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A Month of Terrorism
June 2002
The War Against Israel
Compiled by
Dr. Michael L. Ford Jonsquill Ministries Jonsquillministries.org
1 June 2002 SYRIA SUPPLYING ROCKETS TO HIZBOLLAH; TAKING OVER PRESIDENCY OF UN SECURITY COUNCIL
In recent weeks Syria has been manufacturing and supplying weapons, including long-range Katyusha rockets, directly to the militant Hezbollah organization in southern Lebanon. Israeli Channel One television reported Friday evening the Syrians had been providing Hezbollah with weapons from Iran, but these weapons did not include long-range Katyusha rockets. In recent weeks, however, Damascus has begun supplying Hezbollah with Syrian-made Katyusha rockets with a range of 60-70 kilometers.[1] Since the IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, Hezbollah has carried out operations in the Shaba Farms area on a regular basis. In a bizarre twist, almost immediately after this report another was also made regarding Syria. Beginning today, Syria takes over the presidency of the powerful UN Security Council for the next month. The position rotates among its 15 members - and no presidency in recent years will be more closely watched than this one. Syria won a two-year term on the council starting Jan. 1 with overwhelming support from the international community and no opposition from the United States, despite its prominent position on the U.S. list of nations sponsoring terrorism. The council president has significant influence over the council's agenda during his month in the chair, and can delay discussion of some subjects and push pet issues. "This puts the Syrian government into a position of enormous responsibility and their many talented diplomats will have to reflect a broad global perspective and not just a regional window on the world." This was said by former U.S. Sen. Timothy Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation, which disperses media mogul Ted Turner's 1 billion dollar gift to U.N. causes. Traditionally, the foreign ministers of countries with rotating council seats come to New York to preside at meetings, count votes for resolutions, and bang the gavel for adjournment. There is no confirmation at this time that Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa would be coming to New York, but diplomats said the minister is expected to preside at an open council meeting focusing on the search for a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East. Syria's election was denounced by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, whose spokesman called it "a real bad joke," and American Jewish groups that said it was absurd to have a country that backs terrorism dealing with the global fight against terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks.
2 June 2002 40 TERRORIST ATTACKS THWARTED
Avi Dichter, head of Israel's Security Agency, reportedly said during the most recent cabinet meeting. "There have been 40 attempted suicide bombing attacks which have been prevented since the end of Operation Defensive Shield," Dichter said the attacks were mainly initiated by the Tanzim, military wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction. Dichter urged the Prime Minister to set up a permanent presence in Area A (PA territories) until buffers are put in place. However, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he would like to see a continuous presence outside the area, capable of entering and leaving as needed. Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad, the coordinator of government policy in the territories, told the PM that the Tanzim terrorists have not received the message that it is time to stop terror. Soldiers arrested nine Palestinians Sunday morning[2] in the Nablus area of the West Bank including four women who had planned to carry out a suicide bombing, Israeli security officials say. The arrests are the latest in a several day sweep of the area by IDF forces, that has netted about 200 terror suspects, sources say. The women, in their early twenties and students at An Najah University in Nablus, were detained in the Rafidiyeh neighborhood of Nablus. They come from Jericho, Tulkarm and Nablus, the officials say. The women are believed to have planned to perpetrate at least one suicide bombing attack against Israelis.
3 June 2002 PRISONERS IN JERICHO HAVING 'VERY EASY TIME', ISRAELI CABINET TOLD
The six Palestinian terrorists who were taken from Ramallah to Jericho last month after Britain and the US promised to ensure their incarceration, are not being held in the type of conditions Israel expected, Shin Bet Director Avi Dichter told the cabinet yesterday. Dichter said Karine A paymaster Fuad Shubaki and the five Palestinians involved in the killing of tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi are being held in very lenient conditions in a Jericho jail. According to Dichter, the Palestinians are free to mingle among themselves and receive unlimited visitors. According to a diplomatic official, the US and British monitors know that the conditions in the prison are "less than ideal" and have "raised the issue with their superiors." [3] The lenient conditions of the prisoners came to the fore two weeks ago, when Israeli officials had reason to believe that one of the men (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine head Ahmed Sa'adat) may have helped plan the May 19 suicide bombing in the Netanya outdoor market that killed three and wounded more than fifty. Following protests by Israeli authorities, it was decided to take away prisoner Sa'adat's cellular phone, said US Embassy spokesman Paul Patin. Andrew Whittaker, a spokesman for the British Consulate-General in Jerusalem.
4 June 2002 IT'S THE SAME OLD GAME
It should have come as no shock to hear that the Palestinian Authority's "High Court" yesterday ordered the release of Ahmed Saadat. Saadat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the man the government holds responsible for ordering the late Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi's assassination in Jerusalem October 17. Saadat is one of the prisoners being held in Jericho under an American brokered deal. Nor, for that matter, should anyone have been surprised about the timing of the "judicial order," just before the arrival of CIA Director George Tenet. A pattern has developed whereby each visit of a high level American official is met by Palestinian attempts to scuttle the visit. Recent trips by US envoy Anthony Zinni, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Collin Powell were generally met with a sharp uptick in suicide bombings clear attempts to torpedo the US mission and send a message to Washington. "You come and go, but we, the Palestinians, dictate the action on the ground," seems to be the same message the Palestinian "court" is sending Tenet. It is no secret that Tenet is coming to try and reform the Palestinian security services, and streamline them under one command. By signaling the release of Saadat, a man whose incarceration was part of the agreement brokered by the United States and Britain that lifted the siege of Ramallah, the Palestinians seem to be telling the US "Don't be so paternalistic, we still call the shots here." The Palestinian cabinet announced last night it would not approve the Palestinian Court decision to release Saadat. The cabinet's announcement expressed "respect for the High Court of Justice's decision" but said its ruling to release Saadat "cannot be implemented under these circumstances because of Israeli threats." Prior to the announcement, a senior Israeli diplomatic source stated that if Saadat were released, Israel would consider him a fugitive and bring him to justice. "Saadat has to be brought to justice," the official said. "If this is not done in the Palestinian Authority, we will have to do it." 4. GOOD NEWS - BOMBING VICTIM COMES OUT OF COMA Shimon Shiran, who was seriously injured in the April bombing of the Matza restaurant in Haifa, has been in a coma ever since. Today, two months later, he woke up.
5 June 2002 TERRORISM VICTIM COMPLAINS AGAINST CNN
The parents of the infant Sinai Keinan, who was murdered in a terror attack, were interviewed on CNN, and tearfully told the story of their loss. When they later viewed the program, they said they were alarmed to see that instead of their story, only the mother of the terrorist who carried out the terror attack appeared on the program. Hen Keinan and her husband Lior were interviewed on the CNN program called "International Hour", a program that is broadcast in many countries around the world. They were asked to talk about their feelings following the murder of their 14 month old infant daughter, Sinai, and Hen's mother, Ruti Peled, 56, who was also killed in the terror attack. "That same evening", related Hen painfully, "We sat down to watch the special interview with us, and instead, to our amazement, we got only the interview with the mother of the terrorist who carried out the terror attack in which my daughter and mother were murdered." The terrorist's mother related during the interview, among other things, that before he left on his mission, she gave him her blessings. Hen said, "Only the day after were portions of my interview broadcast, in another program, with my statements having been edited". She said that the special interview with her was not even broadcast. Hen said that she expects that in wake of this, the Israeli Foreign Ministry would remove foreign journalists from Israel, as they serve the Palestinian public relations goals. CNN had no comment to make. Hen later commented in warning to the European CNN audience, stating, "There are Muslim minorities all over… When you try to find reasons for terrorism, and justify it, you give them legitimacy… and then God help you."
5.
JERUSALEM BOMB ATTACK THWARTED - GIVE THANKS Police successfully
detonated a small pipe bomb found on Strauss St. in Jerusalem today with
no injuries. Thank God this attack was thwarted.
A 20 year old female IDF sergeant was the first victim of this morning's bombing in Afula to be identified. IDF Sergeant Violota Hizgaiov will be laid to rest on Thursday morning at 11:30 in the military section of the Hadera cemetery. Rescue efforts have been very difficult because of the massive fire and the fact that bodies were blown apart and strewn in many directions. Please pray for the rescue workers as they attempt to fulfill their duty in this horrific situation.
Rafik Koran, 24, was
murdered earlier today in PA-controlled Ramallah, suspected of being an
informant for Israeli security services. PA sources report he was a
resident of el-Bireh. AT LEAST 18 ISRAELIS DEAD IN BUS BOMBING NEAR AFULA
At 7:15 am Israel time, a Palestinian homicide attacker detonated a car-bomb alongside a crowded bus in northern Israel near the town of Afula, killing at least 18 people and wounding more than about 30.[4] Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack. National Police Chief Insp.-Gen. Shlomo Aharonishki said a car with a powerful bomb "pulled up next to the bus and detonated," as the bus passed by the prison. He estimated there were 45-50 casualties. "It is one of the worst attacks we have sustained [in the last 20 months] from the standpoint of casualties." The Egged bus number 830, had left the Tel Aviv central bus station early this morning, bound for Tiberias, a town on Lake Kinneret. Witness accounts indicated that the bomber was in the exploding car. They reported seeing a car pull alongside the bus just before the blast occurred. The explosion, using a method reminiscent of those perpetrated by Hizbullah against the IDF in south Lebanon, blew the bus over and it then exploded into flames. Virtually all of those on board were killed or wounding, according to rescue personnel at the scene. The car was totally destroyed. Police said the blast set off two explosions, first the car then the bus engine. All that remained of the bus was a blackened shell with debris scattered over a radius of several dozen meters. An eyewitness said the bus was still burning an hour after the explosion, hampering efforts to rescue the wounded. The force of the explosion lifted the bus into the air, and reduced the car carrying the bomb to a small mass of charred metal.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon convened his
security cabinet Wednesday morning to discuss Israel's response to the
attack, one of the more serious terrorist incidents in recent months.
There were no operative decisions taken at the meeting, but the cabinet
was likely to meet again later in the day. However, Israel did issue a
strong condemnation of the attack, which came one day after Arafat met
with US envoy George Tenet. 6 June 2002 ANSWER TO PRAYER
Roni is a little girl who was severly injured in a recent terror attack. This news on Roni is sent with the express purpose of letting you know prayers are indeed heard by our Heavenly Father.
The little girl's aunt wrote: "I am so
sorry that I didn't write sooner. From the moment that I landed I was with
Roni in the hospital and in fact last night was the first time that I
slept at home. As we continue to pray for the injured, it is so encouraging to get news like this - a great faith lift!
7. 7 June 2002 ISRAELI TEENAGER KILLED IN SHOOTING ATTACK
An Israeli teenager was killed Thursday as a result of injuries sustained in a West Bank shooting attack north of Ramallah, near the settlement of Ofra. Erez Rund, 18, from the settlement in Ofra, had hitched a ride to the Eli settlement north of Ofra in order to register for a preparatory course for the IDF. Rund was in his final year of high school. He was brought to Hadassah Hospital, Mount Scopus in Jerusalem in serious condition with bullet wounds to his chest. Despite attempts to save his life, he died at the hospital. He was buried this morning. The shots were fired from the direction of the Palestinian village of Sinjilon an Israeli commercial vehicle in which Rund was traveling. The IDF placed a closure on the village, which is located in Area B - under Israeli security control - and searched the village for the perpetrators.
FROM MOSHE, IN ISRAEL The day begins with sunshine and then a Palestinian car bomb smashes it into pieces. Dreams are broken into splinters. Hopes are smashed into shards and Life is broken into fragments. That fragmentation is the clearest sense in these days of terrorism. One becomes numbed by the sadness and is able to relate only to fragments of life.[5] One gathers one's loved ones around and surrounds oneself with blankets of love. And then one allows in the fragments of the battered and destroyed lives of the victims. They seep in one by one: 1. Chaim ,a young man , remembers sitting on the bus as it was nearing the "Meggido Junction". Suddenly he was engulfed in light and terrible pain. All he recalled was, closing his eyes, saying "SHMA YISRAEL" and then finding himself sitting outside of the bus on the street. 2. A woman arrived on the 4:40 a.m. flight from White Russia to visit her son in Israel for the first time. She sat on the bus on the way to Tiberias and in a flash she lost everything. The bus had become a firebomb. As she lies in the hospital she remembers that she lost all her clothes, passport and tickets. But she is alive. Her son is holding her hand. Despite all this she says,"I'm staying." 3. An elderly gentelman from Ethiopia, is surrounded by his large family in a crowded hospital room. He had made his way to Israel through the Sudanese desert by foot, and now in Israel he had to dive out the rear window of the bus to escape the fire. 4. Nineteen year old Violetta Hizjayev lost both father and mother to illness several years ago . She had become a surrogate mother to her siblings, both a mother and a father, until she burned to death in the bus bombing. 5. Irena the mother of slain soldier David was staring at the phone in her home: " I want to call David's fiance, Victoria in the Ukraine and tell her that her engagement party has to be cancelled. I can't do it." 6. Adi , 17 years old , was killed on the bus in Megido two months after her family buried her older brother , Shlomi , who died in a hiking accident. 7. Fifty year old Tsion was very happy to be able to accompany his only son Yuval on his way to his base. They were amongst the last to get on the bus. Tsion found his death at the front of the bus while Yuval survived at the back. So many fragments. So many pieces of light and darkness mixed in together. Our purpose is to gather the fragments and put them together again. We have done it before. And with G-d's help we will do it again. By so doing we not only continue to survive, we actually emerge victorious. [6]
THREE ISRAELIS KILLED IN SHOOTING ATTACK
Palestinian gunmen opened fire on mobile homes in the Karmei Tsur community this morning, killing three Israelis, including a man and his pregnant wife at their doorstep. The slayings brought to 21 the number of Israelis killed in terror attacks this week, following the killing in the bus bombing on Wednesday and an 18-year-old from Ofra shot to death on a roadside Thursday. Soldiers intercepted and killed one of the infiltrators to Karmei Tsur and gave chase after another, who is believed to have fled to the Halhoul area, near Hebron. Six other Israelis were wounded in that attack, one seriously. One later died of injuries at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Three others were being treated, while two people were treated at the scene.
IDF soldiers killed five would-be infiltrators in the Gaza Strip, foiling two terror attacks in the area, military sources and radio reports said. Early this morning, soldiers opened fire on two Palestinians spotted swimming toward the Gaza Strip settlement of Dugit, about 20 meters away from the site, killing one of them. A bag containing four fragmentation grenades, Kalashnikov assault rifles and four bullet magazines were found on the infiltrator's body. Late last night a loud explosion was heard along the border fence north of the Sufa checkpoint in Gaza. Soldiers later found the bodies of four Palestinians who had apparently tried to plant a bomb at the site when it exploded, the IDF said. One of them was a Palestinian security officer with documents allowing him free movement in the area. This is one of many Palestinian 'security officers' who have been caught participating and/or actively carrying out terrorist attacks. Palestinian 'Security' is about 'securing' Israel by killing Jews.
THERE BE NO TALKS AS LONG AS TERROR CONTINUES Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is scheduled to leave tonight for Washington where he is expected to tell President Bush he will not commit to any peace plan unless terror attacks against Israelis are brought to a halt, a senior official said. Bush is consulting with Mideast leaders including Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak this weekend. 10. 9 June 2002 FOUR ISRAELIS WOUNDED IN ATTACK
Four Israelis were wounded, with two sustaining serious wounds, one moderately wounded, and one lightly hurt, when a Palestinian terrorist tried to infiltrate the northern Samaria community of Yitzhar shortly before midnight. Security forces spotted the man and an intense gunbattle ensued, with the terrorist being shot dead. The terrorist first opened fire at a group of mobile homes adjacent to the western side of the community, located south of Nablus. IDF units from the "Haruv" Battalion deployed to the vicinity searched the area for other terrorists.
10 June 2002 MURDERED YOUNG COUPLE BURIED SIDE BY SIDE IN MILITARY CEMETERY [7]
Thousands attended the funerals of Sgt.-Maj. Eyal and Yael Sorek, killed early Saturday morning along with St.-Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Shalom Mordechai, 35, of Nahariya, when two terrorists infiltrated Karmei Tzur in Gush Etzion, in the military cemetery on Jerusalem's Mount Herzl in yesterday. Yael, 24, was in her ninth month of pregnancy, and Eyal, also 24, was to have completed his military service next week. The army gave permission for them to be buried side by side. Minister-without-Portfolio Effi Eitam represented the government at the funeral. Along with the wonderful young couple, people mourned the life that was extinguished just before it would have begun, the baby in Yael's womb. According to initial investigations, the couple heard the terrorists' gunshots, and Eyal, who served in an elite combat unit, grabbed his weapon and ran outside to assist. He was shot outside his mobile home. Yael, who went to his assistance when she realized he had been hit, was shot as well. "When a person is forced to bury his son... it is as if the world stopped immediately," Eyal's father Hanan, one of the founders of the Sarel program which enables overseas volunteers to work for a period at an IDF base, said. Yael's father Yehuda Kandel, who received a medal for his actions during the Battle of Ammunition Hill in the Six Day War, standing in front of his daughter's grave, sang mournfully "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning..." Yesterday afternoon, hundreds attended Mordechai's funeral in the military section of the Nahariya cemetery, whose wife mourned at his graveside: "It's hard for me to believe you are in a coffin...you gave me our two beautiful sons." Please pray for the families of these terror victims.
THREE ISRAELI TEENS INJURED IN BUS EXPLOSION
A roadside bomb exploded Tuesday at a farm in the Hebron area of the West Bank, wounding three Israeli 15-year-old boys, one of them seriously. The boys were with a group of about 50 students from a yeshiva high school in Hebron visiting a nearby farm called Sdeh Calev. They were walking back to a bus after going cherry picking in an orchard late Tuesday morning, and were near the farm gate when the bomb went off. The seriously wounded boy is a ninth grader who is presently undergoing surgery at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. He lost part of one leg and has serious stomach wounds. Please pray for him. His name is Dvir ben Hannah. The other two boys are also at the Trauma Center in Hadassah Hospital.
Israel's anti-terror offensive in Ramallah, which was to have taken place last week, has netted 52 terrorist suspects, including nine last night.[8] There were also some taken who were about to commit suicide attacks in Israeli cities. Soldiers also discovered two cars laden with powerful explosives, together with Israeli identification cards and official Palestinian Authority documents. Israel Police sent a contingent into the city yesterday, and located 15 stolen Israeli cars. Car theft within Israel has been a serious problem for some time. Palestinians have been caught time and time again stealing cars in Israel to drive into Palestinian territory. On one occasion some time ago, an Israeli official was scheduled to meet his Palestinian counterpart. When the two arrived, the Palestinian was driving the Israeli's car, which had been stolen some weeks before![9]
NEWSFLASH - ISRAELI POLICEMAN STABBED A policeman was seriously wounded in an eastern Jerusalem stabbing attack a short time ago. Ambulances are responding. Additional confirmed details will be published as they become available. Please pray for him.
OR SHOULD WE SAY 'BARBARISM'? Once again, bodies of two Palestinians were found Tuesday morning in the West Bank city of Hebron, one of them on the exact spot where a local militia leader, Marwan Zalloum, was killed in April 23 by fire from an Israeli helicopter. Eiman Joulani and Anan al-Ashab were suspected of providing information to the Israelis about the movements of the militia leader Marwan Zalloum, Palestinian sources said, enabling the Israelis to target him. Zalloum was the local leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a group affiliated to the Fatah movement of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.[10]
IDF Soldiers last night, shot and killed four heavily armed terrorists making their way towards the Gush Katif community of Netzarim. Assault rifles and magazines were found on their bodies. Security officials say the Arabs were planning to carry out a major attack inside the community. Palestinians shot at troops in the area earlier in the evening, as a possible diversion before the planned infiltration. IDF forces continue to operate in PLO-controlled Ramallah. Last night troops arrested a leading PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) terrorist. Yesterday soldiers uncovered an explosives laboratory inside of a Force-17 building in the center of the town. Force-17 is Yasser Arafat's personal security force. Inside the building were 10 powerful explosive charges in different stages of production. Sappers denotated the devices in a controlled explosion. The IDF Spokesperson says that the discovery of the bomb laboratory is yet another example of a group affiliated with Arafat's role in terror against Israel.
WAR REPORT FROM THE IDF
Israelis troops operating in Israel’s southern Mediterranean coastal area last night arrested a top Fatah terrorist with Israeli “blood on his hands.” The Arab arrested, Nizar Dializ, was responsible for the February 18 shooting deaths of three Israelis at the Kissufim junction. Also last night, Arabs fired mortar shells at troops operating near the Jewish communities of Gush Katif, wounding three. The IDF withdrew from PLO-controlled Ramallah last night. During the operation, which lasted for over three days, soldiers took about 80 Arab suspects into custody, destroyed a Force 17 bomb-making factory, and thwarted several suicide attacks. Troops remain in strategic positions around the city and are enforcing a tight closure.
Israeli forces seized 10 bombs being prepared for attacks in Israeli cities as security agencies braced for a new wave of Palestinian suicide attacks. The bombs were found in the West Bank city of Ramallah, in the headquarters of the Force 17 praetorian guard headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
14. 14 June 2002 SAUDI TV TEACHES CHILDREN TO HATE JEWS
A television station backed by a Saudi prince has sparked outrage by broadcasting clips that show young children being taught to hate Jews — referring to them as "apes and pigs" — and to embrace martyrdom. Recent broadcasts on Iqraa Television, one of the global satellite channels packaged by the Arab Radio and Television Network (ART), a Saudi-based company, features anti-Semitic interviews with a father, a psychologist and even a 3-year-old girl. During a May 7 episode of Muslim Woman Magazine, anchorwoman Doaa 'Amer asks her special guest, a 3-year-old girl named Basmallah, a series of questions the youngster quickly and calmly answers. "Are you familiar with the Jews?" Amer asks. The girl says yes, and says she does not like them "because…they’re apes and pigs." "Who said so?" the anchor asks. "Our God," the little girl replies, adding that Allah says this "in the Quran." In another portion of the report, a Saudi man says that it is the duty of Muslims to worship Allah by hating the Jews.[11]
CAPTURED TERRORIST SAYS PALESTINIAN VIPS SMUGGLED WEAPONS Tanzim member Amin Amar Ziad who has confessed to involvement in the suicide bombing at Rehov Kibbutz Galuyot in Tel Aviv on May 24. Ziad, 25, of El Bireh, was arrested on June 7. Ziad told investigators he participated in numerous West Bank shootings. He also admitted to purchasing weapons through a dealer in Jordan that were smuggled in vehicles belonging to Palestinian officials with VIP status. They smuggled the weapons into Israel via the Allenby Bridge and the King Hussein Bridge. The explosives in the June 7 attack were purchased from a Force 17 official, Ziad said, who prepared the 130-kilogram bomb.
15 June 2002 HAMAS THREATENS CHEMICAL ATTACK
The Jerusalem Post headlines this morning say that Hamas is threatening to use chemical weapons in future attacks against Israeli targets, claiming "slaughter will bring slaughter." According to the report, Hamas issued a statement after a strategic debate, which generated the decision to use chemical weapons in addition to conventional bombs. "When we reach that stage [using chemical weapons], the gates will be opened to develop suicide attacks with Allah's help," the report said. The statement claimed that the aim is to further harm those hit by shrapnel in a bomb blast and "create a massacre." The movement claimed that while the idea is not new, attempts to use chemicals in bombs have so far met with failure, as the chemicals used are usually inexpensive and crude agents that lose their effectiveness in the heat created by a bomb blast. Hamas yesterday claimed responsibility for the attack near Dugit on Saturday night in which St.-Sgt. Yehezkel (Hezki) Gutman, 22, of Beit El, and Sgt. Alexei Gladkov, 20, of Beersheba, were killed and four others wounded. The soldiers had succeeded in thwarting a terrorist attack near Dugit earlier in the day after blowing up a car rigged with 180 kilograms of explosives.
17 June 2002 JERUSALEM AND HAIFA ON HIGH ALERT
Jerusalem and Haifa police returned to the highest state of alert last night, following intelligence warnings of an impending attack in either or both cities. Police helicopters, roadblocks, and increased forces on the street were attempting to thwart the attack in the capital, police sources confirmed last night. The city's porous northern rim was again cited as the possible entry point of the would-be bomber. Jerusalem police chief Cmdr. Mickey Levy revealed Sunday that three terrorists on their way to carry out a suicide bombing in the capital had been intercepted since the end of Operation Defensive Shield. 16. Towards yesterday evening, police and security forces received word that apparently a terrorist had successfully infiltrated the city, and was scouting out a location to detonate his explosive belt. The bomber's identity is known to the police. Earlier in the day, police in Haifa went on high alert over a possible attack in the city. Patrols have been stepped up, with special attention to bus and railway stations, shopping malls, restaurants, and cafes. Roadblocks were also in evidence at the entrance to some of the towns and cities in the police Coastal District, which extends from Hadera almost as far north as Acre. 8:10 AM Israel Time: Moments ago just as we were preparing to leave our hotel in Samaria, a massive homicide bombing occurred in south Jerusalem at the intersection closest to the Jerusalem Mall. I am listening to Israeli television as I write this report. More than 20 have been injured and there are several dead as the reporter is saying that several covered bodies are on the street. The latest reporter speaking right now on TV says that the bomb was so powerful that the bus is completely demolished and body parts are strewn all around the area so there will be no immediate account of how many have died until police can identify the dismembered bodies.
18 June 2002 DEATH TOLL AT 20 IN THIS MORNING'S BOMBING
"How can we go on this way?! I live on a street surrounded by concrete blocks against shooting from Beit Jala, my sister was in a terrorist attack, my neighbor was in an attack, and now my 12-year-old daughter says she doesn't want to ever get on a bus again! How can we go on?" So cried Ronit, a resident of Gilo, this morning, as she attempted to make sense of the horrific news of the slaughter on the Gilo-Pat highway this morning. Late news reports here confirm 20 people were killed when a suicide Palestinian terrorist exploded himself this morning aboard a Jerusalem city bus, loaded with adults on their way to work and children on their way to school. Fifty-two people were wounded in the attack, including six in serious condition, and they were evacuated to Hadassah Mt. 17. Scopus, Shaarei Tzedek, and Hadassah Ein Karem hospitals. IDF and GSS intelligence organs are aware that the various terrorist organizations are competing with each other to see who can carry out the biggest attacks, and Arafat's Fatah-Tanzim and the Hamas each claimed responsibility for today's slaughter. Police are not certain that the murderous terrorist who perpetrated the slaughter was the one for whom they were searching most of yesterday. Defense officials warned yesterday that up to five Arab suicide bombers were on their way to attacks, specifically in the Jerusalem and Haifa regions. A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated his explosives yesterday alongside Border Police near Kibbutz Bachan, killing only himself, but several other terrorists on their way to attacks were stopped in the past few days. Grave terrorist warnings continue to be received by the police and army. The bus blew up shortly before 8 AM this morning only seconds after picking up passengers at the Beit Tzafafa bus stop on the way north from Gilo to the Pat Junction. Beit Tzafafa is a lone Arab neighborhood sandwiched between Jewish areas in southern Jerusalem. The bomb blew the sides and roof off the bus, leaving most of it as only a bare skeleton. Among the wounded were people outside the bus and in nearby cars. Moshe Elbaz, a volunteer medic for Magen David Adom who was among the first on the scene, said that when he boarded what was left of the bus to help the wounded, "I found no wounded - only about 13 or 15 dead bodies… A fearsome sight…" Several of the wounded are children between the ages of 10-12. Six are in intensive care at Hadassah Hospital. Please pray for their healing and for the families who lost loved ones today. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrived at scene of the attack shortly after the blast, viewed the line-up of body bags holding the young victims, and had this to say: "The horrific pictures from this murderous act carried out by Palestinians, the horrific images that we see here, are more powerful then any words. It is interesting what type of Palestinian state they have in mind, what type of Palestinian state they are talking about. This terrible thing that we see is a continuation of Palestinian terror, and it is against this terror that we must fight and struggle, and this is what we will do." 18.
19 June 2002
Moments ago Jerusalem was struck by yet another homicide bombing in the region of French Hill. Israel TV is reporting at least three dead and 40 wounded. We are watching the scene as I write this. Ambulances are rushing the wounded to hospitals. Apparently a suicide bomber was standing at the bus stop and exploded himself in the midst of the crowd waiting for the bus. A Jerusalem Police spokesman just announced that two of the wounded who were rushed to the hospital have already died, raising the death toll to five. Police are still searching for wounded in the rubble at the time this report was written.
BUS DRIVERS ON THE FRONT LINE OF FAITH Yesterday morning Rahamim Tzidkiyahu, 51 said good bye to his wife as he went off to work as a Bus driver on the Gilo -Jerusalem line.After hearing the warnings of possible terror attacks in the morning news he confided to his wife that he was very concerned. But then he smiled to his wife and declared " we can't give in to terror" and went to work. He did not return home. When he got to work and found out that the regular driver on the 7:40 time slot was caught up in traffic, he decided to take the run. At the next bus stop a young palestinian entered the bus and then blew himself up, killing 19 innocent people including Rahamim. Amit Maliach, the bus driver who had come several minutes late and missed the fateful run was almost broken by the twist of events. On the one hand he was torn between the joy of being spared while being saddened and pained by the loss of his dear friend. Amit arrived today in the morning to take the 7:40 run. The bus ride began and continued in complete silence as it left Gilo and passed the site of explosion. Amit did not know if he would have the courage to say good bye to his wife and three children and return to that bus. He too felt that " we can't give in to terror." But Amit was not alone.Many of his fellow bus drivers joined him on the bus , filling the first rows of seats. Amit knew he 19. was not alone. He was surrounded by friends, and he was filled with faith. Those are the ingredients of winning the battle against terror, freindship and faith. May G-d bless us with both. [12]
ISRAELI MOTHER & THREE CHILDREN KILLED IN ATTACK
Two Palestinians took hostages in a house at a Jewish town after nightfall Thursday, killing a mother, three of her children and a security officer, the army said. Two additional children from the family were critically wounded. Israeli tanks and troops were seen rolling into the nearby city of Nablus hours later. Israeli troops also kept a tight grip on other Palestinian towns following a new policy of retaliating for attacks by taking territory. Eight other people were wounded in the attack on the home in the West Bank settlement of Itamar, near Nablus. Soldiers stormed the house, killing one of the infiltrators, while another jumped out a window after the house caught fire, witnesses said. The second gunman was also killed later in the night. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed responsibility. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's office called it a "horrendous attack" and promised an Israeli response. A neighbor, Rinat Cabra, said there were seven children in the family living in the house, and that the father was not home. The army did not comment on the gunmen, but said the mother, three of her children and a security officer from the settlement died.
FOX NEWS COMES TO ISRAEL In direct response to recent remarks by CNN-founder Ted Turner calling Israelis 'terrorists', Israeli satellite television company YES rushed up negotiations with Fox News, and the latter network became available to Israeli viewers this afternoon. "I would make a case that both sides are involved in terrorism," Turner said, falling in line with a familiar pattern of perceived anti-Israel bias on CNN. Israel Radio reported that even before Turner's comments, Israel's cable and satellite companies had registered high public demand for Fox News, because "they consider its coverage of the Middle East more balanced than CNN's." Yonah Wiesenthal, Deputy Chairman of YES for marketing and content, said that the channel number allotted to Fox, 25, was purposely made close to that of CNN, 26, in order to symbolize that there is an alternative to CNN. One of the first Fox interviews Israeli viewers saw today was with Alon Pinkas, Israeli Consul-General in New York. Pinkas said that Arafat's condemnations of terrorism are not enough: "We've had enough of those. What Israel needs to see is actions, and there is no question that if he wanted to, he could stop the terrorism. He has 35,000 armed policemen!" Asked if possibly Arafat no longer had influence on the terrorists, Pinkas said, "Then he should go home. He can't talk peace all day and then say he can't control his people. Can you imagine if one of the states rose up against the federal government, and the President would [excuse it by saying that] the governor of North Dakota or Alabama can't control his people?!" Other Israeli bodies have strong criticism of CNN as well. Yesha Council spokesman Yehoshua Mor-Yosef faxed a letter yesterday to Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna, breaking off all contact with him: "In light of CNN's repeated lack of objectivity and professionalism regarding the Israel-Arab conflict [Mor-Yosef wrote], and especially the scandalous remarks made by Mr. Ted Turner yesterday, I must inform you that the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza has decided to cease cooperation with CNN and with its correspondents." Communication Minister Ruby Rivlin was also angered at CNN. He said yesterday that its coverage of Israel "has passed all limits and red lines," and that if Turner had made his comments in Israel, he would have been declared "persona non grata."[13]
THE GRIEF GOES ON With her head wrapped in bandages, Penina Eisenmann pushed herself out of her hospital bed yesterday to go to the double funeral in Ofra of her daughter, Gal, five, and her mother, Noa Alon, 60. "It's the last thing I can do for them," Penina told reporters yesterday at Jerusalem's Hadassah-University Hospital in Ein Kerem. The last thing she remembers before the terrorist attack that murdered seven in Jerusalem on Wednesday, she is holding her daughter's hand. They are crossing the street by the French Hill intersection. Ahead of them is Noa, who is wheeling her 18-month-old grandson, Sagi, in a baby carriage. "The explosion caught us in the middle of the street," Eisenmann said. "What comes to me is that my mother caught the brunt of the blast, so she was able to protect me. My daughter was so small it destroyed her. I'm told the terrorist deliberately went next to the mothers and the children, wanting to kill as many as possible." Eisenmann said she vaguely remembers the ambulance ride. Waking up in the hospital, she asked about her children and her mother. They told her that only her son was wounded, but was going to be fine. "So I understood," Eisenmann said. When her husband, Yitzhak, found her later that evening, he confirmed the double loss. He had found his son earlier at another hospital. "They were the two most precious things to me, my mother and my daughter," Eisenmann said. "I'm crying enough tears to fill an ocean." Another victim, Gila Sarah Kessler, 19, worked in the Jewish Agency's communications department as part of her first year in National Service, where she broadcasted to the entire Jewish world. Described by her friends as a happy and dedicated person, she was returning to her home in Eli when she was killed. Her father lives in the United States,[14] and it was there that she completed her last year of high school before returning to Israel, the land she loved. One of her National Service counselors said that on hearing of his daughter's death, her father immediately boarded a plane to Israel. One of her work colleagues said from the minute she started work in the Jewish Agency everyone was taken aback by her dedication and willingness to work long hours. "She captured our hearts with her smile," he said. A third victim, Michal Franklin, 22, died on her graduation day. She woke up unusually early Wednesday, made coffee, and told her family, "What a wonderful day! I'm very happy." It was her last day at Orot College in Elkana. Her parents had prepared a special celebratory dinner. She called them from the French Hill intersection on Wednesday evening to say she was just waiting with a friend, Hadassah Jungreis, 20, and then she would catch the next bus home. Minutes later, both young women were murdered with five others when a terrorist blew himself up. Yesterday at Jerusalem's Har Hamenuhot Cemetery, her father, Avner, a South African immigrant, bid farewell to his daughter in English. "I spoke it with Michali all the time, I want to speak it to her now. In your short time of 22 years you achieved as much as another person would have achieved in 120 years. Your life was so intense, so full, and so utilized every minute of the day. You had a tremendous love for your family, your friends, and your music, which you always used to listen to in your room. You had a tremendous love for your studies. What people normally finish in four years, you finished in three. And last night, your last night of coming back from Orot, you said, "Once again, I succeeded Abba. I completed the year."[15] On our way into Jerusalem yesterday we passed right by the scene of Wednesday night's bombing. Workers were still involved in the clean-up and candles burned on the sidewalk at the scene of these senseless deaths. Right above the scene of the bombing is a police lookout. Eyewitnesses told police that the bomber ran past a group of soldiers right into the middle of a crowd of civilians waiting for the bus, making clear that the intent was civilian casualties. It is difficult to put into words the sick feeling of looking out the bus window at the spot where the people just described had died less than 24 hours earlier. It is heart-wrenching to look into the faces of Israelis who on the one hand want to talk with us, want to express how amazed and grateful they are that we are here visiting while at the same time, begin to weep as they reach out to take our hands and ask us: "When is this going to end?"
21 June 2002 EITAM AT FUNERAL: 'THE LION OF JUDAH IS READY TO POUNCE'
The newest government minister, National Religious Party leader Brig.-Gen. (res.) Effie Eitam, spoke at the double funeral of Noa Alon and her granddaughter Gal Eisenman in Ofrah. The two were among the seven victims of Wednesday's Palestinian terrorist attack at Jerusalem's French Hill junction. Just a few days ago in Ariel, we had the pleasure of meeting Effie Eitam and his wife at the hotel where we were staying. He was very gracious and friendly, expressing great thanks for our presence in Israel at this time. [16]
Addressing the hundreds of mourners, Eitam
said: "But - even if you stand on every hilltop around, and even if you enlist all your powers of cursedness and evil [in terrorizing Israel], you know - and we know that you know - that we are the blessed. You know that we have returned home for our rendezvous with the Lion of the World and the Lioness that is our Nation. You know that your ancient and evil father, Balaam, took up his discourse and said [in this week's Torah portion, Numbers 24], 'Alas, who shall live when He does these things.' Rav Yochanan taught that this means, Woe unto whichever nation is around when G-d comes to redeem His children - for who would ever try to put his cloak between a lion and a lioness?" "Woe unto you! You will not be able to live here when you place a barrier between us and our Land, between us and our Torah, between us and our Father in Heaven! There are moments when this lioness appears to you to be weak, torn, bent - but within this crouch, this bent-over position, is being formed our jumping-off position; our muscles are being flexed and our spirit is being strengthened. And when we pounce on you - and it will happen - when we come with vengeance against your terrible evil, woe will be unto you. "In the middle of this, are people - a grandmother and granddaughter, a young man, young women, a pregnant mother - who die 'al kiddush HaShem' (for the sanctification of G-d's Name), on this long and very difficult road home, on which we see many graves on the hillside. We here, and all of Yesha, and the entire Nation of Israel, we are all flexing our muscles, and our spirit - and we will pounce. We will make a reckoning with you. And this terrible loss of life will become a call for life, for the strength of eternity. "And you, Gal and Noa, who are joining this row of graves - you are the roots of a great tree, a strong nation, and we will continue along this way that leads to G-d's House, and we will not tire, stop, or weaken. We'll wipe our tears, we will strengthen each other, we will be friends united, and we will merit a great victory and great life of faith. We promise you that with our great faith, we will win." [17]
Father Attallah said the basic principle of all Palestinian political parties is the continuation of intifada against Israeli atrocities. Therefore, he said, the Church fully supports the uprising to achieve the objectives of freedom from Israel. Giving his full support to martyrdom, the spokesman of the Orthodox Church in the Holy Land said: "As you know, political parties in Palestine agree to the continuation of the intifada, which includes different approaches of struggle. "Some freedom fighters adopt martyrdom or suicide bombing, while others opt for other measures. But all these struggles serve the continued intifada for freedom. Therefore, we support all these causes." He said Palestinian people should be steadfast in their struggle to be heard by the world community. [18]
22 June 2002 POLICE PROBING REPORT THAT ANGRY JEWISH RESIDENTS RETAILIATED AFTER FUNERAL
Police are investigating allegations that
settlers shot and killed a Palestinian man Friday, after funerals were
held for five residents of the West Bank settlement of Itamar who were
killed Thursday night by Palestinian gunmen, Channel One news reported.
Palestinian agencies are reporting that the Palestinian youth was killed
by Israelis who entered the village of Burin, near Nablus, Army Radio
reported. They said that the Israelis also set fire to several houses in
the village. This story has been reported as fact by numerous agencies but
the truth is that it has not been confirmed. Thousands attended the funerals Friday afternoon for the victims of the Itamar attack. The dead included four members of a single family: the mother Rachel Shabbo and her three children, Neria, 15, Zvi, 12, and Avishai 5, as well as the settlement's security officer Yosef Twito. Two of the wounded were also children from the same family.
23 June 2002 THE REAL STORY IN ITAMAR
This town of multi-level stone homes in the hills near Nablus had not yet finished the shloshim, or, month of mourning, for the three teenaged rabbinical students who were murdered here while playing basketball, when last night, tragedy struck once again. As mothers and daughters prepared for the nearing Sabbath, reenacting a weekly ritual of baking and bonding, outside, under a full-moon sky and with winds hiding the sound of his approach, a terrorist trained by The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine infiltrated this area of 500 families. At about 9:00 pm, Boaz Shabo was en route from Jerusalem, when his cellphone rang. It was his thirteen year-old daughter, Aviya. She was frantic. One by one, family members who were at home, were shot with an automatic weapon after the terrorist forced himself into their house. She had witnessed it all. "PLEASE, abba [daddy], come home quick!" she wailed into the receiver. "They are dying." First hit, was her twelve year-old brother, Tzvika, who had been sitting, reviewing the Torah portion for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah. When the terrorist took aim at Aviya's mother, Rachel, another brother, Neria, 15, tried to act as a human shield to protect her. It was futile. Avishai, 5, the family's youngest, began shrieking, after he awoke from the commotion. The terrorist soon opened fire on his tiny body. The crying stopped. Aviya was shot in the chest and leg as she tried to escape the home that turned to Hell. David, who ran to guard his sister, was bombarded with bullets in his stomach. As Rachel, the mother, lay dying, she watched her would be protector, Neria, gasp his last breath. As his soul departed, she cried out the words of the martyrs, "Shema Yisrael!" When she peered down at her son's now limp body, she saw their blood beginning to merge. Twelve year old Tzvika's last words were: "Shalom, [goodbye], Eema [momma]. I will see you in shamayim [Heaven]." Before she expired, Rachel had witnessed the murder of three of her children. As the village's chief of security, Yossi Tuito, engaged in a gun battle with the terrorist -- leaving both of them dead -- the Shabos' home was somehow set ablaze. When Boaz Shabo arrived at the town's gate he was met by the hamlet's rabbi. His worst nightmare was confirmed. Immediately, Boaz tore his jacket four times, as a mourning sign for each family member. Instead of Sabbath candles being lit by his wife, this week before sundown Boaz Shabo will light four yahrtzeit (memorial) ones.
The dead will be buried a few hundred feet
from Boaz's destroyed home, in which he will not even be able to observe
the shiva mourning ritual. Please pray for Boaz and for the surviving
children, especially the daughter who witnessed the scene and survived.
24 June 2002 CNN MAKING CHANGES UNDER PRESSURE[20]
CNN will no longer give air time to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers "unless there is a compelling reason to do so," Eason Jordan, CNN's chief news executive and news gathering president, told The Jerusalem Post. Jordan said he issued the directive last week. "We want to make sure there is no suggestion of moral equivalence between victims and perpetrators [of terrorism]," he explained yesterday. The change in policy was prompted by an incident three weeks ago, when CNN broadcast less than a minute of an extensive interview with the wounded Israeli woman who lost her mother and daughter in an attack in Petah Tikva, and then spent several minutes talking about the plight of the suicide bomber's mother. To make sure this did not happen again, said Jordan, "we put safeguards in." Jordan was in Israel to meet with Communications Minister Reuven Rivlin, who last week called CNN's news coverage "evil, biased, and unbalanced." The satellite broadcaster YES recently added Fox News to their daily broadcast schedule to give their subscribers an alternative to CNN, and the cable companies are considering following suit.
25 June 2002 MEANINGLESS 'HOUSE ARREST'
Two days ago the Palestinian Authority announced that it had placed Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the Hamas leader under house arrest. The announcement was hailed as a positive step by the media. However, what no one bothered to mention is that Yassin is confined to a wheelchair and has not been out of his home for months. Therefore such a "house arrest" is absolutely meaningless - and designed for propaganda in the hope that reporters will not tell the whole story.[21] Clashes erupted between Palestinian police and Hamas supporters yesterday because of the 'arrest'. Palestinian police sources said Hamas supporters opened fire at the approximately 50 policemen when supporters marched toward the house of Yassin to protests the decision. Witnesses said the police opened fire at the demonstrators.
AL QAEDA THROWS SUPPORT TO PALESTINIANS
Al Qaida appears to have shifted its strategy away from the United States and against Israel, a report said. The report by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy said Al Qaida, in the aftermath of its destruction in Afghanistan, appears to have moved toward support of the Palestinians in their war against Israel. The shift marks a break in policy that stressed that the United States is the key to any change in the Middle East and for a victory by the Palestinians. In the report, author Reuven Paz said Al Qaida has pledged to increase support for the Palestinians. The group, in statements on various Islamic web sites termed Qaedat Al Jihad, said the suicide bombing of the USS Cole would be the first of many against U.S. and Israeli targets in the Middle East. The group also claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on a Tunisian synagogue in which 19 people were killed. "There are operations we took responsibility for, and others we shall do so in the proper time," Al Qaida said in an announcement.
IDF troops operating in PA-controlled areas of Hevron during the night discovered a bomb factory as well as tens of weapons. An unspecified number of persons were arrested, suspected of terrorist activities. IDF forces have surrounded the PA government building and a curfew has been imposed.
ANNAN OPPOSES BUSH; STANDS BY ARAFAT[22]
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan rejected US President George W. Bush's call for new Palestinian leadership, saying the Palestinians must elect their own leaders, and that the timing for new elections is "not optimal." "They elected Chairman Arafat, they are planning new elections, let them elect their own leaders," Annan told reporters yesterday at UN headquarters. He admitted, though, that a major drawback is the popularity of extremist groups opposed to peace with Israel. "You could find yourself in a situation that the radicals are the ones who get elected. And it will be the result of a democratic process, and we have to accept that," he said. Annan also rejected Bush's call for government reforms to be implemented as a precursor to peace talks, saying, "We had hoped that the reforms would not be a condition for the peace process and moving forward." The European Union and Russia also came out in support of Arafat.
There has been a noticeable decrease in attacks by Palestinians on Israeli civilians in the West Bank of late due to the massive IDF presence in the area. [23] In the Gaza Strip, however, early yesterday evening Palestinians fired four mortar shells at a southern Gaza community. No one was wounded and no damage reported. Palestinians have been launching almost daily mortar attacks against the Israeli communities and IDF posts in the Gaza Strip area. Yesterday morning soldiers successfully foiled attempts by an armed terrorist to carry out an attack against soldiers deployed near the Karni crossing. The terrorist was spotted as he approached the border fence south of the crossing and began to throw grenades at a nearby IDF post. One IDF soldier was lightly wounded from shrapnel and treated at the site. Soldiers shot and killed the terrorist, who was armed with a Kalashnikov rifle and four ammunition clips. Israel now controls seven of the eight main Palestinian cities in the West Bank. Israeli soldiers stormed the fortress-like Palestinian headquarters in the city of Hebron early Tuesday, occupying the seventh of eight main West Bank centers. Palestinian security officials said four of their policemen were killed. Israeli troops surrounded the hilltop compound, exchanging fire with Arafat's police, and then soldiers entered the building and searched from room to room, Palestinians said, while forces outside used loudspeakers to demand that all the Palestinians inside surrender with their hands raised. Security officials said that the Palestinian security chief, Nizam Jaabri, and about 20 others had turned themselves in. Palestinians said some are suspected of killing five people thought to be collaborators with Israeli intelligence.[24] The Israeli military said soldiers entered Hebron to operate against the "terrorist infrastructure" there. A military statement said a "large number" of suspects had been arrested. Also, soldiers discovered an explosives laboratory. Soldiers declared a curfew in the city, confining more than 100,000 Palestinians to their homes, residents said.
GAZA ATTACK
Israeli towns in Gaza find themselves under mortar barrage, with at least four shells fired on one Jewish community this morning, and a lone shell on another Jewish town last night. Property damage was caused, but no casualties. Arab forces fired at two outposts near Netzarim as well. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that he would not "entangle our forces in Gaza, but we will act to strike major blow to Hamas headquarters there." He said that whoever thinks we should return to Gaza, "doesn't understand. I know Gaza better than anyone else, and we don't have to be there. But whoever thinks that Hamas should be there, is also mistaken."
28 June 2002 PALESTINIAN PAPER USING RACIAL SLURS
AGAINST POWELL AND RICE Michael Fruend of the Jerusalem Post reports this morning on an article which appeared this week in the official Palestinian Authority newspaper, Al-Hayat al-Jadeeda. Translated by Palestinian Media Watch, it criticizes US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as "the dark-complexioned lady" whose policies have "dealt a blow to the image of the African-American in the eyes of the vast majority of the world's inhabitants." The article continues, "My enthusiasm for George Bush increased after he entered the White House and chose to appoint to his administration two people from among the colored, a first in the history of American administrations: Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. We said then, both in private and in public, that these colored senior officials are a part of the Third World, even if only due to the color of their skin," Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Maqaleh wrote in the Arabic-language daily. But what happened after that was embarrassing and astonishing, especially what happened with the dark-complexioned lady, or, more accurately, black, the National Security Advisor," the article continues. "What compounds the astonishment is that the Black Lady always makes a point, whether the opportunity presents itself or not, of denouncing the Palestinians, to the point where her positions and statements have come to be nearly daily lessons to the American people and the world, causing regret to every Arab who was optimistic about her arrival on the political scene." Itamar Marcus, the Director of Palestinian Media Watch, said "PA verbal attacks on the United States are returning to the frequency and style common before September 11, including personal insults and demonizing of the US. The latest slurs against Rice show "the PA has now returned to its previous open statement of anathema toward the United States, presenting the US to its people as an enemy of Arabs and of Islam," Marcus adds. 33.
IDF GIVES ULTIMATUM TO HEBRON TERRORISTS
The main focus of the IDF's Operation Determined Path remains in Hebron, as 10 to 15 gunmen wanted for terrorist activities remain holed up in the Imara government complex. Late last night, the IDF issued an ultimatum to the gunmen to surrender. "We know there are a number of wanted persons inside, and we intend to get them," said IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Ron Kitrey on Army Radio yesterday. "We prefer to do it without a fight, but if it proves necessary, there will be one," he said. Yesterday, the IDF continued intermittent helicopter, machine gun, and sniper fire at the building. Since Tuesday, more than 120 members of the Palestinian Authority security forces in the building have surrendered, including 40 wanted fugitives and a member of Hizbullah. Some of those who surrendered disguised themselves as members of the PA Police. IDF troops, carrying out searches in the Gind Prison in Nablus have uncovered a huge arms cache. Weapons so far found include 150 Kalachnikov assault rifles and hundreds of magazines for them, hundreds of bulletproof vests, an improvised bomb, dozens of improvised weapons and grenades. Twenty Palestinians have been detained for questioning by the IDF.
Israel announced that it has arrested an Israeli citizen of Lebanese origin named Nissim under the suspicion of being recruited by Hizbullah sources.
34. It is suspected that the Hizbullah made use of Nissim's connections to Lebanon, and proposed the he aid them in exchange for money. The investigation revealed that Nissim was asked to get a map of the Tel Aviv region with electricity and gas installations highlighted on it, and also to photograph installations in the Haifa and central regions. In addition, he was asked to photograph a member of the security establishment, and to make contact with an army officer in order to garner information on IDF activities. Nissim was supposed to pass the information he collected to the Hizbullah at a meeting overseas and to receive payment in exchange. Nissim was arrested before he had a chance to leave for overseas. This instance is another example of Hizbullah's attempts to escalate their activities against Israel. Since the IDF's withdrawal from Lebanon, and especially since the outbreak of the latest wave of Palestinian violence, Hizbullah has been investing great efforts in attempts to build an infrastructure of collaborators and perpetrators in Israel and the territories.
SUICIDE BABY PHOTOGRAPH STIRS INTERNATIONAL OUTRAGE
On Friday, a photograph showing a Palestinian baby dressed up like a suicide bomber with apparently fake ammunition belts and explosives strapped to its body deeply angered and mystified Israelis and the world community. The picture was released by the Israeli army. One Israeli woman in Jerusalem said to me, "How is it possible that any human being could do such a thing?" A man who identified himself as the uncle of the baby in the picture but did not give his name told the British television network Sky News that the picture was authentic and the baby was dressed up at a party about six months ago at a university. Col. Miri Eisin, senior Israeli intelligence analyst, said the ammunition probably was not real.
35 [1] The report did not specify the amount of weapons supplied. 1. [2] More than 20 teenagers were brutally killed one year earlier by a suicide/homicide bomber who attacked at a Tel Aviv teen club. 2.
[3] NOTE the use of the word 'monitors', not prison guards. About two weeks ago, May 15 to be exact, an intelligence report was released by Debkafile which indicated that the prisoners were being 'monitored' by surveillance camera rather than in person by prison guards because the guards were prevented from being armed and therefore refused to go on site in Jericho. The report was hushed up at the time and some even objected to it on the basis that no one else was reporting it, but the Jerusalem Post today supports the original release. 3.
[4] A rescue worker told the radio it was difficult to count the casualties because bodies were blown to pieces and burned. 6. [5] Only a person who has known war is truly able to relate to the depth of the feeling expressed here. 8. [6] Let us never forget that the suffering and sorrow of Israel does serve the divine purpose. 9. [7] There is no respite in the chronicling of terrorism in Israel. When attacks are not occurring in one place, they are busy burying the dead there. 11. [8] When we read stories like this how can anyone argue that the actions of IDF forces have been unjustified? 12. [9] Were not the situation so serious, incidents like this would seem humorous indeed. [10] When Zalloum was killed, vigilantes from his militia broke into a jail and dragged out three other suspected collaborators, shot them dead and threw them into a street, where a mob mutilated their bodies. 13. [12] Article by Moshe Kempinski ( http://www.shorashim.net) 20. [13] CNN feeling the sting of condemnation said that Ted Turner does not control the editorial content of the News Network, a blatant falsehood. Turner, a strong supporter of the United Nations and One World, New Age philosophy, has hated God since the death of his sister many years ago. Since then he has grown continually smaller and more bitter. 21. [14] Very often these unnecessary tragedies reaches into home, not only in the United States, but all over the world. 22. [15] See how the suffering going on in Israel has a very human face? Were it not for the location, we could be talking about the feelings, and responses that would occur if these incidences were happening here. 23. [16] Please note the use of Bible terminology in his speech. 24. [17] Clearly Effie Eitam sees the course Israel is on as one that is fulfilling the plan of God. A man who had religious fervency has special power. A man who has that and the enviable position of also being right is unstoppable. 25. [18] This is an OUTRAGE - that a man who calls himself a 'christian' and a 'leader' in the church should make such a statement, applauding suicide. It is an insult to martyrs of old who died for their faith in the one true God considering the values of eternity far more important...values found in the Scriptures. I want to ask this man what Bible he reads??? 26.
[19] Lest anyone believe that this behavior is unique to Middle Eastern mentality, they should spend some time with ministers who have some familiarity with doing funerals on a regular basis. 27. [20] Don't believe it till you see it. 28. [21] And you can count on many liberal reporters to not tell the whole story. 29. [22] This article demonstrates that leopards have not changed their spots. 30. [23] My argument has always been that the way you negotiate and deal with Middle Eastern Islamics can only be from a position of strength. 31. [24] The important functions of Palestinian police is keeping the thugs in control in power. It does not pay to be a dissenting Palestinian, and it really does not pay to be a cooperating Palestinian. 32.
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