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Israel 'to control Lebanon strip' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5214046.stm Israel says it will keep control over an area in southern Lebanon until an international force can be deployed. ---end--- Defence Minister Amir Peretz said: "We have no other option. We have to build a new security strip that will be a cover for our forces." His comments came as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ended a regional tour before heading for talks in Rome. Hostilities are continuing, with fresh explosions reported in Beirut and Hezbollah rocket attacks on Haifa. More than 380 Lebanese and 42 Israelis have died in nearly two weeks...

Gaza - Images of Anguish Settler girls living in the southern Gaza Strip settlement of Neve Dekalim play on a sign that reads 'Neve Dekalim,' moments before leaving her Jewish town (settlement) with their family for good.(AFP/Roberto Schmidt) An Israeli resident is comforted by an Israeli soldier after the evacuation of the synagogue in the Gaza Strip settlement of Neve Dekalim. The United States pressed Israel on the need for further peace moves after the withdrawal from Gaza but risked resistance from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon who vowed to continue West Bank settlement activity.(AFP/Thomas Coex) Jewish women are comforted by...

To: President Bush Dear President Bush, We, the citizens of the United States of America, demand that the US Government fully recognize the legality of the Israeli communities situated in the West Bank and Gaza. The following declarations in support of the Jewish communities situated in the West Bank and must be made prior to the upcoming November elections. Settlements are Not Illegal! 1. The settlements are not located in "occupied territory." The last binding international legal instrument which divided the territory in the region of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza was the League of Nations Mandate, which explicitly...

The seven- year-old woke with a start; his senses were suddenly alerted to the strange noise. Frightened, it shook him loose from his deep slumber. He looked around in the dimness of the room. The cuckoo clock chimed a few times and he knew it was three o´clock in the morning. His little sister in the next bed stirred restlessly. Very quietly, he slipped into his slippers and gingerly walked across the floor to the window. Moving the curtain open, his eyes glued to the glass pane, he stared into the darkness. The noise was coming closer; there, straight ahead,...