This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Sunni / Shia violence escalates in Sidon in southern Lebanon
- Netanyahu: Israel is considering a new ground invasion of Gaza
- Israel fires a guided missile into Syria as a warning
- Palestinian leader Abbas tells Obama he’ll go ahead with U.N. bid
- Civilian and military suicide rates surge in United States
- Greece passes budget, waits nervously for bailout approval
Sunni / Shia violence escalates in Sidon in southern Lebanon
Hizbollah banners on the streets of Sidon (Daily Star)
A long-running disagreement about promotional banners from theterrorist group Hizbollah broke into violence in Sidon in southernLebanon on Sunday. A hardline Sunni Salafi cleric, Ahmad al-Assir,has been demanding that the Iranian-linked Shia terrorist groupHizbollah be required to remove a large number of promotional signsand banners cluttering the town. On Friday, al-Assir gave a 48-hourdeadline to remove all the pictures and banners in Sidon that “containslogans supportive of Hizbollah and its allies who back theSyrian-Iranian scheme.” A gunfight occurred between al-Assirsupporters and Hizbollah supporters, leaving at least four peoplekilled, including al-Assir’s bodyguard, and seven others wounded.Al-Assir claims that his dispute is with Iran and Hizbollah, not withall Shias. Lebanon’s army has been sent in to restore order.Naharnet (Beirut) and Al-Jazeera and Daily Star (Beirut)
Netanyahu: Israel is considering a new ground invasion of Gaza
Violence has escalated sharply between Israel and Gaza in the last 24hours, with over 100 rockets and mortar shells from Gaza strikingsouthern Lebanon, wounding three people. It’s believed that theterror group Islamic Jihad launched the attacks. Israel’s primeminister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be preparing internationalpublic opinion for an Israeli military operation into Gaza, perhapssimilar to Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s 2008 invasion of Gaza.According to defense minister Ehud Barak
“If we are forced to go back into Gaza in order todeal Hamas a [serious] blow and restore security for all ofIsrael’s citizens, then we will not hesitate to do so.
It is Hamas that will pay the price; a price that will bepainful.”
There are reports that Egyptian intelligence officials have rushedinto the situation to broker an end to the violence, and there aremixed reports about whether Islamic Jihad even wants the violence toend. Jerusalem Post and YNet (Tel Aviv)
Israel fires a guided missile into Syria as a warning
Until Sunday, Israel has not fired at Syria since the 1973 Yom Kippurwar. But two Syrian shells landed in the Golan Heights during thelast few days, and so Israel fired a guided missile into Syria as awarning shot. “We don’t believe it caused injuries or damages,”according to an Israeli army spokesman. At the same time, Israel senta warning message to the United Nations, saying that any firing intoIsrael will result “in a real response.” According to an Israeliofficial,
“We will not accept any firing into our territory.This was a signal to the Syrians, that we will not be so forgivingof everything that lands in a territory.”
Israel says that it doesn’t want to be dragged any further into theSyrian conflict. Jerusalem Post
Palestinian leader Abbas tells Obama he’ll go ahead with U.N. bid
U.S. President Barack Obama made a personal call on Sunday toPalestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas told Obama that,despite Obama’s objections, he would go ahead with the bid to getUnited Nations General Assembly recognition of the state of Palestine.The vote is expected to be taken later this month, and the resolutionis expected to pass. AP and Reuters
Civilian and military suicide rates surge in United States
A study conducted by University of Cambridge (UK) researchers hasfound that the suicide rate in America for both civilians and themilitary has surged significantly since the financial crisis began in2007. The suicide rate began increasing gradually since 1999, thebeginning year of the study, but really shot up starting in 2007, whenthe financial crisis began. It was found that a 1 percentage pointrise in the unemployment rate was associated with a 1% increase in thesuicide rate, and that unemployment could account for about a quarterof the excess suicides, the rest being attributed to the economy ingeneral. In the military, the most common reason for hospitalizationof Army personnel is now admission for some type of psychiatricillness, including PTSD, depression, other anxiety disorders, orsubstance abuse. Approximately 15% of US infantry personnelexperience some sort of PTSD symptoms post deployment. Emaxhealth and The Lancet (PDF)
Greece passes budget, waits nervously for bailout approval
Greece’s parliament passed a harsh budget late Sunday night, raisingthe retirement age from 65 to 67, cutting wages for soldiers andpublic officials by 500 euros per month, and cutting pensions by 150euros per month. Even so, it won’t be enough. Greece’s economy hasbeen contracting for six years in a row, and a 4 1/2% contraction isexpected next year. Greece has passed its budget at the last minute,which may nor may not leave enough time for European leaders to reacha judgment to give Greece its next bailout payment in time to avoidbankruptcy on Wednesday. Kathimerini
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