Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lashed out against terrorism and praised the world for taking on Syria and Iran, popular positions in Israel -- but rebels in his own party are trying to force him out of office.
In a speech on Monday marking the start of the parliament's winter session, Sharon grouped Iran, Syria and Palestinian militants together as hostile elements that "don't need reasons or excuses [to attack Israel] -- just an opportunity."
Though few in Sharon's Likud Party disagreed, rebels still angry after his pullout from Gaza and part of the West Bank forced an embarrassingly close vote in approval of Sharon's speech -- 51 to 48.
PHOTO: EPA
Unless he can restore party unity against the odds, a snap election could be inevitable, further stalling Mideast peace efforts.
Low-level violence continued yesterday, two days after an informal truce was endangered by an Israeli raid in the West Bank that killed three militants. Before dawn, Palestinians fired two rockets from Gaza toward Israel and Israel responded with artillery fire, the army said. No one was hurt.
In the West Bank, Israeli forces arrested 23 wanted Palestinians, members of Islamic Jihad and Hamas, the army spokesman said.
Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Shaath said the informal truce was still in place. Speaking to reporters late on Monday after meeting visiting Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, Shaath said, "We passed a very dangerous week, and we hope that this understanding will continue to be a full cease-fire."
However, a Palestinian Authority Web site quoted Islamic Jihad leader Khaled el-Batesh as reserving the right to retaliate for Israel's "maniac acts."
Israeli officials have said they will not make a deal with the militants, but if their attacks stop, Israel would halt its retaliation.
This week's three-day Muslim observance of Eid-al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, could also be a factor.
Sharon was uncompromising in his speech, demanding that the Palestinians move against militants as part of the US-backed "road map" peace plan.
"There is no way around the demand on the Palestinians to carry out their obligation to dismantle the terror groups," he said.
A US YouTuber who caused outrage for filming himself kissing a statue commemorating Korean wartime sex slaves has been sentenced to six months in prison, a court in Seoul said yesterday. Johnny Somali, 25, gained notoriety several years ago for recording himself doing a series of provocative stunts in South Korea and Japan, and streaming them on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. South Korean authorities indicted Somali — whose real name is Ramsey Khalid Ismael — in 2024 on public order violations and obstruction of business, and banned him from leaving the country. “The court has sentenced him to six months in
Former Lima mayor Rafael Lopez Aliaga, a Peruvian presidential hopeful, gathered hundreds of supporters in Lima on Tuesday and gave authorities 24 hours to annul the first round of the country’s election over allegations of fraud. Lopez Aliaga is locked in a tight three-way race with two other candidates for second place in Sunday’s vote. The election runner-up wins a ticket to June’s presidential run-off against front-runner Keiko Fujimori. “I am giving them 24 hours to declare this electoral fraud null and void,” said Lopez Aliaga, surrounded by a crowd of several hundred supporters. “If it is not declared null and void tomorrow,
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
RSS