Israeli-Arab War

[American Patriot]

World Updates
July 13, 2006

Bush defends Israel, warns against weakening Beirut
By Steve Holland and Tom Armitage

STRALSUND, Germany (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush on Thursday defended Israel's attack on Beirut's airport but said the Israelis should be careful not to weaken the fragile Lebanese government.

He and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, at a joint news conference after talks in Germany, made clear they felt Israel's actions in seeking kidnapped soldiers and responding to Hezbollah rocket attacks were justified.

Israel has the right to defend herself," Bush said. "Secondly, whatever Israel does should not weaken the ... government in Lebanon."

Their tone was more moderate toward the Israeli action than Russia, for instance, which called the Israeli move a dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict and urged all sides stop a slip towards war.

Separately, the two leaders warned Iran they were going to the U.N. Security Council to consider steps against Tehran after its failure to respond to an incentives offer.

And they both prodded Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow for a more open, democratic society in Russia as they prepare to join Putin in St. Petersburg at a Group of Eight summit.

Bush said he would raise these concerns with Putin in their private meetings but would not lecture him.

"I think our job is to continue to remind Russia if she wants to continue to have good relations she needs to share common values," Bush added.

Israel intensified reprisals against Hizbollah fighters in Lebanon on Thursday, hitting Beirut airport and blockading Lebanese ports in retaliation for an attack a day earlier in which eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two taken hostage.

The violence is the worst between Israel and Lebanon since 1996 when Israeli troops still occupied part of the south.

"We've always felt that a democracy in Lebanon is important for the Lebanese people and is important for the region. The concern is that any activities by Israel to protect herself will weaken that government or topple that government. We have made it clear in our discussions," Bush said.

He added: "Having said all that, people need to protect themselves. There are terrorists who will blow up innocent people in order to achieve tactical objectives. In this case, the objective is to stop the advance of peace."

On Iran, Bush and Merkel were vague on what steps they would urge the Security Council to take.

"If Iran does not agree to this offer, then unfortunately we need to go down other routes," said Merkel.

Bush said Iran had passed the deadline for responding to the offer before the case is taken to the Security Council, but that they still had time to respond.

"The Iranians must realise that they can't wait us out," Bush said.


Copyright © 2005 Reuters

[American Patriot]

The Boston Globe
GLOBE EDITORIAL
Iran's trap for Israel

July 13, 2006

THE PURPOSE and the timing of Hezbollah's attack on Israel yesterday should be transparent to all concerned. Hezbollah's rocket attacks into northern Israel and the group's capture of two Israeli soldiers during an ambush inside Israeli territory have been presented by Hezbollah as a military action in solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians suffering under Israeli assaults in Gaza. Hezbollah says its aim is to force Israel to release Palestinian and Hezbollah detainees in exchange for the two soldiers held in Lebanon and the one still held in Gaza.

But it is an open secret throughout the region that the Lebanese Shi'ite movement Hezbollah functions as an extension of the theocratic regime that rules Iran.

The timing of the Hezbollah action could not be more revealing. Hezbollah commandos crossed into Israel on the same day that Iran was supposed to give its answer to the package of incentives that the five permanent Security Council members plus Germany offered to Iran if it will suspend uranium enrichment and enter negotiations to bring it into compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Because no answer was forthcoming from Tehran, yesterday was also the day that the five permanent Security Council members expressed ``profound disappointment" at Iran's refusal to respond, and said they ``have no choice but to return to the United Nations Security Council" to consider possible sanctions against Iran.

Hezbollah's attack on Israel serves not only to distract from Iran's defiance of the international community. It also plays into a propaganda campaign that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran has conducted in recent months, conflating the issue of Iran's nuclear program with what he has condemned as the intolerable existence of Israel. Also, by having Hezbollah strike now at Israel, the Iranian regime clearly means to neutralize Arab regimes that are fearful of Iran's spreading influence in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon.

President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt had just disclosed publicly that he had worked out a prisoner swap with Israel and Hamas, but that ``other parties" he would not name forced Hamas to sabotage the deal. It can be assumed that Syria and Iran are the other parties, the two countries having signed a military cooperation agreement last month that Syria's defense minister described as establishing ``a joint front against Israel."

Knowing that Iran is behind Hezbollah's act of war, Israeli leaders -- who are openly warning of devastating strikes on Lebanon's infrastructure -- would be well advised to avoid a reflexive military response that lands Israel in an Iranian trap. If the regime in Tehran wants to provoke Israel to bomb Lebanese power plants, roads, and bridges, maybe this kind of military retaliation is not such a good idea.
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.

[American Patriot]

US Blames Iran, Syria for Hezbollah Attack on Israel
By David Gollust
State Department
12 July 2006


The United States Wednesday demanded the immediate release of two Israeli soldiers captured by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, and said it holds Iran and Syria responsible for the new outburst of Middle East violence. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is telephoning leaders in the region to try to ease the crisis.

The Bush administration is trying to orchestrate pressure on Hezbollah to release the two Israeli soldiers, while also ascribing blame for the latest crisis to Iran and Syria, which have supported the radical Shiite militia in southern Lebanon.

Israel sent ground troops into the region for the first time in six years after Hezbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed several others in an explosion of border attacks.

Hezbollah has maintained control of the area along the Israeli border despite a U.N. Security Council resolution two years ago demanding that it disarm and allow Lebanese government forces to take over.

Both the White House and State Department condemned what they termed unprovoked Hezbollah actions and called for the immediate and unconditional release of the two Israelis.

State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack, as did a White House colleague, cited the past history of support for Hezbollah by Syria and Iran, and said it is time that the Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora faced up to the challenge to the country's sovereignty posed by Hezbollah.

"We would urge the government of Lebanon to speak out about this challenge to their credibility, their sovereignty," said McCormack. "This is a challenge from Hezbollah to the Lebanese people and to the Lebanese government's sovereignty, so we would urge them to speak out about that. We would urge them also to do everything that they can to see that these two soldiers are released immediately and unharmed."

Secretary of State Rice, in Paris for a big-power meeting on Iran's nuclear program, discussed the issue with her foreign minister colleagues, and spoke by telephone with among others Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

In addition, two senior administration envoys, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch and White House Middle East policy chief Elliott Abrams are in the region on a previously-arranged mission and discussed the Lebanese situation Wednesday with officials in Cairo and Amman.

At the United Nations, Israeli Ambasador Dan Gillerman submitted a formal complaint to Secretary-General Annan describing the kidnapping of the two Israelis as an act of war.

He told reporters Israel sees the Lebanese government as the responsible party, given its unmet obligation under Security Council resolution 1559 to take control of the border and prevent such attacks. But the Israeli envoy said Hezbollah's foreign sponsors are also to blame:

"One cannot disregard the blood-stained fingerprints and the twisted minds of Iran and Syria, who are the main perpetrators, harborers, financiers and initiators of terror in this world," said Gillerman. "And what we've seen today is another escalation in the activity of the axis of terror, of Iran, Syria, and the Hezbollah which is threatening not only the stability on the northern border, not only Israel, but the whole region and the world."

Gillerman said Israel will not negotiate with Hebollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, who said in Beirut he would only free the two Israeli soldiers as part of a prisoner swap that could also involve the Israeli soldier held for three weeks by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

In Damascus, Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa denied his country had a role in either the Lebanon or Gaza abductions and blamed Israel for the attacks. Sharaa said Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories provokes the Lebanese and Palestinian people and that is why he said there are resistance groups among both populations.

[American Patriot]

Syria blames Israel for escalation
The Jerusalem Post ^ | Jul. 12, 2006 21:51 | Updated Jul. 12, 2006 22:01 | By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa denied his country had a role in either the Hamas or Hezbollah abductions.

"It's up to the resistance - both the Lebanese and the Palestinian - to decide what they are doing and why are they fighting," al-Sharaa told reporters in Damascus.

But he put ultimate blame on Israel for the seizures of the soldiers, saying, "For sure, the occupation (of the Palestinian territories) is the cause provoking both Lebanese and Palestinian people, and that's why there is Lebanese and Palestinian resistance."

There were also signs that Egypt was growing impatient with Syria in the crisis. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak implicitly accused Damascus of wrecking his attempts to mediate a deal for the release of Cpt. Cpl. Gilad Shalit, snatched by Hamas-linked militants on June 25.

Hamas was subjected to "counter-pressures by other parties, which I don't want to name but which cut the road in front of the Egyptian mediation and led to the failure of the deal after it was about to be concluded," Mubarak told Cairo's Al-Ahram Al-Massai newspaper.

Mubarak spoke by telephone Wedneday with Syrian President Bashar Assad and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora, as well as Jordan's King Abdullah II over the violence. Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit flew to Damascus and met with Assad, the Egyptian news agency said.

Al-Sharaa made the comments at a news conference with Ali Larijani, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, whose country is also a top backer of Hamas and Hezbollah. Larijani was in Damascus for talks with Assad and al-Sharaa.

"When the Zionist entity attacks and slaughters the Palestinian people ... resistance is necessary," Larijani said.

But there were worries in Syria that it could be targeted by Israel. "Everything is possible," said Syrian lawmaker George Jabbour. "Israel could make another mistake now, including an attempt to harass Syria."

Arab countries shared those fears, and the Arab League planned an urgent session on Thursday, a senior league official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"The whole situation is dangerous," Arab League chief Amr Moussa said in Cairo, saying there were talks about holding an emergency gathering of Arab foreign ministers.

Israeli warplanes buzzed Assad's summer residence in the Mediterranean coastal city of Latakia following Shalit's capture - a message that Israel held Syria partly responsible and wanted it to work for his release.

[American Patriot]

Israeli Airforce has hit the Lebanese Airforces -- unsure if this was an attack on planes on the ground or an air battle at this point.

[American Patriot]

IAF threatening to bomb the Damascus-Beirut highway

Bump this confrontation up another notch on the escalation scale if this happens

I just heard here (http://www.infolive.tv/index.php?chgLang=40) that Israel is planning on hitting the road from Beirut to Damascus. Is this a reliable news source?

Edited to say: It IS true...verified here (www.israelnationalnews.com) also:

Excerpt:

The Beirut-Damascus highway is also a target that "will be taken care of," IDF sources said. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=107163

[American Patriot]

Kofi Annan planning on sending a three person team to middle east to "defuse the situation"....

[American Patriot]

JewishWorldReview.com |

Battle Plans

By Yossi Klein Halevi



Israel's next war has begun

JERUSALEM — The next Middle East war — Israel against genocidal Islamism — has begun. The first stage of the war started two weeks ago, with the Israeli incursion into Gaza in response to the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier and the ongoing shelling of Israeli towns and kibbutzim; now, with Hezbollah's latest attack, the war has spread to southern Lebanon. Ultimately, though, Israel's antagonists won't be Hamas and Hezbollah but their patrons, Iran and Syria. The war will go on for months, perhaps several years. There may be lulls in the fighting, perhaps even temporary agreements and prisoner exchanges. But those periods of calm will be mere respites.


The goals of the war should be the destruction of the Hamas regime and the dismantling of the Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Israel cannot coexist with Iranian proxies pressing in on its borders. In particular, allowing Hamas to remain in power — and to run the Palestinian educational system — will mean the end of hopes for Arab-Israeli reconciliation not only in this generation but in the next one too.


For the Israeli right, this is the moment of "We told you so." The fact that the kidnappings and missile attacks have come from southern Lebanon and Gaza — precisely the areas from which Israel has unilaterally withdrawn — is proof, for right-wingers, of the bankruptcy of unilateralism. Yet the right has always misunderstood the meaning of unilateral withdrawal. Those of us who have supported unilateralism didn't expect a quiet border in return for our withdrawal but simply the creation of a border from which we could more vigorously defend ourselves, with greater domestic consensus and international understanding. The anticipated outcome, then, wasn't an illusory peace but a more effective way to fight the war. The question wasn't whether Hamas or Hezbollah would forswear aggression but whether Israel would act with appropriate vigor to their continued aggression.


So it wasn't the rocket attacks that were a blow to the unilateralist camp, but rather Israel's tepid responses to those attacks. If unilateralists made a mistake, it was in believing our political leaders — including Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert — when they promised a policy of zero tolerance against any attacks emanating from Gaza after Israel's withdrawal. That policy was not implemented — until two weeks ago. Now, belatedly, the Olmert government is trying to regain something of its lost credibility, and that is the real meaning of this initial phase of the war, both in Gaza and in Lebanon.


Still, many in Israel believe that, even now, the government is acting with excessive restraint. One centrist friend of mine, an Olmert voter, said to me, "If we had assassinated [Hamas leader] Haniyeh after the first kidnapping, [Hezbollah leader] Nasrallah would have thought twice about ordering another kidnapping." Israel, then, isn't paying for the failure of unilateral withdrawal, but for the failure to fulfill its promise to seriously respond to provocations after withdrawal.


Absurdly, despite Israel's withdrawal to the international borders with Lebanon and Gaza, much of the international community still sees the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers as a legitimate act of war: Just as Israel holds Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners, so Hamas and Hezbollah now hold Israeli prisoners. One difference, though, is that inmates in Israeli jails receive visits from family and Red Cross representatives, while Israeli prisoners in Gaza and Lebanon disappear into oblivion. Like Israeli pilot Ron Arad, who was captured by Hezbollah 20 years ago, then sold to Iran, and whose fate has never been determined. That is one reason why Israelis are so maddened by the kidnapping of their soldiers.


Another reason is the nature of the crimes committed by the prisoners whose release is being demanded by Hezbollah and Hamas. One of them is Samir Kuntar, a PLO terrorist who in 1979 broke into an apartment in the northern Israeli town of Nahariya, took a father and child hostage, and smashed the child's head against a rock. In the Palestinian Authority, Kuntar is considered a hero, a role model for Palestinian children.


The ultimate threat, though, isn't Hezbollah or Hamas but Iran. And as Iran draws closer to nuclear capability — which the Israeli intelligence community believes could happen this year — an Israeli-Iranian showdown becomes increasingly likely. According to a very senior military source with whom I've spoken, Israel is still hoping that an international effort will stop a nuclear Iran; if that fails, then Israel is hoping for an American attack. But if the Bush administration is too weakened to take on Iran, then, as a last resort, Israel will have to act unilaterally. And, added the source, Israel has the operational capability to do so.


For Israelis, that is the worst scenario of all. Except, of course, the scenario of nuclear weapons in the hands of the patron state of Hezbollah and Hamas.

[American Patriot]

War and peace
Jerusalem Post ^ | 7-13-06

Hizbullah and Hamas must be dealt direct, heavy blows from which they will not quickly recover.

An act of war. This is how Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has correctly described the Wednesday morning attacks on soldiers defending Israel's sovereign border in the North. The words may also be applied to the escalating attacks across Israel's sovereign borders in the South. The responsibility of the Israeli government in such circumstances, the responsibility of any government, is to cripple the attackers and to restore security to its people.

Hizbullah on Wednesday killed three IDF soldiers on border patrol and captured two more in an onslaught that included heavy Katyusha and mortar fire. Four more IDF soldiers died when their tank was blown up as the IDF moved into Lebanon in response.

Olmert said, "The events this morning are not terror attacks but actions of a sovereign state that attacked Israel for no reason. The Lebanese government, of which Hizbullah is a member, is trying to undermine regional stability. Lebanon is responsible and it will bear responsibility."

Later, Olmert elaborated on the role of Syria in supporting Hizbullah. Indeed, not only Syria but Iran are also clearly responsible for these attacks, the former by preventing Lebanon from exercising its full sovereignty and the latter as Hizbullah's chief international sponsor. It is inconceivable that Hizbullah would carry out such attacks without the knowledge and acquiescence of the Iranian and Syrian governments, on which it is deeply dependent.

Defending Israel requires both military and diplomatic action. Hizbullah and Hamas must be dealt direct, heavy blows from which they will not quickly recover. The Israeli operation early Wednesday in which chief Hamas terrorist Muhammad Deif was reportedly wounded in Gaza is an example, and it is clear that the IDF's military pressure on Hamas continues to increase.

In the North, Hizbullah's rocket arsenal, army and terrorist training camps in southern Lebanon should be destroyed to the maximum extent possible, within the constraint of Israel's desire not to reoccupy Lebanese territory over an extended period. We can also expect, given Olmert's remarks, that the IDF will strike targets of importance to the Lebanese, and perhaps the Syrian governments.

It is Israel's responsibility to defend itself by destroying the capabilities of its attackers and imposing sufficient costs at all levels of responsibility. The government must also, however, call on the international community to reinforce, rather than undermine, the deterrent effect of such actions.

In the past, the UN Security Council has actually provided a vital incentive to Israel's attackers by standing silent when Israel is attacked and stepping in only to restrain the Israeli response. If the international community wants to prevent future crises, this pattern must be reversed.

The European Union has appropriately called for the immediate release of the IDF soldiers captured by Hizbullah, and it clearly regards this attack as an act of unprovoked aggression.

Israel should quickly demand that this position be expressed in a Security Council resolution condemning the attack and the governments hosting or supporting Hizbullah, demanding the deployment of the Lebanese Army along the border and the dismantling of Hizbullah's army, and supporting Israel's right to self defense. This resolution should also recognize Israel's withdrawal from Gaza of a year ago, thereby explicitly delegitimizing Palestinian attacks launched from the Strip.

The logic of the withdrawal from Lebanon, of last year's disengagement, and of Olmert's planned continuation of that strategy in Judea and Samaria, was and is the same: taking military risks, sometimes severe ones, to improve Israel's international position in a way that deters further attacks against us. If this international support is not forthcoming or is insufficient, as has proven to be the case so far, this strategy will continue to unravel, as we have seen in recent weeks.

Israel should do what it can on its own to restore deterrence and maintain its security. But the international community must also choose whether it wants, by refusing to speak out forcefully and unequivocally against aggression, to lay the groundwork for endless and escalating rounds of attacks. An international community that has continually demanded that Israel take risks for peace must do its part to ensure that Israel's security is increased, not decreased, as a result.

[American Patriot]

Hizbullah: Bomb southern Beirut and we will attack Haifa
Jerusalem Post ^ | 7-13-06 | YAAKOV KATZ AND JPOST.COM STAFF

Hizbullah stronghold is located in Dahiya neighborhood in s. Beirut

Hizbullah warned Israel Thursday afternoon that if the IDF attacked southern Beirut, where the organization's leadership is based, they would target Haifa.

"The Islamic resistance warns against targeting civilians and the infrastructure," a statement read on Hezbollah TV said. "It (resistance) specifically announces that it will quickly shell the city of Haifa and nearby areas if the southern suburbs and the city of Beirut are subjected to any direct Israeli aggression," the statement said.

Israel laid siege Thursday morning to Lebanon, shutting down the country and closing off access by air, land and sea.

IDF navy missile ships were patrolling off the Lebanese coast and preventing ships from entering Lebanon or leaving. Any ships arriving at Lebanese shores were being turned back.

NORTHERN CRISIS: JPOST.COM SPECIAL COVERAGE Comment: An opportunity to restore deterrence Moshav Zar'it heads back to the bomb shelters Analysis: Time for a ground offensive? Analysis: Nasrallah's gamble Analysis: Blaming Beirut, thinking of Damascus and Gaza Eight soldiers killed, 2 kidnapped on northern frontier

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said on Thursday morning that Israel would not allow Hizbullah to return to its positions on Lebanon's southern border. He also demanded that Lebanese forces secure the border, something they have not done to date, during comments made to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

A high-ranking IDF source said that the current operation, dubbed Operation Just Reward, would be "long" and could last up to several months, or "as long as it takes to destroy the Hizbullah's ability to launch attacks against Israel."

The IDF source said the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut, a Hizbullah stronghold, would be targeted if rocket attacks continued to hit Israeli cities.

The source said that all terrorists in Dahiya, including Hizbullah head Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah himself, were fair targets for the IDF. "We will operate against all the terrorists who operate against us," he said, warning that civilians inside Dahiya could also be hurt in a possible IDF strike. Nasrallah's family lived in the Dahiya neighborhood.

Israel warned that any armed person who came within a kilometer of the border with Israel would be fired upon.

The operation comes following a Hizbullah attack on Wednesday on the northern border that killed eight IDF soldiers and left two others in Hizbullah hands.

Al-Jazeera reported Thursday that the soldiers were alive at the time of the kidnapping, according to a Hizbullah source.

They were moved to a nearby mosque immediately after the abduction and then forced to switch clothes and taken by taxi to another location.

Earlier on Thursday morning, Beirut International Airport was struck by an IAF air strike. IDF officers threatened they would bomb additional airports later in the day.

Al-Jazeera television network reported that 15 people were killed in the airstrike.

It was the first time since 1982 that the airport in south Beirut had been hit by Israel. The IDF said that the airport was targeted because it was used by Hizbullah to import weapons. The IAF attack forced the closure of the airport and the diversion of two flights to Cyprus.

The army, the senior IDF source said, took into consideration the possibility that Hizbullah would fire long-range rockets at Israeli cities like Haifa and Hadera, but warned that if such attacks occurred, Israel would strike back hard, dealing a heavy blow to Lebanese government targets. He added that the Lebanese government was responsible for Wednesday's kidnapping attack on the northern border.

"The bottom line is that the Lebanese government is the address, and it needs to take responsibility for what Hizbullah is doing in southern Lebanon," he emphasized.

Since Wednesday, 40 targets have been hit inside Lebanon, including a home in the south that served as a Katyusha launch site. According to the IDF source, at least 30 Hizbullah operatives were killed and over 100 wounded. The attacks took place some 15 kilometers inside Lebanon.

The source said that the IDF's goal "was not to chase after every Katyusha rocket in Hizbullah hands but to hit the terror group hard and to impair its ability to continue to attack Israel."

"We are going to operate differently than we have in the past," he said. "We have a better ability to hit them than they have to hit us."

The IDF, he added, was committed to retrieving the two IDF soldiers kidnapped in Wednesday's attack, but said the current military operation was meant to prevent other terror groups from attempting to kidnap Israeli soldiers in the future. "We will do everything we can to get them home."

Earlier Thursday, IAF jets attacked Hizbullah's Al-Manar television station in the Haret Hreik district of Beirut. The station's manager Abdullah Kassir told Voice of Lebanon radio that one person had been hurt.

Broadcasts were apparently continuing from the station. Hizbullah claimed immediately after the attack that broadcasts would continue from an underground section of the building.

Meeting in emergency session late Wednesday, the Cabinet approved IDF plans to target the airport and other strategic infrastructures inside Lebanon including power plants.

Sgt. Gadi Musayab, 19, from Acre, was the seventh soldier killed Wednesday, it was released for publication Thursday. He was killed when his tank ran over a mine in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the body of one of the four soldiers killed in Wednesday's attack on IDF forces on Israel's northern border was retrieved by the IDF.

The IDF was struggling to evacuate the bodies of the dead soldiers from the Hummers in which they were killed due to ongoing firefights and Katyusha attacks in the area.

The names of six of the eight soldiers killed Wednesday in a Hizbullah attack on IDF forces patrolling the Lebanese border were released for publication Wednesday evening: Sgt. Nimrod Cohen, 19, from Mitzpe Shalem; Sgt.-Major Eyal Benin, 22, of Beersheba and Sgt.-Major Shani Turgeman, 24, of Beit Shean. All the soldiers' families have been notified.

The fourth victim was later identified as Sergeant-Major Wasim Nazel, 27, from the Druze village of Kfar Yanuh. Earlier, Nazel's family was mistakenly informed that he had been kidnapped.

Nazel will be buried Thursday at 2:30 in the military cemetery in Kfar Yanuh.

Banin's funeral will take place at 4 p.m. in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul

Turgeman will be laid to rest at 6 p.m. in the military section of the cemetery in his hometown.

Cohen will also be laid to rest at 6 p.m. in Har Herzl in Jerusalem.

Two of the other soldiers who were killed when the tank in which they were riding drove over an explosive device, were identified as St.-Sgt. Alexei Kashiniervski, 21, from Ness Ziona and Yaniv Bar-On, 19, from Maccabim.

Under heavy fire, IDF forces continued their attempts to reclaim the bodies of the four soldiers who died when their tank was ripped apart by the blast.

AP contributed to this report.

[American Patriot]

Israel Warns Lebanon to Evacuate Suburban Area of Beirut
Focus ^ | 7/13/2006

Beirut. The Israeli army warned authorities in Lebanon to evacuate the citizens of a southern suburban area of Beirut, where the Leader of the Lebanese Shiite Group Hezbollah Saied Hasan Nasrallah is supposed to be living, Reuters reported, citing the Maariv daily.

A representative of the Israeli authorities has said for the newspaper that no one is protected from the attacks of Israel in response to the attacks of Hezbollah.

[American Patriot]

Nasrallah demands prisoners' release
Jerusalem Post ^ | Updated 7/13/6 | JPost.com.staff & AP

Hizbullah's spiritual leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, lauded the Hizbullah for the attack in which seven IDF soldiers were killed and two others kidnapped. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, he warned Israel that the Hizbullah would only release the captives in exchange for security prisoners.

"Our operation succeeded, we have results and honor," the sheikh declared. "We kept our promise to kidnap soldiers [to secure] the release of prisoners, and therefore are calling the attack 'Operation Promise Fulfilled.'"

The Lebanese government later rejected blame for the capture of the two soldiers and distanced itself from the Hizbullah operation on its territory Wednesday.

"The government did not know, and does not bear responsibility nor embrace what happened," Information Minister Ghazi Aridi told reporters after an emergency Cabinet meeting.

Nasrallah warned Israel not to attempt a rescue operation. "If Israel wants to retrieve [the soldiers] through military action, it's deluding itself," he said. "If the goal of this military operation is to free them, it won't work," Nasrallah cautioned.

The Hizbullah leader indicated that his group "might" release details on the kidnapped soldiers. "Maybe we'll release details in later announcements," he said, explaining that the attack was the "only way" to assure that Hizbullah security prisoners in Israel were freed. "It was the natural choice," he declared, adding that Wednesday's attack was "not a surprise to anyone."

"For more than a year, I've been saying that we want to kidnap soldiers in order to exchange prisoners," Nasrallah said. "Every time I said so, Israel went into high alert along the border. We decided to kidnap soldiers in order to end the matter of prisoners," he stated.

According to Nasrallah, other than the Katyusha launches Wednesday morning and the subsequent killing and abduction of soldiers, the Hizbullah has maintained quiet along the border. "We aren't responding [to the Israeli operations]," Nasrallah said.

"Lebanon is under pressure. Pressure from the US, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, foreign embassies. You can imagine the threats. We've stood these threats before. No military action will free the soldiers," Nasrallah reiterated.

Nasrallah maintained that the Hizbullah's goal was ultimately to make peace. "We don't want to drag the region into a war," he said. "We are eager for any opportunity to calm the situation." In fact, Nasrallah added, his organization "had no problem" with a proposed cease-fire. But, he said, "If Israel wants to increase violence, we're ready for a fight."

Turning his attention to the Israeli government, Nasrallah termed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "green," and pointed out that IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz was relatively new in his position. Nasrallah said that they should turn to former Israeli leaders for advice.

"We've been preparing for this since Israel left Lebanon," Nasrallah said. "This isn't the Lebanon [Israel] knew. Our abilities are different, our morale is different," he promised, adding that if "Israel chooses a fight, it should be ready for surprises."

[American Patriot]

Bush defends Israel actions, Russia condemns attacks
Reuters ^

By Kerstin Gehmlich

PARIS (Reuters) - Russia and France condemned Israel's strikes in Lebanon on Thursday as a dangerous escalation of the Middle East conflict but the United States said Israel had the right to defend itself.

President Bush defended Israel's attack on Beirut airport, but warned the Israelis they should be careful not to weaken the fragile Lebanese government.

"Israel has the right to defend herself," Bush told a news conference after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Secondly, whatever Israel does should not weaken the ... government in Lebanon."

Bush and Merkel made clear at a joint news conference they felt Israel's actions in seeking kidnapped soldiers and responding to Hizbollah rocket attacks were justified.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced both Israel's attack on Lebanon and its operations against the Palestinian territories.

"This is a disproportionate response to what has happened and if both sides are going to drive each other into a tight corner then I think that all this will develop in a very dramatic and tragic way," he told reporters on a flight from Paris to Moscow, Interfax news agency reported.

Israel struck Beirut airport and began enforcing a naval blockade of Lebanon on Thursday, intensifying reprisals after Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers and killed eight in cross-border attacks on Wednesday.

The Israeli attacks have killed 52 Lebanese civilians.

"DISPROPORTIONATE"

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy called Israel's bombardment of Beirut airport "a disproportionate act of war", saying there was a real risk of a regional war.

Douste-Blazy also condemned Hizbollah's firing of rockets into northern Israel and the seizure of the soldiers, telling Europe 1 radio these were "irresponsible acts".

"The only solution is a return to reason by both sides," he said. "We are calling for a lowering of tensions."

Hizbollah fired barrages of rockets into towns across northern Israel on Thursday, killing one civilian and wounding 29 others in their heaviest bombardment in a decade.

The violence is the worst between Israel and Lebanon since 1996 when Israeli troops still occupied part of the south.

Bush said there was concern that any activities by Israel to protect herself would weaken the Lebanese government.

"Having said all that, people need to protect themselves. There are terrorists who will blow up innocent people in order to achieve tactical objectives. In this case, the objective is to stop the advance of peace," he added.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair called on all sides in the Middle East crisis to exercise restraint, act proportionately and get back to the negotiating table as soon as possible. Continued...

"Overall, let us remember how these problems have arisen which is first and foremost the kidnappings. We condemn these kidnappings and call for the soldiers involved to be released," Blair's official spokesman said.

[Jag]

Israel Points Finger at Iran, Syria 17:59 Jul 13, '06 / 17 Tammuz 5766

(IsraelNN.com) A senior government official has blamed Syria for providing "shelter and logistical support for Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal" and noted that Iran provides Hizbullah terrorists with funds and weapons. Gideon Meir, Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General for Public Affairs, said that Mashaal commands Arab terrorists in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Mashaal also is involved with the Hizbullah rocket attacks and kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit near Gaza last month and two IDF soldiers abducted Wednesday, Meir added. "For all practical purposes, Hizbullah is merely an arm of the Teheran Jihadist regime," he told reporters Thursday. "Iran has also made considerable inroads of influence into Palestinian terrorist organization, including Fatah's al-Aqsa Brigade and Hamas's Iz a-Din al-Kassam group. It provides their terror cells with funding, technical instruction and operational directives" as part of an effort to destroy the State of Israel.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=107244

Jag

[Sean Osborne]

In northern Israel, 90 civilians injured, one killed, by dozens of Hizballah rockets against towns and communities within a 20-km radius from the border Thursday. The entire region placed on a war footing

July 13, 2006, 5:45 PM (GMT+02:00)

All residents, as far south as Carmiel, Safed, Rosh Pinah and Hatzor ordered to stay in bombs shelters for the second day. A volley of 7 rockets injured 19 civilians in Safed, three seriously, landing on a shopping center, outside City Hall and on a school and causing extensive damage to ancient Galilee town.
Earlier, two Hizballah rocket barrages landed in Nahariya on the western coast, killing a women in her home, injuring eight people. The resort town’s high street, Gaaton Boulevard, took direct hits. Twenty rockets struck the Israeli Air Force intelligence surveillance center on Mt. Meron since early Thursday. No casualties.

The main highways from Acre, Safed and Rosh Pinah heading north are closed to civilian traffic. Also targeted for Hizballah rocket attack: Kiryat Shemona, Rosh Pinah, Mishmar Hayarden, Mahanayim airfield, Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi., Hagoshrim, Majd al-Krum. Some of these locations have never before come under attack.

The Nahariya regional hospital has moved its wards to underground, bombproof facilities. The train service to the town is suspended. Summer schools and camps, also shops, are closed across northern Israel. The education ministry has cancelled all summer school trips to the affected region. Summer schools and camps, also shops, are closed. The education ministry has cancelled school trips to the north.

www.debka.com

[American Patriot]

FOX NEWS: Hezbollah attempting to transfer captured Israeli soldiers to Iran
FOX NEWS

Posted on 07/13/2006 9:22:00 AM MDT by itsinthebag

Developing . . .

That was posted at FR. I did NOT hear this report myself

[Sean Osborne]

Jul. 13, 2006 13:52 | Updated Jul. 13, 2006 18:50
Hizbullah wants soldiers moved to Iran
By YAAKOV KATZ



Israel has information that Hizbullah guerrillas who captured two Israeli soldiers are trying to transfer them to Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said.
Regev did not disclose the source of his information.
The IDF released the names of the two soldiers on Thursday. According to the IDF Spokesperson, the two reserve are Ehud Goldwasser, 31, from Nahariya, and Eldad Regev, 26, from Kiryat Motzkin.
Hizbullah guerrillas, who are backed by Iran, seized the soldiers Wednesday in a cross-border raid.
OC Northern Command Lt.-Gen. Udi Adam said Thursday evening that the army has hit hundreds of targets in Lebanon since Wednesday night.
Adam added that Israel has not ruled out sending ground forces into Lebanon. He told reporters that even Northern Command had come under Katyusha fire during the day.
"I imagine over time that we will be able to rid ourselves of this threat entirely," he said.
Earlier in the day, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz confirmed Thursday that the soldiers who had been kidnapped by Hizbullah a day before were still alive.
"We know the soldiers are alive and we hold the Lebanese government completey responsible," he said during a tour of the North.
Israel was not at war with Lebanon but at a "high volume crisis," he added.
He said that a new reality has been created on the northern border that started yesterday with the deaths of eight soldiers.
The focus of the operation in Lebanon would be to restore Israel's deterrent capability against those in Lebanon, referring to Hizbullah, who thought the IDF was irrelevant, he explained.
"The goal is to create a new reality in the north," Halutz told reporters, "Such attacks will not be tolerated."
Halutz said the north was well protected by shelters but he could not guarantee that Israeli civilians would not be harmed during the current campaign in Lebanon. He also revealed that OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam had set up an investigative committee into Wednesday's kidnapping, which would be headed by a major general.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

[American Patriot]

Iran Denies Israel Fears That Soldiers Head To Iran
Reuters Alertnet ^ | 7/13/06

TEHRAN, July 13 (Reuters) - Iran's Foreign Ministry denied on Thursday Israeli suggestions that Iranian-backed Hizbollah guerrillas could take two captured Israeli soldiers from Lebanon to Iran, saying Jerusalem was "talking absurdities".

"I strongly deny such reports," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. "Because of its desperation and increasing isolation in the world and because of the tension and crisis created inside Israel, it is now talking absurdities."

[Jag]

Breaking.......

Hezbollah fires rockets at Haifa

The militant Lebanese group Hezbollah has fired rockets at the Israeli port city of Haifa, reports say.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
Haifa, Israel's third largest city, is situated more than 30km (18 miles) from the Lebanese border and was thought to be out of Hezbollah's range.
The attack comes as Israel imposes an air and sea blockade on Lebanon, following the capture of two of its soldiers by the militant group.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/mid...st/5178058.stm

[American Patriot]

US Navy moves ship from Haifa Bay
www.jpost.com ^ | Jul. 13, 2006 | JPOST.COM STAFF

Looks like we might expect Hafia to be on the receiving end of some Russian made Hizbullah missiles.

Jul. 13, 2006 18:49 | Updated Jul. 13, 2006 19:08
US Navy moves ship from Haifa Bay
By JPOST.COM STAFF

The US Navy ordered a ship that was docked at Haifa Bay on Thursday to be relocated to a safer place, CNN reported.

The order came as Hizbullah was launching Katyusha rockets into Israel, farther south than they had ever fired in the past. The range of the rockets was reportedly long enough to reach Haifa.