16/11/2012 BBC World News

The Egyptian prime minister calls Israeli attacks on Gaza a disaster

and demands an end to the violence during a short visit to the

territory. Plumes of smoke can be seen in Gaza

as a ceasefire for the PM's visit appeared to have been violated by

both sides. Britain welcomes Syria's new

opposition coalition for talks in London as new video images of a

bombing by the Syrian air force on the town of Taftanaz.

Welcome to BBC World News. Also in the next half-hour, Obama and

Republican leaders wrestle on the edge of a fiscal cliff over tax and

spending. Plus, Ikea and the Stasi prisons.

The Swedish furniture giant addresses claims that it used

forced labour in communist East Germany.

Egypt's prime minister has condemned Israeli attacks on Gaza

as a disaster during a short visit to the territory. Hisham Qandil

said during a three-hour visit that Israel's aggression must stop.

Overnight, the Israeli military struck at more than 130 targets and

militants fired 11 rockets from Gaza into Israel. Since Wednesday,

when the offensive began, at least 20 Palestinians and three Israelis

have been killed. I am in a town in southern Israel.

It has suffered several more rocket attacks from Gaza in the last few

hours. You can see behind me, many people in those tower blocks had to

run for air raid shelters this morning. A siren sounded. Not many

people are on the streets. Not many cars are driving. People are

nervous that there will be further rocket attacks. So far, Israel's

military operation in Gaza has, according to the Israeli military,

hit 450, as they call them, terrorist activity sites. The death

toll on the Palestinian side stands at 21. On this side of the border

in Israel, three civilians have died. They were hit yesterday when

a block of flats was hit by rocket fire from inside -- a rocket fired

from inside Gaza. The Egyptian Prime Minister was in Gaza today as

a show of solidarity with Palestinians. He said he would be

trying to mediate a ceasefire. Hisham Qandil said he was disgusted

by what he had seen. TRANSLATION: The whole world should

show its responsibility towards this aggression. Israel should

respect the agreement it has signed. This strategy needs immediate

intervention from all parties. This is what Egypt has started, and will

continue working on until we hold that the aggression and have

Palestinian unity for the sake of these people, so that peace can be

achieved with the establishment of a Palestinian state whose capital

will be Jerusalem. Brothers, Palestine is the heartbeat of the

Arab nation and the heartbeat of the Islamic nation. The nation will

not be healthy if its heart is suffering. Those who have beliefs

should be patient and steadfast. They will be victorious. I salute

the great Palestinian people. God's peace be upon you. That was the

Egyptian prime minister, on his brief visit to Gaza today. Let's

join our correspondent in Cairo. This visit was clearly a show of

solidarity by the new Egyptian government with the Palestinians in

Gaza? Very much so. You heard Hisham Qandil say in the kinds of

things that Palestinians and Arabs want to hear, and catching it in

the language they like. It was very powerful from the Arab point of

view. But also in terms of symbolism, there was one point in

his speech where he said he helped carry the body of a little boy

inside the hospital, and that boy's bloodstains were on his clothes.

Those words will resonate around the Arab world, because they will

show that Egypt, the most populous Arab country, seen as a diplomatic

leader, is a powerful force in the Arab world and is standing more

closely with the Palestinians than it did in the days of Hosni Mubarak.

We heard from Hamas that they make a sharp distinction between what

they call the Egypt of today and the Egypt of yesterday. That

matters not just in terms of the symbolism, but practically, too.

Egypt is a crucial diplomatic player in this. Lines of

communications both to Hamas and Israel. So we look to Hisham Qandil

for clues about what kind of solution Egypt might want to broker.

Hamas will hope that Egypt leans its way in any solution that might

be possible in the short to medium term.

And although he was offering his support to the Palestinian people

in Gaza, the Egyptian government do still have lines of communication

with the Israeli government? They do. They withdrew their ambassador

at the start of this, with minimum political response. But there is a

history of intelligence co- operation. There are back channels.

We understand the powerful head of Egyptian military intelligence was

on that delegation today. He is working on this. Frankly, the

prospect for a ceasefire does not look promising in the short term

because there was that exchange of fire out of Gaza and the Israeli

military response while the Prime Minister was still there. But if

there is to be a solution, it Egyptian diplomacy will be at the

heart of it. In the last few minutes, we have learnt that

tomorrow, Egypt is facilitating a visit to Gaza by the Tunisian

foreign minister. That is a reminder to Israel and the wider

world that Egypt has a land frontier with Gaza. It can allow in

and out whomever it likes. So it can keep up pressure on Israel by

facilitating those kinds of visits, which will resonate in the Middle

East and increase that sense of pressure on Israel, and reduce the

Gazan sense of isolation, which in part was a big factor in the

politics of this. For the duration of the Egyptian

prime minister's visit today, there was supposed to be a ceasefire. It

did not work out that way, both sides accusing each other of

shattering the ceasefire. Let's go to Wyre Davies, our correspondent

in Gaza. When the Egyptian Prime Minister came, we still had rockets

being fired out from Gaza and apparently Israeli air strikes

continuing? I was in Gaza City today during the prime minister's

visit, and I certainly heard incoming air strikes which will

probably, although we can't be certain, Israeli air strikes. At

the hospital, two dozen civilians were brought, victims of an Israeli

air strike during the Prime Minister's visit. The accusation

from both sides is that this three hour truce did not hold. The signs

are therefore not good for a longer term ceasefire. After these two

days of rockets going out and heavy Israeli air strikes, the concern is

that Israeli is preparing for a ground invasion to finish the job.

For many here, that will bring back terrible memories of an operation

four years ago, when more than 1000 Palestinians were killed when

Israel sent in its tanks and troops. Israel has been warned by many of

its supporters, including Britain this morning, that it might lose

support if it were to send in tanks. And how much support is there for

Hamas and the other militant groups in the Gaza Strip? Are people

behind the militants? They are. Despite incessant air strikes from

Israel, of which there were 130 plus last night, nobody in Gaza got

any sleep and it was terrifying to be here because a lot of these

rockets hit near populated areas, Israel says those strikes were

against militant positions, but they also hit government buildings

in the middle of Gaza City. There were civilian casualties.

Nonetheless, people on the ground see Israel as the aggressor. Israel

says this action was precipitated by hundreds of rockets being fired

out of Gaza towards its territory. But the feeling here is that Hamas

authorities have the backing of the people. Having said that, the last

thing they want is another war with Israel.

The situation has been escalating since it began. We can hear now

from the senior director of the United Nations Relief Works Agency.

It employs hundreds of Palestinian workers inside Gaza. He told me he

is worried about the escalating situation. The Week in the United

Nations are extremely concerned. Just yesterday, I lost a college.

We lost a valued staff member. He was in northern Gaza to pick up his

brother, who was in harm's way. Driving back home, there was an air

strike near his car. He was killed almost immediately. His brother was

badly injured. He was a 52-year-old teacher and a civilian. That is a

tragic illustration of what can happen when these situations occur.

I have been here for six years and lived through the operation four

years ago. The situation of rockets and air strikes it is unsustainable.

Ban Ki-Moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, has been

working the phones over the last 48 hours. He has been in touch with

regional leaders, urging restraint. Make no mistake, we serve 1.1

million refugees in Gaza. Women, children, the sick, the elderly,

the dying. That should be the central for all of our thoughts and

diplomacy. We in the United Nations, the world's top diplomat, Ban Ki-

Moon, included, have a more authority. Our work is informed by

moral values. They have to prevail. You say it is unsustainable, but

the last time there was an operation like this, it went on for

a long time and hundreds of people died on the Palestinian side, 1400,

and 13 on the Israeli side. Where I say it is unsustainable, and this

is a worthy Secretary General regularly uses, I mean that to have

a situation where the people of southern Israel and the people of

Gaza are subjected to either rockets or air strikes, is

unsustainable. Peace has to be found. That is what I mean. Long-

term, this conflict is unsustainable. Let me show you the

picture here in this town in southern Israel where we have had

several more rocket attacks coming in this morning. On the beach

normally on a Friday before the Sabbath, it would be packed. You

can see it is almost completely empty. There are a few hardy souls,

who despite the continuing rocket attacks, are still on the beach.

When the rockets come in, Israel's anti-missile protection system

kicks in. These are batteries that fire missiles into the sky to

intercept the Palestinian rockets as they come in. Usually, that

anti-missile shield is pretty effective. But yesterday, we saw

three civilians killed in a nearby town. That is the latest from here.

Let's show you some live pictures coming to us out of Tel Aviv. They

have been sounding the air raid sirens in Tel Aviv, Israel's

commercial capital and Israel's biggest city. An explosion has also

been heard, according to a witness. Palestinians in Gaza have fired two

rockets towards the city, one falling into the sea, according to

a security source, and the other landing in a suburb of Tel Aviv.

But it caused no damage or casualties. The distance between

Tel Aviv and the border is about 20 miles. The key thing is that it is

the first time since 1991, the first Gulf war, you have to go that

far back to get to a time when Tel Aviv was on the receiving end of

You're watching BBC World News. Still to come: The sofa made by

political prisoners in Stasi camps. The Swedish furniture giant Ikea

addresses claims it used forced Relatives of a man who was shot and

killed by the UN peacekeeping force in the disputed Sudanese region of

Abyei claim that he was attempting to prevent angry youths from

destroying a mosque. The man who died was a local employee of the UN.

It comes as the long running struggle to resolve the status of

this territory, which is claimed by Sudan and South Sudan, approaches a

new deadline. Our world affairs correspondent, Mike Wooldridge is

in Abyei. The struggling the border between

Sudan and at South Sudan, Abyei has been a place of conflict. There is

damage to all of these buildings in this main town, evidence of the

legacy of that conflict. The last major violence was in 2011. This

remains a volatile place even though there are peace keepers here

since that fighting. A few days ago, outside this mosque on the other

side of the road, there was a confrontation between a group from

the Northern Misseriya tribe, and local Dinka users. It ended in one

of the Dinka being shot and killed by one of the United Nations

peacekeepers. It turned out he was a member of the peacekeeping force,

a local member. This has heightened the sensitivities here in this town

at a critical time. There has been a referendum on the books for a

long time, over the status of this territory, whether it should remain

with Sudan or join the newly independent country of South Sudan.

That two countries have been arguing over it. Khartoum says it

does not accept current proposals of who should be able to vote in

that referendum, and it seems to prefer partitioning this territory.

The south is hoping -- is hoping the whole territory will go to the

south. The African Union has set a date for compromise. Otherwise it

will impose a referendum in October of next year. The question is

whether that would bring a final resolution of this very long-

running conflict, and a sure future to South Sudan. Or, whether it

would simply mean all of the underlying issues which are at play

here, continuing. And peace still This is BBC World News. The

headlines: The sound of a large explosion has been heard in Tel

Aviv, and sirens have sounded as Hamas continues to fire rockets

from Gaza into Israel. Leaders of Syria's newly formed

unified opposition coalition are holding talks with the British

government in London today, in the Jamie joins me now with the

business. President Obama meets with

Congressional leaders at the White House later today, for the first

time since the election, to try and break the deadlock over next year's

budget. In case you need reminding, the fear is that, without a deal,

the US economy will fall off a "fiscal cliff". Current tax cuts

and government spending will expire on the 31st of December, taking

$600 billion out of the economy, if they are not replaced. Estimates of

the possible impact vary. Some economists say it could cost the US

over two million jobs, and cut GDP by at least 0.5% or even push the

US back into recession. The uncertainty is taking its toll on

many US businesses, as Ben Thompson reports from New York State.

In upstate New York, this company is assembling parts for planes,

commercial and military. It is position skilled work and in a

region where manufacturing has all but disappeared, the firm has

created some much-needed jobs. Despite the recession, business

here is good. This firm employees 90 people from all over the local

area and it wants to expand even more. But the firm is worried about

its future. It has been put him off big investment decisions over the

concern of what the next few weeks could bring. The boss told me that

the uncertainty has taken its toll. The US Air Force is one of his

biggest customers. But the package of tax rises and spending cuts due

to come into force also include a big reduction in defence spending.

And that would hit business here as well. I would say it on buying new

equipment, it has affected us. We have had discussions with our key

staff and said we will wait to see and will after this situation is

resolved until we make a decision about when and how many pieces of

equipment we decide to buy. That has been replicated right across

America. Many firms are sitting on cash reserves, waiting for some

direction over when and how to invest it. So, our lawmakers that

you to reach a deal, or will America and its economy teeter

closer to the edge? Just before the end of the year, we will get a

compromise, a temporary solution to the most important items, so that

we do not hit an extreme form of fiscal Cliff, and it buys some time

to negotiate a more comprehensive agreement. But that will be a

little help for small firms. It may avert the looming deadline, but it

does little to inspire confidence. We are that the mercy of the folks

in Washington, that's the way everybody is. Hopefully they will

do the right thing. From one fiscal cliff to another.

Japan appears to be heading for its seventh prime minister in six years,

after premier Yoshihiko Noda dissolved parliament this afternoon,

and called snap elections for next month. Early elections were one of

the key demands of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, in return

for its support for an emergency legislation, to stop Japan falling

off its own fiscal cliff. Our Tokyo correspondent, Rupert

Wingfield-Hayes, says the deal on the new borrowing came just in time.

The Japanese Prime Minister said, if you did not get this through by

the end of this month, which is not very far away, the Japanese

government would grind to a halt in early December because it simply

does not have any money left. The Japanese government is in the

extraordinary situation, not unlike the US, of not raising enough taxes

to pay for its spending. At this time every year they run out of

money and they have to push through an emergency budget bill to finance

the rest of the year's spending. That is what they have been

fighting over for quite a long time. It's getting quite close to the

edge, finally they have pushed it through in this deal which is

bringing about an early election. For The Swedish furniture chain

Ikea is to publish a report later into allegations that it used

forced labour by East German political prisoners during the

1960s and '70s. Former prisoners of the Stasi secret police say they

were forced to work on furniture, after Ikea gave contracts to East

Germany's communist government. Ikea has asked an outside firm of

accountants to investigate the allegations.

Stephen Evans explains what we know about the relationship between Ikea,

the East German government, and political prisoners.

We know that contracts were given to the east German government. And

we also know that former prisoners of the star sea macro secret police,

political prisoners, say they recognise that furniture.

Furthermore, some people who escaped from East Germany in those

years then wrote to Ikea saying, I was making your furniture. What we

do not know is whether I kier, how much I'd hear you about the

contracts. -- Ikea. Britain's Foreign Secretary has

hinted his government may soon formally recognise Syria's newly

formed opposition coalition. William Hague was speaking as he

held talks with the group in London. Such recognition could lead to

western countries providing weapons to the rebels. Inside Syria, rebels

continue to be pounded by the Syrian air force. These pictures

from Thursday, posted online. Show bombing in Taftanaz, a northern

town located between Idlib and Aleppo.

Let us go back to what is happening in Gaza City, and 20 kilometres

over the border into Tel Aviv, we have had reports of one, maybe two

rockets landing in or near Tel Aviv. Reuters reporting on that.

What are you hearing, what are you saying? I am five kilometres from

the centre of Tel Aviv. Half an hour ago, we heard an explosion, a

single distinct explosion. The sirens didn't sound in this area

but we could hear them sounding in Tel Aviv. I have friends in Tel

Aviv who said they headed to a shelter. It must be worrying for

local president's macro who are well within the range of Hamas?

residents. It has been a long time since anything like this has

threatened Tel Aviv, not since the Gulf war.

It doesn't look as if both sides are reminded to walk away from

this? No, it is crucial, this threatening with attacks reaching

as far as Tel Aviv, because Tel Aviv has been described as a bubble

where it is possible to live on the beautiful coastline of Israel, and

or less on a day-to-day basis, ignore the continuation of the

conflict with the Palestinians. Now, it is coming home to roost. Because

Hamas has now a quiet, this is new, Brocket's which can reach as far as

Tel Aviv, that should concentrate minds over what should the long-

term solution to this crisis be? So that the Hamas leadership in Gaza

is not tempted to smuggle in even more sophisticated weapons for the

next time there is a crisis. Looking at Twitter, one saying, we

are shelling Tel Aviv with a home- made projectile. What It is a are

using doesn't matter, it is the symbolism of the fact they can do

it. There is talk in the Israeli press, it is necessary once again