Ready for the new president

The New York Times has an article by Ethan Bronner about Gaza:

After more than three weeks of fighting, Israel completed its withdrawal of forces from Gaza early on Wednesday, despite cease-fire violations on Tuesday, and the continued sound of what seemed to be naval gunfire in the waters off the Mediterranean coastline. But the troops redeployed on the perimeter of the war-battered enclave, where more than 1,300 Palestinians died in the Israeli campaign against Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, died, according to military officials. A military spokesman in Tel Aviv, speaking in return for customary anonymity, said: “The last troops left Gaza this morning and they redeployed around the Gaza Strip.” In their new positions, he said, the troops were “prepared for any occurrences”. The spokesman also said reservists called up during the offensive, which ended with separate cease-fires declared last weekend by Israel and Hamas, were being discharged “little by little”.
But the spokesman had no immediate comment on what Gaza residents said seemed to be naval gunfire that persisted Wednesday. On Tuesday, Israeli gunboats offshore occasionally fired warning shots at boats that ventured too close. During the offensive, Israel moved against Hamas by land, sea, and air in a campaign aimed in part at preventing Hamas from firing rockets and other weapons out of Gaza into southern Israel. On Tuesday, however, Israeli troops twice came under fire, and eight mortar shells were shot at Israel, all falling short. Israel responded with air strikes on the launching sites.
As the Israeli withdrawal continued on Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians supported Hamas at four rallies here while the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, visited to express support for those who had suffered in the war. Mr. Ban, the highest-ranking international figure to come to Gaza since the war, visited the United Nations compound, damaged by an Israeli strike. He called the attack “outrageous” and demanded an investigation. He said Israel had used excessive force in Gaza. After touring the area, Mr. Ban called the destruction “shocking and alarming”. Later, he visited Sderot, the southern Israeli town that has long borne the brunt of Hamas rocket fire, and said using rockets against civilians violated international law. Still, he said, Israel should lift its border closing on Gaza, strangling its economy.
The pro-Hamas rallies in Gaza, in four cities, produced a blaze of green Hamas flags as marchers walked past the devastation from Israeli air raids. In Gaza City, the march passed the United Nations headquarters as Mr. Ban spoke, and Gaza’s main security headquarters, now rubble, ending in front of the Parliament building, also in ruins.
A Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radwan, told the crowd that Israel had not achieved its goals. To several questions, the crowd roared a response. “Have they killed Hamas?” he asked. “No!” “Have they killed the government?” “No!” “Have they dismantled the resistance?” “No!” He added that Hamas aimed to get Israel to open the border crossings to commercial traffic. “We are aiming for the liberation of all of Palestine,” he said. The rallies called for international recognition of Hamas as the government here. Most governments in the West and Israel are trying to avoid that prospect.
Tzipi Livni, Israel’s foreign minister, said Israel had achieved its objectives in the war and had sent Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, and Iran a message that it would respond if attacked. She opposed any dialogue with Hamas, adding, “It is a terrorist organization.” The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, told the visiting Italian foreign minister, Franco Frattini, that Israel would take part in reconstructing Gaza only if Hamas did not lead the process.
An Arab meeting in Kuwait aimed at helping Gaza ended in disarray. In Kuwait, the Arab heads of state condemned Israel’s “barbaric aggression” and demanded an investigation. While urging the reconstruction of Gaza, the group failed to explain how it would carry it out. The Arab leaders remained divided on how to respond to Israel’s Gaza offensive. Qatar and Syria support Hamas. Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia want to help the Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank under President Mahmoud Abbas.

Rico asks can you say clusterfuck? "Failed to explain" is diplomatic language for "don't have a fucking clue"...