Internecine Feuds

(Newser) - The price of oil jumped to $40 a barrel this morning, a gain of 8% over the previous session, as violence between Israel and Hamas threatened to destabilize crude supplies from the Middle East. Oil has been rising slightly after falling by more than $100 a barrel since July. The president of OPEC said this weekend he expected the price of oil to stabilize over the next two months as output cuts take hold. More »

(Newser) - Israel's bombardment of Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip is the start of a military operation likely to last several weeks, the Jerusalem Post reports. The assault—one of the deadliest in the 60-year conflict—has killed 230 Palestinians, including at least three senior Hamas officers, notes Haaretz . Hamas vowed revenge, calling for a new uprising and more suicide attacks in Israel. More »

(Newser) - It's no surprise that Israel has struck back at Hamas, but the intensity of the attacks "appeared to stun Western governments and analysts," writes Michael Abramowitz of the Washington Post . Barack Obama's camp has remained largely mum so far on the air assaults that have killed more than 200, but it will likely come under pressure to rein in Israel. In the meantime, any hope Obama had of an early Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement has gone up in smoke. More »

(Newser) - Egypt called Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip "murder" today as world leaders appealed for peace in the region, the AFP and Jerusalem Post report. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he was "deeply alarmed" by the violence, and, like Russia and the European Union, called for a ceasefire. Egypt opened its border checkpoint to allow care for injured Gazans, whose numbers have topped 400. More »

(Newser) - Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister, said today that her country would "do everything necessary" to fight Gaza militants, as four rockets landed near kibbutzes in the Negev. The chief diplomat and PM candidate met with Eygptian president Hosni Mubarak, who urged both sides to restrain themselves. Yesterday Hamas launched more than 80 rockets into Israel, prompting the Cabinet to prepare for military action, Haaretz reports. More »

(Newser) - After years of frosty relations with George W Bush, the president of Syria is looking for a new diplomatic start with Barack Obama in 2009. In an interview with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, Bashar al-Assad says he is willing to work with the United States to stabilize Iraq, and that he would consider direct talks with Israel in the future. "We can't turn the clock back," Assad said. More »

(AP) - Thailand's prime minister unveiled his new cabinet today, including a supporter of last month's airport blockade in a lineup that cast doubt on the government's ability to unite the divided nation, the AP reports. The announcement came after King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the country's revered monarch, endorsed Abhisit Vejjajiva, whom lawmakers voted in as prime minister on Dec. 15. The cabinet will be sworn in Monday. More »

(AP) - A UN court has convicted the organizer of the 1994 Rwandan genocide that claimed more than 500,000 lives and sentenced him to life in prison, reports the AP. Théoneste Bagosora was found guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as the deaths of a Rwandan prime minister and Belgian peacekeepe