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Geopolitics

Israel Weighs Ground Offensive As Gaza Rockets Increase

JERUSALEM POST, HAARETZ, IDF (Israel), AL-AYYAM(Palestinian Territory), CNN (USA)

Worldcrunch

Israeli politicians were divided on Monday over the possibility of military ground operations in the Gaza Strip, as rockets rained down on Israel for the third day in a row, reported the Jerusalem Post.

Opposition leader Shelly Yacimovich told Army Radio she was against intensive military action: "We are on the eve of elections, and operations beyond air attacks or targeted strikes require stability and national consensus at home."

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz disagreed, saying that over time, rocket fire would hit closer and closer to Israel's center, and said Israel "cannot simply adjust and shield itself."

At a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was prepared to intensify its response: “The world needs to understand that Israel will not sit idly by in the face of attempts to attack us.”

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip continued to fire rockets at southern Israel on Monday, despite Egyptian efforts to mediate between Israel and Hamas to reach a cease-fire agreement, reported Haaretz.

According to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), more than 114 rockets have hit southern Israel since Saturday.

How did your day begin? Here in #Israel, a rocket fired from #Gaza hit a house. twitter.com/IDFSpokesperso…

— IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) November 12, 2012

Israeli airstrikes hit Palestinian targets in Gaza overnight, scoring direct hits on a "terror tunnel" and a weapons storage facility, reported CNN.

"The Israeli Defense Forces will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli civilians, and will operate against anyone who uses terror against the State of Israel," said an Israel Defense Forces statement on Monday.

In the southern Israeli city of Netivot, classes were canceled in all schools that are not fortified against rockets, said Haaretz.

Since Saturday, the violence has left six Palestinians dead, including four civilians, and 40 wounded, including four Israeli soldiers.

Meanwhile, on Monday Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam quoted on its front page President Mahmoud Abbas as saying "We will go to New York despite the enormous pressure to abandon."

On Sunday, Abbas announced that he was going to the U.N. this month to ask the General Assembly to recognize an independent Palestine. "Some powers are trying to tell us that the two-state solution doesn't come from the U.N. but through negotiations," he said. "Negotiations are crucial. But to get U.N. recognition is also key."

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Economy

Lex Tusk? How Poland’s Controversial "Russian Influence" Law Will Subvert Democracy

The new “lex Tusk” includes language about companies and their management. But is this likely to be a fair investigation into breaking sanctions on Russia, or a political witch-hunt in the business sphere?

Photo of President of the Republic of Poland Andrzej Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda

Piotr Miaczynski, Leszek Kostrzewski

-Analysis-

WARSAW — Poland’s new Commission for investigating Russian influence, which President Andrzej Duda signed into law on Monday, will be able to summon representatives of any company for inquiry. It has sparked a major controversy in Polish politics, as political opponents of the government warn that the Commission has been given near absolute power to investigate and punish any citizen, business or organization.

And opposition politicians are expected to be high on the list of would-be suspects, starting with Donald Tusk, who is challenging the ruling PiS government to return to the presidency next fall. For that reason, it has been sardonically dubbed: Lex Tusk.

University of Warsaw law professor Michal Romanowski notes that the interests of any firm can be considered favorable to Russia. “These are instruments which the likes of Putin and Orban would not be ashamed of," Romanowski said.

The law on the Commission for examining Russian influences has "atomic" prerogatives sewn into it. Nine members of the Commission with the rank of secretary of state will be able to summon virtually anyone, with the powers of severe punishment.

Under the new law, these Commissioners will become arbiters of nearly absolute power, and will be able to use the resources of nearly any organ of the state, including the secret services, in order to demand access to every available document. They will be able to prosecute people for acts which were not prohibited at the time they were committed.

Their prerogatives are broader than that of the President or the Prime Minister, wider than those of any court. And there is virtually no oversight over their actions.

Nobody can feel safe. This includes companies, their management, lawyers, journalists, and trade unionists.

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