Gaza: Events leading up to cease-fire

No apologies for using RT - they have been giving good, balanced coverage of this.  I will provide other, non-western media coverage in the next few weeks.

Bus explodes in central Tel Aviv, first terror attack in the city since 2006

Twenty-eight people have been injured in a bus bombing in central Tel Aviv at the corner of of Shaul Hamelech and Henrietta Szold Streets. Police say the blast was a terrorist attack.

RT,

21 November, 2012

IDF Spokesperson Leibovitz confirmed on twitter that the bomb went off near the Israel Defence Ministry’s offices.

Authorities raised security in the area to a level-4 alert. Bystanders were ordered to stay away from the scene as police closed off the nearby Azrieli Center compound, though no additional terror plots are suspected.

Police have been checking all bags in the area, but children are now allowed to go home after initially being ordered to stay inside their schools.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokesperson also confirmed the bombing was a terrorist attack. 

The bomb was triggered remotely. Another explosive that did not detonate was reportedly found on the bombed bus.

Police are searching for two people involved in the attack, contradicting previous reports of a single suspect. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the bomber flee the scene, Israeli radio said.

They say they took a man into custody about half an hour after the explosion, but have since released him.

Conflicting accounts of the culprit behind the attack have emerged. The Group of the Martyr Jihad Jibril, a wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades, considered Fatah's military wing, both claimed responsibility, according to media reports.

Hamas “blessed” the attack in Tel Aviv and called it a natural response to the Israeli killing of the Al-Dalou family and other civilians in Gaza, Hamas-affiliated Al Aqsa TV reported.

This bombing is the first one in Tel Aviv since 2006.

sraeli police survey the scene after an explosion on a bus in Tel Aviv November 21, 2012 (Reuters / Nir Elias)

Israeli emergency personnel stand at the scene after an explosion on a bus in Tel Aviv November 21, 2012 (Reuters / Nir Elias)

Image from twitter.com @Vostvitzech

Israeli medics wheel a wounded man from the scene of an explosion in Tel Aviv November 21, 2012 (Reuters / Nir Elias)

Image from tweeter.com @lennybendavid One person was arrested in Ramat Gan, suspected of involvement in the bombing, but later released.

IDF official checks all bags in area for possible explosives (Image from twitter.com @PaulaSlier_RT)

Israel launches massive airstrikes on Gaza after Tel Aviv bombing

Israeli forces have launched numerous missile attacks on Gaza, killing at least 6 after a bomb struck a bus in Tel Aviv, injuring 16. It is the eighth day of Israel’s ‘Pillar of Defense’ campaign, which has killed over 130 Palestinians so far.

RT,

21 November, 2012

Israeli war jets pummeled Gaza’s Al-Yarmouk football stadium with more than 10 consecutive attacks, Al Jazeera reports. Several casualties were reported following the assault.

The IDF claimed they are striking key Hamas targets, while the Palestinian Authority criticized the attacks for killing civilians.

The escalation of attacks comes off the back of a bomb attack on a Tel Aviv bus that left 16 people injured. Israel’s government called an emergency meeting in response to the first terrorist bombing in the city since 2006.

Israeli authorities have raised security in the area to a level 4 alert and have begun a manhunt for the two suspects.

Hamas spokesperson, Sami Abu Zuhri praised the Tel Aviv bus bombing to the press, but did not say Hamas was behind it. He said that Hamas viewed the explosion as “a natural response to the Israeli massacres…in Gaza.”

"Palestinian factions will resort to all means in order to protect our Palestinian civilians in the absence of a world effort to stop the Israeli aggression," Abu Zuhri said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Israel and the West Bank in order to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Gaza.

Clinton also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on her diplomatic trip to the region, where she vowed that US support for Israel is “rock solid,” and that “the rocket attacks from terrorist organizations inside Gaza on Israeli cities and towns must end.”

The US blocked a UN Security Council proposal by Morocco for a ceasefire on Tuesday evening, calling it“unbalanced.” US officials argued that the proposal failed to identify “the root cause of the current escalation,” which they claim is the continuing barrage of rocket attacks from Gaza directed against Israel.

The statement would have been adopted automatically had the US not blocked it. Other members of the Security Council criticized America for blocking the statement, with Russia accusing Washington of attempting to “filibuster”negotiations.

Screenshot from AFP video.