GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Israel killed a top Hamas military commander in a targeted air strike in Gaza on Wednesday, prompting outrage from Palestinian militants who said the Jewish state had opened “the gates of hell”.
And Egypt promptly announced it was recalling its ambassador over Israel’s hit on a car in Gaza City that killed Ahmed Jaabari and his bodyguard, swiftly followed by more than 20 air strikes in Gaza that killed another five people and wounded 60.
But Israel warned it was only the start of an operation targeting militant groups in Gaza, which comes as the Jewish state prepares for general elections in January. “Today we sent a clear message to Hamas and other terrorist organisations,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a televised address several hours after the initial strike which took place at around 1400 GMT. “If it becomes necessary, we are prepared to expand the operation,” the Israeli leader warned after holding consultations with his security cabinet. “We will not tolerate a situation in which Israeli citizens are threatened by rocket fire.”
Defence Minister Ehud Barak said the operation was aimed at strengthening Israel’s deterrence, damaging militant groups’ rocket-firing capabilities and stamping out attacks on southern Israel.
“Israel doesn’t want a war but the Hamas provocation of recent weeks... forced us to act sharply and decisively,” Barak said. “We are at the beginning, not end ofthis action,” he warned, adding: “It won’t be a quick fix.”
Following the strike that killed Jaabari and his bodyguard, Israel launched at least 20 raids, killing another five people, including two young children, and wounding at least 60, Hamas health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said. “We recommend that no Hamas terrorists, low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead,” wrote Netanyahu spokesman Ofir Gendelman on his official Twitter account.
The air strikes capped five days of rising tension in and around Gaza, which saw Israel kill seven Palestinians and militants fire more than 120 rockets over the border, injuring eight.
Jaabari’s death sparked furious protests in Gaza City, with hundreds of members of Hamas and its armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, chanting for revenge in and around Shifa hospital where Jaabari’s body was taken.
The Israeli strikes prompted widespread condemnation, with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi recalling Cairo’s envoy to Israel and summoning Israel’s ambassador, his spokesman said.
Gaza’s Hamas government welcomed the Egyptian move in a statement which also urged Arab leaders “to take decisive action” to push Israel to end its campaign.And following a request from Morsi, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said top Arab diplomats were preparing to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the violence.
Israel’s last major operation in Gaza began at the end of December 2008, six weeks shy of general elections, when troops embarked on a 22-day campaign which killed 1,400 Palestinians — half of them civilians — and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.
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Hamas says 'gates of hell opened' as Israel kills military leader in GazaAhmed al-Jabari's assassination in missile strike marks 'start of broader operation' that may involve ground troops, says Israel
Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem The Guardian, Thursday 15 November 2012
Hamas military chief killed in Israeli strike on Gaza. Source: Reuters Link to this video Israel has launched a military operation to eliminate militants and weapon sites in the Gaza Strip, killing the commander of Hamas's military wing, in a move with potentially serious repercussions beyond its borders.
The assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari in a missile strike in Gaza City was the "start of a broader operation", according to the Israel Defence Forces, which it named Operation Pillar of Defence.
Ground forces were on standby, the IDF said. The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, warned that the military was "prepared to expand" its Gaza operation.
A cabinet communique said the IDF would "continue vigorous action against the terrorist infrastructures operating from the Gaza Strip against the civilian population in Israel". It would, "to the best of its ability, work to avoid harming civilians".
In a statement on Twitter, the IDF said: "All options are on the table. If necessary, the IDF is ready to initiate a ground operation in Gaza." The Israeli navy also confirmed that its gunships had fired shells into the Gaza Strip, and there were unconfirmed reports of an incursion in the south of the Gaza Strip late on Wednesday.
As Hamas's armed wing warned that Jabari's assassination "had opened the gates of hell", Israel was braced for a surge in rocket fire from Gaza aimed at communities in the south of the country. Residents in towns in southern Israel were ordered to stay in bomb shelters, and schools in a 40km radius closed.
The United Nations security council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday night to discuss the onslaught and heard a plea from the Palestinian UN observer to stop "war crimes being perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people".
The Israeli ambassador replied that the strikes were launched after days of rocket fire out of Gaza and Israel had a right to defend itself.
The council adjourned without issuing a collective statement and did not schedule any further action or talks on the issue. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, released statements saying he had spoken to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi about "the worrisome escalation of violence in southern Israel and Gaza and the need to prevent any further deterioration".
The conflict could fracture Israel's shaky relations with the post-revolution government in Egypt, which has strong ties with Hamas. Since Egypt's former president and ally Hosni Mubarak was ousted February last year, Israel has feared for the durability of the peace treaty between the two countries.
Following the launch of the operation, Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel, and Israel's envoy to Cairo was also preparing to leave the country.
The Obama administration backed the Israeli airstrikes. Barack Obama spoke directly with Netanyahu and the Israeli prime minister thanked the president for his support, the two administrations said. Netanyahu also spoke with the vice-president, Joe Biden.
Obama made a separate call to President Mohammed Morsi of Egypt, the White House said. The two men agreed on the need to calm down the conflict as quickly as possible.
US state department spokesman Mark Toner denounced Hamas militants and others in Gaza for a barrage of rocket fired into southern Israel. He said the US supported Israel's right to self-defence. "We support Israel's right to defend itself and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties," Toner said.
Solidarity attacks from Islamic jihadist groups, which Israel says are operating in Egypt's Sinai peninsula to the south, and from Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Israel believes has thousands of rockets ready to fire over the northern border, can not be ruled out.
Dan Harel, a former deputy army chief of staff, said: "It might draw them in. There was a volley of fire this morning from the south. We don't know yet if it came from the Sinai ... Hopefully Hezbollah will keep themselves out of the engagement."
Hamas and other militant organisations could deploy longer-range missiles in its arsenals, some of which can reach densely populated cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The IDF claimed multiple air strikes had hit more than 20 underground rocket launchers belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It said it was targeting long-range rockets, such as the Fajr-5, which has a range of up to 75km.
Jabari, head of Hamas's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, died when his car was struck in Gaza City by a missile following almost a week of rocket fire from Gaza. Palestinian reports said 10 people died in airstrikes, including two children.
Sami Abu Salem, a local journalist, said civilian cars were bringing the wounded to the Shifa hospital in Gaza City. "I saw women and children bleeding from their heads and necks, and a baby who was burned." Gazans were stocking up on emergency supplies of canned food in preparation for war, he added.
Jabari is the most senior Hamas operative to be killed by Israel for almost four years, since Operation Cast Lead, its three-week assault on the Gaza Strip during the winter of 2008-09 that left about 1,400 Palestinians dead.
The IDF said Jabari was "a senior Hamas operative who served in the upper echelon of the Hamas command and was directly responsible for executing terror attacks against the state of Israel".
Its operation was intended "to severely impair the command and control chain of the Hamas leadership, as well as its terrorist infrastructure. This was a surgical operation in co-operation with the Israeli security agency, that was implemented on the basis of concrete intelligence and using advanced capabilities".
According to Reuters, calls for revenge were broadcast in Gaza after the air strikes. "Israel has declared war on Gaza and they will bear the responsibility for the consequences," Islamic Jihad said.
The Associated Press reported that "plumes of black smoke wafted into Gaza City's skies following at least five airstrikes, in an atmosphere reminiscent of Israel's large-scale 2008-09 attack on Gaza ... Outside the hospital [where Jabari's body was taken], thousands of angry Gazans chanted 'retaliation' and 'we want you to hit Tel Aviv tonight'."
Israel had warned for several days that it may launch an offensive in Gaza after more than 130 rockets were fired by militants in recent days. On Tuesday, Netanyahu said he would choose "the right time to exact the heaviest price ... Whoever thinks that they can damage the daily lives of residents of the south, and that they won't pay a heavy price for this ... they are mistaken".
Most political figures in Israel endorsed the operation. The Labour leader, Shelly Yachimovich, said Israel was "united in its war against terrorism". But Dov Hanin, of the leftwing Hadash party, condemned the killing . "In place of the leaders killed, others will grow, and we will only get another cycle of fire and blood," he said.
Egypt's foreign ministry has condemned the operation and urged Israel to halt targeted killings. The Freedom and Justice party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, called the assassination a "crime that requires a quick Arab and international response to stem these massacres against the besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip".
A spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry also criticised the killing. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, called for "an immediate de-escalation of tensions", and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was reported to have called for an urgent Arab league meeting.
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Previous Blog home Hamas: killing of military chief by Israel has 'opened gates of hell' - as it happened• Israel strike kills Hamas military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari
• Strikes to go on until 'peace and quiet' is enforced
• Hamas says Israel attack has 'opened gates of hell'
• Egypt withdraws ambassador to Israel in protest
• Washington: 'We will stand by our Israeli partners'
• Read our latest summary | news story
Share 906 inShare2Email Paul Owen and Tom McCarthy
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 14 November 2012 23.27 GMT
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12.47am GMT The Palestinian Authority has urged the UN Security Council to take a stand on Israel's latest offensive in the Gaza Strip, Reuters reports.
Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said:
There is an expectation that ground forces might move into the Gaza Strip very shortly. The situation is escalating. We want the Security Council to act in accordance with its responsibilities to stop this aggression against our people.
Israel's UN Ambassador Ron Prosor responded by calling on the international community to condemn "indiscriminate rocket fire against Israeli citizens - children, women".
The UN press office said the Security Council planned to hold closed-door consultations on an Egyptian request for an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis.
11.54pm GMT Summary• Israel killed Hamas military leader Ahmed al-Jaabari in an airstrike on his car in Gaza. Israel followed the assassination with sustained air and naval strikes across Gaza, concentrating in the north. Hamas vowed to avenge the act.
• Israeli officials said the offensive, called "Pillar of Defense," was meant to stop the launch of hundreds of rockets on civilian populations in southern Israel in recent months.
• At least nine Palestinians have been killed in the strikes, including women and children, according to the Palestinian envoy to the UN. That number was expected to climb, possibly significantly. Dozens of Palestinians were reported injured.
• Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said, "We are still at the beginning of the event, not at the end, and we expect some complicated tests ahead." He said that increased deterrence, as well as taking out Hamas' rocket-launching capability, is a primary goal of the offensive.
• Egypt recalled its ambassador to Israel, condemning the attack. President Morsi called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. The Arab League announced a meeting on the crisis to take place Saturday.
• The assault is the widest offensive against Gaza since the Israeli invasion of 2008-2009, known as Cast Lead, in which at least 1,100 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died.
• At least 90 rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel Wednesday. There were no reports of casualties.
• The United States pledged its support to Israel, asking that it "take every effort to avoid civilian casualties." President Obama did not mention the conflict in an hourlong news conference today, and he was not asked by reporters about it.
• The Syrian government denounced the "barbaric crimes" in Gaza. Obama said the United States had no plans to grant official recognition to the Syrian opposition.
• The IDF and the Al-Qassam brigades engaged in a Twitter spat.
11.24pm GMT
Updated at 11.27pm GMT
Al-Jazeera has compiled a list of Hamas leaders assassinated by Israel.
The list runs from the January 1996 attack on bombmaker Yahya Ayyash, killed by a mobile phone packed with explosives, to the January 2010 attack on Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, senior Hamas military commander, suffocated in a five-star hotel in Dubai.
Full list here.
10.49pm GMT The bombardment of Gaza continues. Strikes appear to be concentrated in the north. Multiple observers on the ground report near-continuous strikes, apparently a combination of air strikes and naval fire.
Haaretz puts the number of rockets fired from Gaza today at 83. The IDF says 25 rockets have been intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.
10.34pm GMT The Al-Qassam Brigades has reported launching rockets at Israel "military bases." There are multiple reports of Hamas rockets landing around the Israeli city of Ashkelon north of Gaza and Be'er Sheva to the east. The number of rockets launched on Israel from Gaza is unknown, as are figures for any casualties.
10.00pm GMT Haaretz columnists Amos Harel and Avi Issacharoff write that the current attack is "far beyond the amplitude of the friction between the sides in recent days" and is likely to produce a protracted conflict:
In Hamas they understood that an Israeli response was expected – and therefore its heads on Tuesday went along with the Egyptian call to agree to a truce. However, it is doubtful that Hamas expected the response would be so harsh. This is not just “another” assassination (and there haven’t been assassinations of second tier activists in almost four years), but rather a hit on one of the top people in the movement and the person in the leadership most identified with the terror struggle against Israel.
Read the whole piece here.
9.48pm GMT Syria denounces 'barbaric crimes' in GazaIn a dispatch that audibly groans under the weight of irony devoid of humor, the Assad government has denounced the violence in Gaza, the official Syrian news agency reports:
The Syrian government denounced the barbaric, reprehensible crimes committed by the Israeli army against the Palestinian people in Gaza Strip on Wednesday which resulted in a number of martyrs and injured.
In a statement, the government called on the international community to pressure Israel into ceasing its aggression on the people of Gaza Strip, imploring the free and honest people of the world to move seriously to confront this tyranny and repel Israel which constantly ignores international legitimacy and shirks international resolution in blatant violation of international law.
(h/t: @LizSly)
9.45pm GMT
Updated at 9.49pm GMT
The US State Department has issued a brief statement condemning Hamas and expressing support for Israel.
The statement was summarized by the AP [UPDATE: replacing summary with verbatim portions of statement]:
"We support Israel's right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement.
"We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence.
"There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel," Toner said in his statement, calling on them "to stop these cowardly acts immediately."
"Hamas claims to have the best interests of the Palestinian people at heart, yet it continues to engage in violence that is counterproductive to the Palestinian cause," he added.
"Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza or to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self determination."
9.37pm GMT
Updated at 9.52pm GMT
Filmmaker and activist Harry Fear is broadcasting live video from Gaza City. From the roof of his building, he reports, he can see "at least 10 Israeli naval vessels" off the coast.
9.32pm GMT The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyah, has issued a statement of defiance as the Israeli attack continues.
"We do not fear the fate of our people," Haniyah said, according to Beirut-based Al-Quds TV, the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil reports. "Resistance in face of monstrous Israeli onslaught."
9.27pm GMT
Updated at 9.41pm GMT
Gaza strike: pictures
Emergency services extinguish the burned-out car of Ahmed al-Jaabari. Photograph: Wissam Nassar/Xinhua Press/Corbis
Image from aerial footage made available by the Israeli Defence Force shows the car of Hamas military chief, Ahmed al-Jaabari, moments before it was hit by an air strike. Photograph: AP
Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on 14 November 2012. Photograph: Wissam Nassar/Xinhua Press/Corbis
9.17pm GMT My colleague Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem has just spoken with Sami Abu Salem, a journalist living in Jabaliya, near Gaza City. He describes civilian casualties and "big crowds at the hospital":
He has three children, aged 6, 3 and 18 months. There is a total blackout at the moment in his neighbourhood.
"We have lost connection with everything. At this moment I can hear the sounds of drones hovering in the sky. There were very very strong explosions near my house earlier. My house was shaking. The children were scared and shouting and coming to hug me. I was trying to calm them down but I was also very afraid.
"Some people are rushing to the supermarket to buy canned food - sardines and beans - because they expect this war to continue.
"Three hours ago I visited the Shifa [Gaza City's main hospital]. There were cars bringing wounded civilians - women and children. I saw people bleeding from their heads and necks, a baby who was badly burned. Later I heard he died. There were big crowds at the hospital.
"I heard Hamas have asked Egypt and Qatar to intervene. They know Israel is the stronger party.
"Hamas will shoot rockets but after that it may calm down. They always say they will 'make an earthquake' because they need to do something for their reputation. I think this will continue for at least a couple of days."
9.15pm GMT In a list of 424 people tweeting from Gaza, reports of new explosions spring up simultaneously in multiple accounts.
Osama Shomer @OsamaShomar #Breaking: Another Explosion heard in #gaza city now, #GazaUnderAttack
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite Yousef M. Aljamal @YousefAljamal Another explosion in Al-Nusirat now #Gaza #GazaUnderAttack
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite Samer @Masterpiece_s 10:50 pm| #BeitHanoun | loud explosion heard on the town's borders. #GazaUnderAttack #Gaza #Palestine #israel
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite9.01pm GMT The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations said at least nine people have been killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. The envoy, Riyad Mansour, said the number was likely rise.
"The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza so far is nine and the number is increasing," Mansour told reporters. (via)
8.55pm GMT The Arab League has announced a meeting to be held Saturday on the situation in Gaza, reports radio Sawa:
Zaid Benjamin @zaidbenjamin #BREAKING: Arab League discuss #Gaza crisis Saturday
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite8.37pm GMT Barak: 'We are still at the beginning of the event, not at the end'My colleague Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem sends the text of Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's remarks at a news conference this evening. Barak said Israeli carried out strikes on "long-range Fajr missiles, additional Hamas infrastructure, as well as other terror elements." He also said in part:
We must be clear that Israel will not tolerate a situation in which there is incessant [rocket] fire on our citizens. No life loving country would accept this situation.
The goals of the operation are as follows:
1. Strengthening our deterrence
2. To inflict serious damage on the rocket launching network
3. To deliver a painful blow for Hamas and the other terrorist organizations
4. To minimize damage to our home front
[...]
There is no ‘quick-fix’ solution. Right now, as we stand here, massive barrages of missiles are being fired at our cities. But we will achieve these aforementioned goals throughout the course of this operation. [...]
We are still at the beginning of the event, not at the end, and we expect some complicated tests ahead. It will require vigilance; not only in Gaza, but also in Israel and in Judea and Samaria. But in the long run I believe that this operation will contribute to strengthening deterrence and reinstituting the calm in the south. I call upon the leaders of the region to act with composure, in order to promote stability and restore quiet so that we are not – heaven forbid – dragged into further deterioration.
8.31pm GMT
Updated at 8.31pm GMT
Terrible images (not a direct link to image) are making their way out of Gaza.
8.15pm GMT BBC foreign editor Jon Williams writes that a son of a colleague has been killed in Gaza.
Jon Williams ✔@WilliamsJon 11 month old son of BBC colleague killed in #Gaza. Sister-in-law killed, brother critically injured. Civilians always casualties of conflict
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite8.01pm GMT In what is shaping up to be the first serious test of Egyptian-Israeli relations in the post-Mubarak era, Egypt so far has condemned the Israeli assault, recalled its ambassador, and asked for an emergency UN meeting. The Muslim Brotherhood's political party used harsh language in condemning the Israeli state.
President Mohamed Morsi's response to the Israeli attack is being closely watched. He is under pressure from close allies – and from constituents who share the sentiment below – to demonstrate that the balance of power in the region has changed.
Tariq Atiyah @tariqatiyah This is Morsy's chance to prove he indeed is a loyal representative of Isalm! #Gaza
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite
Morsi raised eyebrows when he took a day to respond to the attack on the US embassy in Cairo on 11 September. The tacit message for the United States seemed to be that Egypt was no longer the compliant state the Americans – and the rest of the world – is accustomed to.
7.55pm GMT
Updated at 7.57pm GMT
Empty streets in Gaza.
Jon Donnison @JonDonnison Streets of #Gaza city deserted tonight. Sound of drones overhead.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite7.42pm GMT Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has ordered his UN representative to call for an emergency security council meeting over Israel's strikes on Gaza, Reuters reports.
7.39pm GMT SyriaPresident Obama said that the United States would not recognize the Syrian opposition, as France has. However he said the opposition was showing signs of cohesion and he considers them a "legitimate representative" of the people.
(h/t: @AndDeRosa)
7.37pm GMT
Updated at 7.37pm GMT
Some chest-thumping by the Israeli Defense Forces:
IDF ✔@IDFSpokesperson Ahmed Jabari: Eliminated. pic.twitter.com/sCnQnKkM
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite7.33pm GMT Egypt recalls ambassador to IsraelEgypt state television has reported that the country is recalling its ambassador to Israel, Atef Salem.
Salem started at the job just last month.
7.31pm GMT
Updated at 7.44pm GMT
Obama forcefully defends Rice on LibyaObama delivered a forceful vocal show of support for UN Ambassador Susan Rice, in response to a question about Sen. John McCain and Sen. Lindsay Graham vowing to block a potential Rice nomination as Secretary of State because of what they say were her misleading statements about what happened in the 11 September attack in Benghazi, LIbya.
"She made an appearance at the request of the White House in which she gave her best understanding of the intelligence that was provided to her," Obama said. "If Senator McCain or Senator Graham want to go after somebody, they should go after me."
7.29pm GMT Obama mentions Israel, vis-a-vis Syria, not GazaFifty minutes into his news conference, President Obama is asked about Syria, and what he is doing to help the opposition. In the course of his answer he mentions Israel for the first time. He does not mention Gaza.
"I was one of the first leaders to say Assad had to go, in response to the brutality his government displayed in the face of peaceful protests," Obama says.
He says he has engaged with international partners to provide humanitarian aid and that the US is in consultation with the opposition.
"We are in very close content with Turkey and... countries in the region, including of course Israel, which is having already, grave concerns as we do about for example movements of chemical weapons..."
The press conference is over.
7.26pm GMT Summary• Israeli air strikes killed Ahmed al-Jaabari, the head of the military wing of Hamas, as he traveled in a car in the Gaza Strip. His son was reportedly killed with him.
• The Israeli battery of Gaza continues, including air strikes and naval strikes. The number of casualties is unknown.
• Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak has said the attack will continue for as long as is "necessary to achieve peace and quiet." Israeli officials say frequent rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel were unacceptable. The IDF said the attack could last days.
• The Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades reports it is firing rockets into Israel. Israeli sources say more than a dozen rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system.
• Israeli has called up some reservists, indicating the possibility of a ground invasion. There are currently no reports of such an invasion.
• In Washington, the Pentagon released a statement saying "We stand by our Israeli partners."
7.18pm GMT
Updated at 7.19pm GMT
The two sides trade taunts on social media.
IDF ✔@IDFSpokesperson 14 Nov 12 We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead.
Alqassam Brigades @AlqassamBrigade @IDFSpokesperson Our blessed hands will reach your leaders and soldiers wherever they are (You Opened Hell Gates on Yourselves)
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite7.06pm GMT Both Hamas' military wing the Al-Qassem Brigades and the Israeli Defense Forces are live-tweeting the conflict.
Alqassam Brigades @AlqassamBrigade Al Qassam shell #Israel's military bases in Beer Sheva with dozens of mortars in response on assassination of its top leader #hamas #Gaza
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite IDF ✔@IDFSpokesperson Iron Dome successfully intercepts 13 rockets fired from the #Gaza Strip. #PillarOfDefense
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite6.55pm GMT Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have held a news conference on the attack.
Netanyahu said that Hamas and Islamic Jihad "intentionally hurt our citizens while hiding behind their own citizens," Haaretz reports.
Barak said Israel is not interested in engaging in war, "but Hamas' provocation in the past days has made it imperative that we act sharply and decisively....The army will do everything that is necessary to achieve peace and quiet. We will achieve what we set out to do."
6.49pm GMT
Updated at 6.57pm GMT
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren says the scope of the assault on Gaza "depends on Hamas":
Michael B. Oren @AmbassadorOren The scope of the IDF's defensive operation depends on Hamas & whether it takes the decision to cease firing missiles on our homes.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite6.46pm GMT President Obama has opened his news conference at the White House. He begins with a discussion of the American economy. After a five-minute statement he begins to take questions. The first one is about the scandal surrounding fallen CIA chief David Petraeus.
6.39pm GMT We now are seeing multiple reports that Israeli warships are firing from the Mediterranean into Gaza, which has a densely packed population of about 1.5m people living inside 140 square miles.
The IDF confirms the Israeli Navy is striking Gaza.
Haaretz and the IDF say that at least 10 rockets fired from Gaza have been intercepted by the Iron Dome system.
6.34pm GMT
Updated at 6.37pm GMT
IDF: 'recommend' Hamas lies low 'in the days ahead'The IDF has just sent a tweet that appears to announce a major operation on Gaza lasting days. The extent to which Israeli ground troops are involved or will be involved is unclear.
IDF ✔@IDFSpokesperson We recommend that no Hamas operatives, whether low level or senior leaders, show their faces above ground in the days ahead.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite6.28pm GMT
Updated at 6.32pm GMT
Reports of explosion at Zahar home retractedHaaretz has walked back its earlier report that an explosion had hit the home of Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar:
Haaretz.com ✔@haaretzcom Contrary to earlier report, #Palestinians say explosion took place in house of Rashid Abu Shabak, not Mahmoud al-Zahar htz.li/QGH47V
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite Jon Donnison @JonDonnison Sources in #Gaza says house of senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al Zahar NOT targeted despite rumours.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite6.21pm GMT President Obama is expected to appear shortly at a pre-planned news conference, at which he was to speak about his re-election and plans for his second term.
Meanwhile Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Warren released a statement in support of Israel:
"We're monitoring the situation closely," Warren said. "We stand by our Israeli partners in their right to defend themselves against terrorism."
6.17pm GMT The YouTube user Gaza Now has uploaded a video purporting to capture Gaza City this evening with smoke rising from many attack sites. The provenance of the video could not be independently verified.
6.12pm GMT Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has called for an urgent Arab League meeting on Israel's strikes on Gaza, Reuters reports.
Abbas' urgent call was reported by Egypt's news agency MENA, quoting a Palestinian official in Egypt.
"Barakat al-Fara, the Palestinian ambassador in Cairo and the Palestinian representative in the Arab League, announced that based on instructions from President Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian state had asked for an urgent meeting of the Arab League to discuss the Israeli offense on Gaza strip," MENA said.
6.01pm GMT Many Twitter users inside Gaza echo an entry that just appeared on Haaretz's live blog reporting an "explosion in house of Hamas cofounder Mahmoud al-Zahar, in Gaza."
Zahar, who is in his late 60s, met last month with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It is unclear whether he was wounded in the apparent attack.
Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas leader in Gaza and Palestinian Foreign Minister. Photograph: Martin Godwin
The Christian Science Monitor's Dan Murphy:
Dan Murphy @bungdan Wow, Zahar. No confirmation that he's been hit. But if he has been, well, he's the strategic brains of Hamas in Gaza.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite
UPDATE: Haaretz has walked back its report that Zahar's home has been hit:
Jon Donnison @JonDonnison Sources in #Gaza says house of senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al Zahar NOT targeted despite rumours.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite Haaretz.com ✔@haaretzcom Contrary to earlier report, #Palestinians say explosion took place in house of Rashid Abu Shabak, not Mahmoud al-Zahar htz.li/QGH47V
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite5.59pm GMT
Updated at 6.20pm GMT
As many commenters have noted, the latest assault on Gaza coincides with early campaigning for Israel's parliamentary elections, planned for 22 January.
The IDF says the current assault was provoked by hundreds of missile strikes out of Gaza. Political observers note the attack reflects on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who was to meet with his senior security cabinet "after sundown" tonight, as a strong leader.
5.52pm GMT The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party has issued a defiant statement condemning the assault, the BBC's Shaimaa Khalil reports.
shaimaa khalil @Shaimaakhalil A statement by #MuslimBrotherhood's #FJP:#Egypt "will not allow the Palestinians to be subjected to Israeli aggression as in the past" #Gaza
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite5.44pm GMT
Updated at 5.45pm GMT
The assault continues.
Jon Donnison @JonDonnison Massive explosion just now heard from our office in #Gaza City.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite5.39pm GMT The name of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier kidnapped in 2006 who was at the center of a prisoner exchange in October 2011, has emerged repeatedly in the IDF's explanation of why Jaabari was targeted. Jaabari was a key negotiator of the exchange.
Leibovitch said Jaabari had "a lot of Israeli blood on his hands" and "was involved in the Gilad Shalit matter."
5.39pm GMT Avital Leibovitch, the Israeli military spokeswoman, has just spoken with BBC. She said air strikes have hit 20 sites in Gaza.
"We targeted specific terror sites that either store rockets used to target Israelis or weapons caches or warehouses," Leibovitch said. She denied reports that police stations and non-military sites had been hit.
"We have started an operation directed toward terror targets in the Gaza Strip following a very long year of rocket launches... The first target was [Jaabari]," Leibovitch said.
She said the operation will continue "as long as it takes to protect the people of Israel."
Asked about the Hamas statement that the killing of Jaabari had opened the "gates of hell," Leibovitch said, "The gates of hell for us is having 15 seconds for the average Israeli to run into a shelter, and this has been happening since 2001."
5.34pm GMT Video of strikeThe IDF has released video of the strike that killed Jaabari.
5.19pm GMT Reuters quotes Palestinian sources as saying nine people were killed in the strikes on Jaabari's vehicle. Al-Jazeera says the attack killed Jaabari and five others, including Jaabari's son.
5.15pm GMT The assault on Gaza appears to be ongoing. Since Donnison's tweet of about 20 minutes ago, he has reported one more "explosion" in the north. A Twitter list of 421 people inside Gaza contains many mentions of new explosions.
Al-Jazeera reports that a rocket has been fired from Gaza into Ashkelon, over the northern border.
Al-Jazeera now reports that Israeli air raids continue on Gaza. It appears that a major offensive, called "Pillar of Defense" by the IDF, is indeed under way.
5.11pm GMT I'm going to hand over to my colleague Tom McCarthy now. Thanks for all the comments.
4.56pm GMT Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that the IDF has issued "draft orders for Israeli Homefront Command reserve soldiers".
Haaretz.com ✔@haaretzcom Breaking news: #IDF issues draft orders for Israeli Homefront Command reserve soldiers bit.ly/UDeJkd #Gaza #Hamas
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite4.55pm GMT BBC reporter Jon Donnison is reporting another large explosion north of Gaza City.
Jon Donnison @JonDonnison Another large explosion heard north of #Gaza City just now.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite4.47pm GMT The Associated Press is reporting that Binyamin Netanyahu is meeting with his senior security cabinet "after sundown" tonight, according to officials. AP reports:
Plumes of black smoke wafted into Gaza City's skies following at least five airstrikes, in atmosphere reminiscent of Israel's large scale 2008-2009 attack on Gaza. Ambulance sirens blared as people ran in panic in the streets and militants fired angrily into the air ... Outside the hospital [where Jaabari's body was taken], thousands of angry Gazans chanted "retaliation" and "we want you to hit Tel Aviv tonight".
Israeli military spokeswoman Avital Leibovitch said Israeli aircraft had targeted 20 locations in Gaza that served as storage or launching sites for rockets. Among the weapons destroyed were rockets that could hit as far as 25m (40km) into Israel, she said.
Dovish Israeli lawmaker Dov Hanin condemned the killing. "Assassinating leaders is never the solution. In place of the leaders killed, other will grow, and we will only get another cycle of fire and blood," he said.
Israeli opposition leader Shaul Mofaz, a former chief of staff who has supported targeted killings, welcomed the strike. "We need to continue this policy, to find them in every place," he told Israel's Army Radio. "Israel needs to determine the agenda, not Jaabari."
On its official Facebook page, Egypt's Freedom and Justice Party, the Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, called the assassination a "crime that requires a quick Arab and international response to stem these massacres against the besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip." It accused Israel of trying to "drag the region toward instability".
The British Foreign Office has warned against an escalation of violence:
Foreign Office (FCO) ✔@foreignoffice We continue to call on all sides to exercise restraint to prevent a dangerous escalation that would be in no one’s interests. #Gaza
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite4.46pm GMT Here is a gallery of pictures from the attack today.
4.40pm GMT Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan was interviewed on al Jazeera a little earlier. He said a new military leader would soon "stand in his [Jaabari's] position" but he would not give a name.
Would Hamas respond to the killing?
We will. We will. That must happen. I have to say clearly. We know that this road of liberation is very long. We have had to sacrifice a lot.
He said there had always been a response from Palestinians when other leaders had been assassinated. In one case that had undermined former PM Shimon Peres's position, leading to his losing the subsequent election.
If Netanyahu expects that he will win the election after the assassination of Ahmed al-Jaabari he is totally wrong.
What would be the response - rocket attacks, suicide bombings inside Israel? Hamdan replied:
I can't say what will happen, but I am sure that this will happen.
The Gazan leadership would decide how to respond, he said.
4.39pm GMT Reuters reports that Palestinians have said nine people were killed in the attack that assassinated Jaabari, including a seven-year-old girl. Al Jazeera is reporting that the Hamas military chief's son was also among the dead.
Reuters witnesses reported numerous explosions around Gaza, with Hamas security compounds and police stations among the targets.
4.33pm GMT Al Jazeera's Cairo correspondent has been telling the channel that in Egypt the assassination of Jaabari is being viewed as "Operation Re-elect Binyamin Netanyahu".
Last month the prime minister called early elections for January because parliament could not agree on a new austerity budget.
4.29pm GMT Avital Leibovitch, an Israeli military spokeswoman, is being interviewed on al Jazeera.
She says Jaabari had "a lot of Israeli blood on his hands".
Referring to attacks on Israel from militants in Gaza, she says: "More than 700 rockets in the last year alone – does this seem normal to a western country?"
Is Israel considering a ground offensive?
All options are on the table for us. We'll continue to do what is necessary to protect the people of Israel.
4.21pm GMT
Updated at 4.48pm GMT
Al Jazeera is reporting that Egypt has condemned the killing of Jaabari.
4.17pm GMT My colleague Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem says that, as the Israel Defence Force tweet earlier suggests, the IDF is indeed saying that ground forces are standing by.
4.03pm GMT The BBC's Jon Donnison is reporting from Gaza on Twitter.
Jon Donnison @JonDonnison News of Ahmed Jabari's killing being broadcast from mosques in #Gaza. "Its war" one Gazan told me.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite Jon Donnison @JonDonnison Car horns and gunfire across #Gaza city.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite Jon Donnison @JonDonnison Streets of #Gaza City emptying as I drive through with news of more airstrikes coming through on car radio.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite Jon Donnison @JonDonnison More dead bodies being brought into #Gaza city's Shifa hospital morgue where i've just been.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite4.02pm GMT Alarmingly, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Force has just tweeted that today's attack may lead to a "ground operation".
IDF ✔@IDFSpokesperson All options are on the table. If necessary, the IDF is ready to initiate a ground operation in Gaza.
14 Nov 12 ReplyRetweetFavorite3.57pm GMT
Updated at 3.59pm GMT
Israel's military spokesman, Yoav Mordechai, predicts days of fighting to follow Jaabari's killing, according to Reuters. Mordechai said:
The days we face in the south will, in my estimation, prove protracted. The homefront must brace itself resiliently.
3.52pm GMT According to the Associated Press, Palestinian witnesses say Israeli airstrikes have hit a series of targets across Gaza City, following the assassination of Ahmed al-Jaabari.
Hamas security officials said two Hamas training facilities were among the targets. AP reports:
Plumes of smoke are rising in the air, and people are running in panic through the streets as militants angrily fire their weapons in the air.
3.49pm GMT My colleague Harriet Sherwood in Jerusalem has more on the killing of Hamas military chief Ahmed al-Jaabari.
In a statement, the IDF said Jaabari was "a senior Hamas operative who served in the upper echelon of the Hamas command", and had been "directly responsible for executing terror attacks against the state of Israel in the past number of years".
Its operation was intended "to severely impair the command-and-control chain of the Hamas leadership, as well as its terrorist infrastructure. This was a surgical operation in co-operation with the Israeli security agency that was implemented on the basis of concrete intelligence and using advanced capabilities."
Israeli military sources said the strike had been the result of "precise intelligence" gathered over a period of months. The Israeli air force carried out multiple air strikes on Wednesday in an operation it named Cloud Pillar, suggesting it had launched a continuing offensive.
Calls for revenge were broadcast in Gaza after the air strikes, Reuters said.
Ahmed Al-Jaabari in 2011. Photograph: Handout/Reuters
The BBC’s Wyre Davies called the killing of Jaabari “a massive escalation of the situation around Gaza”.
Interviewed on BBC News from Jerusalem just now, Davies said: “It’s a serious escalation of the violence and one would expect some sort of retaliation from Hamas over the coming hours and days,” he said.
Running through the recent violence between Hamas and Israel in and around Gaza, Davies said: “Israel has now taken quite a deliberate decision, with this Operation Cloud Pillar, to assassinate such a senior figure. They don’t do this very often.”
Asked about a possible Hamas response, Davies said it might come through Egypt’s Sinai peninsula: “We know that Gazan militants, Palestinian militants, have been able to get out, either across the Egyptian border or through tunnels, and launch attacks against Israeli positions in southern Israel from the Sinai peninsula.”
3.43pm GMT GazaThe killing of Hamas’s military chief, Ahmed al-Jaabari, seems to be the beginning of a new round of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza.
Israel said the killing of Jaabari and a passenger in his car was not the end of this operation and more attacks on Gazan militants would follow.
Hamas said the airstrike had “opened the gates of hell”.
In a statement the Israeli military said: “The purpose of this operation was to severely impair the command and control chain of the Hamas leadership.”
Military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Avital Leibovitch said the attack was the "start of a broader operation”.
Islamic Jihad said: "Israel has declared war on Gaza and they will bear the responsibility for the consequences.”
Hamas has governed Gaza since 2007. Reuters reports that it has been “emboldened” by the election of Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party in neighbouring Egypt early this year.
The killing is a dramatic resumption of Israel's policy of assassinating Palestinian militant leaders. Jaabari is the most senior Hamas official to be killed since an Israeli invasion of Gaza four years ago. He has long topped Israel's most-wanted list, the Associated Press reports. Israel blames him for a string of attacks, including the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit in 2006.
There were signs that Egypt had managed to broker a truce between Israel and Palestinian militants after five days of violence during which more than 100 missiles were fired from Gaza and there were repeated Israeli strikes on the territory.
3.22pm GMT Golan HeightsThe Israeli defence minister, Ehud Barak, has said that "almost all" Syrian villages near the border with the Israeli-held Golan Heights (see map below) had now fallen into rebel hands. Earlier this week Israel opened fire over the border after stray Syrian mortar shells flew into the Golan Heights. Barak said today: "Almost all of the villages, from the foot of this ridge to the very top, are already in the hands of the Syrian rebels." And he said the Syrian army was displaying "ever-diminishing efficiency".
2.52pm GMT LibyaGeneral Carter Ham, the head of the US military's Africa command, has said that some of those who attacked the US consulate in Benghazi in September, killing ambassador Chris Stevens, were linked to al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb. But he said the attack – the origins and response to which continue to be hugely contentious issues in the US – was not necessarily "an AQIM-planned or -organised or -led activity".
2.46pm GMT GazaHamas has said its military chief, Ahmed al-Jaabari, was killed today in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza. There have been multiple Israeli attacks on Gaza today. Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service confirmed it had carried out the attack, according to Reuters, saying it had killed Jaabari because of his "decade-long terrorist activity".
2.43pm GMT
Updated at 2.53pm GMT
SummaryHere is a summary of today’s key events so far.
Syria
• Turkey has scrambled fighter jets to its south-eastern border with Syria, witnesses told Reuters, in response to a third day’s assault – by aircraft and artillery – on the rebel-held border town of Ras al-Ain. There was no immediate official confirmation from Turkey. Reuters reported “a trickle of refugees” making their way through the barbed-wire fence between Ras al-Ain in Syria and Ceylanpinar in Turkey. But around 11,000 escaped into Turkey last week. Local officials say 30 people have died since Monday, the Associated Press reported. Ankara has vowed to defend itself against Syrian attack, defence minister Ismet Yilmaz saying "the necessary response will be given to Syrian planes and helicopters that violate our border”, and Nato has promised to protect it if that happens. Ninety miles west of Ceylanpinar, three Turkish border villages were evacuated for “security reasons”.
• Syrian rebels may have more powerful shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles than previously thought, if photographs posted by Brown Moses (Eliot Higgins) on his blog are correct.
Israel
• Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s hardline foreign minister, has suggested his country should topple the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, if he presses ahead with a request for recognition of the state of Palestine at the UN in two weeks. The Israeli cabinet is considering a range of punitive measures it could take in response to the expected vote, including full or partial annulment of the 1993 Oslo accords. A move to win admission to the UN for Palestine as a full member state stalled last autumn, but Abbas is now aiming to win “non-member state” status. The UN general assembly is expected to back this. Harriet Sherwood has the full story here.
Libya
• In Washington, Republican senator John McCain is calling for the establishment of a Watergate-style congressional committee to investigate the death of US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans at the US consulate in Benghazi on 11 September. The facts of the case and the Obama administration’s response to the killings were a major issue in this month’s US presidential election.
Jordan
• Hundreds of citizens have taken to the streets in several cities – though not the capital, Amman – for a second day of protests against a government decision to lift fuel subsidies and raise prices. The worst violence is in Naour, near Amman, where 500 angry youths torched a car and threw stones at police and passers-by, according to police.
1.20pm GMT DamascusMy colleague Mona Mahmood has been speaking to Faris Habib, a resident of the Harasta neighbourhood outside Damascus. He says the situation in the Syrian capital is "normal" and the city is "completely safe":
The situation here is normal and every day I go down to Damascus as I work there. I even stay late at night but it is completely safe. All what you hear about the terrible situation in Harasta and Damascus is an illusion.
All the foodstuffs are available in the market; nothing is missing. Yes, there is a rise in prices but still you can get all what you want. The rise in prices is owing to the commercial embargo that is imposed on Syria. All the companies that used to export products to Syria now face lots of troubles to get their products here. They will be punished by the UN.
The leadership in Syria has always prepared itself for such situations and it has a huge strategic store that can keep Syria going despite all the difficulties. Also all the states that are Syria's allies are still helping us and send their products to us.
Believe it or not, since the breakout of the crisis till today, there was not any cut or halt in salary. I get my salary every single month. The government is working to create chances of work for more people as the Syrian market is a very promising one. We have lot of raw materials that can be used in making different things. If we can not make them in Syria we can export them as raw materials. There is no problem at all; in fact the cost will be less and the profit will be more ...
He gave the example of fuel.
Before, you had to queue to get a tube of gas or few litres of diesel, especially in winter as the weather got cold. Now the government has allocated trucks to transfer diesel to the residential buildings. You do not need to go and collect it by yourself any more. The cost of a litre of diesel is 25 Syrian lire; can you believe it, despite the crisis created by a few armed groups, fuels prices in Syria are still so cheap in comparison to other neighbouring states or world states ...
The government is supporting the fuel with 320 billion Syrian lire to keep it affordable and available for use. The price of bread is still the same ... 15 Syrian lire only. You do not have to queue to get bread; bakeries are full of bread.
Habib said agriculture was affected by the crisis, however.
The armed groups are not allowing the provision of pesticides or the transferring of fruit and vegetables among the Syrian provinces, but come now to Damascus market and have a look; you can find lots of vegetables, as none of them are exported abroad like before and they have become even cheaper ...
He said there was electricity 24 hours a day in Damascus. "There is no cut at all." But in "restive provinces", the only way to repair power cuts "is by sending an army escort with the technician so that he can do his job".
Most of the time, these armed groups would blow up the power grid to blame the Syrian army and spread a state of chaos in the provinces and stop life and work. It is an abnormal situation but we are pretty sure that Syria will overcome this crisis and return even more powerful. Please do not believe what other people tell you that the situation in Damascus is catastrophic and horrible. We really have a very normal life and there is not any problem at all.
As with some other reports that paint a more negative picture of life in the Syrian capital, we are unable to verify what Habib says.
12.35pm GMT
Updated at 2.39pm GMT
This Reuters video shows people panicking and running for cover in Ras al-Ain as warplanes fly overhead, as well as a row of destroyed shops afterwards.
The beginning of the video, which the news agency cannot verify, purports to show a car in Damascus crushed by a government tank, with the driver's body still inside.
12.11pm GMT Ras al-AinThe Associated Press reports that two rocket-propelled grenades hit houses in Ceylanpinar, Turkey, but there were no injuries. Ceylanpinar is on the other side of the border from the Syrian rebel-held town of Ras al-Ain, which is under attack by Syrian forces.
One of AP's journalists reported seeing Syrian forces shelling a wooded area near Ras al-Ain from which rebels had been firing at them.
12.02pm GMT
Updated at 12.02pm GMT
Surface-to-air missilesSyrian rebels may have more powerful shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles than previously thought, if photographs posted by Brown Moses (Eliot Higgins) on his blog are correct.
His photos show a man with what he identifies as an SA-16 (“reportedly captured by Ansar al-Islam from an air defence in East Ghouta, near Damascus”) and an SA-24 (“apparently looted from Babla Base air defence base by Ansar al-Islam”) - “the latest generation of Russian surface to air missiles”.
A photo purporting to show a Syrian rebel with an SA-24 surface-to-air missile. We cannot verify this
At the New York Times’s At War blog, CJ Chilvers explains why this is important:
Rebel acquisition of any such new-generation missile, be they SA-14s, SA-16s, SA-18s or SA-24s, would be a significant upgrade. Previously, rebels have been seen only with SA-7s, an earlier, much less capable variant in the former Soviet Union’s suite of portable heat-seekers …
If these weapons are turned toward Syrian military aircraft, then supporters of the uprising will have reason to hail them, and Syrian military pilots will have new grounds for worry on their next sorties.
But if these are sold — and weapons of this sort are often said to fetch four- and five-figure dollar sums on black markets — and fired at commercial aircraft, then the consequences and regional security implications of the war in Syria will have become much worse.
This is especially true if the second missile really is an SA-24, one of the world’s most modern heat-seeking missiles and the subject of quite a scare this year in Libya.
He quotes missile proliferation analyst Matt Schroeder of the Federation of American Scientists as saying: “As far as I know, this is the first SA-24 manpads [man-portable air-defence systems] ever photographed outside of state control.”
A photo purporting to show a Syrian rebel with an SA-16 surface-to-air missile. We cannot verify this
11.32am GMT Reuters is now reporting that Turkish fighter jets could be heard near the Syrian border this morning after a Syrian warplane struck Ras al-Ain. Reporters on the Turkish side of the border could not see the jets but heard them approach from Turkish territory, the news agency reports.
Turkey has scrambled jets close to its south-eastern border before in response to Syrian aircraft approaching Turkish airspace.
Turkey's defence minister, Ismet Yilmaz, has said that Turkey will deliver the "necessary response" if Syrian planes or helicopters cross into Turkish airspace.
11.07am GMT Ras al-AinOn Twitter, Zaid Benjamin of Arabic radio station Radio Sawa posts a link to this video, which purports to show warplanes bombing the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain.
The video was posted by the "Ras al-Ain News Network", which has posted a number of videos purporting to show attacks on the town over the last three days.
We are unable to verify these videos.
11.02am GMT
Updated at 11.02am GMT
New Syrian coalitionFrançois Hollande, the French president, has gone further than other world leaders in saying that if/when the new National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces forms a transitional government, France will examine whether to arm the rebels. Paris had previously ruled this out, fearing arms could reach Islamist militants.
Suhair al-Atassi, a vice president of the new coalition, has been speaking to Reuters. She said that once the coalition had proved it represented "revolutionary forces" on the ground, there would be no excuse for western powers not to provide some form of military backing:
The ball now is in the international community's court. There is no more excuse to say we are waiting to see how efficient this new body is. They used to put the opposition to the test. Now we put them to the test.
She blamed western refusal to arm the rebels for the rise of extremism in Syria.
10.44am GMT
Updated at 10.51am GMT
Reuters has a reporter in Ceylanpinar, the Turkish town on the other side of the border from Ras al-Ain.
Their reporter says buildings were rocked in Ceylanpinar when the Syrian jet bombed Ras al-Ain this morning. As Reuters reports, the attack "has brought Syria's civil war back perilously close to Turkish soil, testing a promise by Ankara to defend itself against any spillover of violence from its neighbour."
Yesterday, 90 miles west in the Suruc district of Sanliurfa province, three Turkish border villages were evacuated for "security reasons", a security official told the news agency.
On Monday, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the secretary general of Nato, said the alliance would defend Turkey if it is attacked.
10.35am GMT Ras al-AinReuters has more on the Syrian attack on Ras al-Ain. A witness told the news agency that a Syrian warplane bombed the rebel-held town this morning for a third day, "rocking buildings on the frontier and sending up huge plumes of smoke".
Rebels overran Ras al-Ain last week during an advance into Syria's mixed Arab and Kurdish northeast that has sent thousands of refugees fleeing for safety in Turkey. Syrian jets have been bombing the town since Monday.
As you can see from this map, Ras al-Ain is right on the Turkish border.
10.12am GMT SummaryHello and welcome to today’s Middle East Live. This is Paul Owen covering for Matthew Weaver for the day.
Here is a summary of this morning’s key events so far:
Syria
• Hillary Clinton has announced an additional $30m (£18.9m) of humanitarian aid to Syria, bringing the total US aid to the country to $200m. The US secretary of state called the formation of Syria's new opposition coalition, the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, an important step that would help Washington better target its help. "As the Syrian opposition takes these steps and demonstrates its effectiveness in advancing the cause of a unified, democratic, pluralistic Syria, we will be prepared to work with them to deliver assistance to the Syrian people,” Clinton said in Australia, after talks with her Australian counterpart and the US defence secretary, Leon Panetta. Clinton said the $30m would help get food to hungry people inside Syria and to refugees who have fled to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
• France yesterday became the first western country to formally recognise the new opposition coalition as the “sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people”. Six Gulf Arab states also recognised the coalition on Monday. The US, the EU and the Arab League have so far stopped short of giving it formal recognition. William Hague, the British foreign secretary, said the new body had to prove its democratic credentials and show it enjoyed support from all Syrians. A Syrian donors’ conference will be held in London on Friday to discuss stepping up non-lethal aid to the new group, which is headed by Moaz al-Khatib.
• Reuters is reporting that a Syrian warplane has bombed the rebel-held town of Ras al-Ain on the Turkish border for a third day.
Jordan
• Violent protests broke out across Jordan last night after the government announced an increase in fuel prices, inciting anger directed at the king after months of mounting tension in the kingdom.
Iraq
• Iraqi insurgents unleashed a new wave of bombings across the country this morning, targeting security forces and civilians, killing 12 people and wounding dozens more.
Israel
• Israel's vice-prime minister, Moshe Yaalon, said this morning that the Palestinians would violate their peace accords with Israel by seeking recognition of an independent state of Palestine at the United Nations. Yaalon said Israel would "have to take steps to make it clear that there will be heavy price" if the Palestinians go ahead with their plan to petition the UN general assembly for “non-member state” status before 29 November. An anonymous official told the Associated Press Israel would consider the 1990s peace accords null and void if the Palestinian statehood bid goes ahead.
9.48am GMT
Updated at 9.53am GMT
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Latest 1 2 3 … 13 14 15 Next Solidarnosc
14 November 2012 9:53AM
"As the Syrian opposition takes these steps and demonstrates its effectiveness in advancing the cause of a unified, democratic, pluralistic Syria..."
Who do you think you are kidding Mrs Hitlery?
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14 November 2012 10:03AM
I spotted a few interesting things yesterday, first the Syrian opposition appears to have captured SA-16 and SA-24 surface to air missile systems, the first time they've been recorded in possession of them. Then there's interesting photos of Jabhat al-Nusra using unexploded FAB 500 M62 bombs as part of a massive truck bomb, and then we have some Syrian opposition members using unexploded cluster bomblets as warheads for their DIY rockets.
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14 November 2012 10:08AM
I have just been reading Press TV, shame they are no longer on British Satelite TV but there you go, anyway they always say "Foreign Backed Insurgents" when referring to the troubles there and I am struggling to find any part of that statement that isn't true.
I said yesterday and repeat today how anyone here in the West with some education can back what our elected representatives are doing in Syria is simply beyond me.
Popular revolution my backside, Syrian's INSIDE the country know only too well what happened in Libya and I think its fair to say that the VAST majority there would back Assaad today, and that is I believe, the main reason my country along with others have been more than a bit slack in trying to get a peaceful diplomatic solution to the crisis, instead they have been actively encouraging the slaughter of Syrians, so called Syrian Government atrocities carried out on the eve of UNSC resolutions makes me sick to the stomache, my government has been actively encouraging this sort of behaviour, did they give the nod and the wink for the rebels to slit the throats of children as the security council sat?? would not surprise me one bit.
Now come on Gaurdian.. if this is not a foreign backed insurgency without one fucking thought for the ordinary Syrian then I dont know what is.
How anyone here in the West can justify our elected leaders actions is beyond me and really do wonder what motivates them.. end of the day women and children are being slaughtered by both sides.. so why not stop arming the fuckers and supporting the ongoing carnage and INSIST that the fighting on all sides STOPS.. and a diplomatic solution found.. FFS LET THE SYRIANS DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES.
Totally utterly ashamed of my governments actions towards Syria and if WWIII evolves as a consequence then who could blame the Chinese or the Russians, UK/US/France et al have been taking the piss big time.. sincerely hope it doesn't but one can only push so far before somone pushes back..
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14 November 2012 10:15AM
Response to Solidarnosc, 14 November 2012 9:53AM
"Mrs Hitlery" hahaha - I like - well done!
She is as abhorrent as netanyahoo.com - this picture reminds me of Merryl Streepe in the film Rendition
$30 million wont last very long. What do you want in return Hitlary?
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14 November 2012 10:18AM
In Other Syrian News The Free Syrian Army has been attacking Civilian neighborhoods as reported by the activist Edward Dark in Aleppo in which it seems that the guardian is seems to be ignoring him.
Henry Kissinger is advocating a Carefully arming of the Syrian yet lets not forget that in Syria there are more Jihadists rather then the so called rebel fighters.
"Kissinger Advocates—Carefully—“Some” Arming of Syria’s Rebels"
"Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said he would favor “some” American efforts to arm the opposition groups in Syria’s continuing civil war."
And what is the strategic reason that we are supporting the Jihadists again? well Henry Kissinger explains it in his own words.
" Mr. Kissinger said. “So from that point of view an Assad victory in the civil war would be against the American national interest. "
Anything to appease Israel and of course creating a Pro American Government in Syria with the help of this re created brand of the SNC opposition coalition.
"France yesterday became the first western country to formally recognise the new opposition coalition as the “sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people”. Six Gulf Arab states also recognised the coalition on Monday. "
The Six Gulf Arab states have recognized the opposition coalition are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait,UAE, Oman.
How very , democratic, pluralistic Hillary Clinton.
While we our own western governments are bus planning on arming the Jihadists in Syria the same western governments are busy and helping the Bahrain regime prevail against the protesters.
How democratic is that again?
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14 November 2012 10:19AM
Response to BrownMoses, 14 November 2012 10:03AM
appears to have captured SA-16 and SA-24 surface to air missile systems,
Why would you automatically assume they were "captured". Why not supplied? Seems alot more feesible considering the amount of arms in the ME. Why would the Assad regime leave MANPADS lying around when they have no airforce to engage?
using unexploded FAB 500 M62 bombs
using unexploded cluster bomblets as warheads for their DIY rockets.
Right, so the SAM's are "captured" but the bombs are all "unexploded" have been recovered from being dropped out of jets and then re-used i suppose? You have a tricky way with words Moses. Could it be the SAM's have been supplied or "captured" and the bombs have also been "captured" from airbases? And then used in "DIY rockets"? Or did all the bombs the opposition use initially drop out of regime jets?
.
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14 November 2012 10:21AM
Response to Solidarnosc, 14 November 2012 9:53AM
Nice one, i still prefer Killary the Wahhabi supporter.
Hillary Clinton in her own words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqn0bm4E9yw
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14 November 2012 10:23AM
Syria seemed quite a reasonable place before the West decided to help 'fix' it....now look where we are.
It wasn't perfect, but was it worse that Russia or Saudi?
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14 November 2012 10:24AM
Response to ElvisInWales, 14 November 2012 10:08AM
errr love your idealism Elvsin but your memory is short..dont you remmber months ago before the armed uprsigin Assad promised to stop his killings and just went right on ahead, under the noses of the Arab League monitors...he has reneged on EVERY SINGLE damn pledge or promise and the fact is that thousands continue to die MOSTLY ON THE CIVILIAN SIDE as UN and NGOs attest almost all killed by Assad and his armed thugs..i know people in Syria who have disappeared and NOTHING will change under the circumstances except Assad winning...who were the children slaughted by rebels by the way? If you are referring to Houla that was Shabiha...a ceasefire IS NOT possible with lying Assad...
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14 November 2012 10:26AM
Response to Solidarnosc, 14 November 2012 9:53AM
Mrs Hitlery .Ha ha given the captain mainwairing story that is hilarious .
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14 November 2012 10:26AM
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bailliegillies
14 November 2012 10:27AM
30 million US dollars, I wonder how many weapons that will buy?
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14 November 2012 10:33AM
Wonder how long it will take the French to covertly supply weapons to rebels, just like they did in Libya before they were found out.
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14 November 2012 10:35AM
30 million US dollars, I wonder how many weapons that will buy?
Indeed ,certainly wont go to humanitarian aid for displaced Syrians.
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14 November 2012 10:38AM
Killary vs Hitlery, eh? With a superior mind come overwhelming choices, I guess...
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14 November 2012 10:38AM
Response to 78comments, 14 November 2012 10:15AM
$30 million wont last very long. What do you want in return Hitlary?
$30 million, or $30 billion for that matter if thats the final bill is pretty cheap for a proxy regime power shift that allies US geo-political interests, alot cheaper than Iraq or Afghanistan.
Proxy-war and covert operations are far cheaper and alot less (in domestic terms) politically damaging than land invasions.
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14 November 2012 10:39AM
Response to ElvisInWales, 14 November 2012 10:08AM
I have just been reading Press TV, shame they are no longer on British Satelite TV but there you go, anyway they always say "Foreign Backed Insurgents" when referring to the troubles there and I am struggling to find any part of that statement that isn't true.
Spot on, I miss press tv too, perusing that, RT, Al Jaz, then Sky and the BBC gave a cracking overview of where we're at. And it was a tight competition as to which spewed out the most nationalistic propaganda and sounded like Fox news..In the end the BBC and Sky won that battle and by some margin..
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14 November 2012 10:39AM
Response to Atvar48, 14 November 2012 10:33AM
More time than it took Assad to supply weapons to Hezbollah and other groups.
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14 November 2012 10:40AM
The touted figures of displaced Syrians are being massaged.
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14 November 2012 10:40AM
Response to ElvisInWales, 14 November 2012 10:08AM
"Foreign Backed Insurgents"
thats a valid term; as the Syrian govt has also recd support Russia support (it wrote off historic Syrian debt as part $2bn arms deal 2010), Iran al quts advisers, possibly Hezzbollah, you would have to say foriegn backed counter insurgent and foriegn backed insurgent
my view, the same foriegn backed could be applied to Taliban, PIRA who both recieved state and non state aid, but not many term them foriegn backed, so I would prefer for consistency the term insurgent and counter insurgent, pro X and anti X
the term foriegn backed insurgent is valid, but also vastly different to SANAs foriegn jihadists terrorists; and Lavrov terms the Syrian insurgency a civil war (its past 1,000 deaths) even though Assad denies it
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14 November 2012 10:41AM
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ManWithRA
14 November 2012 10:45AM
Response to TruthBalkanSpreader, 14 November 2012 10:21AM
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HaveYouSeenThisMan
14 November 2012 10:46AM
Response to JuanFivesix, 14 November 2012 10:23AM
You forgot to mention the Arab Spring - you know, the one Assad set out to 'reverse'.
King Canute was as modest as Assad.
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14 November 2012 10:47AM
The sooner La Clinton retires from public life, the better for everyone. She is so full of excrement she is liable to explode anytime soon.
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14 November 2012 10:48AM
Response to BaalsProphet, 14 November 2012 10:21AM
What a waste of American taxpayers' money.
Well its not really tax dollars unless you count the fact that the $5 trillion spent on all the foreign crusades since 2003 eventually gets socialised onto Americans by way of increasing the national debt and creeping deficit..increasing the debt by ten trillion over the past 9 years wasn't to pay for food stamps.
They'll just keep on printing money and force foreign countries to take useless dollars in return for oil, oh and they have to buy the U.S. manufactured arms whilst they're at it, rude not to...
And we 'wonder' why Iran doesn't give a shit what the value of the Rial is worth v the dollar, it'd rather keep its sovereign wealth buried in the ground and sell it calmly and methodically to the Chinese.
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14 November 2012 10:53AM
Response to ElvisInWales, 14 November 2012 10:08AM
Now come on Gaurdian.. if this is not a foreign backed insurgency without one fucking thought for the ordinary Syrian then I dont know what is.
What do you suggest Einstein, that we allow a dictator to slowly wipe out any opposition to him through murder and torture of defenceless civilians? How does that help in any way?
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14 November 2012 10:53AM
I suppose its all been said before,,,but how is that last week cameron talks about intervening in Syria, yesterday Hollande talks about recognising the rebels as the 'legitimate' voice of the people and today Killary hilton offers 200million etc,,,,I always thought we in the west were in the grips of a depression but it seems the real appetite for our leaders is to fund wars and then turn around theatriclly and ask for more taxes in return.
I am convinced the only way to stop this madness is to vote for'none of the above'.
The world would be a 'safer'place.
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14 November 2012 10:56AM
Response to capmint1, 14 November 2012 10:40AM
thats a valid term; as the Syrian govt has also recd support Russia support (it wrote off historic Syrian debt as part $2bn arms deal 2010), Iran al quts advisers, possibly Hezzbollah, you would have to say foriegn backed counter insurgent and foriegn backed insurgent
That's a flawed analysis though. Countries helping their allies does not equate to a foreign backed counter insurgency for if it did it would then mean that every country in the world that has ever helped a friendly nation are all foreign backed counter insugencies.
I would like to see some evidence of Iran arming Syria. There's a lot of bluster about it and baseless propaganda but does any actual evidence exist?
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14 November 2012 10:56AM
I would have thought that 30 million would be better spent on those american who lost their livelyhoods in that recent Hurricane but no..
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14 November 2012 10:57AM
Response to Ikonoclast, 14 November 2012 10:39AM
it was a tight competition as to which spewed out the most nationalistic propaganda and sounded like Fox news
there was a time when AJ during Desert Storm were accused of spewing out anti American propoganda, for amongst other 'crimes' showing dead and captured USMC; although Iraqi TV showing pictures captured POWs being questioned is contary Geneva Convention, the BBC and other channels show captured POWs all the time; but only AJ violates the Geneva Convention according to Rumsfeld, and 'lie' that its more than one looter and not foriegn backed jihdaists
the documentary Control Room about beginning AJ during Desert Storm is fascinating, it shows Centcom Media centres inner workings, wars include a large part of media management, the US Liasion officer freely admit to, as do the journalists
getting back on topic, the question of impartiality comes up time and again, AJ early coverage in view US liason is on par with Fox, interestingly the cynical senior AJ exec states that the role of journalist is to show both sides narrative, dead bodies on both sides as well as civilian, the Liason officer is a moment of frank openess admits that when he saw pictures dead USMC he felt revulsion at the pictures AJ showed, but later reflected when hed seen the night before the dead Iraqi civilians hed not felt that revulsion, and recognised he wasnt impartial, the same point is echoed in interview US journalist and AJ on topic neutrality, when US journalist says AJ coverage lacks impartiality and has spin, the AJ journalist turns the question and ask is neutrality really possible; does she lack impartiality?
the other point about propoganda, per liason officer, is not so much what you see, as what you dont, he states that in the knowledge of what stories Centcom 'feeds' to media in 24 hr news cycle (e.g. saving Jessica Lynch was to divert from US stalling due to sandstorms) and he can tell bias by which stories make the editorial cut,
so, yes, I miss Presstv, but they arent impartial, its a media war, spin and counter spin, we in the west who are cynical are better at spotting the western spin (and thankfully RT show Hans Blix that Iran propoganda has similarity to Iraq) but its a mistake to think SANA, Xinhau, RT, CNE provide journalistic integrity
Journalists without borders is provides a ranking for press freedom:
UK 28 (just below Mali)
Russia 142
Turkey 148
Libya 155
China 174
Iran 175
Syria 176
http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-2011-2012,1043.html
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14 November 2012 10:58AM
New Syrian coalition
François Hollande, the French president, has gone further than other world leaders in saying that if/when the new National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces forms a transitional government, France will examine whether to arm the rebels. Paris had previously ruled this out, fearing arms could reach Islamist militants.
Suhair al-Atassi, a vice president of the new coalition, has been speaking to Reuters. She said that once the coalition had proved it represented "revolutionary forces" on the ground, there would be no excuse for western powers not to provide some form of military backing:
The ball now is in the international community's court. There is no more excuse to say we are waiting to see how efficient this new body is. They used to put the opposition to the test. Now we put them to the test.
She blamed western refusal to arm the rebels for the rise of extremism in Syria.
My hope is that Assad is executed soon ending 50 years of dictatorship and opening new era for Syria.
Extremism doesn't exist in Syria, it's just dignified people fighting for their country.
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14 November 2012 11:02AM
France yesterday became the first western country to formally recognise the new opposition coalition as the “sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people”.
How nice of France to determine who is the "sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people."
They've always been pretty good at deciding who should rule in other countries.
Maybe they should just go right ahead and take back Algeria and Vietnam.
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14 November 2012 11:04AM
Response to Abdurhman94, 14 November 2012 10:58AM
"My hope is that Assad is executed soon ending 50 years of dictatorship and opening new era for Syria.
Extremism doesn't exist in Syria"
Extremism doesn't exist in Syria? really now? and what have the Free Syrian Army Terrorists/Jihadists call them what you want have been showing? none Extremism?
Or the fact that after Assad is killed if he will be which i doubt the Muslim Brotherhood will take over as they did elsewhere.
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14 November 2012 11:04AM
Response to Atvar48, 14 November 2012 10:56AM
Likewise the $6bn from Iran to Syria would be better spend on Iranians!!
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14 November 2012 11:05AM
Response to NegativeCamber, 14 November 2012 10:53AM
What do you suggest Einstein, that we allow a dictator to slowly wipe out any opposition to him through murder and torture of defenceless civilians?
Seems to work for western powers in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Yemen... all the countries that tie in with western geo-political interests funnily enough...what do you suggest?
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14 November 2012 11:08AM
In other news today we see that large protests are spreading across Jordan with slogans such as "the people wants to topple the regime”.
Coincidental that the US sent troops to Jordan a few weeks ago just before these protests kicked of? Wouldn't take you to be of a conspiratorial mind.
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14 November 2012 11:09AM
But who's gonna lend the Yanks the $30 million?
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14 November 2012 11:09AM
Response to capmint1, 14 November 2012 10:57AM
I'm aware of AJ bias, the shift after it was bought and pwned was obvious However, other than it's coverage of the conflicts, it's actually a very good news channel.
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14 November 2012 11:10AM
Response to philbobaggins1, 14 November 2012 11:05AM
Seems to work for western powers in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Yemen... all the countries that tie in with western geo-political interests funnily enough...what do you suggest?
Pretty sure if any of those regimes slaughtered 30,000 civilians and had 2.5 million refugees the West would rethink its backing.
As it stands, they don't and the West needs their oil so...
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14 November 2012 11:17AM
Response to TheRani, 14 November 2012 11:09AM
But who's gonna lend the Yanks the $30 million?
Lol true enough. Considering they are the biggest debtor nation in history and up to their necks to the tune of around $7 trillion. Oh they might just ask the FED to print it and lend it to them so they can give it to their insurgents and leave the US tax payer to pick up the tab.
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14 November 2012 11:17AM
I think Chomsky had it right about right regarding the U.S.'s attitude towards 'Islamists'.
I don't think they particularly fear Islamists at all, even the more conservative ones. You only need look at the fact their major ally in this region, after Israel, is Saudi Arabia, probably the harshest Islamist regime on Earth. A regime that literally taught the Taliban everything they know about women's rights,LGBT rights, and so on. A regime which even now is implicated in sponsoring 'terrorism' across the region. The U.S. fawns over them and showers them with arms to the tune of billions of dollars.
What they actually fear is 'Islamists', or any other kind of political movement, who won't toe their line. They're looking for obedience, and not impeccable liberal credentials.
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14 November 2012 11:20AM
Response to NegativeCamber, 14 November 2012 11:10AM
Pretty sure if any of those regimes slaughtered 30,000 civilians and had 2.5 million refugees the West would rethink its backing.
As it stands, they don't and the West needs their oil so...
Pretty telling indictment of both your intelligence regarding the regimes listed and their abhorrent human rights records, and of your self-serving attitude towards western foreign policy.
As it stands the death toll in Syria since the start of the uprising is estimated by various agencies to be in the region of 30,000 people, that is all casualties including SAA and civilians. Do you think the Assad regime killed every one of them? Or would you like to reconsider and realise this is an overall estimation of deaths and blame should be equally attributed to both sides of a civil war until evidence suggests otherwise? Nice attempt at mis-information though.
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14 November 2012 11:21AM
Humanitarian aid! Is that what we call funding the FSA terrorists now? Are Al Qaeda our friends now because i must have missed that memo?
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14 November 2012 11:23AM
Suhair al-Atassi blamed western refusal to arm the rebels for the rise of extremism in Syria.
So if the rebels/terrorists had better weapons they wouldn't be shouting Al-Akbar as they detonated their car bombs in civilian centers. Good luck and let's wait and see if arming the rebels quickly solves Syria's problems.
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14 November 2012 11:24AM
And Guardian, for balance how's about showing the FSA terrorists indiscriminately murdering civilians in the street?
You make me sick Guardian with your compliance to evil.
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14 November 2012 11:29AM
Response to Abdurhman94, 14 November 2012 10:58AM
Assad was elected in May this year in case you missed that
Good to see France the former coloniser of Syria getting back into the game . The days of empire begin again ..Im sure Syrians are delighted.
So the FSA and Al Nusra front who blow up murder and assassinate arent extremists what are they then ??
Not that anyone in the West cares but it would be interesting to see who would win in a fair vote in Syria and what the electorate and people who have been under external attack for the last 20 months really think.
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14 November 2012 11:29AM
Response to TruthBalkanSpreader, 14 November 2012 10:18AM
"France yesterday became the first western country to formally recognise the new opposition coalition as the “sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people”.
Hardly surprising when a lot of the new opposition lives there.
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14 November 2012 11:34AM
Response to Atvar48, 14 November 2012 10:35AM
Sorry to burst your outrageous scepticism here, but so far the US, Scandinavian countries and Australia have funded several dozen million USD for Syria's humanitarian response, which has all been spent on, yup, the humanitarian response. Russia and China on the other hand? Nothing. Why is that? Do they not think Syrians are suffering? Now do you want to start a debate about humanitarian responsibilities and who is bearing the load here? I'm ready. Or maybe you should go and do some reading up on the OCHA/reliefweb websites before you post uninformed comments like this. Sorry for the harsh tone, but really.. You need to start asking yourself why so many Syrians are still without emergency assistance. Access restrictions, lack of funding, it's all there in black and white.
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14 November 2012 11:35AM
Response to philbobaggins1, 14 November 2012 11:20AM
Pretty telling indictment of both your intelligence regarding the regimes listed and their abhorrent human rights records, and of your self-serving attitude towards western foreign policy.
It's called reality, realpolitik, pragmatism. And by mentioning/questioning my intelligence you've highlighted your own, or lack thereof.
As it stands the death toll in Syria since the start of the uprising is estimated by various agencies to be in the region of 30,000 people, that is all casualties including SAA and civilians. Do you think the Assad regime killed every one of them? Or would you like to reconsider and realise this is an overall estimation of deaths and blame should be equally attributed to both sides of a civil war until evidence suggests otherwise? Nice attempt at mis-information though.
The majority of the 30,000 figure would have been killed by the SAA, of course. Once you take out SAA casualties, then it becomes the vast majority.
What about the refugees, 2.5 million of them, any sympathy for them or are they just products of the West's imperial ambitions against poor little Assad who is just, you know, trying to make Syria a better place in the face of these bullies?
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