Jerusalem, Israel (ICEJ) — It was all smiles at the White House Tuesday as US President George W. Bush toned down expected criticism of Israel’s seam-line security fence and repeated his call for the Palestinian Authority to “dismantle†the terrorist infrastructure, angering the PA leadership and Islamic terror groups.
(MEMRI) — On April 26, 2003, the Islamic website Islam Online (1) hosted Wasef Mansour, a diplomat with the Palestinian mission in Morocco, in an online discussion titled “What Israel Gains From the Occupation of Iraq.” (2) During the discussion, Mansour held Israel responsible for the looting of museums and banks in Baghdad, called for Jihad against ‘the occupiers’ of Iraq, Palestine, and three cities under Spanish rule regarded by him as Moroccan, denied Israel’s right to exist, and compared President George W. Bush to Hitler and other tyrannical leaders. The following are excerpts from Mansour’s discussion with visitors to the website:
Jerusalem, Israel (Worthy News) — Just before 9 A.M. this morning at least 10 people were killed and 50 wounded when a bomb was detonated in a bus traveling down Gaza Road in Jerusalem, Israel. The explosion occurred near the home of Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, who was not home at the time, and also near the Moment Café, where 11 people were killed in a previous attack in March of 2002.
erusalem (ICEJ) — At least nine Palestinians were killed and at 10 were injured in the early hours of Friday morning during an Israeli military operation in the El-Bureij neighborhood in the Gaza strip, according to Palestinian sources. The AFP news agency quoted Palestinian medical staff as saying that a 10th person, a woman, died in hospital of her wounds.
Jerusalem (Bridges for Peace) — The Israeli Defense Minister disclosed that during the past week the security forces prevented 15 attacks that were intended against Israeli citizens and, in addition, arrested over 400 terrorist activists. “The IDF and security forces are making immense efforts to prevent terrorism. Over the past two weeks we are witnessing an increase in terrorist attempts against Israeli citizens. The assessment is that these increasing waves of terror are aimed at interfering with the democratic process in the State of Israel.”
According to an Israeli expert on global Islam, recent reports that Washington agreed to back a Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital constitute more than a diplomatic manoeuvre aimed at shoring up Arab support for the current US-led war against terror.
IMRA – “Today a Russian plane en route from Tel Aviv to Novosibirsk, carrying 66 passengers and 12 crewmen, went down.
This is a terrible tragedy for both Israel and Russia. I spoke today with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and we agreed on full cooperation between Israel and Russia in investigating this tragic incident.
The liberal Lebanese intellectual Hazem Saghiya, who resides in London, wrote a column in the Al-Hayat daily placing some responsibility for the attacks in the US on the Arab world, and calling for the extradition of the terrorists:
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has affirmed that Israel’s use of American-supplied weapons in pre-emptive strikes against Palestinian terrorists is not a breach of the contractual terms of sale, while other Bush administration officials continue to stand behind Israel’s dogged fight against Palestinian terrorism. Yet the question remains whether US President George W. Bush is about to cave in and finally hold his first meeting with PLO chief Yasser Arafat.
It was a brutal start to the Israeli work week, as two suicide bombings and a drive-by shooting left 5 Israelis dead and 110 injured on Sunday. The spate of attacks hit the nation hard, as one of the suicide bombers is believed to be the first recruited from the Israeli Arab community, while pressure is growing to cancel a pending meeting between Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and PLO chief Yasser Arafat this week.
Since the Palestinian riots have occurred, Israelis have no access to the Temple Mount. This has caused us some difficulties of being updated about what has been going on in the Mount the recent weeks. The following information has reached the CPDATM from reliable sources, and unfortunately, shed a very dark light on the archaeological situation of the Temple Mount:
Flush with the sense of a PLO victory at the Durban conference on racism, the official Palestine News Agency, Wafa, has been broadcasting a flurry of outlandish charges against Israel, including allegations of forced starvation and the use of poison gas.
Saluted on Monday as “a one-man peace process,” Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres continues to press on with plans to meet with PLO chief Yasser Arafat in Italy on Friday, despite the on-going violence and the Palestinian leader’s broadside against Israeli “war crimes” at the UN conference on racism in Durban.
Israeli officials are anticipating the arrival today of a draft copy of the Mitchell Commission of Inquiry Report. A copy was delivered to the White House in Washington on Thursday. T
With CIA chief George Tenet threatening to pack his bags and leave, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat gave reluctant approval to the US cease-fire plan in a late-night meeting.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and President George W. Bush expressed sharply differing views yesterday during a photo opportunity at their meeting at the White House. The brief exchange with reporters highlighted a disagreement over how to proceed with the peace process amid continuing violence.
Israel’s security Cabinet has decided to step up the targeted killings of Palestinian terrorists in an attempt to thwart attacks, despite US opposition to the policy.
The growing conflict started last Thursday morning, when Sharon ascended the Temple Mount on the eve of the Jewish New Year holiday to exercise his right to visit Judaism’s holiest site like anyone else. Sharon announced his plans days earlier, giving Palestinian and Israeli Arab leaders plenty of time to gather a hostile welcoming committee.
The demonstrations quickly spread on Friday and Saturday to Judea/Samaria and Gaza, where IDF outposts and Israeli civilians came under attack from stone-throwing youths, as well as gunfire from armed Fatah activists (the “Tanzim”) and even PA security forces. With casualties climbing, the two sides seemed close to a cease-fire on Saturday, until a tragic incident ignited the flames further.
The Clinton Administration announced today that Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to attend soon a US-mediated session in the region aimed at rooting out the cause of the violence. The clashes are Clinton’s worst nightmare, as he desperately wanted to avoid a Mideast flare-up just as his term in office winds up and US voters go to the polls to elect his successor.