16 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
As mediators try to put the finishing touches on the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, both sides continue to press for last minute changes to get everything they want out of the deal. Responding to yesterday’s Hamas proposal for a year-long, renewable ceasefire, the Israeli government seemed unsatisfied, opting instead to push for an open-ended [...]
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16 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
With over 1,100 Palestinians killed and over 5,000 wounded in the first three weeks of the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, the fourth week began with a glimmer of hope, for while the fighting continued it was reported to be somewhat less fierce than in previous days, perhaps an early indicator that tomorrow evening’s [...]
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16 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
As the situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate, many are holding out hope that President-elect Barack Obama’s long promised surge will somehow magically turn the floundering seven year long war around. But both at home and abroad the Obama plan is meeting resistance, skepticism that doubling the troops on the ground will do any good, [...]
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16 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
Updated 1/16/09 3:29 PM EST As the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip enters its 21st day, Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev suggests a deal to end the attacks which have killed over 1,000 Gazans could be in the offing. “I hope we are entering the end game and that our goal of sustained and [...]
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15 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
Remember Muntadar al-Zeidi? The intrepid Iraqi journalist last month went from obscure reporter to international celebrity after hurling his shoes at visiting US President George Bush. He was arrested, beaten, and charged with assaulting a foreign dignitary, facing years of prison time. The arrest was presented as a testament to the progress Iraq’s criminal justice [...]
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15 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
Last Friday’s resolution in the United Nations Security Council urging a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip passed 14-0, with the abstention of the United States. The abstention came after President Bush sent last minute orders to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who worked hard winning support for the watered down resolution only to not vote [...]
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15 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon says it may take “a few more days” to resolve a handful of “technical issues” standing in the way of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to end the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. But conflicting reports emerging throughout the day have left open the question of whether [...]
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15 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
An attempt by the British government and other members of the United Nations Security Council to condemn Israel’s attack on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency headquarters in the Gaza Strip was foiled today, after Israel found out about the attempt and demanded United States ambassadors prevent it. According to Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to [...]
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15 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
There was utter panic in one Gaza City neighborhood this evening after an Israeli tank shell hit the crowded al-Quds hospital, setting it ablaze. The area was shelled for most of the day, and desperate patients wounded in the war struggled to get out of their beds and flee the latest Israeli attack. The fire [...]
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15 January 2009 | News | Jason Ditz
With its continued refusal, after 20 days, to allow international journalists into the Gaza Strip to cover the ongoing war, the Israeli government is no stranger to being accused of attacks on freedom of the press. But earlier today, attacks on journalists’ ability to cover the war turned into an attack on journalists. Just minutes [...]
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