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The US government protects Israel. Simple. Why do I say this?
First, what is "ethnic cleansing"? Let's look at a dictionary definition: "The systematic elimination of an ethnic group or groups from a region or society, as by deportation, forced emigration, or genocide." This is from http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ethnic%20cleansing.
Now, this is what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. They systematically remove them from a region or society, by deportation and force emigration, and occasionally by a bit of slaughtering civilians. Israel also attacks other nations all the time. The United Nations often tries to do something about it, but the USA, (now holding the presidency of the UN Security Council) blocks it every time.
"Eight of the last 10 vetoes at the Security Council have been by the United States, and seven of these have been of draft resolutions criticising the Israeli Government in some way."
Below is a partial list of UN resolutions vetoed by the US since 1972:
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1972 Israel condemned for killing hundreds of people in Syria and Lebanon in air raids.
1973 Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.
1976 Israel condemned for attacking Lebanese civilians and building settlements in the occupied territories. Call for Palestinian self-determination.
1978 Permanent members of the security council to ensure UN decisions on the maintenance of international peace and security. Living conditions of the Palestinians criticised. Israeli human rights record condemned. Developed countries to increase aid to developing countries.
1979 End to all military and nuclear collaboration with apartheid. Arms embargo against South Africa to be strengthened. Support for the oppressed under apartheid.
Cessation of the nuclear arms race. Return of all inhabitants expelled by Israel. Israel to desist from human rights violations. Inquiry into the living conditions of Palestinians in occupied territories. Protection of developing countries' exports. Push to improve human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Opposition to intervention in the internal or external affairs of states. Call for a UN conference on women. Rights of developing countries in multinational trade talks to be safeguarded.
1980 Israel to return displaced persons. Israeli human rights practices in occupied territories condemned. Right of self determination for the Palestinians. Support for the oppressed people of South Africa. New international economic order to promote the growth of underdeveloped countries. Programme of action for UN Decade for Women. Non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states. Development of nations and individuals is a human right. Cessation of all nuclear test explosions. Independence for colonial countries.
1981 Promotion of cooperative movements in developing countries. Right of every state to choose its economic and social system, without outside interference.
Cessation of all test explosions of nuclear weapons. Measures to prevent nuclear war and curb the arms race. Negotiations to prohibit chemical and biological weapons. Education, work, health care, etc, are human rights.
South Africa condemned for attacks on neighbouring states and apartheid. Attempted coup by South Africa in the Seychelles condemned. Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, human rights policies and its bombing of Iraq condemned.
1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon condemned. Shooting of 11 Muslims at a shrine in Jerusalem by an Israeli soldier condemned.
Israel must withdraw from the Golan Heights. Apartheid condemned. Setting up of a world charter for ecological protection.
Support for a new world information and communications order. Prohibition of chemical and bacteriological weapons. Development of international law. Protection against products harmful to health and the environment. Development of energy resources of developing countries.
1983 Fifteen resolutions about apartheid, nuclear arms, economics and international law.
1984 South African policies in Namibia condemned. International action to eliminate apartheid. Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon condemned. Eighteen resolutions about apartheid, nuclear arms, economics, international law.
1985 Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon condemned. Excessive Israeli force in the occupied territories condemned. Three resolutions about cooperation, human rights, trade and development.
Action against Nazi, fascist and neo-fascist activities.
1986 All governments to observe international law.
Economic and military sanctions against South Africa. Israeli actions against Lebanese civilians condemned. Israel to respect Muslim holy places. Israeli sky-jacking of Libyan airliner condemned. Eight resolutions about cooperation, security, human rights, etc.
1987 Israel to abide by the Geneva conventions in its treatment of the Palestinians. Israel to stop deporting Palestinians. Israeli actions in Lebanon condemned. Israel to withdraw its forces from Lebanon. Cooperation between the UN and the League of Arab States. Prevention of international terrorism.
Opposition to the build up of weapons in space. Opposition to the development of new weapons of mass destruction. Opposition to nuclear testing.
Proposal to set up South Atlantic "zone of peace".
1988 Israeli practices against Palestinians in the occupied territories condemned.
1989 US invasion of Panama condemned. US support for the contras in Nicaragua condemned. Illegal US embargo of Nicaragua condemned. Acquisition of territory by force opposed. Resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
1990 UN to send observers to the occupied territories.
1995 Land in east Jerusalem annexed by Israel is occupied territory.
1997 Israel must cease building settlements in east Jerusalem and other occupied territories.
1999 US to end trade embargo on Cuba.
2001 UN to send unarmed monitors to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. UN to set up the international criminal court.
2002 UN to renew the peace keeping mission in Bosnia.
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In December 2002, the US blocked a draft resolution criticising the killing by Israeli forces of several United Nations employees and the destruction of the World Food Programme warehouse in the West Bank.
In total, the US has blocked 36 draft resolutions on Israel.
THE VETO RECORD
USSR/Russia: 120 vetoes. Only two vetoes since the collapse of the Soviet Union
US: 77 vetoes. Blocked 36 resolutions criticising Israel.
UK: 32 vetoes, 23 times with the US. All solo UK vetoes on Zimbabwe
France: 18 vetoes, 13 with the US and UK
China: 5 vetoes
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Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,917834,00.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4629052-103681,00.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2828985.stm
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2828985.stm
http://www.globalpolicy.org/unitedstates/unpolicy/gen2003/0115us.htm
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/veto/2002/1223israel.htm
Well, the USA blocks every attempt by the UN to stop Israel's ethnic cleansing activities (the USA via the UN Security Council uses its veto to block resolutions, and has done so a LOT over the past decade or so), but at least some people out there are taking notice.
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Amnesty blasts Israeli 'war crimes'
By James Gooder
Tuesday 14 October 2003, 2:31 Makka Time, 23:31 GMT
Human rights group Amnesty International has condemned as ???war crimes??? the weekend Israeli raids on the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah that killed eight Palestinians.
Amnesty slammed Israel's use of "disproportionate force" and called for an end to its destruction of homes in the Palestinian territories.
"The repeated practice by the Israeli army of deliberate and wanton destruction of homes and civilian property is a grave violation of international human rights and humanitarian law ... and constitutes a war crime," Amnesty said in a written statement issued in London.
"Amnesty International calls on the Israeli authorities to put an immediate end to the practice of destroying Palestinian homes and other properties, and of using excessive, disproportionate and reckless force against unarmed Palestinians ... which frequently result in the killing and injuring of unarmed civilians, including children," the statement said.
Amnesty also urged Palestinian armed groups to "immediately halt" deliberate killings of Israeli civilians.
Overstretched medics
Eight Palestinians were killed and about 80 injured during the incursion launched on Thursday night which Israel says was aimed at destroying tunnels used to smuggle in weapons from across the border with Egypt.
The assault was likened to the atrocities carried out by the Israelis against Jenin in April 2002 which also brought international condemnation.
The UN assembled a team of inspectors to investigate allegations of war crimes, but Prime Minister Ariel Sharon refused to allow in the United Nations.
In Rafah, one eyewitness described an overstretched hospital struggling to deal with the dead and wounded. His account was received by the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian support group.
???People filled up the hospital and in the morning it was already low on supplies. Nobody could get to the European Gaza hospital, the only decent facility in the area, where (Israeli) tanks had been parked for days not letting anybody out or in,??? the witness said.
???The dead waited in the refrigerators for identification. The beds were overflowing,??? he added.
Another witness told ISM of the Israeli Army???s retreat: ???It left, not through the streets as it had come, but by creating a path through the homes still standing in Yibnah (an area of Rafah).???
Around 1500 people were also left homeless in Rafah refugee camp, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said.
Egypt responds
Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher dismissed Israeli charges that Palestinians were smuggling weapons via tunnels from Egypt as "without foundation."
"These are old and useless allegations that (the Israelis) know very well are without foundation," Maher told reporters when asked about the Israeli army's operations to destroy tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip.
"We already said in the past that Egypt is opposed to arms smuggling operations," Maher said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B6E27ADF-9E5B-45CD-A4CD-403A3BCF3D39.htm
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Basically, letters published in newspapers across the USA supposedly from US soldiers in Iraq, saying how well things are going, are false. They're all the same letter, although supposedly from different soldiers. Yep, that's right, it's more propaganda from the USA government. What a surprise.
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LEDYARD KING GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
The Olympian Online
WASHINGTON -- Letters from hometown soldiers describing their successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours.
And all the letters are the same.
A Gannett News Service search found identical letters from different soldiers with the 2nd Battalion of the 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, also known as "The Rock," in 11 newspapers, including Snohomish, Wash.
The Olympian received two identical letters signed by different hometown soldiers: Spc. Joshua Ackler and Spc. Alex Marois, who is now a sergeant. The paper declined to run either because of a policy not to publish form letters.
The five-paragraph letter talks about the soldiers' efforts to re-establish police and fire departments, and build water and sewer plants in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, where the unit is based.
"The quality of life and security for the citizens has been largely restored, and we are a large part of why that has happened," the letter reads.
It describes people waving at passing troops and children running up to shake their hands and say thank you.
It's not clear who wrote the letter or organized sending it to soldiers' hometown papers.
Six soldiers reached by GNS directly or through their families said they agreed with the letter's thrust. But none of the soldiers said he wrote it, and one said he didn't even sign it.
Marois, 23, told his family he signed the letter, said Moya Marois, his stepmother. But she said he was puzzled why it was sent to the newspaper in Olympia. He attended high school in Olympia but no longer considers the city home, she said. Moya Marois and Alex's father, Les, now live near Kooskia, Idaho.
A seventh soldier didn't know about the letter until his father congratulated him for getting it published in the local newspaper in Beckley, W.Va.
"When I told him he wrote such a good letter, he said: 'What letter?' " Timothy Deaconson said Friday, recalling the phone conversation he had with his son, Nick. "This is just not his (writing) style."
He spoke to his son, Pfc. Nick Deaconson, at a hospital where he was recovering from a grenade explosion that left shrapnel in both his legs.
Sgt. Christopher Shelton, who signed a letter that ran in the Snohomish Herald, said Friday that his platoon sergeant had distributed the letter and asked soldiers for the names of their hometown newspapers. Soldiers were asked to sign the letter if they agreed with it, said Shelton, whose shoulder was wounded during an ambush earlier this year.
"Everything it said is dead accurate. We've done a really good job," he said by phone from Italy, where he was preparing to return to Iraq.
Sgt. Todd Oliver, a spokesman for the 173rd Airborne Brigade, which counts the 503rd as one of its units, said he was told a soldier wrote the letter, but he didn't know who. He said the brigade's public affairs unit was not involved.
"When he asked other soldiers in his unit to sign it, they did," Oliver explained in an e-mail response to a GNS inquiry. "Someone, somewhere along the way, took it upon themselves to mail it to the various editors of newspapers across the country."
Lt. Col. Bill MacDonald, a spokesman for the 4th infantry Division that is heading operations in north-central Iraq, said he had not heard about the letter-writing campaign.
Neither had Lt. Cmdr. Nick Balice, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla.
A recent poll suggests that Americans are increasingly skeptical of America's prolonged involvement in Iraq. A USA Today-CNN-Gallup Poll released Sept. 23 found 50 percent believe that the situation in Iraq was worth going to war over, down from 73 percent in April.
The letter talks about the soldiers' mission, saying, "one thousand of my fellow soldiers and I parachuted from ten jumbo jets." It describes Kirkuk as "a hot and dusty city of just over a million people." It tells about the progress they have made.
"The fruits of all our soldiers' efforts are clearly visible in the streets of Kirkuk today. There is very little trash in the streets, many more people in the markets and shops, and children have returned to school," the letter reads. "I am proud of the work we are doing here in Iraq and I hope all of your readers are as well."
Sgt. Shawn Grueser of Poca, W.Va., said he spoke to a military public affairs officer whose name he couldn't remember about his accomplishments in Iraq for what he thought was a news release to be sent to his hometown paper in Charleston, W.Va. But the 2nd Battalion soldier said he did not sign any letter.
Although Grueser said he agrees with the letter's sentiments, he was uncomfortable that a letter with his signature did not contain his own words or spell out his own accomplishments.
"It makes it look like you cheated on a test, and everybody got the same grade," Grueser said by phone from a base in Italy where he had just arrived from Iraq.
Moya Marois said she is proud of her stepson Alex, the former Olympia resident. But she worries that the letter tries to give legitimacy to a war she doesn't think was justified.
"We're going to support our son," she said. But "there are a lot of Americans that are not in support of this war that would like to see them returned home, and think it's going to get worse."
????????2003 The Olympian
http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20031011/frontpage/121390.shtml
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A couple more links about this:
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_3249.shtml
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/j101303.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3190934.stm
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,7564343%255E912,00.html
http://www.itv.com/news/957403.html
More news from the powderkeg...
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Disaster zone declared after Israeli raid
From correspondents in Rafah
October 13, 2003
THE governor of the southern Gaza town of Rafah declared the area a disaster zone yesterday following a major raid by Israeli forces that killed eight Palestinians and left hundreds homeless.
Palestinian security sources and an AFP correspondent witnessed about 40 tanks pulling out of the area on Saturday night.
Although an Israeli military source confirmed the withdrawal, he hinted it was only temporary.
The operation to destroy weapons-smuggling tunnels snaking under the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt would "continue as long as is necessary", he said.
Despite the pullback, medical sources said six more Palestinians were moderately injured by Israeli gunfire yesterday, as troops fired intermittently from the Israeli-controlled border area to which they retreated.
"We announce Rafah is a city of disaster," said Rafah Governor Majid al-Ghal, pointing out that at least 100 houses had been destroyed during the operation.
"They have destroyed the roads, the water supplies, sewage, telephones, electricity."
A local source for the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights also said "at least 100 houses" had been destroyed.
Peter Hansen, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency, said about 1500 people had been left homeless as a result of the operation.
"We have had very, very significant damage to the refugee camp," he said.
"It would appear between 100 and 120 shelters/houses were completely destroyed or demolished ... If these initial estimates are correct, it will mean we will have some 1500 persons added to the homeless roll in Rafah."
An Israeli source said the figures were "definitely exaggerated" and that only "around 10 houses" under which the tunnels ran had been destroyed.
Other houses could have been damaged when the tunnels collapsed, or when mortar shells fired by the Palestinians themselves went awry.
"During the intensive fighting, they fired literally dozens of anti-tank missiles," said the Israeli source. "All of this weaponry had to hit something."
Governor Ghal was deeply sceptical the aim of the operation was merely to destroy the tunnels.
"They want a buffer zone near the border. The subject of tunnels is a false accusation and a lie. Why destroy trees, agricultural land?"
Eight Palestinians were killed, including two children and two teenagers, and about 80 injured during the operation launched on Thursday night in which Israel has managed to locate three tunnels.
In retaliation for the raid, Hamas's armed wing said it fired a makeshift Qassam rocket towards the Israeli town of Sderot. The rocket caused no damage or injuries.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian militant was shot dead late Saturday by Israeli soldiers near the Jewish settlement of Morag in southern Gaza while trying to place an explosive device outside the fence.
He and two others were spotted in an area off-limits to Palestinians, so troops opened fire hitting one of them, military sources said.
The leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine announced by loudspeaker in Rafah that one of its fighters had been killed in the incident, witnesses said.
Further north, two Palestinians were wounded by Israeli gunfire in Khan Yunis, Palestinian medical sources said. A four-year-old girl was said to be in critical condition after being hit in the neck by a bullet.
Palestinian security sources said troops began shooting after militants fired a mortar shell toward the Jewish settlement of Ganei Tal.
Troops were also active in the northern West Bank late Sunday, with around 15 tanks and jeeps pushing into the town of Kafr Rai just south of Jenin, witnesses said.
The forces converged on five houses in the town and arrested 10 people, security sources said.
Agence France-Presse
http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7543145%255E401,00.html
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A story I saw recently on a documentary on SBS.
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Israel ignores UK family's call for truth
By Lawrence Smallman
Sunday 12 October 2003, 23:04 Makka Time, 20:04 GMT
A British family's quest for the truth over the shooting of their son is being stonewalled by Israel.
That is the accusation being laid by the family of peace activist Tom Hurndall who was shot in the head as he tried to rescue a group of terrified children.
They say Israel has continued to ignore their request for justice after an official government report into the shooting of peace activist turned out to be full of glaring inaccuracies.
The 21-year-old was shot at by an Israeli sniper in the city of Rafah, Gaza, while he went to the aid of some stranded children in April.
According to eyewitnesses Israeli soldiers were tormenting the children by firing in their direction.
Hurndall now lies in a vegetative state in a British hospital after suffering severe brain damage. He is not expected to recover and the family are now considering ending life support, according to Tom???s sister whom spoke exclusively to Aljazeera.net on Sunday.
The family???s repeated quest for a fully transparent inquiry into the shooting has never been met with a response ??? despite Tom???s parents travelling to Israel in a two-month attempt at getting simple questions answered.
Fabricated report
It has been nearly three months since the results of the family's own investigation were presented to the Judge Advocate General in Israel.
The family investigation included 13 eyewitness testimonies and a substantial body of photographic evidence completely contradicting the findings of a field report provided by the ???Israeli Defence Force??? through the British Embassy in Tel Aviv.
Major differences are stark, almost incredible, said Hurndall's elder sister Sophie. In the report, she says, Israeli occupation forces failed to correctly identify the actual area in which the shooting happened.
The government report also insinuated that Tom himself was dressed in an army uniform, wandering around and shooting at random ??? when in fact witnesses said he was helping children escape being shot by an Israeli soldier in a settlement watchtower.
Letter of protest
Last Friday, six months to the day of the shooting, Tom???s brother and sister, William and Sophie, presented a letter of protest addressed to the Israeli Ambassador to Britain, Zvi Schtauber. He did not accept the letter in person.
The letter expressed the family???s deep distress and disappointment at the lack of progress and government indifference for basic respect for international law.
The Ambassador will be asked to press the relevant authorities in Israel to ensure that there is no further delay in conducting the inquiry.
The distraught family has repeatedly informed the Israeli authorities and the British public the real reason for the shooting.
???Tom was shot through the head in Rafah by an Israeli sniper in a watch tower who was firing on a group of children. He was shot for the simple reason that he was trying to escort them to safety,??? said Sophie.
Searching for truth
Younger brother, Billy, explained why his brother travelled to Gaza in the first place.
???My brother didn???t know anything [about the Palestinian crisis] for sure, so he travelled to Gaza to find the truth.
"He did and he came back a victim of that truth, the truth so barbarically denied by the western media, as men women and children are being slaughtered in Palestine. And I don???t say this because I believe it, but because I have seen it.???
Billy Hurndall travelled to Palestine less than six weeks after his brother was flown home to find out for himself what motivated him and hundreds of other peace activists.
???We are told by our media of suicide bombers killing innocent Israelis, and an occasional retaliatory strike against terrorists.
"Do I need to say anything of the actual reality? I hear nothing of the sadistic and unnecessary constant humiliation, violence and regular, effective executions that have taken Palestinian civilians lives in the thousands and injured or crippled many tens of thousands more.???
There was no one available for a comment from the Israeli Embassy in London on Sunday evening.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EE06A7BC-F8D2-4CE9-8A9F-DC2A62B2C133.htm
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More news from the powderkeg...
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Israeli plans for Iran attack
Sunday 12 October 2003, 21:00 Makka Time, 18:00 GMT
Spy agency Mossad???s plans for a surprise attack on six sites in Iran have gripped the Islamic republic???s media, as have details of Israel???s nuclear capabilities.
Newspapers in Tehran jumped at revelations reported by both the German and American press on Sunday.
The Yediot Aharonot, Maariv and Haaretz dailies all splashed on a Los Angeles Times report that modified US-made cruise missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads on submarines.
This would allow Israel to launch atomic weapons from land, air or sea.
Strike plans prepared
The 3 newspapers also carried reports in Monday's edition of the Germany Der Spiegel magazine that a special Mossad unit received orders 2 months ago to prepare plans for strikes.
Around half a dozen targets in Iran are suspected of being used to prepare nuclear weapons by Tel Aviv.
US-built F-16 fighter bombers could completely destroy the sites, according to Israeli security officials quoted in the German magazine.
Maariv published a map of Iran complete with aerial shots of the suspected nuclear sites.
Yediot even ran a photograph of an Israeli Dauphin submarine, using a graphic to explain how it could sneak up on the enemy and fire its nuclear warheads.
Not the first time
In 1981, Israel bombed the Osirak nuclear power station near Baghdad, smashing former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's nuclear programme, the 3 Israeli papers reminded their readers.
But a similar air attack against Iran would be far riskier.
Its nuclear sites are dotted across vast expanses and Iran's eastern border is 1300km from Israeli air bases, making bombing sorties vulnerable.
Official denial
However, Israeli political sources quoted by Yediot said there is no prospect of military action against Iran at this stage.
One senior official branded the weekend???s press reports ???mere speculation. Israel will not be the first country to introduce nuclear arms to the Middle East, nor the first to use them."
Tel Aviv has neither confirmed nor denied having nuclear arms, but Washington has accepted it as a nuclear power since 1969 and analysts say it has up to 200 sophisticated nuclear weapons.
Honest peace broker
Arab countries have criticised the United States and the United Nations for pressuring Iran to accept even tougher inspections while ignoring the stockpile in Israel, which is not a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has never been inspected.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has imposed a 31 October deadline on Iran to prove it is not secretly developing nuclear weapons and also urged it to suspend enriching uranium, which the United States claims could be used to make nuclear bombs.
In a 1991 documentary on Israeli television, then foreign minister Shimon Peres revealed for the first time that France had agreed to equip Israel with a nuclear capability in 1956.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D8B2E59A-F705-48A7-B6F7-588E9F37B5B9.htm
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Israeli attacks against civilians continue. Savage wankers.
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Many killed in Israeli invasion
Friday 10 October 2003, 15:55 Makka Time, 12:55 GMT
An eight-year-old boy, shot in the head, is the latest casualty in an ongoing Israeli army raid targeting Rafah refugee camp in the occupied Gaza Strip.
Six Palestinians are now dead, including a 12-year-old girl, after elite troops backed by heavy armour stormed the camp overnight.
At least 50 people have so far been wounded.
Fighting erupted as Israel sent dozens of tanks into the Rafah refugee camp early on Friday on a mission, it said, aimed at destroying tunnels Palestinians used to smuggle weapons.
According to Palestinian security officials, among the dead is 23-year-old Muhammad Abd al-Wahaba, a member of Hamas' armed wing.
He was killed when an Israeli Appache fired missiles in the Ybna district demolishing two homes.
The fighting also claimed the life of Nader Abu Taha, a member of Fatah???s military wing al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Included in the wounded are two women, hit while they were in their homes, and a child injured in the back.
The condition of the women is said to be serious.
Witnesses said tanks and other armoured vehicles entered Rafah from two directions.
They were joined by special forces, including engineering units with dogs trained to uncover tunnels. A gunbattle erupted between soldiers and Palestinian fighters.
Residents said the Israelis destroyed three houses near the border and fired machine guns to drive families away from others.
Palestinian medics said over 50 people were wounded, including six hit by rockets fired from Israeli helicopters.
An Israeli army spokesman said a soldier was slightly wounded in the eye by shrapnel from an explosive.
The Israeli general said the raid would go on "for as long as we need to find and liquidate the tunnels," some of which he said were used to smuggle weapons into Israel to attack civilians.
But after more than seven hours fighting, none of an estimated dozen tunnels being sought had been located, an officer in the field told Reuters.
Israel has mounted dozens of invasions during the conflict, including several in recent weeks, turning the Rafah refugee camp into a battlefield.
On Thursday Israel's Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered a special call-up of four reserve battalions, roughly 1000 soldiers, to patrol Palestinian areas.
The call-up followed the earlier deployment of two battalions of soldiers to the West Bank and Gaza. Israel also cancelled leave and training courses and ordered the continuation of a strict lockdown preventing Palestinians from travelling within the Palestinian territories.
Arafat notified
Aides said Palestinian President Yasir Arafat received reports about the Rafah invasion and went to bed at 02:30am on Friday (00:30 GMT). They denied rumours that he was seriously ill.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Palestinian politics were in turmoil after the legislature on Thursday failed to vote approval of the emergency Cabinet appointed by Yasir Arafat, leading new Prime Minister Ahmad Quraya to indicate he no longer wants the job.
In a heated closed-door meeting at Arafat's headquarters in the West Bank town of Ram Allah, Quraya suggested he no longer wanted to be prime minister, just four days after taking office, officials said.
His predecessor, Mahmud Abbas, left office blaming the lack of support from Israel, and after losing a power struggle with Arafat.
Attacks
Violence continued on Thursday in the West Bank when a human bomber detonated explosives at an Israeli army base, killing himself and injuring two Israeli soldiers and a Palestinian.
Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack and identified the bomber as Ahmad Safadi, an 18-year-old high school student from the village of Oref south of Nablus. It had earlier been thought that the attacker was a female.
Restrictions barring Palestinians from entering Israel and preventing many from leaving their towns have been tight since an Islamic Jihad bomber blew up a restaurant in the port city of Haifa on Saturday.
On Thursday, a woman wounded in the attack died in a Haifa hospital, bringing the toll to 20, hospital officials said.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/67979658-79FE-4CD1-83A4-7D378A081848.htm
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Last year, the Nobel prize bunch gave the peace prize to Jimmy Carter, former president of the USA and a man openly against president Bush's agression. Carter had been travelling around trying to talk sense into people, objecting to Bush's insane propaganda and war-mongering. So the Nobel bunch gave him the prize as a sort of public slap in the face to Bush. This year, 2003, they've given it to an Iranian human rights activist. Funny, since Bush has recently been threatening Iran, just as they threatened Iraq prior to invading there. So, yet another public slap in the face to Bush the savage.
Bravo.
Interesting figures...
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Hospital beds:
Before sanctions: 1.9/100
After sanctions: 1.4/100
Life expectancy:
Before sanctions: 65 years
After sanctions: 59 years
Infant mortality:
Before sanctions: 80/1000
After sanctions: 104/1000
Adult literacy rate:
Before sanctions: 89%
After sanctions: 58%
Student enrollment:
Before sanctions:
Primary School: 99%
Secondary School: 47%
Number of School Buildings: 9460
After sanctions:
Primary School: 80%
Secondary School: 31%
Number of School Buildings: 7572
Education status:
Before sanctions: Public education was free and compulsory at all levels.
After sanctions: UNICEF estimated that only 10% of Iraq's needs for education could be met by the Oil for Food Programme.
Calory intake:
Before sanctions: 3400 calories per day (The highest in the region at that time)
Two thirds of Iraq's food was imported.
After sanctions: 2268 calories per day
94% of the FAO recommended minimum requirement
Undernourishment:
Before sanctions: 4%
After sanctions: 27%
Access to safe water:
Before sanctions:
Urban: 100%
Rural: 72%
After sanctions:
Urban: 85%
Rural: 48%
Access to sanitation:
Before sanctions:
Urban: 96%
Rural: 18%
After sanctions:
Urban: 79%
Rural: 31%
Electricity
Production:
Before sanctions: Unknown
After sanctions: KWh27.3 billion
Consumption
Before sanctions: Unknown
After sanctions: KWh25.389 billion
Telephone lines in use:
Before sanctions: 462,000
After sanctions: 675,000
Internet service provider
Before sanctions: Unknown
After sanctions: One ISP for 12,500 users
Television & radio
Before sanctions: Unknown
After sanctions: 13 TV broadcast stations, 3 radio stations
(Sources: FAO/UNESCO/WHO/World Bank Data.)
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/34695329-3D30-406E-BFDE-3E44899B7730.htm
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Another news article showing the humanitarian nature of Israel's military.
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Fighting erupted as Israel sent dozens of tanks into the Rafah refugee camp early on Friday on a mission, it said, aimed at destroying tunnels Palestinians used to smuggle weapons.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/67979658-79FE-4CD1-83A4-7D378A081848.htm
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