can justify the horrible killing of young boys in a library. Still, it would be appropriate to recall, even at this difficult hour, what this yeshiva has brought forth.

Im Gazastreifen wird ein nicht näher identifizierter Mann durch IDF-Gewehrfeuer bei Kissufim schwer verletzt. Ansonsten bleibt es VOLLSTÄNDIG ruhig. Egyptian diplomatic sources revealed the details of a ceasefire proposal that Cairo plans to present to Israel and to Palestinian leaders from both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. The sources told the Al-Hayat newspaper in London, that "Egypt is working to calm the situation in Gaza in preparation for procedures that allow the easing of the siege on the Palestinian people," adding that American and European government officials had expressed support for the plan. Zudem sind die Ägypter so nett und heben drei Schmuggel-Tunnel aus. Meanwhile, a senior Defense Ministry official visited Cairo on Sunday in order to discuss ways to restore calm to the Gaza Strip with Egypt's point man for the Palestinian situation, the Egyptian presidential spokesman said. Amos Gilad met with Egypt's head of intelligence, Lt. Gen. Omar Suleiman to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip and the meetings between Egyptian officials and the members of Hamas. "Gilad came to be briefed by Suleiman over Egypt's assessment for the situation [in Gaza Strip] and the ways to restore calm, according to what we have been informed by our security officials' meetings with Hamas representatives," presidential spokesman Suleiman Awwad told reporters following the meeting. He refused to elaborate further. Ich halte einen Durchbruch für unwahrscheinlich. [...] Blabla-Tante: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Sunday told visiting U.S. envoy James Jones that that the creation of a Palestinian state amid the current situation in the Gaza Strip and ongoing attacks on Israelis was not in line with Israel's security demands. "Israel is obligated to respond to terror, and every process must offer a unilateral response to its security needs," said Livni. "The creation of a Palestinian state is not the required answer to Israel's security needs."

Kommentar: The murderous attack at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem raised anew the questions inherent in striving for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. From an Israeli viewpoint, the victims of the massacre are akin to any other eight fatalities, most of them secular, in a lethal terror campaign. All were young lives cut short maliciously, whether on a bus or a busy street, in a restaurant or a yeshiva. But in the eyes of the murderer and his dispatchers, evidently, there is an added religious aspect, like that which accompanied Baruch Goldstein's horrific crime at the Tomb of the Patriarchs 14 years ago.

The head of the Shin Bet security service told ministers on Sunday that the chances for a renewed popular Palestinian uprisingin the near future. [...] Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim has accused the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog of acting as an agent for Iran and of allowing the Islamic Republic to proceed with its uranium enrichment without international intervention. [...] A week after Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin informed the cabinet that Hamas terrorists train in Iran, a commander in the extremist militia admitted as much to The Sunday Times.

The Israeli left wing has a chance to win the next general elections, Israeli author Amos Oz told attendees at a rally for MK Haim Oron, who is running for the chairmanship of the left-wing Meretz Party. Oz stated that the greatest challenge facing the left wing is convincing the public that there is a direct link between the occupation and poverty in Israel.