PLO chief Yasser Arafat has launched another trademark whirlwind tour in search of more international support for the Palestinian intifada, but his latest anti-Israel offensive found little traction this week at the United Nations or Arab League.
ICEJ NEWS – 08/22/2001 Amid approving shouts from spectators, a Palestinian Authority security court in Gaza this week sentenced to death a 24-year-old half-retarded Arab man for suspected “collaboration” with Israel. The condemned man, Khaled al-Oukka, simply smiled as the sentence of death by firing squad was read out, a reaction his father said was due to his retardation. He joins at least six other recently convicted “informers” on death row. At least seven more alleged spies have been slain by vigilante groups in recent weeks, including the body of one found in a garbage dump in the Bethlehem area … Read more
In recent days, Hamas Sheikh Ahmed Yassin has defended Islamic suicide bombings as a “democratic right,” a leading Egyptian newspaper urged Palestinians to kill Israelis everywhere, and Saddam Hussein has called on Jordan to open its borders to Iraq’s 6.5 million volunteer army recruited to “liberate Jerusalem.”
Tensions increased over recent days in the disputed Har Dov region along the Israeli-Lebanese border, after Hizb’Allah forces set up a roadblock just outside the divided border village of Ghajar.
The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday is trying to wind up a heated open debate on the PLO’s renewed demand for an international “protection force” in Palestinian areas, but the measure seems doomed to failure yet again after the US stiffened its opposition to an “unworkable” and “one-sided” resolution.
The prolonged Palestinian intifada continues to fuel a growing wave of anti-Semitism worldwide, as Jew haters are becoming ever more brazen in the build-up to the United Nations World Conference on Racism in Durban next week. The UN conference was originally designed as a forum to address the lingering ills of racial hatred, but has now become a rallying point for those who seek to vilify the Jewish people.
Deputy Commander of “Force 17,” Muhammad Dhamrah,(1) A.K.A, Abu Awdh in an interview with Al-Hayat [London, August 17, 2001]:
“…Independence will be realized only through sacrificing. We have prepared thousands, tens of thousands, martyrs in order to regain our land and for the return of the refugees. I derive my strength from this people, rather than from the security coordination or from promises made by the CIA. I feel safe, as many others do, among my people. I am not worried. I am very optimistic that victory will come.”
In an article published on Monday in the Palestinian weekly AL-MANAR, a leading Palestinian journalist advocates the use of biological or chemical weapons to create a “balance of terror” with Israel.
ICEJ NEWS – 08/15/2001 The leading newspaper of the Palestinian Authority reported on its front page on Monday that “the [Israeli] occupation is using naked women to hunt down intifada youth.” The official PA daily Al-Hayat al-Jadidah claimed that last Friday, during a clash at the Karni Junction in Gaza, a female IDF soldier suddenly appeared on top of a tank. “She started to take off her clothes in front of the demonstrators until she was [nearly] naked. Some of the protesters said they were disgusted by it, while others said the Zionist soldier made rude gestures at them,” the … Read more
Israeli tanks and bulldozers on Monday night rumbled into Jenin, prime breeding grounds for Islamic suicide bombers, in a temporary show of force that furious Palestinian officials branded a “declaration of war.” When the IDF seemed poised to make a similar incursion into the Bethlehem area on Tuesday night to quell incessant gunfire at Jerusalem, it appears PLO chief Yasser Arafat was pressured into ordering his Tanzim militia to cease fire.
During the past few months, numerous Israeli commentators, columnists, academics, politicians, intellectuals, authors and other opinion makers from across the political spectrum, have written articles regarding their disillusionment with the Palestinians in general, with Yasser Arafat in particular, and with the Oslo process as a whole. Most articles pointed fingers at the Palestinian side, and accused it of deceiving and misleading the Israeli public and government.
I only returned to the Lord’s land two days ago after a grueling, but blessed, two month speaking tour in Hong Kong, Australia and the United States. As many of you will recall, it was with great difficulty that I left as we had just experienced a terrible suicide terror attack in the heart of Tel Aviv that left many young people dead and wounded.
In an article in the Palestinian Authority daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, titled “A Chance for the Fighting Negotiator,” Palestinian Information Ministry Director-General Hassan Al-Kashef urged Palestinians not to return to diplomatic negotiations, and to allow the process of war to run its course:
Wafa Idris: Representing Palestinian Womanhood At the symbolic funeral for Idris held by Fatah, a Revolutionary Council member eulogized her. She said, “Wafa’s martyrdom restored honor to the national role of the Palestinian woman, who sketched the most wonderful pictures of heroism in the long battle for national liberation. Wafa came today to complete the path of the martyr Dalal Al-Maghribi and her comrades…”(1)
Ahmad Al-Rab’i, a columnist for the London-based Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, recently apologized to his readers for reporting the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) version of the Karine A weapons ship affair. Al-Rab’i called on his readers not to believe the PA’s declarations any longer.
Palestinian terrorists were back on the warpath on Friday, as a suicide bomber targeted a crowded Tel Aviv pedestrian mall, wounding 22 Israelis, while rockets slammed into the Erez crossing into northern Gaza.
US special “security” envoy Gen. Anthony Zinni ended his brief regional visit on Sunday saying chances for an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire were improving, despite Israel’s daring seizure of a freighter loaded with weapons bound for the Palestinian Authority. Iran and Hizb’Allah have joined the PA in vigorously denying any connection to the captured vessel, while many Israelis are wondering what possibly more could their leaders want before finally declaring PLO chief Yasser Arafat an enemy.
In a highly-anticipated and carefully balanced foreign policy speech on the Israeli-Arab conflict on Monday, US Secretary of State Colin Powell sought to re-assert the American role in Middle East peace-making, reiterating the new Bush Administration line that it envisions a Palestinian state down the road, but stressing the first order of business is for the Palestinian Authority to stamp out terror, violence and incitement against Israel.
There were steady bouts of Palestinian shooting, mortar and bombing attacks since last Friday, with at least seven Israelis wounded and 13 Palestinians reportedly killed and scores more injured in “work accidents” or Israeli pre-emptive strikes and return fire.
Three Israelis, including one with dual American citizenship, were murdered by Palestinian terrorists in separate shootings and a school bus was fired upon on Wednesday, as the bullet-riddled ceasefire faltered towards complete collapse over the past 24 hours.