Tuesday morning war news

The IDF has taken control of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbullah stronghold.

After nearly a week of fighting, the IDF has completed its takeover of the area stretching between the village of Maroun al-Ras and the town of Bint Jbeil in the central region of southern Lebanon.

Golani, Paratroopers, and Armored Corps forces with aerial backup completed the takeover during the night hours.

“We are currently occupied with collecting evidence, bodies of Hizbullah terrorists, and various testimonies, while preparing for the next stage, Lieutenant Colonel Itzik Ronen of the Armored Corps’ Division 7 said.

I really love the Ynet teasers above each story:

Army forces take over area between Maroun al-Ras and town thought to be Hizbullah’s capital ahead of continued ground operations. ‘We will decide rules there, we’ll end the mission – and we’ll leave,’ says army source

They cut straight to the point, which is something I appreciate.

Condi Rice is telling the palestinians that in spite of the fact that they hate Israel, elected Hamas, murdered and kidnapped Israeli soldiers, and are raining rockets down on the population every day—we should fast-track palestinian statehood. Shyeah.

Rice said on Tuesday there was a need to remain focused on establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel despite the current crisis in Lebanon.

Rice met Abbas after visiting Lebanon and Israel, where she discussed the two weeks of fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas.

“Even as the Lebanon situation is resolved, we must remain focused on what is happening here, in the Palestinian territories,” Rice told a news conference. “On our desires to get back to … (the) vision of two states living side by side in peace.”

Rice also told Abbas “how very much admiration there is for you in the United States for your courage and your continuing leadership of the Palestinian people.”

So, except for the idiots in CAIR and the nutjobs on the extreme left, that admiration society can probably hold its annual meetings in a phone booth. (Yes, it’s an old joke, but my father was an old man, so I have a lot of them.)

Thanks so much, Condi, for supporting terror while saying you want to stop the rule of terror in the Middle East:

“It is time for a new Middle East,” she said. “It is time to say to those that don’t want a different kind of Middle East that we will prevail. They will not.”

The old Middle East is right there, in Hamas and the PA. I didn’t hear a call for the unconditional release of Cpl. Shalit in that speech. But there was this:

Earlier Tuesday, Palestinian police clashed with hundreds of Palestinians who were holding an anti-U.S. protest outside a government building ahead of the meeting.

Chanting “Rice, out, out!” and carrying the flags of militant groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah, about 1,000 protesters clashed with police in front of Abbas’ headquarters in Ramallah.

Sure. They want peace. Uh-huh.

Another child was killed by rocket fire, but you won’t see her name or age in the AP report. However, you will read a heartbreaking account of a Lebanese family in the village near Bint Jbeil, who were in a house struck by an IAF bomb. Of course, you won’t hear why they’re still there, and whether or not their family members are Hezbullah terrorists—but you can read the account of the death of Shireen’s family.

In Ha’aretz, you get a few details:

In Maghar, a 15-year-old girl was killed when a rocket directly struck a residential home in a Muslim neighborhood in the Galilee village.

Magen David Adom medical crews reported that the girl’s 30-year-old brother was seriously hurt and her 12-year-old sister was moderately wounded.

No doubt we will hear Nasrallah talking about the “martyrdom” of the poor girl, since she was not a Jew.

And oh yeah—Iran is threatening Israel again.

Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad-Reza Sheybani says ‘Israel can’t deal with our capabilities’ Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad-Reza Sheybani says ‘Israel can’t deal with our capabilities; Lebanon war beginning of end of Israel’

There, that’s the YNet teaser. Doesn’t it make you want to read the whole article? Be my guest.