Kindgo
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- June 13, 2002 - 3 Tamuz, 5762
http://www.injesus.com/
Israeli forces pulled out of Palestinian-ruled Ramallah today, and lifted the blockade on the headquarters of Yasser Arafat. During the three day incursion, troops arrested around 75 Palestinians suspected of terrorist activity. The army says it uncovered a bomb laboratory and found two car bombs ready for use. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said the results of the incursions were "quite impressive." Palestinians emerged from their homes where they had been kept under curfew. Dozens of Arafat`s guards marched through his compound, raising their assault rifles in the air and chanting slogans in support of their leader.
Shortly after Israeli forces left Ramallah, troops entered the village of Toubas near Jenin in northern Samaria, continuing a campaign of almost daily raids in Palestinian territory. Two soldiers and two Palestinians were wounded in an exchange of fire. Troops imposed a curfew and arrested several people, including a local leader of Arafat`s Tanzim militia. The army also entered Beit Forik village near Nablus, arresting seven people in house-to-house searches.
With the army out of Ramallah, Arafat called the first meeting of his streamlined cabinet, which he reshuffled Sunday as part of reforms demanded by the United States and Israel. "The meeting will discuss strategy and the beginning of reconstruction as well as the current political efforts to put things back on the right track," said Palestinian spokesman Nabil Abu Rdainah.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has returned home, buoyed by a White House meeting earlier in the week with President Bush, who endorsed Israel`s “right to defend itself.” "It was an important trip," Sharon told reporters. "I think we made our position as clear as possible."
But there is some confusion over US policy after Secretary of State Colin Powell called for establishing a provisional Palestinian state. Powell told the Arabic daily “al-Hayat” that Bush "knows that to get to that vision it may be necessary to have a provisional state, an interim step." The remarks seemed to contradict Bush, who said last week that he would not set a timetable for Palestinian statehood. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer made clear that Bush had not approved the idea.
Powell was also quoted as saying that he believed a Mideast peace conference would go ahead this summer. That was also at odds with Bush, who said after talks with Sharon that the time was not ripe. The conflicts between the State Department and the White House on Mideast policy have been widely reported. Powell is seen as pro-Arab, while the White House is pro-Israel and fed up with Yasser Arafat.
A new poll shows that a majority of Palestinians hope the intifada (uprising) will lead not only to a Palestinian state, but also to the destruction of Israel. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed believe the Palestinian goal of the conflict is to "liberate all of historic Palestine." In December, 44 percent held that view, according to the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center, a Palestinian think tank that conducted the poll. A large majority of Palestinians still supports the ongoing fighting, though the numbers have dropped somewhat, from 84 percent in March to 79 percent now. Palestinian backing for suicide bombings is still strong, but also down slightly, from 74 percent in December to 68 percent today
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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