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Israel decided to refrain from a ground invasion of Gaza after it was warned that such a move could spell the end of the peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, Channel 2 reported Thursday. According to the report, Mossad Head Tamir Pardo, who went to Cairo as Israel's representative in the contacts that preceded the ceasefire, was told in messages from Cairo and from Washington that the peaceful relations between Israel, Jordan and Egypt were at risk.

Gaza’s terrorist rulers marked the ceasefire that went into effect on Wednesday evening by continuing to fire rockets at southern Israel. According to Kol Yisrael radio’s midnight newscast, 20 rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel since the ceasefire went into effect at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday evening. There were no reports of physical injuries or damages. Before the ceasefire went into effect, terrorists fired a barrage of 40 rockets at the area, targeting Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Be’er Sheva among other cities. In Be’er Sheva, a rocket directly hit a home, causing no physical injuries. Four rockets fired at Ashdod...

אני יודע שישנם אזרחים שמצפים לפעולה צבאית חריפה עוד יותר, וייתכן מאוד שנידרש לה, אבל בעת הזאת, הדבר הנכון למדינת ישראל הוא למצות את ההזדמנות הזאת להשיג הפסקת אש מתמשכת. כראש ממשלה מוטלת עליי האחריות – והיא אחריות עליונה – לעשות את הצעדים הנכונים לשמור על ביטחוננו. כך נהגתי, כך אמשיך לנהוג. I realize that there are citizens who expect a harsher military action and we may very well need to do that. But at present, the right thing for the State of Israel is to exhaust this possibility of reaching a long-term cease-fire. As Prime Minister, I have...

Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal announced in a press conference Wednesday evening that Israel "has failed in all its goals" in Operation Defensive Pillar, following the cease fire announcement. "After eight days, God stayed their hand from the people of Gaza, and they were compelled to submit to the conditions of the resistance," Mashaal said. "Israel has failed in all its goals," he told reporters in a Cairo hotel. Mashaal also thanked ceasefire mediator Egypt, as well as Iran, which he said "had a role in arming" Hamas during the conflict. Arabs in Gaza took to the streets to celebrate the...

President Barack Obama praised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday for agreeing to an Egypt-crafted cease-fire with Palestinian militants in Gaza. Obama, speaking to Netanyahu by telephone, also underlined America's unwavering support for Israel's security and said he hoped to "intensify" U.S. assistance. "The president commended the prime minister for agreeing to the Egyptian cease-fire proposal—which the president recommended the prime minister do—while reiterating that Israel maintains the right to defend itself," the White House said in a summary of the conversation.

Egypt announced a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas effective Wednesday evening local time, the Associated Press reported. In details of the agreement obtained by the news agency, Israel will cease all military activity against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip at 9 p.m. local time (11 a.m. PST) and Palestinian militants will cease rocket attacks into Israel. After 24 hours of quiet, Gaza's border crossings with Israel will be opened further to allow freer movement of goods and people. The announcement by Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Amr and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton followed talks in Cairo between Clinton...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that will go into effect Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern time. “This is a critical moment for the region,” Clinton said during a news conference with Egypt’s foreign minister in Cairo. “The people of this region deserve the chance to live free from fear and violence.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the cease-fire deal and said in a statement Israel would “give a chance” to the Egyptian-brokered deal.

A ceasefire between Israel and Gaza could go into effect “within several hours”, according to a Monday night report by the Al-Arabiya network. The report said that the forum of nine senior Israeli ministers was expected to approve an initial outline for a ceasefire with Hamas. According to the outline offered by Egypt and described in the report, Israel will stop the air strikes on Gaza and stop the targeted killings of senior members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in Gaza, in exchange for a complete cessation of the rocket fire into Israel.

A former employee of the CeaseFire violence prevention program was fatally shot today in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side, officials said. ----------------------------cut-------------------------- "Marlon had a past, a lot of guys we work with and we hire do have a past," said Hardiman. "He got out of the life style and tried to turn his life around."

Works about as well as gun control… Paying tribute to thugs to ‘prevent’ crime nets us this gem… (GunNews) – Ceasefire Illinois got a million dollars from the City of Chicago earlier this summer to hire ex-convicts to “mediate” disputes between violent criminals and to “prevent” crime. It’s true. This isn’t April Fool’s and sadly, it’s not a joke: Chicago (Sun-Times) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Friday he’s proceeding with caution in forging a city partnership with CeaseFire Illinois ­ and not writing a “blank check” ­ to make certain ex-offenders hired by the group are “preventing crime, not committing...

Hamas’ military wing said on Wednesday that it had agreed to an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire with Israel, AFP reported. “In response to the Egyptian efforts to try and stop the aggression on our people, we at Al-Qassam Brigades and all resistance factions declare our commitment to stop this round of confrontation, as long as (Israel) commits to stopping its crimes,” said a statement from Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades. The statement noted that terrorists had fired 96 rockets and nine mortars at Israel during the recent wave of violence. “Our confrontation with the enemy in this round was at the minimal level of...

Islamic Jihad terrorists have accepted an Egyptian proposal for a ceasefire on condition that Israel does not continue to strike terror targets. Virtually every previous Gaza ceasefire has broken down, sometimes within hours and no longer than within several weeks. The announcement came three hours after a halt in rocket and mortar shell attacks on Israel.The IDF also has held its fire since the early morning attacks. One missile exploded in an athletic field, but no one was wounded. .....

Southern Israeli cities came under rocket fire again for a fifth night despite claims by Gaza terrorists they were committed to a “ceasefire.” Residents in the coastal city of Ashkelon found themselves racing for cover several times throughout the night Monday as the Color Red air raid siren blared its warning, starting in the early evening. Two medium-range Grad Katyusha missiles, fired by terrorists in northern Gaza, exploded in the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council district at around 7:40 p.m. local time. Both landed in open areas, although one set off a large brush fire in a field that quickly ignited...

Hamas’ military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, called off a ceasefire with Israel late Friday, Hamas’ Al-Aqsa radio reported. According to the report, which was quoted by the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, Hamas will allow terror factions in Gaza to respond to Israeli attacks in the Strip. Those ‘attacks’ come in response to provocations by the same terror groups in Gaza, such as Thursday’s multiple attacks near Eilat or the barrage of rockets which were fired at Israel from Gaza on Friday. A representative of the militant group was quoted as having said, “There can be no truce with the Israeli...

We are in Libya for a reason, and for that reason it's important to win -- which means avoiding any trap that would allow the war to end with Moammar Khadafy still in power. Over the weekend, the African Union set just such a trap. Led by South Africa's President Jacob Zuma, an AU group arrived yesterday at Benghazi, the Libyan rebels' stronghold, offering a "ceasefire" plan that Khadafy had agreed to a day earlier. Of course, the rebels declined, vowing to reject any future "solution" that would fall short of Khadafy's ouster. But the goal of Khadafy and his...

BAGHDAD – U.S.-backed Iraqi troops seized a launcher loaded with more than a dozen Iranian-made rockets and detained three suspected militants after an attack against the American base outside the southern city of Basra, officials said Tuesday. Col. Karim al-Zaidi said the missiles were found in an eastern section of Iraq's second largest city after rockets targeted the U.S. base Monday evening. The U.S. military confirmed that 16 rockets were found and three suspects detained by Iraqi troops who responded to the attack. It said no casualties were reported.

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said Tuesday it is preparing to shoot a satellite into orbit, its clearest reference yet to an impending launch that neighbors and the U.S. suspect will be a provocative test of a long-range missile.

The office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Saturday issued a statement saying that Israel will not agree to a cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip unless abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit is freed. "The prime minister's position is that Israel will not reach understandings on a truce before the release of Gilad Shalit," the statement said.

The MSM, reporting from Gaza City is once again showing its bias against Israel. By reporting an Israeli reaction to an act of violence at the beginning of an article, the intent is to cast the IDF and Israel in the worst possible light. The roadside bomb which killed an Israeli soldier and wounded three others, mentioned initially in the second paragraph without explanation and then in the third paragraph where you finally see for the first time that the air strike, the lead idea in the report, was in response to an attack on an Israeli patrol. more

Hamas officials in Cairo have proposed a year-long truce with Israel and an opening of the crossings into the Gaza Strip, in the latest round of diplomatic meetings to build on a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Hamas official Ayman Taha told reporters in Cairo on Sunday that his delegation was briefed by the Egyptians on an Israeli proposal for a year-and-a-half long truce with only partial opening of the border, which they rejected. Instead, Taha says the group made a counter offer of a year with open borders, which they now must discuss with their leadership in Damascus.