Free Republic

2 hours ago GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israeli aircraft sent missiles tearing through the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday in an unmistakable message to his ruling Hamas group to free an Israeli soldier. Defense Minister Amir Peretz told a Cabinet meeting that Israel would go after "higher-caliber targets" in the future _ a reference to senior Hamas officials inside and outside the Palestinian territories, a high-ranking political official said. Israeli aircraft, tanks and naval gunboats have been pounding Gaza for the past week in an effort to win the freedom of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who...

Support mounts for Indonesian Islamic extremists: report The latest research on attitudes of Indonesian Muslims suggests a far greater acceptance of Islamic extremism than previously thought. The report's release comes as Australia's and Indonesia's foreign ministers host the International Dialogue on Interfaith Cooperation with the Muhammadiyah, the country's second largest Islamic organisation with some 30 million members. Archbishop of Sydney George Pell will attend as well as leading lights in the Buddhist and Muslim communities from overseas, in the hope that the voices of moderation will drown out religious radicalism. When Australia Foreign Minister Alexander Downer opens the summit in...