Middle East

  • Will Congress Listen to Liberal Pro-israel Groups’ Criticism of Gaza Operation?

    In the first sign of a post-election struggle to set the American Jewish community’s Middle East agenda, a quartet of liberal pro-Israel groups is criticizing Jerusalem’s decision to launch retaliatory attacks against Gaza. J Street, Americans for Peace Now, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom and the Israel Policy Forum all issued statements defending Israel’s right to strike… More ▸

  • Israel Will ‘examine’ French Cease-fire Proposal

    The Israeli government will “examine” a French cease-fire proposal, according to reports. French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, reportedly spoke with Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak Tuesday about a French, “48-hour cease-fire proposal” according to diplomatic sources cited by the French Press Agency, AFP. Though the French suggestion “did not seem to raise enthusiasm” on the… More ▸

  • Specter Carries Message from Israel to Syria

    U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter carried a message from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Syrian President Bashar Assad. Specter (R-Pa.) met Sunday with Olmert in Israel, where he said he “got a review of the Syrian negotiations” from the Israeli prime minister, the Jerusalem Post reported. He left Israel Monday, and refused to discuss the… More ▸

  • Iran Sets Up Court to Try Israelis

    Iran has set up a court in Tehran to try Israelis for “genocide against humanity” committed in Gaza, according to reports. Israelis can be tried in absentia in the court, which was set up on the basis of a 1948 U.N. convention on the prevention of genocide to which Iran is a signatory, according to… More ▸

  • Israeli Naval Ship Hits Gaza-bound Boat

    An Israeli naval ship collided with a boat carrying activists and journalists attempting to reach Gaza. The boat, owned and operated by the International Solidarity Movement, which was also carrying more than three tons of medical aid, docked instead in Tyre, Lebanon, with a hole in its hull. Free Gaza Movement activists aboard the aid… More ▸

  • Israel Seeks to Change the Rules of the Game

    Israel’s retaliation against persistent Hamas mortar and rocket attacks on civilians in southern Israel was far more ferocious than anyone, including Hamas, expected. The first three days of intensive Israel Air Force bombing in Gaza reduced hundreds of Hamas government buildings, military compounds, laboratories, metal workshops and supply tunnels to rubble and left more than… More ▸

  • Adjusting to Rockets in Ashkelon and Ashdod

    Another rocket warning siren wails and eight members of the Levi family, including a grandmother and a newborn baby, quickly cram into the small bedroom made of reinforced concrete that serves as the family’s bomb shelter. “Come on, come on! Get in!” they shout. Just before the heavy metal door slams shut, the family dog,… More ▸

  • Hamas Threatens to Assassinate Israeli Leaders

    Hamas threatened to assassinate senior Israeli leaders. Senior Hamas official Fatah Hamad issued the threat on Sunday, naming Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni as potential targets, Israel’s daily Ha’aretz reported. The terrorist groups currently is under attack by the Israel Air Force in Gaza, and Hamas leaders reportedly have gone underground…. More ▸

  • Gaza Op Costs Israeli Businesses $1 Million Daily

    Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip is costing businesses and factories in Israel’s south about $1 million a day. The Home Front Command on Saturday ordered the closure of all businesses and factories within about 3 miles of the Gaza border, Israel’s business daily Globes reported. About 80 factories were included in the order,… More ▸