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1. Saturday morning IDF killed 4 Hamas high-ranking leaders. One of them, the leader of the military wing of Hamas in the Gaza strip, which was among the founders of Hamas. He was also considered high-ranking in the political leadership of Hamas. Hamas vowed revenge against Israeli prominent Figures.
2. Iraq apparently has unmanned aircraft which can spread BC materials and have a range of over 500 kilometers. this is included in the report on iraq, which hans blix handed to the UN, yet for some reason didn't appear in the speech he made. This aircraft can reach Israel as well.
By Amos Harel and Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies
Hamas on Saturday vowed to revenge the assassination of four its members in an IAF helicopter missile attack on a car in Gaza City in the hours of the morning. Among the four was Ibrahim al-Makadme, one of the organization's founders and a senior leader of its political wing.
The car was reduced to charred wreckage. Hundreds of angry Hamas followers poured into the Gaza City hospital where al-Makadme's body was taken.
The other three killed in the car were reportedly Al-Makadme's body guards. Two of them were identified as Khaled Juma, 32, and Ala Shukri, 30.
"The assassination of Ibrahim al-Makadme will launch a new stage of war against the Jews," senior Hamas official Abdel-Azziz Rantissi told Reuters. "All Israeli leaders will be open targets for Hamas," he said.
Thousands of mourners, firing assault rifles into the air and shouting 'God is great!' packed the streets of Gaza City for Makadmeh's funeral on Saturday afternoon. His body was draped in the green flag of Hamas.
"The Kassam brigades will cut off a 100 heads in return for the death of our martyr. Our words will soon be translated into action," Hamas supporters chanted through loudspeakers.
"There is a call and an order from Hamas' political leadership to the Kassam brigades to target Israeli leaders," Rantissi told mourners.
Hamas leaders said the killing was a major loss for the group. "They've crossed the red line," said Ismail Haniyah, a senior Hamas leader of Hamas.
Also Saturday, Palestinian sources said that a 23-year-old Palestinian was killed and eight others were wounded in an exchange of fire with IDF troops in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya. The sources said that the Palestinians were throwing stones at IDF bulldozers and armored personnel carriers.
Al-Makadme's killing was the first time in 18 months that Israel has assassinated a senior political figure in Hamas. Israel claims that al-Makadme, 50, was also responsible for the activities of the group's military wing, and that he had ties with senior terrorists such as Salah Shehadeh, whom he recruited to the organization himself.
Shehadeh, leader and founder of Iz a Din al-Kassam, the Hamas military wing, was killed along with 14 others in a raid on a house in Gaza City in July 2002.
Al-Makadme was on Israel's wanted list, and had been arrested by the Palestinian Authority police several times before the Intifada broke out in September 2000.
He was considered to be one of the top five figures in the Hamas leadership. The assassination represents an Israeli decision to target the organization's political echelons, for the first time since the assassinations of Jamal Mansour and Jamal Damuni in the West Bank city of Nablus on August 2001.
Security sources hinted several days ago that the operation would characterize Israel's future actions in the territories. They said that Wednesday's suicide bombing on a Haifa bus, in which 15 people were killed, had caused Israel to make the decision to target the political leaders of terrorist organizations.
Israel Radio quoted sources in Jerusalem as saying Saturday that the decision to kill Makadme had been made a long time ago, but was postponed several times in order to avoid hurting innocent civilians.
The early morning strike left shop windows shattered and cars smoldering. Several people were reportedly injured and one was in critical condition, hospital officials said.
PA condemns killing
The killing was condemned by the Palestinian Authority, which called it an attempt to "foil and undermine the work of Palestinian institutions" as it coincided with a meeting of the Palestine Central Committee to discuss the nomination of Abu Mazen as the first PA prime minister.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the new assassination in Gaza and we hold the Israeli government fully responsible for the consequences of this act," Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said.
The IDF had no immediate comment.
Last week, IDF troops captured Mohammed Taha, 65, a co-founder of the Hamas movement, and his son Ayman, linked to the top Hamas bomb maker.
The Apache missile strike came just hours after Palestinian gunmen disguised as religious Jews killed two Israelis in a raid on a Jewish settlement near Hebron. A leaflet distributed in the West Bank city claimed responsibility in the name of Hamas, saying it was in "revenge for the massacres of Palestinians."
The assassination also comes the day after IDF forces took strategic positions around the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun and the Jabalya refugee camp in a bid to foil the firing of Qassam rockets into Israel.
It was unclear how long the operation would last, but if the troops plan to stay indefinitely, then this would signal a major departure in Israel's military policy in the Strip, which in recent weeks has taken the form of raids aimed at Hamas strongholds deep inside Gaza. But in every case until now, the operations have never lasted more than several hours.
The army said in a statement the operation "was part of an attempt to...prevent the launching of Qassam rockets towards Israeli communities near the northern Gaza Strip."
"This action is a little different than the actions we have carried out until now," said Colonel Yoel Strick, commander of Israel's northern Gaza brigade. "If we decide it is necessary, we will hold on to this area for the foreseeable future."
When asked by an Israel Radio reporter if that meant the army was reoccupying part of Gaza, Strick said, "Yes, indeed."
From James Bone in New York (London Times)
A REPORT declassified by the United Nations yesterday contained a hidden bombshell with the revelation that inspectors have recently discovered an undeclared Iraqi drone with a wingspan of 7.45m, suggesting an illegal range that could threaten Iraq’s neighbours with chemical and biological weapons.
US officials were outraged that Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, did not inform the Security Council about the drone, or remotely piloted vehicle, in his oral presentation to Foreign Ministers and tried to bury it in a 173-page single-spaced report distributed later in the day. The omission raised serious questions about Dr Blix’s objectivity.
“Recent inspections have also revealed the existence of a drone with a wingspan of 7.45m that has not been declared by Iraq,” the report said. “Officials at the inspection site stated that the drone had been test-flown. Further investigation is required to establish the actual specifications and capabilities of these RPV drones . . . (they) are restricted by the same UN rules as missiles, which limit their range to 150km (92.6 miles).
Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, told the Security Council in February that Washington had evidence that Iraq had test-flown a drone in a race-track pattern for 500km non-stop.
In another section of the declassified report, the inspectors give warning that Iraq still has spraying devices and drop tanks that could be used in dispersing chemical and biological agents from aircraft. “A large number of drop tanks of various types, both imported and locally manufactured, are available and could be modified,” it says.
The paper, obtained by The Times, details the possible chemical and biological arsenal that British and US Forces could face in an invasion of Iraq. The paper suggests that Iraq has huge stockpiles of anthrax, may be developing long-range missiles and could possess chemical and biological R400 aerial bombs and Scud missiles, and even smallpox.
Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, told his fellow Security Council Foreign Ministers that the document was a“chilling read”.
General Powell resorted to reading passages from the paper out loud in the Council chamber. He pointed out that it chronicled nearly 30 times when Iraq had failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate its claims, and 17 instances when inspectors uncovered evidence that contradicted those claims. But his draft copy, dating from a meeting of the inspectors’ advisory board last week, did not contain the crucial passage about the new drone.
The decision by Dr Blix to declassify the internal report marks the first time the UN has made public its suspicions about Iraq’s banned weapons programmes, rather than what it has been able to actually confirm. “Unmovic has credible information that the total quantity of biological warfare agent in bombs, warheads and in bulk at the time of the Gulf War was 7,000 litres more than declared by Iraq. This additional agent was most likely all anthrax,” it says.
The report says there is “credible information” indicating that 21,000 litres of biological warfare agent, including some 10,000 litres of anthrax, was stored in bulk at locations around the country during the war and was never destroyed.
The paper, a collection of 29 “clusters” of questions for Iraq, offers some reassurance about Iraq’s missing botulinum toxin, which Unmovic believed is “unlikely to retain much, if any, of its potency” if it has been stockpiled since 1991.
2. Iraq apparently has unmanned aircraft which can spread BC materials and have a range of over 500 kilometers. this is included in the report on iraq, which hans blix handed to the UN, yet for some reason didn't appear in the speech he made. This aircraft can reach Israel as well.
Hamas says will hit Israeli leaders after topofficial killed
By Amos Harel and Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and Agencies
Hamas on Saturday vowed to revenge the assassination of four its members in an IAF helicopter missile attack on a car in Gaza City in the hours of the morning. Among the four was Ibrahim al-Makadme, one of the organization's founders and a senior leader of its political wing.
The car was reduced to charred wreckage. Hundreds of angry Hamas followers poured into the Gaza City hospital where al-Makadme's body was taken.
The other three killed in the car were reportedly Al-Makadme's body guards. Two of them were identified as Khaled Juma, 32, and Ala Shukri, 30.
"The assassination of Ibrahim al-Makadme will launch a new stage of war against the Jews," senior Hamas official Abdel-Azziz Rantissi told Reuters. "All Israeli leaders will be open targets for Hamas," he said.
Thousands of mourners, firing assault rifles into the air and shouting 'God is great!' packed the streets of Gaza City for Makadmeh's funeral on Saturday afternoon. His body was draped in the green flag of Hamas.
"The Kassam brigades will cut off a 100 heads in return for the death of our martyr. Our words will soon be translated into action," Hamas supporters chanted through loudspeakers.
"There is a call and an order from Hamas' political leadership to the Kassam brigades to target Israeli leaders," Rantissi told mourners.
Hamas leaders said the killing was a major loss for the group. "They've crossed the red line," said Ismail Haniyah, a senior Hamas leader of Hamas.
Also Saturday, Palestinian sources said that a 23-year-old Palestinian was killed and eight others were wounded in an exchange of fire with IDF troops in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya. The sources said that the Palestinians were throwing stones at IDF bulldozers and armored personnel carriers.
Al-Makadme's killing was the first time in 18 months that Israel has assassinated a senior political figure in Hamas. Israel claims that al-Makadme, 50, was also responsible for the activities of the group's military wing, and that he had ties with senior terrorists such as Salah Shehadeh, whom he recruited to the organization himself.
Shehadeh, leader and founder of Iz a Din al-Kassam, the Hamas military wing, was killed along with 14 others in a raid on a house in Gaza City in July 2002.
Al-Makadme was on Israel's wanted list, and had been arrested by the Palestinian Authority police several times before the Intifada broke out in September 2000.
He was considered to be one of the top five figures in the Hamas leadership. The assassination represents an Israeli decision to target the organization's political echelons, for the first time since the assassinations of Jamal Mansour and Jamal Damuni in the West Bank city of Nablus on August 2001.
Security sources hinted several days ago that the operation would characterize Israel's future actions in the territories. They said that Wednesday's suicide bombing on a Haifa bus, in which 15 people were killed, had caused Israel to make the decision to target the political leaders of terrorist organizations.
Israel Radio quoted sources in Jerusalem as saying Saturday that the decision to kill Makadme had been made a long time ago, but was postponed several times in order to avoid hurting innocent civilians.
The early morning strike left shop windows shattered and cars smoldering. Several people were reportedly injured and one was in critical condition, hospital officials said.
PA condemns killing
The killing was condemned by the Palestinian Authority, which called it an attempt to "foil and undermine the work of Palestinian institutions" as it coincided with a meeting of the Palestine Central Committee to discuss the nomination of Abu Mazen as the first PA prime minister.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the new assassination in Gaza and we hold the Israeli government fully responsible for the consequences of this act," Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat said.
The IDF had no immediate comment.
Last week, IDF troops captured Mohammed Taha, 65, a co-founder of the Hamas movement, and his son Ayman, linked to the top Hamas bomb maker.
The Apache missile strike came just hours after Palestinian gunmen disguised as religious Jews killed two Israelis in a raid on a Jewish settlement near Hebron. A leaflet distributed in the West Bank city claimed responsibility in the name of Hamas, saying it was in "revenge for the massacres of Palestinians."
The assassination also comes the day after IDF forces took strategic positions around the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun and the Jabalya refugee camp in a bid to foil the firing of Qassam rockets into Israel.
It was unclear how long the operation would last, but if the troops plan to stay indefinitely, then this would signal a major departure in Israel's military policy in the Strip, which in recent weeks has taken the form of raids aimed at Hamas strongholds deep inside Gaza. But in every case until now, the operations have never lasted more than several hours.
The army said in a statement the operation "was part of an attempt to...prevent the launching of Qassam rockets towards Israeli communities near the northern Gaza Strip."
"This action is a little different than the actions we have carried out until now," said Colonel Yoel Strick, commander of Israel's northern Gaza brigade. "If we decide it is necessary, we will hold on to this area for the foreseeable future."
When asked by an Israel Radio reporter if that meant the army was reoccupying part of Gaza, Strick said, "Yes, indeed."
Iraqi drone 'could drop chemicals on troops'
From James Bone in New York (London Times)
A REPORT declassified by the United Nations yesterday contained a hidden bombshell with the revelation that inspectors have recently discovered an undeclared Iraqi drone with a wingspan of 7.45m, suggesting an illegal range that could threaten Iraq’s neighbours with chemical and biological weapons.
US officials were outraged that Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, did not inform the Security Council about the drone, or remotely piloted vehicle, in his oral presentation to Foreign Ministers and tried to bury it in a 173-page single-spaced report distributed later in the day. The omission raised serious questions about Dr Blix’s objectivity.
“Recent inspections have also revealed the existence of a drone with a wingspan of 7.45m that has not been declared by Iraq,” the report said. “Officials at the inspection site stated that the drone had been test-flown. Further investigation is required to establish the actual specifications and capabilities of these RPV drones . . . (they) are restricted by the same UN rules as missiles, which limit their range to 150km (92.6 miles).
Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, told the Security Council in February that Washington had evidence that Iraq had test-flown a drone in a race-track pattern for 500km non-stop.
In another section of the declassified report, the inspectors give warning that Iraq still has spraying devices and drop tanks that could be used in dispersing chemical and biological agents from aircraft. “A large number of drop tanks of various types, both imported and locally manufactured, are available and could be modified,” it says.
The paper, obtained by The Times, details the possible chemical and biological arsenal that British and US Forces could face in an invasion of Iraq. The paper suggests that Iraq has huge stockpiles of anthrax, may be developing long-range missiles and could possess chemical and biological R400 aerial bombs and Scud missiles, and even smallpox.
Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, told his fellow Security Council Foreign Ministers that the document was a“chilling read”.
General Powell resorted to reading passages from the paper out loud in the Council chamber. He pointed out that it chronicled nearly 30 times when Iraq had failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate its claims, and 17 instances when inspectors uncovered evidence that contradicted those claims. But his draft copy, dating from a meeting of the inspectors’ advisory board last week, did not contain the crucial passage about the new drone.
The decision by Dr Blix to declassify the internal report marks the first time the UN has made public its suspicions about Iraq’s banned weapons programmes, rather than what it has been able to actually confirm. “Unmovic has credible information that the total quantity of biological warfare agent in bombs, warheads and in bulk at the time of the Gulf War was 7,000 litres more than declared by Iraq. This additional agent was most likely all anthrax,” it says.
The report says there is “credible information” indicating that 21,000 litres of biological warfare agent, including some 10,000 litres of anthrax, was stored in bulk at locations around the country during the war and was never destroyed.
The paper, a collection of 29 “clusters” of questions for Iraq, offers some reassurance about Iraq’s missing botulinum toxin, which Unmovic believed is “unlikely to retain much, if any, of its potency” if it has been stockpiled since 1991.
I didn't even think about Iraq having UAVs of its own. That can't be a good thing...
, ..... nah , no-one in his right mind would do that , ..... maybe they would use a
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