Joshua Lapide

Hamas leader Nizar Rayan has been killed, together with his four wives and 10 of his children. The army is on alert in Jerusalem for possible violence by Palestinians at the Temple Mount. Foreigners are being told to leave Gaza, as troops and tanks are amassed at the border.

Rockets land in Beer Sheva as the number of dead rises in the Strip. Medical facilities in Gaza lack operating rooms, bandages and drugs to treat the wounded. Israel wants an end to rocket attacks; Hamas wants an end to air raids.

Hamas’ Ministry for internal affairs is hit along with Gaza University. Many civilians are among the wounded. Criticism from around the world. Protests in the Arab world. The Palestinian authorities are divided. The weight of the attacks on upcoming elections.

Tzipi Livni and Netanyahu include the removal of Hamas from power in their election platform. Olmert hesitates. The population’s desire for peace falls on deaf ears.

The Palestinian militants accuse Israel of failing to ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip; Israel accuses Hamas of launching rockets and motor fire against Sderot. The ceasefire was frequently violated by both sides. The people of Israel and Gaza want the end of hostilities and the continuation of the truce.

The militant groups say it will end on December 19. But the majority of the people in Gaza are asking that it be continued.

Livni wins by a slim margin. Now she must build a coalition to form a new government taking into account her party’s internal divisions and those in the Palestinian camp.

Syria, the Palestinian National Authority and the United States hope the peace process will continue. Within Israel the race for Olmert’s succession is expected to be tough going.

The families of the abducted soldiers held hope till the end that they might be alive. The entire Israeli cabinet approved the swap yesterday. Israel will send back five Hizbollah prisoners, including Samir Kuntar, who killed four Israelis. The remains of 199 Lebanese and Palestinian militants will also be handed over.

Heads of state and government officials from all over the world are expected at the celebration. Conferences, concerts, and exhibitions of the armed forces are scheduled, together with art competitions for children, memorials for the victims of the Holocaust, ecological activities, and exhibits.

Many states of the international community condemn the killing of 8 young men in the library of the Jewish seminary. But the UN fails to produce a unanimous declaration. Hamas and Hezbollah celebrate. The targeted yeshiva supported Israeli settlers in the occupation of the West Bank.

Fr Manawel Musallam confirms the inhuman situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip under the Israeli blockade, denounced by a report from eight NGO's, the worst humanitarian crisis since 1967. The priest recounts the deaths and traumas among children, and launches a desperate appeal to the international community.