There has been no let-up in the intifada, as a Palestinian sniper shot at Israel’s newly-installed Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer while he was observing Palestinian areas from the rooftop of an Israeli military command center in the Gaza Strip on Friday.
The most recent Mideast peace accord that was agreed upon in Egypt by Palestinians and Jews appears to offer little hope for a lasting peace. Violence continues in Israel as Muslim leaders incite their followers to hate and commit acts of violence against Christians and Jews.
New Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ordered the IDF to tighten its blockade of Ramallah over the weekend, following the arrest of members of an active terrorist cell in the area and specific intelligence that other members of the cell are still at large.
Talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on security cooperation and final-status issues made little headway over the weekend, and were suspended on Monday when an Israeli citizen was found murdered in Gush Katif and the IDF renewed its tight closure on the Gaza Strip.
In a sign of spiraling mistrust and lawlessness in Palestinian areas over the past week, two Palestinians were summarily executed for alleged collaboration with Israel, three more were secretly murdered by militants, another two have been sentenced to death, and at least five others have been arrested as suspected informers. And in Gaza on Wednesday, the head of Palestinian TV was shot dead by masked gunmen in an unexplained hit.
Senior leaders of Israel’s peace camp refuse to call it quits – even during the throes of an election campaign they appear certain to lose – pressing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to enter marathon peace talks with the Palestinians in hopes of reaching a framework accord before the February 6 balloting for a new premier.
Just as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were reporting serious progress in the marathon Taba talks, a double murder of two Tel Aviv residents shopping in Tulkarm prompted Prime Minister Ehud Barak to suspend the intensifying effort for an election-eve peace deal. The move appears to be temporary, however, as the two sides are set to meet back in Taba on Thursday, once the terror victims are in the ground.
Fresh eye-witness accounts indicate the Muslim Waqf has added a new tunnel accessing the ancient Hulda Gates corridor to its growing list of “archaeological crimes” on the Temple Mount.
On Thursday evening, a Jerusalem man became the fifth Israeli civilian in the past two weeks murdered by armed Palestinian gangs targeting Jews over the Green Line.
Syrian dictator Bashar Assad concluded his first official visit to Tehran on Thursday by agreeing with his Iranian hosts that Israel and her US ally currently are in a period of weakness that should be exploited on behalf of the Palestinians.
With elections only a week away, the biggest concerns in the Likud camp of front-runner Ariel Sharon have less to do with what will happen on election day, and more about how Sharon can ensure a stable government once he is elected.
Hizb’Allah claimed on Monday to have captured a high ranking Israeli officer. ISRAEL RADIO reported later in the day that an Israeli citizen named Hanan Sheinbaum has indeed been kidnapped by the Lebanese terrorists. A Hizb’Allah representative interviewed by a foreign TV station said that the kidnapped Israeli is a Mossad agent.
Intifada violence continued throughout the territories over the weekend, with over 30 incidents involving gunfire, including several running gun battles between Palestinians and IDF soldiers in Hebron and the surrounding area.
A key United Nations agency has lent its support to a Palestinian Authority Ministry of Tourism map that completely obliterates Israel, CNSNEWS.com reported.
JERUSALEM, Israel, 3 August 2000 (Newsroom) — An undivided Jerusalem has been an axiom of Israeli politics for decades. As recently as 1996 former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defeated Shimon Peres with the campaign slogan “Peres will divide Jerusalem.”
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators resumed peace talks today, after a one day suspension following the killing of a Jewish resident of the Gaza Strip.
US envoy Dennis Ross has indefinitely postponed a Mideast peace mission amid growing doubts the two sides can reach any agreements before President Bill Clinton leaves office on January 20th.
There is confusion and uncertainty over the scheduled visit of US envoy Dennis Ross, casting a shadow over the latest US peace efforts. Israeli and US officials here say the visit is still on, despite Palestinian claims to the contrary. A senior Palestinian source told Reuters today that President Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed in a late-night phone conversation to cancel the Ross visit. Israeli officials were surprised by the report.
In one of the biggest demonstrations ever in Jerusalem, at least 200,000 Israelis came to the gates of the Old City last night to protest against President Clinton’s peace plan which calls for the division of Jerusalem. They waved Israeli flags and sang Biblical songs as the ancient walls of Jerusalem and David’s Citadel reflected a mystical purple, green and blue.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has given a conditional “yes” to the US peace proposal, giving peace one last chance before President Clinton leaves office on January 20th.