General who planned Gaza war appointed army chief

Watch and enjoy General who planned Gaza war appointed army chief


MARK WEISS in Jerusalem

DEFENCE MINISTER Ehud Barak has appointed Maj Gen Yoav Galant, the head of the army’s southern command, as Israel’s new military chief of staff.

Maj Gen Galant (52) is a former head of Israel’s naval commando unit. As head of southern command, he masterminded the 22-day war in Gaza in the winter of 2008-2009.

The cabinet is expected to approve the appointment next week and Gen Galant will take up the post early next year.

Top of his agenda will be the possibility of an Israeli military strike to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear bomb.

The defence minister’s selection of the new military commander was put on hold earlier this month because of what was dubbed the “Galant document” – a memo allegedly written by Maj Gen Galant to smear other top generals contending for the job.

But a police investigation determined last week that the document was a fake and Maj Gen Galant had nothing to do with it.

Also yesterday, Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed that the 10-month freeze on West Bank settlement construction would end on September 26th.

Pressed on the issue by ministers from his ruling Likud party, Mr Netanyahu said there has been no change in his position that the moratorium will not be renewed when the 10-month period expires next month.

Mr Netanyahu leads a largely right-wing and religious coalition which is committed to Jewish settlement across the West Bank. He warned extending the 10-month moratorium would endanger the future of his government.

Two moderate ministers have proposed a compromise under which building will only continue in the larger West Bank settlement blocs – areas which Israel hopes to incorporate under a final peace agreement.

Such a policy, which is likely to meet stiff opposition from other ministers, is similar to that adopted by the previous Israeli government headed by Ehud Olmert.

Despite the difficulties, Mr Netanyahu declared that the optimistic target set by US secretary of state Hilary Clinton for reaching a comprehensive peace deal within a year was possible.

He said compromises would be required from both sides.

The prime minister said any deal must provide real security for Israel and a solution to the refugee problem within a future Palestinian state, and include Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, and an “end of conflict” clause.

Coppied by http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2010/0823/1224277380241.html

Lebanese army, Hezbollah appear closer after Israel clash

We are enjoy Lebanese army, Hezbollah appear closer after Israel clash

A Lebanese flag and wreaths at the spot where two Lebanese soldiers died in a firefight over tree cutting.

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) -- The Lebanon mission to the U.N. has told CNN in a written statement that the Israeli Military "ignored a request by the LAF (Lebanese Armed Forces) and UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) to postpone cutting down trees in a contested area along the "Blue line", the U.N. border line demarcating Israel and Lebanon.
The statement goes on to say: "The LAF fired warning shots asking Israeli soldiers to desist from their activities. However, the Israeli response came in the form of heavy gunfire and mortar shelling of three Lebanese villages killing one journalist and two Lebanese soldiers in addition to wounding six soldiers."
While Lebanon acknowledges Israel made proper notification of its tree cutting plans through proper U.N. channels -- by advising UNIFIL the work would commence -- the statement says the Lebanese Army was only informed of the plans 15 minutes before the work actually began and slams Israel for not "respecting" the "tripartite coordination" by preventing the Lebanese from requesting a delay on the work in the disputed area.
The document provides details about the firefight. The Lebanese mission says that 10 soldiers were immediately dispatched after hearing the IDF would begin work within minutes "to protect its sovereign borders from any Israeli infringement." It was presumably these soldiers who fired the "warning shots."
A heavy and prolonged firefight on August 3 cost lives on both sides: three Lebanese and an Israeli officer were killed in the skirmish.
Israel has consistently maintained that it bears no responsibility for the deadly border fighting and that its soldiers were operating on sovereign Israeli territory -- a claim backed up by the U.N. who confirmed that Israel did not cross the Blue Line into Lebanese territory.
While both sides have pledged to work closely with UNIFIL to prevent another outbreak of violence the Lebanese statement comes after questions were raised in Washington about U.S. funding of the Lebanese Army.
The border clash and resulting diplomatic saber rattling have lead some U.S. politicians to question the wisdom of arming a military that has been engaged in fighting with the United State's closest regional ally. Thus what has been a regional policy issue has been thrust into the Washington "beltway" of domestic politics. Earlier this month members of the House of Representatives put a hold on funding for the Lebanese military.
U.S. military aid to Lebanon has served a number of foreign policy objectives.
Arming the Lebanese military has been seen as a way of offsetting the heavily armed Hezbollah militia in the south and also allowing the government in Beirut to stand-up to the threat of Sunni insurgents operating in Palestinian refugee camps.
In a deadly three-month long conflict in the summer of 2007 the Lebanese army defeated insurgents in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. Fatah al-Islam, the main group fighting the army from inside the camp has been accused of having past links to al Qaeda and Syria.
Coppied by http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/08/20/mideast.peace.analysis/index.html?hpt=C2#fbid=BRhT0Nxv594&wom=false