Israel Launches Gaza Air Strikes, Kills Hamas Commander
The Israeli army said on Wednesday it had started a large-scale operation aimed at eliminating key militant commanders and “terrorist infrastructure” in the Gaza Strip controlled by radical Islamist group Hamas.
“The Israeli Defense Forces [IDF] have launched a large-scale campaign against the infrastructure and activists of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including, primarily, Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” the IDF said in a statement.
Ahmed al-Jabari, head of Hamas’ armed wing – the Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam – became the first target hit in a series of well-planned air strikes on Gaza. He was killed earlier on Wednesday when his car was hit by an Israeli missile.
Other targets of the Operation Cloud Pillar include rocket launch sites belonging to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
According to preliminary reports, dozens of long-range rockets were destroyed on Wednesday, including Fajr-5 missiles, which have a range of more than 40 kilometers and are capable of hitting Tel Aviv.
At least nine people were killed in the attacks and more than 15 were injured, local health authorities said on Wednesday, citing initial casualty figures. There were a number of civilians among the dead, including a four-year-old child, they said.
Israeli online news resource Ynetnews.com reported that the IDF had also “decided to deploy additional infantry units in the south ahead of a possible ground offensive in Gaza.”
Hamas and Islamic Jihad have called for retaliation saying “Israel has declared war on Gaza and they will bear the responsibility for the consequences.”
The Israeli attacks follow the latest round of violence on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip that began over the weekend, with numerous rocket attacks from Gaza militants that injured seven Israelis and Israeli airstrikes that killed seven and injured at least 40 Palestinians.
More than 100 rockets have exploded in Israel since Saturday, according to Israeli sources. The fire exchanges appeared to die down on Tuesday.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak threatened on Sunday to launch another ground attack on Gaza if the Palestinian militants continue firing rockets at neighboring Israeli regions.
“If we are forced to go back into Gaza in order to hit Hamas and restore calm, we will not hesitate to do so,” Barak said.
Israel last carried out a full-scale attack on Gaza during Operation Cast Lead four years ago in which 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed.
Ecuadorian President Points out Risks of EU System
Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa, said Wednesday in the Italian city of Milan that when allowing the free circulation of capital, the euro area leaves countries exposed to financial crises.
For the Ecuadorian leader, in the case of the European Union, although the Eurozone puts limits to the fiscal indebtedness and brakes the emissions of the local central banks, so not to have an own currency stops the members from being moneylenders of last instance, in the event of crisis.
Correa said the European Central Bank has the monopoly of creation of money and therefore, “it doesn’t need the repay of the debts to be able to have liquidity, doesn’t need a level of minimum patrimony neither to have to fulfill the index of solvency that requires a private bank.”
“Because of this there is no impediment for the ECB to condone or cancel the entirety of its debt with its borrowers,” he said.
Correa explained his government’s strategy to reduce the external debit and to restate its relation with the international credit organisms.
Of all the contracted loans between 1989 and 2006, 14 percent was used by projects of social development, and 86 remaining percent to pay previously accumulated debt, while the service of the debt surrounded 50 percent of the General Budget , he specified.
Belt visits Italy visits before his trip to Spain to participate in the 22nd Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, and said that his Executive should think about a strategy to alleviate the weight of the indebtedness in the budgetary and public finances.
He remembered that between June and July 2009, the government summoned to an inverse auction of global bonds 2012 and 2030, and there was a positive answer of the carriers, which allowed the repurchase of 91 percent of the bonds 2012 and 2030.
“As a result of this successful repurchase, if in the year 2006 the service of the external debt represented 24 percent of the National Budget, in 2012 we have reduced it to hardly four percent,” he pointed out.
EU Unions Consider Day against Austerity Strike Successful
The European Trade Union Confederation described today as successful the day against austerity, since all countries in the bloc have been involved in one way or another to their call.
According to Bernadette Ségol, general secretary of the trade union, the nations of the European Union (EU) were united under the message against cuts and for the creation of jobs and sustainable growth.
On Wednesday, protesters rallied outside the European Commission (EC) headquarters and the embassies of Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Cyprus and Germany, as part of the demonstrations called in 23 EU countries.
Accroding to media reports, although most of the protesters were Belgian citizens, there was also widespread presence of workers from countries such as Spain, Greece and Portugal, which are the most affected by the crisis.
Ségol said that making a march in front of the Greek or Spanish embassies was aimed at protesting policies that has already been proven not to work, and showing solidarity with those who are worse off.
In contrast to the austerity promoted from Brussels, unions advocate a social contract based on European social dialogue, collective bargaining and economic and prosecutor justice, she said.
For its part, the EC said it is aware that the protests taking place throughout the area shows the high price the people have paid for the crisis, and stressed that his top priority is to respond to these demands by generating growth and employment.
Speaking to the press, the EU executive spokeswoman, Pia Ahrenkilde, said they are working hard with the Member States and the social partners to give hope and bring Europe back on the path of growth and employment.