Recent Israeli war on Gaza pre-planned: Israel diplomat

 

People carry the body of a Palestinian in the West Bank city of Ramallah, November 20, 2012.

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/11/21/273680/gaza-war-preplanned-israeli-diplomat/

An Israeli diplomat says the Tel Aviv regime’s ongoing aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip was pre-planned.

In an interview with France 24 TV channel on Tuesday, Freddy Eytan said the Israeli regime had long been preparing for the attack on Gaza, but was waiting for an opportunity to enforce the plan.

Assassinating the senior commanders of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas was also part of the Israeli mission, the diplomat stated.

Eytan also said that a ground operation against the Gaza Strip would be possible if the desired goals of the Israeli regime were not achieved.

Tel Aviv has intensified its deadly attacks on Gaza despite Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s expression of hope for a ceasefire.

On Wednesday, Israeli Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz said Tel Aviv will continue its attacks on Gaza despite ongoing truce talks.

Meanwhile, Gilad Sharon, son of former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has said that the regime should “flatten Gaza” in the same manner as the United States ruined Hiroshima in its nuclear bombing of the Japanese city in 1945.

“We need to flatten entire neighborhoods in Gaza. Flatten all of Gaza. The Americans didn’t stop with Hiroshima - the Japanese weren’t surrendering fast enough, so they hit Nagasaki, too.”

Over 135 Gazans, including women and children, have been killed and more than 1,100 others have been injured in over 1,450 Israeli attacks on the besieged Palestinian territory since November 14.

Obama's top Iran official resigns

John Limbert


Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=137070§ionid=3510203


Head of the US State Department's Iran desk, John Limbert, has resigned from his post due to disillusionment with the Obama administration's "outreach" to Tehran.

US President Barack Obama assigned the retired diplomat, who was one of the 52 Americans held captive in Tehran following the 1979 Revolution, to the Iran desk nine months ago.

"The Obama administration has been in office now for over a year and a half and I think everyone thought we would be in a better place with Iran," Limbert told NPR on Saturday -- one day after stepping down.

He added that few current US officials understand the Iranian culture and speak the language, describing three decades of hostility as "ghosts" impeding diplomatic dialogue.

Obama named Philo L. Dibble as Limbert's successor. Analysts have viewed the change as a shift in Washington's Iran policy.

The resignation comes amid a standoff over Iran's nuclear program over accusations that Tehran is pursuing a military nuclear program.

Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology.

In line with measures adopted by the US, the European Union, Canada and Australia on Monday imposed unilateral sanctions against Iran's energy industry.

The new sanctions come one month after the UN Security Council approved a US-drafted sanctions resolution targeting the country's financial and military sectors.

Recent reports, however, suggest the US and Israel are preparing for an attack on the Islamic Republic.

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen told NBC on Sunday that the US military is prepared to attack Iran and stop it from building "weapons." Mullen, however, expressed concern about the possible repercussions of such a strike.

On Friday, a Jerusalem-based open intelligence source website reported that Israel is currently simulating attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The military drills dubbed "Blue Sky 2010," are underway in Romania.