I-66 Iran seeks condemnation of Israeli nukes

Iran seeks condemnation of Israeli nukes

UNITED NATIONS - Iran demanded Tuesday that the U.N. Security Council condemn what it said was Israel's clandestine development of nuclear weapons and "compel" it to place all its nuclear facilities under U.N. inspection.

If Israel refuses to comply, Iran said the council must take "resolute action" under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which authorizes a range of measures from diplomatic and economic sanctions to military action.

Iran insists its own nuclear program is a purely peaceful effort to develop energy, but the United States and many European nations believe Tehran's real aim in enriching uranium is to produce nuclear weapons. The Security Council is currently debating a resolution that would impose sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend its enrichment program.

Iran's U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif said in identical letters to the council and the secretary-general that the council's actions would show whether it was acting under the U.N. Charter or as "a tool" for a few permanent members who have encouraged Israel "to persist in its lawless behavior with impunity."

The reference appeared aimed at the United States, Israel's closest ally, which would almost certainly veto any council resolution on Israel's nuclear program.

I-65 Hamas in control of Gaza border crossing

Hamas in control of Gaza border crossing
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gunmen allied with Hamas and Fatah clashed at a
West Bank mosque and in Gaza Strip streets on Friday, as violence spread to areas of the Palestinian territories normally untouched by factional strife. ADVERTISEMENT

Hamas accused a Fatah leader of orchestrating the previous day's attack on Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh — and a Hamas politician appeared to call for the Fatah strongman's assassination. Leaders of both groups have warned that the violence threatens to degenerate into civil war.

The clashes in Gaza City and the West Bank town of Ramallah marred celebrations Friday marking the 19th anniversary of Hamas' founding. However, the Islamic militant group pushed ahead with its rallies, and about 70,000 loyalists gathered at a stadium in Gaza City, cheering wildly, sobbing and firing in the air when Haniyeh arrived flanked by more than 50 armed bodyguards.

I-64 Iranian president says Israel's days are numbered

Iranian president says Israel's days are numbered
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday told delegates at an international conference questioning the Holocaust that Israel's days were numbered. ....

Ahmadinejad, who has sparked international outcry by referring to the killing of six million Jews in World War Two as a "myth" and calling for Israel to be "wiped off the map," launched another verbal attack on the Jewish state.

"Thanks to people's wishes and God's will the trend for the existence of the Zionist regime is downwards and this is what God has promised and what all nations want," he said.

"Just as the Soviet Union was wiped out and today does not exist, so will the Zionist regime soon be wiped out," he added.

I-63 Olmert affirms Israels possession of Nuclear weapons

Israel nuke comment sparks controversy

JERUSALEM - A slip of the tongue by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about Israel's nuclear policy ballooned into a domestic crisis Tuesday for the Israeli leader, who came under criticism from across the political spectrum. In an interview with a German television station broadcast Monday, Olmert appeared to list Israel among the world's nuclear powers, violating the country's long-standing policy of not officially acknowledging that it has atomic weapons.

Asked by the interviewer about Iran's calls for the destruction of Israel, Olmert replied that Israel has never threatened to annihilate anyone.... "Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map," Olmert said. "Can you say that this is the same level, when you are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?"

Israel, which foreign experts say has the sixth-largest nuclear arsenal in the world, has stuck to a policy of ambiguity on nuclear weapons for decades, refusing to confirm or deny whether it has them.

I-62 Is Israel behind the fighting between Hamas and Fatah???

Hamas gunmen open fire on Fatah protest Hamas gunmen open fire on Fatah protest KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen fired on demonstrators from the rival Fatah movement on Tuesday, wounding four people and intensifying fears of a new wave of Palestinian infighting following the deaths of three children in a drive-by shooting, officials said. ADVERTISEMENT

The demonstration was organized to protest the deaths of the children, whose car was riddled with bullets as they were driven to school Monday morning. Fatah officials have accused Hamas of being behind the shooting. The children's father is an intelligence officer who is considered an enemy of Hamas.

Saleh Hammad, a local Fatah leader, said the demonstration was peaceful, though he acknowledged that some children had provoked the Hamas militiamen by throwing rocks at them...... "Even if one or a few children lost their temper and stoned the members of the unit, this is not a reason to be fired at," he said...... Islami Shawan, a spokesman for the Hamas security unit in the area, denied his men had fired on protesters.

******************** says a me comment *********************


My feeling behind all this "in fighting" is that Israel is behind it. What better way for Israeli/US to obtain their objectives than to create confusion and chaos in their enemies camp by having Israeli secret police pose as either Fatah or Hamas supporters. Divide and conquer is a system that works every time...

Saysame JR

I-61 Israel stands by denial and vague nuclear policy

Israel stands by vague nuclear policy JERUSALEM - Israel held firm Thursday to its policy of not admitting it possesses nuclear weapons, in the face of an acknowledgment from the incoming U.S. Defense Secretary that Israel has the bomb.....In his confirmation hearing before the Senate, Robert Gates explained Iran's motivation to acquire nuclear weapons.

"They are surrounded by powers with nuclear weapons — Pakistan to their east, the Russians to the north, the Israelis to the west and us in the Persian Gulf," he told the Senate committee.

Although Israel is widely assumed to have a nuclear weapons arsenal, it has stuck to its policy of ambiguity on the subject, insisting against all the evidence that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.

I-60 Israel accuses Hezbollah of using human shields when Israel bombed Lebanon...

Hezbollah accused of using human shields JERUSALEM - An Israeli think tank with ties to the military has compiled a dossier of video and testimony accusing Lebanese guerrillas of using civilians as human shields in their summer war with Israel.

Israeli aircraft and artillery killed more than 850 Lebanese, most of them civilians, during the 34-day conflict with Hezbollah guerrillas. Lebanon, a U.N. human rights agency and international rights groups have accused Israel of war crimes, although no formal charges have been filed.

Israel maintains its attacks against Hezbollah targets in populated areas did not violate international law. It says Hezbollah deliberately operated within civilian areas, raising the civilian death toll.

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Israel denials responsibility and tries to justify their military actions by blaming Lebanon and Hezbollah as the cause for Israeli War Crimes..

Saysame JR

I-59 Lebanon Protesters seek resignation of Prime Minister and US Puppet...

Protesters seek Lebanon PM resignation BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hundreds of thousands of protesters from Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies massed Friday in downtown Beirut seeking to force the resignation of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who was holed up in his office ringed by hundreds of police and combat troops..... The protest, which police estimated at 800,000, created a sea of Lebanese flags that blanketed downtown and spilled onto the surrounding streets. Hezbollah officials put the number at 1 million � one-fourth of Lebanon's population.

Launching a long-threatened campaign to force Lebanon's U.S.-backed government from office, Hezbollah and its pro-Syrian allies said the demonstration would be followed by a wave of open-ended protests. Hezbollah had threatened demonstrations unless it and its allies obtained a veto share of the Cabinet � a demand Saniora and Lebanon's anti-Syrian parties rejected. The protests now aim to generate enough popular pressure to paralyze the Saniora government and force it out.