Israel declared "all-out war" against Hamas Monday and said it is freezing diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority unless the Palestinian leadership takes "tangible steps to deal with infrastructures of terror." ... Monday’s statement from Israel said it has adopted the following positions:• "An all-out war against Hamas and other terrorist elements, including continuous strikes at the organization’s leaders";
• "Pressure on [focuses] of terror" in the West Bank; and
• A freezing of "the diplomatic process with the [Palestinian Authority] ... unless [Israel] sees that the PA is taking tangible steps to deal with the infrastructures of terror." Since the Jerusalem bus bombing, the statement said, Israel had carried out "five targeted eliminations" of Hamas members and stepped up operational activities in the West Bank. "The security establishment is preparing for the possibility of a security escalation and renewed wave of terror against Israel," the statement said. CNN has been trying to contact Hamas officials for comment on the Israeli statement but has received no reaction.
stunned, are they?
| More likely in hiding. "I'm sorry, sir. Mr. Rantissi is out of the office... No, I'm sorry. I don't know where he is..." |
All three groups [Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades] are considered terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department. They have all announced an end to their self-imposed cease-fire, blaming Israel’s targeted killings of Hamas militants before and after the bus bombing.
In my recollection it wasn’t the Israelis who broke the ceasefire. I guess flying 7.62mm rounds are part of the flora and fawna of the region, like mosquitos. Anyone unlucky to get stung by one of them, dies of natural causes. Funny how it only affects Israelis. |