Israel and Gaza

The 2007 Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip was a turning point in the Middle East Peace Process. Not only did it effectively split the Palestinian polity into two distinct entities it also had the effect of isolating those two new blocs, with one group in the West Bank and the other Palestinian group Fatah, in the Gaza Strip. Since then Hamas has secured its position and has continued to refuse to acknowledge Israel, a pre-requisite for any peace agreement. Fatah meanwhile has secured its position in the West Bank with Israeli security assistance. With this quarter secure many analysts believed that the time was right for the IDF to reengage militants in the Gaza Strip; however, the continued fallout from Israel's disastrous 2006 Lebanese adventure mitigated against any large scale operations and since June 2007 Israel and Hamas have been fighting a low intensity conflict along the Gaza border area. There are rumours now however that the IDF is preparing for a large scale incursion. These rumours have been spread before of course, but with the continued threats of a Hamas breakout of the Gaza area, increasing rocket salvo attacks against Israeli communities along the strip and a rising number of IDF casualties, the decision to go after Hamas may already have been made.



A Reuters cameraman is killed while filming an IDF tank in the Gaza Strip

Mystery blast in Shiraz, Iran

At least 12 people were killed and 200 injured after a bomb explosion in the in the Rahpouyan-e Vessal cultural center section of the Hosseynieh Seyed al-Shohada Mosque in the southern city of Shiraz on 12 April. The blast interrupted the sermon of well-known cleric Anjavinejad who was lambasting extremist Wahabi beliefs and the outlawed Baha'i faith - both of which are considered heretical by Shiites. Officials report that the blast was an accident and that leftover munitions from a past military exhibition were to blame. There are rumours that the authorities are covering up the incident, to what end nobody knows. If the blast was a terrorist act the prime suspects would be Arab seperatists, Kurd militants, followers of the Baha'i faith or Wahabists. "Investigations" are continuing.



Panicking congregants scatter as the blast rips through the mosque

Note on the city: Shiraz is a historical city of more than 1 million people and is known for being home to many scholars, artists and poets, and for local craftsmanship of rugs and metalwork. The tourist city, about 600km south of Tehran, is the capital of southern province of Fars. One of Iran's most famous cities, Shiraz is popular with foreign tourists because of its proximity to important ancient sites from the Achaemenid Empire that ruled much of Asia from 550-331 BC.

Ex-Soviet troops discuss the Afghan War 1980-1989

Aljazeera take us back to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan during the 1980s. For more click here. The picture on the left is a Soviet era propaganda poster.

Syria-Lebanon-Israel and Hezbollah face off

A few hundred square kilometres and four armies on high alert are a recipe for disaster. This is the current state of affairs along the Syrian-Israeli-Lebanon borders where the three nations plus the Hezbollah militia have placed there militaries on high alert. Israel was the first to do so in February following the assassination of Imad Mugnihey in Damascus, Syria, and the subsequent Hezbollah claims that Israel had ordered the hit. Hezbollah followed suit soon after the Israeli move and then in late March, Syria deployed three infantry divisions to the Lebanese border and Golan Heights area. They explained that they did so in preperation for an Israeli attack on Lebanon...the truth is it was done to put pressure on the Lebanese government ahead of the Arab Summit in Damascus, held recently on 1 April. Last and not least the Lebanese Army were placed on high alert by army chief Michel Suleiman on 6 April. This was done not because of any real threat but in response to Israeli emergency drills being conducted between 6 and 10 April and to appease Hezbollah, no doubt. Whatever the reasons for the heightening of the alert levels, the fact remains that we have three highly effective and combat ready armies (and the Lebanese force) facing off in an area the size of the greater London metropolis. Recipe for disaster? You betcha ass it is.