The Conundrum, Part 12

Hamas supporters rally in Gaza, reiterating what I've been saying all along. They are never going to recognize Israel's right to exist.

Hamas lawmaker Mushir al-Masri, attending the rally, vowed that his group would never recognize Israel, no matter what the cost.

"We vow to God never to recognize Israel, even if we all die, and we ask God to punish Israel, its allies, and those who recognize it or call on us to recognize it," al-Masri said.

Al-Masri told reporters that "the Palestinian people... are rejecting the unjust and unfair siege and all attempts to carry out an internal coup against this government."

This is the group that the world, and particularly the UN, thinks Israel should and must negotiate with. Hamas seeks the annihilation of Israel, and is doing everything within its means to make that happen, including destroying Palestinian society (or what's left of it after Fatah got through with it). Instead of focusing on building an economy, Hamas set out to start a war with Israel, and they now see the fruits of their labor - even more misery for Palestinians living in Gaza. And the rockets keep coming.

Israel will close off Gaza and the territories for Yom Kippur.

Meanwhile, the UN says that Israel is planning to leave Lebanon by Monday. That would be on Yom Kippur, so expect this to change by a day or two.

The commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), French General Alain Pelligrini, told Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri that Israel will complete its withdrawal by the end of September, which falls on Sunday.

A UNIFIL spokesperson reiterated a similar claim, which contradicts an Israeli decision to postpone the withdrawal unless the peacekeeping force alters its open-fire regulations and until Reslution 1701 is fully implemented.

The issue of Israel's withdrawal was discussed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora during a meeting in Berlin on Thursday.

Siniora called on Israel on Thursday to speed up its withdrawal from Lebanese territories and to stop what he said were repeated forays into his country's sea and air space.

"Resolution 1701 has to be respected by all parties," Siniora said at a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, referring to the U.N. resolution which ended a 34-day war between Israel and Hizbollah fighters in Lebanon.

Some parties have to be more respected than others, and the Israeli reluctance to withdraw is due to the fact that neither the UN nor the Lebanese seem willing or capable to take on the task of disarming Hizbullah, as required by the same UN SCR 1701. The UN also noted that the Israelis violated the Blue Line. The silence from the UN over ongoing Hizbullah violations is deafening.

15 armed men were captured trying to enter Israel along the Egypt-Israel border.

Technorati: terrorism, nasrallah, fatah, Gilad, Shalit, Olmert, Eliyahu, Asheri, Ashri, Abbas, Regev, Goldwasser, PRC, Hamas, Gaza, palestinian, Israel, hizbullah, hezbullah, hezbollah, lebanon, syria.