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(This very well could be it folks. The AC may be the ONLY person they will deal with at this stage of the game.)

Israel rejects Palestinian call for truce
By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago

The Hamas-led Palestinian government called for a cease-fire Saturday in its violent two-week standoff with Israel, but Israel rejected the offer because it did not call for releasing a soldier held by Hamas militants.

Officials in Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said he would not agree to a truce until Hamas freed Cpl. Gilad Shalit, whose capture two weeks ago provoked Israel to invade the Gaza Strip and bombard it with artillery barrages and airstrikes.

Earlier, an Israeli Cabinet minister said Israel hopes the fighting, which has killed more than 40 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier, eventually will lead to a broader cease-fire deal.

In fighting Saturday, Israeli troops exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen, and army bulldozers searched for militants' tunnels near Gaza City. In northern Gaza, tanks pulled out of Beit Lahiya, leaving a wide swath of destruction after trying to carve out a buffer zone against rockets there. Two Hamas gunmen and a Palestinian wounded in earlier fighting died.

Israel's two-week military campaign in Gaza — its broadest since ending its 38-year occupation last year — has put the Hamas government under growing pressure. Israel also has arrested dozens of Palestinian Cabinet ministers and Hamas lawmakers.

The five-point truce proposal that Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas issued Saturday called on Israel to halt its offensive and release prisoners, but said little about what Hamas is prepared to do in return.

"If we want to get out of the current crisis, it is necessary to return to calm, on the basis of a mutual halt to all military operations," said a statement issued by Cabinet spokesman Ghazi Hamad in Haniyeh's name.

Hamas also urged Israel to open negotiations over the fate of Shalit, 19.

However, Hamas often sends out conflicting signals, partly because of divisions between a more militant leadership in Syria and more pragmatic politicians in Gaza. Israel has largely held the Hamas political chief, Syrian-based Khaled Mashaal, responsible for the soldier's kidnapping.

Israel has said it would not engage in direct negotiations with the Islamic militant group, which rejects Israel's right to exist, but Israeli officials said they are open to an Egyptian compromise proposal that would free Shalit without conditions and have Israel later free some of its 9,000 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Hamas must release the soldier and halt rocket attacks on Israel as a first step.

"Anyone who ignores these two fundamental issues cannot hope to solve this crisis," he said.

Haniyeh, touring the destruction at Beit Lahiya, said Israel's rejection of his proposal did not weaken his commitment to it.

"We presented it out of conviction ... and we hope the leaders of the occupation will show reason and logic," he said.

Cabinet minister Ofir Pines-Paz said Israel hopes to go beyond those two immediate objectives and eventually negotiate a comprehensive truce.

"We have a great interest in changing the rules of the game," Pines-Paz, a member of the moderate Labor Party and of Israel's Security Cabinet, told Israel Radio.

"If we reach a situation in which there are no kidnappings, no rockets, no tunnels, no raids into our territory, certainly Israel will have to reciprocate."

The latest round of fighting, which claimed the lives of 35 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier over the past three days, began two weeks ago with a cross-border raid in which Hamas-allied militants seized the Israeli soldier and killed two of his comrades after sneaking through a tunnel.

Troops initially entered southern Gaza where Shalit is being held. Hamas said Friday he is being treated well, and a senior Israeli defense official, Amos Gilad, said Saturday that Israel also believes the soldier is alive.

On Saturday morning, dozens of tanks drove toward Gaza City, taking up positions about 500 yards from the outlying neighborhoods of Shajaiyeh and Zeitun. The army said forces were sent to the area to search for tunnels being dug by militants for possible attacks on soldiers.

The air force fired missiles at militants gathered at the outskirts of Shajaiyeh. Two Hamas gunmen were killed in the area, hospital officials said. Also, a Palestinian died of wounds sustained in earlier fighting.

The majority of the Palestinians killed since Thursday were gunmen, but one of the civilians killed was an 11-year-old boy.

Also, 65 U.S. citizens, many of Palestinian origin, left Gaza in a convoy escorted by U.S. consular officials. The visitors had asked to leave Gaza because of the fighting.

In northern Gaza, troops pulled back from Beit Lahiya on Saturday. Tanks driving through narrow streets had shorn off outer walls of buildings, torn down electricity polls, carved up asphalt. Facades of buildings were marked by bullet holes.

Bulldozers had torn up fields near homes, knocking down trees and greenhouses. As Palestinians picked through the wreckage Saturday, removing a dead goat from one heavily damaged dwelling, a U.N. truck arrived with drinking water.

Palestinian farmer Aref Sultan, 45, used the brief lull to move his wife and seven children, ages 2-16, to a relative's home further away from the fighting. Sultan said he and his family had been pinned down in their Beit Lahiya home during the past day.

"We went through 24 hours of terror," he said as the family loaded food and clothing into a pickup truck. "Shots were coming from all directions ... and the tanks were approaching our house. The children, and especially my 2-year-old son Samir, were screaming all the time."

Israeli military commentators have said it would be difficult for Israel to extract the soldier in a military operation. However, Israel also does not want to be seen as cutting a deal with Hamas.

We are getting closer...watching the EU/UN sanctions & The G-8, Russia aligning with Iran, China and now N, Korea and Turkey. Things are really starting to heat up. Keeping my eyes on the Gaza strip as well as tensions are high between Israel and Palestine...

Yeah.....and the earth quakes are heating up too!......................benny

Syria holds Israel responsible for Gaza escalation


DAMASCUS, 07/09 -- Syria on Friday held Israel responsible for the recent exacerbated situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad made the rebuke in a meeting with visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister`s advisor for Mideast affairs Sefin Seifeeh, the official SANA news agency reported.

Miqdad condemned the Israeli invasion into the Gaza Strip and acts of daily killing against the Palestinian people, which made the region in tense situation, said SANA.

For his part, the Norwegian envoy rejected the Israeli practices against the Palestinians, saying his country "totally refuses Israel`s arrest of Palestinian officials and the policy of putting Palestinian women and children in prisons as well as targeting Palestinian citizens".

During the meeting, the two sides centered their topics on the "dangerous" developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and the offense launched by Israel against the Palestinian people, according to SANA.




Talk of Liberation War From Syria
09:37 Jul 09, '06 / 13 Tammuz 5766


(IsraelNN.com) Following the recent Israel Air Force flyby over the palace of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, Syrian officials are hinting at a possible escalation of hostilities along the Golan Heights border.

Fighter planes buzzed al-Assad’s palace to send a warning message to him, with Jerusalem holding the Syrian leader directly responsible for ongoing Hamas terror. The incident caused significant embarrassment to Damascus, despite Syrian reports that anti-aircraft fire was directed at the Israeli planes.

Syrian Member of Parliament Muhammad Habash stated in a Syrian TV interview that a repeat occurrence would result in a response, stating the Golan Heights would not remain as it is.

The Syrian official went on to mention a “liberation war” and “resistance” in his reference to the Golan Heights.




'have defeated the Israeli army'
By JPOST.COM STAFF


Hamas's military wing, Izzadin al-Kassam announced in a press conference in Beit Lahiya Saturday evening that its fighters "have defeated the Israeli army."

IDF troops began pulling out of northern Gaza late Friday night and Saturday morning following military operations there.

During the press conference, the masked Hamas operatives also presented army-issued identification cards belonging to IDF troops.

The cards were apparently left behind accidentally by the soldiers due to the intense fighting there.

Most PA Arabs Favor Kidnapping Israelis and Firing Kassams
00:05 Jul 10, '06 / 14 Tammuz 5766


(IsraelNN.com) A poll taken among Arabs living in areas governed by the Palestinian Authority in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza shows overwhelming support for kidnapping IDF soldiers and firing rockets on Israeli targets.

66.8% of those polled said they supported more kidnappings of Israeli civilians and 77.2% said they approved of the terrorist operation which led to the kidnapping of Corp. Gilad Shalit.



60% of the Arab public supports the firing of Kassam rockets onto Israeli targets.

The poll was commissioned by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center.

Report: IAF Fires Missile at Arab Vehicle in Gaza
21:55 Jul 09, '06 / 13 Tammuz 5766


(IsraelNN.com) Arabs in Gaza report that an Israel Air Force jet has fired a missile at an Arab vehicle in Gaza. According to the report two Arabs were lightly wounded in the strike.

Five Arabs Reported Wounded in IAF Strike
22:25 Jul 09, '06 / 13 Tammuz 5766


(IsraelNN.com) Arabs in Gaza report that five persons were wounded in an IAF strike at an Arab vehicle in Gaza. Among those hurt was a 62 year old man, who was mortally wounded.

The IDF claims the missile was fired on armed Arab terrorists. Arabs in Gaza say those wounded in the strike were bystanders.

IDF Troops Arrest Arab with Knife in Hevron
21:37 Jul 09, '06 / 13 Tammuz 5766


(IsraelNN.com) IDF troops arrested an Arab carrying an 18 cm (7 inch) knife at an army check post in Hevron.

The knife was confiscated and the Arab was taken into interrogation.