If necessary, Israel will reoccupy the Gaza Strip

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Israel has informed foreign diplomats that it would reoccupy Hamas-ruled Gaza if necessary, though it prefers not to do so, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, as the IDF pressed an offensive against defiant Gaza rocket squads.

Israel is contemplating a reoccupation of Gaza even as it makes efforts to make peace with moderate Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who controls the West Bank. On Sunday, Abbas called off talks with Israel to protest an exceptionally high death toll from Israel's latest military incursion in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who arrived in the region Tuesday on a previously arranged trip, appealed to the two sides to get back to the negotiating table.

Last week, Israel launched a harsh military campaign against Gaza rocket squads that killed more than 120 Palestinians,according to Palestinian officials. Israeli leaders have signaled that a broad invasion of Gaza is in the works to halt rocket fire that is striking closer to Israel's center.

In a meeting Monday with foreign diplomats based in Israel, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni did not rule out an Israeli reoccupation of the seaside strip, home to 1.4 million Palestinians. Israel pulled its settlers and troops out of Gaza in 2005, and last June, Hamas violently seized control there.

"We cannot afford this kind of extreme Islamic state controlled by Hamas," Livni said, according to a ministry statement released Tuesday.

Israel evacuated Gaza "not in order to come back, but we might find ourselves in a situation where we have no choice," Livni said.

Fighting escalated sharply last week after Israel mounted an onslaught in northern Gaza to go after Palestinian gunmen who have fired closer to Israel's heartland than ever before. Israel pulled out its ground forces on Monday, but has continued the air assaults against persistent Palestinian attacks.

On Tuesday, one rocket struck a house in the rocket-weary town of Sderot, causing no injuries but extensive damage. Another landed in an open area.

The IDF launched several air and ground strikes on rocket squads and Hamas installations early Tuesday, killing one operative, Hamas said. The body of a Palestinian gunman was also found near the Gaza-Israel border. Medics said it was not clear when the man had been killed.

The violence transformed Rice's scheduled mission from nudging the sides toward progress in peace talks to rescuing the US-sponsored negotiations from collapse.

Although Abbas has had no power over Gaza since Hamas seized control, the high death toll, which included dozens of civilians, made it difficult for him to continue the talks.

Palestinian officials said Abbas intended to complain about the Gaza incursion to Rice during their meeting Tuesday at his West Bank headquarters.

Livni told the diplomats that Abbas' decision to halt the negotiations "shows weakness," signaling to Hamas that its attacks from Gaza could influence Abbas' actions.

Hamas, meanwhile, urged Abbas to resist Rice's appeals to return to the negotiating table.

"Once again, this visit is designed to provide more support for the Israeli occupation to commit new massacres and ... to provide cover for Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum. "We do not welcome this visit and are pinning no hopes on it."

The Gaza bloodshed has illustrated the huge challenges facing the U.S.-sponsored peace push. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas have set a December target for a peace agreement. But with Hamas firmly in control of Gaza, it remains unclear how any deal can be carried out.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid...icle%2FShowFull

Israel allows humanitarian aid into Gaza

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Go Israel!

[GaryC 7]

I am sure they will say it's all Israels fault if they have to. When are they going to understand that as long as they attack Israel will respond?

[Ban Hammer 14,569]

I am sure they will say it's all Israels fault if they have to. When are they going to understand that as long as they attack Israel will respond?

that will happen about the same time the hamas public relations committee on vj figures that out.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I am sure they will say it's all Israels fault if they have to. When are they going to understand that as long as they attack Israel will respond?

They'll realize this about the same time they realize that perhaps their own children are worth more alive than dead, after having explosives strapped to them and used as human bombs in suicide runs. Unfortunately, that lesson may take a long, long time to learn (or never at all).

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

I am sure they will say it's all Israels fault if they have to. When are they going to understand that as long as they attack Israel will respond?

They'll realize this about the same time they realize that perhaps their own children are worth more alive than dead, after having explosives strapped to them and used as human bombs in suicide runs. Unfortunately, that lesson may take a long, long time to learn (or never at all).

natural selection at work