Roundup: Fatah and Hamas Reach Agreement to End Violence, Palestinian Poll, Ahmadinejad Warns European Governments, Egyptian Police Intercept Arms, IDF Cite Need for Full-Scale Gaza Operation, Mubarak Discusses Islam
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October 19, 2006
Hezbollah Fired Cluster Bombs
In a report publish by Human Rights Watch, Hezbollah guerrillas fired cluster rockets into civilian areas of northern Israel during the July-August War.
"We are disturbed to discover that not only Israel but also Hezbollah used cluster munitions in their recent conflict, at a time when many countries are turning away from this kind of weapon precisely because of its impact on civilians," said Steve Goose, director of the organization's arms division.
Israel has itself been condemned by the organization and other campaigners for its use of cluster bombs during the 34-day conflict.
Hezbollah made no immediate comment.
Cluster Bombs in Lebanon
Cluster bombs dropped by Israel on southern Lebanon during the July-August War with Hezbollah are still killing or injuring three to four civilians a day, a third of them children, land mine activists reported.
Groups helping Lebanon clear unexploded mines from the war zone have identified 770 sites hit by cluster bombs during the conflict that ended in an Aug. 14 cease-fire, according to a new report by London-based Landmine Action.
While more than 45,000 unexploded cluster bomblets have been cleared and destroyed, hundreds of thousands more still litter the countryside and it will take another year or two to get the situation under control, the report said.
Hamas "Shocked" at World Treatment
Hamas, the Islamist group that runs the Palestinian government, said it could never have imagined the vast international pressure it would come under after winning democratic elections earlier this year.
In a candid article published in the Palestinian press, Ahmed Youssef, a political adviser to Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a Hamas leader, said the group had been shocked by the strength of opposition to its electoral victory.
"It went beyond all imagination," wrote Youssef. "The government ... did not expect the pressures and the siege imposed on our people would be so harsh, so strong and so large in scale."
Youssef's is the latest in a series of articles by Hamas officials in recent weeks either seeking to explain themselves or calling on the Palestinian community to refrain from violence and think more carefully about how it opposes Israel.
Conflict Looms Over Settlement Evacuation
While Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz meets Yesha leaders to reach an agreement over government plans to peacfully evacuate ten illegal outposts in West Bank, settlers reportedly won't abide by any plan made between Yesha Council--the local government of Israeli settlers--and the government.
Even before Defense Minister Amir Peretz's meeting with Yesha leaders, extreme right activists reportedly held meetings in Jerusalem to prepare for the evacuations and agreed that "the Amona model will be the model for struggle in every outpost that is evacuated."
