Excerpts: Israel blamed:Israel waging genocide.More criticism of Israel.Who killed the 12 year old?Violence and blame 2 October 2000


+++JORDAN TIMES Oct.2,'00:"Pictures of child's death plunge Israel into
'embarrassment' "

QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"The film does not show who fired, but the shots seem to come from
the
Israeli position."

"`We are not certain that the child was killed by Israeli troops
and it is possible
that he was killed by mistake by Palestinian fire.' "

"He categorically ruled out the idea that the child could have been
killed
intentionally"
============================================================================
=========


EXCERPTS:
TEL AVIV (AFP) - Shocking pictures ... showing the death of 12-year-old

Palestinian Rami Jamal Al Durra Saturday in the Gaza strip - apparently
killed
by Israeli bullets - have plunged Israel into "deep embarrassment."
. . .
A heavy gunfight had just broken out in front of the Netzarim Jewish
settlement between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian policemen.
. . .
The film does not show who fired, but the shots seem to come from the
Israeli position.

The Israeli army issued a statement overnight in which it deplored the
death
of the child, but said it "condemns the cynical use of women and
children led
into areas of confrontation."

"We have opened an inquiry to shed light on what happened. We are not
certain that the child was killed by Israeli troops and it is possible
that he
was killed by mistake by Palestinian fire," Israeli military spokesman
Yarden
Vatikai told AFP.

He categorically ruled out the idea that the child could have been
killed
intentionally, despite the father's begging for the shooting to stop.

For its part, the Palestinian press accused Israel Sunday of having
committed
"a crime in cold blood," expressing satisfaction that the pictures had
been
seen throughout the world, including in Israel.

+++JORDAN TIMES 2 Oct.'00:"Middle East rounds on Israel, urges more
Palestinian resistance"

QUOTES FROM TEXT:
" `Only jihad (holy war) can presereve the holy sites of Al Quds
(Jerusalem),'
said the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which called on
Palestinian Authority
to cut off negotiations with Israel."

"In Iran parliamentary speaker Mehdi Karubi slammed Muslim
`indifference,
silence and weakness' towards the fate of the Palestinians"

"Despite the mounting criticism, condemnation and threat,
Israel's acting
foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami on Sunday blamed the Palestinian

Authority for the clashes, calling on it to come to the
negotiating table."
============================================================================
=====

EXCERPTS:
NICOSIA (AFP) - Politicians around the Middle East roundly condemned
Israel Sunday ... amid a growing chorus from more groups calling for
revenge
and holy war.

Reactions from Cairo were typical,. . .the highest authority in Sunni
Islam, the
Sheikh of Al Azhar, saying force was the only appropriate response to
Israel.
. . .
"Only jihad (holy war) can preserve the holy sites of Al Quds
(Jerusalem)," said
the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, which called on Palestinian
Authority to cut off
negotiations with Israel.

Hamas declared a general strike Monday, adding: "We invite our people
to take
up anew the arms of the intifada like rocks, slings, Molotov cocktails
and knives,"...

In Damascus, the secretary general of the Democratic Front for the
Liberation of
Palestine (DFLP), Nayef Hawatmeh, called on Palestinians to "continue
the
uprising in the face of .. Zionist repression."

In the Gulf, Kuwait's cabinet condemned the brutal aggressions
committed by the
Israeli forces and called on the international community to take
necessary
measures to stop such inhumanitarian acts which represented "a real
threat to
prospects of peace."

Bahrain's Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa Ben Salman Al Khalifa said "the
Israeli
aggressions constitute a violation of international conventions."

A statement by Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss said: "We call on the

international community, and particularly on powerful states, to act
immediately to
put an end to the renewed Israeli aggression."

In Iran, parliamentary speaker Mehdi Karubi slammed Muslim
"indifference,
silence and weakness" towards the fate of the Palestinians, and
expressed "the
deep sympathy of the Iranian parliament, people and government towards
the
families of victims and injured."

In Sudan, the foreign ministry condemned Israeli actions as "barbaric."
It appealed
to the UN to pressure Israel into refraining from such acts, and to
Arab League
ambassadors meeting in Cairo Sunday to take "practical measures" to
confront
"the Israeli provocative acts."

The ambassadors tasked Arab envoys in New York to ask the Security
Council
to "meet as quickly as possible and create an international
investigative committee
into the crimes and carnage committed by Israeli troops against the
Palestinian
people," League Secretary General Esmat Abdel Meguid said.

. . .Despite the mounting criticism, condemnation and threat, Israel's
acting foreign
minister Shlomo Ben Ami on Sunday blamed the Palestinian authority for
the clashes,
calling on it to come to the negotiating table.

+++JORDAN TIMES 2 Oct.'00:"King blames Israeli provocations"
[Saeb Erekat rejects ceasefire.]

QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"King Abdullah...threw Jordan's full support behind the
Palestinian people,
blaming Israewli unjustified provocations for four days of bloody

confrontation."

" `there is no logic in the calling for a ceasefire because we are
not waging a war.
The Israelis a waging a genocide against the Palestinian peoiple.'
"

"Israel alone bears the responsibility of the massacres because it
had sent right-wing
leader Ariel Sharon to the Aqsa Mosque."

" `We regret to see the US trying to equate between those who
commit the massacres
and theh victims of those massacres.' "
============================================================================
=====

EXCERPTS:
AMMAN (Agencies) - His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday threw
Jordan's full support behind the Palestinian people, blaming Israeli
unjustified
provocations for four days of bloody clashes.

"His Majesty King Abdullah underscored Jordan's support, through all
its
means, to the Palestinian brothers, in their current ordeal and renewed

Jordan's rejection of provocative and unjustified action,"... .

The King made the remarks in a telephone conversation with Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat, during which the King "offered his
condolences"
for the death of more than 30 Palestinians in four days of clashes with
Israeli
troops.
. . .
He also emphasised that the only way to achieve permanent and
comprehensive peace is through the restoration of the Palestinian
people's
legitimate rights, including the right to an independent state on
Palestinian
soil, with Arab East Jerusalem as its capital.
. . .
Asked to comment on Israeli acting foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami's
remarks that the Palestinian Authority is to blame for the clashes,
Erekat
rejected such remarks "in form and content."
{IMRA: Erekat is Palkestinian chief negotiator.}
". . . there is no logic in the calling for a ceasefire because we are
not waging
the war. The Israelis are waging a genocide against the Palestinian
people," Erekat said.

"We have demanded that the Israelis pull out their forces from
entrances to
Palestinian villages, towns and refugee camps, and Araft has requested
the
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to despatch a neutral task force to
investigate the incidents," added Oreikat.

He said Israel alone bears the responsibility of the massacres because
it had
sent right-wing leader Ariel Sharon to the Aqsa Mosque.
. . .
... Erekat said "we can by no means separate these events from the
peace process. The settlements on Arab lands constitute a flagrant
violation
of UN resolutions which Israel rejects, especially UN Security Council
resolutions 242 and 338 which call for Israeli forces' withdrawal to
the 1967
border lines including Jerusalem . Israel rejects resolution 194 which
calls for
the return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland."

On the US stand, Erekat said, "We regret to see the US trying to equate

between those who commit the massacres and the victims of those
massacres."

He urged the US administration to denounce the massacres and put an end

to them rather than calling for self-restraint adding that "the US
stand is
totally unacceptable."

Meanwhile the Lower House of Parliament on Sunday issued a communiquÈ
strongly condemning the "brutal massacre committed by the Israeli
occupation forces in Arab East Jerusalem and other parts of the
Palestinian
territories."

The communiquÈ reaffirmed Jerusalem's Arab character, rejecting all
Israeli
attempts to desecrate the city's holy shrines.

Meanwhile, over 1,000 Islamis marched inside the Kingdom's main Baqaa
refugee camp, one of the largest Palestinian camps in the region,
chanting
anti-Israeli slogans and called for Jihad (Islamic Holy War).

Leading politicians of the powerful Islamic movement who organised the
procession later addressed crowds in the camp's main market place,
attacking Arab rulers for failing to take a firm stance against Israel.

Hundreds of protesters chanted in support of attacks by Hamas freedom
fighters which have killed scores of Israelis over the years.

+++JORDAN TIMES 2 Oct. '00:"12 die, almost 300 wounded on 4th day of
Israeli-Palestinian clashes", Agencies


QUOTES FROM TEXT:
"more than 50 Arab Israelis were injured in clashes round Umm Al
Fahm and
other towns in Arab areas of northern Israel."

"In Nazareth, ... rioters trashed Jewish-owned businesses."

"There was even stonethrowing on the main thoroughfare in Jaffa"

"Israel's acting foreign minister Shlomo Ben Ami on Sunday blamed
the
Palestinian Authority for the clashes and called on the authority
to come
to the negotiating table."

"Ben Ami declined to denounce the visit by Sharon"

"In Tehran, Hamas spokesman Ibrahim Gosheh said Sunday Arafat
should resign"
============================================================================
=====

EXCERPTS:
TWELVE PEOPLE, including the first member of Israel's security forces,
were killed
and almost 300 injured in bloody clashes that swept across the
Palestinian territories
Sunday and spilled over to Israel.
{IMRA: Omits PA Policeman murdering an Israeli colleague when on
joint patrol
--after a coffee break -- the murderere turned
himself over to PA security.}

In all, 34 Palestinians and one Arab Israeli protester and one Israeli
soldier have been
killed or declared clinically dead over the past four days.

Two Israeli soldiers were also killed earlier in separate incidents
last week.
{IMRA:Before Sharon visited the Temple Mount.}
. . .
An 18-year-old youth and a member of the Palestinian security forces
were also shot
dead in Nablus during fierce gunbattles near Joseph's Tomb, a site
revered by Jews,
where helicopters were also seen firing on demonstrators.

It was during the fighting around Joseph's Tomb that the Israeli border
guard received
his fatal injuries. Israel's Deputy Chief-of-Staff Moshe Yaalon told
Israeli television that
the helicopters opened fire in a bid to evacuate him.
{IMRA: For four hours the PA refused to let medical
asssistance come to the wounded soldier who
was dead by the time the Israelis forced
their
way in. As a holy site, the location is
supposed
to be available to Israelis.}
Some 20 Palestinians were also injured in the unrest and witnesses said
Israeli tanks
rolled in towards two entrances of the town as darkness fell.
. . .
At Umm Al Fahm in Israel, Omri Ahmad Jabarin, 21, became the first Arab
Israeli to
die when police opened fire on demonstrators who blocked a main road
and were
throwing stones.

Witnesses said more than 50 Arab Israelis were injured in clashes round
Umm Al Fahm
and other towns in Arab areas of northern Israel.

In Kufr Kara, just 10 kilometres east of Umm Al Fahm - one of the
poorest and
largest Arab towns - residents stoned cars travelling the highway
running through town.
Police later closed the road.

Elsewhere, the fighting was fiercer. Police wearing flakjackets and
helmets used live fire
in Umm Al Fahm and in Fureidis, a town near the coast. In Nazareth,...
rioters trashed
Jewish-owned businesses.

There was even stonethrowing on the main thoroughfare in Jaffa, a
Palestinian city that
became a neighbourhood of Tel Aviv - Israel's largest and most
cosmopolitan city,
usually untouched by the vicissitudes of the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Elsewhere in the West Bank, some 82 people were injured in and around
the divided
town of Hebron, 48 hurt in Bethlehem and surrounding area, while around
17 were hurt
in Tulkarem and in Jenin in the north of the West Bank.

On the Israeli side, the army said two soldiers were slightly injured
in gunbattles in
Netzarim in the Gaza Strip and Hebron,... a soldier was in a critical
condition after
being shot during an exchange of fire in Nablus.

Seven Palestinians were killed in the first day of deadly clashes on
Friday at the Al Aqsa
mosque compound and a further 16 died Saturday as the violence spread
to the West
Bank and Gaza Strip.

Israel army closes roads in Palestinian territories

The Israeli army said Sunday it has decided to close certain roads in
the West Bank and
the Gaza Strip to civilian traffic.
. . .
Israel's acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami on Sunday blamed the
Palestinian Authority for the clashes and called on the authority to
come to the
negotiating table.

"We have solid ground to believe that in great part, the riots were
orchestrated from
above," Ben Ami, also Israel's security minister, told a press
conference here.

"People in the Palestinian Authority thought this serves a political
purpose, maybe a
public relations purpose," he said.

Referring to an appeal made by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to
Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat Saturday night to end to the violence, Ben Ami regretted
that "clear-cut
instructions do not percolate all the way down."

The minister defended Israel's use of force against the demonstrators,
saying that while
"Arab citizens are entirely free to demonstrate their feelings, it is
our obligation to enforce
law and order."

Ben Ami declined to denounce the visit by Sharon, an opponent of his
government,
saying that the compound - known to Jews as the Temple Mount - was
under Israeli
sovereignty.
. . .
"My main message today is not to judge what happened but to restart the
negotiations,"
he said.

Sharon said Sunday that the Palestinians were to blame for the
bloodshed.

"Erupting in violence is a means for Arafat to put pressure on Israel
and the Americans
to get what he wants," . . .

" each time the Palestinians aren't happy with something they break out
into violence," Sharon said.

The 72-year-old former general rejected widespread charges that his
visit Thursday to
Jerusalem's mosque compound set off the violence.

"This is a carefully prepared campaign that began 10 days ago with
violent
demonstrations near the Netzarim (Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip)
and which
spread into the West Bank and Jerusalem," Sharon said.

He also blamed Israel's Arab MPs for inciting the violence, calling
them "anti-Israeli."

"I came here to show that Temple Mount is ours," Sharon said during his
visit, which
seemed aimed at embarrassing Labour Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
. . .
In Tehran, Hamas spokesman Ibrahim Ghosheh, said Sunday Arafat should
resign and
allow the people to find new leaders, rather than let the new
Palestinian uprising fail.

"If he is wise, Yasser Arafat will understand the realities and resign.
He must do so. He
must allow the people to find new leaders," said Ghosheh ... .
. . .
He accused Arafat of working in coordination with Israel to end the
first intifada, or
uprising, which lasted from 1987 to 1993 ... .

He said Arafat had also put an end to two shorter uprisings in 1996 and
1998. "Will he
be so brazen as to do so again?...." ...
. . .
"Will this intifada continue? It is too soon to say. But we are
demanding the whole of
Palestine, the whole of Jerusalem, while Arafat has conceded 80 per
cent of our land
and two thirds of Jerusalem," he added.

Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA
www.imra.org.il