Ariel Sharon Update

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Mr. Sharon is still in very serious condition, but his vital signs are stable. Most commentators are declaring that if he survives, he will be severely disabled. His political career is done. Lets look at some other news from around the region.

Of course the pali's are living up to expectations and celebrating his illness while threatening his successor. They will hold a rocket firing (aimed at innocent civilians in Israeli towns) if he passes away. They see this as a gift from God, which is strange, because Sharon was the one Israeli leader who was willing to give them everything they wanted while not expecting them to do anything in return.

JERUSALEM - Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip are watching the news regarding Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's deteriorating health carefully and will celebrate with Qassam rocket firings at Jewish towns if Sharon dies, terror leaders told WorldNetDaily.
One militant leader threatened the life of Sharon's temporary replacement, Deputy Minister Ehud Olmert, who was installed as prime minister just hours ago.
"I am ready with my candies and my rockets and praying to Allah that Sharon dies. We have prepared a celebratory barrage of rockets ready to fire into Israel on the occasion of the death of our enemy," said Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, an umbrella group of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists responsible for firing hundreds of Qassam rockets and mortars at Jewish towns.
Hamas leader Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar told WND Sharon's condition "plunges the Israeli political scene into chaos, which could bring about an equal response from the Palestinians." Link Here.

You mean they are not already in chaos in the pali territory? They must use a different definition of "chaos" then I do.

In related news, the Gaza strip continues to be a haven for terrorist thugs and criminal gangs. It is starting to become clear to me why the pali's arab "friends" don't want anything to do with them. Check this out.

RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Hundreds of angry Palestinians streamed into Egypt on Wednesday after militants with stolen bulldozers broke through a border wall, and two Egyptian troops were killed and 30 were wounded by gunfire in the rampage.
About 3,000 Egyptian Interior Ministry troops who initially had no orders to fire swarmed the border but were forced to withdraw about a half-mile, said security forces Lt. Sameh el-Antablyan, who announced the casualties.
Gen. Essam el-Sheikh said Egyptian forces later began firing back.
The scene was one of utter chaos. An Egyptian armored vehicle was burning and hundreds of Palestinians could be seen crouched in farm fields just inside Egypt.
The militants' rampage through the southern Gaza town of Rafah underscored the growing lawlessness in Palestinian towns, especially in Gaza, and represented the most brazen challenge to the authority of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.
Earlier, the Egyptian troops fired tear gas and shot into the air. A witness said three Palestinians were injured — one seriously, when a troop carrier crushed him against a wall.
Police imposed a curfew on the Egyptian side, all shops were closed, and authorities cut electricity, plunging the scene in near total darkness.
Abbas, who has condemned the chaos, has been unable to impose order, and his failure to keep the gunmen in check is expected to harm Fatah's prospects in Jan. 25 parliament elections.
The rampage began late Tuesday, after Palestinian intelligence arrested Alaa al-Hams, an Al Aqsa militant, on suspicion he and his followers kidnapped human rights activist Kate Burton and her parents for two days last week. The Burtons were among 19 foreigners abducted by Fatah gunmen in Gaza in recent months. All have been freed unharmed.
Al-Hams' followers fired at the Palestinian security headquarters in Rafah, where he was held, briefly took over four government buildings, and then drove to the Rafah crossing, which was reopened last month after intense negotiations directed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Firing in the air, they closed the entrance gate and told waiting passengers to leave. They set up an impromptu checkpoint, turning away travelers, but left the buildings and the crossing after three hours.
The militants then stole two bulldozers in Rafah and led an impromptu parade of hundreds of jubilant residents toward a wall a few hundred yards from the border. Five militants rode in the shovel of one bulldozer, while children held onto the back of the vehicle.
"We are going to do everything we can to pressure the Authority to release our leader," said an Al Aqsa activist who gave his name as Abu Hassan.
The bulldozers smashed two holes in the towering concrete barrier at the same spot where Hamas militants had blasted through it during the border chaos that followed Israel' 's Gaza pullout in September. Palestinian security officials had closed the earlier hole with a patch of heavy concrete blocks, but those quickly gave way before the bulldozer Wednesday.
Hundreds of Palestinians swarmed into the buffer zone as militants fired in the air.
"Many people walked through. The Palestinian police can't stop them," said Fawzi Shaheen, a 26-year old Rafah resident who ran toward the border.
Witnesses said as many as 1,000 Palestinians rushed into Egypt, but Egyptian Brig. Adel Fawzi, director of criminal investigations for North Sinai, put the number at 300.
There are large numbers of divided families in the region, and some used the chaotic situation as an opportunity to reunite with relatives.
Raanan Gissin, an aide to Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon, said the unchecked crossings are a violation of the agreement Rice negotiated.
"We will deal with any terrorism that emanates from their territory, and we know how to deal with it," he said.
The Rafah crossing was handed to Palestinian control, under European supervision, as part of a U.S.-brokered deal with Israel last month. Since then, the crossing was forced to shut down several times during attacks by gunmen.
Israel threatened to close the crossing in coordination with European observers if the breach is not repaired, according to a complaint sent by the Defense Ministry to the United States and the Palestinians, the ministry said.
Israel also asked Egypt to arrest Palestinians who cross from Gaza through the breach. Israel has warned of militants and weapons entering Gaza now that Israel does not have control over the border.
Read more about it here.

Oh, by the way, there is an interesting side note here. It seems that there is a wall between the pali-Egypt boarder. So why is it OK for there to be a wall between them but not for there to be a wall between the palis and the Israelis? A double standard here maybe? Oh yeah, I forgot...a wall would get in the way of pali terrorist killing innocent Israeli civilians. I guess the world considers it to be OK to allow the killing of innocent Israeli civilians.