LCCC ENGLISH DAILY NEWS BULLETIN
January 05/09

Bible Reading of the day.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 2,1-12. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage." After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

J.B. Bossuet (1627-1704), Bishop of Meaux
Elevations on the mysteries, Week 17, no.2/"We saw his star at its rising"
What did this star that proclaimed the glory of God in heaven possess above other stars? (Ps 18,2). What did it possess above others that it merited to be called the star of the King of kings, of the Christ who had just been born, and to lead the magi to him? Balaam, a prophet among the pagan people in Moab and Arabia, had seen Jesus Christ as a star, and had said: «A star shall rise from Jacob» (Nb 24,17). This star that appeared to the magi was the figure of that which Balaam had seen – and who knows whether Balaam's prophecy had not spread round the East?... Whatever the case, a star that only appeared before their eyes would not have been able to lead the magi to the newborn King; it was necessary that the star of Jacob and the light of Christ should rise in their hearts. By the presence of the outward sign he had given them, God touched them within with the same inspiration Jesus spoke about: «No one can come to me unless the Father draw him» (Jn 6,44).
Thus the wise men's star is the heart's inspiration. Goodness knows what shines within you: you are in darkness and frivolity, or perhaps in the world's corruption. Turn to the East where the stars rise; turn to Jesus Christ who is in the East where rises the beautiful star of love and truth and virtue.

Free Opinions, Releases, letters & Special Reports
Israel fighting ghost of Lebanon. By:Matthew Kalman/Chronicle Foreign Service/04/01/09
Invasion Offers Benefits but Also Risks to Both Sides-Washington Post 04/01/09
Analysis: Who will come out on top?guardian.co.uk 04/01/09
The New Meaning of an Old Battle in the Middle East-New York Times 04/01/09

Latest News Reports From Miscellaneous Sources for January 04/09
Sfeir For Correcting Judicial Rulings During Syrian Tutelage-Naharnet
Confrontations Between Security Forces, Demonstrators Outside U.S. Embassy-Naharnet
Leftist demonstrators confront security forces at US embassy in Lebanon-Xinhua
Middle East nations condemn Israel's Gaza invasion-AFP
Jalili: We are Ready to Find Solutions to Gaza-Naharnet
Israeli forces bisect Gaza, surround biggest city-Ap
Diplomats say US blocks UN statement on Gaza-AP
Israel, Hamas Engage in Heavy Fighting in Gaza Strip-Bloomberg
Israeli troops invade Gaza; lengthy fight expected-AP
Barak: Israel Ready for Any Development on Lebanon Border-Naharnet
Olmert: Israel 'Not Interested' in New Front in the North-Naharnet
Lebanese Aircraft laden with Medical Aid to Palestinians in Gaza lands in Jordan-Naharnet
Nasrallah Urges Hamas to Hit Israel Hard-Naharnet
Sarkozy to Ask Syria About Delay in Exchanging Ambassadors-Naharnet
Hizbullah Competes Israel in Lebanon's Elections-Naharnet
Hizbullah Wouldn't Rush to Rescue Hamas-Naharnet
Experts: Israel Aims to Cripple Hamas, Warns Hizbullah and Other Foes-Naharnet
Upcoming Lebanese election a competition with Israel: Hezbollah-Xinhua
Lebanese majority leader: Palestinians should be united-Xinhua
Hezbollah chief accuses Arab leaders of collaborating with Israel-Xinhua
Israel ready for any development on Lebanon border: Barak-Africasia
Arab reconciliation / Egypt-Syria rift-Ha'aretz
Israel, Lebanon: The Conflict in Gaza and a Possible Northern Front-Stratfor
What should the Obama administration do to jump-start the Middle ...Washington Times
Israel ready for any development on Lebanon border: Barak-Africasia
Iran, Syria, Gaza: Meshaal Meets With Jalili In Damascus-Stratfor
Israel has history of failure in ground attacks-International Herald Tribune

Sfeir For Correcting Judicial Rulings During Syrian Tutelage
Naharnet/Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir told a delegation of visiting Lebanese whom had previously suffered from arbitrary judicial rulings during the time of Syrian tutelage that he had previously talked about the issue during his Sunday sermon. "When will those concerned respond? If there is an injustice against these people, then it is time to correct it," Sfeir said. He considered that globalization removes some obstacles but also creates others. "Diminishing the poor of the earth is no solution for globalization," he explained. He read a letter from Pope benedict XVI in which, he called on all states to have equal capabilities in entering international markets. He pointed that the struggle of the poor calls for international cooperation. Beirut, 04 Jan 09, 12:53

Israeli forces bisect Gaza, surround biggest city
 By IBRAHIM BARZAK and MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writers Ibrahim Barzak And Matti Friedman, Associated Press Writers
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, bisecting the coastal territory and surrounding its biggest city as the new phase of a devastating offensive against Hamas gained momentum.
Thousands of soldiers in three brigade-size formations pushed into Gaza after nightfall Saturday, beginning a long-awaited ground offensive after a week of intense aerial bombardment. Black smoke billowed over Gaza City at first light and bursts of machine gun fire rang out.
TV footage showed Israeli troops with night-vision goggles and camouflage face paint marching in single file. Artillery barrages preceded their advance, and they moved through fields and orchards following bomb-sniffing dogs ensuring their routes had not been booby-trapped.
The military said troops killed or wounded dozens of militant fighters. Palestinian medics and doctors said 23 Palestinians have been killed — three Hamas fighters and the rest civilians. Many of the casualties were in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, the scene of some of the heaviest fighting, the said.
Army ambulances were seen bringing Israeli wounded to a hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. The military reported 30 Israeli troops were wounded, two seriously, in the opening hours of the offensive.
In his first public comments since the ground operation was launched, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that the invasion was unavoidable and that his government exhausted all other options before approving the operation.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak predicted a long and difficult campaign in Gaza, a densely populated territory of 1.4 million where militants operate and easily hide among the crowded urban landscape.
Hamas threatened to turn Gaza into a "graveyard" for Israeli forces.
"You entered like rats," Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told Israeli soldiers in a statement on Hamas' Al Aqsa TV. "Gaza will be a graveyard for you, God willing."
The ground operation is the second phase in an offensive that began as a weeklong aerial onslaught aimed at halting Hamas rocket fire that has reached deeper and deeper into Israel, threatening major cities and one-eighth of Israel's population. Palestinian officials say nearly 480 people, including dozens of civilians, were killed in the air offensive.
Rocket fire has persisted, however, and several rockets fell in Israel on Sunday morning, causing no casualties. In much of southern Israel school has been canceled and life has been largely paralyzed.
While the air offensive presented little risk for Israel's army, sending in ground troops is a much more dangerous proposition. Hamas is believed to have some 20,000 gunman who know the dense urban landscape intimately. For months, Israeli leaders had resisted a ground invasion, fearing heavy casualties.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he decided that the government had no more choice.
"I want to be able to go to the Israeli public and all the mothers and say, 'We did everything in a responsible manner,'" Olmert said in a statement released by his office. "In the end, we reached the moment where I had to decide to send out soldiers."
He stressed the campaign's objective is to restore quiet to Israel's south, not to topple Hamas or reoccupy Gaza. Israel considers Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since June 2007 and is sworn to Israel's destruction, a terrorist group.
Israel has launched at least two other large ground offensives in Gaza since withdrawing its troops from the area in 2005. But the size of this latest operation dwarfs those, with at least three times the firepower.
Israel also has called up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers, which defense officials said could enable a far broader ground offensive as the operation's third phase. The troops could also be used in the event Palestinian militants in the West Bank or Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon decide to launch attacks. Hezbollah opened a war against Israel in 2006 when it was in the midst of a large operation in Gaza.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the military's preparations are classified.
An armored force south of Gaza City penetrated as deep as the abandoned settlement of Netzarim, which Israel left along with other Israeli communities when it pulled out of Gaza in 2005, both military officials and Palestinian witnesses said.
That move effectively cut off Gaza City, the territory's largest population center with about 400,000 people, from the rest of Gaza to the south.
The offensive focused on northern Gaza, where most of the rockets are fired into Israel, but at least one incursion was reported in the southern part of the strip. Hamas uses smuggling tunnels along the southern border with Egypt to bring in weapons.
Warplanes struck about four dozen targets overnight, including tunnels, weapons storage facilities, areas used to launch mortars and squads of Hamas fighters, the military said.
Gunboats backed up the ground forces, attacking Hamas intelligence headquarters in Gaza City, rocket-launching areas and positions of Hamas marine forces.
Hamas was responding with mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades. Field commanders communicated over walkie talkie, updating gunmen on the location of Israeli forces. Commanders told gunmen in the streets not to gather in big groups and not to use cell phones. Hamas' TV and radio stations, broadcasting from secret locations after their offices were destroyed, remained on the air, broadcasting live coverage.
Ground forces had not entered major Gaza towns and cities by early Sunday morning, instead fighting in rural communities and open areas militants often use to launch rockets and mortar rounds. Militants also fire from heavily populated neighborhoods.
Residents of the small northern Gaza community of al-Attatra said soldiers moved from house to house by blowing holes through walls. Most of the houses were unoccupied, their residents already having fled.
Israel launched the air campaign against Gaza on Dec. 27. Gaza health officials say more than 480 Palestinians were killed in the first eight days of the operation. The breakdown of combatants and civilians remains unclear, but the U.N. says at least 100 civilians were killed in the initial, aerial phase of the war.
Hundreds of rockets have hit Israel so far, and four Israelis have been killed.
The decision to send ground troops into Gaza was taken after Hamas kept up its rocket fire despite the aerial assault, government officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions leading up to wartime decisions are confidential.
The ballooning death toll in Gaza — along with concerns of a looming humanitarian crisis — has aroused mounting world outrage, as evidenced by protests that drew tens of thousands of demonstrators in European capitals on Saturday.
"There is a humanitarian crisis. It's impossible to say how many innocent women, innocent children and innocent babies are being caught up in this conflict, who are being maimed and killed," said Chris Gunness, a United Nations spokesman. "This offensive must stop."
Denunciations also came from the French government, which unsuccessfully proposed a two-day truce earlier this week, and from Egypt, which brokered the six-month truce whose breakdown preceded the Israeli offensive.
But the U.S. has put the blame squarely on Hamas. White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said U.S. officials have been in regular contact with the Israelis as well as officials from countries in the region and Europe.
"We continue to make clear to them our concerns for civilians, as well as the humanitarian situation," he said.
At an emergency consultation of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday night, the U.S. blocked approval of a statement demanded by Arab countries that would have called for an immediate cease-fire. U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the U.S. believed that such a statement "would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success, (and) would not do credit to the council."
Hamas began to emerge as Gaza's main power broker when it won Palestinian parliamentary elections three years ago. It has ruled the impoverished territory since seizing control from forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in June 2007.
**Associated Press writer Amy Teibel reported from Jerusalem.

Diplomats say US blocks UN statement on Gaza
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS – The United States has blocked approval of a U.N. Security Council statement calling for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, diplomats said.
French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, the council president, said the 15 council members could not agree on a statement in closed discussions held after Israel launched a ground invasion into the Gaza Strip on Saturday. But he said there were "strong convergences" among the members to express concern about the deteriorating situation in Gaza and the need for "an immediate, permanent and fully respected cease-fire."
Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi said the United States during the discussions late Saturday objected to "any outcome" on the proposed statement. He said efforts were made to compromise on a weaker press statement but there was no consensus.
Several other council members, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations were closed, also said the U.S. was responsible for the council's failure to issue a statement.
The U.S., Israel's closest ally, has designated Hamas a terrorist organization. U.S. deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the United States saw no prospect of Hamas abiding by last week's council call for an immediate end to the violence. Therefore, he said, a new statement "would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success, (and) would not do credit to the council."Libya, the only Arab nation on the council, called the emergency meeting after Israel sent tanks and infantry across the border into Gaza on the eighth day of its offensive against Hamas militants. The ground attack followed a week of air strikes, which Hamas responded to with salvos of rocket fired into southern Israel. Arab nations demanded that the council adopt a statement calling for an immediate cease-fire and expressing "serious concern at the escalation of violence and the deterioration of the situation in Gaza and southern Israel," a view echoed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. If it had been approved, the statement would have become part of the council's official record but would not have the weight of a Security Council resolution, which is legally binding.
Egypt's U.N. Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz said it was regrettable that one permanent council member — a clear reference to the U.S. — refused to accept any statement at a time when "the aggression is escalating and more people are dying and the military attack on the ground is at its full scale."
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. observer, said: "We have war. We have aggression against the Palestinian people, and it is a sad and tragic moment when the Security Council cannot address this issue by at least demanding from Israel ... to stop this aggression immediately."
More than 480 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 3,000 injured in Gaza, and four people have been killed in Israel.
Israel maintains the offensive is aimed at stopping the rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza that have traumatized southern Israel.
Though the Security Council took no action on Saturday night, an Arab draft resolution circulated by Libya on Wednesday night that would condemn Israel and halt its military attacks on Gaza remains on the table. It would have to be revised, however, since the United States has already called it "unacceptable" and "unbalanced" because it doesn't call for an end to the Hamas rocketing of Israel.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected in New York on Tuesday, along with half a dozen Arab foreign ministers who will be at the U.N. on Monday, to press for a cease-fire resolution.
Mansour said he hopes Abbas and the ministers will succeed in pushing through a resolution "so that we will have a durable and sustainable cease-fire between us and the Israelis."Asked what kind of resolution would be acceptable to the United States, Wolff said: "The important point to focus on here is establishing the understanding of what type of cease-fire we're talking about and to ensure that it's lasting, and to ensure that we don't return to a situation that led to the current situation."

Israeli troops invade Gaza; lengthy fight expected
 IBRAHIM BARZAK and JASON KEYSER, Associated Press Writers Ibrahim Barzak And Jason Keyser, Associated Press Writers
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Thousands of Israeli troops backed by columns of tanks and helicopter gunships launched a ground offensive in Gaza Saturday night, with officials saying they expected a lengthy fight in the densely populated territory after eight days of punishing airstrikes failed to halt militant rocket attacks on Israel.
The incursion set off fierce clashes with Palestinian militants and Gaza's Hamas rulers vowed the coastal strip would be a "graveyard" for Israelis forces.
"This will not be easy and it will not be short," Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on national television about two hours after ground troops moved in.
The night sky over Gaza was lit by the flash of bullets and balls of fire from tank shells. Sounds of explosions were heard across Gaza City, the territory's biggest city, and high-rise buildings shook from the bigger booms.
Troops with camouflage face paint marching single file. As the ground troops moved in, Israel kept pounding Gaza with airstrikes. F-16 warplanes hit three targets within a few minutes, including a main Hamas security compound.
Witnesses in Gaza said that in the first phase, Israeli ground forces had moved several hundred yards inside Gaza. Israeli security officials said initial clashes with militants took place in open fields and soldiers did not immediately move into Gaza's crowded cities, where warfare would likely get much deadlier.
"We have many, many targets," Israeli army spokeswoman Maj. Avital Leibovich told CNN. "To my estimation, it will be a lengthy operation."
Israeli leaders said the operation, known as Cast Lead, was meant to quell militant rocket and mortar fire on southern Israel. They said it would not end quickly but that the objective was not to reoccupy Gaza or topple Hamas. The depth and intensity will depend in part on parallel diplomatic efforts that so far haven't yielded a truce proposal acceptable to Israel, the officials said.
In the airborne phase of Israel's onslaught, militants were not deterred from bombarding southern Israel with more than 400 rockets — including dozens that extended deeper into Israel than ever before. They fired six rockets into Israel in the first few hours after the ground push began, the military said.
One rocket scored a direct hit on a house in the southern city of Ashkelon earlier Saturday and another struck a bomb shelter there, leaving its above-ground entrance scarred by shrapnel and blasting a parked bus. "I don't want to disillusion anybody and residents of the south will go through difficult days," Barak said. "We do not seek war but we will not abandon our citizens to the ongoing Hamas attacks."
Israel called up tens of thousands of reservists in the event Palestinian militants in the West Bank or Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon decide to exploit the broad offensive in Gaza to launch attacks against Israel on other fronts. The military said the country's north was on high alert in case Hezbollah guerillas decided to use its vast stockpiles of missiles against Israel. Israel and Hezbollah fought a 34-day war in the summer of 2006.
White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said U.S. officials have been in regular contact with the Israelis as well as officials from countries in the region and Europe.
"We continue to make clear to them our concerns for civilians, as well as the humanitarian situation," Johndroe said.
The U.N. Security Council scheduled emergency consultations Saturday night on the escalation in Gaza. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged key world leaders to intensify efforts to achieve an immediate truce including international monitors to enforce a truce and possibly to protect Palestinian civilians.
Israel's bruising air campaign against Gaza over the past eight days began days after a six-month truce expired. Gaza health officials say the air war has killed more than 480 Palestinians in an attempt to halt Hamas rocket attacks that were reaching farther into Israel than ever before. Four Israelis have been killed by rockets.
Israel is taking a risk by wading into intense urban warfare in densely populated Gaza that could exact a much higher toll on both sides and among civilians.
This sort of urban warfare has not gone well in past campaigns where Israel sent ground forces into Arab population centers in the Palestinian territories or in Lebanon wars in 1982 and 2006. Israeli forces have either gotten bogged down or sustained heavy casualties, without quelling violent groups or halting attacks for good.
The decision to expand the operation, while continuing to batter Gaza from the air and sea, was taken after Hamas refused to stop attacking Israel, government officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because discussions leading up to wartime decisions are confidential.
Before the ground incursion began, heavy Israeli artillery fire hit east of Gaza City, in locations where the military said Hamas fighters were deployed. The artillery shells were apparently intended to detonate Hamas explosive devices and mines planted along the border area before troops marched in.
Hamas remained defiant as the ground war began.
"You entered like rats," Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan told Israeli soldiers in a statement on Hamas' Al Aqsa TV, broadcast shortly after the start of the invasion. "Your entry to Gaza won't be easy. Gaza will be a graveyard for you, God willing," he said.
"Gaza will not be paved with flowers for you. It will be paved with fire and hell," Hamas warned Israeli forces.
A text message sent by Hamas' military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam, said "the Zionists started approaching the trap which our fighters prepared for them." Hamas said it also broadcast a Hebrew message on Israeli military radio frequencies promising to kill and kidnap the Israeli soldiers.
"Be prepared for a unique surprise, you will be either killed or kidnapped and will suffer mental illness from the horrors we will show you," the message said.
Hamas has also threatened to resume suicide attacks inside Israel.
Hamas has long prepared for Israel's invasion, digging tunnels and rigging some areas with explosives. At the start of the offensive, Israeli artillery hit some of the border areas, apparently to detonate hidden explosives.
Before the ground invasion, defense officials said about 10,000 Israeli soldiers had massed along the border in recent days.
Israel initially held off on a ground offensive, apparently in part because of concern about casualties among Israeli troops and because of fears of getting bogged down in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said his government decided to mount a land operation despite the risk it posed to thousands of soldiers.
An inner Cabinet of top ministers met with leading security officials for four hours Saturday before deciding to authorize the ground invasion.
Olmert told the meeting that Israel's objective was to bring quiet to southern Israel but "we don't want to topple Hamas," a government official quoted the prime minister as saying. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to share the information.
The immediate aim of the ground operations was to take control of sites militants use as rocket-launching pads, the military said. It said large numbers of troops were taking part but did not give specifics.
Israeli airstrikes intensified just as the ground operation was getting under way, and 28 Palestinians were killed. Palestinian health officials said civilians were among the dead, including a woman, her son and her father who died after a shell hit their house.
One raid hit a mosque in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, killing 13 people and wounding 33, according to a Palestinian health official. One of the wounded worshippers, Salah Mustafa, told Al-Jazeera TV from a hospital that the mosque was packed.
"It was unbelievably awful," he said, struggling to catch his breath.
It was not immediately clear why the mosque was hit, but Israel has hit other mosques in its air campaign and said they were used for storing weapons.
Israeli artillery joined the battle for the first time earlier on Saturday. Artillery fire is less accurate than attacks from the air using precision-guided munitions, raising the possibility of a higher number of civilian casualties.
An artillery shell hit a house in Beit Lahiya, killing two people and wounding five, said members of the family living there. Ambulances could not immediately reach them because of the resulting fire, they said.
Resident Abed al-Ghoul said the Israeli army called by phone to tell them to leave the house within 15 minutes.
The ground operation sidelined intense international diplomacy to try to reach a truce. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the visit the region next week, and U.S. President George W. Bush favors an internationally monitored truce.
Israel has already said it wants international monitors. It is unclear whether Hamas would agree to such supervision, which could limit its control of Gaza.
In Hamas' first reaction to the proposal for international monitors, government spokesman Taher Nunu said early Saturday that the group would not allow Israel or the international community to impose any arrangement, though he left the door open to a negotiated solution.
"Anyone who thinks that the change in the Palestinian arena can be achieved through jet fighters' bombs and tanks and without dialogue is mistaken," he said.
Hamas began to emerge as Gaza's main power broker when it won Palestinian parliamentary elections three years ago. It has ruled the impoverished territory of 1.4 million people since seizing control from the rival Fatah forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in June 2007.
Israel occupied Gaza for 38 years before pulling out thousands of soldiers in settlers in late 2005. Israel still controls Gaza border crossings.

Analysis: Israel fighting ghost of Lebanon
Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service
Sunday, January 4, 2009
As Israel rolled its forces across the border into Gaza and began its ground war on Saturday, Hamas leaders scornfully said the Israelis were playing right into their hands.
"The Zionist enemy is advancing toward the trap we have prepared for them," Qassam Brigades, the Hamas military wing, boasted in a statement.
"Gaza will be your cemetery, and you have no choice but to end the aggression and lift the blockade," added Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan.
The derision contained in those taunts may reflect false bravado. But it also underscores a central issue underlying the Gaza conflict and Israel's position: The Jewish state has lost a large measure of its capacity to intimidate and control its regional enemies, a new vulnerability that dates back to the stalemate with Lebanon's Hezbollah militia in 2006.
"Israel believes its deterrence was lost in that war, and Israel's current campaign against Hamas should be seen as an effort to regain that deterrence. Israeli military officials believe that if Hamas feared Israel, they would not be firing rockets at Israeli towns," said David Makovsky, director of the Washington Institute's Project on the Middle East Peace Process.
"The legacy of Israel's inconclusive 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006 hovers over Israel's current military operations in Gaza," he said.
Even Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah mocked Israel in recent days, telling Palestinians they are experiencing a rerun of his group's monthlong conflict with Israel, offering them an analysis of Israel's battle plan and strategy for victory.
"What is happening today in Gaza is not similar but identical to what happened in July of 2006," Nasrallah said in a speech last week. "It is the same choices, the same battle, the same conspiracies, and God willing there will be the same outcome."
Nasrallah said Israel is trying to establish a foothold in Gaza, just as it did in Lebanon, to be used as a bargaining chip if the U.N. Security Council finally intervenes.
To judge from their public statements after the ground operation began on Saturday, Hamas has yet to be deterred after a week of air strikes that have wreaked havoc in Gaza, killing more than 480 people and injuring an estimated 2,750 - most of them Hamas members and their families.
Since the air attacks began, Hamas militants have bombarded southern Israel with more than 400 rockets - including dozens that extended deeper into Israel than ever before, according to the Israeli military.
For its part, Israel has yet to clearly express what it expects to achieve by sending in thousands of ground troops backed by tanks and helicopter gunships.
Addressing reporters in a televised briefing Saturday night, Israeli Defense Minster Ehud Barak put the aims of "Operation Cast Lead" in simple but vague terms.
"The aim is to stop hostile activity from Gaza against the citizens of Israel and to bring about a fundamental change in the situation in the south," Barak said. "We seek peace. We have gritted our teeth for a long time. But the time has come to do what needs to be done. To give our citizens what is appropriate for every citizen in the world, peace and quiet, and to remove as far as possible the threat for the foreseeable future."
However, Amnon Abramovitch, one of Israel's leading military analysts, said he sees no clear strategy after studying the comments of four senior Cabinet members.
"Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak talk about an 'arrangement' (with Hamas). Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni talks about 'a severe blow' (to Hamas) but without any arrangement. Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon talks about toppling Hamas. There are nuances within the Israeli Cabinet," said Abramovitch. "In all modesty, I don't know what to tell you about how it will end."
Khaled Hroub, author of "Hamas: A Beginner's Guide," told Al-Jazeera television that any Israeli incursion into Gaza is doomed to failure.
"I can't see any success, strategically speaking, on the side of the Israeli aggression. That is because Israel declared that their one main objective is to disarm Hamas and stop rockets from being launched from the Gaza Strip," he said. "Even after one month of this aggression, if one single rocket is launched from the Gaza Strip, this means the whole Israeli strategy has failed."
Hroub noted that Hamas is well entrenched in the Gaza Strip, hiding weapons and supplies in a network of tunnels, and would be a formidable enemy in close-combat fighting on its own territory.
Away from the bluster of Israeli politicians, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu gave perhaps the most concrete answer when explaining the ground invasion.
"The objective of this phase is to intensify the heavy blow already dealt to Hamas and to take control of the area from where most of the rocket attacks against Israel originate," said Benayahu. "Stage two of Operation Cast Lead has been launched to support our central goals, which are to deal a heavy blow to the Hamas terror organization, to strengthen Israel's deterrence, and to create a better security situation for those living around the Gaza Strip that will be maintained for the long term."
With that in mind, the huge force amassed at the border may not be a sign that Israel intends to reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip, or even topple Hamas from power. It may simply be a strategy chosen by the new Israeli army chief, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, to carry out a limited operation with a simple objective: seize rocket-launching sites and wait for Hamas to agree to a new cease-fire, perhaps under international supervision.
Benayahu even said Israel might be willing to accept a "reduction" in rockets being fired at its cities instead of a total cessation. In that way, Israel might prevent Gaza from becoming a reprise of its battle with Hezbollah. E-mail Matthew Kalman at foreign@sfchronicle.com.

Olmert: Israel 'Not Interested' in New Front in the North
Naharnet/Israel is "not interested" in opening up a new front in the north as it carries out a massive offensive on Hamas in Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday in a veiled reference to Lebanon's Hizbullah figthers. "Israel has no interest in opening new fronts other than the one in the south," Olmert said at the start of the cabinet meeting. "Not to the east and not to the north." "But caution is required, and I have therefore instructed the defense establishment to be extremely alert and prepared for any development in the event that someone might think that this is his opportunity to take advantage of Israel focusing on the southern front in order to try and change the stable reality created following events in the past." His comments were a thinly veiled reference to Lebanon's Hizbullah with which Israel fought a war in 2006 just weeks into Israel's last major offensive against the Gaza Strip. Two weeks after Israel launched its assault on Gaza in June 2006 -- after militants in the territory seized a soldier in a cross-border raid -- Hizbullah launched a deadly cross-border raid of its own in Israel's north and seized two soldiers. In response Israel unleashed a war on Hizbullah that lasted for 34 days and killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers. (AFP) Beirut, 04 Jan 09, 10:57

Lebanese Aircraft laden with Medical Aid to Palestinians in Gaza lands in Jordan
Naharnet/A Middle East Airlines aircraft laden with medical aid destined to Palestinians in Gaza landed on Sunday at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan. Jordanian Charity Authority Secretary-General Muhammad al Aittan said: "the aircraft carries 20 tons of medical aid arrived today accompanied with the Lebanese Ministers of Health and Development.""We shall unload the aid shipment and store it, prior to receiving the necessary approval for moving the shipment to Gaza via Jordanian territory," he said. Beirut, 04 Jan 09, 12:04

Barak: Israel Ready for Any Development on Lebanon Border
Naharnet/Israel is ready for any development on its border with Lebanon, Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Saturday in a veiled warning to Hizbullah as the Jewish state launched a ground offensive in Gaza. "We hope that the northern front will remain calm, but we are prepared for any possibility," he said in a televised address.
Barak said the launching of the ground invasion "won't be short" or easy. "I know well the dangers that come with an offensive, and what the heavy price will be," he said. "I don't want to fool anyone. The residents of southern Israel will also undergo some tough times," Barak stressed. Beirut, 03 Jan 09, 22:55

Nasrallah Urges Hamas to Hit Israel Hard
Naharnet/Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah urged Hamas to inflict huge losses on Israel which launched a ground operation in the Gaza Strip on Saturday after eight days of pounding the enclave by air and sea. "Our brothers in the resistance in Palestine know that it is by inflicting the biggest possible losses on the Israeli enemy during the ground confrontation that they will win the battle," Nasrallah told an Ashoura gathering. "It is when the resistance kills soldiers and destroys tanks that the course of the battle will be determined," he added. His speech was beamed on a giant television screen to tens of thousands of supporters in Beirut's southern suburbs.(AFP-Naharnet) Beirut, 03 Jan 09, 20:09

Sarkozy to Ask Syria About Delay in Exchanging Ambassadors
Naharnet/French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to ask Syrian officials about the reasons for delaying the exchange of ambassadors between Damascus and Beirut during his upcoming visit to Syria and the region on Monday. French sources told the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Saturday that Sarkozy wants to know the reasons from Damascus for delaying the exchange of ambassadors with Lebanon, particularly when the Lebanese government has already nominated its first ambassador to Syria (rumored to be Michel el-Khoury). Beirut still awaits Syria's official response to that nomination. Sources did not rule out that the French president would seek to know from his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad, what progress has been made regarding his relations with Lebanon since their last meeting in July. Other sources told al-Hayat that Assad could time Sarkozy's visit to Damascus as a pretext for nominating Syria's ambassador to Beirut. Diplomatic sources told the daily An-Nahar that by receiving MP Saad Hariri at the Elysee Palace on Friday, Paris wanted to send a message that it continues to maintain and safeguard its alliances in the region. A French source told the daily As-Safir that Sarkozy intends to ask Assad to work on convincing the Hamas leadership to accept a preliminary halt to launching rockets prior to the discussion of an international resolution that would put an end to the ongoing Israeli military operation in Gaza. Sarkozy is expected to arrive on Tuesday in Beirut, the last leg of his regional tour. He is expected to remain for a few hours in Lebanon during which he would meet with President Michel Suleiman, and pay tribute to the French contingent working under the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Beirut, 03 Jan 09, 16:16

Saniora: What Goes On In Gaza Should Help Us Unite
Naharnet/Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said that what is currently happening in Gaza should be a lesson to us all to unite against Israel.
Following Friday prayers, Saniora chatted with reporters stressing Arab solidarity. "As long as the Palestinians remain united, we are capable of convincing the Muslim and western worlds of our cause," Saniora said. He hoped that the Arab delegation to the U.N. headed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas would "succeed in arriving at an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, prevent further clashes and open all crossings." "We should remain convinced that our cause is one," Saniora went on to stress, adding that Lebanon must continue to be shielded from events in Gaza "because Israel is working on entrapping our country."The prime minister reiterated his position, saying: "the Israeli crimes do not change the core of the Palestinian cause, rather making them hold strongly to their rights."He was asked to comment on the absence of Saudi Arabia from the Arab Parliamentarian Council meeting in Tyre on Thursday. "Let us not outbid ourselves over the Palestinian cause, it is the cause of all Arabs. However, each of us has a point of view in approaching the issue," Saniora replied. Beirut, 02 Jan 09, 14:55

Middle East nations condemn Israel's Gaza invasion
CAIRO (AFP) – Israel's ground offensive in the Gaza Strip was roundly condemned across the Middle East on Sunday, with Egypt also accusing the UN Security Council of failing to act quickly to resolve the crisis.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said Israel's incursion into the impoverished territory on Saturday night came in "brazen defiance" of international calls to end the fighting.
"The Security Council's silence and its failure to take a decision to stop Israel's aggression since it began was interpreted by Israel as a green light," he said in a statement as Israeli forces rumbled into Gaza.
A Jordanian government spokesman said the invasion "will have dangerous repercussions and negative effects on the region's security and stability" and called for an immediate ceasefire, state-news agency Petra reported.
Foreign Minister Salah Bashir met ambassadors from the UN Security Council five permanent members and urged speedy "international action to end these attacks."
His statement came after Arab League chief Amr Mussa accused the UN Security Council of "ignoring" the crisis in Gaza.
Israel sent tanks and infantry into the impoverished Palestinian enclave on Saturday night after eight days of air strikes and naval bombardment killed more than 485 Palestinians. Rockets fired by Gaza militants have killed four Israelis.
The Security Council announced after the ground operations began that it would hold a special meeting on Gaza. But after four hours of consultation, its members failed to agree on a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The US has said it would not support a ceasefire that would return the "status quo" in Gaza, which the Islamist movement Hamas violently took over in 2007.
An Arab diplomat familiar with the talks at the Security Council blamed the US for blocking a resolution calling for a ceasefire.
"It's clearly the Americans, it doesn't require genius," he said, adding that the US had blocked a resolution because "the Israelis still need some time to finish their operations."
Washington said it would reject a Libyan proposal for a resolution calling on both sides to abide by a ceasefire because it did not explicitly mention Hamas rocket attacks.
Turkey, one of Israel's few Muslim allies, urged the UN to take the necessary steps to bring the situation under control and condemned the "unacceptable" offensive.
"We condemn and find it unacceptable that Israel has begun a ground operation (in Gaza) in spite of the warnings and reactions from the international community," said a foreign ministry statement.
"It is obvious that escalating the tension will not benefit anyone."
Hamas fired dozens of rockets into Israel after an Egyptian-mediated six-month truce expired on December 19. The militant group says it will not support a ceasefire as long as Israel continues to blockade the coastal strip.
Hamas' regional ally Iran said in response to Israel's ground operations that Gaza would become a "cemetery" for Israel.
Gulf newspapers slammed Washington's "protection of Israel" at the UN which has "prevented any international dissuasive (action) and the possibility of imposing a ceasefire," wrote the Emirati Al-Bayan daily.
Saudi's Al-Riyadh attacked US President George W. Bush "who started his first presidential mandate with wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and ends his (White House) days welcoming the spilling of Palestinian blood."
The Israeli press backed the ground offensive and its "limited" objectives, but looked to diplomatic ways of ending the conflict at the appropriate time.
"This is not a 'ground operation' but a real war, a war to defend our homes and lives," wrote the mass-circulation Yediot Aharonot.