New Fear Iran Could Supply Hamas In Gaza

As Israel Withdraws Last Of Troops From Gaza, U.S. Finds Iranian Ship Carrying Artillery Shells

(CBS/ AP)  There is new concern that Iran may be trying to get arms and ammunition to Hamas. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin learned exclusively that on Monday an American Navy ship intercepted an Iranian-chartered ship in the Red Sea.

It found artillery shells on board.

The U.S. Navy has now asked Egypt to force the Iranians to pull into port for a more thorough inspection before being allowed to pass through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, CBS News reports.

The fear is that those artillery shells will be smuggled into Gaza.

Israel withdrew the last of its troops from the Gaza Strip before dawn Wednesday, the military said, and pursued diplomatic efforts to stanch the flow of arms into the Hamas-ruled territory.

CBS News correspondent Robert Berger reports the timing of the pullout reflected the Israeli's desire to avoid presenting Barack Obama with a full-blown Mideast crisis on his first day in office, and their fear that he may not be as firm a backer as his predecessor.

The military said troops remain massed on the Israeli side of the border, prepared to take action in the event of renewed militant fire. Israeli navy ships shot rounds of machine-gun fire at the beaches of northern Gaza.

The military had no immediate comment on the gunboat fire.

CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports there has also been an interesting sign of Israel’s caution - or concern - about possible war crimes charges that might be levelled in connection with Operation Cast Lead, the offensive in Gaza.

Israeli and foreign press (including CBS News) were invited Tuesday to interview commanders from several brigades that fought in the operation. Then, before reports on the interviews could be broadcast or printed, the Military Censor's Office instructed the media to blur the faces of interviewees, remove references to names, and not provide any information which might facilitate their identification. The concern, it seems, is that commanders could be at risk if and when lawsuits are filed at the International Court of Justice.

Roth says that, in a visit with officers Tuesday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reportedly promised, “the government will stand like a fortified wall to protect each and every one of you from allegations.” An accusation against the military, he suggested, would be “directed against us: for seven years the world was against rocket fire from Israel, but didn’t lift a finger.”

Israel sent thousands of ground troops into the Palestinian territory earlier this month as part of a bruising offensive meant to permanently halt years of militant rocket fire on growing numbers of Israelis and to halt the smuggling of arms into Gaza.

Some 1,300 Palestinians were killed, more than half of them civilians, Gaza health officials and the U.N. have reported, a death toll that has provoked international outrage. In Israel, however, the war was popular because it was seen as a legitimate response to militants who now have one-eighth of the population within rocket range.

However, CBS News correspondent Robert Berger wrote Tuesday in the World Watch blog that the end of bombing in Gaza and the advent of new leadership in Washington have both left many Israelis wondering what will happen next - bringing questions more than a resolute feeling of victory.

On the Palestinian's side, CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey says most Gazans see little reason to rejoice in the inauguration of a new leader in America. They are still shell-shocked after the three-week bombing campaign, and where there is hope, it is, "a small hope".

Both sides declared cease-fires that went into effect Sunday, though they remain shaky. Israel reported mortar shelling from Gaza on Tuesday, and the Palestinians say Israeli troops shot and killed two Gaza farmers along the border since the truce took hold.

Berger reports that now the fighting has stopped, Israel is fighting a diplomatic battle to try and ensure Hamas will not be able to rearm.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was in Brussels, seeking commitments from allies to help halt the smuggling of arms to into Gaza. Israel wants the European Union to contribute forces, ships and technology for anti-smuggling operations.

The U.S. has also offered help but the key country, reports Berger, is Egypt. Until now, Israel's (and Gaza's) neighbor to the south has failed to curb weapons smuggling from its territory into the Palestinian territory.

Last week, the U.S. signed an anti-smuggling deal with Israel calling for expanded intelligence cooperation between the two countries and other U.S. allies in the Middle East and Europe.

The U.S. promised to supply detection and surveillance equipment, as well as logistical help and training to Israel, Egypt and other nations in the region. The equipment and training would be used to monitor Gaza's land and sea borders.

The document also calls for the U.S. to expand work with its NATO partners, particularly in the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and eastern Africa.

At the signing ceremony in Washington, Livni described the deal as "a vital complement for a cessation of hostility" in the troubled region. Shortly after, she said she hoped European countries, notably Britain, France and Germany, would work out similar agreements with the Israelis.

Although signed by the Bush administration on its last working day, the agreement is binding on the Obama administration.

[indamiddle]

Posted by pthinker at 10:13 AM : Jan 24, 2009
+ report abuse

*****

we are running a war..trying to win against an enemy..that is what HUMANS DO

we are not doing a doctor - patient relationship here where we try to UNDERSTAND our enemy..

THAT *** only happened in hollywood

NAME ONE CREDIBLE INCIDENT IN HISTORY WHERE TYING TO ''FIGURE OUT HOW TO HUG YOUR ENEMY'' ended a war

[pthinker]

Condemnation of Israel or Hamas or Palestinians will not solve the problem in the ME.

What is required now that Obama has taken office is US acting as an honest broker not siding with Israel or Palestinians.
We know Israel is an ally of US but that should not prevent the US from becoming an honest broker.

If we want to win the war on terror then we must look at the problems in Palestine,Afghanistan, Iraq,Iran and Pakistan as one for they are all interlinked.

Solve one and the leave the rest and extremism will continue.Solve all and leave one and extremism will continue but solve all and there will be peace.

I strongly feel that US foreign policy needs to change. Confrontations and threats only breeds hatred. US should envisage a situation where all nations are at peace with one another. Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela can become our friends if we engage them without bullying or threatening them.

Libya gave up her nuclear ambitions without US going to war. That is what US must do -dialogue.

If you talk to your enemy it does not make you a fool but rather helps you to understand his position and what makes him mad about you.

The key to all conflicts is dialogue and not war. I hope President Obama will choose dialogue instead of war and confrontations.

[pthinker]

Condemnation of Israel or Hamas or Palestinians will not solve the problem in the ME.

What is required now that Obama has taken office is US acting as an honest broker not siding with Israel or Palestinians.
We know Israel is an ally of US but that should not prevent the US from becoming an honest broker.

If we want to win the war on terror then we must look at the problems in Palestine,Afghanistan, Iraq,Iran and Pakistan as one for they are all interlinked.

Solve one and the leave the rest and extremism will continue.Solve all and leave one and extremism will continue but solve all and there will be peace.

I strongly feel that US foreign policy needs to change. Confrontations and threats only breeds hatred. US should envisage a situation where all nations are at peace with one another. Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela can become our friends if we engage them without bullying or threatening them.

Libya gave up her nuclear ambitions without US going to war. That is what US must do -dialogue.

If you talk to your enemy it does not make you a fool but rather helps you to understand his position and what makes him mad about you.

The key to all conflicts is dialogue and not war. I hope President Obama will choose dialogue instead of war and confrontations.

[pthinker]

Condemnation of Israel or Hamas or Palestinians will not solve the problem in the ME.

What is required now that Obama has taken office is US acting as an honest broker not siding with Israel or Palestinians.
We know Israel is an ally of US but that should not prevent the US from becoming an honest broker.

If we want to win the war on terror then we must look at the problems in Palestine,Afghanistan, Iraq,Iran and Pakistan as one for they are all interlinked.

Solve one and the leave the rest and extremism will continue.Solve all and leave one and extremism will continue but solve all and there will be peace.

I strongly feel that US foreign policy needs to change. Confrontations and threats only breeds hatred. US should envisage a situation where all nations are at peace with one another. Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Venezuela can become our friends if we engage them without bullying or threatening them.

Libya gave up her nuclear ambitions without US going to war. That is what US must do -dialogue.

If you talk to your enemy it does not make you a fool but rather helps you to understand his position and what makes him mad about you.

The key to all conflicts is dialogue and not war. I hope President Obama will choose dialogue instead of war and confrontations.

[prudentvoter]

Hamas is the elected government of Gaza and represents the people of Gaza. They are no more terrorist than Israel or the US. Droping bombs from F18s or drons does not make them legal. Even now, Israel is shelling the coast of Gaza from the sea. Obama should be man enough to negotiate directly with Hamas.

[nobsever]

It is time for America to take a second look at their so-called "special relationship" with the Zionists. The Zionists have been taking advantage of the Palestinians ever since it was "created." They have stolen land, established illegal settlements, humiliated the Palestinians by requiring them to stand in the sweltering sun and/or freezing rain for hours on end just to get to work. It has built an Apartheid Wall, blockaded the sea ways and they have done everything possible to make life miserable for the Palestinians. These Zionists have one ultimate purpose: to steal all the land of the Palestinians. Nothing else will satisfy their insatiable greed. Israel is a mistake that will continue to perpetuate its evil until it is finally blown off the face of the earth. It has to be kept in mind that the only reason Israel was established in the first place is that no civilised nation on the face of the earth wanted these people within their own borders. One occasionally wistfully muses on how peaceful the world would be without this Zionist-infested so-called nation.

[nobsever]

What other religion burns down the institutions and holy places of people other than themselves ?

Posted by hamiltongrAD at 11:07 AM : Jan 22, 2009
____________________________

The Jews!

[hamiltongrad]

Fascist NAZIs worked with the grand Mufti of the Middle East, to kill even more Jews. Everyone knows that the BATH party is a hold over of the NAZI era. Even ARAFAT''s mentor was a NAZI. It is therefore not surprising that, since we did not "finish the job" with the Arab Nazis after WWII, for fear of the Russians, and the need for oil, that we are today faced with the continued EVIL of Fascism in the robes of Muslim extremism.
Intolerance.
What other religion burns down the institutions and holy places of people other than themselves ?

[smurfcrusher]

"where does lobbing missles at Israeli civilians for the last 6 years fit in?"

Posted by rudedogrulz

That would be, the "...protect itself by whatever means available." part.

[smurfcrusher]

I just saw some images of the devastation in Gaza.

The heroic Israelis destroyed dangerous orange groves with their tanks.

I guess allowing any food in Gaza is a bad thing, because terrorists might get a meal.... right?

War crimes. Starving a people resurrects ghosts of the Holocaust.
Who would have thought Israelis could do this?

[smurfcrusher]

oops. drinking water and eating food, even.

And yes, the democratically elected government there does in fact have the right to protect itself by whatever means available. Democracy is not O.K. only if the party you want, wins power.

People miss the larger meaning, namely that Israel''s blatant land grabs and brutalization have pushed the residents of Gaza to seek out more radical representatives to protect them.

By supporting Israeli War Crimes, the Western world risks pushing more and more people into the hands of radicals. We must prosecute war crimes wherever they are committed, if we in fact believe in the rule of law.

We are not lawful if we enforce laws only when convenient. Any fifth grader knows this.

[smurfcrusher]

"Palestinians in Gaza have gone to work re-digging the tunnels the Israeli Air Force bombed."
Yeah, they''re in the habit of eating water, obtaining medicine, and burning fuel. How dare them! Don''t they know the Israelis have a blockade in force?

[smurfcrusher]

"Obama will have to do as he is told by David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel. The later appears to have first hand experience in terminating Palestinians. This will undoubtedly be reflected in US policy."

Posted by Betraid

Wrong answer. Obama sets the vision and policy. Israel understands the new administration is not as likely to be sympathetic to their brutalization of Gaza as indicated in the article.

[smurfcrusher]

"There are plenty of reports by UN staff and credible Palestinian witnesses, including medical staff, that Israel attacked civilian targets that had absolutely nothing to do with Hamas fighters."

Posted by fcuk_Israel
***
"Neigher U. N. staff nor any Palestianian witnesses have much creditility in this matter."

Posted by VoidMaster

I disagree. Israel banned foreign journalists from Gaza, so it is incumbent on the Israelis to ensure no atrocities occurred.
Instead, the Military Censors are stepping in to hide the truth of what happened.
The truth will be known. And now that the Obama administration has taken power, we will see far less of this nonsense. The Israelis knew they had to brutalize while the getting was good. Those days are done, but Israel has alienated a generation against peace. Such fools; they should know better.

[smurfcrusher]

"VoidMaster , you seem to think they left anything standing or are you one of the Jews advocating genocide?"

Posted by PVperson
***
"With all the rubble left behind, you would think the Palestinians would be concerned about clearing it and starting to rebuild. Yet, they are using their tools and labor to re-dig the tunnels under the Egyptian border.

What I advocate is not genocide, but rather, the complete annihilation of Hamas."

Posted by VoidMaster

And apparently, any civilians that happen to coexist in that hellhole which the Gaza Strip has become.
Maybe you think shelling the children in the U.N. compound was a good thing.. after all, they might grow up to defend their land, right?

[smurfcrusher]

"Israel has taken no action against anyone in Jerusalem or on the West Bank because -- drum roll please -- no one there has fired rockets into Israel. Gee! What a coincidence."

Posted by VoidMaster

Israel doesn''t have a stranglehold on the West Bank. They aren''t throttling their food supplies and denying people their livelihood (at least, on the scale of the Gaza Strip.) You''d be surprised what people would do to prevent starving. Because starving, the Gaza Strip is. And these recent Israeli attacks have destroyed 80% of the crops that were in Gaza. Looks like they are putting Hitler''s techniques in practice there.

[smurfcrusher]

"In war, there is no such thing as a "disproportionate" attack. In war, the purpose of attack is to destroy, completely, your enemy. I assure you that Hamas knows this quite well as they regularly employ the tactic against Israel. Thus, even with your twisted logic, Israel''''s attack was not disproportionate."

Posted by VoidMaster

So in your eyes, there''s no such thing as atrocities, or genocide.
To you, it was A.O.K. for Darfur. Or the Holocaust. In your mind, minor annoyances like the Geneva conventions are to be ignored, because, hey, it''s war.

Fortunately, the civilized world disagrees with you.

FROM THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS:
"... (1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, ***, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture"

[nobsever]

It is time for America to take a second look at their so-called "special relationship" with the Zionists. The Zionists have been taking advantage of the Palestinians ever since it was "created." They have stolen land, established illegal settlements, humiliated the Palestinians by requiring them to stand in the sweltering sun and/or freezing rain for hours on end just to get to work. It has built an Apartheid Wall, blockaded the sea ways and they have done everything possible to make life miserable for the Palestinians. These Zionists have one ultimate purpose: to steal all the land of the Palestinians. Nothing else will satisfy their insatiable greed. Israel is a mistake that will continue to perpetuate its evil until it is finally blown off the face of the earth. It has to be kept in mind that the only reason Israel was established in the first place is that no civilised nation on the face of the earth wanted these people within their own borders. One occasionally wistfully muses on how peaceful the world would be without this Zionist-infested so-called nation.

[nobsever]

"New Fear Iran Could Supply Hamas In Gaza"

Who is supplying Israel?

Posted by brianbwb at 01:50 AM : Jan 22, 2009
______________________________

Your tax dollars!

[brianbwb-2009]

"New Fear Iran Could Supply Hamas In Gaza"

Who is supplying Israel?