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Regrets? Battle-weary terror leader has a few 'We did not think, even 1%, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not." - Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader, Aug. 27 So much for the "strategic and historic victory" Nasrallah had claimed less than two weeks earlier. What real victor declares that, had he known, he would not have started the war that ended in triumph? Nasrallah's...

Israel's and Hezbollah's War of the Rockets has entered a new phase: the War of the Wallets, the race to gain political capital by rebuilding southern Lebanon. Diplomats and military analysts continue to debate The War of the Rockets. The conventional wisdom -- or more accurately, the wisdom of first impressions -- said Israel lost the military war and Hezbollah won by surviving. But the emerging "big picture" suggests the War of the Rockets physically punished and politically damaged Hezbollah, despite its media touts of victory. On the other hand, Israel cannot claim a victory -- at least, not yet....

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan demanded on Monday that Hezbollah release two captured Israeli soldiers to the international Red Cross, and that Israel lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon. Visiting Beirut on the first leg of an 11-day Mideast tour, Annan said he was renewing his "call for the abducted soldiers to be free," and urged Hezbollah to transfer them to the Lebanese government "or a third party" under the auspices of the international Red Cross. "We, the U.N., will be prepared to play a role if we are required to do so. And I...

TEL AVIV -- Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said yesterday that he would not have ordered the July 12 seizure of two Israeli soldiers had he known it would provoke a war that leveled Shi'ite villages and neighborhoods throughout Lebanon.     "We did not think, even 1 percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me, if I had known on July 11 ... that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not," he told Lebanon's New TV station.     The sheik also...

Keeping The Peace In Lebanon The Israeli Defence Force operating within Southern Lebanon is describing its most recent discovery as "a spectacular find" - a huge Hizbollah bunker hidden underground. Sky's Lisa Holland has this special report.

Former Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi arrived in Beirut on Monday for a three-day visit in solidarity with Lebanon. "We came carrying our support and our aid to our brother country Lebanon," Allawi told reporters at Rafik Hariri International Airport upon his arrival. He said the Iraqi government had donated $35 million to Lebanon as "Iraq's part in Lebanon's reconstruction." Allawi, heading a delegation of Iraqi officials from different sects, arrived at the airport in a private jet and is scheduled to meet with various Lebanese officials during his visit. "Lebanon as a country has had a great impact...

<p>Gaza, 28 August (AKI) - Palestinian government party Hamas will launch a satellite television channel in October, the Palestinian news agency Ramattan reported on Monday. Hamas launched an experimental terrestrial channel last year to give its candidates visibility in the electoral campaign...</p>

Sunday, August 20, 2006 Summary of Jewish Agency for Israel Relief Efforts during the War DURING THE WAR. THE JEWISH AGENCY RAISED 200 MILLION SHEKELS, ON BEHALF OF THE NORTHERN COMMUNITIES AND TODAY IT IS RAISING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF SHEKELS TO REHABILITATE THE NORTH Thousands of Children Were Absorbed in Summer Camps in Central Israel and Thousands of Shelters Were Repaired Special Assistance was Provided to non-Jewish Communities in the North Since the outbreak of the war, the Jewish Agency initiated large scale activity on behalf of northern residents, to the tune of about 200 million Israeli Shekels. Within...

UN chief Kofi Annan was booed by a crowd chanting pro-Hezbollah slogans today as he toured Beirut's southern suburbs devastated by Israel's war against the Shiite militant group. Dozens of men, women and children angrily waved pictures of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and shouted "Allah, Nasrallah and all of the suburbs" as the UN secretary general emerged from his car to survey the destruction in the heart of the Haret Hreik area, a Hezbollah stronghold. Others booed and shouted "death to Israel" and "long live Syria" as they surrounded Mr Annan's convoy of vehicles which was accompanied by a heavy...

A new Messiah has arrived for the right wing and every body is jumping for joy. "We are saved!" says one. "This guy will destroy Hamas and Hezzbollah!" says another. "No more land deals, no more Gush Katif betrayals!" says a third. Who is this new savior? Who is this great man riding into Jerusalem to save the day, end the peace process, build more settlements, rid the country of terror and make us all live happily-ever-after? Haven't you heard? It's General Moshe "Boogey" Ya'alon... so stand up and shout "HOORAY!!!" I can see it now. The YESHA council will...

What are we seeing when we watch events from the Middle East on our television screens? Is it news or is it terrorist theater? Let us observe two media events which occurred on Sunday in Gaza. Sunday afternoon released hostages and Fox News journalists Steven Centanni and Olaf Wiig spoke before the cameras. The fact of their release and their statements were reported by more than 1,000 news organizations throughout the world. At the press conference, Centanni and Wiig, who were forced by their Palestinian captors to convert to Islam, praised the Palestinians. Centanni said, "I just hope this never...

We are already immersed in painful evaluations to identify the cause of the breakdowns in our decision-making processes and in rectifying the weaknesses in the IDF as a consequence of the recent war. What went wrong? The problem goes far beyond the failings of individual leaders. Nor, as is frequently alleged, is the primary source the pain and agony endured by successive generations of Israelis witnessing their children leaving for the battlefields to risk their lives in defense of the nation. It is rather the logical outcome of a profound malaise which over the years has infiltrated the psyche of...

Current crisis faced by Israel result of crumbling Jewish identity Many years ago, residents of Mishmar HaEmek held a meeting to discuss why the sons who left the kibbutz were not returning. The elderly Yaakov Hazan rejected the argument that the community's physical state needed improvement and summed his views with one sentence: "We failed in the effort to establish a secular Jewish society." I recall Hazan when Israelis start asking what happened to us and how did we reach a situation where even minor war objectives are not achieved. The leadership failure by the statesmen who directed the army...

JEDDAH, 29 August 2006 — With the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah expressing regret Sunday on Lebanese TV for the month-long war in Lebanon in which more than a thousand people died, many people in the Kingdom accused the Hezbollah militia of “adventurism” and being “irresponsible.” According to Homoud Al-Bader, a Shoura Council member, Hezbollah’s kidnapping of the Israeli soldiers has taken Lebanon back to “square one.” Describing the actions as “miscalculated” and “provocative” Al Bader said that Lebanon had lost hundreds of lives, its infrastructure had been demolished, and now other governments were helping the country to rebuild. Jeddah resident...

JERUSALEM – Hezbollah, with the help of Iran, has started building underground war bunkers in Palestinian camps in south Lebanon just a few miles from the Israeli border, according to senior Lebanese officials. During its 34-day confrontation with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel destroyed scores of complex Hezbollah bunkers that snaked along the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border. Military officials said they were surprised by the scale of the Hezbollah bunkers, in which Israeli troops reportedly found war rooms with advanced eavesdropping and surveillance equipment they noted were made by Iran. A senior Lebanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity,...

HARET HREIK (Lebanon), Aug 28: UN chief Kofi Annan was booed by a crowd chanting pro-Hezbollah slogans on Monday as he toured Beirut’s southern suburbs devastated by Israel’s war against the militant group. Dozens of men, women and children angrily waved pictures of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and shouted ‘Allah, Nasrallah and all of the suburbs’ as the UN secretary general emerged from his car to survey the destruction in the heart of the Haret Hreik area, a Hezbollah stronghold. Others booed and shouted ‘death to Israel’ and ‘long live Syria’ as they surrounded Mr Annan’s convoy of vehicles which...

GAZA CITY: The US proposes deploying international observers at the main cargo crossing between Israel and Gaza to prevent repeated security closures of Gaza's economic lifeline, Palestinian and Israeli officials said yesterday. Both Israel and the Palestinians support the idea. However, Israel would only consider its implementation after the release of an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas-allied militants in June. US officials in Israel had no immediate comment. The Karni crossing has been closed by Israel for long stretches this year following security alerts and attacks by Palestinian militants. Virtually all of Gaza's imports and exports go through Karni. Palestinian...

UNITED NATIONS — In a departure from language used by the U.N. Security Council, Secretary-General Annan yesterday linked the issue of releasing Israeli soldiers to freeing Lebanese terrorists held by Israel. Hezbollah demanded a prisoner swap when it kidnapped the two soldiers on July 12, launching a month-long war. Mr. Annan, speaking to the press in Beirut, retreated from several demands the Security Council made on Hezbollah and went as far as to equate the conduct of Israeli army soldiers with that of terrorists serving the Taliban regime. "You have to talk with those with the guns to stop shooting,...

Website quotes al-Qaeda senior figure as saying: 'Hizbullah are infidels, it and Israel are enemies of Allah' A speech allegedly made by Sheikh Abu Abdul Rahman has surfaced on a jihadi pro al-Qaeda website in which Rahman is cited as condemning the "infidel Hizbullah" and "the most corrupted regimes of Syria and Iran." "We need to know the reality, and we already know how Hizbullah do not fight for the sake of Allah. They declare themselves that they fight for the sake of Lebanon, are backed by the most corrupted regimes – Syria and Iran – and backed by the...

The United Nations peacekeeping force to be deployed in Lebanon is facing further criticism after the admission that its forces will not even be allowed to intercept shipments of arms to Hezbollah from Syria. Speaking in Brussels before heading to the region, Kofi Annan, pictured below, the UN Secretary-General, confirmed that the 15,000-strong force will not meet Israeli demands to police the routes used by the militia to smuggle missiles from Syria. "Troops are not going in there to disarm - let's be clear," he said. Instead, the Unifil force will only carry out interception missions if asked by the...