World News Blog

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Obama faces tough choices on Israel-Palestine issue

With the Gaza battle now in its fourth day, President-elect Barack Obama may be forced to deal with yet another major international crisis when he takes office.

The conflict could drag on as neither side shows any signs of wanting to end the fighting. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that the aerial attacks on Gaza were "the first of several stages" of an operation to root out Hamas from the area.

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Reuters

Postcard to US President: Gaza

Rough Cut
Nov 05, 2008

On fourth day of Gaza battle, no end in sight
International Herald Tribune - 1 hour ago
By Ethan Bronner and Taghreed El-Khodary JERUSALEM: Israel launched air strikes against Hamas targets in Gaza for a fourth consecutive day on Tuesday as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called the bombardment "the first of several stages," suggesting that ...
Video: Inside Story - Assault on Gaza continues - 29 Dec 08- Part 1 AlJazeeraEnglish
Israel Rejects Truce, Presses on With Gaza Strikes Washington Post

WELT ONLINE

Obama Defers to Bush, for Now, on Gaza Crisis
New York Times, United States - 9 hours ago
Otherwise, Mr. Obama could try to pressure surrogates to lean on Hamas, including Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza. He can try to build international ...
Video: Israel to fight Hamas to the end RussiaToday
Is Gaza conflict a crisis or an opportunity for Obama? Jewish Telegraphic Agency
News roundup: Gaza, the Super Bowl and Obama USA Today

Labels: barack obama, ehud olmert, gaza crisis, hamas, israel, palestine

Saturday, December 27, 2008

World leaders respond to Israeli attacks in Gaza

World leaders voiced concern over the new Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that began early today.

Leaders of many Arab and Muslim countries condemned the attacks which have killed more than 200 people. The Arab League has called an emergency meeting Sunday to address the flareup.

The United Nations, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana and , British Prime Minister Gordon Brown all called for an immediate halt to the hostilities

The United States called on Israel to avoid civilian casualties, but blamed Hamas rocket attacks for provoking the strike.

Russia also called on Hamas to halt the rocket attacks, and urged Israel to stop its Gaza operations.

However, Israeli defense chief Ehud Barak implied that military action in Gaza is just in the beginning stages.

Telegraph.co.uk

World Leaders React to Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza
Voice of America - 43 minutes ago
By Kent Klein Israel's deadly airstrikes on Hamas compounds in the Gaza Strip are drawing sharp reactions in the Arab world, and a variety of responses elsewhere.
Video: Israel launches missile attacks on Gaza - 27 Dec 08 AlJazeeraEnglish
US blames Hamas for cease-fire break Reuters

Labels: gaza strip, israel, military attack, palestine