Gaza under Israeli attack..Security Council emergency meeting --Breaking news

SMITHI

Gaza under Israeli attack: LIVE UPDATES

14 November, 2012,

17:04 GMT: PM Netanyahu & Defense Minister Barak to make a joint statement statement to the Israeli public at 2030.

16:56 GMT: Pentagon: "We stand by our Israeli partners in their right to defend themselves against terrorism”, news agencies report.

16:45 GMT: Big explosion near home of Hamas leader, Mahmood al-Zahar according to Al Arabiya correspondent.

16:40 GMT: Israel has carried out 2 new bombing raids in the Tel el-Hawa and Zetun districts of Gaza city, according to bloggers in Gaza.

embed video
Ambulances rush the insured to hospital in Gaza.

16:38 GMT: UN Chief Ban Ki-moon reiterates call for de-escalation of tensions in Gaza on both sides, spokesman says.
16:32 GMT: Palestinian President Abbas calls for urgent Arab League meeting after Israeli strike on Gaza according to Alarabiya.
16:30 GMT: Britain has called for restraint after Israeli strike on Gaza, saying that further violence was in no one's interests according to Al Arabiya.

16:25 GMT: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood says it "will not allow the Palestinians to be subjected to Israeli aggression".
16:24 GMT: Israel confirms 10 dead in Gaza, reports say.
16:21 GMT: Medical sources in Gaza saying at least 9 dead and 20 wounded.

Palestinians stand next to wounded children at a hospital after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City November 14, 2012. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem)
16:15 GMT: Hamas official: Israel will 'pay a price for this cowardly assassination'.

16:12 GMT: Egypt's FM condemns Israeli strikes on Gaza, and urges Israel to end attacks immediately acording to Al Arabiya.
16:11 GMT: Egypt recalling ambassador to Israel. MB asking to review relationship with Israel, according to blogger Gaza Under Attack.
16:00 GMT:  IDF issues draft orders for Israeli Homefront Command reserve soldiers, according to Haaretz.
15:50 GMT: Haaretz reports that the IDF has hit Rafah again, with the IDF claiming that the strike killed "two terrorists" riding on motorcycles.


Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in the northern Gaza Strip November 14, 2012. (Reuters / Amir Cohen)

Palestinian medics wheel a wounded boy into the al-shifa hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli air strike on November 14, 2012. (AFP Photo/Mahmud Hams)
15:42 GMT: 7 year old Raneen Arafat killed says Al Shifa Hospita, Gaza, according to Palestinian activists.

15:40 GMT: Israel Announces Gaza Invasion Via Twitter, Marks the first time a military campaign goes public via tweet, according to the fast company online magazine.

15:35 GMT: The Israeli army plans to persist with a land and air military operation targeting 'all militants' in Gaza for 72 hours, al-Mayadeen.

15:34 GMT: Iran Condemns Israel's Fresh Strikes on Gaza – Fars News Agency.

15:32 GMT: Israel starts emergency call up of reservists, says they're prepared for ground invasion of Gaza.
15:30 GMT: Palestinian health ministry in Gaza announces death toll so far is 9, including, at least, one kid.
15:25 GMT: Israeli military starts emergency call up of reservists while saying they are prepared for a ground invasion of Gaza.
15:20 GMT: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood calls on Egypt's president to review its relations with Israel following Israel's airstrikes on Gaza
15:15 GMT: Hamas says Israeli Prime Minister Nyetanyahu 'will regret this operation' as Israeli jets bomb over 20 sites in Gaza.

embed video
video courtesy Youtube user Mohammed Sbaita, showing chaos in Gaza.

15:03 GMT :Netanyahu officially announces the military operation against the Palestinian military parties in Gaza

15:01 GMT: Hamas spokesman: "Netanyahu can kill Palestinians but struggle against occupation will continue"
15:00 GMT: Netanyahu: The world must understand that Israel has the right and a total obligation to defend its citizens
14:58 GMT: The IDF has seriously damaged Hamas' long-range missile capabilities (40 km/25 mi range) & underground weapons storage facilities.
14:55 GMT: All options are on the table. If necessary, the IDF is ready to initiate a ground operation in Gaza.
14:53 GMT: IDF is moving army brigades to the South to prepare for a ground assault. Home Front Command meeting for possible attack on Tel Aviv
14:50 GMT: IDF declare the onset of a wide scale air, maritime and land military operation against Gaza.
14:47 GMT: Killing of top Hamas Ahmed Jabari brings Hamas into open war with Israel.
14:40 GMT: The death toll from the Israeli strikes on Gaza has risen to nine.

Palestinian security forces wheel into a hospital the body of Ahmaed Jaabari, head of the military wing of the Hamas movement, the Ezzedin Qassam Brigades, after the car he was riding was hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on November 14, 2012. (Reuters /Mohammed Abed)
14:40 GMT: Explosions rock Gaza as Israeli jets bomb Hamas positions, our correspondent reports.
14:35 GMT: Dozens of injuries in a strike on a HOUSE that belongs to Arafat family. Ambulances haven't arrived there yet.

Palestinian youths look inside a building where the body of Ahmaed Jaabari, head of the military wing of the Hamas movement, the Ezzedin Qassam Brigades, was brought to after the car he was riding was hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on November 14, 2012. (Reuters / Mohammed Abed)
14:20 GMT: Many of the buildings in the downtown Gaza city are on fire after being attacked by Israeli warplanes, RT`s Arabic correspondent Saed Swerky reports in his Twitter.

embed video
Video from the IDF showing attack itself on Ahmed Jabari

13:45 GMT: The IDF stated on its website that it has launched a
"widespread campaign on terror sites and operatives in the Gaza Strip" and Jabari was its first target.  He's the highest ranking Hamas official to be killed since 2009, when Israel conducted ground offensive against Gaza.
13:35  GMT: The crackdown follows the recent escalation of violence in the region. The conflict broke out last week when Palestinian militants attacked at an Israeli military jeep.

Israel responded with retaliatory attacks, to which the Gaza Strip replied with heavy rocket fire at southern Israel.
13:30 GMT: Jabari was traveling in his vehicle in Gaza City when his car was struck.


A Hamas policeman checks a destroyed car of Hamas's military chief following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City November 14, 2012. (Reuters / Mohammed Salem)
13:25  GMT: The head of Hamas’ military wing, Ahmed Jabari, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike, both Hamas and Israel confirm, as the IDF announces a widespread campaign on “terror targets” and begins bombing the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian firefighters extinguish fire from the car of Ahmaed Jaabari, head of the military wing of the Hamas movement, the Ezzedin Qassam Brigades, after it was hit by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on November 14, 2012. (AFP Photo / Mahmud Hams

SMITHI

A list of UN Resolutions against "Israel"

Date: 8, September 03,
Here is a list of UN resolutions that Israel ....... This collection of resolutions criticizing Israel is unmatched by the record of any other nation as Israel stands in violation of more UN resolutions than ANY OTHER NATION ON EARTH.

A list of UN Resolutions against "Israel" 1955-1992: *
Resolution 106: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for Gaza raid". *
Resolution 111: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for raid on Syria that killed fifty-six people". * Resolution 127: " . . . 'recommends' Israel suspends it's 'no-man's zone' in Jerusalem". *
Resolution 162: " . . . 'urges' Israel to comply with UN decisions". *
Resolution 171: " . . . determines flagrant violations' by Israel in its attack on Syria". Resolution 228: " . . . 'censures' Israel for its attack on Samu in the West Bank, then under Jordanian control". *
Resolution 237: " . . . 'urges' Israel to allow return of new 1967 Palestinian refugees". Resolution 248: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for its massive attack on Karameh in Jordan". *
Resolution 250: " . . . 'calls' on Israel to refrain from holding military parade in Jerusalem". *
Resolution 251: " . . . 'deeply deplores' Israeli military parade in Jerusalem in defiance of Resolution 250". *
Resolution 252: " . . . 'declares invalid' Israel's acts to unify Jerusalem as Jewish capital". *
Resolution 256: " . . . 'condemns' Israeli raids on Jordan as 'flagrant violation". * Resolution 259: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's refusal to accept UN mission to probe occupation". *
Resolution 262: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for attack on Beirut airport". *
Resolution 265: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for air attacks for Salt in Jordan". * Resolution 267: " . . . 'censures' Israel for administrative acts to change the status of Jerusalem". *
Resolution 270: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for air attacks on villages in southern Lebanon". *
Resolution 271: " . . . 'condemns' Israel's failure to obey UN resolutions on Jerusalem". *
Resolution 279: " . . . 'demands' withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon". * Resolution 280: " . . . 'condemns' Israeli's attacks against Lebanon". *
Resolution 285: " . . . 'demands' immediate Israeli withdrawal form Lebanon". * Resolution 298: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's changing of the status of Jerusalem". * Resolution 313: " . . . 'demands' that Israel stop attacks against Lebanon". * Resolution 316: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for repeated attacks on Lebanon". * Resolution 317: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's refusal to release Arabs abducted in Lebanon". *
Resolution 332: " . . . 'condemns' Israel's repeated attacks against Lebanon". * Resolution 337: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for violating Lebanon's sovereignty". * Resolution 347: " . . . 'condemns' Israeli attacks on Lebanon". *
Resolution 425: " . . . 'calls' on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon". * Resolution 427: " . . . 'calls' on Israel to complete its withdrawal from Lebanon. * Resolution 444: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's lack of cooperation with UN peacekeeping forces". *
Resolution 446: " . . . 'determines' that Israeli settlements are a 'serious obstruction' to peace and calls on Israel to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention". *
Resolution 450: " . . . 'calls' on Israel to stop attacking Lebanon". *
Resolution 452: " . . . 'calls' on Israel to cease building settlements in occupied territories". *
Resolution 465: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's settlements and asks all member states not to assist Israel's settlements program". *
Resolution 467: " . . . 'strongly deplores' Israel's military intervention in Lebanon". * Resolution 468: " . . . 'calls' on Israel to rescind illegal expulsions of two Palestinian mayors and a judge and to facilitate their return". *
Resolution 469: " . . . 'strongly deplores' Israel's failure to observe the council's order not to deport Palestinians". *
Resolution 471: " . . . 'expresses deep concern' at Israel's failure to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention". *
Resolution 476: " . . . 'reiterates' that Israel's claim to Jerusalem are 'null and void'". * Resolution 478: " . . . 'censures (Israel) in the strongest terms' for its claim to Jerusalem in its 'Basic Law'". *
Resolution 484: " . . . 'declares it imperative' that Israel re- admit two deported Palestinian mayors". *
Resolution 487: " . . . 'strongly condemns' Israel for its attack on Iraq's nuclear facility". *
Resolution 497: " . . . 'decides' that Israel's annexation of Syria's Golan Heights is 'null and void' and demands that Israel rescinds its decision forthwith". *
Resolution 498: " . . . 'calls' on Israel to withdraw from Lebanon". *
Resolution 501: " . . . 'calls' on Israel to stop attacks against Lebanon and withdraw its troops". *
Resolution 509: " . . . 'demands' that Israel withdraw its forces forthwith and unconditionally from Lebanon". *
Resolution 515: " . . . 'demands' that Israel lift its siege of Beirut and allow food supplies to be brought in". *
Resolution 517: " . . . 'censures' Israel for failing to obey UN resolutions and demands that Israel withdraw its forces from Lebanon". *
Resolution 518: " . . . 'demands' that Israel cooperate fully with UN forces in Lebanon". *
Resolution 520: " . . . 'condemns' Israel's attack into West Beirut". *
Resolution 573: " . . . 'condemns' Israel 'vigorously' for bombing Tunisia in attack on PLO headquarters. *
Resolution 587: " . . . 'takes note' of previous calls on Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon and urges all parties to withdraw". *
Resolution 592: " . . . 'strongly deplores' the killing of Palestinian students at Bir Zeit University by Israeli troops". *
Resolution 605: " . . . 'strongly deplores' Israel's policies and practices denying the human rights of Palestinians. *
Resolution 607: " . . . 'calls' on Israel not to deport Palestinians and strongly requests it to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention. *
Resolution 608: " . . . 'deeply regrets' that Israel has defied the United Nations and deported Palestinian civilians". *
Resolution 636: " . . . 'deeply regrets' Israeli deportation of Palestinian civilians. * Resolution 641: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's continuing deportation of Palestinians. * Resolution 672: " . . . 'condemns' Israel for violence against Palestinians at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount. *
Resolution 673: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's refusal to cooperate with the United Nations. Resolution 681: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's resumption of the deportation of Palestinians. * Resolution 694: " . . . 'deplores' Israel's deportation of Palestinians and calls on it to ensure their safe and immediate return. *
Resolution 726: " . . . 'strongly condemns' Israel's deportation of Palestinians. * Resolution 799: ". . . 'strongly condemns' Israel's deportation of 413 Palestinians and calls for there immediate return.

1993 to 1995UNGA Res 50/21 - The Middle East Peace Process (Dec 12, 1995) UNGA Res 50/22 - The Situation in the Middle East (Dec 12, 1995) UNGA Res 49/35 - Assistance to Palestinian Refugees (Jan 30 1995) lUNGA Res 49/36 - Human Rights of Palestinian Refugees (Jan 30 1995) UNGA Res 49/62 - Question of Palestine (Feb 3 1995) UNGA Res 49/78 - Nuclear Proliferation in Mideast (Jan 11 1995) UNGA Res 49/87 - Situation in the Middle East (Feb 7 1995) UNGA Res 49/88 - The Middle East Peace Process (Feb 7 1995) UNGA Res 49/149- Palestinian Right- Self-Determination (Feb 7 1995) UNGA Res 48/213 - Assistance to Palestinian Refugees (Mar 15, 1994) UNGA Res 48/40 - UNRWA for Palestinian Refugees (Dec 13, 1993) UNGA Res 48/41 - Human Rights in the Territories (Dec 10 1993) UNGA Res 48/58 - The Middle East Peace Process (Dec 14 1993) UNGA Res 48/59 - The Situation in the Middle East (Dec 14 1993) UNGA Res 48/71 - Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Mideast (Dec 16 1993) UNGA Res 48/78 - Israeli Nuclear Armament (Dec 16 1993) UNGA Res 48/94 - Self-Determination & Independence (Dec 20 1993) UNGA Res 48/124- Non-interference in Elections (Dec 20 1993) UNGA Res 48/158- Question of Palestine (Dec 20 1993) UNGA Res 48/212- Repercussions of Israeli Settlements (Dec 21 1993) ==========+++===========

SMITHI

U.S. Vetoes of UN Resolutions Critical of Israel (1972-2002)
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Vetoes: 1972-1982 Subject Date & Meeting US Rep Casting Veto Vote Palestine: Syrian-Lebanese Complaint. 3 power draft resolution 2/10784 9/10/1972 Bush 13-1, 1 Palestine: Examination of Middle East Situation. 8-power draft resolution (S/10974) 7/2/1973 Scali 13-1, 0 (China not partic.) Palestine: Egyptian-Lebanese Complaint. 5-power draft power resolution (S/11898) 12/8/1975 Moynihan 13-1, 1 Palestine: Middle East Problem, including Palestinian question. 6- power draft resolution (S/11940) 1/26/1976 Moynihan 9-1,3 (China & Libya not partic.) Palestine: Situation in Occupied Arab Territories. 5-power draft resolution (S/12022) 3/25/1976 Scranton 14-1,0 Palestine: Report on Committee on Rights of Palestinian People. 4- power draft resolution (S/121119) 6/29/1976 Sherer 10-1,4 Palestine: Palestinian Rights. Tunisian draft resolution. (S/13911) 4/30/1980 McHenry 10-1,4 Palestine: Golan Heights. Jordan draft resolution. (S/14832/Rev. 2) 1/20/1982 Kirkpatrick 9-1,5 Palestine: Situation in Occupied Territories, Jordan draft resolution (S/14943) 4/2/1982 Lichenstein 13-1,1 Palestine: Incident at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. 4-power draft resolution 4/20/1982 Kirpatrick 14-1, 0 Palestine: Conflict in Lebanon. Spain draft resolution. (S/15185) 6/8/1982 Kirpatrick 14-1,0 Palestine: Conflict in Lebanon. France draft resolution. (S/15255/Rev. 2) 6/26/1982 Lichenstein 14-1 Palestine: Conflict in Lebanon. USSR draft resolution. (S/15347/Rev. 1, as orally amended) 8/6/1982 Lichenstein 11-1,3 Palestine: Situation in Occupied Territories, 20-power draft resolution (S/15895) 8/2/1983 Lichenstein 13-1,1 Security Council Vetoes/Negative voting 1983-present Subject Date Vote Occupied Arab Territories: Wholesale condemnation of Israeli settlement policies - not adopted 1983 S. Lebanon: Condemns Israeli action in southern Lebanon. S/16732 9/6/1984 Vetoed: 13-1 (U.S.), with 1 abstention (UK) Occupied Territories: Deplores "repressive measures" by Israel against Arab population. S/19459. 9/13/1985 Vetoed: 10-1 (U.S.), with 4 abstentions (Australia, Denmark, UK, France) Lebanon: Condemns Israeli practices against civilians in southern Lebanon. S/17000. 3/12/1985 Vetoed: 11-1 (U.S.), with 3 abstentions (Australia, Denmark, UK) Occupied Territories: Calls upon Israel to respect Muslim holy places. S/17769/Rev. 1 1/30/1986 Vetoed: 13-1 (US), with one abstention (Thailand) Lebanon: Condemns Israeli practices against civilians in southern Lebanon. S/17730/Rev. 2. 1/17/1986 Vetoed: 11-1 (U.S.), with 3 abstentions (Australia, Denmark, UK) Libya/Israel: Condemns Israeli interception of Libyan plane. S/17796/Rev. 1. 2/6/1986 Vetoed: 10 -1 (US), with 4 abstentions (Australia, Denmark, France, UK) Lebanon: Draft strongly deplored repeated Israeli attacks against Lebanese territory and other measures and practices against the civilian population; (S/19434) 1/18/1988 vetoed 13-1 (US), with 1 abstention (UK) Lebanon: Draft condemned recent invasion by Israeli forces of Southern Lebanon and repeated a call for the immediate withdrawal of all Israeli forces from Lebanese territory; (S/19868) 5/10/1988 vetoed 14-1 (US) Lebanon: Draft strongly deplored the recent Israeli attack against Lebanese territory on 9 December 1988; (S/20322) 12/14/1988 vetoed 14-1 (US) Occupied territories: Draft called on Israel to accept de jure applicability of the 4th Geneva Convention; (S/19466) 1988 vetoed 14-1 (US) Occupied territories: Draft urged Israel to abide by the Fourth Geneva Convention, rescind the order to deport Palestinian civilians, and condemned policies and practices of Israel that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories; (S/19780) 1988 vetoed 14-1 (US) Occupied territories: Strongly deplored Israeli policies and practices in the occupied territories, and strongly deplored also Israel's continued disregard of relevant Security Council decisions. 2/17/1989 Vetoed 14-1 (US) Occupied territories: Condemned Israeli policies and practices in the occupied territories. 6/9/1989 Vetoed 14-1 (US) Occupied territories: Deplored Israel's policies and practices in the occupied territories. 11/7/1989 Vetoed 14-1 (US) Occupied territories: NAM draft resolution to create a commission and send three security council members to Rishon Lezion, where an Israeli gunmen shot down seven Palestinian workers. 5/31/1990 Vetoed 14-1 (US) Middle East: Confirms that the expropriation of land by Israel in East Jerusalem is invalid and in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions and provisions of the Fourth Geneva convention; expresses support of peace process, including the Declaration of Principles of 9/13/1993 5/17/1995 Vetoed 14-1 (US) Middle East: Calls upon Israeli authorities to refrain from all actions or measures, including settlement activities. 3/7/1997 Vetoed 14-1 (US) Middle East: Demands that Israel cease construction of the settlement in east Jerusalem (called Jabal Abu Ghneim by the Palestinians and Har Homa by Israel), as well as all the other Israeli settlement activity in the occupied territories 3/21/1997 Vetoed 13-1,1 (US) Call for UN Observers Force in West Bank, Gaza 3/27/2001 Vetoed 9-1 (US), with four abstentions (Britain, France, Ireland and Norway) Condemned acts of terror, demanded an end to violence and the establishment of a monitoring mechanism to bring in observers. 12/15/2001 Vetoed 12-1 (US) with two abstentions (Britain and Norway) Source: U.S. State Department

SMITHI

International reaction to Gaza violence

Al Jazeera

Reactions regarding Israel's assassination of Hamas's military chief and the flare-up of violence in the Gaza Strip. Last Modified: 14 Nov 2012

Israel launched a major offensive against Palestinian fighters in Gaza on Wednesday [Reuters]

An Israeli air strike on a car in Gaza City has killed Hamas military commander Ahmad Jabari and his bodyguard, the Hamas interior ministry says. Five other Palestinians died in a wave of air strikes on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, it said. "The Israeli occupation has carried out more than 20 air strikes on targets and headquarters of the police and security in the Gaza Strip. So far, six people have been killed, including commander Ahmad Jabari," interior ministry spokesman Islam Shahwan said. Below are reactions from across the world on the assassination and the subsequent air strikes. United Nations UN chief Ban Ki-moon called on Israel and Hamas fighters to prevent an escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip, and urged both sides to ensure civilians will be protected, a UN spokesman said. "The Secretary-General calls for an immediate de-escalation of tensions," UN spokesman Martin Nesirky said, adding that it was a reiteration of Ban's already-stated position. "Both sides should do everything to avoid further escalation and they must respect their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure the protection of civilians at all times," he told reporters. Egypt Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohammed Kamel Amr condemned the Israeli air strikes that killed Jabari and called for an "immediate stop" to attacks on the Palestinian territory. Amr, in a statement, warned Israel against any "escalation and its possible negative effects on regional stability". President Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement, meanwhile, urged Arabs to boycott Israel, while the movement's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) warned that Egypt would no longer stand by as Palestinians come under attack. The FJP said the air strikes that killed Jabari in Gaza required "swift Arab and international action to stop the massacres". Israel "must take into account the changes in the Arab region and especially Egypt," it said. Egypt "will not allow the Palestinians to be subjected to Israeli aggression, as in the past". Morsi, a vociferous supporter of the Palestinians before his election triumph in June, had been expected to lift a blockage of the Gaza Strip which borders Egypt, but his government has backed off from his pledges. The Brotherhood, which has close ties with Hamas, called for an "economic boycott" and a public awareness campaign "to support the choice of resistance". Qatar Qatari Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani condemned the attacks in the Gaza Strip and said they should not go unpunished. "I condemn in the name of Qatar... This filthy crime must not pass without a punishment," he told journalists after a meeting in the Saudi capital between Gulf Co-operation Council Foreign Ministers and their Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss Syria. "The UN Security Council must shoulder its responsibilities in preserving peace and security in the world." United Kingdom Britain called for restraint, saying that further violence was in no one's interests. "We are aware of reports of the death of the senior Hamas commander Ahmed Jabari," the Foreign Office said in a message posted on Twitter. "We continue to call on all sides to exercise restraint to prevent a dangerous escalation that would be in no one's interests." British Foreign Secretary William Hague had warned at an EU-Arab League meeting in Cairo on Tuesday that the world was "in danger of sleep walking into a serious crisis" if there was no progress on the stalled Middle East peace process. United States The United States threw its weight behind Israel after it launched a barrage of air strikes on the Gaza Strip, and condemned Palestinian militant rocket attacks on southern Israel. "We support Israel's right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. "We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence," he added. "There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel," Toner said in his statement, calling on them "to stop these cowardly acts immediately." "Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that is counterproductive to the Palestinian cause," he added. "Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza or to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination."

SMITHI

Press TV

Palestinian rocket kills 3 in southern Israel



Thu Nov 15, 2012

At least three Israelis have been killed after a Palestinian rocket hit a factory in the southern city of Ashkelon, Israeli TV says.

SMITHI

Egypt recalls ambassador from Israel, calls for emergency UNSC meeting

15 November, 2012,

Egypt recalled its ambassador from Israel after the country announced a operation against "terror targets" and started bombing Gaza. Cairo ordered Egypt’s UN representative to call for an emergency meeting over Israel’s intensifying military campaign.
Following the decision to recall the country’s ambassador on Wednesday, Egyptian presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said Cairo had asked the Arab League's Secretary General to convene an emergency ministerial meeting in response to a series of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza strip. The Arab League announced it would hold an urgent meeting Saturday in light of Wednesday's events.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr condemned the attacks which resulted in the death of Hamas military chief Ahmed Jaabari and at least nine others – including two children.

Amr called on “Israel to stop its strikes on Gaza Strip immediately,” saying any escalation from Israel “could have negative repercussions on the security and stability of the region.”

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi summoned the Israeli ambassador in Cairo shortly before recalling the country’s ambassador from Tel Aviv.

After calling for an  an immediate cease fire between Israel and Hamas, Morsi ordered Egypt’s UN representative to call for an emergency meeting at the UN Security Council over the intensifying Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Egypt’s government is currently dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, a movement which spawned the Islamic resistance group Hamas.
Prior to the fall of Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had been a longtime mediator between Israel and Hamas. The political ascendency of the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)– which Morsi headed up before being sworn in as President – has increasingly put Israel and Egypt at loggerheads.
On Wednesday, the FJP said the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza would require “swift Arab and international action to stop the massacres,” Al Arabiya cites them as saying. Warning that Israel must bear in mind regional changes following the Arab Spring, the FJP vowed Egypt “will not allow the Palestinians to be subjected to Israeli aggression, as in the past.”

The leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip implored Arab states – Egypt in particular – to come to the defense of the Palestinians.
“We call on our Arab brothers, and especially Egypt … and the new Egyptian presidency, to suppress this barbaric campaign in defense of Gaza and its people,” Ismail Haniyeh said in a statement.
Morsi, a staunch supporter of Palestine on the campaign trail, had been expected to open the blockaded Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, though his government did not follow through.
In light of the recent escalation of violence, RT’s Thomas Barton, who is reporting from Tel Aviv, said there is widespread speculation that Egypt might open the Rafah border crossing so that Palestinian civilians could get out of Gaza and Muslim Brotherhood fighters could get in.

Kbay

Hamas support the regime changes in Arab states.
THe USA, UK, France and Israel supports regime change in Arab states.

China support dumb Arabs sorting out their own affair. They are beyond help.

Kbay

The Arab's tribal and uncivilise mentality will bring their down fall.
China will be wise to side with Israel.