June 30, 2006

ISRAEL CHALLENGES THE WORLD AND WAGES A WAR AGAINST THE PALESTINIAN AREAS UNDER THE NAME OF OPERATION SUMMER RAINS. THE ARAB LEAGUE, THE GCC, REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIPS CONDEMN THE ISRAELI KILLING WHILE THE PALESTINIANS CALL ON THE UNSC TO DISCUSS THE ISRAELI ESCALATION. ISRAEL DETAINS 8 PALESTINIAN MINISTERS AND 20 MPS. ANNAN: WE NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL AND NOT TO ESCALATE AND NOT TO EXPAND THE AREA OF CONFLICT. Pre-empting a Palestinian national unity government after the anti-occupation factions initially agreed to an amended "prisoners' document," Israel in violation of international law kidnapped as hostages nine Palestinian cabinet ministers, 21 MPs, a number of elected mayors among at least 60 others in the West Bank and pushed its tanks and troops into northern Gaza Strip overnight Thursday in the second stage of "Operation Summer Rains," cutting less than one million Palestinians from electricity and water supplies for months. The AP quoted Israel's Army Radio as saying that the kidnapped Hamas leaders might be used to trade for the captured soldier. Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Education and Higher Education, Dr. Nasseruddin Al-Shae'r was kidnapped early Thursday. Overnight the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) rounded up as hostages the following Palestinian cabinet ministers. *Dr. Omar Abdul-Razeq Minister of Finance *Samir Abu Eisheh Minister of Planning *Issa Al-Ja'bari Minister of Local Government *Fakhri Al-Turkuman - Minister of Social Affairs *Mohammad Al-Barghouthi Minister of Labor *Nasser Abdul-Jawad Minister of Prisoners' Affairs *Nayef Al-Rjoub Minister of Religious Affairs (Awqaf) *Engineer Khaled Abu A'rafah Minister of Jerusalem Affairs Twenty-one members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) were also kidnapped overnight Thursday, alongside several mayors and leading Hamas suspects, including mosque preachers. Deputy Speaker of the PLC, Ahmad Bahar, and Minister of Information of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), Dr. Yousef Rizqa, in separate press conferences in Gaza, said that Israel's kidnapping of the detainees is in violation of the Geneva conventions and the detainees are considered "hostages" and not POWs. The 21 kidnapped PLC members join six other Palestinian MPs in the IOF jails, notably Marwan Barghouthi who was kidnapped from the West Bank town of Ramallah in 2002. Bahar and Rizqa called on Arab and Muslim parliamentarians to protest against the kidnapping of their Palestinian colleagues by the IOF and appealed to the world community and human rights organizations to intervene to free them swiftly. Separately the Palestinian chief negotiator and lawmaker, SaebErakat, said that Israel was planning to undermine the PNA, both presidency and government. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli invasion of Gaza at midnight Tuesday as a "crime against humanity" and a "collective punishment" against the Palestinian people. IOF sealed off and banned entry to and exit from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, besieging President Abbas, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and top officials of the PNA as leading anti-occupation activists went underground. The IOF pushed their tanks and troops backed by warplanes into northern Gaza Strip at dawn Thursday in the second stage of "Operation Summer Rains," which kicked off at midnight on Tuesday in the southern Gaza Strip. IOF warplanes bombed the soccer field of the Islamic University in Gaza late Wednesday after destroying the only power plant in the strip early in the day, plunging Gaza Strip into darkness and depriving about one million Palestinians from electricity for months to come, hitting very hard not only households but also hospitals and schools. Water supplies were also cut early Wednesday by bombing water pipelines, after destroying three bridges linking the south and north of the Gaza Strip. Palestinians in Gaza Strip are preparing for what they feared could be a long Israeli invasion, and tried despite their meager resources amid an exacerbating food and humanitarian crisis to stock up on food, candles and batteries for radios. Israel and Palestinians must "step back from the brink" before a crisis over the capturing of an Israeli soldier spirals out of control, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement on Wednesday. "All sides need to consider their responsibilities extremely carefully. Both sides must step back from the brink before this becomes a crisis that neither can control," she said. However the Press Secretary of the US White House, Tony Snow, said Wednesday that Israel has a right to defend the lives of its citizens, but should ensure "innocent civilians are not harmed" and "unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure" is avoided. President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Wednesday the new Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. The President considered attacking civil infrastructure as a collective punishment against Palestinian people and a humanitarian crime. Spokesperson of the Presidency, Nabil Abu Rdaina said that President Abbas while he was exerting efforts to solve the crisis, he was surprised of this Israeli aggression against the Palestinians daily life. Israeli warplanes fired at least ten missiles at Gaza's only power station, cutting electricity to much of the Gaza Strip. The station's three functioning turbines and a gasoline reservoir were engulfed in enormous. It also destroyed bridges that links the north with the South of the Gaza Strip. Abu Rdaina added that the President called for an urgent meeting of the PLO Executive Committee to discuss the possibility of addressing the UN Security Council to stop the Israeli aggression. The President also asked the US Administration and the other members of the Quartet to immediately intervene to prevent deterioration in situation. B'Tselem sent an urgent request to Israeli Minister Amir Peretz to instruct Israeli forces to refrain from bombing or deliberately damaging in any way facilities that supply indispensable services to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, added that Israel has the right to all legal measures to free the abducted soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit. However, Israel must refrain from using measures which contravene International Humanitarian Law, which categorically prohibits all sides to a conflict from attacking "objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population." Israel 's military operation in the Gaza Strip included Air Force bombing of Palestinian civilian infrastructure. Among the facilities hit was the central electricity relay station south of Gaza City , which caused a widespread blackout. Damage to electricity facilities is liable to severely impair the provision of indispensable services, such as water supply and health care. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemned Wednesday the IOF retaliatory measures targeting Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, including the destruction of properties that are not classified as a legitimate military targets. In a press release, the Centre called upon the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to force the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) to respect the convention, which prohibits reprisals against protected persons, as stipulated in article 33. In addition, the convention prohibits the destruction of private properties belonging to individuals, groups, organizations or official bodies. It also called upon the High Contracting Parties to enforce article 3 regarding adherence to the convention and respect of its stipulations, and to take appropriate sanctions against the serious violations currently being perpetrated. Israeli warplanes fired early Wednesday at least ten missiles at Gaza's only power station, cutting electricity to much of the Gaza Strip. It also destroyed bridges that links the north with the South of the Gaza Strip. PCHR condemned the destruction of civilian property, which is considered to be a reprisal and collective punishment against civilians. These reprisals are in retaliation to the military operation conducted by the Palestinian resistance against a military outpost near Kerem Shalom crossing on 25 June 2006. In addition, the bombardment is a continuation of the war crimes being perpetrated by IOF against civilians, including the comprehensive siege on the Gaza Strip. It called upon the international community to provide protection for civilian lives and property, as stipulated in International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. Israeli aircraft on Thursday fired a missile into a Hamas militant training camp in Gaza, witnesses and a pro-Hamas radio station said, as Israel stepped up its air strikes in an offensive aimed at freeing an abducted soldier, according to Reuters. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The military, which carried out several air raids in the territory earlier in the day, said it was checking the report. Meantime the IDF confirmed early Thursday a report the Popular Resistance Committees issued from Gaza that it had executed Eliyahu Asheri, 18, of Itamar, who was kidnapped earlier this week in the West Bank. On Wednesday, elite police and IDF forces arrested Popular Resistance Committees operative Osam Abu Rajil, who was suspected to have been involved in the kidnapping. Abu Rajil led the forces to a mountainside north of Ramallah, where Asheri's body was found buried, Army Radio reported. Defence minister Amir Peretz approved the next part of the Israeli army's invasion into the Gaza Strip, military officials said. Peretz, speaking at a meeting with the army's top brass, gave the military the green light to continue the invasion, meant to gain the release of an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas militants. The military officials did not elaborate on the next phase of the operation. President Mahmoud Abbas headed, in Gaza, an urgent meeting of the PLO Executive Committee (EC). The EC discussed the developments in the light of the Israeli escalation which aimed at infrastructure and civil targets. The PLO EC called on the international community and the Quartet Committee to immediately intervene to pressurize Israel to end its aggressions against the Palestinian people and infrastructures. On the other hand The Arab League Council held an urgent meeting at the permanent representatives Level on Thursday, and discussed the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and territories. In a press conference, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ambassador Ahmad bin Hilli said the meeting assigned the Arab Group in New York to immediately request an urgent UN Security Council session to discuss the Palestinian developments. He stressed the importance that the UN Security Council and the Quartet look after their responsibilities in protecting the Palestinian people. He added that the AL Council requested urgent aid from Arab countries to the Palestinians to confront the Israeli aggression, noting that the council decided to keep the session open to follow up the developments of the Israeli aggression. The council seriously condemned the Israeli aggression, which targeted innocent civilian lives, the infrastructure in the Palestinian territories, and members of the Palestinian government and parliament. It also condemned the Israeli violation of the Syrian airspace. Meanwhile, Speaker of the Council and UAE representative Mohammad Saeed Al-Kindi said the Palestinian representative presented a detailed report on the developments of the Israeli aggression. He added that the council will issue a statement that would express the Arab official stand regarding the aggression. The Palestinian representative to the meeting Ambassador Monther Al-Dajani said the Security Council and the Quartet should stand up to their responsibilities on protecting the Palestinians, noting that the international parties have commitments to make based on the international laws and the Roadmap plan that they have signed. He added that the Israeli arrest of members of the Palestinian government is considered an attempt to waste the Palestinian Authority and create more chaos in Palestine. The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) has vigorously condemned the criminal Israeli raid on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which demolished civil institutions, including power plants, bridges, schools, houses, businesses, and administrations. The GCC Secretary General and the Muslim World League both condemned the Israeli attacks against the Palestinian civilians. The Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Abdul Rahman Ibn Hamad Al-Atiyyah called on UN Security Council which held a session to promptly intervene to put an end to Israel's aggression against Gaza Strip and the West Bank. He called for the preservation of the lives of the Palestinian people and for providing an international protection for them. Al-Atiyyah noted that it is time to hold a meeting of the countries, the signatories of Geneva 4th agreement, 1949 to discuss Israel's violations of this agreement. He also condemned Israeli aircraft's violation of the Syrian airspace, demanding that the world community take a deterrent measure so that the crisis does not cause a new one in the region. ISESCO has strongly denounced this Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, and appealed to the international community to take urgent action to stop this assault and protect the Palestinians, innocent victims of the Israeli offensive. It has called for putting an end to Israeli occupation, and enabling the Palestinian people to establish their independent state and live in freedom and dignity, unshackled from the deadweight of Israeli oppression and humiliation. In an implied threat to Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and his Syrian host, Israeli warplanes buzzed one of President Bashar Assad's palaces on Wednesday. A Syrian official said the air force fired at the planes. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged restraint and asked for calm from all parties involved in the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours. "We need to be very careful and not to escalate and not to expand the area of conflict," said Annan, responding to press reports that the Israeli Air Force flew into Syrian airspace. Syrian news media later reported that the Israeli planes had been repelled by Syrian air defense forces. Annan noted that he was following recent developments in the region "with great concern." He also asked that the civilian populations not be made to suffer. The Israeli Defense Force destroyed three major bridges and a power station, cutting-off electricity and water supplies to the 1.3 million people residents of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that he would not release Palestinian women and children jailed by Israel as demanded by Palestinian militants who took an Israeli soldier hostage. "The question of releasing (Palestinian) prisoners is not at all on the agenda of the Israeli government," Olmert said during a speech in Jerusalem. He also ruled out negotiations with the Palestinian kidnappers, saying, "There will be no negotiations, no bargaining, no agreements." The Israeli Prime Minister also reiterated that he held the Hamas-led Palestinian government and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the fate of the abducted soldier. In addition, Olmert said that he and Defense Minister Amir Peretz had authorized the Gaza Strip to be sealed off all around. Olmert ordered army commanders to prepare for a prolonged and extensive military operation into the Gaza Strip. King Abdullah II warned against escalation between the Palestinians and Israelis, calling them to exercise maximum restraint and arbitrate the language of reason and logic. In a phone call with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the King expressed concern over the latest developments near borders of Gaza strip. The King said He will follow up the situation's repercussions with all parties, and will exert every possible effort to avoid further deterioration. For his part, Abbas briefed the King on the developments in Gaza strip, calling on the international community to shoulder responsibility to calm the situation. China on Thursday expressed its deep concerns over worsening situation in the Middle East, urging Palestine and Israel to exercise restraint to cool down the conflicts. "China is deeply concerned about the increasing tension between Palestine and Israel," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu. Israel launched the operation of "Summer Rain" early Wednesday after two days of unfruitful international mediation over the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Palestinian soldiers in an attack on a military position near the Gaza border Sunday morning. "We urge Israel to exercise restraint and halt military action, and call on Palestine to release the hostage as early as possible, " Jiang told a regular press conference. China holds that the Middle East issues should be solved through political negotiations on the basis of relevant UN resolutions and the "land for peace" principle, Jiang added. "We hope the two sides will take concrete actions to relax the current tension and stop circle of violence at an early date," Jiang said. The British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett condemned the Israeli air strike which caused civilian deaths in Northern Gaza. She said: 'I was gravely concerned to hear of the death of three children in Gaza on 20 June, as well as a number of civilian injuries, as a result of an Israeli Defence Forces airstrike. I send my deepest condolences to their families. 'As I have said before, the killing of innocent civilians, and particularly children, is completely unacceptable. The continuing violence on both sides, and the tragic death of a number of children and civilians in Gaza and West Bank in recent weeks, is making the prospect of a negotiated, peaceful resolution more distant. 'We strongly urge maximum restraint by the Israeli military to avoid further escalation of an already very tense situation. We call on the Israeli authorities to respect their obligations under international law and ensure that civilians, particularly children, are not harmed. In addition we call for an immediate halt to all rocket fire from the Gaza Strip on Israeli targets.'