Word: israells
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...harder. Netanyahu has vowed to "finish the work" in Gaza. By that, he says he intends to crush the Islamic militants of Hamas, even if that means launching an assault similar to the 22-day offensive that just ended with more than 1,250 Palestinians, 13 Israelis dead and Israel being accused by some of war crimes...
...When Mitchell did speak during his week-long visit to the region, he made it clear that the White House wants the faltering cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to endure and strengthen. He also wants Israeli to lift its 19-month long economic blockade on Gaza, as long as the Palestinian Authority - and not Hamas militants - maintain a presence on the border crossings; Hamas, however, is refusing to let the Palestinian Authority man its borders. "The tragic violence in Gaza and in south Israel offers a sobering reminder of the very serious and difficult challenges and, unfortunately, the setbacks...
...Mitchell's wish is not necessarily going to be Israel's command. Outgoing Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert is refusing to open the Gaza borders, despite calls by the international aid community to lift the 19-month long blockade. Olmert wants to link the lifting of the siege of Gaza to the release of an Israeli soldier, Corp. Gilad Shalit, held captive in Gaza for over two and a half years. Hamas counters that it will only release Shalit in a trade for hundreds of Palestinians held inside Israeli jails...
...include: an Italian priest of the same arch-traditionalist group added his own doubts about Nazi gas chambers to those expressed last week by British-born Bishop Richard Williamson; another cleric from the splinter faction publicly criticized the Pope and condemned his 2006 visit to Istanbul's Blue Mosque; Israel's chief Rabbinic council said inter-faith talks with the Vatican should be put on hold, while others have questioned whether a slated papal Holy Land trip in May should be called off over the episode. Meanwhile, Catholic progressives around the world have taken the Pope's actions...
...Mitchell appointment will probably prove controversial among Israel's neoconservative American supporters - and, quite possibly, with Israel's government, especially if the Likud Party wins the Feb. 10 elections. To Likudniks, the very act of naming an envoy is suspicious: Mitchell is likely to do something the Bush Administration rarely did - ask for Israeli concessions, however minor. The Mitchell appointment and the Al Arabiya interview are of a piece: respect will be paid to Muslims by the Obama Administration. The long-term goal is to weaken the regional tyrants and extremists by depriving them of the Great Satan caricature...