Click refresh to see new updates during the day.
- After yesterday’s relatively rocket-productive day, in which 6 Qassams landed in Israel, there has still not been an Israeli response despite all manner of tough talk from Israeli leaders since Operation Cast Lead.
- US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates denied that Iran has enough fissile material for a bomb, as was earlier claimed by Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen.
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)
10:25PM: Some perspective from Stealth Conflicts (hat tip: Backspin via The Augean Stables)
The death toll from the world’s deadliest conflict of our times – the DRC (5,400,000) – is compared to the death tolls of a number of other better-known conflicts – those in Israel-Palestine (5,000), Kosovo (10,000), Bosnia (60,000) and Darfur (300,000). The square area of each circle is proportionate to the death toll of each conflict.
I think the message is clear. Terrorism pays.
Big time.
8:50PM: International donors have pledged $5.2 billion in new funds at the conference for rebuilding Gaza. Or should that be $4.4 billion?
6:45PM: Tell us how you really feel:
6:31PM: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has rejected fears that the upcoming UN conference on racism might turn into an anti-Semitic diatribe.
I tend to agree.
It won’t turn into an anti-Semitic diatribe since it will start off as one in the first place.
6:28PM: From the Department of Boo-Frickin-Hoo:
The international donors’ conference aimed at rebuilding the war-torn Gaza Strip got underway without Hamas on Monday, as the group warned that the West’s boycott of it would undercut international reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip.
“To bypass the legitimate Palestinian authorities in the Gaza Strip is a move in the wrong direction and it deliberately undermines the reconstruction,” Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said from Gaza.
3:32PM: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Sharm el-Sheikh conference:
“For the Palestinians, it means that it is time to break the cycle of rejection and resistance and to cut the strings pulled by those who exploit the suffering of innocent people.”
Did she just refer to terrorism as “resistance”?
1:00PM: The Sharm e-Sheikh summit on Gaza is underway, with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak giving the opening address:
“I see a momentum in peace efforts. I look forward that this year will be the year of peaceful settlement between Israelis and Palestinians,” Mubarak said.
He also told donors that aid was needed for Gaza but could not compensate for the 1,300 Palestinian lives lost during the 22-day Israeli offensive. “I reach to you with an appeal from the heart to declare tangible pledges,” he said.
Observations:
- Where does Mubarak see any momentum in peace efforts? I see momentum only in the firing of rockets.
- Notice how our Egyptian peace partner lamented the death of palestinians only, and made no mention of the Israelis killed by Hamas rockets. Not only that, but he quoted the total number of palestinians killed, the majority of whom were terrorists.
9:20AM: Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu has reportedly voiced serious reservations during recent meetings with foreign leaders about money going into the Gaza Strip for reconstruction before the rocket fire on Israel has stopped.
I couldn’t agree with him more. I find it disgraceful that representatives of around 80 countries (including the US) are currently gathering in Sharm e-Sheikh to pledge billions of dollars to rebuild Gaza considering the continued rocket attacks on Israel, as well as the following:
- Hamas attacked Israel and the damage caused to Gaza was a result of this aggression
- Any money pledged to Gaza will invariably end up in Hamas’ hands, since UNRWA – to whom much of this money is bound to go – employs members of Hamas and has made no secret of their sympathy for the terror organization
- Not one country has spoken of pledging money to the Israeli towns and cities hit by Hamas and other terror organizations
- Countries are pledging this money despite the bad state of the world economy. The US is reportedly ready to pledge close to a billion dollars at a time when it its economy is in such bad shape.
5:45AM: International donors’ are expected to pledge sufficient funds to reconstruct the Gaza Strip, or approximately $2.8 billion.
Which is approximately$2.8 billion more than has been pledged to help repair the damage caused in Sderot, Ashkelon and other towns and cities on the receiving end of rockets, missiles and mortar shells.
