Muqdisho: Maxkamadaha oo ku dhawaaqay Jihaad ka dhan ah Itoobiya iyo Itoobiya oo jawaab ka bixisay .. Thursday, July 20, 2006 Print This Article | Daabaco warkaan Muqdisho(AllPuntland)- Maxkamadaha Islaamiga Muqdisho ayaa ku dhawaaqay jihaad dhan ka ah dawladda Itoobiya , warakan ayaa soo baxay maanta oo Khamiis ah , xilli lasheegayo in Itoobiya ay usoo gudubtay Soomaaliya. Labada dhinac ee kala ah dawladda iyo Maxkamadahaba waxaa ciidamadooda ay ku jiraan heegan ballaaran, taasi oo bulshada cabsi ku dhalisay. Sheikh Mukhtar Robow, oo maxkamadaha ka tirsan ayaa sheegay in ciidan wata 20 tikniko ah oo Itoobiyaan ah inay Arbacadii Dooloow kasoo gudbeen. " Haddii Ilaahay idmo Itoobiyaanka waannu ka kaxayn doonnaa dalkeenna , waxaana ku dhawaaqaynaa Jihaad ka dhan ah" ayuu warfidiyeennada u sheegay Robow. The regional power, Ethiopia backs the interim government of President Abdullahi Yusuf, based in the provincial town of Baidoa because it lacks the strength to move into Mogadishu. Dawladda Adis Ababa ayaa jawaab kabixisay ereyga Jihaad ee ay ku dhawaaqeen maxkamadaha Islaamiga Muqdisho, waxayna ku tilmaantay mid doqon nimo ah isla markaana ah dacaayad aan qiimo badan lahayn. Addis Ababa termed the jihad call "foolish and cheap propaganda" aimed at winning support from Muslim states. "Maxkamaduhu waxay rabaan inay qasaan dawladda shida sharciga loo soo dhisay ee Federaalka Soomaaliya" sidaasi waxaa yiri afhayeenka wasiirka arimaha dibada Zemedhun Tekle. Itoobiya way beenisay inay soo gashay Soomaaliya, waxayse ballan qaadday inay bur burinayso haddii ay Baydhabo qabsadaan ama ay xudduuddeeda kasoo gudbaan. Dawladda Itoobiya oo caadi ahaan dadkeedu u badan yihiin Kiristaan ayaa ka baqo qabta in Islaamiyiintu ay gobolka saamayn ku yeeshaan. CCC Farayaamo AllPuntland The new court?

1..The Mogadishu courts claim that they will not attack Baido, then you get a Mr Mansuur who hails from Bay and claims they will attack Baidoa. 2...The TFG makes much noise and puts its troops on high alert.. 3... Ethiopia claims it will crush the courts in order to defend the TFG? Then we get sightings of Ethiopian troops all over Gedo, Bay and Bakool.. What on Earth is happening? ...Here is the news..

MMA, there is no clan conflict in these region, Cade handled the situation badly before but now thinsg are going smoothly. Mr Paragon and the others here who are against progress need to undertsand that all the people of the state are hell bent on moving forward. Puntland is nearly 10 years of age, it has had trouble and even wars in the past, it survived, now its time to develop the infrustructure of the regions. The best way to do it is to get foreign direct investment and what is it that we are offering????? Our natural resources is the best bet to attract investment.. People like poor paragon who belive that Range and Cade will steal all the gold from mountains and supposed oil from the Nugaal. Do not understand that these type of deals take time, and this is just the beginning... Puntland is not waiting on Paragon and others who pretend to lead clan militias, while wondering the cold streets of Europe..

Its a sad event, from the news sources this is true. What is the next move from both sides?

Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibadda Somaliland Marwo Edna Aadan Ismaaciil Ayaa Welwel Ka Muujisay Ka Qaadista Cunaqabataynta Hubka Ee C/laahi Yuusuf Somaliland.Org — Hargeisa, Somaliland — 19 July, 2006 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hargeysa (Somaliland.Org)-- Wasiirka arrimaha dibadda Jamhuuriyadda Somaliland Marwo Edna Aadan Ismaaciil oo maanta weraysi siisay Idaacadda Laanta Afka Soomaaliga Ee B.B.C-da ayaa waxay Welwel ka muujisay isla markaana diidmo qayaxan oo dhinaca Xukuumadda Somaliland ah u dirtay Bayaankii dhawaan ay Qaramada Midoobay ku sheegeen in laga khafiifiyo cuna-qabataynta dhinaca Hubka Xukuumadda C/laahi Yuusuf ee aan meelna ka talin. Wasiirka arrimaha Dibaddu waxay ku soo biirtay baaq ay dhawaan Xisbiyada Mucaaridku ka soo saareen arrintani, taasi oo ay si weyn u diideen uguna tilmaameen mid mandaqadda Geeska afrika oo dhan u horseedi karta collaad iyo burbur horleh Marwo Edna Aadan Ismaaciil Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibadda Somaliland iyadoo ka hadlaysa arrintani qaramada Midoobay ku sheegtay in lagaga khafiifinayo cunaqabataynta Hubka C/laahi iyo Kooxdiisa Baydhabo ayaa waxay tidhi "arrinta hubka qaadistu maaha mid khusaysa Somaliland, waayo Somaliland waa qarran Madax banaan oo aan ka tirsanayn Soomaliya, hasa ahaate hubka qaadistaasi xal ma noqonayso, Sidii M/weynaha Somaliland Md. Daahir Rayaale Kaahin u sheegayna xalku maaha hub iyo ciidan loo keeno eh waxaa loo baahanyahay iyo caqli la isticmaalo" ayey tidhi Marwo Edna Aadan Ismaaciil Wasiirka Arrimaha Dibadda Ee Somaliland oo la weydiiyey khatarta ay Somaliland uga baqdin qabto hubka qaadistani ayaa waxay tidhi "horta Somaliland oo qudha maahe mandaqadda beriga afrika oo dhan ayey khatar ku noqonaysa, waana mid u baahan in laga taxadaro, mana ogolin annagu mana ogolaanayno, hubka la keeno Muqdisho annaga ayuu saamayn nagu leeyahay oo mandaqadda oo dhan ayuu saamayn ku leeyahay mana aha wax nabad iyo xasilooni soo celinaya ee waa mid sii hurin doonta colaaddii iyo xiisaddii hore u taagnayd" ayey yidhi Marwo Edna Aadan Ismaaciil Dhinaca kale waxaa la weydiiyey sida ay sheegtay Kaaliyaha Xoghayaha Arrimaha Dibadda Maraykanka waaxda Afrika Miss Friezer todobaadkii hore inaad kulan ku yeelateen dalka Jibouti maxaad ka wada hadasheen? waxay ku jawaabtay Marwo Edna "Waxaanu ka wada hadalnay danta labada dal ee Somaliland iyo Dawladda Maraykanka, waxaanu isla soo qaadnay arrinta mandaqadda gaar ahaanna wejiyada cusub ee soo kordhay, waxaana ay wada hadaladayaasi socdeen muddo saacado ah, runtii guul ayaanu isku af garanay". Arrinta qaadista cunaqabataynta Hubka ee Qaramada Midoobay ku baaqday waxaa bayaan adag todobaadkani ka soo saaray labada Xisbi ee Mucaaridka KULMIYE iyo UCID waxaanay ku tilmaameen cunaqabatayn laga qaado Xukuumadda C/laahi Yuusuf dagaal loo iclaamiyey mandaqadda oo dhan, taasi oo u horseedi doonta halaag iyo waa xun, waxaana hadda baaqani ku soo biiray Xukuumadda Somaliland. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mohamed Abdi Hassan (diridhaba) Somaliland.Org, Hargeisa diridhaba@gmail.com

^^^ My info is just like yours and I have few contacts in the inside. Now conecting the dots we can see there is a clear conspiracy, one that is against the people of Somalia as a whole. We are being pushed into a scenario we do not want, much like how the warlords of Moadishu were being financed by outsiders to continue their war. Now our PM and minister Jurile are fighting to prevent dialogue and are making statements contrary to our national interest. The courts are new power, they must be brought into the fold and respected. It was only yesteday the government agreed to go back to Khartum and behold we get this news. Why make a big deal about a few gun men coming and leaving Bur Hakabo? Was it not your responsability Mr PM to secure Bur Hakabo? Why do we need the Ethiopains to crush a Somali faction? Horn, you was right on this issue from he get go..

The TFG is led by Geedi and Jurile who truly piss me of, what on earth do we need to fear from ourselfs that we need Ethiopia to come to our rescue? I understood the argument for peace keepers but a full invasion by Ethiopia is nonsical, who will get them out? I fear these Ethioians much more than any Somali, warlord or wadaad.. If this happens the TFG is finished...

Its not a matter of anger, I see it as it is. You mean to make a point but went about it the wrong way... As for your opinion its all yours my sister..

NN, do not lose sight of the real goal, which is peace. Let these people get excited all they want. Who benefits from war? There seems to be a difference within the courts, Shiekh Sharif has said that he had no knowledge of any attack or even the trip of Mr Mansuur who went there on a personel trip..

Dhubad, everyone has his opinion, nothing is sacred but the religion of Islam, thus my position is not static. I have welcomed the progress in Banadir and may it grow and may there be justice.. I also have been dishartened by the actions of my government.. We need to rethink many things, there is a nw reality and we need to grap the opportunity it presents... Wiilo, you made comments regarding my person without any knowledge of how I feel, that is ignorant...

Wiilo, kep up your insults, you must know me well sister... Dhubad, I think Geedi spoke the same line as the Ethiopians.. Its tragic the TFG is openly courting the Ethiopians, not in my name..

****** idoiots, we do not need their involvement.

Nation, do not fall into a trap, the media ishyping up the situation.. The Ethiopians if they invade will not help matters, the courts have so far said they will not attack Baidoa, the TFG can defend itself. As for Eritria is they had any might they would not have lost the previous war with Ethiopia... We need to take a step back and not get involved in a regional war..

ME, you are right in most of your argument, though I disagree in the part that Arabic is an important part of our culture and language, our contact with the Arba world has been long and fruitful. Though I agree with the central improtance of our Somali language. Why the argument? we are a Muslim nation, we have a great languae and we are part of the Arab world...

^^^ Ignorant remark, how does it trouble me when I am not even there, as for the courts I suggest they refrain from this type of provocation. It plays into the hands of those who want an all out war.. I do not want it..

Somalia: Islamists name sanitation team in the capital Mon. July 17, 2006 05:43 pm. Send this news article Mohamed Abdi Farah (SomaliNet) The council of Islamic courts who control the capital of Somalia Mogadishu have nominated on Monday a sanitation body for the city after meeting with civil society members. The meeting happened at Hotel Mogadishu building in the central of the town, where they have discussed issues of restoring the view of the city and the better way of cleaning the garbage filled in every corner of the capital. Since the fall of former president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, the public service like sanitation has got omitted for the country plunged into chaos and anarchy. The leader of executive council of Islamic courts Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed who attended the meeting said after acting a lot on the security matters the Islamic courts seemed ready this time to refurbish the cleanliness of the much-devastated capital. Eng. Omar Mohamed Aftoje, member of the Islamic Courts has been named for the chairman of the sanitation body in the city. Dr. Mohamed Dhere, who was among the doctors attended the meeting said if the waste and rubbish of the capital won’t be cleaned it would bring more outbreak of diseases resulted from the lack of hygiene. “I welcome the nomination the board of anti insanitation in the city as good step done by Islamic courts,â€. The Islamic courts now handle the authority of the Mogadishu and assured it as more safe and secure as before after they had ousted all warlords believed to be the major obstacle ahead the country’s future last month. Mogadishu is now stable with one rule, the people are relaxing more security going any where in the capital with no green zones, there is no fear of fresh fighting believing that hostilities have ended in the city. News Category: Somalia Send this news article

Golaha Maxkamadaha Islaamka oo Guddi Nadaafadeed u magacaabay Magaaladay Muqdisho Isniin, July 17, 2006(HOL): Golaha Maxkamadaha ISlaamka oo ka taliya magaalada Muqdisho ayaa maanta wuxuu guddi nadaafadeed u magacaabay Caasimadda Soomaaliya ee Muqdisho kadib shir ay xubno ka socday Bulshada Rayidka ay kula yeesheen Hotelka Muqdisho (Ex Hotel Daameey). Shirkaasi oo ay ka qeybgaleen Guddoomiyaha Guddiga Fulinta Maxkamdaha Islaamka Shiikh Shariif Shiikh Axmed, xubno ka socday Golaha Maxkamadaha, ganacsatada, Dhaqaatiirta iyo aqoonyahanno kale ayaa waxaa looga hadlayay sida uga haboon ee loo soo celin karo bilicdii magaalada Muqdisho, isla markaana loo qaadi lahaa qashinka magaalada dhex yaala. Shiikh Shariif oo ka hadlay kulankaas ayaa sheegay in Maxkamadaha Islaamka markii ay wax ka qabteen ammaanka Magaalada ay hataan diyaar u yihiin in ay nadaafadda wax ka qabtaan, wuxuuna markaasi kadib ku dhawaaqay guddi KMG ah oo shan xubnood ka kooban oo howshaasi u dhaqaaqa, kaasi oo ay xubnihiisa kala yihiin: Inj. Cumar Maxamed Maxmuud (Af-dooje) Maxamed Tahliil Warsame Shiikh C/llaahi Cabdi Ciid Shiikh Axmed Suleymaan iyo Cali Maxamed Siyaad (Cali Dheere) Dr. Maxamed Dheere oo ka mid ahaa dhaqaatiirti kulankaasi ka qeybgashay ayaa sheegay in haddii aan wax laga qaban nadaafadda magaalada ay taasi sababi karto in ay dhashaan cudurro badan oo uu shubanka ka xusay, wuxuuna soo dhaweeyay in guddigan nadaafadeed la magacaabo. Dhanka kale Garoonka Diyaaradaha Muqdisho oo ay dhawaan ku soo degtay diyaarad u soo degatay Maxkamadaha Islaamka ayaa haatan waxaa ka socota howl nadaafadeed oo la doonayo in garoonkaas lagu soo saaro bilicdiisii, iyadoo howshaas nadaafadeedna ay wadaan Haweenka Horseedka Nabadda iyo Nolosha oo kaashanaya dadweyne is-hilqaamay oo daneynaya in uu garoonkaas 11 sano kadib uu dib u howl bilaabo. Maxkamadaha Islaamka ayaa horay waxay ugu guuleysteen in ay dib u howlgeliyaan Ciidankii Taraafikada, kuwaasi oo haatan howlahooda si caadi ah u wata, isla markaana gaadiidka kala agaasima, iyagoo dhinaca fulinta shuruucda ay gaadiidka ku kala hagayaana u kaashanaya Ciidamada Maxkamadaha Islaamka. Muqdisho haatan wey nabdoon tahay, dadkuna niyaddooda waa ay degan tahay, ma jiro dagaal kale oo ay dadka ku dhaqan ka cabsanayaan in uu dhaco, waxaana taasi ugu wacan iyadoo ay magaalada oo dhan gacantooda wada gashay Maxkmadaha Islaamka. Salaad Iidow Xasan (Xiis) Hiiraan Online sxiis@hiiraan.com Mogadishu, Somalia

Xiin has presented a reasonable argument. I disagree that there are any difference between IndaCade and the other walords of Mogadishu, it is a fact that he controls large swades of lower Shabbele the suffering of that region is not a fabrication or an attempt to villify him. These courts carry the banner of Islam a unifying banner, thus their tolerance of a warlord should be highlighted and scrutanised. It should not be prushed under the carpet. With all my doubts and protests,I have been impressed by the courts so far, Shiekh Sharif Shiekh Ahmed is a breath of fresh air, the security of the capital is a wonderful development. Today we have a chance to unite under the banner of Islam. To have peace, the fact it comes from Mogadishu is fitting. The TFG's response is wrong in opposing negotiations and giving succour to the broken warlords. The TFG has a short period, it has to decide to either survive and adapt, to change or die. President Yusuf has a chance to be a national figure or to go out in shame.. I support change but I have a few remaining doubts, the occupation of souther Somalia must end and insha Allah it will end.

Great news, if they fullfill this then the courts will prevail and they will have the support of everyone. The occupation must end..IndaCade must go...

Not funny at all, the poster went too far. The Hiijaab should not be isnulted....Disagree with these courts, but do not attcak the symbols of the faith,..

International Somalia Contact Group Communiqué In recognition of the changing political landscape in Somalia, the International Somalia Contact Group discussed concrete options for supporting continued progress in the ongoing political process. The International Somalia Contact Group expresses grave concern regarding the continuing conflict in Somalia and requests all parties to comply with the cease fire agreed on 22 June in Khartoum and to provide unrestricted and safe access for humanitarian relief agencies to vulnerable communities. The Contact Group calls for immediate intra-Somali dialogue to broaden participation in the Transitional Federal Institutions and to discuss concrete issues such as the establishment of regional and local administrations and security sector issues. The members of the International Somalia Contact Group are willing to support the development of an effective security sector in Somalia on the basis of a sustainable peace process. The International Somalia Contact Group was briefed on the African Union/IGAD and partners assessment and reconnaissance mission and supports AU/IGAD initiatives to contribute to peace and stability in Somalia. In this regard, the contact group takes note of the endorsement of the National Security and Stabilisation Plan (NSSP) by the Transitional Federal Parliament. It looks forward to the submission of the detailed mission plan of the proposed IGAD/AU Peace Support Operation (PSO) in accordance with the UNSC Presidential Statement of 13 July 2006. The International Somalia Contact Group urges the UN Security Council to consider with a sense of urgency modifying the arms embargo to allow for training, capacity building, and development of a broad based, representative security sector building on successful dialogue between Somali parties. At the same time, the International Somalia Contact Group emphasizes the continued need for all to comply with the arms embargo. The Transitional Federal Charter (TFC) and the Transitional Federal Institutions (TFIs) constitute the legitimate framework for continued dialogue and the reestablishment of governance in Somalia leading to a successful transition to an elected, representative government at the end of the transitional period in 2009. The International Somalia Contact Group underlines the need for inclusive dialogue and urges all Somali parties to engage in constructive and broad-based consultations to peacefully resolve their differences, build confidence and address issues of common concern, in particular the establishment of the TFIs in the capital city, Mogadishu In this regard, the International Somalia Contact Group urges the TFIs and the Islamic Courts to resume immediately and without any preconditions the talks launched and facilitated by the League of Arab States in Khartoum on 22 June. The Contact Group encourages that this dialogue be broadened to include representation from stakeholders including women's groups, civil society and the business community of Mogadishu. All parties should refrain from inflammatory statements that fuel tension and undermine the search for common ground for a political settlement. The International Somalia Contact Group reaffirms its continued support to the unity and effective functioning of the TFIs, encourages the convening of a Coordination and Monitoring Committee (CMC) in Nairobi in the coming weeks and is ready to organise a Contact group meeting back-to back with the CMC meeting. The International Somalia Contact Group urges the TFIs, Islamic Courts and all other parties in Somalia to firmly reject any violent extremist agenda and deny safe haven to terrorists and their supporters in compliance with existing international obligations as laid out in relevant UN resolutions and international conventions. The International Somalia Contact Group underscores the Somali ownership of the peace process and reaffirms its commitment to support the efforts of regional partners, particularly the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the League of Arab States, towards restoring peace and stability in Somalia. The International Somalia Contact group stresses the central role of IGAD in general and Kenya, as the present Chair, in facilitating peace in Somalia. The contact group also recognised the important role of the UN to support these regional efforts and reiterated the support for the UN SRSG efforts in the region. The International Somalia Contact Group calls on all regional and international partners to demonstrate unity of purpose and to engage constructively in Somali affairs.Done at Brussels, 17 July 2006* *The 17 July meeting convened at the European Commission included the European Union (Presidency and Commission), Italy, Norway, Sweden, Tanzania, the United Kingdom and the United States together with the United Nations, African Union, League of Arab States, and Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

Deadly Tsunami Strikes Indonesia At least 306 are killed and 160 are missing from Java resorts and villages after a large undersea earthquake triggers the wave. From Times Wire Services July 18, 2006 PANGANDARAN, Indonesia — A magnitude 7.7 earthquake spawned a 6-foot-high tsunami Monday that crashed into Indonesian beach resorts and fishing villages, killing at least 306 people and leaving more than 160 missing. Regional agencies had issued warnings that a wave could hit the country, the worst affected by the massive tsunami of December 2004. But the alerts did not reach victims along a 110-mile stretch of Java island's southern coast because the area has no tsunami warning system. ADVERTISEMENT The hardest-hit location appeared to be around the resort of Pangandaran, about 125 miles southeast of the capital, Jakarta. Early today, desperate villagers and soldiers dug through destroyed homes and hotels looking for survivors. Dudi Junaidi, an emergency official, said that 86 people were missing in the Pangandaran area and that a Pakistani, a Swede and a Dutch national were among the dead. At least one Swedish tourist was being treated for injuries, and his two sons, ages 5 and 10, were missing, said Jan Janonius, a Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman. "When the waves came, I heard people screaming, and then I heard something like a plane about to crash nearby and I just ran," Uli Sutarli, a plantation worker who was on Pangandaran beach, said by telephone. Witnesses said people shouted, "Tsunami! Tsunami!" and climbed trees or crowded inland mosques to pray as the wave approached. "All the houses are destroyed along the beach," a woman who identified herself only as Teti told El Shinta radio. "Small hotels are completely destroyed and at least one restaurant was washed away." Some roads were blocked and power and phone lines cut. A local official, Rudi Supriatna Bahro, told a television news station, "We need tents, food and medical aid." Java was unaffected by the 2004 tsunami, which killed about 131,000 people on Indonesia's Sumatra island and tens of thousands elsewhere. In Monday's tsunami, there were no reports of deaths outside of Indonesia. The afternoon quake that spawned the tsunami was centered 150 miles off the southwestern coast of Java and 30 miles beneath the ocean floor, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Strong aftershocks followed. Buildings swayed in Jakarta, where workers streamed onto the streets. A witness, who gave only the name Miswan, told El Shinta that he saw the water withdraw about 500 yards from the beach — a typical occurrence in a tsunami — half an hour before the wave hit about 4 p.m. "I could see fish jumping around on the ocean floor," Miswan said. "Later I saw a wave like a black wall." A man named Basril and his wife tearfully searched through mounds of debris left on the beach at Pangandaran. "I don't mind losing any of my property," he said, "but please, God, return my son."

^^^obviously the people in the tiange are having milk and honey, soryy my frien there is nothing called Somaliland, we are all Somali's and it is our land..

Look who's been kidnapped! Hundreds of Palestinian 'suspects' have been kidnapped from their homes and will never stand trial Arik Diamant It's the wee hours of the morning, still dark outside. A guerilla force comes out of nowhere to kidnap a soldier. After hours of careful movement, the force reaches its target, and the ambush is on! In seconds, the soldier finds himself looking down the barrel of a rifle. A smash in the face with the butt of the gun and the soldier falls to the ground, bleeding. The kidnappers pick him up, quickly tie his hands and blindfold him, and disappear into the night. This might be the end of the kidnapping, but the nightmare has just begun. The soldier's mother collapses, his father prays. His commanding officers promise to do everything they can to get him back, his comrades swear revenge. An entire nation is up-in-arms, writing in pain and worry. Nobody knows how the soldier is: Is he hurt? Do his captors give him even a minimum of human decency, or are they torturing him to death by trampling his honor? The worst sort of suffering is not knowing. Will he come home? And if so, when? And in what condition? Can anyone remain apathetic in the light of such drama? Israeli terror This description, you'll be surprised to know, has nothing to do with the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit. It is the story of an arrest I carried out as an IDF soldier, in the Nablus casbah, about 10 years ago. The "soldier" was a 17-year-old boy, and we kidnapped him because he knew "someone" who had done "something." We brought him tied up, with a burlap sac over his head, to a Shin Bet interrogation center known as "Scream Hill" (at the time we thought it was funny). There, the prisoner was beaten, violently shaken and sleep deprived for weeks or months. Who knows. No one wrote about it in the paper. European diplomats were not called to help him. After all, there was nothing out of the ordinary about the kidnapping of this Palestinian kid. Over the 40 years of occupation we have kidnapped thousands of people, exactly like Gilad Shalit was captured: Threatened by a gun, beaten mercilessly, with no judge or jury, or witnesses, and without providing the family with any information about the captive. When the Palestinians do this, we call it "terror." When we do it, we work overtime to whitewash the atrocity. Suspects? Some people will say: The IDF doesn't "just" kidnap. These people are "suspects." There is no more perverse lie than this. In all the years I served, I reached one simple conclusion: What makes a "suspect"? Who, exactly suspects him, and of what? Who has the right to sentence a 17-year-old to kidnapping, torture and possible death? A 26-year-old Shin Bet interrogator? A 46-year-old one? Do these people have any higher education, apart from the ability to interrogate? What are his considerations? I all these "suspects" are so guilty, why not bring them to trial? Anyone who believes that despite the lack of transparency, the IDF and Shin Bet to their best to minimize violations of human rights is naïve, if not brainwashed. One need only read the testimonies of soldiers who have carried out administrative detentions to be convinced of the depth of the immorality of our actions in the territories. To this very day, there are hundreds of prisoners rotting in Shin Bet prisons and dungeons, people who have never been –and never will be – tried. And Israelis are silently resolved to this phenomenon. Israeli responsibility The day Gilad Shalit was kidnapped I rode in a taxi. The driver told me we must go into Gaza, start shooting people one-by-one, until someone breaks and returns the hostage. It isn't clear that such an operation would bring Gilad back alive. Instead of getting dragged into terrorist responses, as Palestinian society has done, we should release some of the soldiers and civilians we have kidnapped. This is appropriate, right, and could bring about an air of reconciliation in the territories. Hell, if this is what will bring Gilad home safe-and-sound, we have a responsibility to him to do it. Arik Diamant is an IDF reservist and the head of the Courage to Refuse organization

What I am watching in Lebanon each day is an outrage By Robert Fisk in Mdeirej, Central Lebanon 07/15/06 "The Independent" -- - - The beautiful viaduct that soars over the mountainside here has become a "terrorist" target. The Israelis attacked the international highway from Beirut to Damascus just after dawn yesterday and dropped a bomb clean through the central span of the Italian-built bridge a symbol of Lebanon's co-operation with the European Union sending concrete crashing hundreds of feet down into the valley beneath. It was the pride of the murdered ex-prime minister Rafik Hariri, the face of a new, emergent Lebanon. And now it is a "terrorist" target. So I drove gingerly along the old mountain road towards the Bekaa yesterday - the Israeli jets were hissing through the sky above me - turned the corner once I rejoined the highway, and found a 50ft crater with an old woman climbing wearily down the side on her hands and knees, trying to reach her home in the valley that glimmered to the east. This too had become a "terrorist" target. It is now the same all over Lebanon. In the southern suburbs - where the Hizbollah, captors of the two missing Israeli soldiers, have their headquarters - a massive bomb had blasted off the sides of apartment blocks next to a church, splintering windows and crashing balconies down to parked cars. This too had become a "terrorist target. One man was brought out shrieking with pain, covered in blood. Another "terrorist" target. All the way to the airport were broken bridges, holed roads. All these were "terrorist" targets. At the airport, tongues of fire blossomed into the sky from aircraft fuel storage tanks, darkening west Beirut. These too were now "terrorist" targets. At Jiyeh, the Israelis attacked the power station. This too was a "terrorist" target. Yet when I drove to the actual headquarters of Hizbollah, a tall building in Haret Hreik, it was totally undamaged. Only last night did the Israelis manage to hit it. So can the Lebanese be forgiven - can anyone here be forgiven - for believing that the Israelis have a greater interest in destroying Lebanon than they do in their two soldiers? No wonder Middle East Airlines, the national Lebanese airline, put crews into its four stranded Airbuses at Beirut airport early yesterday and sneaked them out of the country for Amman before the Israelis realised they were under power and leaving. European politicians have talked about Israel's "disproportionate" response to Wednesday's capture of its soldiers. They are wrong. What I am now watching in Lebanon is an outrage. How can there be any excuse for the 73 dead Lebanese blown these past three days? The same applies, of course, to the four Israeli civilians killed by Hizbollah rockets. But - please note the exchange rate of Israeli civilian lives to Lebanese civilian lives now stands at 1 to more than 15. This does not include the two children who were atomised in their home in Dweir on Thursday and whose bodies cannot be found. Their six brothers and sisters were buried yesterday, along with their mother and father. Another "terrorist" target. So was a neighbouring family with five children who were also buried yesterday. Another "terrorist" target. Terrorist, terrorist, terrorist. There is something perverse about all this, the slaughter and massive destruction and the self-righteous, constant, cancerous use of the word "terrorist". No, let us not forget that the Hizbollah broke international law, crossed the Israeli border, killed three Israeli soldiers, captured two others and dragged them back through the border fence. It was an act of calculated ruthlessness that should never allow Hizbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to grin so broadly ay his press conference. It has brought unparalleled tragedy to countless innocents in Lebanon. And of course, it has led Hizbollah to fire at least 170 Katyusha rockets into Israel. But what would happen if the powerless Lebanese government had actually unleashed air attacks across Israel the last time Israel's troops crossed into Lebanon? What if the Lebanese air force then killed 73 Israeli civilians in bombing raids in Ashkelon, Tel Aviv and Israeli West Jerusalem? What if a Lebanese fighter aircraft bombed Ben Gurion airport? What if a Lebanese plane destroyed 26 road bridges across Israel? Would it not be called "terrorism"? I rather think it would. But if Israel was the victim, it would also probably be Word War Three. Of course, Lebanon cannot attack Tel Aviv. Its air force comprises three ancient Hawker Hunters and an equally ancient fleet of Vietnam-era Huey helicopters. Syria, however, has missiles that can reach Tel Aviv. So Syria - which Israel rightly believes to be behind Wednesday's Hizbollah attack is not going to be bombed. It is Lebanon which must be punished. The Israeli leadership intends to "break" the Hizbollah and destroy its "terrorist cancer". Really? Do the Israelis really believe they can "break" one of the toughest guerrilla armies in the world? And how? There are real issues here. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1559 - the same resolution that got the Syrian army out of Lebanon - the Shia Muslim Hizbollah should have been disarmed. They were not because, if the Lebanese Prime Minister, Fouad Siniora, had tried to do so, the Lebanese army would have had to fight them and the army would almost certainly broken apart because most Lebanese soldiers are Shia Muslims. We could see the restarting of the civil war in Lebanon - a fact which Nasrallah is cynically aware of - but attempts by Siniora and his cabinet colleagues to find a new role for Hizbollah, which has a minister in the government (he is Minister of Labour) foundered. And the greatest now is that the Lebanese government will collapse and be replaced by a pro-Syrian government which could re-invite the Syrians back into the country. So there's a real conundrum to be solved. But it's not going to succeed with the mass bombing of the country by Israel. Not the obsession with terrorists, terrorists, terrorists. © 2006 Independent News and Media Limited