Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Gaza Strip

Gaza map


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The 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict refers to the series of battles between Palestinian gunmen and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Large-scale conventional warfare beyond the peripheries of the Gaza Strip began when Israel launched Operation Summer Rains (Hebrew: מבצע גשמי קיץ‎, Mivtza Gishmey Kayitz), the codename for an IDF military operation in the Gaza Strip that began on June 28, 2006, and its first major mobilization into the Gaza Strip since Israel's unilateral disengagement plan was implemented between August and September 2005.

Previously, Palestinian fighters had abducted Corporal Gilad Shalit on 25 June. Israel maintains that it mobilized thousands of troops in order to suppress Qassam rocket fire against its civilian population and to secure the release of Gilad Shalit. It is estimated that between 7,000 and 9,000 Israeli artillery shells were fired into Gaza between September 2005 and June 2006, killing 80 Palestinians in 6 months.[2] On the Palestinian side, over 1,300 Qassam rockets have been fired into Israel from September 2000 to December 21, 2006. Israeli forces are also continuing to search for underground tunnels used by militants to smuggle weapons, as well as monitor operations at checkpoints (with some assistance from the European Union at Rafah) for security reasons, specifically possible weapons transfers and uninhibited return of exiled extremist leaders and terrorists.[3][4][5][6][7] As of October 18, 2006, Israel has discovered 20 tunnels used for illegal arms smuggling under the border of the Gaza Strip and Egypt.[8]

Israel had said it would withdraw from the Strip and end the operation as soon as Shalit was released.[9] The Palestinians had said that they were willing to return Shalit in exchange for the release of some of the Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The Palestinians and others have also said the assault was aimed at toppling the democratically elected Hamas-led government and at destabilizing the Palestinian National Authority, citing the targeting of civilian infrastructure such as a power station and the captures of government and parliament members. Some 300 militants had been targeted by the IDF in the Gaza Strip since the kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit.[10] On 26 November, a ceasefire was signed by militant Palestinian organisations and Israel, and Israel withdrew its troops while the Palestinian Authority forces deployed to stop Qassam rocket launchings. Following the truce over 60 Qassam rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip at Israel, and 1 Palestinian militant was killed by the IDF. On 19 December, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad began taking open responsibility for the Qassam rocket firing, because they said Israel killed two of their members in Jenin.

Exchange of fire

After Israel's unilateral disengagement plan, pulling 9 thousand settlers from Gush Katif and villages in the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005, tensions had remained high in Gaza due to the continued shelling of populated areas in Israel with Qassam rocket attacks launched by Palestinians from Gaza into areas such as the Israeli city of Sderot, reported to have exceeded 800 rockets in the past seven months.[14] Between the end of March and the end of May 2006, Israel fired at least 5,100 artillery shells into the Gaza Strip Qassam launching areas in an attempt to stop them from firing.[15]

On June 9 an explosion occurred on a busy Gaza beach, killing eight Palestinian civilians.[16][17][18] Following the blast, an internal Israeli military enquiry was initiated. On June 13, Israeli Defence Minister Amir Peretz and Chief of Staff Dan Halutz appeared alongside IDF General Meir Klifi to announce the findings of the enquiry, stating "The chances that artillery fire hit that area at that time are nil." In further interviews, Klifi theorised that the deaths could have been caused by old ordnance or by a Palestinian planted mine.[18] Mark Garlasco, a US-based Human Rights Watch group employee, aired the opinion that the injuries sustained by the Palestinian victims were inconsistent with an explosion from beneath the sand.[18]

Hamas formally withdrew from its 16-month ceasefire on June 10, and began openly taking responsibility for the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks.[19] During the ceasefire, Hamas had regularly been implicated in similar attacks carried out by other Palestinian terrorist groups, as well as engaging in its own attacks.[20][21]

Israeli missile attacks included one on the Gaza highway on June 13 that killed 11 Palestinians, and on June 20 that killed 3 Palestinians.[18][22]

Raids and captures

On June 25, 2006, armed Palestinians crossed the border from the Gaza Strip into Israel via a makeshift tunnel and attacked an Israel Defense Forces post. During the morning attack, two Palestinian militants and two Israel Defense Force soldiers were killed and four others wounded, in addition to Corporal Gilad Shalit, who suffered a broken left hand and a light shoulder wound. Hamas claimed that the attack was carried out in response to the death of the Ralia family on north Gaza beach a few weeks before, but the IDF concluded that the digging of the tunnel must have taken between 3 and 6 months.[23][24]

Shalit's captors issued a series of statements demanding the release of all female Palestinian prisoners and all Palestinian prisoners under the age of 18.[25] The statements came from Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the military wing of Palestinian governing party Hamas), the Popular Resistance Committees (which includes members of Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas), and the Army of Islam.

More than 8,000 Palestinians are held as prisoners by the Israel Defense Forces and Israel Prisons Service. Approximately two thirds of these prisoners were convicted in court, while around ten percent are held without charge.[26]

IDF Summary

On July 29, 2006, the Israel Defense Forces issued a summary of activity in the Gaza Strip [3]:

Early this morning, July 29, 2006, the IDF began engineering work in the Erez industrial area in the northern Gaza Strip in order to thwart terror threats and to discover tunnels and explosive devices in area.
In addition, the IDF carried out aerial attacks against a structure used by Hamas to store and manufacture weaponry in Gaza City, as well as a tunnel located along the Israeli-Egyptian border near Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
Prior to the attacks on these targets, in order to ensure the safety of the residents of the Gaza Strip, the IDF warned the population not to stay in structures that are used by terrorist organizations for storing weapons.
Terrorist organizations operate from within civilian population, while cynically exploiting uninvolved civilians and using them as human shields, exploiting their homes to store weapons and launch rockets at Israeli towns from populated areas.
The IDF will continue to act with determination against terrorist organizations and terror infrastructure in order to create the conditions for the return of Corporal Gilad Shalit and to stop terror attacks and the launching of missiles against Israel.

Operation Summer Rains

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IDF enters Southern Gaza

Israeli forces entered Khan Yunis on June 28, 2006 to search for Shalit. Four Israeli F-16s flew over the Latakia residence of Bashar Assad, President of Syria, in a symbolic move linked by the IDF Spokesperson's Office to Israel's view of the Syrian leadership as a sponsor of terrorism, and the presence in Syria of Hamas leader Khaled Mashal.[27] In preparation for the Israeli operation, the government of Egypt announced it deployed 2,500 policemen to the border of Egypt and the Gaza Strip in order to prevent the possible transfer of Shalit into Egypt, as well as to prevent an influx of refugees out of the Palestinian territory.

In the early hours of the operation, several Palestinian civilian locations were targeted. Bridges were destroyed to effectively cut the Gaza Strip in half. Power was also cut to 65% of the Gaza Strip after Israeli planes fired at least nine missiles at Gaza's only power station. Israeli forces also occupied the Gaza International Airport. Airstrikes were carried out on Hamas training and munitions camps, though no casualties were reported.[28][29]


In apparent response to this, the Popular Resistance Committees announced they had abducted an 18-year-old man from the West Bank settlement of Itamar, Eliyahu Asheri, and would kill him if the invasion continued.[30] On 29 June, IDF combat engineers and Shabak agents, acting on intelligence, found Asheri's body in an abandoned car in an open field outside of Ramallah. The youth appeared to have been shot to death, and findings indicated that he may have been killed as early as Sunday, casting doubt on the PRC's earlier claims that he was alive and kept in captivity.[31]

Although the Popular Resistance Committees said it was behind the attack, it became known that the kidnapping was planned and carried out by Fatah militants.[32] Four suspects were captured by IDF forces for kidnapping and killing Asheri, all al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades activists and Palestinian Preventive Security force members.

The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades later announced that they had captured a third Israeli, Noach Moskovich from the central Israeli city of Rishon LeZion.[33] However Moskovich was eventually discovered dead, apparently of natural causes, near the spot where he had last been seen.[34][35] The Brigades also threatened that, should there be any Palestinian civilian casualties as a result of the incursion, they would attack Israel's overseas embassies. As night fell, the Israel Defence Forces began shelling locations in Gaza with artillery, and hit two weapons warehouses.[36]

Incursion into Northern Gaza


Israeli Merkava tanks on the north Gaza border

As night approached 28 June, IDF troops and tanks massed on the Northern border of Gaza Strip, and prepared to take strategic positions in the second phase of the operation, which Israel claims targeted the Qassam rocket sites.[37] Qassam rockets were continually fired into Israel, and during the early hours of 29 June, several Israeli naval vessels shelled Qassam locations.[38] Thousands of leaflets advising civilians to leave their homes were dropped on inhabited areas in the northern Gaza Strip towns of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun which Israel had identified as frequent launch sites for Qassam rockets.[39]

An explosion was reported in Gaza City, and eyewitnesses reported it was at the Islamic University. The university is believed to be a pro-Hamas institute.[40] Witnesses reported Israeli tanks, soldiers, and bulldozers entering Northern Gaza. Following a plea from Egypt for more time for negotiations however, the IDF later announced it would put a hold on the second phase to give the militants a final chance to turn over Shalit.[41]

Arrest of Hamas government members


IDF soldiers arresting Hamas officials in Ramallah

On 29 June, Israel arrested 64 Hamas officials. Amongst them were Palestinian Authority cabinet ministers and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.[42] Eight Hamas government members (five of whom in Ramallah) and up to twenty Legislative Council representatives were detained in the operation.

Among those arrested are the Finance Minister Abed Razek; Labour Minister Mohammad Barghouti;[28] Religious Affairs Minister Nayef Rajoub, brother of former West Bank strongman Jibril Rajoub of the rival Fatah party; East Jerusalem legislative council member and number two on Hamas list, Muhammad Abu Tir; as well as heads of regional councils, and the mayors and two municipal council members of Nablus, Beita and Qalqilya and the latter's deputy mayor. At least a third of the Hamas cabinet have been detained and held by Israel. As a result, many Hamas officials have gone into hiding.

The IDF stated that the arrested Hamas ministers "are not bargaining chips for the return of the soldier - it was simply an operation against a terrorist organization".[43] Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, hinted that the Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Ismail Haniya, is not immune from being arrested or attacked by the Security Forces. The Israeli army and government officials said, the arrested Hamas officials will be questioned and eventually indicted.[39] "Their arrests were not arbitrary. They will be put to trial, and they will be able to defend themselves in accordance with a legal system which is internationally recognized," Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said, explaining the arrest of Hamas members.[44]

The operation to arrest these Hamas ministers was reportedly planned several weeks before and was met then with the approval of Israel's Attorney General, Menachem Mazuz. On 28 June, Shabak Director Yuval Diskin brought a list of names to the approval of Israel's Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. Mazuz decided that those arrested will be prosecuted for the criminal offences of failing to prevent acts of terror and membership of a terrorist organization (which carry a maximum sentence of twenty years) and tried by military judges before an open military tribunal, as would be the case for any other Gaza or West Bank resident.[45]

August 6, Israeli forces detained the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Dweik, at his home in the West Bank. Dweik, who is regarded as a key member of Hamas, was apprehended after Israeli military-vehicles surrounded his home in Ramallah.[46]

Bombardment phase

An aerial attack is carried out on the Palestinian Prime Minister's office.

Beginning on 30 June, the IDF began to hit the Gaza Strip with a variety of targeted bombardments. Israeli warplanes struck more than a dozen times in Gaza in the hours after midnight, hitting a Fatah office and a Hamas facility in Gaza City as well as roads and open fields.[citation needed]

Israeli Air Force aircraft struck the Palestinian Interior Ministry in Gaza City. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed its planes hit the office of Interior Minister Said Seyam, which it called "a meeting place to plan and direct terror activity". Shortly after, several militants approached an IDF position in Southern Gaza carrying anti-tank weaponry. The Israeli forces opened fire, wounding two militants, and causing them to leave their position.[citation needed]

In a separate Israeli airstrike, three missiles hit the office of Khaled Abu Ilal, an Interior Ministry official, who also heads a pro-Hamas militia.[47]

After Israeli warnings that the Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya could be targeted for assassination if Corporal Shalit was not freed,[48] Israeli aircraft hit the Prime Minister's office with two missiles in the early hours of 2 July.[49]

On July 12, the IDF dropped a 550lb bomb on a building in Gaza City, killing a family of nine. A spokesman for the Israeli army said they were trying to kill a group of Hamas militants led by Mohammed Deif, and did not know that a family was living inside the house when they bombed it.[50]

High-trajectory fire into Israel

Map of the conflict area

On July 4, high-trajectory fire by Palestinian militants into Israel reached a milestone when an improved Qassam rocket succeeded in reaching central Ashkelon, the first Palestinian-made rocket to do so, hitting an empty school yard, and causing light damage and no injuries.[51]

The next day, two more Qassam rockets hit a neighborhood in southern Ashkelon, wounding 8 civilians. The IDF was given the go-ahead to move into Northern Gaza with a large force, with the stated aim of attempting to push the militants farther into Gaza, and out of range from Ashkelon and other coastal towns.[52]

Qassams also struck near Netivot (which is 12 km. east of Northern Gaza),[53] Sa'ad,[54] Kibbutz Kfar Aza, as well as smaller towns and kibbutzim in the Negev.[55]

[edit] Ongoing responses

On July 5, 2006, the Israeli Security Cabinet called for prolonged and gradual military action in Gaza. A communique issued after the meeting said that in light of the kidnapping of Cpl. Gilad Shalit and the continuation of the rocket fire on Israel, "preparations will be made to bring about a change in the rules of the game and mode of operating with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas."

Later that day IDF soldiers apprehended a Palestinian wearing an explosives belt, who entered the industrial zone in the West Bank town of Barkan, near the Jewish settlement of Ariel, in a Palestinian taxi which the IDF said was destined for a major Israeli city.[56][57]

[edit] Ground Operation in Northern Gaza Strip

On July 6, 2006, the IDF's Golani Brigade under the command of Colonel Tamir Yadai, backed by IAF jets and artillery fire, reoccupied the site of three former Israeli settlements of Dugit, Nisanit and Elei Sinai in the northern Gaza Strip. Additional forces entered the nearby Palestinian town of Beit Lahiya. A Beit Lahiya resident was quoted in Ynetnews.com as saying, "It's a crazy scene — everyone is shooting at everyone," and "Soldiers are coming out of the trees, from the rooftops. The residents don't know if they should leave their homes or hide."[58] Israeli tanks and helicopter gunships entered Beit Lahiya firing at militant positions. Palestinian militants responded with automatic weapons fire.[59]

Impact on Gaza Strip residents

Palestinian officials say that it could take six months and some $15 million to repair the damage done to the destroyed power plant.[60]

According to the Palestinian Environmental NGOs Network, "The public health and safety and environmental hazards stemming from the damage caused to infrastructure as a result of this military operation include water shortages, contaminated remaining drinking water, uncontrolled discharge and untreated sewage flowing in the streets resulting in groundwater pollution, pollution of agricultural land which Gazans will now be unable to cultivate to harvest crops, negatively impacting their earning."[61]

On 29 June the IDF made the following announcement to Gaza residents, distributed through pamphlets and broadcasted through other means:

To the civilians of the area: The IDF extends its operations to all areas of the Gaza Strip, and therefore conducts military activities in your area, for the time period that is required. The operations will be launched in order to locate the site in which the kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit, is being held, to rescue him, and to continue to defend the citizens of Israel. For your own safety and due to our intent to prevent injuring citizens who are not involved in activities against our forces, you must avoid being on any premises in which the IDF is operating and be attentive to the IDF's instructions. Anyone who interrupts IDF forces activities, conducted in order to complete the mission to bring the kidnapped soldier home safely, will be in danger.[62](bold in the original)

Concern for potential humanitarian crisis


Between July 2-3, supplies were allowed to be brought into Gaza through the Karni crossing

Early on, all border crossings in and out of Gaza were shut. Gas stations predicted petrol supplies would run out by sundown Thursday as companies rely on generators.[63]

On June 29, Álvaro de Soto, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, said that fuel in Gaza would run out in two to three days, which would result in the collapse of the sewage system. Senior UN officials estimated that Gaza has two weeks of food supply left.[45]

UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said, "No one can hide from us what they’re doing, neither the Palestinian nor the Israeli side. We are appalled by seeing how they're playing with the future of defenseless civilians, including children," and warned that Gaza was three days away (as of 29 June) from a humanitarian crisis.[64]

It was predicted that all 22 Gaza hospitals would lose electricity from spare generators within one week due to the shortage of fuel and an average of 200 daily surgeries would be postponed or cancelled. There were fears that about 250 citizens suffering renal failure would face death due to the lack of electricity to run dialysis units.[65]

On Sunday July 2, Israel reopened Gaza's main cargo crossing — the Karni crossing, allowing 50 trucks with food, medical supplies and fuel, to travel from Israel to Gaza. Other trucks carrying fuel entered northeastern Gaza through the Nahal Oz border crossing.[66] The next day, however, citing a security threat, Israel once again closed the Karni crossing.[67]

On July 14, 2006, Hundreds crossed the Gaza-Egypt border, into the Gaza strip from Egypt, after Palestinians blew a hole in the wall separating Gaza and Egypt.[68]

On July 20, Paul Hunt, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health has claimed that some Israeli attacks on Gaza constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, and called for an independent inquiry into war crimes in Gaza by Israel.[69] Hunt stated that "The destruction of Gaza's electricity power station is profoundly inconsistent with the health and safety of all civilians living in Gaza, especially the young, sick, infirm and elderly, as well as their right to the highest attainable standard of health, enshrined in the International Bill of Rights and other international human rights instruments."[70]

On July 24, Israel partially re-opened the Karni corssing. PNA sources reported that the Raffah crossing might also be re-opened in the next two days.[71] Over one month later, on August 25, for the first time in the two months since the conflict began, Israel opened the Rafah crossing for twenty four hours, with 2,500 people entering Gaza and 1,500 exiting.[72]

Casualties

Main article: 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict casualties timeline
  • 5 Israeli soldiers have been killed during the conflict, including two in the initial Palestinian cross-border attack, and one in a friendly fire incident. A total number of six Israeli civilians were killed and nearly 40 wounded; in the midst of this conflict, an Israeli Arab man visiting the Gaza Strip was kidnapped and his wife was shot in the foot (however this may have been related to family feuds).
  • Of the 402 confirmed Palestinian deaths in the conflict approximately 280 were militants of various factions mostly Hamas. The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed branch of Hamas, confirmed that 124 of their fighters were killed, as of November 25. [4] The non-combatants killed are mostly made up those caught in the crossfire or during the course of a targeted killing. Some Israeli raids targeting militants have resulted in the deaths of bystanders or passersbys. Palestinian ambulance workers said that Israeli troops sometimes fire at them, preventing ambulances from reaching casualties. This is because, as the Israeli army claims, that Palestinian militants have used ambulances to attack them.[73][74] Other civilians have died between gun battles of Palestinian gunmen and Israeli troops. Note that many Palestinian militants operate from houses and although most are abandoned, in some cases family members refuse to flee their homes and when attacked some are wounded if not killed. Many Palestinians killed do not have their status identified as militant, civilian or other, thus each number of casualties is not easily determined.
  • At least six Palestinian policemen and two Presidential Guards have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces.

[edit] Ceasefire

As of December 26, 2006, over 60 Qassams have hit Israel since the declared cease-fire on November 26.[75] However, in early April, Israeli troops killed a militant and launched a several missiles inside Gaza. Also, the Cabinet allowed IDF forces to launch limited raids.[citation needed]

A senior member of Hamas said that the group agreed to a cease-fire with Israel “because we need a period of calm to recuperate,” the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported. “This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace,” Abu Abdullah said.

Palestinian Authority (PA) Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar declared to Palestinian students at the Islamic University of Gaza that a cease-fire with Israel is merely a step on the way to the destruction of the Jewish state. “We as Muslims are the owners of this land and we shall not give up a single handful of Palestinian soil,” al-Zahar said. PA Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs Salah Alrakab echoed al-Zahar, saying that Islam forbids signing a peace agreement with Jews. “The conflict with the Jews is a religious, existential struggle and is not a conflict over borders,” Alrakab said. “Liberation of the land will be accomplished only by jihad.”[76][77]

Recently in late March, and into early April, Israeli forces have carried out raids in Gaza. On April 21, 2007, Palestinian militants launched three rockets into Israel after raids in the West Bank that killed 5 Palestinians, 3 of whom were miltants. Israel responded with an airstrike that killed one suspected militant.[5]

In the month of May, Palestinian resistance fighters resumed their shelling of Israeli towns launching over 70 missiles in three days up to the 17th. So far today, 21 missiles have been launched at Sderot, a small town in Israel[78]

[edit] Reaction

Involved parties

  • Hamas (military wing) - The military wing of Hamas urged Palestinians to rise up, and stated "fight your enemies, who came to their deaths. Grab your rifles and resist".[79] On July 6, 2006, PA Interior Minister Said Siyyam of Hamas issued the Palestinian government's first, official call to arms since Israeli ground forces invaded Gaza, appealing on Thursday to all security forces to fulfill their "religious and moral duty to stand up to this aggression and cowardly Zionist invasion." The majority of PA security forces are loyal to Fatah, which opposes Hamas.
  • Israel - David Siegel, spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. said that "Israel did everything it could in exhausting all diplomatic options and gave Mahmoud Abbas the opportunity to return the kidnapped Israeli... This operation can be terminated immediately, conditioned on the release of Gilad Shalit."[80] In describing Israel's assault on Gaza, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, "I take personal responsibility for what is happening in Gaza. I want no one to sleep at night in Gaza. I want them to know what it feels like."[81]
  • Fatah - Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attacks on the bridges and power plant saying that "attacking civil infrastructure [is] a collective punishment against [the] Palestinian people and a humanitarian crime".[82]

[edit] International organizations

  • Amnesty International - The organization characterized the deliberate attacks by Israeli forces against civilian property and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip as "war crimes,"[83] and called for "an end to the wanton destruction and collective punishment being carried out by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip." A statement further observed that “destruction of three bridges and electricity networks [...] have left half the population of the Gaza Strip without electricity and have reportedly also adversely affected the supply of water.”[84] Amnesty International also stated "The hostage-taking of Corporal Gilad Shalit, and the killing of Eliyahu Asheri, the 18 year old settler, by Palestinian armed groups violate fundamental principles of international law. Corporal Gilad Shalit should be released immediately and unharmed".[83]
  • Arab League - Its spokesman Alaa Rushdy said that the operations were "part of aggressive Israeli policies directed against the Palestinian people, whether it be through destruction or the killing of civilians".[85]
  • European Union -The External Relations Commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said that "Both sides need to step back from the brink before this becomes a crisis that neither can control."[86]
  • United Nations - On July 6, 2006, The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution deploring Israel's military operations in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a violation of international law. Passed by a vote of 29 - 11, with 5 abstentions, the resolution, "urges all concerned parties to respect the rules of international humanitarian law, to refrain from violence against the civilian population and to treat under all circumstances all detained combatants and civilians in accordance with the Geneva Conventions." "Deep concern" was expressed over the "arbitrary arrest of Palestinian (Cabinet) ministers, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council and other officials as well as the arbitrary arrests of other civilians" and military attacks."[87] On July 13, 2006, The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution condemning this military operation.[88]

Other countries

  • China - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu expressed concern over the worsening humanitarian crisis, calling on Israel to "cease the military actions immediately" and for Palestinian authorities to help release the hostage as soon as possible.[89]
  • Russia - Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov called for the unconditional release of Shalit while urging Israel to show restraint. "Such restraint, together with the involvement of the international community, can lead to dialogue restarting and the two sides can go back to implementing the 'Road Map'".[90]
  • Sweden - "Israel has committed an indefensible act," the Swedish TT news agency quoted Swedish Prime Minister Göran Persson as saying. "It is disproportionate in terms of what the Palestinians have done," Persson said. "To go like that and remove part of a government and members of parliament is incompatible with international law." Persson cast doubt on the possibility of an exchange of prisoners. The situation "keeps getting worse and the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians has now become virtually impossible. It is ominous," he said.[91][92]
  • Switzerland - "A number of actions by the Israeli defense forces in their offensive against the Gaza Strip have violated the principle of proportionality and are to be seen as forms of collective punishment, which is forbidden," the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "There is no doubt that [Israel] has not taken the precautions required of it in international law to protect the civilian population and infrastructure," Switzerland said.[93] Switzerland also called for the "rapid release" of the captive Israeli soldier.[94]
  • Syria - A Syrian official stated "These aggressive operations form a provocation and are unjustified. If their goal is to place responsibility for the kidnapping of the Israeli soldier on the political leadership of Hamas – then Israel is making a scandalous mistake that is crossing the boundaries of logic."[95]
  • United States - White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said that "Israel has the right to defend itself and the lives of its citizens... [But] in any actions the government of Israel may undertake, the United States urges that it ensures that innocent civilians are not harmed and also that it avoid the unnecessary destruction of property and infrastructure."[96] The United States vetoed a U.N. resolution condemning this military operation.[97]

Hamas


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Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal
  • Leader: Khaled Meshaal
  • Founded: 1987
  • Funded: Donations; wealthy Arab sponsors; growing amount of Iranian assistance

Major Attacks

  • November 2002: suicide bombing of Jerusalem bus kills 11
  • September 2003: double suicide bombing kills 15 people at Jerusalem café and an army base
  • June 2003: suicide bombing of bus kills 19
  • March 2004: a joint Hamas-Fatah suicide bombing of Israeli port kills 10
  • June 2004: rocket attack kills Israeli man, 4-year-old child
  • April 2006: suicide bombing of Tel Aviv restaurant kills 9, wounds 40

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Sheik Ahmed Yassin

Former Hamas leader and founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, who had been killed by Israeli forces on March 21st reported to have made a grim discovery of the afterlife. According to the slain butcher, the "72 virgins of paradise" ain't nothing more than a bunch of skanky ho's who've passed around for generations. "I am more than outraged," said the herpes encrusted sheik. "I had lived a martyrs life, waiting to live eternally with Allah on one side and 72 virgins on the other; however, these nasty skanks have already plagued me with more diseases than humanly possible."

Hamas is the Arabic acronym for the Islamic Resistance Movement, a Palestinian organization committed to eliminating Israel and replacing it with an Islamic state. Considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the West for its suicide attacks on Israel, it is popular among Palestinians for its network of schools, clinics and civic services, as well as its armed resistance to Israeli military occupation. The group is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian-based organization that has advocated Islamic government in the Arab world for 80 years.

Hamas came to prominence in the 1990s by rejecting the so-called Oslo peace process which sought to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel. In a series of deadly suicide bombings that killed hundreds of civilians, Hamas announced its intention to eliminate the Jewish state altogether. Israel retaliated by assassinating the group's founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin and numerous top operatives who were immediately replaced.

Hamas entered electoral politics for the first time in 2004. In January 2006, Hamas candidates swept Palestinian parliamentary elections and took control of the Palestinian Authority. Western countries have since cut off most aid to the Palestinian government and redirected support to President Mahmound Abbas, leader of the Fatah party, and to non-governmental agencies working with Palestinians.

The Hamas-led government refuses to recognize Israel and renounce armed struggle, as demanded by Israel, the United States and Europe. Hamas has demanded Israel withdraw to its pre-1967 borders, release thousands of political prisoners and recognize the right of Palestinians to return to communities absorbed by the creation of Israel in 1948.

There is debate within Hamas about how far to go in meeting Israeli and American demands. Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says Hamas's goal is the creation of a Palestinian state in the pre-1967 borders of West Bank and Gaza. The group's military wing, based in Syria, says it will only consider a long-term truce when Israel withdraws from the West Bank.

The tacit cease-fire between the Hamas-led government and Israel started to break down this spring, as militants from both Hamas and Fatah fired hundreds of home-made rockets from Gaza into nearby Israeli towns, causing few injuries but sowing fear and uncertainty. Israel responded with massive artillery and air attacks on suspected missile factories and launching sites, killing scores of civilians.

Hamas's capture of an Israeli soldier on June 29 marked a new tactic in the group's strategy for fighting Israeli military occupation. The militants are demanding the release of about 400 Palestinian women and teenagers held in Israeli jails in return for the release of Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

Some observers say the Hamas abduction reflects the influence of Hezbollah, the Shiite militia in neighboring Lebanon. Hezbollah's leader obtained the release of hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jail in 2004 by handing over an Israeli businessman kidnapped in Beirut. While the two groups have deep religious differences, some experts say Hezbollah is now supplying Hamas with weapons, training and advice.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Ricky Hatton of England

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Who is Ricky Hatton and Why Does He Wants Manny Pacquiao for his Next Match?

Richard “Ricky” Hatton is a British boxer. He is the former WBC, WBO, WBA Champion and a two-time IBO and IBF Light Welterweight Champion. He is more commonly known as Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton. He is the Ring Magazine’s current Junior Welterweight Champion. Ricky was born in Stockport, Manchester, England. He attended Hattersley High School for his secondary education. On leaving school, he joined his family carpet business as carpet installer and salesman.

Hatton had his professional boxing debut at the Kingsway Leisure Center where he won via TKO in round one against Colin McAuley while his second bout happened at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

Hatton’s biggest fight was with Floyd Mayweather Jr which happened last year at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada. Unfortunately it was a match that gave him his first loss in his professional boxing career. Mayweather said “Ricky Hatton is one tough fighter. He said “he is still a champion in my eyes and I’d love to see him fight again”. He is probably one of the toughest competitors I’ve faced. I hit him with some big ones and he keeps coming and I can see why they call him “The Hitman”.he said in an interview with reporters. After the fight, Mayweather announced his retirement from boxing.

After losing to Mayweather, Hatton fought Paulie Malignaggi of the US at MGM Grand for his IBO Light Welterweight title. He won the fight via TKO on the 11th round. Floyd Mayweather Sr. trained him for the fight.

Some of Hatton’s championship titles and awards:

• Ring Magazine Light Welterweight Champion

•IBO Light Welterweight Champion

• Former IBF Light Welterweight Champion

•Former WBA Light Welterweight Champion

•Former WBU Light Welterweight Champion

• Former British Light Welterweight Champion

•Former WBO Inter-Continental Welterweight Champion

• Former British Central Area Light Welterweight Champion

Since winning over Paulie Malignaggi of the US, Hatton has been vocal about his intention to fight Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines. It would be dream-come-true fight for him as it will deliver so much in terms of revenues for him and his handlers. Pacquiao has likewise expressed his willingness to accept Hatton’s invitation.

Freddie Roach said, “Regardless of the money, I want Hatton to be the next fighter to face Pacquiao”. He added, “What we don’t want is a boring fight. Look at what happened when de la Hoya fought Mayweather”

Roach must be thinking that because of the fighting style of the two popular boxers who are noted for their speed and power punches they will generate so much excitement from boxing fans all over the world, a situation that promoters want in order to generate more revenues from the fight.

Ricky Hatton the Undisputed 140lb. boxing champ has been putting money into the pockets of lis loyal British backers with his perfect record of 43-0, 31 KO's. BodogLife.com has Floyd Mayweather Jr. as a -220 boxing betting favorite in next weekends superfight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs Ricky Hatton.

Profile of Ricky Hatton

The happy go lucky native of Manchester, England has admitted that he has downed more than his fair share of cold beers in the local pubs in-between fights, but once in the gym, his work ethic is amazing. Dubbed Ricky Fatton by the media for his tendency to swell to over 180 lbs. with his diet of beer and food before training camps, "The Hitman" has shown outstanding stamina once in the ring at his fighting weight of 140-147 lbs.

Ricky gets pumped by the thousands of supporters that show up to watch him do battle with his non-stop pressure style of fighting. Hatton has boxing skills, with good agility, a stiff jab and fast hands, but he is at his best when coming forward firing 100+ punches per round grinding his foes down. BodogLife.com has the TOTAL at 11.5 rounds on the Floyd Mayweather vs Ricky Hatton superfight with the OVER at -300 boxing betting odds.

The Brit stands at a powefully built 5'6" and has developed a reputation as a brutal bodypuncher. Hatton is willing to stick his nose in the action and take a few licks to seperate a man from his properly functioning organs with well placed shots to the liver, heart, abdomen and ribs. Rick has a sound chin and good eyes in the ring to see punches coming his way, but he can be hit and dropped. Hatton is in his prime at 29 and has always been trained by his father Richard Hatton.

Hezbollah

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Hezbollah, or Party of God, was founded by Lebanese Shiites in 1982 after Israel invaded Lebanon. With Iranian help, the group organized the country's Shiite minority into a national force with its own militia, TV station, parliamentary bloc and cabinet minister while resisting national and international calls to disarm.

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The group is led by 46-year-old secretary general Hasan Nasrallah, an Iranian educated cleric who boasts that his militia is the only Arab force ever to have defeated Israel. The group's armed wing was created to fight Israeli forces that invaded Lebanon in 1982 (and later, U.S. troops sent as peacekeepers). A Hezbollah suicide bombing killed 241 Marines in October 1983, prompting the U.S. to withdraw its forces. As Israel forces retreated to southern Lebanon, Hezbollah harassed them with small arms and missile attacks until the Israelis withdrew altogether in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah has continued to launch attacks in a deserted portion of territory held by Israel, claiming the land is part of Lebanon. It has also periodically fired missiles into Israeli border towns.

Hezbollah attacks on civilian targets prompted the United States to label the group a terrorist organization. In 1985 three members of the group hijacked a TWA flight and killed Navy diver on board. The group also was involved in the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy in Argentina that killed 29 and the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that killed 85, according to the U.S. State Department. Hezbollah denied involvement in the 1994 attack. In June 1996, the group bombed a U.S. military housing complex in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 U.S. servicemen and wounding 370. Fourteen Hezbollah operatives were later indicted for that attack.

As a political party, Hezbollah built a following with its network of clinics and schools in poor Shiite communities. In parliament, its representatives supported the Syrian-dominated government that emerged from the settlement of the Lebanese civil war in 1992. After massive peaceful protests forced Syria to withdraw its military forces from Lebanon in 2005, the United Nations and other Lebanese political parties called on Hezbollah to disarm. The group refused, saying its arms would only be used to defend against Israel. The government backed down when one of Lebanon's Christian political parties supported Hezbollah's position in return for Shiite support of its presidential candidate.

In 2004, the group bolstered its standing in the Arab world by obtaining the release of hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians held in Israeli jails, something that the Palestinian authorities had never been able to achieve. Among Palestinian militants, Hezbollah is increasingly seen as a model for resisting Israeli occupation. The Palestinian militant group Hamas, an offshoot of the Sunni Islamic organization the Muslim Brotherhood, has set aside religious differences to support Hezbollah's anti-Israel tactics.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Sea-jacked by Somali pirates

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DAY 50 - 1178 h into the FAINA crisis

- UPDATE SUMMARY :

Increased efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the now one and a half month long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is still not yet solved, though intensive negotiations have continued and both sides are striving to finalize the modalities of the safe release of crew and vessel.

Unfortunately the Ukrainian parliament is in serious turmoil but it is hoped that the negotiator and the Ukrainian team up front will not be influenced from the brawls at home and can continue unabated to work in further solving the Faina’s problem and that the positive developments of the last few days can continue.


other news from abducted ships


A Turkish-flagged tanker named ’Karagöl’, owned by Istanbul-based YDC Maritime which is partnered by a deputy from the Turkish AK Party, Hasan Kemal Yardımcı, was sea-jacked yesterday at 16h02 off the coast of Yemen. The Turkish Maritime Affairs Directorate confirmed the ship has a crew of 14 Turkish nationals and was on passage to India. MT KARAGOL is listed to belong to YDC Denizcilik ve Ticaret Ltd in Turkey and is managed by AYDER TANKERS AS. The 2007 built tanker with a gross tonnage of 3,974 is insured by the American Steamship Owner P&I association. Kemal Yardımcı stated : "This is the first Turkish flagged ship to be hijacked. We must stand up for our flag", and urged Turkish Minster of Transportation, Binali Yıldırım as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan to take action. The crew of the MV GENIOUS, who were captured by Somali pirates on 25th September, will be released on 25th November, according to sources from Azerbaijan. The company owning the ship will transmit the ransom to the pirates on 19-20 November and the ship will arrive in Dubai on 25th November where the captives, including six Georgian citizens, will be relieved, the head of the consulate department of Georgian Foreign Ministry Tamar Kamarauli said at a news conference on 13th November. According to Kamarauli, Georgian Consul to Greece Konstantin Sabiashvili participated in the yet to materialise release of the captives. Negotiations to release other captured vessels MV ACTION and CEC FUTURE are underway. Reports from Somalia indicate that a Chinese tanker has been abducted already two or three days ago, while no official report has confirmed this yet. The vessel is said to be held now somewhere between Ras Hafun and Hawo on the Somali coast.

The crew on MT STOLT VALOR is hopeful that the closing agreement between the abductors and the negotiator from the company will lead now to a fast resolution, though certain disagreements among the pirates themselves seem to persist.


13. Nov. 2008

Though observer had noted the incident earlier, the Russian navy only yesterday confirmed that Russian and British naval ships had repelled a pirate attack on Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden. The Russian navy press service stated yesterday that the Russian frigate Neustrashimy and the British frigate Cumberland had foiled pirates who fired automatic weapons toward a Danish ship under Panama flag, the MV POWERFUL with Greek and Filipino crew and managed by Maryville Manila Inc. The attackers allegedly tried twice to seize it. A spokesman revealed that both war ships had sent out helicopters, a Russian Ka-27 and a British Lynx after having received the distress signal. The Russian statement first provided few other details about the confrontation, including the day it occurred, and what later turned out to be a fatal shooting at another location involving British troops. The Russian navy spokesman released his information on Wednesday on condition of anonymity, citing navy policy.

Diplomatic relations between Britain and Russia have been strained following the murder of Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko, who was killed with a radioactive substance in London two years ago. Moscow sent the Neustrashimy to the area in September and said at the time its ships would regularly go to zones where pirates were active. Some observers say the Kremlin is increasingly using the Russian navy to project its renewed power.

Shortly thereafter the British Navy then had to issue a statement confirming the incident and stated that later actually British marine commandos launched from HSM Cumberland in powerful attack-boats with machine guns and SA80 assault rifles had tried to encircle and stop a Yemen-flagged Dhow (traditional wooden ship) in the Gulf of Aden. "As they approached, however, several of the pirates, a mixed crew of Somalis and Yemenis, swung their assault rifles in their direction and opened fire. The MoD said the Royal Marines returned fire “in self defence”, and then boarded the dhow.", the statement reads.

While seafarers suffer at the hands of criminal Somali gangs hi-jacking merchant vessels as well as at the mercy of the negotiations-delaying ship-owners and their insurances, only the killings make it into media headlines. In what ECOTERRA’s observatory had reported already on Tuesday and the Russian media then leaked on Wednesday forced only thereafter the Royal British Navy to issue a statement and allowed the world media to get their story today, while a direct request to NATO sent already on Tuesday for a clear incident report remains unanswered.

But what the British gutter-press and a group of their mentally less fortunate readers, which regularly express themselves horribly on their comment sections, celebrate as a glorious victory of their Royal Navy over Somali pirates must be seen with a very critical eye.

Sure, if everything was like the British navy spokesman stated it can be seen in the light of a legitimate response by a protective naval force sanctioned by United Nations Security Council resolutions and British self-made rules of engagement against an armed aggressor trying to sea-jack a merchant vessel. But was it like that ? Many questions remain and the outcome of a full investigation instigated now by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) first will have to be seen. An MoD spokesman stated that an incident investigation especially into the fatal shooting and the killing of three people is being conducted, but such is more like an internal report and not an independent investigation.

"It is believed to be the first time the [British Royal] Navy has taken lives at sea since the Falklands War and possibly the first pirates it has killed in centuries.", the Daily Telegraph remarked. However, one earlier incident involving HSM Cumberland has apparently gone completely unreported by the navy or the media, while it is known locally.

The UK is still in the process of drawing up a memorandum of understanding concerning their engagement in anti-piracy operations with the Somali government and so far does not have any such agreement. The Russians have a kind of a permission, expressed by the Somali Ambassador to Russia in a verbal note, but no such permission has been ratified by the Somali Parliament, which is in the process to be dissolved. If the British or the Russian navies have a legitimate agreement covering such cases with the Government of Yemen has not been revealed. The Indian Navy having also successfully, but bloodlessly averted pirate attacks against merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden has a clear policy and stated that it will not venture into the uncertain legal waters by entering into the territorial waters, killing presumed pirates unless during a direct pirate attack or take prisoners.

The actual incident itself was reported now by the British navy to have taken place already on Tuesday in the Gulf of Aden around 60 nautical miles south of the Yemeni coast. Such area description is much to vage in a sea, where there are no more ungoverned "international waters" since the 200 nm EEZ territories of both countries - Somalia and Yemen - are equally reduced where the distance between the two shores is less than 400 nm. In most areas of the Gulf of Aden the EEZs as delineated by the provisions of UNCLOS are less than 75 to 100 nm for each country. The so called protected shipping corridor through the Gulf of Aden is staked out mainly inside the Yemeni EEZ. If it therefore is presumed that the incident took place inside the EEZ of Yemen, it should be known, which agreement the British Navy has with the Government of Yemen and if the British navy has filed a report with the Yemeni authorities. A clear position of the location of an incident would certainly also help to assess the factual and legal situation, but regularly such is either not provided or even forged by fishing-, merchant- or other vessels, which venture - for whatever reason - into the Somali waters and usually after something happens report false positions. Even the Anti-Piracy Centre in Kuala-Lumpur has no direct possibility to verify positions relayed to them, though the true position is known, at least when an automated distress signal is sent out via its satellite connection. But the true coordinates are often enough kept secret by the owners of the ship and their crew.

It is obvious in this case, that many media - maybe intentionally mislead by the British navy statement - also mix two separate incidences, one being the attack of "Somali pirates" in small, fast skiffs with outboard engines against the Danish freighter MV POWERFUL, which was repulsed allegedly by a joint operation launching helicopters from a Russian and the British warship and secondly an attack much later in the day by British commandos in semi-rigid inflatables launched from HMS Cumberland against a slow motorized Dhow under Yemen flag, having one skiff in tow. The two incidences might very well be connected, but so far the British Navy has failed to provide evidence which would proof that the people on the Dhow were connected in any way to the earlier attack against the merchant vessel. The British troops killed two Somali and one Yemeni National on the Dhow, allegedly in "self-defence" after having been fired upon from the Dhow, whose people on board didn’t want the troopers to stop or board the vessel..

What becomes apparent is the fact that so far the navies operating now in the anti-piracy operations do not report to the Somali or Yemeni Governments nor ultimately to the United Nations on whose resolutions they base their actions. Together with the respective states the United Nations therefore must be held responsible for unleashing naval powers but not controlling them, if in any case innocent people would be killed.

It also will be interesting to further investigate the Yemen, Dubai and Kenya connections in the whole piracy picture around the Horn of Africa. Regularly business people from Aden seem to be acting as investors for the pirate-gangs and even the re-fuelling for hi-jacked ships, which have run out of the commodity for their generators, is directly supplied by Dhows from Yemen and not from Somalia. Likewise the direct handling to manage the release-operations for the sea-jacked ships comes often from Yemen, Dubai or Kenya - some certainly genuine, but many obviously very questionable.

Even Roger Middleton, author of recent report on Somalia for the influential Chatham House foreign affairs think tank, said that despite sustaining casualties, he did not expect pirates to cease or even cut back on attempts to hijack merchant ships. "I don’t think it will scare them off,” he said.

Another regional analyst observes that the latest incident could easily trigger a more hostile, violent and even deadly response from Somali pirates toward British seamen abducted or stranded in Somalia and believes that there would have been other possibilities for the Type-22 frigate, HMS Cumberland, to get the people on the lame Dhow to surrender without firing a single shot. Even if that Dhow was one of the much wanted motherships of the pirates it would have been much better to apprehend it and all people on board properly without any killing also in order for an independent body to get more details about the network and modus operandi of the pirates. Russian analysts already wonder, why no British or US merchant vessels are sea-jacked. But with such operations as reported most likely a further escalation will be the outcome, observers believe and hope that an independent tribunal could interrogate the people arrested from that Dhow.

Since North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, according to a statement read by one of his staff today, was quick to praise the U.K.’s Royal Navy for its actions during a patrol in the Gulf of Aden, which resulted in two suspected Somali pirates and a Yemeni being killed, it is presumed that NATO has taken responsibility for the incident involving the British warship and the Yemeni Dhow and therefore NATO must also thoroughly investigate and present a final report on the true happenings.

Top Tourism Destinations in 2007

The World Tourism rankings are compiled by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) as part of their World Tourism Barometer publication.

Out of a global total of 903 million tourists in 2007, the following countries are the 50 most visited. For more 2007 data, as well as ranking of international tourism receipts, see the June 2008 issue.


Rank ↓ Country ↓ International tourist arrivals
1 France 81.9 million
2 Spain 59.2 million
3 United States 56 million
4 China 54.7 million
5 Italy 43.7 million
6 United Kingdom 30.7 million
7 Germany 24.4 million
8 Ukraine 23.1 million
9 Turkey 22.2 million
10 Mexico 21.4 million
11 Malaysia 21 million
12 Austria 20.8 million
13 Russia 20.2 million
14 Canada 17.9 million
15 Hong Kong 17.2 million
16 Greece 16 million (2006)
17 Poland 15 million
18 Thailand 14.5 million
19 Macau 12.9 million
20 Portugal 12.3 million
21 Saudi Arabia 11.5 million
22 Netherlands 11 million
23 Egypt 10.6 million
24 Croatia 9.3 million
25 South Africa 9.1 million
26 Hungary 9.6 million
27 Switzerland 8.4 million
28 Japan 8.3 million
29 Singapore 8 million
30 Ireland 8.0 (2006) million
31 Morocco 7.4 million
32 United Arab Emirates 7.1 (2005) million
33 Belgium 7 million
34 Tunisia 6.8 million
35 Czech Republic 6.7 million
36 South Korea 6.4 million
37 Indonesia 5.5 million
38 Sweden 5.2 million
39 Bulgaria 5.2 million
40 Australia 5.1 million (2006)
41 Brazil 5 million
42 India 5 million
43 Denmark 4.7 million (2006)
44 Argentina 4.6 million
45 Bahrain 4.5 million (2006)
46 Vietnam 4.2 million
47 Dominican Republic 4.0 million
48 Norway 3.9 million (2006)
49 Taiwan 3.7 million
50 Puerto Rico 3.7 million