It's been four years since a terrorist strike in Jerusalem, but yesterday, a deadly attack inthe city has left nine people dead wounded 35 others. Only a day before, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice persuaded Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume talks with Israel. Reuters reports that a Palestinian gunman opened fire in the library stacks of the Mercaz Harav yeshiva, a Jewish religious school. However, The New York Times writes the gunman, armed with a Kalashnikov rifle, may have been an Israeli Arab. The attack drew immediate international condemnation. While denying any involvement, Hamas nonetheless described the attack as "heroic." The killings occurred at a time when the UN's top human rights organisation passed a resolution condemning Israel's recent attacks on Gaza that left 120 Palestinians dead.
The toD verdict: This last attack is a tragic reminder of the cyclical violence built into this seemingly intractable conflict. Inside Gaza, the humanitarian crisis is spiraling into deprivation and despair. It may be time for Tel Aviv and Washington to open a dialogue with Hamas. Many of those who endure the conflict are calling for talks with Hamas. An Israeli major In the town of Sderot, the target of routine rocket barrages, wants dialogue. So too do the former Mossad Chief Efraim Halevy and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Sixty-four percent of Israeli citizens, according to a Haaretz poll, desire the same. Instead, it would appear that the US and Israel will only increase the pressure to isolate Hamas and make peace a more remote possibility.
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Michael Burleigh's latest book, Blood & Rage: a Cultural History of Terrorism, details what he describes as the acrimonious and narcissistic nature of terrorists. Burleigh looks at terrorists in Ireland, Russia, Italy, Spain, Germany and the Middle East and concludes the tactic of terror "has never amounted to more than an irritant." Burleigh, instead, views these individuals as intellectually-challenged attention seekers and what Nicholas Shakespeare, who provides a favorable review of the book in the Daily Telegraph, describes as a fixated desire "to direct your own production and star in it after the manner of your favorite gangster films." Shakespeare, however, does offer one critique; Burleigh fails to consider former "terrorists" who eventually became head of states, citing Nelson Mandela.
Fresh fighting in Sudan
The 21-year old civil war that ended three years ago between Sudan's north and south may reignite as clashes left dozens dead in the oil-rich Abyei region. Reports suggest the fighting occurred between the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and nomadic Misseriya tribesmen. The SPLA accuse the Sudan government of arming the tribesmen in the semi-autonomous region. It is feared that if the fighting escalates, a second front, aside from the volatile Darfur crisis, could emerge in Sudan.
Anti-Koran Dutch film
A short 10 to 15 minute Dutch film disparaging the Koran is set for release over the Internet. Fearing a worldwide protest and violence reminiscent of the Danish cartoon crisis in 2006, the European Commission has issued alerts to its diplomatic missions around the globe. The Dutch daily, Volkstrant, reported yesterday that no Dutch public or commercial TV station will broadcast MP Geert Wilder's film. Three years ago, Dutch film maker Theo van Gogh, was murdered in Amsterdam for his film's unfavourable depiction of Islam.
US military personnel return to Uzbekistan
A military airbase at Termez, on the Uzbek-Afghan border will soon reopen its doors to NATO countries three years after Uzbekistan ordered all US troops out of the country. Robert Simmons, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's special envoy for the Causcasus and Central Asia, told Russian journalists in Moscow on Wednesday that the US is already beginning to use the facility as part of wider NATO operations. Simmon's comments were not confirmed nor denied, by Uzbek officials. The base will once again be used as a launching pad for military operations in Afghanistan. In May 2005, Uzbek troops opened fire on hundreds of protesters in Andizhan which led to EU sanctions and US troop withdrawal.
Nicaragua joins the fray
Nicaraguan President Daniel Oretga ended diplomatic relations Thursday with Colombia as a show of "solidarity" with Venezuela. Last weekend, Colombia killed 20 leftwing FARC rebels and a senior FARC leader inside Ecuador. Both Ecuador and Venezuela have since dispatched troops to the Colombian border. However, analysts say it is unlikely the row will escalate into a war.
