Updates

*** Vilanai's shoaic dimensions, part III: Wie beinahe zu erwarten ist am Sonntag im allgemeinen Chaos das Zählwerk von so manchem durcheinander geraten. Mit den beiden letzten Opfern, darunter einem 21-Monate alten Baby wird von diesem blog folgende Statistik bis Sonntag 00:00 als abgeschlossen erachtet: 75 confirmed killed, incl. 2 IDF-Soldiers. Dazu elf verletzte IDF-Soldaten und mehr als zweihundert palästinensische Verletzte. Auf israelischer Seite werden sechs Personen durch Raketeneinschläge verletzt. Am nächsten kommt somit "A 21-month-old Palestinian girl, two other civilians and five militants were killed on Sunday in the Gaza Strip, raising the Palestinian death toll in five days of bloodshed to 105, including nearly 60 civilians, medical officials said." [Hier 110]. Die am Abend veröffentlichte Anzahl von 84 getöteten Palästinensern durch die Maan Seit Samstag Morgen kann nicht nach vollzogen werden. Bei Ausschreitungen in der Westbank wird ein 14-jähriger erschossen. Vier israelische Personen werden in der Westbank verletzt. [...] Egypt unsealed a sensitive border crossing on Sunday to let Palestinians wounded in an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip cross into Egypt for
medical care. Egyptian security sources at the Rafah border crossing - largely closed since the Hamas Islamist group seized control of Gaza last June - said at least 40 wounded Palestinian civilians crossed into Egypt on Sunday. [...] Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired 33 rockets at southern Israel on Sunday, as the Israel Defense Forces continued its operation on the coastal territory. Two Israelis were lightly wounded in separate rocket attacks.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Sunday that by allowing militants to continue firing rockets against innocent Israelis, Hamas has left the Israel Defense Forces with no choice but to operate in the Gaza Strip. "The time has come for action. The military operations are continuing and Hamas bears the responsibility," Barak said, during a meeting with various defense officials including IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi and Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin. [...] Meanwhile, Barak has decided to convene a meeting on Monday with Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann and legal experts from within the government and military to determine the legality of attacking civilian areas in Gaza being used to fire rockets. IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi told ministers at the meeting that of the 100 Palestinians killed in recent days, 90 of them were militants, mostly from Hamas. [...] The defense minister said in a separate interview on Army Radio: "This is not the broad ground operation, but whoever says there will not be a big ground operation speaks on his own behalf." One aim of any broad incursion into Gaza would be to "weaken the Hamas rule, in the right circumstances even bring it down," he said.
Weder Fisch noch Fleisch: "The IDF is taking up key positions in the city, and conducting extensive searches for militants. Troops are also questioning residents in order to determine their level of involvement in terrorism." Erinnert an das hier. Eine "Polizeiaktion" die nun mal "shoaic dimensions" angenommen hat da anders als in Ramallah mit Kampfflugzeugen und Artillerie operiert wird. Mal von der von Ashkenazi und Yadlin vorgetragenen Realitätsverweigerung abgesehen ist keinerlei Beschluß erkennbar der endlich reinen Tisch macht. Ein klein wenig "Polizeioperation" und die Verschiebung der Frontlinie um zwei Kilometer ins Gaza-Innere ist keine Strategie die "Hamas zu schwächen". Das Lavieren der Olmert-Regierung ist erneut Ausgangspunkt für nutzloses Blutvergiessen. Dabei ist die Zeit gekommen: Entweder die IDF erledigt jetzt die Hamas-Herrschaft bedingungslos, oder sie verkümmert wie in der Westbank zu einem marodierenden Sauhaufen.
Brüller des Tages: During Sunday's cabinet meeting, Vice Premier Haim Ramon asked why the IDF was not directing massive fire at the areas from which Qassams are being launched. "According to international law, you can do that," he said. "In the Second Lebanon War it was clear that if they shoot from within a village, we can fire on them even if the area is populated." [Son Schmock. Damit legalisiert er hauptsächlich das Vorgehen der Hamas.]
Police Sunday broke up a demonstration in the Israel Arab village of Wadi Ara protesting the ongoing Israel Defense Forces offensive in Gaza. The rally was organized by Israeli Arab party Ra'am-Ta'al and was one of three such protests scheduled for Sunday. Later Sunday, Police arrested two protesters who participated in a demonstration outside IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv. [...] Participants in the rally held up signs reading "No despair Gaza, we'll end the occupation" and "Don't worry Ehud, Bush will be meeting you at The Hague." During the demonstration some protestors clashed with police officers who secured the scene of the rally and prevented the leftists from approaching the Defense Ministry's gates

*** Libanon: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said on Thursday that the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) "has found no evidence" of Hizbullah rearming south of the Litani River. In a report issued to the UN Security Council, the seventh of its kind, Ban addressed the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, which put an end to the 34-day summer 2006 war with Israel. "Israel maintains that Hizbullah is significantly rebuilding its military presence and capacity, inside UNIFIL's area of operations. At times the Israeli military has provided UNIFIL with information about locations in which it claims that these activities take place," Ban said. "To date, UNIFIL has found no evidence of new military infrastructure in the area of operations. [...] Complete report: This is the sixth report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 1701 (2006). It provides a comprehensive assessment of the steps taken to implement resolution 1701 (2006) since the last report of the Secretary-General was issued on 30 October 2007 (S/2007/641) and highlights both continuing progress on the implementation of this resolution and areas of concern that continue to impede the establishment of a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution between the parties. [...] Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu al-Gheit accused the Lebanese opposition on Sunday of rejecting the three-point Arab initiative to end Lebanon's political crisis. Abu al-Gheit said the opposition was responsible for creating obstacles to implementing the initiative. Meanwhile, Arab League chief Amr Moussa met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Sunday in an effort to facilitate the success of an upcoming Arab summit, scheduled for March 29-30 in Damascus.