Abbas: Now is the moment of truth for Palestinian statehood

So Annapolis passed, and to my surprise, no violent uprising or terrorist acts took place within Israel. Of course, some 20 militants were stopped (some killed) when trying to pentrate Israel's border.

Still - the fear that a new cycle of violence will begin in conjunction with the summitt has proved to be false.

Yet, questions remain on the importance of the dialogue that took place.
In my opinion - a Palestinian state by end of 2008 is a truly aggressive goal.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told his people on Thursday the "moment of truth" on Palestinian statehood has come, following his participation in the Annapolis conference in the United States.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas agreed at the conference hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush this week to try to forge a peace treaty and create a Palestinian state by the end of 2008 - a timetable skeptics say is too ambitious.

"The time of extravagant promises by one rival trying to outbid another must go and not return," Abbas told a rally in Tunis, where he stopped on his way back from the United States. "Now is a moment of truth, not one of illusion," he added.


Abbas is locked in a power struggle with Hamas Islamists who control Gaza, part of the territories occupied in the 1967 Middle East war where Abbas wants to establish a Palestinian state.

"The stark truth says that the whole world recognized our Palestinian state with its East Jerusalem as its capital," Abbas said.

The Palestinian leader described future peace negotiations with Israel as a "political battle" but said he was optimistic about the outcome.

Negotiators will meet again on December 12 in Jerusalem.

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"Gazan with cancer refused entry into Israel, and dies"

Haaretz published the article Gazan dies of cancer after being refused entrance into Israel - which describes the story of a 20 year old Palestinian cancer patient who was refused entry into Israel for security reasons and died.

This story has been exposed, and of course, thousands of people are heavily criticizing Israel. To those same critics, I say, you should be ashamed of yourself.

First; Israel has opted to help hundreds of Palestinians in the past, in most cases sick ones in need of medical attention. Israel has done this purely out of kindness and respect for humanity.
Second; Israel is faced with an existential threat - daily. Dozens of rockets fly into Israel from what is now deemed a "hostile" territory; the same Gaza the Palestinians wanted independence in. They got Independence, and instead of building hospitals and schools, they are building weapon stockpiles and bombs.
Third; Israel is not responsible for a person who is not an Israeli citizen.
Fourth; The cancer patient doesn't believe in Israel's existence, and doesn't want her help.
The list can go on...

Why in God's name should Israel help? Because they have the medical means? Give me a break - Egypt and Jordan, two "friendly" neighbors can also help. Wait, Israel must have caused the cancer, so she is responsible, right? Hah.

Also, should all of Africa's and Asia's sick cancer patience come into Israel for treatment?

Of course not.

People who criticize this story are morally blind, naive, and quite frankly, stupid.

Bottom line - Hamas and the PA need to accept Israel, make peace with Israel, and then they will be able to enjoy some of the friendly favors Israel is technically able to give. Until then, you can only blame the Palestinians and their rulers for the death of this young man. The rocket attacks need to stop as well.

*Note that the ones making fuss are Israelis = another sign of how humane, liberal and moral Israelis really are*

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Gaza Offensive - Sederot hit with Qasam's

Regional tensions have been rising consistently over the past several months. Hamas is again executing the orders handed down to them by Syria and Iran. With the constant war and nuclear rhetoric, it is no secret that something will happen. The question is when?

As history dictates, rhetoric leads to action. Why do we settle for repeating our mistakes, and not learning from previous generations? "History repeats itself" is a hint that we will never escape the cycle of human aggression and violent behavior.

We are barbaric creatures.



Palestinians fire 12 Qassam missiles Thursday to launch new “Gaza Offensive” and further escalate violence against their Israeli neighbors

The Israeli air force went into action against the missile sites forthwith.

The Palestinian missiles were directed at Sderot, Shear Hanegev, Nir Am and Gavim, causing heavy damage but no casualties. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that all the Palestinian terrorist groups, including Fatah al Aqsa under Hamas command, are behind Thursday’s barrage and have vowed to follow up with “hundreds of missiles a day.” Their assaults were already redoubled this week against Netiv Ha’asara, the first Israeli border village to be subjected to concentrated mortar shelling.

Officers in the IDF Southern Command maintain that, whereas Israel should be liquidating Palestinian terrorist bases inside the Gaza Strip, it has let the Palestinians grab the initiative and carry their the war across the border to strike at what they call “Israeli settlements.”

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Barak's plan turned down

It was a bold threat, but Mazuz made the right decision.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz yesterday prohibited the state from cutting off electricity to parts of the Gaza Strip, as the defense minister has threatened to do.

After holding a debate in his office yesterday, Mazuz ordered the defense establishment to reexamine the issue.

The decision followed a petition submitted by 10 human rights organizations, asking the High Court of Justice not to allow punitive measures against the Gaza Strip's population. The petitioners argued that the decision to cut off vital power supplies was illegal and was likely to harm the innocent civilian population in the embattled coastal strip

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