Excerpts: Israeli response in Jenin. The terrorist bombings and Israeli
military operations. Lebanese judge withdraws resignation 14 September 2001
+++JORDAN TIMES 13 Sept.'01: "Israel 'exploits US attacks' to attack Jenin,
kills 10 Palestinians" Agencies
QUOTES FROM TEXT: "Nine people were killed and nearly 50 wounded in the West
Bank during a second night of incursions in and around the autonomous
Palestinian town of Jenin in a move the occupation army said targeted `bases
for terrorist activity'."
"Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat accused Israel of exploiting the
international crisis to escalate strikes against Palestinians."
" `Several suspects involved in hostile terrorist activity against Isaraeli
targets were arrested' "
"The Jordanian press on Wednesday (12 Sept.) unanimously warned Israel
against using the terror attacks that hit the United States a day earlier as
a cover to accuse Muslims and Arabs of terrorism."
"Jenin was targeted after an Israeli Arab suicide bomber, who killed four
people in a deadly attack on Sunday (Sept.9), was said to have been trained
there by a cell of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas."
===========
EXCERPTS: PALESTINIAN OFFICIALS accused Israel of exploiting the world's
horror over the terror attacks in the US as the Jewish state killed 10
Palestinians on Wednesday.
Israel said it was launching strikes against "terrorist operations" and
urged Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "to renounce terrorism following the
horrific attacks in the US."
Nine people were killed and nearly 50 wounded in the West Bank during a
second night of incursions in and around the autonomous Palestinian town of
Jenin in a move the occupation army said targeted "bases for terrorist
activity."
But a top Arafat aide, Nabil Abu Rudeina, described the Jenin raids as "a
new massacre against Palestinians."
Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat accused Israel of exploiting the
international crisis to escalate strikes against Palestinians. . . . A 10th
Palestinian was killed and two wounded when Israeli occupation troops opened
fire on their taxi near Qurara town in the Gaza Strip... . sources.
Tanks rolled into Jenin under cover of darkness and opened fire, destroying
a Palestinian police post during exchanges of gunfire.
"Several suspects involved in hostile terrorist activity against Israeli
targets were arrested," an occupation army spokesman said in a statement.
"During the arrests, fire was opened against the IDF (army) force. Several
terrorists were injured in the crossfire when they tried to harm our
forces." . . . After the savage Israeli attack on Jenin, Peres urged Arafat
to "leave the world of terrorism", and linked an end to Palestinian
hostilities to a resumption of talks.
The Jordanian press on Wednesday unanimously warned Israel against using the
terror attacks that hit the United States a day earlier as a cover to accuse
Arabs and Muslims of terrorism.
"Immediately after the attacks, Israeli leaders and the Zionist lobby in the
United States issued statements giving the West the impression that Arabs
and Muslims were behind these operations," Al Arab Al Yawm daily said.
"Arab leaders must oppose these Zionist bids, which are aimed at creating a
wave of hatred among the American people against the Arabs, Palestinians and
Islam," the independent newspaper said in an editorial. . . . Peres said:
"Yasser Arafat now has an opportunity to turn the page and definitively
leave the world of terrorism; this is the real test for him.
"If the Palestinians remain within the world of terrorism, the world will be
against them.
"If the Palestinians leave the world of terrorism, we can resume our
negotiations."
But Abu Rudeina blamed Israel for the latest escalation of tension. . . .
"They carried out a new massacre against Palestinians which will negatively
affect the whole situation. We want the Israeli government to stop the
dangerous escalation." . . . Jenin was targeted after an Israeli Arab
suicide bomber, who killed four people in a deadly attack on Sunday, was
said to have been trained there by a cell of the Islamic resistance movement
Hamas.
At least 11 suicide attacks in the past year have been linked to Jenin.
Following the withdrawal from Jenin, the tanks entered nearby Tammun where a
member of the Palestinian security services was reported killed, and 20
Palestinians wounded.
Three Palestinians were killed in the village of Arraba, and two were killed
at Tubas in the same area.
The army spokesman said Israel "will act and continue to act in order to
prevent terrorist operations and to defend Israeli citizens and soldiers."
"They (the Israelis) are taking advantage (of the attacks in the United
States). If this snowballs, we might see in the next few days things heating
up in a very ugly way," warned Palestinian analyst Khalil Shikaki.
+++JORDAN TIMES 13 Sept.'01:"Carnage in US tips balance of play in
Israeli-Palestinian conflict" By Christian Chaise Agence France-Presse
QUOTES FROM TEXT: " `The freedom of action for those who fight terror will
be, in the eyes of the Americans, almost absolute.' "
"Television footage of Palestinians celebrating the anti-US attacks `is
going to cause tremendous damage to the Palestinian cause,' "
"In a damage control exercise, the governor of Nablus denied that thousands
of residents in the West Bank town had demonstrated their joy at the
devastation in the United States."
=========
EXCERPTS: OCCUPIED JERUSALEM - The carnage in ... the United States has
tipped the balance of play ... putting the Palestinians on the defensive and
stirring sympathy for the occupying power, Israel.
... Sharon will now have more leeway to fight the uprising, predicted
independent Palestinian analyst Khalil Shikaki, and "the world will show
very little tolerance" for Palestinian suicide attacks. . . . "The
Palestinians are now entering one of the darkest periods of their history,"
an editorial in the Israeli daily Haaretz warned.
... the attacks ... in which thousands are feared dead could prove a
disaster for ... Arafat.
Since coming to power ... Sharon has tried to portray the Intifada ... as
nothing more than a "terrorist" campaign launched by Arafat ... .
The right-wing hardliner sees the world as split into two camps, with
democracies pitted against state-backed terrorist groups, a view which has
gained currency in international public opinion since the onslaught against
the United States.
"From now on, the world will be divided between those who support terror -
and there is no difference between a person who flies a plane into the World
Trade Centre and someone who blows himself up in (Tel Aviv) - and those who
stand against it," forecast Yediot Aharonot, another Israeli daily.
"The freedom of action for those who fight terror will be, in the eyes of
the Americans, almost absolute."
Television footage of Palestinians celebrating the anti-US attacks "is going
to cause tremendous damage to the Palestinian cause", feared Shikaki, who
runs a research centre in ... Ramallah. . . . Shikaki said the Israeli
army's overnight offensive in the West Bank that cost the lives of 10
Palestinians showed the Jewish state was not wasting any time.
{IMRA: The number of deaths may have resulted from increase Palestinian
confidence derived from the success of the attacks in the US.}
"They (the Israelis) are taking advantage. If this snowballs, we might see
in the next few days things heating up in a very ugly way," said Shikaki.
{IMRA: Israeli military responsdes have been limited. But if they don't
achieve objectives they are apt to be intensified.}
Taking their lead from Arafat, Palestinian officials have lined up to
condemn the horrific attacks in the United States and voice their sympathies
for the American people.
And the Palestinian leader has decided to put off a groundbreaking visit to
Syria - a country included on a US State Department list of states which
allegedly support "terrorism" - that he was to start on Wednesday.
In a damage control exercise, the governor of Nablus denied that thousands
of residents of his West Bank town had demonstrated their joy at the
devastation in the United States.
It was a protest against Israeli military operations, he insisted.
{IMRA: Joyful demonstration against Israel!}
+++JORDAN TIMES 13 Sept.'01: "Judge withdraws resignation over trial of
Lebanese Christians"
QUOTE FROM TEXT: "[Judge] Riashi's gesture was in protest of an `illegal
appeal' presented by the military court administration against his verdict
in the militants' case."
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FULL TEXT: BEIRUT (AFP) - A senior judge at the centre of a row over the
trial of anti-Syrian Christian militants withdrew his resignation on
Wednesday after it was rejected by the magistrates high council, court
sources said.
Ralph Riashi, 52, head of the criminal cassation court, handed his
resignation to Justice Minister Samir Jisr and the magistrates council on
Monday after disputing the authority of military tribunals to intervene in
the case.
According to the president of the Beirut lawyers' association, Michel Lyan,
Riashi's gesture was in protest at an "illegal appeal" presented by the
military court administration against his verdict in the militants' case.
Riashi's cassation court sent 70 people accused of illegal political
activities and unauthorised meetings to the ordinary criminal court, thereby
reducing the powers of the special military courts, whose growing role over
recent years has caused an ongoing row in Lebanon.
Dr. Joseph Lerner, Co-Director IMRA
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