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Eye on Israel

May 19, 2001

Russia Denounces Israel's Use of Force
May 19, 2001 -- Russia has issued a sharp denunciation of Israel's use of force against Palestinians in the escalating violence in the Middle East. The Russian Foreign Ministry described Israel's use of force as unjustified and improper. The statement said Moscow is very concerned about the continuing confrontations and said Israel's use of military force is impossible to explain. It said Israel has begun large-scale regular military operations against the Palestinians, and it called on both the Israelis and the Palestinians to act immediately to ease tensions.

Arab League Foreign Ministers Discuss Rising Mideast Violence
May 19, 2001 -- In Cairo, Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa has called for rapid international intervention to stop the escalating Mideast violence. He said an international police force should be dispatched to protect the Palestinians. Mussa urged the international community and particularly the United States to play a serious political role to end the bloodshed. The statement came as Arab foreign ministers met behind closed doors in Cairo to discuss the escalating violence.

Israeli Air Force Pounds Palestinian Terrorists
May 19, 2001 -- The Israeli air force today staged bombing runs by F-16 fighter jets and attack helicopters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in retaliation for Friday's suicide bombing in Netanya. It was the first time jets had been used in the territories since the Six Day War in 1967. The attacks drew heavy criticism from the Arab world. Palestinians claim 12 were killed and scores wounded in the attacks on Palestinian security installations. Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer telephoned U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld last night and told him Israel held Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat "personally responsible" for the spate of recent suicide bombings.

Five Killed by Suicide Bomber in Netanya Mall
May 18, 2001 -- Five Israelis were murdered by a Palestinian suicide bomber at the entrance to a mall in Netanya today. At least 40 people were wounded. The shopping mall was crowded with shoppers at midday Friday, as people prepared for the Jewish Sabbath. Israeli security forces have been on high alert for possible attacks by Palestinian militants during more than seven months of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Shortly after the fighting erupted, Israel banned Palestinians from entering Israel as a security measure.

Clinton Says that Sharon provoked intifada
May 17, 2001 -- Ex-president Bill Clinton charged Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday with having provoked the intifada by visiting the Temple Mount last October. The Austrian news agency reported that Clinton made the remarks to reporters after speaking at a private conference in Vienna.

Israel blasted at European Parliament
May 17, 2001 -- Leading EU officials addressed the European Parliament yesterday and harshly criticized Israel for excessive force in fighting Palestinian terrorism. In a speech extremely critical of Israel, but never once calling on the Palestinians to end the violence, Sweden's Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said that the EU "repudiates the escalating violence in Gaza and on the West Bank." She then went on to slam "Israeli incursions into areas under Palestinian control, firing from armored vehicles in these areas, firing along different road sections, [and] selective assassination of people."

Israeli Woman Killed By Palestinian Terrorists
May 17, 2001 -- Palestinian terrorists shot and killed an Israeli woman yesterday as she rode in a car driven by her father. Idit Mizrahi, 22, was hit in the back and neck and died shortly after. The family was on its way to a wedding in Jerusalem. Her father and brother were wounded in the attack. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon held the Palestinian Authority "responsible for the murder of an innocent civilian."

5 Killed in Al-Nakba Riots
May 16, 2001 -- Four Palestinians were killed, and two border policemen, an Israeli civilian, and 110 Palestinians were wounded in violent clashes that erupted throughout the West Bank and Gaza as Palestinians marked Al-Nakba, the "catastrophe" of Israel's creation, with large-scale demonstrations. PLO leader Yasser Arafat told Palestinians there will be no peace and stability in the Middle East without "the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homeland," a full Israeli withdrawal from the lands occupied in 1967, and a dismantling of all settlements.

Israel Strikes Gaza Targets After Border Blast Kills 2
May 10, 2001 -- Israeli missiles slammed into Palestinian targets in Gaza City today in retaliation for a roadside bomb that killed two migrant Romanian laborers repairing an Israeli fence on the Gaza border. Two missiles punched holes into PLO offices near the beach, causing balconies to crumble and damaging two of the building's four floors. Israeli cabinet minister Danny Naveh told Israeli Army Radio: "We must take such action so that Arafat will understand he cannot achieve anything with violence and will pay a heavy price for it."

Two Romanians Killed in Gaza Strip Blast
May 10, 2001 -- Two Romanian guest workers died and a third was wounded after a powerful Palestinian bomb exploded in the Gaza Strip today. The blast was followed by Palestinian gunfire. The blast took place south of the Kisufim crossing point between Israel and Palestinian Authority autonomous areas. The Romanians were engaged in subcontracting work on the security fence.

Palestinian Admits To Weapons Shipment
May 9, 2001 -- Palestinian terrorist leader Ahmed Jibril acknowledged his Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command organized the arms shipment seized Sunday by the Israeli navy off the Gaza Strip. In an interview from his headquarters in Syria, the terrorist chief pledged to continue funneling antitank, antipersonnel and antiaircraft weapons to the Palestinians to help their uprising against Israeli rule. Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority denied any knowledge of the shipment, and Jibril said that the arms were destined for "anonymous" fighters, not necessarily the Palestinian Authority.

Israeli Boys Brutally Murdered Near Settlement
May 9, 2001 -- Two Israeli boys were brutally murdered in a cave near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. Yaakov Nathan Mandell and Yosef Ishran, both 14, were bludgeoned with bowling ball-size rocks and were described by Israeli police as so mutilated that one could be identified only by his fingerprints. The murders, which police immediately blamed on Palestinians, coincided with a spike in clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. "This was not the work of humans," said Pini Birnbaum, an Israeli volunteer who helped bring the bodies out of the cave. Police said the boys had been beaten by at least three killers who used large rocks. They said the killers dipped their hands in their victims' blood and smeared it on the walls of the cave, where a monk is said to have lived in the 4th century. Mandell was an American citizen who immigrated with his parents to Israel. Israeli police arrested at least 15 Palestinians for questioning.

Sharon Promises To Continue Expansion in West Bank and Gaza
May 8, 2001 -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon renewed his promise to continue expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Speaking at a news conference, Sharon challenged the long-held view of Western governments and the United Nations that the settlements are illegal because they are built on land Israel has occupied militarily since 1967. "It's not occupied territory, but disputed territory," he said. Palestinians say one of the main goals of their bloody uprising, now more than seven months old, is to force Israel to remove the some 200,000 Jewish settlers who live in 145 communities built on land seized from Egypt and Jordan in the 1967 war. But Sharon said today there is no connection between the violence and the settlements. He has said the uprising was begun to force Israel to make further concessions after peace talks broke down last year.

Gaza-bound ship filled with weapons captured off Haifa
May 7, 2001 -- Israeli naval forces captured a fishing boat loaded with a massive quantity of advanced arms and ammunition bound for the Palestinian Authority-controlled Gaza Strip. The Lebanese vessel -- with a cargo of Katyushas, anti-aircraft rockets, mortars of various calibers, and massive quantities of ammunition -- left port on Saturday and began sailing south for a Gaza rendezvous. The Navy said that Ahmed Jibril, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, was responsible for the arms shipment. The cargo included SA-7 Strella hand-held anti-aircraft missiles, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), anti-tank mines and other types of rockets used against various armored vehicles. This weaponry is significantly more sophisticated than that currently used by the Palestinians.

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The Stones Cry Out
by Randall Price
This survey of archaeological discoveries in Bible lands includes testimonies and interviews from leading archaeologists and exciting pictures featuring the latest finds made in the lands of the Bible.