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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Sunday, August 26, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Sunday, August 26, 2001 / Elul 7, 5761 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. PALESTINIAN ATTACK ON GAZA OUTPOST KILLS THREE 2. SETBACK FOR ARAFAT AT U.N. 3. PROTESTS AGAINST SHARON'S TEMPLE MOUNT "PARALYSIS"
1. PALESTINIAN ATTACK ON GAZA OUTPOST KILLS THREE The three military casualties of the early Shabbat morning battle in Gush Katif were buried this afternoon: Maj. Gil Oz, 30, and St.-Sgt. Kobi Nir, 21, both of Kfar Saba, were buried in the Kiryat Sha'ul and Kfar Saba military cemeteries, respectively, and Corp. Tzachi Grabli, 19, of Holon, was interred in his hometown. The three were killed when two Arabs infiltrated the Marganit outpost, opening fire and throwing grenades in all directions, including at the tents of many sleeping soldiers. Marganit is situated between Bdolach and Atzmonah in southern Gush Katif, near Khan Yunis.
The infiltrators were apparently not detected until they were within 20 meters of the outposts. Seven soldiers were wounded; five are still hospitalized, including one in serious condition. When reinforcements, headed by Maj. Oz, arrived within four minutes and began firing back, they killed both of their enemy attackers: one of them during the battle, and one shortly afterwards while pursuing him in the fields of Bdolach. A third Arab is assumed to have escorted the two before the attack, but returned to PA territory before it began. A preliminary investigation indicated that the terrorists were able to surprise the soldiers by advancing towards the outpost along a hidden wadi (channel). Oz, the deputy commander of the Shaked battalion of the Givati brigade, led his men as they entered the outpost, and Nir, a medic, was killed while trying to rescue him.
An investigative committee, headed by Infantry and Paratroopers Chief Brig.-Gen. Gadi Shamni, has already been appointed. Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler reports that questions to be investigated include:
* Why was there no reaction in the outpost after it received a signal that the border fence had been traversed?
* Did the two guards at the front gate act properly? The regulations stipulate that in case of an attempted infiltration, one guard must remain at the gate and shoot at the infiltrators, while the other must apprise the others of the situation and then return to his post. In this case, however, it appears that the second guard did not return to his post, but rather began shooting from somewhere in the middle of the outpost. It is suspected that it was his fire that killed Maj. Oz, as the terrorists had apparently not yet entered the outpost. The families of the fallen soldiers did not allow their sons' bodies to be autopsied, and IDF medical sources said that we might therefore never know how exactly they were killed.
Southern Command O.C. Maj.-Gen. Doron Almog said, "I would be very cautious before calling this a mess-up. I would say that the results are not what we would have expected in such conditions."
In retaliation, IDF tanks and ground forces destroyed several PA military positions in PA-controlled Rafiach in southern Gaza as well as further north. One soldier was lightly wounded during the offensive. F-15 and F-16 fighter planes also attacked PA terrorist targets early this morning. These included the main police headquarters in Gaza, an intelligence service and police facility in the Dir el-Balah area of Gaza, and police headquarters in Salfit, south of Shechem. Pilots reported accurate hits, and the planes returned safely to their bases. PA officials report several casualties. In addition, an Israeli tank crew shot and killed a terrorist in Gaza this morning.
The mother of one of the slain terrorists in the Gaza attack, Amin Abu Hatab, expressed pride in her son's actions. President Moshe Katzav visited the wounded in Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva today, as did Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
Two of Israeli's main dailies editorialized today on the incident. Yediot Acharonot says, "The fact that the terrorists succeeded in surprising the Shaked battalion soldiers at the post is an intolerable blunder that must be thoroughly investigated." Ma'ariv similarly believes, "The result is especially grave because it is liable to encourage Palestinian elements to adopt a new modus operandi since others have not produced results... It apparently attests to Hizbullah's direct or indirect influence on the Palestinians." However, Ma'ariv writes, "the results of yesterday morning's deadly incident will be impossible to reverse... It is difficult to see the action as a pattern that will frequently repeat itself [because] the Palestinians lack the tools to carry out successful infiltrations and now, without the factors of innovation and surprise, it will be even more difficult."
2. SETBACK FOR ARAFAT AT U.N. Yasser Arafat failed yesterday for the third time to force Israel to accept international observers in Yesha. The PA had no choice but to withdraw its proposal for such from the UN Security Council after the U.S. said it would impose a veto on the idea. The PLO failure was even more pronounced this time, as even many other nations that had before supported Arafat did not do so this time. U.S. President George Bush, when asked about Israel's recent incursion into the PLO-controlled Abu Sneineh hills in Hevron, said, "It is time that it be understood that Israel will not negotiate under fire, and Arafat must stop his threats and suicide killers." Bush also accused Arafat of not fulfilling his obligations to fight terrorism. In response, Arafat said that the Americans are not fulfilling their own obligations in the diplomatic process.
In addition, the chances for a Peres-Arafat meeting this week are plunging rapidly, in light of the recent terrorist events. Preparations for such a meeting had gone into high gear at the end of last week. Environment Minister Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) asked Prime Minister Sharon today to revoke the permission he gave Peres to meet with Arafat. Hanegbi said that considering the terrorist events of the weekend, and in light of the fact that all the security organs agree that Arafat is actively involved in the terrorism, "a meeting of this sort would only help rehabilitate Arafat's image in the world."
Arafat has not given up hope of meeting Peres, however, and said that he is waiting for an answer from German Foreign Minister Fischer. At the same time, PLO officials are intensifying their contacts with Syria. Nabil Shaath and aides to Syrian President Bashar Assad have met several times over the past few days, and an Arafat-Assad meeting has in fact been scheduled for September 12 in Damascus. This will be Arafat's first visit to the Syrian capital in five years.
3. PROTESTS AGAINST SHARON'S TEMPLE MOUNT "PARALYSIS" The illegal destruction by Waqf officials on the Temple Mount has been renewed. Journalist Nadav Shragai reports that Islamic Jihad members are also taking part in the work, which continues to involve the sawing down of large boulders from the Second Temple period with the help of a giant electric saw. The Arabs have quietly renewed their project of cleaning out the water cisterns on the Mount, without Israeli approval or archaeological supervision. Cistern #5 is now in the process of being electrically pumped of its water and other objects. Yisrael Kaspi of the Committee to Prevent the Destruction of Temple Mount Antiquities explained the situation to Arutz-7 today:
"The large saw continues to cut, a tractor continues moving rocks and dirt and materials from place to place, and the main thing now is the cleaning of the cisterns, despite our warnings and demands. The Waqf workers are removing all sorts of materials without any supervision... We just now met again with government officials, and they agree that the desecration is very serious - yet we are left to continue voicing our protest against the paralysis that has overcome the Prime Minister and his refusal to do anything to stop the work there - he even refuses to meet with us, or even just to cut off all electricity that would prevent the large electric saw from working there..."
Photos of the illegal Temple Mount works may be seen at <www.har-habayt.org/newp.html>.
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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Monday, August 27, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Monday, Aug. 27, 2001 / Elul 8, 5761 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. ISRAEL KILLS PFLP LEADER 2. P.A. ATTACKS SINCE LAST NIGHT 3. ISRAEL UP IN AMERICAN POLLS 4. MUBARAK ATTACKS SHARON 5. LARGE ECONOMIC GROWTH FORESEEN FOR ISRAEL
1. ISRAEL KILLS PFLP LEADER Israeli forces killed Mustafa Zibri, known as Abu Ali Mustafa, acting leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization, late this morning. This marked the highest-ranking Palestinian political/military leader killed by Israel in its long war against terrorism in many years. Two missiles were fired at his Ramallah office, which situated very close to Arafat's offices.
Mustafa was responsible for dozens of attacks against Israelis, including car bombs in Jerusalem neighborhoods such as Meah She'arim, and most recently, last week's car bomb that did not cause any casualties. The Barak government allowed him to return to the PA autonomous areas in September 1999 after he verbally recognized the validity of the Oslo agreements. Since then, however, he has been involved chiefly in organizing armed cells to carry out terrorist attacks. Mustafa replaced PFLP founder George Habash, who has been sick for several years, as head of the organization.
The killing came the morning after the security mini-cabinet decided that from now on the IDF retaliatory actions will not suffice with the bombing of empty buildings, but will rather strive to cause casualties among those connected with the Palestinian war effort. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha'ul Mofaz, GSS head Avi Dichter, and others participated in the meeting in Tel Aviv. Last night's Israeli retaliations following the attacks of the weekend that left seven Israelis dead caused no injuries on the Palestinian side, except for five people who suffered from shock in El Bireh, south of Ramallah. Apache helicopters fired three air-to-surface missiles at PA security facility in Tul Karem, and tanks shot five shells at a PA paramilitary headquarters in Ramallah, leveling the building.
Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh strongly justified the attack:
"He [Mustafa] stood at the helm of an organization that in its ideology and its actions was against any conciliation with Israel - and the gravest thing of all is that he sent out car bombs! So what do we have to wait for? He's not a spiritual leader, sitting in his library and writing books; such a man would not be a target. He stands at the head of a network that results in people blowing up!"
Environment Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said that Israel's policy is totally one of self-defense, and that even if the killing of Mustafa could be considered an escalation, as the Arabs claim, "the Palestinians would be well-advised to take the hint."
UN Secretary-General Kofi Anan blamed Israel for increasing tensions in the region, Meretz and Arab Knesset Members criticized the strike, and the French Foreign Ministry called it "grave." The Palestinian Authority declared a general strike tomorrow and three days of mourning.
2. P.A. ATTACKS SINCE LAST NIGHT Gunfire at soldiers in the Southern Hevron Hills and near Ramallah... Five firebombs near Azzariya, east of Jerusalem... Netzarim attacked by terrorist gunfire... Shots at southern Jerusalem's new Har Homa neighborhood and the Shedma army base further south... Soldiers in southern Gaza near Rafiach area were attacked with grenades... Four anti-tank grenades were fired at the IDF's Calanit Outpost near Gadid in Gaza... The Gush Katif community of Gan Or was hit by terrorist gunfire... A bomb exploded between Ganim and Kadim, in northern Shomron... Women of Avnei Cheifetz reported that they were shot at on the Tul Karem bypass road... Following light-weapons fire at an Israeli car near Brachah, passengers said they saw two terrorists running away... An Egged #160 bus from Kiryat Arba to Jerusalem was struck by terrorist gunfire this afternoon on the Halhoul bypass road... Eleven firebombs were hurled at Israeli targets in Hevron... There were no injuries in any of these incidents.
3. ISRAEL UP IN AMERICAN POLLS Israel is winning in public opinion polls in the U.S. Some 70% of Americans have a positive image of Israel, according to a poll commissioned by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. Another survey, commissioned by the America Middle East Information Network (AMEIN), shows that by almost a 4-1 margin (42% to 11%), Americans are more sympathetic to the Israeli side than with the Palestinian Arab side. This result is similar to a finding released by a Gallup survey conducted earlier this month.
The AMEIN poll shows that 73% of Americans believe that Israel is "justified [in] attempting to kill" a terrorist when "Israel has proof that a terrorist is planning a suicide bomb or other act of terrorism that is likely to result in the deaths of Israelis." Only 16% said Israel is not justified in taking such action. In addition, 70% of Americans believe Israelis are "justified [in] attempting to kill" an individual when they have proof that he had "carried out a terrorist act that killed Israelis and plans to strike again." Only 18% said that is not justified. The poll further found that most Americans believe that terrorism is on the rise, and that Israelis are the most frequent victims.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Zalman Shoval explained to Arutz-7 today, "The American public has a basic admiration for Israel, and perceives a shared set of values with Israel... They also have a negative image of extremist Islam, which they associate with an anti-women stance, Taliban, Palestinians - it's largely the same to the average American..." Pollster Frank Luntz, whose firm, the Luntz Research Companies, conducted the survey, said, "It's interesting that Republicans and Democrats - who don't agree on much - agree on this: In the current spate of violence, Israel is the victim, not the perpetrator."
4. MUBARAK ATTACKS SHARON Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last night sharply criticized Prime Minister Sharon, saying that Sharon "knows nothing of diplomacy, but only killing." Speaking to students in Egypt, Mubarak called on the United States to take a more active role in peace-making efforts in the Middle East, as "calling for restraint and peace is not sufficient."
In a related item, Middle East News Line (MENL) reports that the Bush administration has succeeded in persuading Congress not to reduce U.S. military aid to Egypt. The congressional effort sought to trim at least $100 million from the current annual military aid level of $1.3 billion. Administration officials said that Congress was persuaded that any attempt to reduce U.S. aid to Egypt would only hurt American interests during the current violence in the Middle East. The officials said Egypt has remained a key factor in preventing an Arab-Israeli war. The first four of 24 F-16 fighter jets arrived in Egypt yesterday, and the filling of the compete order will result in an Egyptian air force fleet with more than 215 F-16 jets, the fourth largest such fleet in the world.
5. LARGE ECONOMIC GROWTH FORESEEN FOR ISRAEL The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is predicting a growth of 4-5% in the Israeli economy for the year 2002. According to the Dow Jones Newswires agency, this is the greatest growth ever predicted for Israel by the IMF. Israel's Finance Ministry has been criticized by both economists and politicians for predicting an optimistic growth rate of 4%, which was to serve as the governing assumption behind the 2002 State budget, and Bank of Israel Governor David Klein recently urged the government not to rush to adopt the forecast while planning its 2002 budget.
Yet the IMF, praising Israel's "hard-won credibility," has predicted a growth rate of up to 5%. It urges "continued prudent fiscal and monetary policies, while utilizing any room to moderate the downturn." One aspect of fiscal discipline identified by the IMF was the government's offsetting of increased defense spending with cuts in other governmental expenses. Reversing earlier criticism, the current IMF report endorsed the Bank of Israel's gradual approach to monetary policy and predicted that 2001 inflation levels would not surpass the government's target range of 2.5%-3.5%. Overall, the IMF found the Israeli economy to reflect financial stability and a conservative fiscal policy.
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To: arutz-7@israelnationalnews.com, arutz-7b@israelnationalnews.com From: Arutz-7 Editor <feedback@israelnationalnews.com> Subject: Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, August 28, 2001
Arutz Sheva News Service <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com> Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2001 / Elul 9, 5761 ------------------------------------------------
TODAY'S HEADLINES: 1. IDF NOT LEAVING BEIT JALA SO FAST 2. FINANCE MINISTER: WE'RE TRYING TO STOP VIOLENCE, NOT DISMANTLE P.A. 3. ARAFAT PREPARING TO HIDE AND RUN
****SPECIAL INSERT: excerpts from Wall St. Journal article
1. IDF NOT LEAVING BEIT JALA SO FAST The IDF entry into Beit Jala shows no signs of coming to an end, and eight Israeli tanks were seen making their way towards Beit Jala late today. The incursion came after Arab shots originating from Beit Jala last night wounded a Gilo man in the shoulder and damaged 31 apartments and one synagogue in the southern Jerusalem neighborhood. IDF ground and armored forces entered the PA-controlled town with the purpose of permanently silencing the shooting. Despite the IDF take-over of several buildings, however, Arabs in Beit Jala continued to fire upon Gilo during the raid and several times today.
The IDF spokesman explained that the army is actually carrying out the job that the PA had failed to do, namely, to ensure that there be no shooting at Israeli targets. Israeli tanks are currently in Beit Jala for the first time since it was transferred to PA control together with Bethlehem in early 1996. Prime Minister Sharon had said two weeks ago that the next time Arabs shoot from Beit Jala at Gilo, the IDF would enter. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha'ul Mofaz and other high-ranking officers arrived in Gilo this morning to observe the situation.
The Palestinians report one policeman killed in the resultant raid and two injured. Israeli soldiers stationed there since last night were shot upon several times today; no one was hurt. No buildings in the "occupied" areas have been destroyed, and the army has so far sufficed with leveling the ground in some places. At the same time, most government spokesmen - with the notable exception of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi and, to some extent, Finance Minister Silvan Shalom - say that Israel has no plans to remain in Beit Jala for an extended period. President Moshe Katzav gave the same message to US Ambassador Dan Kurtzer during a meeting this morning. "It's been many months that the Palestinians have been attacking Gilo," Katzav told him, "and no government in the world would have restrained itself for so long."
2. FINANCE MINISTER: WE'RE TRYING TO STOP VIOLENCE, NOT DISMANTLE P.A. Arutz-7's Haggai Segal spoke today with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Silvan Shalom, a member of the security mini-cabinet, and asked him, "All the government spokesmen are emphasizing that the army will leave Beit Jala quickly - but why? Maybe our presence there is the only way to ensure quiet for Gilo?"
Minister Shalom: "I think the army should remain there to ensure the safety of the residents of Gilo. There will be on-going evaluations of the situation to determine when we should leave, if at all; if it appears that the shooting could continue, then it won't be a matter of hours. It was impossible for us to continue having a neighborhood in our capital city shot on all the time, and I think this operation is a message for Arafat that not only our lives are in danger, but even Area A is vulnerable. Maybe he will realize that his path is leading nowhere, and he will abandon it."
HS: "And if he stops, is there any point to conducting a dialogue with him?" MS: "I have said before, and not just on Arutz-7, that I don't see any purpose in a Peres-Arafat meeting. I don't think it will lead to anything. Peres thinks that it could lead to a ceasefire, but as we have seen in the past, Arafat merely humiliated him, and I don't think there is any point in such a meeting."
HS: "There is criticism from both left and right to the effect that the government seems to have no plan, but rather merely responds to terrorist attacks or other violence as it happens. Prime Minister Sharon has been silent of late. Does the government have a plan?"
MS: "Look, the purpose is to stop the violence, and not to totally dismantle the PA. We could have expelled Arafat and his cronies a long time ago, but such a thing could lead to an escalation with worldwide implications, and it must therefore be looked into very carefully. It could be that one day we will have to seriously consider this option. What is clear is that the concept of bringing Arafat here has fallen apart. There are two, and now three, aspects of our plan to stop the Arab violence: To target the terrorist headquarters, even if they are manned; to go directly after the leaders behind the terrorism; and now, that Area A is no longer out of bounds for us. All this together is designed to get those who make the decisions over there to stop attacking us. If not, then we'll have to examine the situation once again."
3. ARAFAT PREPARING TO HIDE AND RUN The London "Foreign Report" writes that PLO chief Yasser Arafat is preparing "escape routes" to Egypt and Iraq for himself and a handful of close cronies, for fear that Israel's eliminations policy may extend to him. At the same time, Arafat is also preparing bunkers in which he could hide for an extended duration. Israel has denied that it plans to expel him, saying it would not intervene in internal PA affairs. The paper reports, however, that since several recent Israeli missile attacks on a Hamas meeting, the car of Marwan Bargouti, and more, Arafat has been in a high state of alert. In case of emergency, his plan is to go "underground" into bunker headquarters that have already been equipped with top-grade equipment before relying on escape routes.
****SPECIAL INSERT Excerpts From "Israelis Must Kill or Be Killed," by Hillel Halkin, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 28
...When I say that certain Palestinians who do not know my name, and have never met me, are trying to kill me, I do not mean this metaphorically. Acts of terror by Palestinians -- bus bombings, discotheque bombings, cafe bombings -- are aimed at all Jews living in Israel, of whom I am one... This is the definition of Terror. It does not care whom it kills and maims as long as it kills or maims.
There is no great mystery about who the people trying to kill me are. Most belong to two organizations, Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which operate freely in those parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip controlled by the Palestinian Authority. Some, like Abu Ali Mustafa of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, hit by an Israeli rocket in Ramallah on Monday, are affiliated with other groups.
...True, the Palestinian Authority does not always know who these operatives are. Many are first-timers, inducted and trained secretly. It knows very well, however, who their inductors and trainers are, just as it knows who are the "engineers" who make the bombs. Why shouldn't it? Many are men with long terrorist records who have served time in Israeli and Palestinian jails; many were released from Palestinian jails when the violence began, with the full expectation that they would resume their former careers... Some, like Amin el-Hindi of Nablus or Mohammed Deif of Gaza, are Palestinian folk heroes about whom ballads are sung and worshipful stories told. None has been put out of action by the Palestinian Authority...
They are trying to kill me, so what should I do about it? Consider the alternatives:
1) I can ask the Palestinian Authority to arrest such men. This has been done without results so often that to suggest doing it again is a stale joke.
2) I can try to deter them by massive retaliation. For every Israeli they kill, I can kill 10 Palestinians; for every establishment they blow up, I can destroy a dozen Palestinian houses. This is not only cruel, however, it has proven highly unproductive, as it only leads to more suicide bombers clamoring for revenge. Besides, it is just what the Palestinian leadership wants me to do. This leadership may rejoice at the sight of dead Israelis, but it gets more mileage out of dead Palestinians, because it knows what the sight of them does to international opinion.
3) I can post a commando unit on every street corner in Israel to intercept the bombers when they reach their destinations. This is an excellent idea. There are tens of thousands of such street corners. Perhaps NATO would like to send a military expedition.
4) I can make careful use of the intelligence at Israel's disposal to identify, locate and kill the bombers' ringleaders with minimal loss of innocent life by such means as booby-trapping their telephones, rocketing their cars and offices, etc. In a word, assassinate them.
...[Assassinations are] ugly, they're brutal -- and they're the most moral way of dealing with an ugly, brutal problem. In fact they're the opposite of Terror. Terror kills indiscriminately. Assassinations of the right people are as discriminating as you can possibly get while fighting a war.
Of course, they are not totally so. Mishaps occur. Mistakes are made.
There have been cases of Israel targeting the wrong person. Innocent Palestinians in the vicinity of assassinated terrorists have been killed. There are difficult moral choices to be made. Do you fire a rocket at a past and future mass murderer who may not be targetable again for a long time if innocent people are nearby?
But these are moral choices. Deciding between sending a suicide bomber to a discotheque or to a pizzeria is not. [In addition,] assassinating terrorist leaders works...
If you have better advice for Israel, feel free to give it. Just don't tell us it's our duty to die.
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