Osama bin Laden condemns Arab leaders in new audio recording-14 Mar 09

Translation of audio tape obtained by Al Jazeera, attributed to Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader, in which he says Arab leaders "plotted with Israel" in war on Gaza.The authenticity of the tape cannot be verified

Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, has said in an audio tape obtained by Al Jazeera that some Arab leaders were "complicit" with Israel during its offensive in Gaza.

Bin Laden said in the tape aired on Saturday that Arab leaders were "hypocrites", and that "liberating Jerusalem needed honest Arab leadership" to fight and liberate the Arab people.

"It has become clear that some Arab leaders were complicit with the crusade zionist alliance against our people. These are the leaders that America calls moderate," bin Laden said.

'Holocaust'

He said that "Gaza's holocaust" was a "historic event and a tragedy" adding that the Arab world needed a "devoted committee of scholars from the Islamic world to establish an advisory body" on the future of the region, "not leadership that is formed by hypocrites"...(Continue at Al Jazeera)

Bin Laden urges Muslims to launch a holy war (jihad) to stop the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip and Taunts the US

A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression against Gaza", was posted on websites on Wednesday.
Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a message- perfectly timed to coincide with the Obama inauguration and the Israeli offensive in Gaza- urged Muslims to launch a jihad against Israel and condemned Arab governments as allies of the Jewish state. The use of the term Crusader-Zionist alliance will further ignite tensions between Christians and Muslims and is geared to inflame Muslim passions to even greater heights. The following are some of the key points of the message purporting to come from bin Laden.

"Our brothers in Palestine, you have suffered a lot.... the Muslims sympathise with you in what they see and hear. We, the mujahideen, sympathise with you also..We are with you and we will not let you down. Our fate is tied to yours in fighting the Crusader-Zionist coalition, in fighting until victory or martyrdom.
There is only one strong way to bring the return of Al-Aqsa and Palestine, and that is jihad in the path of God (a reference to the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem). The duty is to urge people to jihad and to enlist the youth into jihad brigades....Muslim nation, you are capable of defeating the Zionist entity with your popular capabilities and your great hidden strength — without the support of (Arab) leaders and despite the fact that most of (the leaders) stand in the barracks of the Crusader-Zionist alliance.

God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven years..The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come? Reports and evidence would suggest otherwise.."

President Bush, the message said, was leaving his successor with a "heavy inheritance." Referring to Barack Obama the speaker said: "If he withdraws from the war, it is a military defeat. If he continues, he drowns in economic crisis." Here bin Laden is taunting the US.

Gaza Suffering- Families struggle for food

Gaza residents talk about hardship; The UN will resume relief operations only after receiving guarantees on security of personnel from the Israeli army.
Locked inside the coastal slice of land, just 40 kilometres (24 miles) long and up to 12 kilometres wide, with next to no food getting in each day, 1.5 million people are battling to find enough to keep their families alive.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and media sharply critical of Al Jazeera

YNet reports that

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni gave an interview Monday (29/12/08) to Arab television network al-Jazeera in which she harshly criticized Hamas, saying the organization was to blame for the civilian casualties in Gaza...

However she also lambasted Al Jazeera:

[She] sarcastically noted during the interview that "when you show one-sided images from Gaza you're not helping peace. I understand that pictures which create provocation lead to anger and hostility among the citizens, but we want a better future for this region"

Al Jazeera and PressTV have been showing wall to wall coverage of the Israeli invasion from an Arab perspective. These channels are available internationally. This has angered many Israelis. I am not aware of any Israeli TV channels which perform the same function.
YNet also carries an article by Dr. Mordechai Kedar who is a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University’s department of Arabic. In it he calls for the closure of Al Jazeeras offices:

........What matters is that this is not a media channel, but rather, a jihadist terrorist channel that aims to eliminate the State of Israel. It is for good reason that Osama Bin Laden hands over his audiotapes to this channel, which cooperates with him fully.
Israeli citizens are paying with their blood for the media freedom enjoyed by al-Jazeera.
There is only one conclusion here: We must immediately shut down al-Jazeera’s Israel offices and prevent its employees from working for it. Once Israel does it, many other countries will follow suit, particularly in the Middle East, for their own reasons. They are waiting for Israel to put an end to the recklessness of this non-media channel....

Al Jazeera English is streaming live on Livestation with coverage of Israeli invasion of Gaza.

Al Jazeera English is streaming live on Livestation (A free player) with coverage of the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Admittedly Al Jazeera English looks at the Israeli incursion from an Arab perspective. Other TV channels are available on Livestation including BBC World News, Bloomberg, C-Span, Euronews, France 24, ITN, RT (Russia Today) and NASA TV. Radio stations include the BBC World Service and DW-Radio.

Livestation viewers have also bookmarked 2911 channels like Discovery Channel, CNN, and FOX 8 USA. You can add these streams to your player after you download it. Some channels may be subjected to geographical restrictions,especially in the USA. Details here

Israel fears Hamas rockets may destroy Dimona nuclear power plant

Israel has harboured fears for sometime that Iran might target the Dimona nuclear power plant. It is suspected that nuclear station at Dimona is used by the Israeli military to make atomic bombs. Such a missile attack by Iran would obliterate Israel. Now Israel is facing a second threat to the security of this facility.
PressTV carries the following:

Hamas retaliatory attacks have alarmed Israel with officials anticipating that the Dimona nuclear complex might become the next target......................Israeli officials were quoted by the Times Online as saying on Friday that Hamas may have acquired longer range rockets, which would enable the group to target the sole Israeli nuclear plant in Dimona.

It is time for a ceasefire and negotiations. Hamas must cease its rocket attacks on Israel. A strike on Dimona could cause a second Chernobyl. The Israelis must end the aerial bombardment of Gaza. The US, Britain, France and Russia must pressurise both sides to pull back from the brink of disaster.

Israeli military channel on YouTube hosts videos of air strikes and other attacks on Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip

THE Israeli defence chiefs have launched their own channel on YouTube and are posting footage of air strikes and other attacks on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. This is part of their propaganda war against Hamas. The channel may be accessed here .Youtube has removed some of the videos. Minors should not view the footage.
Below is a video titled:

Israeli Air Force Strikes Hamas Government Complex in Gaza 30 Dec. 2008.

Gaza-Israel and Hamas should negotiate under certain clearly defined conditions

Both sides in the Middle East could learn from the Northern Ireland peace process. There the Provisional IRA through its political wing Sinn Fein has accepted the reality of British rule in Northern Ireland and now also recognises the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland). It has decided to pursue its claims to a united Ireland by peaceful means only. There is no future in this insane violence, which is tearing the heart out of Gaza.

Palestinians resent their expulsion from legitimately held lands with the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.This is natural. Israelis now hold lands which are de jure Palestinian.

But the reality is that the state of Israel now exists. Israelis and Palestinians must now deal with the de facto situation. Both sides should now call a ceasefire.

Hamas should accept the right of the state of Israel to exist and agree to pursue its aims by peaceful means only. This does not mean that Palestinians would give up claims to land from which they were ejected by Israelis. It just means that they would accept the de facto situation but would continue to campaign by peaceful means only to recover their lands or else secure adequate monetary compensation. Violence has failed. Israelis will not be driven into the sea. The US -in a doomsday situation-would not allow this to happen.

Israel must show more respect towards Palestinians. The plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza is horrific. Some of this may be self inflicted but much of it is due to Israeli activities.

Certainly Israel must defend itself from Hamas rockets but the over reaction this week-with so many civilian casualties resulting from Israeli air strikes- just produces more recruits for Hamas.

In short Israel will not be destroyed. Hamas will not be destroyed. There is stalemate. It is time to call a prolonged ceasefire. Time for sanity to prevail.There is a strong suspicion that politicians are using this as part of the upcoming Israeli election campaign.

Hamas should learn from the Provisional IRA in Northern Ireland. The Israelis should learn British government blunders in Northern Ireland. As Winston Churchill put it, “Jaw-jaw is better than war-war.”

Israel is losing the battle for public opinion on the world stage.
Where is Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair?

Israeli air strikes against Hamas positions in Gaza-Contrasting Media Coverage from Fox News and Russia Today

The two videos provide a fascinating insight into media coverage of Middle East affairs. The Fox News video places a greater emphasis on Hamas attacks whilst the Russia Today video emphasizes more strongly the civilian casualties and places less emphasis on Hamas attacks.