Israel Mulls then Rebuffs Cease Fire in Gaza, Hamas Threatens Revenge

News Dissector BlogDecember 31, 2008

Israel says Gaza truce proposal unrealistic

GAZA (Reuters) – Israel on Wednesday rebuffed French calls for a 48-hour humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip and stepped up preparations for a possible ground offensive after Hamas’s long-range rockets hit a major population center. READ FULL ARTICLE

The French have proposed a ceasefire in Gaza for 48 hours that Israel says it is considering.

AP: Tues Night: GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israel, under international pressure, is considering a 48-hour halt to its punishing four-day air campaign on Hamas targets in Gaza to see if Palestinian militants will stop their rocket attacks on southern Israel, Israeli officials said Tuesday. Any offer would be coupled with a threat to send in ground troops if the rocket fire continues.

UN SECRETARY GENERAL REPEATS CALL FOR CEASE FIRE

Edith M. Lederer, The Associated Press: “UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and urged Mideast and world leaders to do more to help end the Israeli-Hamas conflict and promote political dialogue.” READ FULL ARTICLE

Israeli Jets Drop ‘Small Smart Bomb’ in Gaza Strikes

The Israeli Air Force has debuted a highly accurate — and U.S.-supplied — smart bomb in its air campaign over Gaza. Back in September, Israel received congressional authorization to buy up to 1,000 GBU-39 Small Diameter Bombs (click here to read the original notification).

According to the Jerusalem Post, the first shipment of the bombs arrived earlier this month. Israeli fighters reportedly employed the bombs to target Qassam rocket launchers during the initial bombardment. They were also used in the bombing of a network of tunnels in Rafah on Sunday.

The Small Diameter Bomb, a 250-pound class weapon, was probably selected for both its bunker-busting capabilities. According to a Boeing factsheet, the GBU-39 is supposed to be able to penetrate 3 feet of steel-reinforced concrete. The smaller warhead is also supposed to reduce the possibility of collateral damage (although you definitely wouldn’t want to be in the neighborhood when one goes off).

Employing the GBU-39 also means Israeli aircraft can drop more bombs per sortie. The four-weapon carriage (seen here) means aircraft can typically carry and deliver four of these bombs instead of a single, 2,000-pound bomb.

KUCINICH CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT UNITED NATIONS INQUIRY ON GAZA

Israeli government attacks civilians in violation of international law - U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich Wants UN Probe

“Today I sent a letter to Secretary General Ban ki-Moon urging the United Nations to establish an independent inquiry of Israel’s war against Gaza. The attacks on civilians represent collective punishment, which is a violation of Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. The perpetrators of attacks against Israel must also be brought to justice, but Israel cannot create a war against an entire people in order to attempt to bring to justice the few who are responsible. The Israeli leaders know better. The world community, which has been very supportive of Israel’s right to security and its right to survive, also has a right to expect Israel to conduct itself in adherence to the very laws which support the survival of Israel and every other nation,” Kucinich said.

“Israel is leveling Gaza to strike at Hamas, just as they pulverized south Lebanon to strike at Hezbollah. Yet in both cases civilian populations were attacked, countless innocents killed or injured, infrastructure targeted and destroyed, and civil law enforcement negated. All this was, and is, disproportionate, indiscriminate mass violence in violation of international law. Israel is not exempt from international law and must be held accountable. It is time for the UN to not just call for a cease-fire, but for an inquiry as to Israel’s actions.”

PRO-ISRAEL PROPAGANDA OUTLET PALESTINE MEDIA WATCH CIRCULATES VIDEO

A Palestinian girl whose family members were killed yesterday in Gaza:

“I say Hamas is the cause of all wars.”

A Palestinian girl whose family members was killed yesterday in Gaza after an Israeli air attack was interviewed today on Palestinian TV and placed the blame for the war on Hamas:

[Girl] “We were sleeping 7 girls in the room. We were asleep and didn’t know what was happening. In the morning all the bricks were on top of my head, and the heads of all my sisters. My 4 year old sister next to me was dead.”

[Interviewer] “How many were you?”

[Girl] “Seven. In the other room were my mother, my father, my younger brother and another sister, who is 13 days old. I say, Hamas is the cause, in the first place, of all wars.”

The interview is very significant. At a time of extreme stress and grief, the girl blames Hamas and not Israel — likely echoing a sentiment she has heard from adults. If this sentiment is representative of growing anger among Gaza residents at Hamas for the destruction it has caused, it has major significance and could have ramifications on the long-term position of Hamas in Palestinian society.

Given the significance of the girl’s accusation, it is surprising that some media outlets have run the interview, without including the quote in which the girl blames Hamas. See comments at the Miss Kelly blog.

HEADLINES

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: All Gazans at Risk

PALESTINIANS ARE CALLING IT THE HANUKKAH MASSACRE

Steven Lendman blogs at GlobalResearch.com:Attacks Were A Pretext for Israel Offensive — :

As always, most of the dead and wounded are civilian men, women and children. No matter, according to Israeli military spokesman Avi Benayahu saying: Saturday’s attack is “only the beginning. The operation was launched following the violation of the terms of the lull by Hamas and the unceasing attacks by Hamas authorities on Israeli civilians in the south of the country.”

In fact, “attacks” were the pretext, not the cause of Israel’s aggression. Since Hamas won a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in January 2006, Israel, Washington and the West withheld recognition and more. All outside aid was cut off, an economic embargo and sanctions were imposed, and the legitimate government was isolated and vilified.

The leading candidate to become Israel’s next prime minister, Tzipi Livni, vows as a “strategic objective” to overthrow Hamas by military, economic and diplomatic means.

Her main opponent, Benjamin Netanyahu, pledges to “topple the Hamas regime” and end its effective resistance against an oppressive occupation.

All along, Hamas has been conciliatory to no avail. Earlier in the year, its leaders agreed to a ceasefire and observed months of it unilaterally, despite repeated Israeli violations and Gaza being under siege. On November 4, it ended after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) entered the Strip (without cause) and killed six Hamas officers supposedly to close off tunnels close to the Kisufim roadblock. Thereafter, in spite of both sides calling for peace, IDF hostilities continued.

DAILY ECONOMIC CRISIS NEWS UPDATE

NAKED CAPITALISM: DESPITE BAILOUTS, BANKS IN TROUBLE

A useful piece at the Wall Street Journal discusses the poor prospects for the US banking industry, which will in aggregate post a fourth quarter loss despite heroic interventions by the Fed and Treasury.

The article makes much of recent and almost-certain-to-get-worse bank credit losses as the economy continues to deteriorate. Commercial real estate vacancies, particularly of retail space, are starting to mount. Construction loans were an important business for local and regional banks; a high proportion almost assuredly no longer look viable. And we of course have the grim outlook for credit cards and ongoing weakness in housing.

But the credit losses are masking a second problem: banks’ earnings engine in broken. As many have noted, as long as they are taking losses, they are not terribly keen to extend new credit.

But more serious is the fact that banks had shifted their business model to be more depended on fee income, and much of that was related to the securitization of real estate. Pending changes in credit card rules will dampen down some of the non-interest charges banks could formerly extract. Similarly, a world where the Federal government has become the 800 pound gorilla provider of mortgage credit offers far fewer fee opportunities to banks (and that’s even before considering that transaction volumes are down too).

And as we (and others) have complained, “Where’s my bailout?” maybe it’s time we also start on the less catchy but no less important, “Where’s the good bank/bad bank?” Until the dud assets are recognized, sold off, and banks recapitalized or liquidated, the industry will have a heavy millstone around its neck.

GMAC: A SUBPRIME LENDER GETS BIG BAILOUT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=asJGlr5r3Uf0&refer=home

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Treasury committed $6 billion to support GMAC LLC, the financing arm of General Motors Corp., widening the government’s effort to keep the largest U.S. automaker out of bankruptcy.

The Treasury will purchase a $5 billion stake in GMAC and lend $1 billion to GM so the automaker can contribute to the lender’s reorganization as a bank holding company, according to a statement issued yesterday. The loan is in addition to $13.4 billion the Treasury agreed earlier this month to lend to GM and Chrysler LLC.

Borrowing from Peter to Pay Paul: The Wall Street Ponzi Scheme Called Fractional Reserve Banking

“Robert Owens, a co-author of the Act, later testified before Congress that the banking industry had conspired to create a series of financial panics in order to rouse the people to demand “reforms” that served the interests of the financiers.”

FT: US consumer confidence falls to all-time low

US consumer confidence fell to a record low in December in the face of the continuing economic downturn and rising job losses.

ECONOMIC POETRY

Fannie, Freddie, Bear & Hard Times: Wall Street’s Collapse, Told in Rhymes By Mary Pilon - WSJ

This year, things fell apart. Mere anarchy was loosed upon the world of investment banks, markets, homeowners and workers. And people wrote a lot of derivative poems about it.

Among those moved by the financial carnage was Todd Federman, a 25-year veteran of Wall Street. In the wee hours at home in Livingston, N.J., Mr. Federman crafted “Subprime,” a poem inspired by the children’s song, “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” It begins:

No money down, two years interest free,
Buying a house was no problem you see.
And so the young man along with his spouse,
They could not afford, but yet bought the house.

Mr. Federman, a former hedge-fund trader who is now a private investor, followed “Subprime” with his year-end revue, “The La$t Word at Christmas,” which laments the recent market losses:

Stocks, commodities and private equity too,
It seems every sector has stepped in the poo.

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