Sunday January 25, 2009, 9:32 pm
[Videos at site] "Ehud Olmert said troops should know Israel would keep them safe after they acted to protect their country.

Palestinians say 1,300 people died during the offensive, and UN officials want independent probes into whether war crimes were committed.

Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation is in Egypt for talks on cementing a truce.

Israel ended its military operation in Gaza on 18 January, and Hamas declared a ceasefire hours later.

In Brussels, EU foreign ministers meeting to discuss the situation urged Palestinian factions to resolve their differences and speak with one voice.

Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said that without a Palestinian consensus government the organisation and delivery of humanitarian aid would be undermined.

EU calls for Gaza unity
No formal framework for a lasting ceasefire over Gaza has yet been agreed.

While Israel says it requires Hamas to end weapons smuggling into Gaza and rocket attacks on Israel, Hamas has demanded that Israel lift its economic blockade of the territory.

In Gaza, Hamas has begun handing out cash to people who had their homes destroyed, or lost relatives.

Hamas insists it will make payments based on the scale of each person's loss, not on their political affiliation.

But the BBC's Aleem Maqbool, in Gaza, says there are those who will simply see this as a way of buying support.

Soldiers 'safe'

In Israel, Prime Minister Olmert told a weekly cabinet meeting that soldiers who had put their lives on the line for their country need not fear prosecution for war crimes overseas.

"The commanders and soldiers that were sent on the task in Gaza should know that they are safe from any tribunal and that the State of Israel will assist them in this issue and protect them as they protected us with their bodies during the military operation in Gaza," he said.

View of devastation from Jabaliya
Israel's military tactics have come under intense scrutiny as evidence has emerged of the high numbers of Palestinian civilians killed in Gaza.
Among complaints made by human rights groups are accusations of indiscriminate firing and the use of white phosphorus shells in civilian areas.

Israel has admitted using white phosphorus in Gaza but says it did not break international law in doing so.

White phosphorus is legal for creating smokescreens in open battleground. But rights groups and journalists say it was used in crowded civilian areas.

The weapon sticks to human skin and will burn through to the bone.

Truce talks

In Cairo, delegates from Hamas met Egyptian intelligence officials on Sunday as they sought to bolster the week-long calm in Gaza.


Hamas says it will pay Palestinians whose homes were damaged

Representatives from Fatah, the main rival Palestinian faction, were also due to attend the talks.

There was no word of the substance of discussions in Egypt with Omar Suleiman, the Egyptian intelligence chief who brokered a previous six-month truce between Israel and Hamas.

Mr Suleiman held talks with an Israeli envoy on Thursday.

In a statement, Egyptian state media said Hamas and Mr Suleiman discussed "Egyptian efforts to consolidate the ceasefire, reach a [permanent] truce, reopen Gaza crossings and resume Palestinian national dialogue".

Israel and Egypt tightened their blockade of Gaza when Hamas seized control of the territory in mid-2007"

Monday January 26, 2009, 4:47 am
If Bush, Cheney & some parts of the U.S. military can get away with their abuses - under the guise of "moving forward" - why not Israeli leaders & soldiers ? Accountability doesn't seem to be a priority, does it ?

Monday January 26, 2009, 7:46 am
The arrogance of Israel says they own the US. When did we make a bargain with the devil?

Monday January 26, 2009, 5:18 pm
Great story needs to be front page thanx

Monday January 26, 2009, 5:24 pm
Any group or Country that claims it is in God's will they can do this or that causes a problem with me and should with everyone.

Monday January 26, 2009, 8:14 pm
right on dandelion! ~

Monday January 26, 2009, 8:23 pm

Olmert's Poodle
Public gloating by an Israeli prime minister
that he can order a U.S. president off a podium and instruct him to reverse and
humiliate his secretary of state may cause even Ehud's poodle to rise up on its
hind legs one day and bite its master. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21783.htm

Tuesday January 27, 2009, 3:19 am
When Israel stops its military terrorism, war crimes and other oppression against the people of Palestine, and when Israel agrees to the 2-state solution, including the right for the millions of Palestinian refugees to return, then there will be a lasting peace.

When the USA stops supporting Israel (e.g. stops the annual $3 billion military aid to Israel), then Israel will be forced to stop its aggressive, expansionist and genocidal policies.

Tuesday January 27, 2009, 5:26 pm
I didn't hear any of this anywhere. But if it's true it's stupid. They should have to pay for their crimes and so should the ones who TOLD THEM to act on it.

Wednesday January 28, 2009, 4:09 am
It is expected of the war criminals that are ruling israel to protect their murderers servants .. Cant' really blame a hyena for being a hyena.. but blame those who are offering them the protection and justification of their horrible crimes!!

Thursday January 29, 2009, 8:11 am
We dont want a scabby sacrafice - we want - PERES, His criminal Head on a pike

Sunday February 15, 2009, 5:04 pm
Israel deliberately blocked aid: UNOfficial says UN stocks sabotaged; Olmert wants pullout 'ASAP'


How Social Media War Was Waged in Gaza-Israel Conflict

"If I were an Arab leader, I would never sign an agreement with Israel. It is normal; we have taken their country. It is true God promised it to us, but how could that interest them? Our God is not theirs. There has been Anti - Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault ? They see but one thing: we have come and we have stolen their country. Why would they accept that?" -- David Ben Gurion