Israel battles Hamas as Egyptian truce talks plod on

by Sakher Abu El Oun

GAZA CITY (AFP) – Israeli infantry units clashed with Hamas fighters across Gaza on Monday as Israel sent reservists to boost its ground forces and talks on ending the 17-day-old war plodded on in Egypt.

Troops battled Hamas militants across the Gaza Strip, with the most violent clashes reported in the north of the Palestinian enclave, battered by a war that has claimed more than 900 lives.

At least six people were reported killed as a result of Monday's clashes, medics said.

Hamas and its allies remained defiant in the face of the assault, firing three rockets and mortars that crashed inside Israel without causing injuries, the army said.

The fighting came as Israel poured reservists into Gaza to reinforce ground troops that have been operating there for more than a week. The Israeli media speculated the move could be a sign that the offensive could intensify.

In Egypt, which has been spearheading Western-backed efforts to end the war that has sparked widespread protests across the world, talks were due to resume between Egyptian officials and Hamas.

But Israel's pointman for Gaza truce talks, Amos Gilad, delayed a planned visit in what Israeli radio speculated was meant as a pressure tactic on Hamas.

Speaking during the cabinet meeting on Sunday, Olmert said that "Israel has no intention to decrease the pressure on Hamas," a senior Israeli official told AFP on Sunday.

Cairo said that it had held positive talks with a Hamas team, saying the Islamists agreed "on the importance of ... stopping the shedding of Palestinian blood as soon as possible."

Osama Hamdan, Hamas' representative in Lebanon, told Al-Jazeera television afterwards that "there was some progress on some points" of the Egyptian proposal.

"We reject parts of this proposal ... but that does not mean rejection of all the proposal." He added without elaborating that there had been no progress "on some of the sensitive points."

The negotiations in Cairo are centering on a three-point plan that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak unveiled during the week.

The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, talks on opening Gaza's border crossings and taking steps to prevent arms smuggling, and relaunching Palestinian reconciliation efforts.

On Sunday, Cairo upped the pressure on Israel by summoning its ambassador to demand that the Jewish state comply with last week's UN Security Council resolution and open humanitarian corridors to relieve the besieged territory.

Both Israel and Hamas have waved off the resolution that called for an immediate end to the fighting.

Israeli officials on Sunday suggested the war the Jewish state unleashed on Hamas in Gaza could be approaching an end, in first such comments since the start of the offensive on December 27.

"The decision of the (UN) Security Council doesn't give us much leeway," Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told public radio.

"Thus it would seem that we are close to ending the ground operation and ending the operation altogether."

Earlier, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel was nearing the goals it had set for its operation, but that fighting would continue for now.

"Israel is approaching these goals, but more patience and determination are required," Olmert told a cabinet meeting.

Since the start of Israel's Operation Cast Lead on December 27, at least 905 people have been killed, including at least 277 children, and another 3,950 wounded, according to Gaza medics.

Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or in rocket attacks since the operation began.

Palestinian militants have fired nearly 700 rockets, some of them penetrating deeper than ever inside Israel.

The conflict has sparked worldwide pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and US president elect Barack Obama said he is assembling a team of diplomats to start addressing the Middle East conflict once he is sworn in on January 20.

Concerns have escalated about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where most of the 1.5 million population depends on foreign aid.

One million Gazans are currently living without electricity and some 750,000 without water, according to UN estimates.

Israel pounds new Hamas targets, enlists reserves

By IBRAHIM BARZAK and JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writers

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli warplanes pounded the homes of Hamas leaders and ground troops edged closer to the Gaza Strip's densely-populated urban center Monday, as Israel stepped up the pressure ahead of deciding whether to escalate its devastating two-week offensive.

From downtown Gaza City black smoke could be seen rising over the eastern suburbs, where the two sides skirmished throughout the night. At least six Palestinians were killed in the new airstrikes or died from their wounds on Monday, Gaza health officials said. One of the dead was a militant killed in a northern Gaza battle.

Despite the tightening Israeli cordon, however, militants still managed to fire off a rocket Monday morning which fell near the southern town of Kiryat Gat but caused no casualties, police said.

The army announced Sunday that it had begun sending reserve units into Gaza to assist thousands of ground forces already in the territory. The use of reserves is a strong signal that Israel is planning to move the offensive, which already has killed some 870 Palestinians, into a new, more punishing phase.

Israel launched the offensive on Dec. 27, bombarding Gaza with dozens of airstrikes before sending in ground forces a week later. The operation is meant to halt years of Palestinian rocket attacks on southern Israel. Fighting has persisted despite international calls for a cease-fire. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have died.

With Israeli troops already surrounding Gaza's main population centers, Israeli leaders have given mixed signals on how much further the army is ready to push, saying the operation is close to achieving its goals but vowing to press forward with overwhelming force.

"Israel is a country that reacts vigorously when its citizens are fired up, which is a good thing," Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Israel Radio on Monday. "That is something that Hamas now understands and that is how we are going to react in the future, if they so much as dare fire one missile at Israel."

Israeli security officials believe they have struck a tough blow against Hamas, killing hundreds of the Islamic militant group's fighters, including top commanders. The director of the Shin Bet security agency told the Cabinet on Sunday that Hamas leaders in Gaza are ready to surrender.

The army also says Hamas has been avoiding pitched battles against the advancing Israelis, resorting instead to guerrilla tactics as its fighters melt into crowded residential areas.

Maj. Avital Leibovich, an army spokeswoman, said residential neighborhoods in Gaza are riddled with booby traps and explosives, and in some cases dummies are placed at apartment entrances to simulate militants and rigged to explode if soldiers approach.

Hamas, at least publicly, has vowed to continue fighting.

Israeli ground forces made their deepest foray yet into Gaza City on Sunday, with tanks rolling into residential neighborhoods and infantry fighting urban warfare in streets in buildings with Hamas militants, Palestinian residents said.

The army "is advancing more into urban areas," Leibovich said. "Since the majority of the Hamas militants are pretty much in hiding in those places, mainly urban places, then we operate in those areas."

Israeli leaders are expected to decide in the next day or two on whether to push the offensive into a third phase — in which the army takes over larger areas of Gaza. This move would require the use of thousands of reserve units massed on the border with Gaza.

Defense officials said several thousand reservists were already in Gaza as part of preparations for the new phase. For the time being, the units have been taking over areas cleared out by the regular troops, allowing those forces to push forward toward new targets. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing classified operational strategy.

Early Monday, Israeli navy gunboats fired more than 25 shells at Gaza City, setting fires and shaking office buildings, including the local bureau of The Associated Press. The military said that in general, the targets are Hamas installations but had no immediate information about the shelling that began just after midnight.

German and British envoys pressed efforts to negotiate an end to the war even though Israel and Hamas have ignored a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire.

Israel is demanding an end to years of rocket attacks, as well as international guarantees to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons into Gaza through the porous Egyptian border. This complex goal would require Egyptian or international help in shutting off the smuggling routes.

Israel has been bombing tunnels that run under the Egypt-Gaza border.

In an e-mail message early Monday, Hamas leader Ismail Radwan said his group would not consider a cease-fire before Israel stops its attacks and pulls back from Gaza. He also demanded opening of all border crossings, emphasizing the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

That would relieve economic pressure on the destitute territory but also strengthen Hamas control of Gaza, an odious prospect for Israelis who fear a halt to the fighting will just give Hamas another opportunity to re-arm.

In Cairo, Egypt's state-owned news agency reported progress in truce talks with Hamas but provided no specifics. The Middle East News Agency quoted an unnamed Egyptian official as saying talks between the nation's intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, and Hamas envoys were "positive."

Military analysts say Israeli troops are probing territory, clearing buildings and moving around regularly, rather than digging into positions that would allow Hamas militants to get a fix on their whereabouts and lay ambushes. Israel risks losing the advantage of armor and heavy firepower in urban settings that the militants know well.

Israeli has accused Hamas of launching attacks from mosques and schools and using them to hide weapons. Israel says Hamas fighters are wearing civilian clothes and endangering civilians by operating in residential areas.

International aid groups say Israel must do more to ensure the safety of civilians. They note that civilians are in many cases unable to flee to safe places in Gaza, and are essentially trapped because the territory's exits are closed.

Unconventional Weapons against The People of Gaza

Interview of Dr. Mads Gilbert

By Akram al-Sattari

URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11636

Global Research, January 6, 2009
Press TV

This report confirms that these attacks are quite deliberately directed against civilians, using new unconventional weapons.

This is a carefully planned humanitarian catastrophe. How can anybody in their right mind support the actions of the Israeli government.

Read this interview with a distinguished and courageous Norwegian doctor.


Dr. Mads Gilbert

Here are some of the highlights.

"The Israelis are using a new type of very high explosive weapons which are called Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) and are made out of a tungsten alloy. These weapons have an enormous power to explode."

"these weapons will have a cancer effect on those who survive. They will develop cancer we suspect."

"All that is happening in Gaza here now is against international law, it is against humanity"

"Almost all of the patients we have received have these sever amputations. They seem to have been affected by this kind of weapon. Of course, we have many fragment injuries and burns but those who have got their limbs cut off, constitutes quite a large proportion.

You know we have a lot to do. Palestinian doctors, nurses and paramedics do an incredibly heroic job to save their people. Doctor Eric and I are just a small drip in the ocean, but we learn from them."

And then decide where do you stand.

We stand with the people of Palestine whose lives are being destroyed.

We stand in solidarity with their struggle.

We stand for humanity against the US-Israeli war criminals.

Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, January 5, 2009

Doctor Mads Gilbert is a member of a Norwegian triage medical team present in the besieged Gaza Strip. The team has exposed that Israel has used depleted uranium weapons in its war on the impoverished territory which is home to 1.5 million Palestinians. He described the conditions inside Gaza in an exclusive Press TV interview.

Press TV: What can you tell about the uranium findings?

Dr. Mads Gilbert:The findings about the uranium I cannot tell you much about, but I can tell you that we have clear evidence that the Israelis are using a new type of very high explosive weapons which are called Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) and are made out of a tungsten alloy.

These weapons have an enormous power to explode.

The power of the explosion dissipates very quickly and the strength does not travel long, maybe 10 meters, but those humans who are hit by this explosion, this pressure wave are cut in pieces.

This was first used in Lebanon in 2006, it was used here in Gaza in 2006 and the injuries that we see in Shifa [Hospital] now, many many of them I suspect and we all suspect are the effect of DIME weapons used by the Israelis.

On the long term, these weapons will have a cancer effect on those who survive. They will develop cancer we suspect. There has been very little research on this but some research has been among other places in the United States, which show that these weapons have a high tendency to develop cancer. So they kill and those who survive risk having cancer.

Press TV: And what do you have to say about this?

Dr. Mads Gilbert: All that is happening in Gaza here now is against international law, it is against humanity and I think it is against what it means to be a decent person. You don't treat other people like this. Even if you disagree with him... maybe even if you fight with them, you don't treat civilians, children and women like this.

And I have an appeal to the Israeli doctors and nurses. They are my colleagues. We belong to the same international community, the medical community. I wish that the good doctors and nurses in Israel tell their government to stop these atrocities. We cannot continue with this. We may differ in opinions, but you cannot treat the civilian Palestinian population in Gaza in this way.

Today, they were bombing in Gaza City; we received 150 wounded and more than 50 killed.

Press TV: Only at Shifa?!

Dr. Mads Gilbert: Yes, here in Shifa. I treated a ten-year-old boy. He had his whole chest filled with fragments from the bomb. On his lap was another person's leg that had been cut off. We resuscitated him and did everything we could do to save his life but he died between our hands.

This is such a terrible experience and behind the numbers that you report all the time, there are human beings, families, women, grandmothers, children. That is in fact the reality in this situation. Those who are paying the price for the Israeli bombardments now are the common people, the Palestinian people.

Half of the population in Palestine are below 15 years and 80 percent of the people in Gaza live below the level of poverty defined by the UN. Now they don't have food, they don't have electricity. It's cold they don't have warmth and in addition to that, they are killed.

This must be stopped.

Press TV How many people did you see that are effected by this weapon?

Dr. Mads Gilbert: Almost all of the patients we have received have these sever amputations. They seem to have been affected by this kind of weapon. Of course, we have many fragment injuries and burns but those who have got their limbs cut off, constitutes quite a large proportion.

You know we have a lot to do. Palestinian doctors, nurses and paramedics do an incredibly heroic job to save their people. Doctor Eric and I are just a small drip in the ocean, but we learn from them. Unfortunately, we don't have the time to do research, we have to save lives, but this question should be researched by the international community.

Source: Global Research.
Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11636.

Obama: Silence on Gaza not lack of concern

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday said the world should not interpret his lack of comment on the Gaza situation as lack of concern.

During a Washington news conference to introduce Nancy Killefer as his choice for the nation's first chief performance officer, Obama said in response to a question he's not "legally authorized" to get involved in foreign policy until he takes over the presidency.

"We can't have two administrations running foreign policy at the same time," Obama said, adding that both he and his national security team are up to speed on the situation.

It would not be safe for Americans, he said, for him to make any independent moves.

"I can't control how people interpret what I'm saying other than to repeat what I have said," Obama said, citing institutional constraints. "The silence is not a consequence of a lack of concerns."

Another Tibet—Uighur Mirrors the Issues in Tibet

By Matthias Kehrein and Florian Godovits

The Uighurs, a nine million Muslim minority, residing in Eastern Turkestan in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, are one of the worst abused people at the hands of the Chinese regime.

In contrast to worldwide awareness of problems in Tibet, the Western media and politicians give little attention to these people's dilemmas. This might be due to cleverly manipulated Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda, making people believe the Uighurs are allied with a network of Al Qaeda operatives.

The Uighurs have now chosen a spokesperson who shares the same charisma as the Tibetan leader—Rebiya Kadeer, once China's wealthiest woman. She was a respected businesswoman back in the 1990s and was elected to speak before the National People's Congress in Beijing on behalf of the Xinjiang Region. She chose not to hide her people's plight before the Chinese leadership and eventually found herself in solitary confinement in a Xinjiang forced labor camp, in China. Her ordeal lasted six years. She would hear agonizing screams from youths in neighboring cells whose will the abusers tried to break.

She is untiringly championing the cause of her people, in spite of threats and intimidation for those of her eleven children who had opted to remain in Xinjiang. [Please see addendum at the end of this interview]

The Uighur World Congress took place in Berlin, Germany between April 21 and 23, 2008. Rebiya Kadeer spoke with us about the plight of the Uighurs, her hopes, her views on the international community, and the parallels between her country and Tibet.

Epoch Times (ET): Why do so few Western media outlets report about the Uighurs and so much about Tibet?

Rebiya Kadeer (RK): The main reason is the Dalai Lama, who had raised so much awareness in the West these past years. He was fortunate to flee with some of his people and his government. Since he is also the Tibetan spiritual head, people recognized him as Tibet’s leader.

For us, the Soviets coerced the Uighur leadership to negotiate with Mao, and they were supposed to fly to mainland China. There were assertions the plane had exploded, and seven Uighur leaders—the president and other ministers—were killed. Since then, the Soviets/Chinese control our territory. Our political administration was unable to flee.

Following that, the Chinese regime dispersed all other Uighurs who could have become leaders, making it impossible to select one overall leader for all the worldwide Uighur organizations.

The Chinese regime had dispatched numerous spies and informants in this game of "Divide and Conquer." But this time, following China's severe, grave suppression, the Uighurs have decided to unite. The international community and media had shown Tibet enough interest during the past few years. I am now the voice for the Uighurs.

Following the Tibetan protests, mostly Uighur women staged peaceful protests in Hotan on March 23 and 24. The Uighurs are convinced that should Tibet become free, we will also become free! Although the general public is largely unaware of our plight, politicians and scientists know of our dilemma. Even China looks upon us as a sensitive/delicate problem to deal with.

ET: What has it been like since the protests?

RK: Right now the circumstances are horrible. Chinese agents hunt down Uighurs and incarcerate them. Sometimes these CCP people go house-to-house, searching—abominable!

ET: Were there other recent demonstrations in East-Turkistan?

RK: Uighurs have protested the Chinese regime since the CCP had occupied our nation. The head judge of the highest court declared during a January 18, 2008 conference that there were 1,013 instances of unrest. That shows that similar protests have happened. The official line is that these were all "anti-government or separatists' activities."

ET: Forty-five Uighurs were arrested and accused of having planned terrorist activities; what is your opinion?

RK: Because of the events in Tibet, China has lost her credibility around the world. The world pays much attention to China. Now, China aims to draw attention away from herself.

Concurrently, the Chinese people focus on the regime's action at home, because the CCP hopes to direct the population's attention and sentiments toward [a new-found] nationalism, away from the regime's problems. The best "out" the regime had was the Uighurs. The regime once again deceived the Chinese population into believing Uighurs were terrorists, creating the whole story by concocting this ploy.

Initially, the Chinese regime insisted the airplane explosion and death of the Uighur politicians was factual, but never provided any evidence or proof. Following that, they arrested 45 of us, claiming these 45 wanted to abduct foreign journalists, reporters, and tourists. The CCP regime attempted to make these 45 of our countrymen appear to be like Bin Laden followers.

The anti-terrorist effort is a worldwide quest. That would have demanded of the CCP regime to prompt an international investigation to determine if these suspected terrorists are what the regime claimed them to be.

Nevertheless, the Uighurs are banned from ever engaging legal representation to defend themselves against unfounded accusations. The Chinese regime would extract confessions under torture, to make the unjustly accused confess things they had never done; even Uighurs detained at Guantanamo were found innocent! If the 45 in question were tried according to international law, I am convinced they would be found innocent.
[…]

ET: What could the West do to help Uighur?

RK: My hope for the long run is for the international community to consider our problem the way the Tibetan situation is handled. The international community could send investigation teams and reporters to discover what is happening with the Uighurs; to urge the Chinese during bilateral dialogue to respect our rights; to have Western leaders meet with us and express their empathy with our plight; to negotiate with the Chinese regime for a peaceful solution to our concerns. It would be marvelous if Western nations could dispatch teams to inspect our prisons and execution chambers; to witness how Chinese nationals torture and execute our people. The world needs to know!

War and Natural Gas: The Israeli Invasion and Gaza's Offshore Gas Fields

By Michel Chossudovsky

URL of this article: www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11680

Global Research, January 8, 2009

The military invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli Forces bears a direct relation to the control and ownership of strategic offshore gas reserves.

This is a war of conquest. Discovered in 2000, there are extensive gas reserves off the Gaza coastline.

British Gas (BG Group) and its partner, the Athens based Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC) owned by Lebanon's Sabbagh and Koury families, were granted oil and gas exploration rights in a 25 year agreement signed in November 1999 with the Palestinian Authority.

The rights to the offshore gas field are respectively British Gas (60 percent); Consolidated Contractors (CCC) (30 percent); and the Investment Fund of the Palestinian Authority (10 percent). (Haaretz, October 21, 2007).

The PA-BG-CCC agreement includes field development and the construction of a gas pipeline.(Middle East Economic Digest, Jan 5, 2001).

The BG licence covers the entire Gazan offshore marine area, which is contiguous to several Israeli offshore gas facilities. (See Map below). It should be noted that 60 percent of the gas reserves along the Gaza-Israel coastline belong to Palestine.

The BG Group drilled two wells in 2000: Gaza Marine-1 and Gaza Marine-2. Reserves are estimated by British Gas to be of the order of 1.4 trillion cubic feet, valued at approximately 4 billion dollars. These are the figures made public by British Gas. The size of Palestine's gas reserves could be much larger.


Map 1

Map 2

Who Owns the Gas Fields

The issue of sovereignty over Gaza's gas fields is crucial. From a legal standpoint, the gas reserves belong to Palestine.

The death of Yasser Arafat, the election of the Hamas government and the ruin of the Palestinian Authority have enabled Israel to establish de facto control over Gaza's offshore gas reserves.

British Gas (BG Group) has been dealing with the Tel Aviv government. In turn, the Hamas government has been bypassed in regards to exploration and development rights over the gas fields.

The election of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in 2001 was a major turning point. Palestine's sovereignty over the offshore gas fields was challenged in the Israeli Supreme Court. Sharon stated unequivocally that "Israel would never buy gas from Palestine" intimating that Gaza's offshore gas reserves belong to Israel.

In 2003, Ariel Sharon, vetoed an initial deal, which would allow British Gas to supply Israel with natural gas from Gaza's offshore wells. (The Independent, August 19, 2003)

The election victory of Hamas in 2006 was conducive to the demise of the Palestinian Authority, which became confined to the West Bank, under the proxy regime of Mahmoud Abbas.

In 2006, British Gas "was close to signing a deal to pump the gas to Egypt." (Times, May, 23, 2007). According to reports, British Prime Minister Tony Blair intervened on behalf of Israel with a view to shunting the agreement with Egypt.

The following year, in May 2007, the Israeli Cabinet approved a proposal by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "to buy gas from the Palestinian Authority." The proposed contract was for $4 billion, with profits of the order of $2 billion of which one billion was to go the Palestinians.

Tel Aviv, however, had no intention on sharing the revenues with Palestine. An Israeli team of negotiators was set up by the Israeli Cabinet to thrash out a deal with the BG Group, bypassing both the Hamas government and the Palestinian Authority:

"Israeli defence authorities want the Palestinians to be paid in goods and services and insist that no money go to the Hamas-controlled Government." (Ibid, emphasis added)

The objective was essentially to nullify the contract signed in 1999 between the BG Group and the Palestinian Authority under Yasser Arafat.

Under the proposed 2007 agreement with BG, Palestinian gas from Gaza's offshore wells was to be channeled by an undersea pipeline to the Israeli seaport of Ashkelon, thereby transferring control over the sale of the natural gas to Israel.

The deal fell through. The negotiations were suspended:

"Mossad Chief Meir Dagan opposed the transaction on security grounds, that the proceeds would fund terror". (Member of Knesset Gilad Erdan, Address to the Knesset on "The Intention of Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Purchase Gas from the Palestinians When Payment Will Serve Hamas," March 1, 2006, quoted in Lt. Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon, Does the Prospective Purchase of British Gas from Gaza's Coastal Waters Threaten Israel's National Security? Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, October 2007)

Israel's intent was to foreclose the possibility that royalties be paid to the Palestinians. In December 2007, The BG Group withdrew from the negotiations with Israel and in January 2008 they closed their office in Israel.(BG website).

Invasion Plan on The Drawing Board

The invasion plan of the Gaza Strip under "Operation Cast Lead" was set in motion in June 2008, according to Israeli military sources:

"Sources in the defense establishment said Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the Israel Defense Forces to prepare for the operation over six months ago [June or before June] , even as Israel was beginning to negotiate a ceasefire agreement with Hamas."(Barak Ravid, Operation "Cast Lead": Israeli Air Force strike followed months of planning, Haaretz, December 27, 2008)

That very same month, the Israeli authorities contacted British Gas, with a view to resuming crucial negotiations pertaining to the purchase of Gaza's natural gas:

"Both Ministry of Finance director general Yarom Ariav and Ministry of National Infrastructures director general Hezi Kugler agreed to inform BG of Israel's wish to renew the talks.

The sources added that BG has not yet officially responded to Israel's request, but that company executives would probably come to Israel in a few weeks to hold talks with government officials." (Globes online- Israel's Business Arena, June 23, 2008)

The decision to speed up negotiations with British Gas (BG Group) coincided, chronologically, with the planning of the invasion of Gaza initiated in June. It would appear that Israel was anxious to reach an agreement with the BG Group prior to the invasion, which was already in an advanced planning stage.

Moreover, these negotiations with British Gas were conducted by the Ehud Olmert government with the knowledge that a military invasion was on the drawing board and that a new political-territorial arrangement for Gaza strip was being contemplated by Israel.

In fact, negotiations between British Gas and Israeli officials were ongoing in October 2008, 2-3 months prior to the commencement of the bombings on December 27th.

In November 2008, the Israeli Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of National Infrastructures instructed Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to enter into negotiations with British Gas, on the purchase of natural gas from the BG's offshore concession in Gaza. (Globes, November 13, 2008)

"Ministry of Finance director general Yarom Ariav and Ministry of National Infrastructures director general Hezi Kugler wrote to IEC CEO Amos Lasker recently, informing him of the government's decision to allow negotiations to go forward, in line with the framework proposal it approved earlier this year.

The IEC board, headed by chairman Moti Friedman, approved the principles of the framework proposal a few weeks ago. The talks with BG Group will begin once the board approves the exemption from a tender." (Globes Nov. 13, 2008)

Gaza and Energy Geopolitics

The military occupation of Gaza is intent upon transferring the sovereignty of the gas fields to Israel in violation of international law.

What can we expect in the wake of the invasion?

What is the intent of Israel with regard to Palestine's Natural Gas reserves?

A new territorial arrangement, with the stationing of Israeli and/or "peacekeeping" troops?

The militarization of the entire Gaza coastline, which is strategic for Israel?

The outright confiscation of Palestinian gas fields and the unilateral declaration of Israeli sovereignty over Gaza's maritime areas?

If this were to occur, the Gaza gas fields would be integrated into Israel's offshore installations, which are contiguous to those of the Gaza Strip. (See Map 1 above).

These various offshore installations are also linked up to Israel's energy transport corridor, extending from the port of Eilat, which is an oil pipeline terminal, on the Red Sea to the seaport - pipeline terminal at Ashkelon, and northwards to Haifa, and eventually linking up through a proposed Israeli-Turkish pipeline with the Turkish port of Ceyhan.

Ceyhan is the terminal of the Baku, Tblisi Ceyhan Trans Caspian pipeline. "What is envisaged is to link the BTC pipeline to the Trans-Israel Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, also known as Israel's Tipline." (See Michel Chossudovsky, The War on Lebanon and the Battle for Oil, Global Research, July 23, 2006)

Source: Global Research.
Link: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=11680.

Senate boosts wilderness protection across US

By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – In a rare Sunday session, the Senate advanced legislation that would set aside more than 2 million acres in nine states as wilderness. Majority Democrats assembled more than enough votes to overcome GOP stalling tactics in an early showdown for the new Congress.

Republicans complained that Democrats did not allow amendments on the massive bill, which calls for the largest expansion of wilderness protection in 25 years. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and other Democrats said the bill — a holdover from last year — was carefully written and included measures sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats.

By a 66-12 vote, with only 59 needed to limit debate, lawmakers agreed to clear away procedural hurdles despite partisan wrangling that had threatened pledges by leaders to work cooperatively as the new Obama administration takes office. Senate approval is expected later this week. Supporters hope the House will follow suit.

"Today is a great day for America's public lands," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. "This big, bipartisan package of bills represents years of work by senators from many states, and both parties, in cooperation with local communities, to enhance places that make America so special."

The measure — actually a collection of about 160 bills — would confer the government's highest level of protection on land ranging from California's Sierra Nevada mountain range to Oregon's Mount Hood, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. Land in Idaho's Owyhee canyons, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and Zion National Park in Utah also would be designated as wilderness.

Besides new wilderness designations, the bill would designate the childhood home of former President Bill Clinton in Hope, Ark., as a national historic site and expand protections for dozens of national parks, rivers and water resources.

Reid said about half the bills in the lands package were sponsored by Republicans. Most had been considered for more than a year.

"I am happy that after months of delay we will finally be moving forward," Reid said.

The bill's chief opponent, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., denounced what he called Democratic bullying tactics.

"I am disappointed the Senate majority leader has refused to allow senators the opportunity to improve, amend or eliminate any of the questionable provisions in his omnibus lands bill," Coburn told fellow senators.

"When the American people asked Congress to set a new tone, I don't believe refusing to listen to the concerns of others was what they had in mind," Coburn said. "The American people expect us hold open, civil and thorough debates on costly legislation, not ram through 1,300-page bills when few are watching."

Coburn and several other Republicans complained that bill was loaded with pet projects and prevented development of oil and gas on federal lands, which they said would deepen the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

Environmental groups said the bill set the right tone for the new Congress.

"By voting to protect mountains and pristine wildlands, Congress is starting out on the right foot," said Christy Goldfuss of Environment America, an advocacy group. "This Congress is serious about protecting the environment and the outstanding lands that Americans treasure."

Iran disputes report on suicide volunteers

TEHRAN, Iran – Iranian officials on Saturday strongly disputed media reports that Iran's top leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini has banned volunteers from leaving the country to carry out suicide bombings against Israel and stressed that the supreme leader meant only that practical obstacles remained for such attackers to get to Gaza.

The officials said The Associated Press misinterpreted Khamenei's comments when he said Thursday that "our hands are tied in this arena." The AP also quoted Khamenei as saying that Iran would assist the militant group Hamas, which is fighting Israel, in other ways.

The Iranian officials said Khamenei's words should not have been interpreted as a ban on such volunteers, but meant that any Iranians would have great practical difficulty in reaching Gaza because of Israel's offensive. The report was used by some Arab television stations.

Last week, hardline Iranian student groups had asked the government to authorize volunteers to carry out suicide bombings in Israel in support of Hamas. The students began signing up after Khamenei issued a religious decree on Dec. 28 saying anyone killed while defending Palestinians in Gaza against Israeli attacks would be considered a martyr.

Volunteer suicide groups have made similar requests in the past and the government never responded to their calls.

The student groups claim that more than 70,000 people throughout Iran have registered as volunteer suicide bombers since Israel launched its assault against Hamas-ruled Gaza on Dec. 27.

Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which has killed more than 700 Palestinians, has outraged many in Iran and the Arab world.

Israel says it launched the offensive to get Hamas from shooting rockets into southern Israel. Thirteen Israelis have died since the offensive began.

Cheney: NK helped Syria build reactor

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Vice President Dick Cheney says North Korea helped Syria build a reactor at a site that Israel suspected of being a nuclear installation and bombed in 2007.

The White House has alleged North Korean involvement before, but top Bush administration officials have said little publicly on the issue, which is still being investigated by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Cheney outlined reasons North Korea remains a trouble spot that President-elect Barack Obama will have to address. He says the communist regime has its own nuclear ambitions, for instance, and "helped the Syrians build a nuclear reactor."

U.S. spurned Israel plan for Iran reactor attack: report

NEW YORK (Reuters) – President George W. Bush deflected Israel's secret request last year for bunker-busting bombs it wanted for an attack on Iran's main nuclear complex, saying he had authorized covert action to sabotage Tehran's suspected atomic weapons development, The New York Times said.

Citing U.S. and foreign officials, the Times reported on Saturday the White House was unable to determine whether Israel had decided to carry out the strike before Washington objected or whether Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was trying to get Bush to act more decisively before he leaves office this month.

Israel, widely believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, bombed the site of a suspected atomic reactor in Syria in 2007.

Details of the expanded U.S. covert program and the Bush administration's efforts to talk Israel out of attacking Iran emerged from 15 months of interviews with current and former U.S. officials, international nuclear inspectors, outside experts and European and Israeli officials, the Times said.

None of those interviewed would speak on the record, the paper said, adding it omitted many details of the covert efforts from its report at the request of senior U.S. intelligence and administration officials.

It said the interviews also suggested "that while Mr. Bush was extensively briefed on options for an overt American attack on Iran's facilities, he never instructed the Pentagon to move beyond contingency planning, even during the final year of his presidency, contrary to what some critics have suggested."

But aware that financial sanctions against Iran were inadequate, Bush turned to the CIA, according to people involved in the covert program, authorizing a broader effort aimed at Iran's industrial infrastructure supporting its nuclear programs, the Times said.

While the paper said details were closely held by U.S. officials, it quoted one as saying, "It was not until the last year that they got really imaginative about what one could do to screw up the system."

But the official said "none of these are game-changers" in that the efforts would not necessarily cripple Iran's program.

REQUEST TO FLY OVER IRAQ

Under Bush, whose term ends on January 20 when Barack Obama becomes president, the United States has sought tougher U.N. sanctions against Iran to halt its nuclear program, which Western nations believe is designed for making weapons.

Iran, which has no formal diplomatic relations with the United States and often unleashes virulent rhetoric against Israel, insists its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.

The Times said some Bush administration officials remained skeptical of the covert program's chances of success given what one said was Iran's proximity to achieving weapons capacity.

Others held that Israel would not have been dissuaded from attacking if they believed the U.S. effort was unlikely to prove effective, the paper said.

In its dealings with Israel, Washington was especially distressed by Israel's request to fly over Iraq to reach Iran's major nuclear complex at Natanz, a request the White House flatly denied, the paper reported.

But the exchanges and tension prompted Washington to step up its intelligence-sharing with Israel, including the new U.S. efforts aimed at sabotaging Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

The Times said its interviews indicated Bush was convinced by officials, led by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, that an overt attack on Iran would likely be ineffective, bringing the expulsion of international inspectors and driving Iran's nuclear effort further from view.

"Mr. Bush and his aides also discussed the possibility that an airstrike could ignite a broad Middle East war in which America's 140,000 troops in Iraq would inevitably become involved," the paper said.

Bush instead opted for more intensive covert action, it said, adding that those operations and the issue of whether Israel would agree to anything less than a conventional attack on Iran posed vexing problems for Obama.

Indonesia, France regret Israel's disregard of UNSC

Indonesia and France Saturday expressed their deep regret over Israel's disregard for the recent UN Security Council resolution as it continues military operations in Gaza.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here on Saturday that he had spoken with French President Nicholas Sarkozyby phone about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and reaffirmed Indonesia and France's commitment to restoring peace to the region.

"We know that the resolution has not been followed in the field. Violence is still happening. Victims are falling. Its a humanitarian tragedy and most of the victims are women and children," the Jakarta Post line news quoted Yudhoyono as saying.

The president said both he and Sarkozy were displeased over Israel's actions. The phone conversation with Sarkozy, he said, could be crucial in the effort to end the crisis.

"I explained [to him] that Indonesia's position is clear. That is why we hope that, apart from our existing efforts, cooperation at the head of state level must be advocated so that the resolution will be followed," he said.

Yudhoyono promised that Indonesia would engage in any effort to stop the killing, including proposing a harsher UNSC resolution on the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel denies Jordan recalled ambassador over Gaza operation

Israeli Foreign Ministry said Saturday morning Jordan has not recalled its ambassador to the Jewish state in protest against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation in the Gaza Strip.

"Ambassador Ali al-Ayed left for Amman prior to the launching of Operation Cast Lead, in order to attend a conference held by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yossi Levy told Xinhua by phone.

"We have learned from the media that he has decided to extend his stay in Jordan and has yet to return to Israel," said Levy.

It does not necessarily mean Jordan has recalled its ambassador in protest of the IDF operation in Gaza, said the spokesman, adding that so far Israel has not received any official note from the Jordanian side.

The relationship between the two countries is good, he said, noting that "We have common strategic goals."

Earlier, local news service Ynet reported Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Israel in an apparent act of protest against the IDF operation in Gaza, which began on Dec. 27 and so far killed more than 800 Palestinians.

Ali al-Ayed was summoned to Amman by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry and was instructed by the government to remain in the country, said the report.

Citing a diplomatic source, Ynet said Ali al-Ayed will return to Tel Aviv only after Hamas and Israel sign a ceasefire agreement to end the fighting.

The Jordanians have expressed great concern over the escalation in the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave, and clashes were reported Friday between anti-Israel protesters and Jordanian police near the Israeli embassy in Amman.

Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, making it the second Arab country after Egypt to reach such an agreement with the Jewish state.

Iran's Ahmadinejad presses Egypt on Gaza stance

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on Egypt on Saturday to clarify whether it is a "partner" with Israel in efforts to break Hamas resistance in the Gaza Strip, a news agency reported.

Iran has condemned Israel for its attacks in Gaza and expressed support for the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, criticizing what Tehran says is the silence of some Arab states. Ahmadinejad said they should cut ties with Israel.

Egypt, the only Arab state to border Gaza, has been a focus for protests by hardline Iranians who say Cairo has not done enough to help the Palestinians. Egypt has partly blamed Hamas for the violence because it failed to renew a truce with Israel.

"Today it has been heard in some of the West's political meetings that the Egyptian government is a partner in crimes in Gaza and they are after breaking Hamas as part of the resistance and bring it under their own influence," the semi-official Mehr News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

Ahmadinejad may have been referring to Egyptian-European efforts at mediation in the two-week conflict, in which at least 821 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed.

"I believe that in the current conditions, and with the crimes it is committing, the Zionist regime (Israel) is after finding a partner for its crimes," Ahmadinejad said.

"Therefore I ask the Egyptian officials to announce their stance on the Palestinian nation, especially on the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and the Zionist regime's crimes, as soon as possible," Mehr quoted him as saying.

Israel has accused Iran of supplying arms to Hamas, which has been isolated by some Arab and international governments.

Tehran says it gives moral, financial and humanitarian support to its Palestinian ally.

Iran is embroiled in a row over its nuclear work with Washington, which accuses Tehran of seeking an atomic bomb. The United States has sought to win over Arabs in its effort to isolate Iran. Tehran denies seeking nuclear arms.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday said some Muslim governments in the region had been wrong not to do more to stop Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Ahmadinejad, who often rails against Israel and the West, echoed that view, in comments carried by ISNA news agency.

"Cut your relations with the Zionist regime and boycott this regime. Don't give them a chance to influence you," he said.

Protests in Lebanon, Syria against Gaza offensive

By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon – An estimated 2,500 Lebanese and Palestinians protested peacefully in downtown Beirut on Sunday against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip, as hundreds of demonstrators in neighboring Syria shouted insults at the both the Jewish state and Arab leaders.

Angry protests have swept the Arab world since Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza began on Dec. 27 to stop rocket fire from the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Gaza health officials say more than 820 Palestinians have been killed, roughly half of them civilians. Thirteen Israelis have also died.

Many of the protesters in Lebanon held Palestinian flags and banners calling on the international community to stop the Israeli attack as they marched near a building housing United Nations offices.

One group set fire to a large Israeli flag, while children taking part in the protest held bloody dolls representing Palestinian children killed in Gaza.

A convoy of some 15 ambulances from an Islamic medical society also participated, sounding their sirens for 20 seconds in solidarity with Gaza medics.

Some 50 local medics in orange uniforms held pictures of bloody Palestinian victims of the Israeli offensive and a banner reading "Stop the mass genocide."

In Syria, demonstrators took their anger out on Arab leaders they blame for alleged complicity in Israeli attacks on Gaza, including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

"Mubarak, you are a coward, you are the agent of colonization," they shouted. "Down, down with the Arab rulers, the collaborators."

Many in the Arab world have criticized Egypt's refusal to open the Rafah border crossing with Gaza, perceiving it as abetting Israel's attacks.

The demonstrators in Damascus waved Syrian and Palestinian flags and carried placards reading "Shame on those who maintain silence on Gaza's blockade."

Revolutionary songs were blared from loudspeakers as some in the crowd called on Syrian President Bashar Assad and the militant group Hezbollah to support Gaza by attacking Israel.

25 killed in fighting in Somalia between rival Islamist groups

MOGADISHU (AFP) – Fighting between rival Islamist groups in central Somalia left at least 25 people dead and more than 50 wounded Sunday, said local elders and witnesses.

Clashes broke out between fighters of the hardline Shebab militia and members of a more moderate religious group, the Ahlu Sunna Wal-jama'ah in Guriel, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) northeast of Mogadishu.

"It was the heaviest clash ever in the region between the two sides," Abdulahi Hirsi Moge, a local elder, told AFP.

"We have counted at least 25 people, most of them combatants, killed in the fighting and there is still a possibility of some undisclosed dead bodies outside of the town," he added.

Local resident Ahmed Abdifatah said the fighting had stopped around midday and the dead bodies, at least 25 of them, were being collected from the streets. The wounded, including several civilians, had been taken to hospital, he added.

Mohamed Adan, a member of staff at the main hospital in the town, said at least 51 people had been admitted after the fighting.

The two forces clashed several times for control of the town at the end of December.

Somalia has been in the grip of a civil war since 1991, with no central government strong enough to impose its authority.

Shebab officials blame Ethiopian troops -- who invaded the country in 2006 to back the government but who are in the process of pulling out -- of supporting some religious groups against them.

Israel sends reservists into Gaza but says end may be near

GAZA CITY (AFP) – Israel poured reservists into the Gaza Strip on Monday as heavy clashes brought the death toll from its war on Hamas to 900 even as officials said that an end to the fighting might be in sight.

Israeli troops pushed deeper into Gaza's main city, as warplanes carried out nearly 60 air strikes on the 16th day of a war launched to combat Palestinian rocket fire, which has continued despite the offensive.

An Israeli private television channel said the army had begun sending in some of the thousands of reservists called up when the war began, and an army spokesman said they would be increasingly "integrated" into combat units.

Civilians again fell victim in the impoverished and isolated Palestinian enclave, one of the world's most crowded territories where half of the 1.5 million residents are less than 18 years old.

Two women and four children were killed in a strike on a house in Beit Lahiya, medics and witnesses said.

Israeli officials suggested the end might be close to its offensive despite its rejection of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

"The decision of the (UN) Security Council doesn't give us much leeway," Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told public radio.

"Thus it would seem that we are close to ending the ground operation and ending the operation altogether."

Earlier, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Israel was nearing the goals it had set for its operation, but that fighting would continue for now.

"Israel is approaching these goals, but more patience and determination are required," Olmert told a cabinet meeting.

Israel has "dealt Hamas an unprecedented blow," government secretary Oved Yehezkel quoted him as telling ministers. "It will never be the same Hamas."

Israeli forces have demolished some 200 smuggling tunnels beneath the Gaza-Egypt border -- Hamas's main resupply route -- representing two-thirds of the total, military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said.

Hamas, which also ignored the Security Council resolution, has vowed to keep on fighting. On Sunday, 19 rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza, including four military-grade Grad rockets, without wounding anyone.

Early on Sunday, troops entered the narrow streets of Gaza City's southern Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, encountering roadside bombs, mortar and gunfire from Palestinian fighters, witnesses said.

They withdrew at daybreak, but hundreds of panicked residents fled the area, clutching small children and hastily packed bags after a sleepless night.

"We couldn't take anything with us, not even milk for the children," said Ibtisam Shamallah, 22, as she fled with her two children.

Twelve bodies were later pulled from the rubble in Tal al-Hawa, including 10 fighters, medics said. In all, at least 26 Palestinians were killed in clashes on Sunday, they said.

Egypt has spearheaded Western-backed efforts to end the fighting, calling for an immediate truce, opening Gaza's border crossings, preventing arms smuggling and relaunching Palestinian reconciliation efforts.

On Sunday, it ramped up pressure on Israel by summoning its ambassador to demand that the Jewish state comply with the Security Council resolution and open humanitarian corridors to relieve the besieged territory.

It also held what it said were positive talks with a Hamas team, saying the Islamists agreed "on the importance of ... stopping the shedding of Palestinian blood as soon as possible."

Osama Hamdan, Hamas's representative in Lebanon, told Al-Jazeera television afterwards that "there was some progress on some points" of the Egyptian proposal.

"We reject parts of this proposal ... but that does not mean rejection of all the proposal." He added without elaborating that there had been no progress "on some of the sensitive points."

Hamas's exiled political chief, Khaled Meshaal, has vowed that his group will not discuss any kind of ceasefire until the Israeli offensive stops.

"As long as there is an occupation, there is a resistance," he said.

The Egyptian-Hamas talks were due to resume later on Monday, and senior Israeli defence official Amos Gilad was to return to Cairo for more talks with the Egyptians.

Since the Israeli onslaught began on December 27, at least 890 people have been killed, including 275 children, and another 3,800 wounded, according to Dr Muawiya Hassanein, the head of Gaza emergency services.

Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed in combat or in rocket attacks since the operation began. Palestinian militants have fired more than 600 rockets, some of them penetrating deeper than ever inside Israel.

The conflict has sparked worldwide pro-Palestinian demonstrations, and US president elect Barack Obama said he is assembling a team of diplomats to start addressing the Middle East conflict once he is sworn in on January 20.

Russia declares gas monitoring deal void

By YURAS KARMANAU, Associated Press Writer

SUDZHA GAS METERING STATION, Russia – Teams of EU monitors deployed Sunday at natural gas transit sites along Ukraine's vast pipeline network, but still no gas flowed to a freezing Europe.

Russia refused to restart gas supplies that have been stalled since Wednesday, saying the deal for the monitors was made void by Ukraine, which signed the document but then issued what it called a "declaration" to accompany it.

The European Commission insisted the declaration could not change the agreement, but Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the document was void unless Ukraine withdrew the declaration.

He denounced the Ukrainian move as a "mockery of a common sense and a violation of previously reached agreements."

Russia has demanded monitors to track the movement of gas across Ukraine before it will restart supplies to other European countries. Russia stopped supplying gas to Ukraine on Jan. 1 amid a price dispute and later stopped supplying countries beyond Ukraine because it claimed Kiev was siphoning off the gas.

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in a phone conversation that Russia considers any supplements to the deal unacceptable. He added that the Ukrainian declaration defies the pact and refers to commercial issues that aren't part of it.

Bohdan Sokolovsky, an energy adviser to the Ukrainian president, insisted the declaration was only a statement explaining the Ukrainian position. He accused Moscow of exerting political and economic pressure on Ukraine.

"Russia has turned the gas war into a gas circus where bears have already forgotten that they can be tamed," Sokolovsky told The Associated Press. "The Kremlin is consciously creating conflict."

Even before the gas cutoff, Russia and Ukraine had been at odds over Ukraine's efforts to join NATO and its support for the former Soviet republic of Georgia in its war with Russia in August. Last week, U.S. officials had warned Russia not to use its energy resources as a weapon against Europe.

Russia supplies about one-quarter of the EU's natural gas, 80 percent of it shipped through Ukraine, and the disruption has come as the continent is gripped by subfreezing temperatures in which at least 11 people have frozen to death.

Fallout from the gas cutoff reverberated Sunday, with the Hungarian capital, Budapest, issuing its first-ever smog alert because power plants had switched from natural gas to dirtier fuels. Austria also voiced alarm over neighboring Slovakia's plans to restart an aging Soviet nuclear reactor to get heat for its people.

Sales of electric heaters have soared across eastern Europe and thousands of businesses have been forced to cut production or even shut down.

The European Commission strongly urged Russia to move faster, noting that monitoring teams already had reached gas facilities on Ukraine's eastern border. "There is no reason to further delay gas supplies," it said in a statement.

Russia said it had to halt supplies because Ukraine was stealing gas intended for Europe. Ukraine angrily denied the accusations, saying Russia did not send enough gas to pump supplies west over Ukraine's 23,000 miles (37,800 kilometers) of pipelines.

One EU team reached the Sudzha gas measuring station on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine on Sunday, 250 miles (400 kilometers) east of Kiev.

Another EU team moved to a different unit at Luhansk on Ukraine's southeastern border and three groups of experts were traveling to gas pumping stations on Ukraine's border with EU countries at Orlovka, Uzhgorod and Drozdowichi.

EU monitors will also be in Kiev and Moscow, at the pumping centers for Ukraine's state gas company Naftogaz and Russia's state-run gas monopoly Gazprom.

Ukrainian officials said it would take three days for gas to reach Europe if Russia decides to resume supplies.

Sudzha officials on Sunday were measuring pressure in five huge, silver snow-covered pipes capped by round sensors. The pipes, stretching several hundred yards (meters) to the Ukrainian border, are extensions of underground pipelines that carry gas.

One EU monitor there, Michael Huesken of German energy giant E.ON AG, voiced hope that the mission will "help quickly restore gas deliveries through Ukraine."

Both Russia and Ukraine have been hard hit by the global economic slowdown. Energy is the driving force behind Russia's economy and the government's budget, and the drastic fall in oil prices since summer has decimated Moscow's currency reserves.

Ukraine, meanwhile, faces economic collapse and is desperate to avoid higher gas prices because it is heavily dependent on natural gas.

Last year, Russia charged Ukraine $179.50 per 1,000 cubic meters, about half what it charged its European customers, but both Putin and Medvedev have vowed that Ukraine will pay market rates for gas in 2009.

Naftogaz company chief Oleh Dubyna said the latest round of contract talks ended Saturday without result, with Gazprom demanding a price of $450.

Israeli forces advance deep into Gaza urban areas

By IBRAHIM BARZAK and CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA, Associated Press Writers

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Israeli ground forces made their deepest foray yet Sunday into Gaza's most populated area, with tanks rolling into residential neighborhoods and infantry fighting urban warfare in streets and buildings with Hamas militants who kept up their rocketing of southern Israel.

An Israeli army spokeswoman said residential neighborhoods in Gaza are riddled with homemade bombs and booby traps, including mannequins placed at apartment entrances to simulate militants and rigged to explode if soldiers approach.

The army "is advancing more into urban areas," said the spokeswoman, Maj. Avital Leibovich. "Since the majority of the Hamas militants are pretty much in hiding in those places, mainly urban places, then we operate in those areas."

Late Sunday, dense plumes of smoke from explosions rose over Gaza City and heavy gunfire was heard just south of the city. Early Monday, Israeli navy gunboats fired more than 25 shells at Gaza City, setting fires and shaking office buildings, including the local bureau of The Associated Press. The military said that in general, the targets are Hamas installations but had no immediate information about the shelling that began just after midnight.

Gaza medical officials say at least 870 Palestinians, about half of them civilians, have been killed in the conflict that began Dec. 27 with Israeli airstrikes on Hamas buildings, as well as suspected rocket launch sites and smuggling tunnels on the Egyptian border. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers, have died.

German and British envoys pressed efforts to negotiate an end to the war even though Israel and Hamas have ignored a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire.

Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel had made progress in its objectives in the Gaza offensive but was not finished yet.

"Israel is nearing the goals that it set for itself," Olmert said. "However, further patience, determination and effort are necessary in order to achieve those goals in a way that will change the security reality in the south."

While Olmert's comment signaled no immediate end to the offensive, it indicated that Israel is wary of an open-ended conflict with an unclear agenda. Israel wants to end years of rocket attacks by Hamas on its southern population, a complex goal that could require Egyptian or international help in shutting off routes to smuggle weapons into Gaza from Egypt.

Hamas, in turn, demands that Israel open Gaza's blockaded borders as part of any halt to the fighting. Such a measure would relieve economic pressure on the destitute territory but also strengthen Hamas's control of Gaza, an odious prospect for Israelis who fear a halt to the fighting will just give Hamas another opportunity to re-arm.

In Cairo, Egypt's state-owned news agency reported progress in truce talks with Hamas, but provided no specifics. The Middle East News Agency quoted an unnamed Egyptian official as saying talks between the nation's intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, and Hamas envoys were "positive."

Palestinian medical officials reported about 60 deaths on Sunday, including 17 who had died of wounds suffered on previous days. Most of those killed Sunday were noncombatants, medical officials said, including four members of one family killed when a tank shell hit their home near Gaza City, and a 10-year-old girl killed in a similar attack.

Palestinian witnesses said Israeli troops moved to within half a mile of Gaza City's southern neighborhoods, and within a quarter mile of the northern neighborhood of Sheikh Ajleen.

Firefights in Sheikh Ajleen erupted before dawn as Israeli forces advanced toward Gaza City, home to 400,000 people, Palestinian witnesses said.

Gunfire subsided in the afternoon, with the Israelis in control of some buildings on the neighborhood's outskirts. Israeli tanks later withdrew.

"We are safe, but we don't know for how long," said Khamis Alawi, 44, who huddled with his wife and six children in their kitchen overnight. He said bullets riddled his walls and several came in through the windows.

Military analysts say Israeli troops are probing territory, clearing buildings and moving around regularly, rather than digging into positions that would allow Hamas militants to get a fix on their whereabouts and lay ambushes. Israel risks losing the advantage of armor and heavy firepower in urban settings that the militants know well.

Israeli military footage showed soldiers walking around a zoo in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City two days ago. The footage showed caged birds and a white cable identified as an explosive detonation cord, part of an alleged booby trap set by Hamas.

An Israeli airstrike destroyed a mosque and Islamic school in Rafah, on the border with Egypt. Hours later, men and boys clambered over the wreckage, and one man held aloft the remains of a Quran recovered from the debris.

Israeli has accused Hamas of launching attacks from mosques and schools and using them to hide weapons. Israel says Hamas fighters are wearing civilian clothes and endangering civilians by operating in residential areas.

The Israeli military said it hit more than 40 Hamas militants on Sunday, but did not specify whether they were killed or wounded.

International aid groups say Israel must do more to ensure the safety of civilians. They note that civilians are in many cases unable to flee to safe places in Gaza, and are essentially trapped because the territory's exits are closed.

The U.N. agency in charge of Palestinian refugees has resumed operations after suspending them because of Israeli attacks on its convoys. U.N. aid vehicles were moving around Gaza on Sunday and U.N. workers tended to about 30,000 people in shelters, but aid officials warned that the dire security situation made it impossible to operate at full capacity.

"This is a very small fraction of what we normally do in the Gaza Strip," said Filippo Grandi of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. "Things might get worse."

Israel has warned Gaza residents of a wider offensive. On Sunday, it dropped leaflets urging Gaza residents to report the whereabouts of Hamas fighters, providing a phone number to call.

Israel's chief military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu, said the army has sent more reserve units into the Gaza Strip.

In other fighting, Hamas militants launched at least 24 rockets at southern Israel, lightly injuring three people. Rockets hit an empty kindergarten and a children's playground in the city of Ashdod.

The rockets have disrupted life for hundreds of thousands of terrified people who rush into bunkers and basements at the sound of warning sirens. Four people have died in rocket attacks.

However, thousands of children in southern Israel returned to school Sunday for the first time in two weeks. Schools had been closed since the beginning of the offensive, but the military said schools that have been sufficiently fortified against attack could open.

British Mideast envoy Tony Blair and Germany's top diplomat visited Jerusalem Sunday, and Israel planned to send a senior defense official this week to Egypt, which is trying to broker a truce.

Blair met Olmert and said a plan to end the fighting must include a halt to weapons smuggling and the opening of border crossings into Gaza. He said urgency was vital because "every day this action continues there are more people that die."

Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, appeared at a news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, in Jerusalem.

"The shooting of Qassam rockets and other weapons must be stopped and the smuggling of new weapons to the Gaza Strip for re-arming, or even to improve the weapons of Hamas, must be stopped," Steinmeier said.