News from Israel

[Sandy]

HEBRON (April 1) - The burial of 10-month-old Shalhevet Pass, shot in the head by a Palestinian sniper at the entrance to the Avraham Avinu quarter of Hebron last Monday, will take place today in the city's ancient cemetery, ending demands by the girl's parents that the IDF conquer and evacuate the Abu Sneneh neighborhood from where the fatal shot was fired.

The funeral procession will leave from the Machpela Cave at 11 a.m.

For close to a week Pass's father, Yitzhak, who was wounded in the legs in the shooting, and mother Uriya had refused to conduct the funeral. They ignored requests by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who telephoned Pass on Wednesday to express his condolences and implore the family to allow the funeral to go ahead, and by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Meir Lau.

Pass's murder generated headlines worldwide, and was used by Israel to alert the world to Palestinian terrorism.

On Friday, shortly after Pass was released from hospital, the Hebron Jewish Community announced that the funeral would take place today. A statement issued by the community said the purpose of the delay was to pressure the government into retaking the hills.

"Unfortunately, this has yet to be implemented," the statement said. "A weekhas passed and the point has been made, throughout the world. We will not allow the Israeli government to sit idly by while Arabs spill Jewish blood."

However, the statement continued, "It is now time to bring little Shalhevet toher final resting place. With the approaching Pessah holiday, the familyshould be allowed to fulfill the seven-day period of mourning."

[Sandy]

April 3, 2001

Sgt. Danny Dara'i, 19, of Arad, was shot and killed by a sniper while guarding Rachel's Tomb near Bethlehem. He was hit in the chest and was pronounced dead on arrival at Hadassah-University Hospital in Jerusalem's
Ein Kerem.

Tanks pounded the sources of Palestinian gunfire in Bethlehem, the Al Aida refugee camp on its outskirts, and Beit Jalla yesterday. The Paradise Hotel near Rachel's Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem was heavily damaged by shells. Palestinians reported seven were wounded in the exchange of gunfire.

The gun battle continued for more than an hour, abated for a short period, then resumed for another hour. During the fight, the Jerusalem-Gush Etzion (tunnel) road was closed, and the sounds of the fighting were heard in Jerusalem's southern neighborhoods.

[Sandy]

Losing a War - with Style
Winston Mideast Analysis & Commentary

If anyone knows how to lose a war with style it's Secretary of State General Colin L. Powell and the State Department. It seems apparent that our conventional wisdom in foreign policy is to lose wars with style and make sure our allies are prohibited from winning wars thrust upon them by implacable enemies.

But, Powell is not the only loser of war and preservers of enemies. Look for James Baker and former President Bush who maneuvered the Gulf War to a point where it seemed as if we and our (invisible) Allies had won but, in point of fact, Saddam and his elite four hundred thousand elite Republican Guards were carefully preserved by Bush/Baker. In deference to the vaunted Arab sensitivities about losing wars they start, our President saved Saddam - allowing him to continue his insidious program of building catastrophic weapons of mass destruction.


Islamic Military Strategy and Israel's Nuclear Posture
Louis Rene Beres - Professor of International Law

When an independent state of Palestine is declared in the next twelve months, on territories carved out of the still-living body of Israel, it will become an optimal platform for future war and terrorism. But the truly existential threat posed by this platform could require some form of prior Israeli nuclear disarmament. Once the new enemy Arab state and its allies believe that Israel had bent sufficiently to their incessant "nonproliferation" demands, the Islamic military strategy would progress from terror to war, from attrition to annihilation. In this respect, any expression of Israeli denuclearization could represent the last nail in Israel's coffin.


Soap Bubble #194
Boris Shusteff

When the ship of Barak's diplomacy sank after hitting the reef of the "Palestinian Hope," known by its code name "the refugees' right of return," very few people realized that this so-called "right" is nothing but a soap bubble. Sometimes one can't stop wondering how the Arabs time and again keep selling the same old junk to the Jews, and the Jews excitedly keep buying it, believing that they are getting a priceless treasure. Not only the Jews, but the whole world, mesmerized by Arab propaganda, keeps repeating in chorus with the Arabs that UN Resolution 194 supports "the right of return for the Palestinian refugees."

[Sandy]

Israel Army Goes Proactive
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Israel's heavy aerial-naval assault across the Gaza Strip Sunday night carried forward the systematic campaign launched last week in Jericho and Jenin to dismantle Palestinian strike power. It was also a blunt warning to Yasser Arafat that continuing on the path of violence and terrorism would be costly, because the IDF would progressively divest him of the military strength for buttressing his regime.

The raid's timing was linked to two events: Nakba Day, May 15, which Arafat has designated a day of massive terrorist and mob operations both in the West Bank and inside Israel, and the deadlock reached in the American CIA Director George Tenet's contacts with Palestinian security chiefs on Saturday. The Palestinian leader once again promised the US official to stop the shooting and rein in the terrorists but, as usual, went on to do the exact opposite.

The Israeli bombardment was launched shortly after midnight Sunday. It was the heaviest seen over the Gaza Strip since the 1967 War. Gunships loosed rockets, including anti-tank projectiles, while warships off the Mediterranean coast directed heavy automatic artillery and missiles at a number of military targets in the City of Gaza, Nuseirat, Jabaliya, Khan Younis and Deir el Balah. Hit were the command posts of Arafat's presidential guard Force 17, a naval police firing position and around 8 armored vehicles. DEBKAfile's military sources add that among them were armored vehicles fitted up as mortar and missile carriers.

The spiraling war marginalizes at best all the diplomatic initiatives hailed loudly in the last week. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called off a Minister Danny Naveh's mission to Washington to deliver Israel's reply to the Mitchell Commission's findings, after US officials notified him that diplomatic channels would suffice - a clear hint that those findings were far from the center of Bush administration thinking at the moment.

[Sandy]

Fatah Tanzim terrorize Palestinians in Bethlehem and Beit Jalah
Aaron Lerner Date: 16 May 2001

Israel Radio reported today that Israeli security sources say Palestinians living in Bethlehem and Beit Jalah are so frustrated with the reign of terror they are subjected to by Yasser Arafat's Fatah Tanzim that they are providing Israel with information so that they might be stopped from attacking Israel.

The Palestinians are not just concerned about the return fire that Tanzim attacks draw to Palestinian neighborhoods, they also complain of Tanzim violence against their own community.

Recently a local Palestinian girl was raped by Tanzim members in the Tanzim's club in Beit Jalah. The girl's family then murdered the girl since the rape defamed the family. No action was taken against the rapists.

The report also noted that Tanzim collects protection money from local businesses. They also get payments from the PA for attacks against Israeli targets. The reporter observed that while Arafat may not be able to instantly halt Tanzim attacks, his control on the purse strings that PAY for the attacks enable him to put a halt on the action within a short period of time if he wants to.

Woman killed in terror shooting
By Margot Dudkevitch (Jerusalem Post)

JERUSALEM (May 16) - Terrorists shot and killed Idit Mizrahi yesterday as she rode in a car driven by her father Moshe on the Alon Highway approximately 1.5 kilometers north of Ma'aleh Michmash. The family was on its way to a wedding in Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held the Palestinian Authority responsible for the murder of an innocent civilian.

Mizrahi, 22, of Rimonim was hit in the back and neck and died shortly after. Her father, 51, was shot in the leg and taken to Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. Her brother, Amit, 20, was lightly wounded by glass shards.

Passing civilians on the road offered assistance and attempted to resuscitate Mizrahi.

Soldiers and police sealed off the area and began searching for the perpetrators - two different weapons were used in the attack - and IDF officials said the terrorists are believed to have fled in a waiting car to the nearby village of Deir Dibwan. The army imposed a curfew on the village.

Residents of Rimonim last night met to discuss the terror attack that had such tragic consequences for the Mizrahi family and the entire community of 130 families. Aharon Niran, the community's spokesman, said Dalia and Moshe Mizrahi had lived in Rimonim for 15 years.

"Three years ago their son was killed in the army, now their daughter was killed by terrorists, and all they have left is one son. All they did was travel to Jerusalem to attend a wedding," he said.

Gamla

[Sandy]

The Myth of the "Occupied Territories"
Boris Shusteff

One of the most misused, misapplied, and misunderstood definitions in the dictionary of the Arab-Israeli conflict is the term "occupied territories." The vast majority of people simply do not know the facts or misinterpret them, thus completely distorting the real picture of the land distribution between the Arabs and the Jews. The truth of the matter is that, according to international law, the Jews have the complete and unquestionable right to settle the territories of Judea, Samaria and Gaza (collectively known as Yesha). Not a single enforceable international document exists that forbids them from settling the lands of Yesha.

On the contrary, the only existing enforceable document actually encourages Jewish settlement. Article 6 of the Mandate "encouraged ... close settlement by Jews on the land," including the lands of Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha).

Read the full article

[Spying]

Luke 13:1-5
1 There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
2 And Yahushua answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (KJV)

[Sandy]

It appears the winds of war are blowing and yet for some strange reason the national media does seem to think it's news worthy.

The situation appears to be that Jordan, along side Israel, are already at war with Iraq and yet not one single word is mentioned in the national news about this.

World Net Daily News
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GAMLA: NEWS AND VIEWS FROM ISRAEL
Volume 2 Issue 79
11 Av, 5761
Jerusalem, Israel
July 31, 2001

DEBKAfile's military sources report that, following Israel's air bombardment Monday night of a mortar factory concealed inside the Palestinian police compound in Gaza, Yasser Arafat is reported to have ordered from Tunis the launching of a large scale mortar offensive in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Jerusalem. The Palestinian munitions factory was demolished after Israeli settlements were subjected to a night of mortar fire.

Arafat's new offensive comes on top of the fast-multiplying Palestinian assaults at every hand that brought the confrontation to boiling point Monday.

In Jerusalem alone, an orthodox Jew is fighting for his life after being repeatedly stabbed at Damascus Gate. At noon, a Heineken beer can stuffed with explosives blew up in a supermarket in downtown Jerusalem, causing no casualties. It looked no different from the harmless cans on the same shelf. Monday night, two women were strolling outside their home in Armon Hanatziv, Jerusalem, when two Palestinians fell on one with a knife. She was not badly injured.

During the day, the Jerusalem police scrambled half a dozen times for false alarms in a city whose nerves were stretched as tightly as wire. Twenty-four hours earlier, under cover of the melee staged jointly by Palestinian and Israeli Moslem militants on Temple Mount, a booby-trapped car exploded in an underground parking lot beneath an apartment building in Pisgat Zeev, N. Jerusalem. It was rigged to bring the building crashing down. Fortunately, the bomb made of two gas balloons and hand grenades was defective. The building though damaged remained standing. But the adjoining apartment blocks were evacuated for
hours as police sappers dismantled the bomb.

Sunday night, gunmen in the Jerusalem Arab village of Issewiyeh opened fire on an Israeli patrol car on the main road to Maale Adummim, injuring one policeman.

That attack was highly significant. It carried a message that, after targeting Jerusalem for terrorist strikes for the last ten days, the Palestinians had begun to single out Israeli police and military personnel as their new focus.

Monday, that focus was highlighted. A speeding Palestinian Toyota blasted an Israeli police jeep near Kibbutz Bahan in central Israel and escaped to Tulkarm. Hanni Abramov from Netanya was critically injured, becoming the first Border Police woman casualty of the intifada. Seriously injured too was police officer Amir Azaida from the Bedouin village of Rahat. A third policeman, Wahid Hasson from the Druze village of Daliat al Carmel, was slightly hurt.

Monday morning, six Fatah activists blew themselves up while manufacturing a booby-trapped car in south Jenin. During the day, gunfire was opened on Israeli buses in the West Bank and military positions around the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hebron has not had a quiet day for weeks.

Monday night, the IDF tightened the closures around Ramallah and Bethlehem, both in firing distance of Jerusalem. A third West Bank town, Nablus, was placed under siege a week ago in view of terrorist alerts centering on the town.

Israeli defense authorities take this heavy Palestinian onslaught as a signal from Arafat that he is not afraid to go all out. Israel's army chiefs, attending a consultation with the defense minister Monday night, were all in favor of a forceful and rapid response to Arafat's challenge in order to arrest the precipitous increase of Israeli casualties among the armed forces and civilians.

Intense criticism has been leveled at the Sharon government, rising with the level of Palestinian terrorism, for dragging in Arafat's wake and letting him get away with holding the country to siege, instead of taking the initiative and cutting him down. Those critics blame the government for allowing Arafat to hit Israel so hard for so long. Various commentators have taken to diagnosing the latest Palestinian methods of operation as harking back to the techniques Arafat's PLO employed in the seventies. DEBKAfile's terrorism experts take the opposite view, emphasizing the enhanced operational capabilities displayed in the present Intifada.

They range from disguising bombs by stuffing explosives in watermelons, water canteens and beer cans,to building large bombing devices activated by cell phones, charges linked for chain reaction ' like the 12 devices strewn through Haifa's streets last week that were detected in time, booby-trapped cars and suicide bombers wearing exploding belts. Add to these the knifemen roaming the streets of Israeli towns who claimed two victims in Jerusalem Monday, the mortar crews and the thousands of gunmen lurking everywhere.

This terrorist army requires a highly proficient infrastructure of surveillance, intelligence gatherers, logistics, transport, training, armourers, explosives engineers and tacticians. It has to be fed, paid and kept supplied with the tools of its trade and medical facilities. Arafat has had ten months to perfect his machine for a terrorist offensive to crown all others.

[Sandy]

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GAMLA: NEWS AND VIEWS FROM ISRAEL
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Volume 2 Issue 114 Jerusalem, Israel
30 Tishri, 5762 * * October 17, 2001



Assassination of Israeli Minister, Rehavam Zeevi
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Police sources report that the Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi, 75, was shot three times at close range in the corridor of his hotel room at the Hyatt Hotel on French Hill in Jerusalem, as he came up from breakfast shortly before 7 am. His wife found him lying unconscious on the floor. One bullet entered his brain. Hadassah doctors fought hard for his life. Police have closed all the hotel's exits to interrogate guests and staff, many of whom are Arabs.

The Shin Beit ordered all government ministers not to leave their homes. Zeevi, a longtime combat general before he found his Moledeth (Homeland) party, consistently refuses bodyguards and defies Shin Beit guidelines for his safety, refusing to change his way of life as a citizen.

A few days ago, all Israeli ministers were directed to refrain from attending pre-publicized events. The PFLP, whose headquarters are in Damascus, took responsibility for the murder in a statement to the French News Agency. The group claims it was in revenge for Israeli's liquidation of its leader, Abu Ali Mustafa in Ramallah last month Two days ago, the minister resigned from the government with his co-minister Infrastructure minister Avigdor Lieberman in protest over what he regarded as the Sharon unity government's lenience in the face of Palestinian violence.

NOTE: Last week, Dr. Haim Salomon, 45, an Israeli resident of French Hill, which is bounded by Palestinian areas, was murdered in his home in circumstances that Jerusalem Police refuse to reveal. He too was shot as he entered his apartment.