G8 about Mid East Crisis

CNN: G8 statement about Mid East Conflict, calling for

• the safe return of the Israeli soldiers who were abducted in Gaza and Lebanon,
• an end to shelling of Israeli territory,
• an end to Israeli military operations -- including the early withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza
• the release of the arrested Palestinian ministers and parliamentarians.

Despite the agreements expressed in the statement, the G8 countries are divided over who is to blame and how to move forward, with France, Russia and Italy believing Israel went too far in its actions.
The divergence in world opinion underscored the need for intervention by people who know the complexities of the region well, observers said.
In Washington, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, called on U.S. President George W. Bush to send high-level emissaries to the region to try to halt the violence.
She cited former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton as having the stature needed to bring about positive change.

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Today is July 17. On a July 17 an war ended - the Hundred Years War - and another war started - The Spanish Civil War.