Middle Orient

The British Foreign Office ministe Kim Howells yesterday stood by his criticisms of the 12-day bombardment of Lebanon with a warning that Israel had to win the “political battle” as well as confronting Hizbollah militarily.

“Thank you for your courage and steadfastness,” Rice said upon meeting Siniora, according to The Associated Press.

Rice spoke with reporters en route to the Middle East, where she’s expected to meet with Israeli and Lebanese officials Monday.

The crash was an accident not a shootdown, according to an Israel Defense Forces spokesman.

Ms Rice, speaking en route to Israel, said there must be no place for “terrorist groups” like Hezbollah to launch attacks from Lebanese territory.

But, just six years on, Israelis stand almost unanimously behind the decision to wage a new war across the country’s northern border.

Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, James Baker, Madeleine Albright and others found themselves dragged into the business of trying to bring peace to the Middle East.

Rice spoke with reporters en route to the Middle East, where she is scheduled to meet with Israeli officials Monday evening.

Standing in front of this 8-year-old boy lying in a hospital bed, the “conflict in the Middle East” and the “cost of war” seem endless and suffocating. His pain cannot possibly be imagined

THE UN RELIEF chief condemned Israel on Sunday for “violating humanitarian law” over its blistering raids on Lebanon as the Jewish state and Hizbollah killed more civilians in another wave of attacks.