Daled Amos has a list of places to go at the end of this post.

The fastest way is to donate to Magen David Adom, which is now also helping Lebanese refugees. Find me a Red Crescent service that would help Israelis, and I will find you a miracle.

See Kofi.

20 July 2006 – Renewing his urgent appeal for an end to the civilian carnage in Lebanon and northern Israel and condemning both that country’s use of excessive force as well as Hizbollah’s recklessness, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today proposed elements for a political framework aimed at achieving a lasting solution to the conflict.

See Kofi speak.

“Both the deliberate targeting by Hizbollah of Israeli population centres with hundreds of indiscriminate weapons and Israel’s disproportionate use of force and collective punishment of the Lebanese people must stop,” Mr. Annan told the Security Council upon his return to UN Headquarters today.

Speak, Kofi, speak.

Painting a grim picture of the widespread devastation, he noted that already, over 300 Lebanese have been killed and more than 600 wounded – mainly civilians, about one third of them children. “Much of the infrastructure in Beirut and around the country has been destroyed,” he said. “Lebanon remains under an Israeli military blockade, imposed by sea and air.”

Speak, Kofi, speak.

At the same time, he observed that the Israeli people, “who had hoped that Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon… would bring security along their northern border, find themselves under constant Hezbollah rocket attacks, which every day reach further into Israeli territory.” To date 28 Israelis have been killed and over 200 wounded.

See Kofi in 2005. Speak, Kofi, speak.

Question: During the Summit, do you have any plans to meet with the Lebanese President, along with Mr. Roed-Larsen, to discuss the implementation of resolution 1559, namely, on Hezbollah disarmament, on the demarcation of the Lebanese border between Syria and Lebanon and between Lebanon and Israel, and also the initialization of diplomatic relations between Syria and Lebanon?

The Secretary-General: I hope to meet President Lahoud. But I think when it comes to 1559, let us be clear here: a large part of the mandate has been fulfilled. The key elements of the mandate were to ensure that Syrian military redeployed out of Lebanon; that has been done. That the security apparatus is withdrawn; and they have done that. And that free and fair elections were organized; and that has also happened. As to the issue of disarmament of the militia, this is something that we are discussing with the Lebanese, it is the Lebanese Government that will have to do it. We are discussing it with them and they will have to determine when and how to do it.

With regard to relations between Syria and Lebanon, we have encouraged them to normalize their relations and establish normal relations, that is, as between two friendly States. On the question of the border, we have also encouraged formal demarcation of the border. As to your question on the Israeli-Lebanese border, you will recall that in the year 2000, Israel withdrew from the Lebanese territory, and we -– the UN –- drew the Blue Line and confirmed to the Security Council that Israel has complied with resolution 425 and has withdrawn from the Lebanese border. There is a contested strip -– the Shaba’a Farms -– which according to Israel and our record is Syrian. But the Lebanese claim it. And this is where we have a bit of conflict. And that is an issue that I hope will be resolved in the future.

Speak, Kofi, speak.

The international community remains steadfast in its determination to ensure that outside actors end all interference in the domestic affairs of Lebanon, and invites all parties within Lebanon to commit themselves to peaceful political reform and regional stability, in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1559. We call on all regional States to respect fully the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon and the sole authority of the Government of Lebanon throughout its territory.

Speak, Kofi, speak:

SG: The dismantling of Palestinian militia in Lebanon does come under resolution 1559 (2004). But this is something that the Lebanese authorities will have to handle. And of course we have discussed this issue with them, and they will do it their way, in time, and organize themselves to do that. The other aspects of resolution 1559 (2004) that we have implemented we’ve discussed here in this House and in this room.

As to the signing of a peace agreement between Lebanon and Israel, that is a matter that the two countries will have to discuss. I’m not sure that on the Lebanese side they are ready to do that, as long as they believe that Shaba’a Farms is still under contention. And I think, in time, that may happen. But I don’t see it in the cards today.

See Kofi in 2000. Speak, Kofi, speak:

Q: Al-Hayat: President Assad said that the Shebaa Farms are Lebanese territories. Is it enough to say that Israel has to withdraw from this area?

SG: I think we have to base ourselves on the documents and the report to the Security Council and the exchange of letters I had with the two governments Lebanon and Israel, that led to the withdrawal of Israelis from the South. And I think in the report and in the understandings with the governments we indicated that Shebaa Farms for our purposes was in Syria and that it was covered by UNDOF not by UNIFIL. This does not exclude whatever arrangements Lebanon and Syria will make in the future as to the status of that particular territory. Now the withdrawal is done we’ve been grateful that it has been relatively quiet except for some stone-throwing that we are trying to bring under control. We are now trying to work with international donors to raise money for the reconstruction of the South, to develop the economy of the South and I hope the international community will give and give generously for this essential task because the people of the South need to be given the hope, the expectation that they can live peaceful and prosperous lives and I will continue to work with the Government of Lebanon for that.

See Kofi speak. Words, words, words. See nothing happen.

Speak, Kofi, speak.

The Secretary-General emphasized that only the simultaneous implementation of the different elements of the package he put forward will allow for the transformation of any cessation of hostilities into a durable ceasefire. “When this is achieved, the international community will need to develop a framework for the final delineation of the borders of Lebanon and a decisive revival of the Middle East peace process,” he said.

See nothing happen.

The pause in rocket fire is over; Hizbullah’s letting fly at northern Israel again.

Hizbullah resumed its attacks against northern Israel on Thursday afternoon as 8-10 rockets fired at northern Israel landed in the Galilee region. No injuries or damage were reported.

In total, about 40 rockets have been fired at Israel on Thursday. A total of 116 rockets were fired by Hizbullah at Israel on Wednesday.

Earlier, a series of rocket attacks near Moshav Avivim on the Israeli-Lebanese border sent residents into bomb shelters.

Ground troops fought today, and are fighting again as I write this post.

A day after two IDF soldiers were killed, ground troops were sent across the Lebanese border in the same sector Thursday afternoon in order to engage Hizbullah guerillas that were firing mortar rounds towards Moshav Avivim.

Fighting took place near the Lebanese village of Maroun a-Ras, adjacent to Avivim but on the Lebanese side of the border.

Soldiers operating in Maroun a-Ras reported finding rocket launchers, explosives and other munitions and weapons in a mosque there.

Whoops, there goes one of those war crimes that nobody’s calling Hezbullah on again.

Ehud Olmert agreed to the creation of a “humanitarian corridor” in Lebanon.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, along with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Amir Peretz decided Thursday to allow for the creation of a humanitarian corridor between Lebanese citizens, wishing to flee Lebanon, and Cyprus.

Watch for its use by Hezbullah terrorists. In fact: Count on it.

Not everyone in Lebanon wants Hezbullah stopped.

The Lebanese Minister of Defense warned Israel Thursday that if IDF ground forces are sent into southern Lebanon, Lebanese troops will fight along with the Hizbullah against Israel.

So much for the “innocent” Lebanese army being targeted, hm?

Chipmunk Cheeks is still alive. Damn.

After a few days of silence Hizbullah Chief Hassan Nasrallah again positioned himself against the camera – this time to the Al-Jazeera Arab television network.

During the interview Nasrallah denied any harm to the Hizbullah leadership , and added that he would refuse to release the two kidnapped IDF soldiers unless Israel releases prisoners.

I really held out little hope that the IDF had gotten that lucky that fast.

Rassan Bin Jido, the Al-Jazeera reporter who interviewed Nasrallah, was unable to identify the place to which he was led.

The curtains in the room in which the interview was conducted were closed, making it difficult to identify the place in which the interview was held. The reporter added that Nasrallah acted naturally and calmly.

Here’s where you really need James Bond, or at least, James Bond technology. But all the Al-Jazeera reporters, and you’ll get your rat in a hole.

Russia opened its hypocritical trap again:

Russia sharply criticized Israel’s onslaught, now in its ninth day, sparked when Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers. Moscow said Israel’s actions have gone “far beyond the boundaries of an anti-terrorist operation.”

Wait a minute, have 100,000 Lebanese civilians been rocketed into submission, their cities destroyed? Whoops, no, that was Chechnya, and the culprit was Mother Russia. STFU, Putin. Israel is aiming at terrorists, not civilians. You were aiming for civilians. STFU, hypocrite.

Watch a newscast (in English) on the JPost.

Sometimes, you have to just sit back and watch the kitties.

Tig’s “nest,” his favorite outdoor sleeping spot when it’s not too hot. This picture was taken only a few minutes ago. It must be not hot enough, though, because shortly after I took this shot, he moved out into the sun, where he sits, a glorious orange glow in the middle of the green grass.

And speaking of orange and green, there’s Gracie:

The tissue paper is Gracie’s nest. She loves sleeping in it, and, in fact, abandoned me for about a week until she finally rediscovered the advantage of sleeping in my bed (Ooh! I can wake her up for a morning skritch!). It’s funny how much it resembles Tig’s nest. Yesterday, she had some of the paper pulled up and was peeking over it, but before I could get the camera, the paper flattened. We will try to recreate it.

I know the rockets are still falling in Israel. But we all need to take a break. It’s time for cat therapy.

Blogging will be light the rest of the afternoon. I think my tiredness from yesterday was a slight case of dehydration, caused by running in full business suit back to my car for my good shoes with the heels, rather than the comfortable shoes I was driving in, and then not drinking enough water shortly thereafter. Because I’m still tired today.

Hydration is ongoing. Gatorade consumed, this time, without the disgusting slimy thing in the bottle due to age.

Zapatero is not only a coward when it comes to knuckling under to Islamist demands, but he’s also a hypocrite.

Israel’s envoy to Spain said on Thursday the two countries’ relations had been damaged after the Spanish prime minister accused Israel of using “abusive force” during an event at which he also wore a Palestinian scarf.

Spain’s ability to use its influence to help defuse the growing Middle East conflict could suffer following the speech by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to a meeting of young Socialists on Wednesday, Ambassador Victor Harel said.

His comments came as European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, himself a Spaniard, was involved in talks aimed at ending fighting between Israel, Lebanese Hizbollah guerrillas and Palestinian militants.

“Each declaration which is not balanced has consequences for parties who want to use their influence,” Harel told reporters at Madrid’s Ritz Hotel where he listened to Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos at a conference.

Moratinos, Solana, and Zapatero should stop looking East and instead sould look South at Spain’s own brutal and shameful longtime occupation of another country’s lands.

According to the CIA World Factbook, Spain currently occupies sovereign Moroccan territory, the land of Arab Muslims:

Morocco protests Spain’s control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta, Melilla, and the islands of Penon de Velez de la Gomera, Penon de Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters…

Spain uses attack dogs that are trained to kill, armed troops with shoot-to-kill orders, double-fencing, barbed and razor wire, and electrified barriers to protect their illegal and humiliating occupation of Ceuta and Melilla.

Territory won in colonial wars on conquest, not defensive wars protecting Spain from utter destruction and its population from genocidal massacre.

And unlike Gaza, Judea, Samaria, Golan, and Southern Lebanon, if Spain were to hand over that territory now they wouldn’t be sacrificing Spanish security in the slightest or putting the existence of Spain at risk by one bit.

Has there been a single cry of “war crimes” ever raised against a terrorist organization? Has there ever been a cry about bringing terrorists to the Hague on the charge of “crimes against humanity”?

Count the number of times the UN has threatened Israel with such. And here’s another.

The continuation of Israel’s operation in Lebanon and the rising civilian death toll is likely “could engage the personal criminal responsibility of those involved, particularly those in a position of command and control,” Louise Arbour, the high commissioner for human rights, told the New York Times.

“International humanitarian law is clear on the supreme obligations to protect civilians during hostilities,’’ she said.

“Indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians,” she said in a statement released by her office in Geneva. “Similarly, the bombardment of sites with alleged innocent civilians is unjustifiable.”

“Hizbullah fighters too are bound by the rules of international humanitarian law, and they must not target civilian areas,” it said, referring to the indiscriminate shelling of Israeli cities.

Wow. Such utter condemnation of Hezbullah. I am in shock. Not.

No word yet on when China is going to be charged with war crimes over Tiananmen Square, Russia over the indiscriminate bombing of Chechnya that killed thousands of civilians, the current government of Sudan, or any other of the hundreds of opportunities for the UN to charge member states with war crimes.

Because, what time is it folks? That’s right. Israeli Double Standard Time, as usual.

In their attempt to erase Jews from the history of the world (here’s a hint: Israel is where Judaism began), yet another Muslim—this time a Sufi, and a proponent of interfaith relations—spread the lie of the Holocaust being Israel’s origin.

One day after the tragic killing of two baby brothers in Nazareth, a leading Suffi Sheikh from the same town, who has been heavily involved in interfaith dialogue for two decades, equated the dispossession of Palestinians from their land in 1948 with the Holocaust.

Sheikh Abdel Salam Manasra, Secretary General of the High Suffi Council in the Holy Land, also equated Zionism with idolatry.

“Just as it says in the Bible that there were Jews who worshipped Ba’al [a type of ancient idolatry] so too there are Jews today who are Zionists,” said Manasra.

“You are not a Jew as you should be if you [support] Zionism,” he added. “Zionism is a bad thing.”

Manasra rejected the idea that Israel was a Jewish state or a homeland for the Jews.

“After the Europeans brought a Holocaust on the Jews, you Jews came here and brought a Holocaust on us,” said Manasra. “None of the Europeans responsible for the Holocaust paid the price. Instead, I paid the price because I lost my land.”

Let me point out that this is supposed to be one of the Muslims who is a friend of Jews. Apparently, the mask has fallen off.

Until Muslims and their supporters stop lying about the origin of Israel, there will never be peace. And when the lie of Israel’s establishment has seeped so far into the mainstream as to have been uttered by a Jewish columnist in the Washington Post, it is not going to be easy to get Israel’s enemies to stop believing in the myth that Israel was established in 1948, and that the Holocaust was the reason. Israel was established thousands of years ago, and was a nation before Islam existed. Stop lying about the facts.

Israel was, Israel is, and ever shall be.

The brave “mujaheed” fighters of Hezbullah, whose leaders vow they are ready and willing to martyr themselves, have built an underground bunker system designed to do anything but martyr themselves.

A senior IDF Northern Command officer told Ynet that Hizbullah has set up an extensive underground bunker network not far from the Israeli border.

On Wednesdaytwo IDF soldiers from the Magellan unit were killed and nine more soldiers were wounded during army operations aimed at uncovering the bunkers.

Hizbullah terrorists were hiding out in the fortified underground bunkers some 40 meters (roughly 120 feet) underground, along with mass weapons caches, the officer said. “Despite the results of the event, we’ll continue with this operation,” the officer stated. “There are missions that the Air Force cannot carry out and they need to be completed by other means.”

Vice Premier Shimon Peres also mentioned the issue of the bunker network during a recent meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana. “Hizbullah dug tunnels under extensive areas of south Lebanon and rigged the area with a half ton of explosives,” Peres said.

How extensive? What kind of bunkers?

Hizbullah has built a sophisticated system of bunkers, constructed of poured concrete, some of them equipped with communications systems. The IDF knows if they don’t demolish this bunker system, there will not be quiet along the border after the operation in Lebanon.

[...] The Magellan unit’s mission was precisely to defeat this threat. “There was a short- and mid-range confrontation,” the senior officer explained. “There were a number of exchanges of fire. The medic and paramedic where hit by small-arms fire and were killed. The area is meticulous planned out by the Hizbullah. There were launchers and many gunmen there. That’s where the rocket fire towards Safed, Hula Valley and the area was carried out from.

[...]“There are dozens more bunkers, caves and tunnels. It doesn’t surprise us. We expected it and must overcome it,” he said.

You see the face of the enemy? Oh, wait, you can’t. He’s hiding in his little rathole, launching rockets at civilians from there.