[Previous entry: "Russia Approves Divisive Pipeline Plan"] [Next entry: "Israel adviser switches to top Foreign Office job"]

03/08/2006:

"Report: Israelis in Iran Hunting Nukes"

An Israeli special operations team is working undercover in Iran, according to a report Sunday in a British newspaper.


The soldiers are on a mission to prevent the Iranians from succeeding in their bid to develop a nuclear weapon. They are involved in locating uranium enrichment facilities in Iran, according to the British Sunday Times, and are currently based in neighboring northern Iraq.

The United States is supporting the move, says the paper.

Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made an oblique reference to the operation on Sunday in his video address to the annual AIPAC conference in the U.S. He warned that Israel would not be able to stop the Iranians on its own, adding his hope that the international community, led by the U.S., would impose sanctions on Iran. He said the country is a threat to the modern world.

Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz also spoke on Sunday about the issue. He said that Iran poses a major threat to Israel, and that the verbal hostility coming out of Tehran is something that needs to be closely monitored.
israelnationalnews.com


Palestinian children killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza
On Monday evening, 6 March 2006, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) carried out another extra-judicial execution in Gaza City, leaving 5 Palestinians, including three children and two members of the al-Quds Brigades, dead. In addition, 12 civilian bystanders, including 6 children, were injured.

This latest attack comes following decisions taken by the Israeli political and military establishments to target Palestinian resistance activists, in response to the launching of locally made rockets from the OPT at Israel.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 16:55 on Monday, 6 March 2006, an IOF aircraft launched a missile at a civilian car (white Peugeot) that was travelling on a side road in the al-Tuffah neighbourhood in the northeast of Gaza City. The car was destroyed. Two members of the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, who had been travelling in the car, and 3 children that had been passing nearby, were instantly killed: Muneer Mohammed Mohammed Sukkar, 29, from the al-Shojaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City; Ashraf 'Ali Shallouf, 25, from the al-Shojaiya neighbourhood of Gaza City; Ra'ed Ahmed al-Batash, 11; Mahmoud Ahmed al-Batash, 17; and Ahmed al-Swaifi, 14.

In addition, 12 civilian bystanders, including 6 children and the father of 2 of the victims, were injured by shrapnel.