Well, this is a novel development. According to The Australian, Israel is now threatening to assassinate the Prime Minister of Palestine. This is after Israel seized a sizeable portion of the parliament.
Thousands of Hamas supporters protested in Gaza City late on Thursday over the arrest by Israeli forces of up to 32 Hamas MPs on the West Bank that day…
The arrested Hamas legislators have been sent to security prisons and many will stand trial on terrorism offences. The detentions have hurt Hamas’s already limited ability to govern and are likely to force a regime change.
Interesting times. It looks like another example of the fantastic progress Bush is making in democratizing the Middle East. The whole sad affair was precipitated by the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit. Hamas is asking for the release of 1,000 prisoners in return for Shalit’s freedom. The wingnuts very much approve of Israel’s measured response. Hosni Mubarak is trying to negotiate a sane settlement of the crisis, while Israel threatens to invade the northern part of the Gaza Strip and do what?
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has vowed the military will do all it can to avoid civilian deaths if a full-scale assault is launched.
So, I guess they will focus on killing Gaza’s huge military forces.
