More fireworks:

Thousands of Fatah supporters staged an anti-Hamas march Friday amid growing tension between the political rivals.

The marchers, led by hundreds of gunmen firing in the air, chanted slogans against Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar of Hamas.

Hamas-Fatah tensions in Gaza have been running high after months of skirmishes between rival gunmen and the assassination of a top Fatah-allied security chief last week.

Earlier Friday, Palestinian gunmen opened fire in the midst of a long group of people waiting to cross from the Gaza Strip into Egypt on Friday and tossed a grenade at Palestinian officials, wounding two of them.

Palestinian sources said the militants were trying to clear the way for their relatives to get closer to the border.

However, the violence ended up causing European monitors to close the border briefly. The crossing was reopened by early afternoon, after Palestinian officers took control of the crowds.

The shooting began shortly after the Rafah crossing opened for the first time in about a month.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They keep teasing us, but the civil war never breaks out. I think Omri’s right—it’s not gonna happen.

John Howard continues to tell the Arab world to suck it up and accept reality:

THE Arab world must recognise Israel’s right to exist if the world is to ever live in peace, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

But he cautioned that Israel must accept the establishment of a Palestinian state if the region and the world is to move forward.

In a keynote speech to a security conference in Canberra today, Mr Howard also warned the United Nations must take a firm line with Iran over the country’s push to develop a nuclear capability if the international organisation was to reassert its credibility.

Mr Howard said that the aftermath of the war in Lebanon demanded that all nations refocus on lasting peace in the Middle East.

“There must be unconditional acceptance throughout the entire Arab world, without exception, of Israel’s right to exist in peace and security behind recognised borders,” he said.

“The entire Arab world – including Syria, Hizbollah and Hamas and in addition Iran – must give up forever the idea that the Israelis can be driven into the sea.”

Much of the Jewish world has long since accepted the reality of a palestinian state. Funny, isn’t it, how the Arab world never really tried to reciprocate, and that includes the palestinians themselves? You know, kind of like Hamas insisting they won’t accept any previous agreements the PA made with Israel because, well, gee—Hamas wants to see Israel utterly destroyed. (Psst—dudes—not. gonna. happen.)

Byzantine emperor Manuel II met yesterday with the emissaries of Turkish Sultan, Egyptian Pasha and several other, less important Muslim ding dignitaries to resolve the outstanding issues.

Reporters from Constantinople Star, Cairo Sphinx, Messopotamia Messenger and other MSM organs were not allowed to be present during the meeting. Due to the exceptional thickness of the meeting room’s door, the discussion remained under wraps. The sounds of occasional thuds, dragging of heavy objects and knocking had their source, most probably, in the ongoing repairs activity in the emperor’s palace.

The senior emissary, Vizier of Turkey, said after the meeting that it was “constructive, positive and to the point”. He refused to be more specific, saying only that the minuscule misunderstanding was resolved to full satisfaction of everyone present. When asked about the slight discoloration on his left cheek and a minor bump on his forehead, his answer was “Oh, just stumbled into a door the other day”.

The emperor has chosen not to speak to the press immediately after the meeting. He was seen during his morning audience for the newly arrived Ambassador of Abyssinia, visibly relaxed and clearly in a good mood. “We are getting much closer with my Mohammedan friends,” he told the gathered reporters, “I can tell you. I believe that there is nothing that cannot be resolved between two good men over a bottle of good wine.”

“Oops…” he added after a slight pause.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews

Mere hours after I point out that the world media ignores the rockets falling on Israelis almost daily—from Gaza, which Israel left, hm, over a year ago now—the AP releases this news article:

JERUSALEM Sep 26, 2006 (AP)— Palestinian militants fired at least two rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel early Tuesday, wounding at least one person, Israel Radio reported.

One of the rockets fell in the town of Sderot and wounded a woman in the stomach, the radio said.

The Israeli army’s spokesman confirmed that one rocket fell near a farming community but did not immediately have details on a rocket falling in Sderot, or any injuries.

No, that’s not all of it. There’s one more paragraph. Remember, most daily newspapers publish the first three or four paragraphs of international news articles on their “International” page. The fourth paragraph?

Palestinians fire rockets into southern Israel almost daily but they rarely cause casualties. Israel began a large military operation in the Gaza Strip at the end of June in an effort to stop the rocket fire.

You see, the rockets get fired every day, but since no one gets hurt, they don’t count. Because it’s not like terrorists are trying to kill civilians on a daily basis. Gee, somehow, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International rarely seem to get their dander up when it’s Israeli lives at risk.

So the AP editors are on the right track by reading my blog, but there’s one hell of an anti-Israel bias that needs to go.