LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 06/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 4,12-17.23-25. When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen." From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people. His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

Saint Romanos Melodios (?-c.560), composer of hymns
2nd hymn for Epiphany, §15-18 (SC 110, p.289f.)
"They brought to him all who were sick"
Let us all raise our eyes to the Lord in heaven, crying out like the prophet: «He who has been seen upon earth is our God who, through an act of his will, has spoken with men»... He who showed himself to the prophets in various forms, whom Ezekiel beheld beneath the appearance of a man on a fiery chariot (1,26) and Daniel as Son of Man and Ancient of Days, both old and young at the same time (7,9.13), showing forth in himself a single Lord: he it is who has appeared and who has illuminated all things. He has dispersed the shades of night: thanks to him all is as midday. The light with no evening, Jesus our savior, has shone over the world. The land of Zabulun flourishes in imitation of Paradise, for «you give them to drink from the torrent of your delights» (Ps 36[35],9)... We behold in Galilee «the fountain of life» (v.10) who has appeared and illumined all things. And I too, O Jesus, I shall then see you enlightening my mind and saying to my thoughts: «You who are always thirsty, come to me and drink» (cf. Jn 7,37). Water this humbled heart, broken by my wandering ways. They have consumed it with hunger and thirst: not a hunger for bread or thirst for water but for hearing the Spirit's word (Am 8,11)... That is why it groans softly as it waits for your judgments, you who have appeared and illumined all things...Grant me a clear sign, purify my hidden faults, for my secret wounds are undermining me... I fall at your knees, O Savior, like the woman with the flow of blood. I, too, seize hold of the fringe of your garment, saying: «If I but touch it, I shall be saved» (Mk 5,28). Do not disappoint my faith, O healer of souls...; I shall find you for my own salvation, you who have appeared and illumined all things.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
A Sense of Reality. By Barry Rubin. 05/01/09
Hezbollah answers Israel only with speeches-By Robert Worth 05/01/09
Why Israel Fights. By: William Kristol. New York Times 05/01/09
Was It Worth It? By: By EHUD YA’ARI- Jerusalem Post  05/01/09
The reality behind what is happening in Gaza. By: Lawson Kass Hanna 05/01/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 05/09
After Lebanon fiasco, Israel talks down Gaza aims-Reuters
Hamas seeks truce but says lifting siege a must-Reuters
Lebanon parliamentary elections set for June 7: minister-AFP
Lebanese Security Forces Clash With Anti-Israel Protesters Near U.S. Embassy-Naharnet
Syria: Israel proved it doesn't want peace-Ynetnews
Hezbollah Threat: Lebanon Watches Gaza Fight-ABC News
Hamas delegation to visit Egypt for Gaza talks-International Herald Tribune
French-led diplomatic efforts aim to broker Mideast ceasefire-AP
Israelis back government's efforts to halt Hamas rocket fire-AP
Israeli troops surround Gaza City, fight militants at close range-AP
Security Council urged to bring Gaza crisis to a speedy end-AP
At least Lebanon's leaders aren't fooled by the lies about Gaza-Daily Star
Sarkozy Determined to Help Settle Issue of Lebanon-Syria Border Demarcation
Murr: Nasrallah Would Neither Implicate Himself Nor Lebanon-Naharnet
Israeli Intelligence Warns of a Limited Hizbullah Retaliatory Attack-Naharnet
Analysis: Ground Troops Burnish Israel's Iron Image-Naharnet
Graziano Calls for Self-restraint in Wake of Israeli Ground Offensive on Gaza-Naharnet
Israel Tries to Erase Memories of Lebanon War in Gaza-Naharnet
Report: Saudi Recommendation to Weaken Hizbullah and Hamas-Naharnet
Diplomatic efforts to halt Gaza offensive make little progress-Los Angeles Times
A New Middle Eastern Cold War-Forbes
Op-Ed Columnist Why Israel Fights-New York Times
Hamas looks to Hezbollah's inspiration-Asia Times Online
 

Israeli troops and tanks slice deep into Gaza
 By IBRAHIM BARZAK and JASON KEYSER, Associated Press Writers Ibrahim Barzak And Jason Keyser, Associated Press Writers
 Sun Jan 4, 11:20 pm ET Play Video Reuters – Gaza propaganda war
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Thousands of Israeli troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships surrounded Gaza's largest city and fought militants at close range Sunday, the first full day of an overwhelming ground offensive in the coastal territory.
Israel said it has inflicted a heavy blow against Hamas as it expands a weeklong offensive meant to stop rocket fire on southern Israel. But spiraling civilian casualties among Palestinians fueled an international outcry, even as the U.S. blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement Saturday night calling for an immediate cease-fire.
Israel's ground forces moved in after nightfall Saturday following hours of intense, fiery artillery shelling to clear the way, and Hamas warned that its fighters would turn Gaza into an Israeli "graveyard."
Palestinians reported clashes early Monday in eastern Gaza near the border with Israel. Hamas militants fired rocket-propelled grenades and mortars at advancing Israeli tanks. Explosions could be heard in Gaza City as aircraft attacked buildings. There was no immediate word about casualties.
On Sunday, Israeli soldiers fought primarily in open areas in the launching zones used by Gaza's militants to send rockets raining down on Israeli cities. As the troops in three brigade-size formations moved in, residents of those Israeli cities began cautiously emerging from bomb shelters in hopes that the rocket fire would taper off.
Backing up the troops, mobile artillery units fired shells that exploded in veils of white smoke over Gaza's urban skyline. Tanks pushed south of Gaza City as deep as the abandoned settlement of Netzarim, which Israel left along with other communities when it pulled out of Gaza in 2005.
That effectively cut off Gaza City, the territory's largest population center with some 400,000 residents, from the rest of Gaza to the south.
Israel's military chief said Hamas fighters were trying to draw soldiers deeper into Gaza's sprawling, densely packed urban areas, where the military said militants were shielding themselves behind civilians.
"You entered like rats," Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told Israeli soldiers in a statement on Hamas' Al Aqsa TV. "Gaza will be a graveyard for you, God willing," he said.
Israeli forces have not yet entered urban areas, said Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu, the chief army spokesman. He warned, however, that the operation was not a "school trip" and would be long and demanding.
The ground invasion risks turning into intense urban combat, with house-to-house fighting, sniper fire and booby-traps. Hamas is believed to have some 20,000 gunmen and has had time to prepare.
To guard against hidden explosives, Israel's ground forces moved through fields and orchards with bomb-sniffing dogs.
Since the ground assault began, 64 Palestinian civilians have been killed, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain, a Health Ministry official. The new deaths brought the death toll in the Gaza Strip to more than 512 since Dec. 27. The tally is based on figures from the U.N. and Palestinian health officials as well as a count by The Associated Press.
Five Israelis have been killed since the offensive began. One soldier has been killed in the ground operation and about 40 were wounded, some of them in heavy exchanges of fire near the militant stronghold of Jebaliya, a town on Gaza City's northern outskirts, the army said. Heavy Israeli casualties could undermine what has so far been overwhelming public support for the operation.
At one hospital in the northern village of Beit Lahiya, medics carrying three injured children in their arms rushed them to treatment. One of the children had a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his head and covering his eyes.
An Israeli shell also struck an ambulance in the town, killing a paramedic, said Marwan Abu Ras, a hospital administrator. The relief organization Oxfam, which said the ambulance belonged to a partner organization, al-Awda Hospital, confirmed the shelling.
An airstrike hit another ambulance belonging to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza City, killing three other paramedics, said medic Jamal Hawajiri. That ambulance crew was driving to a Hamas training site where there were reports of wounded.
An Israeli army spokesman said he had no information on the incidents.
The Israeli army said it had killed dozens of armed Hamas gunmen, but Gaza officials could confirm only a handful of dead fighters — in part because rescue teams could not reach the battle zones.
Condemnation of Israel's ground operation poured in from the Middle East and Europe.
"The violence has to stop," said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy scheduled talks Monday with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. While blaming Hamas for causing Palestinian suffering with rocket fire that led to the Israeli offensive, Sarkozy has condemned Israel's use of ground troops, reflecting general world opinion. Sarkozy and other diplomats making their way to the region are expected to press hard for a cease-fire.
Israel has four main demands: and end to Gaza rocket fire, a halt to Palestinian attacks, international supervision of a truce and an agreement to stop Hamas from re-arming. Hamas demands a cessation of Israeli attacks and opening of vital Gaza-Israel cargo crossings, Gaza's main lifeline.
U.S. officials maintained their firm support for Israel and squarely blamed Hamas.
Vice President Dick Cheney said Israel "didn't seek clearance or approval from us" before pushing into Gaza.
Sens. Harry Reid and Dick Durbin — the top two Democrats in the chamber — and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell all described Israel's actions as understandable. "I think what the Israelis are doing is very important," Reid said. "I think this terrorist organization, Hamas, has got to be put away. They've got to come to their senses."
Israeli President Shimon Peres said that Israel had to push forward and that a cease-fire was pointless without a halt to Hamas rocket fire.
"Well, clearly, if there is somebody (who) can stop terror with a different strategy, we shall accept it," he said on ABC's "This Week."
"We shall not accept the idea that Hamas will continue to fire and we shall declare a cease-fire. It does not make any sense."
Palestinians said the Israeli military broke into broadcasts on the Hamas TV channel, Al Aqsa, appealing to Palestinians not to agree to serve as human shields for the militants. The message read, "Israel is acting only against Hamas and has no interest in harming you."
The ground operation is the second phase in an offensive that began as a weeklong aerial onslaught aimed at halting Hamas rocket fire that has reached deeper and deeper into Israel, threatening major cities and one-eighth of Israel's population of 7 million.
More than 45 rockets and mortar shells fell in Israel on Sunday morning, sending residents scrambling for bomb shelters. Four Israelis were lightly wounded.
In Gaza City, civilians cowered inside as battles raged, while terrified residents in other areas fled in fear. In the southern town of Rafah, one man loaded a donkey cart with mattresses and blankets preparing to flee.
Lubna Karam, 28, said she and the other nine members of her family spent the night huddled in the hallway of their Gaza City home. The windows of the house were blown out days earlier in an Israeli airstrike, and the family has been without electricity for a week, surviving without heat and eating cold food.
"We keep hearing the sounds of airplanes and we don't know if we'll live until tomorrow or not," she said.
Severe damage to Gaza's phone network was pushing the territory closer to complete isolation. The Palestinian phone company Paltel Group said 90 percent of Gaza's cellular service was down, as well as many landlines, because of frequent power cuts and the inability of technicians to reach work sites.
In his first public comments on the operation, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told his Cabinet Sunday that Israel could not allow its civilians to continue to be targeted by rockets from Gaza. "This operation was unavoidable," he said. Military intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin told the Cabinet Hamas was using mosques, public institutions and private houses as ammunition stores, Cabinet secretary Oved Yehezkel told reporters. Israel approved the mobilization of thousands more reservists in addition to tens of thousands called up on Saturday. Defense officials said the extra forces could enable a far broader ground offensive. The troops could also be used in the event Palestinian militants in the West Bank or Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon launch attacks, as Hezbollah did in 2006 when Israel was in the midst of a large operation in Gaza.
**Jason Keyser reported from Jerusalem.

UN chief to meet Arab ministers on Gaza
 By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press Writer –
Sun Jan 4,/09 UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. chief urged the divided Security Council to try to bring a speedy end to the escalating crisis in Gaza and planned to meet Monday with Arab ministers flying to New York to press for a resolution demanding an immediate end to the violence.
Late Saturday, the United States blocked approval of a Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and expressing serious concern at the escalation of violence after Israeli tanks and artillery began their ground assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, council diplomats said.
"Given the crucial juncture at which we have arrived in the search for a cease-fire, I appeal to all members of the international community to display the unity and commitment required to bring this escalating crisis to an end," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.
U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the United States saw no prospect of Hamas abiding by last week's council call for an immediate end to the violence. Therefore, he said, a new statement at this time "would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success, (and) would not do credit to the council."
While the council took no action Saturday night, an Arab draft resolution circulated by Libya on Wednesday night that would condemn Israel and halt its military attacks on Gaza remains on the table. It would have to be revised, however, since the United States called it "unacceptable" and "unbalanced" because it doesn't call for an end to the Hamas rocketing of Israel. Ban said he "will be working actively with members of the council and other key players, in particular Arab leaders who I am seeing tomorrow at United Nations headquarters, to facilitate the emergence of a consensus."
He said he regretted the council had not been able to reach agreement yet.
Ban recalled Robert Serry, his special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, from Jerusalem to brief him on the situation on the ground. With more than 510 Palestinians killed in Gaza and more than 2,500 injured, some Middle Eastern and European governments have strongly criticized Israel for use of excessive force.Israel says it launched the offensive to stop rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza, which have traumatized southern Israel. Wolff said Israel is a sovereign state with the right to defend itself against Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction and has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United States. Ban said he remains "extremely concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian situation" in Gaza.
The U.N. is in close contact with Israeli authorities to press them to open crossing into Gaza to allow in, particularly, wheat grain and fuel for the power plant, as well as other essential supplies, Ban said. The main power plant in Gaza has been shut down since Tuesday because Israel has blocked fuel deliveries, and U.N. officials have said they desperately need wheat flour.

The Freemason War on Gaza
Elias Aoun
During the trial of two intelligence officers for the 1988 downing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, it was revealed that Libya’s Qaddafi is a member of a secret, high-level Masonic Islamic Brotherhood that extended throughout the Middle East.
In addition to the Arab governments, the Zionist government of Israel is also controlled by Freemasons. What appears to be an Arab-Israeli conflict (including the military action in Gaza ) is nothing more than the act of one entity controlling both sides to advance its own agenda. It is like a theatrical performance, but in Gaza with real victims. Each actor plays a role, but when the curtain falls they are all friends and members of the same club.
One way to find the truth is to look at symbols. Most countries in the region have a three-stripe flags. One meaning of number 3 is the equilateral triangle of Freemasonry. The Palestinian flag is three-stripes and a sideways triangle. In Lebanon ’s Parliament, as well as Parliaments of other countries including the U.S. Congress, there are three levels where the speaker takes a seat. Within some churches, there are three steps before reaching the altar.
You can see the Freemason signature on the June 2006 Lebanese-Israeli war which lasted 33 days – as a reflection to the 33 degree within freemasonry. The Nahr al-Bared war was declared a victory on the 33rd day. No one asked Lebanon ’s Defense Minister why he declared “victory” although the bombs were still falling and the war did not actually end until weeks later. The United Nations emblem has 33 blocks within its world globe.
Why war? War generates profit for the military industry. Also, the process of construction, destruction, re-construction, re-destruction, etc. is a profitable enterprise for some banks and corporations. War destroys and undermines individual potential and achievements, creates hatred, and helps to maintain the same secret society (comprised of some clergy, politicians, bankers, etc.) in power.
War is also a pagan ritual. For example, President Bush launched the bombing of Baghdad on March 20, 2003. This date is known as the eve of Ostara, dedicated to the goddess Gaia. The day is also known as the “Day of Feast.” The war was “officially” ended on May 1, 2003 – the date of St. Walburga. who was the pagan goddess of fertility. From March 20 to May 1, the pagan ritual is to give blood to the earth and renew life to the goddess of fertility. The war was launched and ended on the exact days the pagan ritual begins and ends.
You may notice similar or same emblems found on every nation’s military uniforms. This is because a life taken at a chosen time, place, or manner becomes a sacrifice. Children are specifically targeted because they are considered to be “the most satisfactory and suitable victims” for containing “the greatest and purest force.” Middle Eastern clergy (Christian, Muslims, and Jews) all wear black robes which they inherited from Babylonian pagan priests.
There is a picture of Qaddafi and Britain ’s Tony Blair with a freemason handshake. You will find similar pictures between Pope Benedict and Britain ’s Blair, Palestinian Abbas and Israel ’s Sharon , Jordan ’s Abdallah and Israel ’s Ehud Barak, Prince Charles and Israel ’s Peres, Egyptian Ambassador to Israel Mohammed Bassiouny and Israel ’s Peres, etc. Unknown to many freemasons, the group’s “light-bearer” is called Jahbulon – a three-head demon. That is only revealed to those who reach one of the highest levels in freemasonry.
Not every freemason is a culprit, but one way to end the carnage in Gaza is for these members to ask freemasons in high level positions and on all sides – Arab, Israeli, American, European, and clergy – how they are using their influence to end the slaughter of Palestinians. Those who do not repel a wrong when they can occasion it
**Our religions and politics are hijacked. Only the truth will set us free.

A Sense of Reality
January 3, 2009
By Barry Rubin
When you actually hear what the anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-Western forces say, it reveals just how inaccurate is their analysis, often allowed to be given without contradiction in much of the media.
Here are two quotes from Yahoo coverage of anti-Israel demonstrations:
1. Paul Mukerji, 42, from Birmingham, acknowledged Israel had security reasons but called its action disproportionate. "The best way for peace for Palestinians and Israelis is to end the occupation," he said.
Yep! End that occupation and all the shooting will stop. As you know, it was Israel's end of occupation in south Lebanon that led to attacks by Hizballah. And Israel's end of occupation in the Gaza Strip that led to attacks by Hamas. And Israel's agreement with the PLO and withdrawal from part of the West Bank raised the level of terrorism there (at least for about half of the last 15 years). No doubt if Israel withdrew completely from the West Bank....
But in logical terms, of course, if you believe that "occupation" causes violence--rather than, say, revolutionary Arab nationalist and Islamist movements that sought total victory--you MUST argue that these are defensive reactions. Of course, they are aggressive ones.
2. Ali Saeed, 24, from Luton, said Western governments had failed to condemn Israel's actions. "What's going on in Gaza is not right ... It's not a coincidence that it's going on in Iraq, in Chechnya, in Kashmir. It's just about going on everywhere. It's almost a direct insult to every single Muslim," he said.
Iraq: Saddam Hussein has repressive dictatorship, Saddam attacks Iran, Saddam attacks Kuwait, terrorists today kill mostly other Muslims in a Sunni-Shia battle. Yes, so why blame America?
Chechnya: One could argue that this is an occupation issue--the Russians have been there for about 150 years-- but the Chechnya rebels have deliberately targeted Russian civilians and killed their own moderates who tried to work out a deal. At any rate, one can contrast Russian methods-leveling the capital city and killing many thousands of civilians-with Israel's, with Hamas admitting 85 percent of the casualties in the current campaign are its soldiers and most of the rest victims of its policy of turning civilians into involuntary human shields.
Kashmir: Radical Islamists backed by Pakistan murder Indian civilians and carry out terrorism in India. To my knowledge, the Indians never used harsh repression in Kashmir, certainly not before the start of a terrorist war there.
And how about:
Massacres of Christians in Indonesia; of Christians and Buddhists in Thailand; of Christians in the Philippines; and of Christians and Shia Muslims in Iraq; and of Christians and Druze and Sunni Muslims in Lebanon; and of fellow Muslims in Algeria and Egypt and Saudi Arabia; and of course al-Qaida attacks including September 11; and the London subway bombings, and the Bali bombing; and the Spanish commuter train bombings; and the Mumbai attacks; and the murder of animists and fellow Muslims in Sudan; and so on.
Once upon a time in the West there were institutions which challenged and corrected a factually ludicrous world view. Now, alas, they often further it.
And of course, this isn't the first time-even in living memory-that the world has faced such movements, such falsehood, such places:
"But ideas can be true although men die,
And we can watch a thousand faces
Made active by one lie:
"And maps can really point to places
Where life is evil now:
Nanking; Dachau."
"In Time of War," W.H. Auden, 1939
And now: Kabul, Tehran, and Gaza under Hamas rule.
But common sense does prevail. The truth is that the demonstrations have not been impressive in Europe and America, both in size and in the ability of the anti-Israel forces to mobilize non-Muslims in any serious numbers.

Hezbollah Answers Israel Only With Speeches
By ROBERT F. WORTH
Published: January 4, 2009
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Over the past week, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has been delivering furious speeches here almost every day against the Israeli assault on Gaza, and blaming Egypt and other Arab countries for their passivity.
But Mr. Nasrallah has not ordered his own powerful militia into action. No missiles have been fired at Israel from southern Lebanon. And for all the anxious talk in recent days about the possible opening of a second front on the Lebanese border, it is unlikely that Hezbollah will attack unless Hamas’s situation becomes desperate, analysts say.
There are at least two reasons for this. First, Hezbollah still believes that its ally Hamas will triumph. Second, it cannot risk drawing Lebanon into another devastating conflict like the one in 2006. Hezbollah is still politically vulnerable at home.
“They don’t want to bring down the wrath of the Israeli Air Force,” said Paul Salem, the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. “The community and the country are not up for another war just two years after the last one.”
After the 2006 war, Mr. Nasrallah claimed victory over Israel but also delivered a kind of apology to the Lebanese, saying he would not have ordered the cross-border raid that precipitated the 2006 conflict if he had known that Israel would respond with a 34-day juggernaut, leaving more than 1,000 people dead and parts of the country in ruins.
Since then, Hezbollah has gained important new powers in Lebanese government, and its alliance is widely expected to win a majority in parliamentary elections this year, a major step. Starting a conflict could risk all that, angering the Lebanese people and “reviving the whole debate about Hezbollah’s weapons,” said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a policy analyst and author who has written about Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has faced pressure to disarm since the 2000 Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
For the moment, the point is largely moot. Hezbollah’s leaders, who are famously secretive, appear to be sanguine about the outcome in Gaza.
“We are not pessimistic about the future of the fighting,” said Ali Fayyad, a former Hezbollah official and the director of a research institute here affiliated with Hezbollah. “We consider that the resistance is strong enough, and we think Israelis are making the same mistake they made in the July 2006 war.”
Hezbollah is well aware of Hamas’s abilities, having worked with Iran to train and prepare the Gaza-based movement for this conflict, Mr. Salem and other analysts say. The idea was to arm Hamas so that it could survive in battle long enough to force Israel and Arab states to negotiate terms with it, a process that would ultimately bolster its power and credibility — along with those of its allies Syria, Iran and Hezbollah.
No second front is needed to fulfill those goals.
So far, Hezbollah’s role has been purely rhetorical. Mr. Nasrallah has deplored Israel’s military assault and, in an unprecedented step, lashed out at Egypt for not opening its border with Gaza to allow military and humanitarian supplies through. Analysts say he hopes to create a popular movement in Egypt and elsewhere that would force the Egyptian government to capitulate, easing pressure on Hamas.
A few Arab columnists have begun mocking Mr. Nasrallah for not backing up his words with action. State-controlled Egyptian newspapers have engaged in a war of words with Hezbollah, and in a column on Friday, Elias Harfoush of the Saudi-owned newspaper Hayat ridiculed Hezbollah for its mix of “passionate speeches” and “realism” with regard to action.
These broadsides come from Hezbollah’s enemies, and the group is not paying any real political price in Lebanon for failing to launch an attack. Still, Hezbollah does face risks. “What if some local Hezbollah-allied group in the south just decides to launch a couple of rockets at Israel?” said Timur Goksel, who spent more than two decades as chief adviser to the United Nations peacekeeping force in South Lebanon and now teaches at the American University of Beirut. “That could change the whole dynamic.”
Although Hezbollah is noted for its discipline, there are different ideological currents within the organization, and some members may be calling for action, Mr. Goksel said. Those voices would surely grow louder if Hamas appeared to be on the verge of being crushed or eliminated.
“If Hamas is really losing, it becomes crucial for Hezbollah to intervene,” said Ms. Saad-Ghorayeb, the author. “This isn’t just a war with Hamas; it’s a war against the whole resistance front,” meaning Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas.
For the moment, Hezbollah seems unwilling even to consider that possibility. But at least one figure who is close to Hezbollah’s leadership agreed that the pressure for intervention would grow if Hamas seemed close to defeat. Ibrahim al-Amine, the chairman of the Beirut-based newspaper Al Akhbar, is said to be a personal friend of Mr. Nasrallah’s. “Hezbollah cannot allow Hamas to lose this war,” Mr. Amine said.

Why Israel Fights
By WILLIAM KRISTOL
Published: January 4, 2009
The Israeli assault on Hamas in Gaza is going to be a replay, we’re told, of the attempt to subdue Hezbollah in southern Lebanon in the summer of 2006. And the outcome, it’s asserted, will be the same: lots of death and destruction, no strategic victory for Israel and a setback for all who seek peace and progress in the Middle East. For one thing, southern Lebanon is a substantial and hilly area, bordered by northern Lebanon and Syria, through which Hezbollah could be re-supplied, both by Syria itself and by Iran. Gaza is a flat, narrow strip, bordered by Israel, as well as by the sea and by Egypt, no friend to Hamas. By cutting off the northern part of Gaza from the southern, Israel has basically surrounded northern Gaza, creating a military situation very different from that in Lebanon in 2006.
What’s more, the Israeli leadership seems aware of the mistakes — political, strategic and military — it made in Lebanon. That doesn’t mean it won’t make them all over again. The same prime minister, Ehud Olmert, is in charge, after all. But, today’s defense minister, Ehud Barak, is very different from his predecessor, the weak and unqualified Amir Peretz. So far as one can tell, the Gaza operation seems to have been well-planned and is being methodically executed, in sharp contrast to the Lebanon incursion. Barak has also warned that the operation could be long and difficult, lowering expectations by contrast with the Israeli rhetoric of July 2006.
In addition, in Lebanon, Israel proclaimed war goals that it couldn’t achieve — such as retrieving its two kidnapped soldiers and disarming Hezbollah. Now the Israeli government says that it seeks to weaken Hamas, lessen its ability to fire rockets from Gaza and secure new arrangements along the Egyptian-Gaza border to prevent Hamas from re-arming. These may well be achievable goals.
And, of course, not all military efforts against terror fail. Recall Israel’s incursion into the West Bank in the spring of 2002, when, under the leadership of Ariel Sharon, Israel succeeded in ripping up established terror networks and began the defeat of the second intifada. Israel also was able to avoid a long-term re-occupation, while retaining the ability to go back in on anti-terror missions. What’s more, the 2002 bloodshed didn’t seem to do lasting damage to hopes for progress or moderation on the West Bank. After all, it’s Gaza, from which Israel withdrew in 2005, not the West Bank, that became a Hamas stronghold.
An Israeli success in Gaza would be a victory in the war on terror — and in the broader struggle for the future of the Middle East. Hamas is only one manifestation of the rise, over the past few decades, of a terror-friendly and almost death-cult-like form of Islamic extremism. The combination of such terror movements with a terror-sponsoring and nuclear-weapons-seeking Iranian state (aided by its sidekick Syria) has produced a new kind of threat to Israel.
But not just to Israel. To everyone in the Middle East — very much including Muslims — who aren’t interested in living under the sway of extremist regimes. And to any nation, like the United States, that is a target of Islamic terror. So there are sound reasons why the United States — whether led by George W. Bush or Barack Obama — will stand with Israel as it fights.
But Israel — assuming it succeeds — is doing the United States a favor by taking on Hamas now.
The huge challenge for the Obama administration is going to be Iran. If Israel had yielded to Hamas and refrained from using force to stop terror attacks, it would have been a victory for Iran. If Israel were now to withdraw under pressure without accomplishing the objectives of severely weakening Hamas and preventing the reconstitution of a terror-exporting state in Gaza, it would be a triumph for Iran. In either case, the Iranian regime would be emboldened, and less susceptible to the pressure from the Obama administration to stop its nuclear program.
But a defeat of Hamas in Gaza — following on the heels of our success in Iraq — would be a real setback for Iran. It would make it easier to assemble regional and international coalitions to pressure Iran. It might positively affect the Iranian elections in June. It might make the Iranian regime more amenable to dealing.
With respect to Iran, Obama may well face — as the Israeli government did with Hamas — a moment when the use of force seems to be the only responsible option. But Israel’s willingness to fight makes it more possible that the United States may not have to.

France seeks Gaza truce as Israel presses assault
By Nidal al-Mughrabi Nidal Al-mughrabi
GAZA (Reuters) – At least three children were among a dozen Palestinian civilians killed on Monday as Israeli troops pressed home a ground assault on Hamas militants in the face of French-led diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire. The deaths included three children from the Samouni family and their mother when a tank shell hit their home in Gaza city, Palestinian medics said. Seven members of the Abu Aisha family were killed in an explosion at the nearby Beach refugee camp.
The Israeli army said "many dozens" of Islamist fighters had been killed since ground troops went in on Saturday in a stated attempt to end rocket fire by Hamas into southern Israel. Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the offensive would go on until the neighboring Israeli communities are safe from attack.
"Hamas has so far sustained a very heavy blow from us, but we have yet to achieve our objective and therefore the operation continues," Barak said in broadcast remarks before briefing parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Concern that the Gaza violence might impact oil supplies drove up oil price up &2.31 to settle at $40.02 per barrel.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was expected to arrive in the region on Monday in a fresh diplomatic push for a truce, which Israel has so far resisted.
A Hamas official said a delegation from the Islamist group would head for talks in Egypt, which has launched contacts to achieve a ceasefire to end Israel's 10-day-old offensive. Blasts rocked Gaza overnight after Israeli soldiers moved into a northern zone. Israeli forces had asked residents to leave their homes to avoid being hurt in the clashes. Some families sought refuge in nearby United Nations run schools.
A military spokeswoman said the air force bombed more than 30 targets, including homes of Hamas members used as weapons depots, tunnels and a suspected anti-aircraft rocket launcher. Israeli media said troops were hunting Hamas members in house-to-house combat, and that during one clash Palestinians attempted to capture a soldier. The military said six soldiers were wounded in fighting overnight but gave no further details.
Israel launched its offensive with aerial bombardments on December 27 to curtail Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza ahead of an Israeli national election next month.
At least 526 Palestinians have been killed, at least a quarter of them civilians, a U.N. agency said. Forty-two, mostly civilians, were killed on Sunday, a medical source said. Four Israelis have been killed by rockets and mortars fired into Israel since the offensive began and an Israeli soldier was killed in fighting on Sunday, and 48 were wounded after Israel expanded its operation into a ground invasion.
Israel's advances into Gaza have carved the 40-km long coastal territory into two separate zones, and forces have surrounded its largest urban area, the city of Gaza.
DIPLOMATIC PUSH
Hamas was sending representatives to Egypt for talks for the first time since the fighting began, said Hamas's Ayman Taha. The United States, the region's powerbroker and Israel's closest ally, looked all but sidelined by the pending transfer of its presidency, offering Europe a chance to take the lead and press for an end to the Israeli assault.  U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has been silent on the crisis, his advisers saying only President George W. Bush would speak for Washington until Obama is sworn in on January 20. The Bush administration has supported Israel, saying Hamas had to halt rocket fire at Israel for a truce to take shape.
Sarkozy, who meets Israeli leaders on Monday, has not let the end of France's European Union presidency last week prevent him from taking a vanguard role, but will share the work with a separate delegation led by the Czech foreign minister.
Before heading for Egypt for talks, to be followed by meetings in Israel and the Palestinian territories, Sarkozy said he "condemned this offensive" for distancing chances for peace and making it harder to get aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Aid groups have warned of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where water, food and medical supplies were running short. A foreign Red Crescent doctor said on Sunday: "Civilians are being killed ... shells are severing people's legs, shrapnel is going into people's bodies and into people's homes, a lot of people are being cut down. Everyone is terrified."
WORLD PROTESTS
Israel has said the Gaza operation, although sparking protests throughout the world, could last many days. Government officials said Israel had set several goals, including weakening Hamas by killing its fighters and destroying its rocket arsenal. In addition, Israel hopes to deter cross-border salvoes and win international backing for new security arrangements along the Egyptian-Gaza border to prevent Hamas from re-arming through tunnels, which have been bombed in the current campaign.
Iranian-backed Hamas is estimated to have about 25,000 fighters. Israel has not disclosed how many troops are involved in the operation but thousands of reservists were on stand-by. Hamas called off a six-month truce last month and stepped up rocket attacks, citing Israeli raids and a continuing blockade of the enclave Israel quit in 2005. Hamas has insisted it would not be subdued. Ali Larijani, speaker of Iran's parliament, said: "The Zionists should know that Gaza will become their graveyard."
Heavy civilian casualties in the territory packed with 1.5 million people could increase world pressure on Israel to halt its biggest military operation in Gaza in four decades. The fighting holds political risks for Israeli leaders ahead of next month's election, if its forces suffer heavy casualties. Schools and shopping malls have been shut for days in southern Israel and streets were often empty.
(Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Writing by Alastair Macdonald and Allyn Fisher-Ilan; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

Israelis relieved as army moves to halt rockets
By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer Arthur Max, Associated Press Writer
SDEROT, Israel – Israelis bombarded by Palestinian rockets have begun to emerge from homes and shelters, regaining confidence after columns of Israeli soldiers moved into Gaza to crush the militants who have rained missiles on them for eight years.
Towns near the Gaza Strip virtually shut down after Israel's conflict with Gaza militants escalated into a showdown on Dec. 27. Israel launched an air campaign against the missile launchers and against Hamas, the Islamic militant movement that rules the territory, while the militants stepped up the barrage against Israeli towns and villages.The ground offensive that began Saturday night brought cheer to Israeli civilians, convinced their government meant to end the missile terror even at the cost of what is likely to be heavy army casualties.
However, the armored and infantry assault brought no immediate respite from rocket attacks. At least 45 missiles fell on southern Israel on Sunday, wounding five people. "It's good that the troops went in. Finally we are doing something," said Yamit Azulai, emptying a shopping cart full of groceries into her car. It was the first time in a week she had been to the supermarket in Sderot, a town just beyond Gaza's northeast corner that has absorbed thousands of missiles since 2001.
"Until now, it was Hamas who decided when to fire missiles. It was always in their hands. Now we are taking control," she said.
Moves toward normalcy were tentative. Some shops and cafes reopened in Sderot, but about half remained shuttered. Schools and nonessential industries stayed shut within a 25-mile reach of Gaza, the maximum range in Hamas' missile arsenal. Some people like Azulai who ventured out finished their chores quickly to return home.
"I'm not letting the children outside," she said. The offensive brought a kind of vindictive satisfaction to Sderot, which had long urged the government to strike at Hamas and take out the missile threat. With only 20,000 people, many believed the authorities were unwilling to risk a major confrontation on their behalf.
"I'm glad Ashdod and Beersheba got hit," said construction worker Zohar Shapado, referring to two large Israeli cities that were rocketed for the first time last month. "It was only then that they decided to act."Sderot has built up formidable defenses. Every bus stop has a small concrete hut to protect against the shrapnel and pellets packed into the warhead of homemade Qassam rockets. Homes and apartment blocks are built with windowless rooms with steel doors.
People are edgy, but resigned to being targets.
"We're used to it," said Shapado, calmly abandoning the coffee he was drinking at a sidewalk cafe and moving inside to safety as yet another rocket alert resounded through town. Seconds later, the boom of the rocket crashing harmlessly in a field outside of town was the signal for customers to return to their tables and resume conversations. Police say 10 people have been killed in Sderot since 2004, including three toddlers. That compares with more than 500 Palestinians killed in Gaza in the last week, including about 100 civilians.
But the damage often is psychological. Soroka Hospital in Beersheba, where most casualties from southern Israel are brought, has treated 164 civilian patients since the Israeli air war began. All but 10 were "stress related," Shlomi Cabish, the hospital's deputy director, told The Associated Press.
Not everyone is happy with the decision to send infantry troops into the narrow warrens of Gaza, where Palestinian resistance was fierce and dozens of soldiers were wounded and at least one was killed in the first 24 hours. Sitting under a date palm in Beersheba's Old City, Benny Fryand argued with his friend Amos Shem Tov over the advisability of a ground war. "You want to send in the army like cowboys," said Fryand, 59, arguing that the air war had been conducted with devastating effect without a single military casualty. Fryand, who splits his time between Israel and Brooklyn, New York, expected Hamas to take revenge by firing even more rockets.
Shem Tov, 61, voicing what appeared from several interviews to be the majority view, said the war against Hamas cannot be won from the air.
"What would Stalin say? You can't have war without casualties," said the veteran immigrant from the Caucasus region of Russia. "After that comes the victory."

Was It Worth It?
By EHUD YA’ARI
Jerusalem Post
By the time readers see this column, they will know more about the consequences of the war in Gaza than I knew when I wrote it.
And while it seems to me that there is no need to explain why Israel embarked on this military campaign, it is important to make several comments about the exit strategy. The Israel Defense Forces managed to dupe Hamas and the opening blow was a complete surprise to them, but it is necessary to exercise caution so that we won't be surprised when the curtain falls.
The reader, who - perhaps even at this moment - may already know the results of this campaign, is therefore invited to judge those results according to the following parameters:
• Has "The First Gaza War" brought about a de facto Israeli recognition of the Hamas government - and, consequently, recognition on the part of the international community?
• Has the war disrupted the undeclared agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to maintain the diplomatic and economic siege over Hamas?
• Has Hamas been able to incite a third intifada on the West Bank - as Khaled Mashaal implored on the first day of the war, when it appeared that his organization had been decimated?
• Has the war in Gaza pushed the pendulum back towards suicide bombings, which had dramatically decreased over the past few years?
• Have the numerous promises of support from Iran, Syria and the Hizballah crossed the red line that separates demonstrations and declarations from active engagement in hostilities?
• Has - and this is very important - the spirit of the Israeli population in the southern districts between Beersheba and Ashdod been broken as a result of the threats of the rockets? Has abandonment of the area become a widespread phenomenon?
These are the questions that I ask myself on this, the second day of the fighting. These are the questions that must be asked on the last day of the fighting.
This time, the fighting is being directed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who initially took great pains to obfuscate its goals: "To change the situation in the South" was his description.
And Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who is still hanging on, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni - whose declarations in Cairo on the eve of the war caused President Mubarak unnecessary embarrassment - have taught themselves not to commit a priori to strongly defined goals, which is what they did when they set out on the Second Lebanon War, in 2006.
It is quite logical to abstain from presenting well-defined goals, but it's also dangerous: the lack of clearly defined goals can lead to confusion. For example, "changing the situation in the south" could morph into changing the status of and attitudes towards Hamas. Is that the intent? Of course not! But as I write these lines, the reader already knows better than I if these distinctions have been maintained.
We must remember: Hamas has always been ready to pay a steep price for legitimization. From the organization's point of view, the rockets can be fired tomorrow or the day after; they do not have to be fired right now. Khaled Mashaal craves political gain - not military victory. Consolidation of the Hamas government - not demonstrations of courage - is their policy.
And above all: for them, the true prize is the West Bank. In Hamas they've known for a long time - and rightly so! - that if Abu Mazen were tempted to hold new elections in the West Bank in 2009, he'd lose to Hamas at the polls. In its current state, Fatah could not even rig the elections properly. In Israel, Gaza is incorrectly perceived as the source of the threat - while for Hamas, Gaza is only a necessary step on the road to Nablus, Hebron and East Jerusalem.
What greatly worried me as this war began - despite all the confidence I have in Barak - is the fact that those in charge of the Israeli campaign are looking at Gaza and at Gaza alone. They are choosing not to look through a broader lens, which would reveal a more diverse strategic landscape. That's what happened during the Second Lebanon War: Olmert was only able to see the Hizballah and couldn't see the implications that the war would have outside of Lebanon. That's why we missed the opportunity to strike at the Moqawamah Doctrine - the strategy of persistent Jihad - in Lebanon and now, I fear, we will miss the opportunity to strike at Hamas's ambitions and not merely at its military might.
I envy the reader who has made it to this paragraph, because he or she already knows what I don't: whether Israel stopped the war in time in order to bring quiet to the southern region for a while without paying for that quiet with de facto recognition of Hamas and without opening up the gates of the West Bank for Hamas. And the West Bank, as we all know, is the gateway to all of Israel. •