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Eye on Israel

May 27, 2001

Kurtzer to be US Ambassador to Israel
May 26,2001 -- President Bush has picked Daniel Kurtzer, currently ambassador to Egypt, to be the next ambassador to Israel. Kurtzer, an Orthodox Jew, is a career diplomat. He has served as ambassador to Egypt since 1997. The Senate must approve all ambassadorial nominations.

Arafat Says World Leaders Doing Little to Stop Israeli Aggression
May 26, 2001 -- Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has told delegates from Muslim countries that the international community is doing little to stop Israeli aggression against Palestinians. At a special meeting of the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, Arafat said Israel continues attacks because it does not fear sanctions will be imposed by other countries, including Arab nations. He also criticized the United Nations, and indirectly the United States, for not taking action to stop eight months of violence. The Palestinian terrorist, who called for today's meeting held in Qatar, vowed that his people will continue to fight until the Palestinian flag is raised over Jerusalem.

3 Suicide Bombers Blow Themselves Up in Israel
May 25, 2001 -- At least three apparent suicide bombers are dead after two vehicles exploded in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli town of Hadera. More than 30 Israelis were wounded in the Hadera bombing. Police say the bodies of two assailants were found near the charred, twisted wreckage of the car in Hadera. A Lebanese television station reported that the militant Islamic Jihad group was responsible for the blast. Earlier, a truck packed with explosives blew up in the Gaza Strip near an Israeli army post guarding the Jewish settlement of Netzarim. The driver was killed and no Israelis were hurt. The militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for that attack.

Deadly Building Failure in Jerusalem
May 25, 2001 -- At least 23 people were killed and more than 300 injured in the collapse of a banquet hall Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood. Israeli rescue workers are continuing to search for survivors in the rubble of the multi-story banquet hall that collapsed during a wedding party in Jerusalem's Talpiot neighborhood. Police and army officials say the disaster was caused by structural failure, and not a terrorist attack. Officials are describing the building's collapse as one of the worst civil disasters in the history of Israel. Eight people -- the hall's four owners, two contractors, an engineer and a designer -- were arrested Friday, police said.

UAE Wants Strong Stand Against US Support to Israel
May 25, 2001 -- The United Arab Emirates is urging other members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, OIC, to take a stand against what it sees as US support for Israeli aggression. Representatives from 56 OIC countries began arriving in Qatar Friday for a meeting to discuss the rising violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last week, Israel used US made warplanes against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for the first time. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed al-Nahayan, the UAE's state minister for foreign affairs, said Thursday that Islamic states should take a "practical position" to make the United States respect Arab and Islamic demands and stop the shedding of Palestinian blood.

Lebanese Plane Shot Down Over Israeli Coast
May 24, 2001 -- Israeli Air Force fighter jets chased down a small Lebanese plane that had crossed over the northern border a short time ago. IAF jets and helicopters scrambled to chase down the unidentified Cessna light plane after it was picked up on IDF radar monitoring the country's north. The plane was reportedly hit by helicopter gunships and crashed near Michmoret, a beach community between Caesarea and Netanya.

Israeli Civilian Killed in West Bank
May 24, 2001 -- Less than 24 hours after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared a cease-fire, Asher Iluz of Modi'in was shot dead by Palestinians. Iluz, 33, died from wounds sustained in a terrorist shooting while he and a friend were traveling on a dirt road in a PLO controlled section of the West Bank. At least three terrorists ambushed their vehicle and sprayed it with bullets.

Red Cross Apologizes
May 24, 2001 -- The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross expressed regret yesterday for comments made by an ICRC representative in Jerusalem who earlier this month suggested Israeli settlements were a "war crime," and promised the term would never be used again to refer to settlements. "The expression 'war crime' has not been used by the ICRC in relation to Israeli settlements in the occupied territories in the past and will not be used anymore in the present context," Geneva-based ICRC President Jakob Kellenberger wrote to Congressman Eliot Engel (D-New York) yesterday. "The reference made to it on May 17 was inappropriate and will not be repeated," he added. Kellenberger was responding to a letter from Engel in which the congressman urged the ICRC to retract the statement and maintain its neutrality as a humanitarian organization.

Samaritan Priest Dies
May 24, 2001 -- The high priest of the tiny Samaritan community of the Middle East has died. The community says Levi Ben-Avishai Ben-Pinhas died of old age Wednesday. The Samaritans number only about 650 people. Half of them live on Mt. Gerizim near the Palestinian-ruled West Bank town of Nablus, and the rest in the Israeli town of Holon near Tel Aviv. Throughout the years of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Samaritan community has straddled the line. Most Samaritans carry Israeli identity cards, but some also hold positions in ministries of the Palestinian Authority. The community's new high priest, Yefet Shomroni is a member of the Palestinian legislature.

Israeli Tanks Enter Gaza Strip
May 24, 2001 -- Israeli tanks have carried out a brief incursion into a Palestinian-ruled area of the Gaza Strip following a mortar attack on a Jewish settlement. The Israeli army said two mortar shells hit a farm in the Netzarim settlement in Gaza early Thursday. Israeli tanks returned fire and briefly entered Palestinian controlled territory.

Bush Calls Sharon and Arafat
May 23, 2001 -- President Bush, stepping up his personal role in Middle East diplomacy, telephoned Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to urge them to implement the recommendations of the Mitchell Commission. They are said to have agreed to work with the United States to that end. Aides say Bush first called Arafat, then Sharon, to urge them to seize the opportunity offered by the Mitchell commission's findings. He asked them to develop a framework for implementing the findings so that eight months of violence in the region can be brought to an end. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer declined give details of the response of the two leaders, but said they agreed to work with the United States on such a framework.

Palestinians Dismiss Israel's Ceasefire Announcement
May 23, 2001 -- Palestinian officials have dismissed Israel's announcement that it will halt offensive military actions, calling it a "public relations ploy." They say calm cannot be restored until Israel halts settlement activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer said Tuesday that soldiers were ordered not to open fire except in life-threatening situations, and that the army will not initiate offensive military actions. Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called on Palestinians to agree to stop the violence and return to peace negotiations. The United States welcomed Sharon’s call, and said it would welcome a similar statement from Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The Palestinian leader, who meets with French leaders in Paris today, has yet to issue a public response.

Ariel Sharon Calls On Palestinians To Accept a Ceasefire
May 22, 2001 -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called on Palestinians to accept a ceasefire to end months of violence between Israelis and Palestinians and pledged not to expropriate any more land for Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Sharon's statement was his first in response to a report on the violence, issued Monday by a fact-finding commission led by former US Senator George Mitchell. At a televised news conference, Sharon called for a total truce, saying if the Palestinians accept his proposal to stop fighting, then Israel will stop retaliating. He was responding to the report of the Mitchell commission, which calls for an end to attacks by Palestinians and a freeze on the expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israeli Foreign Ministry Reviewing Policy toward Red Cross
May 22, 2001 -- The Israeli Foreign Ministry informed the International Red Cross yesterday that it is reviewing its policy toward the organization in light of its characterization last week of settlements as "war crimes." Foreign Ministry legal adviser Alan Baker met with Rene Kosirnik, head of the ICRC delegation in Tel Aviv, to protest his comments and inform him that Israel's relations with the ICRC are under review. The ICRC is involved in numerous humanitarian activities in the disputed territories for which it needs Israeli cooperation and government approval. Kosirnik, at a press conference last week, said: "The transfer, the installation of population of the occupying power into the occupied territories, is considered as an illegal move and qualified as a grave breach [of the Fourth Geneva Convention.] It's a grave breach, formally speaking, but grave breaches are equal in principle to war crimes."

Powell Urges Israelis, Palestinians to Implement Mitchell Recommendations
May 21, 2001 -- Secretary of State Colin Powell has endorsed the just-released Mitchell report on the Middle East and says now is the time for the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to move forward on the basis of its findings. Powell spoke with both Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat after the report was released Monday in New York. Powell also named the US ambassador to Jordan William Burns to help both sides implement the commission's recommendations. The report calls for an immediate ceasefire, a freeze on Israeli settlement activity in Palestinian areas, and more determined action from Palestinian authorities against terrorism. Palestinian officials welcomed the appointment of the US official and also said a summit should be convened to discuss the findings of the Mitchell report. They said the report should be accepted in full, despite their disappointment that it does not recommend an international force to protect Palestinians. Israeli officials said violence must end first for a summit to be possible. Former US Senator George Mitchell who led the independent committee said both sides believe the eight months of violence has made life unbearable for their people.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Begins Mideast Trip
May 21, 2001 -- European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana is beginning a four-day Mideast trip today in Cairo, where he is to meet with Egyptian and Arab League officials to discuss efforts to end Israeli-Palestinian violence. Before leaving Brussels, Solana called for an immediate ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians, saying political dialogue will be difficult, but it is the only alternative to more bloodshed on both sides. Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak said a joint Egyptian-Jordanian peace initiative is still alive, despite a call from Arab foreign ministers on Saturday to end political contacts with Israel.

Israel Attacks Palestinian Targets
May 21, 2001 -- Israel has launched overnight attacks against Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip. Early Monday, Israeli army helicopter gunships destroyed a factory that Israel says was used to make mortar bombs for attacks on Jewish settlements. Palestinians say the buildings were civilian factories and shops. At least four people were wounded in the attack that also damaged Palestinian security buildings. On Sunday, three Israeli tank shells hit the home of a West Bank Palestinian security chief, Jibril Rajoub. Israel denied Palestinian accusations that it had targeted Rajoub for assassination, saying it was responding to Palestinian fire. Rajoub has been involved in security talks with Israel.

Peres Calls on Russia to Help Resolve Middle East Conflict
May 20, 2001 -- Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres has called for Russia to help resolve the Middle East conflict. Peres made the comments after arriving in Moscow on a two-day visit. Shimon Peres arrived in Russia saying he believes it can play a key role in helping end the crisis in the Middle East. The Israeli Foreign Minister says Russia's traditional links with the Arab world could help Moscow put pressure on the Palestinians to halt violence in the region. Peres is due to meet President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov for talks Monday that Russian officials say will provide new proposals for ending the conflict.

Arafat: 'Decisive Battle for Palestine' Has Begun
May 20, 2001 -- The fighting between Israel and the Palestinians has escalated into a "decisive battle for Palestine," PLO Chief Yasser Arafat told Arab foreign ministers in Cairo yesterday. "We will not give in. We will go on, God willing, until we pray together" in Al-Aksa Mosque, Arafat said upon arrival at the Arab League compound.

Off-Duty IDF Officer Killed in Ambush
May 20, 2001 -- Lieutenant Yair Nebentsal, 22, was killed and his mother seriously injured when Palestinian terrorists fired on their vehicle on Friday afternoon. The mother was airlifted to a hospital where her condition was said to be improving yesterday.

US Criticize Red Cross for Calling Settlements a 'War Crime'
May 20, 2001 -- The US criticized the International Red Cross on Friday, saying it was unhelpful that an International Red Cross delegation head called Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip a war crime. "We don't think this comment is helpful at this particularly volatile time," said State Department deputy spokesman Philip Reeker. Rene Kosirnik, head of the ICRC delegation to Israel and the territories, told a news conference on Thursday that the settlements violate international law.

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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.