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| Middle East |
| Israel Fires Rockets at Gaza City Targets |
| 2003-08-26 |
| GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israel launched two separate strikes on Gaza City targets on Tuesday, killing one and wounding at least 23 people. An Israeli helicopter fired rockets at a car of a Hamas fugitive driving north of the city, destroying the vehicle. One person died and 16 bystanders were wounded in that strike, doctors said. The passengers of the car, a small red Renault, apparently escaped. damn Earlier, an Israeli gunboat shelled an area north of Gaza City, wounding seven people, witnesses said. The target of that attack was not immediately known. The Israeli military had no immediate comment. Meanwhile, Israeli soldiers disguised as Arabs raided a West Bank hospital before dawn Tuesday and snatched two wounded Palestinian militants from their beds -- one of them wanted for planning a homicide bombing. Troops staging an arrest sweep in this Palestinian city jumped from the back of a truck and poured into Raffidiyeh Hospital from two sides. They declared a lock-down, confining nurses and doctors to a few rooms, and broke down an electrically operated door to the Intensive Care Unit. Soldiers armed with M-16 rifles asked a nurse to lead them to the wounded fugitives. They grabbed the militants’ medical files and wheeled the men out on their hospital beds to waiting military ambulances. Healing time is over, punk. It’s hurting time again The wanted men -- members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a militant group loosely affiliated with Yasser Arafat’s Fatah faction -- were driven to Israel’s Beilinson Hospital near Tel Aviv and were being treated for moderate injuries, military sources said. Israel accuses one of the men -- Othman Younis, 27 -- of helping plan several attacks in which at least 10 people were killed, including an Aug. 12 supermarket bombing that killed a father of two in central Israel. That bombing came in the midst of a cease-fire declared by militant groups on June 29. The other fugitive, Fahid Bani-Odeh, 25, is wanted for shooting attacks. Both are "hardcore" members of Al Aqsa, said the group’s spokesman, who goes by the name Abu Mujahed. He confirmed that Younis helped plan the suicide bombing. A two-month truce, which had reduced three years of violence, collapsed under last week’s violence. A homicide bomber killed 21 people on a Jerusalem bus on Tuesday, and Israel killed a top-ranking Hamas political leader two days later. Since the bombing, Israel has killed seven Hamas members, including a senior leader, in missile strikes, which marked the renewal of Israel’s policy to hunt and kill militants. Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Yaalon has made clear that all members of the militant group are targets for "liquidation." The latest missile strike, on Gaza’s beach front late Sunday, forced senior Hamas members to go into hiding, while the group’s spokesmen turned off their cellular phones. Hamas leaders were conspicuously absent from funerals Monday for four men killed in Sunday’s missile strike. Also Tuesday, Muslim-Jewish friction intensified at a disputed holy site in Jerusalem. Police arrested three Islamic officials after Muslim worshippers scuffled with police officers escorting Jewish visitors. In September 2000, deadly riots erupted at the shrine following a visit by then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon. The unrest escalated into three years of fighting. After Sharon’s visit, the site -- holy to Muslims as Haram as-Sharif and Jews as the Temple Mount -- was closed to visitors. It was reopened by police last week, with the initial acquiescence of the Islamic Trust, which administers the site. The shrine is revered by Jews as the site of the biblical Jewish temples and by Muslims as the spot where Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. It is a potent symbol of rival claims on Jerusalem. Meanwhile, the U.S.-backed Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas (search) -- who is trying to implement the "road map" peace plan to Palestinian statehood -- scheduled a new round of talks with leaders of Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip. It appeared that leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad were not invited. Abbas said last week, after the Jerusalem bus bombing, that he is boycotting the militant groups. Abbas’s advisers have said he is hoping to negotiate a new cease-fire, this time making Israel a party to such a deal. Israel has said the Palestinians must live up to their obligations under the peace plan, including dismantling militant groups, and that it will continue hunting armed men until Palestinian security forces take action. Brig. Gen. Jibril Rajoub, a former West Bank security chief named by Arafat earlier this week to the vacant post of national security adviser, said Tuesday that both sides must cooperate. "We have to all think together how we are going to break the tension and put an end to the bloodshed," Rajoub told Israel Army Radio, speaking in Hebrew. "Part of it depends on us and the more important part depends on you and whether you are really willing to end the occupation." Arafat fired Rajoub from his job as West Bank security chief after a violent argument in July 2002, but apparently brought him back in hopes of sidelining Abbas and his security chief Mohammed Dahlan. Rajoub and Dahlan have been rivals for years. Secretary of State Colin Powell last week appealed in vain to Arafat to give Abbas full authority over security. Abbas has been reluctant to crack down on militants, fearing it could spark civil war. He has appealed to Arafat to give him control of the key security branches, something he says is necessary to confront the militant groups. In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian militants fired homemade Qassam rockets and mortar shells into nearby Israeli towns and Jewish settlements in the coastal strip overnight and early Tuesday, the army said. Palestinians reported that soldiers were firing from the area where the shells and rockets were landing. Two Palestinians were wounded by gunfire, hospital officials and security sources said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #15 Arafatso is the petcock on the tank of blood. At a certain point Isreal will get sick of slow drizzle and will knock the valve completely off the tank with a blunt instrument. We will then discover how much blood is in the tank and hopefully how to install a new valve that doesn't leak after the tank is dry. I would expect the flow would drain the Beka valley and probably more. Others would know better. |
| Posted by: Steve D 2003-8-26 8:39:34 PM |
| #14 I can think of three reasons Israel hasn't killed Arafat.Remember Arafat has made himself the leader of Palestinians. 1)Since most everybody reports to him,it's easier to keep track of people-watch Arafat and discover who the other leaders are. 2)I dare say most Israelis want peace.There is probably a large group in/out of gov't. who say to negotiate a peace you have to have someone to negotiate with,and only Arafat can sell the deal to Palestinians. 3)Israeli economy relies on great deal of foreign aid.The moment Europe decides to employ economic sanctions on Israel,ala S.Africa,Arafat's gone. If Israel thinks she is being abandoned by world,I'm willing to bet all gloves will come off and Palestinium delenda est. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2003-8-26 6:56:54 PM |
| #13 Thank you .com, that explanation is a LOT more plausable than the "standard" ones. |
| Posted by: Flaming Sword 2003-8-26 6:02:50 PM |
| #12 Sword - Gotta be US pressure & threats. Heavy on the threats. And, that was then, so to speak, this is now - perhaps this last full-press attempt, the "Road Map", and its utter failure is one of the apocalyptic things the US req'd before pulling the plug. It's an open secret that the Foggy Bottom guys have protected their little darling all these years. Recall the Powerline story (about a month ago) where they got access to State Dept cables showing Arafat ordered the death of certain diplomats - and that State covered it up... Maybe now, finally, there is deemed sufficient coverage to push State to the back seat... And maybe a good whackin' is in the works. Perhaps AraFish's first inevitable misstep during the Israeli campaign to whack the Hamas-type asshats will be the last hoop we make them jump through... Lotsa "maybes" in there, sorry. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-26 5:58:35 PM |
| #11 RC - aw geez, man, that was my vacation money! ;-> B-A-R - Or a vewy lawge chunk of the pwoblem, anyway. AwaFish should be thrown back onto his Pile of Wubble in Wamallah... whether that's before of after he's shot is irrelevant if you wait and shoot him on the first bounce. ;-> |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-26 5:36:52 PM |
| #10 I still haven't read a CONVINCING analysis of WHY Sharon hasn't ordered Arafat whacked yet. The so-called "standard" explanations ("Arafat would be seen as a martyr", etc) don't seem to hold any water--its not as if the US wouldn't ultimately back Israel and its not as if Arafat doesn't ALREADY inspire acts of violence. So I ask the Rantburgers: Why HASN'T Arafat been whacked yet??? |
| Posted by: Flaming Sword 2003-8-26 5:33:48 PM |
| #9 Secretary of State Colin Powell last week appealed in vain to Arafat to give Abbas full authority over security. Abbas has been reluctant to crack down on militants, fearing it could spark civil war. He has appealed to Arafat to give him control of the key security branches, something he says is necessary to confront the militant groups. Liquidate Arafart and the problem will be solved. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2003-8-26 4:55:09 PM |
| #8 Ten points to whoever names the next Hamas leader to get liquidated! Does it matter? They all need a dirt nap. And their little dog too... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-8-26 3:24:06 PM |
| #7 Soon there will be a full-scale Hue & Cry™ press campaign claiming 99% or the deaders to be innocent. That's a sucker's bet. As far as most reporters go, there's not a single Palestinian involved in terrorism. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-8-26 2:37:21 PM |
| #6 I'm sure we won't undercut Sharon. Bush has already frozen several Hamas leaders personal accounts, so play time is over. Ten points to whoever names the next Hamas leader to get liquidated! |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-8-26 2:34:11 PM |
| #5 Frank - I know you're right - the Israelis have been hamstrung for a long time. Paleo Payback™, now. And spot-on re: The BIG Wall™ - go at it full-blast while they've got their (shit)heads down. Did you get a kick out of that "message" RantSissy sent his Steve - S'okay on the near-miss. They got more - and we're talking about a little teeny-tiny place and the best intelligence network on the planet. They'll find bunches and take them out of the game, permanently. ;) I'll bet that: 1) Some of the "leaders" turn up somewhere else - using group funds to smuggle their own precious asses out of harm's way. 2) Soon there will be a full-scale Hue & Cry™ press campaign claiming 99% or the deaders to be innocent. Yawn. The "press" doesn't get it even now: the Israelis aren't superhuman, but they know this biz inside out - and the biz will finally get done - if Dubya / Powell don't go soft in the head and undercut Sharon. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-26 1:59:08 PM |
| #4 They missed one of our old friends: Three men were in the car, including Wael Ekalan of the Hamas military wing, witnesses said. Saw the car on Fox, missile hit front bumper, passenger compartment looked mostly intact. One report was that they saw it coming and bailed out. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-8-26 1:34:34 PM |
| #3 .com, usually it's Steve or Mike posting faster than me, so I can relate lol. I think the gloves are off until at least the terrorists are in disarray or hiding under their daughters' beds crying like little girls. In the meantime, doubletime building the freaking fence! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-26 1:01:04 PM |
| #2 Sigh - you posted while I was still waxing smartass in my comments on a Rooters / MSNBC pair of articles on this. ;-) I like liquidation. Has the right ring to it - that certain something, y'know? And we're talking about the Israelis, which means that this isn't the hyperventilated hyperbole phantasy common from this part of the mudball. If they say something, you can trot it down to the bank. One complaint: it seems that Fox can't tell anything without dredging up 500-600 words of pseudo-"background" - spun until it's dizzy - and which only someone like Ted Kaczynsky wouldn't know. The "news" is as clear as mud by the time they get through with it. Here's the MSNBC link - which quotes RantSissy calling the Israelis "cowards" - so, um, pussyboy, who is it again that's doing the hiding? Too funny. http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/reuters08-26-054529.asp?reg=MIDEAST I hope Israel wipes the motherfuckers out. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-26 12:51:03 PM |
| #1 It sounds like the Cluehammer may finally be in motion. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2003-8-26 12:41:45 PM |