Free Republic

Peretz's comments come in light of the continuation of military operations in south Lebanon and diplomatic efforts to find a solution for the crisis, mainly at the United Nations Security Council. "A military confrontation is not sufficient," Peretz stressed. "It is a tool that creates a room for maneuver for reaching the best political deal." Peretz said that Israel's biggest problem is the fact that over million Israelis are in shelters and the army's duty is to allow northern communities to return to their lives as soon as possible.

Tel Aviv, April, 16, 2002, Wafa - Israel Occupation Forces, IOF, soldiers are forcing Palestinians to enter and search houses that are suspected to be booby-trapped, according to recent testimony by soldiers participating in such actions, The Israeli newspaper Ha’arez, reports.In other cases, says the paper, the Palestinians are forced to pick up suspicious objects so that soldiers can proceed along the roads these objects were blocking, soldiers said.One reserve officer who participated in the takeover of the Jenin refugee camp said Sunday that he and his comrades had ordered Palestinian residents to precede them into suspicious houses."We suspected that...