LI-ON, Israel: Many Israelis feel that the walls – and history – are closing in on their 60-year-old state, much as they felt in early June 1967, just before Israel launched the Six-Day War and destroyed the Egyptian, Jordanian and Syrian armies in Sinai, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
More than 40 years ago, the Egyptians had driven a UN peacekeeping force from the Sinai-Israel border, had closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and air traffic and had deployed the equivalent of seven armored and infantry divisions …

Despite growing pressure on Barack Obama to speak out on the crisis in Gaza, the US president-elect has remained silent on the issue.
Obama, holidaying in Hawaii, has made no public remarks on Israel’s unrelenting military assault on the Palestinian territory, which has left more than 380 people there dead.
The former Illinois senator spoke out after last month’s attacks in Mumbai and has made detailed statements on the US economic crisis.

Israel’s assault on Gaza is continuing. Two young sisters were among those killed overnight, as the death toll passed 360.
Palestinian fighters have also been firing rockets into southern Israel. Those attacks have claimed four lives.
Roza Ibragimova has the latest developments.

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Israeli military has launched its own channel on video-sharing website YouTube, posting footage of air strikes and other attacks on Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
The spokesman’s office of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it created the channel — youtube.com/user/idfnadesk — on Monday to “help us bring our message to the world.”
The channel currently has more than 2,600 subscribers and hosts 10 videos, some of which have been viewed more than 26,000 times.

Israel has rejected calls for an immediate temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip after five consecutive days of aerial assault.
Yigal Palmor, a foreign ministry spokesman, said it was unrealistic to expect Israel to agree to a plan “with no mechanism to enforce the cessation of shooting and terror from Hamas”.
Israel’s security cabinet met on Wednesday to discuss the proposal made by France, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.
“That proposal contained no guarantees of any kind that Hamas will stop the rockets and …

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Hotels in Dubai are scrambling to rework New Year’s plans after the ritzy Mideast tourist spot’s ruler announced the cancellation of all celebrations late Tuesday due to the violence in Gaza.
The manager of the 4-star Arabian Courtyard says there will be no music or dancing to ring in the New Year, though the hotel’s restaurants and bars will stay open.

Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin briefed the cabinet Wednesday on the progress of Operation Cast Lead.
According to Diskin, “Hamas has been attacked like it has never been attacked before. It has suffered significant damaged and its rule over Gaza has been compromised.”
Diskin also noted that large numbers of Hamas operatives are hiding in hospitals and that some are posing as medical staff. “Some are also hiding in mosques and some of those have been turned into headquarters, since they assumed Israel won’t attack them there. Their weapons’ labs have been …

GAZA (Reuters) – Foreign powers stepped up calls on Israel and Hamas on Tuesday to halt hostilities after four days of Israeli air attacks on the Gaza Strip and rocket salvoes by the Islamist militants deep inside the Jewish state.
The Quartet of Middle East peace brokers — the United Nations, United States, Russia and European Union — urged an immediate cease-fire, a U.N. spokeswoman said after telephone consultations by the group’s foreign ministers.
Israeli warplanes destroyed Hamas targets for a fourth day, including five ministerial buildings and a structure belonging …

Israel says it is ready for “long weeks of action” as it continues its fiercest air assault on Gaza for decades to stamp out militant rocket attacks.
Palestinian officials say 10 people died in the latest attacks, taking the death toll to over 360 since Saturday. Four Israelis have died in rocket fire.
Israeli Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit rejected any ceasefire until the threat of rockets was removed completely.
A UN human rights monitor accused Israel of “shocking atrocities”.

JERUSALEM: Israel is engaged in an “all-out war with Hamas,” Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Parliament on Monday as his air force struck at the organization’s civic institutions — the Islamic University, Interior Ministry and presidential guesthouse. The death toll surpassed 350, some 60 of them civilians, according to United Nations officials.
As the conflict passed its third day, with no active diplomacy and anti-Israel protesters taking to the streets around the Arab world, there appeared to be no quick end to the largest assault on Gaza in decades.