So WHO makes United States Decisions - English
So WHO makes United States' decisions - Jan09 - English. US denies Olmert influenced UN vote
The US has denied that a telephone call made by...
So WHO makes United States' decisions - Jan09 - English. US denies Olmert influenced UN vote
The US has denied that a telephone call made by Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, to George Bush, the US president, led to the US abstaining in a UN vote on the Gaza war last week.
In a speech late on Monday, Olmert said Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, was left "pretty shamed" at the vote and had to abstain on a resolution she had helped arrange.
Sean McCormack, a US state department spokesmen, who was with Rice at the UN last week during debate on the security council resolution, said the remarks were "just 100 per cent, totally, completely untrue".
McCormack said that Washington had no plans to seek clarification from Israel.
Mark Regev, a spokesman for Ehud Olmert, said the Israeli leader stood by his remarks.
Telephone influence
The Israeli prime minister said on Monday that he demanded to talk to Bush last Thursday, minutes before a vote in the UN Security Council on a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
"When we saw that Rice, for reasons we did not really understand, wanted to vote in favour of the resolution ... I looked for President Bush," Olmert said.
Bush, who Olmert said was taken off a stage in Philadelphia where he was making a speech, said he was not informed on the resolution and was "not familiar with the phrasing".
"I'm familiar with it. You can't vote in favour." Olmert claimed telling the US president.
"He [Bush] gave an order to the secretary of state and she did not vote in favour of it, a resolution she cooked up, phrased, organised and manoeuvred for," Olmert said.
Bush was in Philadelphia on Thursday morning and gave a 27-minute speech on education policy that ended about 10 hours before the UN vote and there was no interruption of the public event.
The Israeli prime minister described Bush as an "unparalleled friend" of Israel.
UN call
Fourteen of the security council's 15 members supported the legally binding resolution, which has until now failed to stop Israel's offensive in Gaza.
Olmert criticised the UN resolution, saying that "no decision, present or future, will deny us our basic right to defend the residents of Israel".
Israel launched its offensive on December 27, in what it said was an attempt to stop Hamas firing rockets into southern Israel from Gaza.
After an intensive air campaign in the first week, Israel sent ground forces into Gaza in the second week of fighting and continues to push deeper into the strip.
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Arab Americans flock to Gaza protests - English
Arab Americans flock to Gaza protests - English. The war on Gaza has sparked demonstrations worldwide. In the US, where support for Israel remains...
Arab Americans flock to Gaza protests - English. The war on Gaza has sparked demonstrations worldwide. In the US, where support for Israel remains strong, there has been a growing protest movement against the war. It is particularly strong among Arab-Americans, especially those of Palestinian origin.
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Must Watch-The Truth About the 2009 Gaza Massacre - English
Eye opening montage of news clips and photos that tell the truth about the events in Gaza. Courtesy -whatreallyhappened.com --Strategically...
Eye opening montage of news clips and photos that tell the truth about the events in Gaza. Courtesy -whatreallyhappened.com --Strategically speaking Israel does not have much time left in the ongoing conflict. Consider that it chose the timing of the current aggression very carefully-when the administration in the White House is in transition - the potentially most radical segment of the population in America - the students - are away from campuses and could not be mobilized easily and the general public in America - and elsewhere - are still recovering from the Christmas and New Year celebrations- and are also preoccupied with the economic recession. Still to the Israeli surprise regular protests with huge turn outs have been occurring in the US and around the world stripping off the deceptive cover of being so-called peaceful democratic and civilized from Israel-s face. The protests and alternative media sources deserve much credit in this regard. What is important to understand here is that if we are just demanding a ceasefire it is already part of Israel-s strategy in this conflict. There are good chances that Israel will end its aggression within a week before the new administration assumes office in the White House or the latest by the February 10 elections in Israel. Israel also knows that most people come out for protest only in reaction. Once the aggression ends the protests will subside and the new White House administration would not be pressed to issue a drastic statement. And that is only to the extent of issuing a statement- something on the line that Israel should observe RESTRAINT. The Bush administration did not bother to do even that much. Given the team of pro-Israel Hawkish-Pragmatists that Obama has assembled in his cabinet - if that is any indicator - chances are very slim that we will see a significant policy shift immediately.-- For more information see gazaawareness.blogspot.com
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Gaza tunnel network back to life - 27Jan09 - English
Gaza tunnel network back to life - 27Jan09 - English. In southern Gaza merchants are busy rebuilding a complex network of underground tunnels used...
Gaza tunnel network back to life - 27Jan09 - English. In southern Gaza merchants are busy rebuilding a complex network of underground tunnels used to bring in goods from neighbouring Egypt. Many of the passages were destroyed or badly damaged during the Israeli attacks.
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Israeli Army Chief Rabbi: Ignore the rules of war concerning civilians -...
Israeli Army Chief Rabbi - Ignore the rules of war concerning civilians - 28Jan09 - English. The Israeli army's chief rabbi has been critcised over...
Israeli Army Chief Rabbi - Ignore the rules of war concerning civilians - 28Jan09 - English. The Israeli army's chief rabbi has been critcised over a controversial booklet distributed to soldiers before the war on Gaza suggesting that they can ignore the rules of war concerning civilians.
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Harassment by Zionists - Unbelievable & Shocking but NOT Surprising...
Harassment by Zionists - Unbelievable & Shocking but NOT Surprising - English. This is some serious mental torture... It is in violation of all...
Harassment by Zionists - Unbelievable & Shocking but NOT Surprising - English. This is some serious mental torture... It is in violation of all the international laws and above all, it is in the violation of basic human rights of humanity.
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Half of Gazans need Psychological help to cope with the war - 29Jan09 -...
Half of Gazans need Psychological help to cope with the war - 29Jan09 - English. Israel's 22-day War on Gaza took a heavy emotional toll on the...
Half of Gazans need Psychological help to cope with the war - 29Jan09 - English. Israel's 22-day War on Gaza took a heavy emotional toll on the people there. Doctors say at least half the population needs professional help to come to terms with what happened.
And Palestinian men seem to have been hit particularly hard. Many had already struggled for two years looking for work in a territory under siege. Now the horrors of war have made the search even harder...and far more traumatic.
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