Posted on 06/22/2002 12:46:32 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
ERUSALEM, June 21 — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's security cabinet followed through on a plan for all-out seizure of the West Bank today, scrapping a tactic of intermittent raids in favor of a permanent armed presence as tense Israeli soldiers in armored columns poured into Palestinian cities, towns and refugee camps, military officials said.
The government's pledge this week to begin taking Palestinian lands "as long as terror continues," went into full swing today. Israeli tanks and troops moved into six of the eight West Bank towns designated for self-rule in the Oslo accords, with later reports of forces moving toward Hebron, one of the remaining two.
It was the largest operation since the six-week Israeli sweep through the West Bank that began in March. The Israeli radio described the action today as a "wide offensive, but smaller" than the spring operation, which at the time drew American calls for a speedy withdrawal.
Mayhem persisted throughout the day, Israeli officials and Palestinians said. At least 10 Palestinians had been killed by nightfall, among them three children who Israeli officials said were mistakenly hit with warning fire.
"We have to do a more thorough job of clearing out areas of terrorism," a Defense Ministry spokesman, Yarden Vatikai, said today, adding that Israel would "act more intensively, more deeply."
The Palestinian toll for the day was the highest in some time, and only one of the victims — a man who attacked soldiers in Gaza with a hand grenade — was a combatant.
Israeli settlers went on a rampage near Nablus this afternoon, Palestinian witnesses said, adding a volatile new element to the already explosive atmosphere here. Inflamed by the funeral of five in their community who were killed in a Palestinian raid on Thursday night, the settlers shot and killed a Palestinian man in a nearby Arab village.
At the stricken settlement, Itamar, as many as 3,000 angry Israeli mourners gathered for the funerals of Rachel Shabo, three of her children and a security guard, Yossi Tuito. People chanted, "No Arabs, no attacks!" some of them scuffling with Israeli police officers and soldiers, Palestinian witnesses said.
When the funeral ended, several carloads of settlers veered off, into the Arab village of Burin, where they set fire to cars and threw stones. When Palestinians threw stones back from a roof, a settler opened fire with an assault rifle, killing Adnan Odeh, 22, a stonecutter.
At a fruit and vegetable market in Jenin this morning, Israeli tanks and soldiers opened up with what they said was warning fire because townspeople were violating a curfew, army and Palestinian sources said. People had poured from their homes to buy needed supplies on hearing a rumor, proved untrue, that the curfew had been lifted after three days.
Palestinian families clustered around stores, crowding to buy bread. But, Palestinian witnesses said, Israeli troops appeared and opened fire with the cannons and machine guns on their tanks, scattering the crowd, with many fathers carrying their children.
In a rare admission, the army said in a statement that it had made a mistake.
Soldiers, according to the statement, were searching house to house for an explosives lab when they "identified a group of Palestinians who broke the curfew over the city and approached the forces," adding, "The force fired two tank shells in order to deter the crowd from approaching."
"An initial inquiry indicates the force erred in its action," it said.
The army initially said three people had been killed. But Muhammad Abu Ghali, director of the Jenin Governmental Hospital, listed four: Ahmed Ghazawi, about 6, and his brother Jamil, 12, both killed by tank fire; Sajedah Famahwi, 6, and Helal Shetta, 50, both felled by bullets. Hospital workers said there were also about two dozen wounded, many of them children.
The army statement said it was investigating the incident.
Overnight Thursday in Jenin, Palestinian witnesses said, the army blew up a building during a search for bomb factories, causing a house collapse next door that killed a 14-year-old-boy identified by Palestinian medical workers as Faris Hussam as-Saadi. His parents and four other family members were injured.
In the Gaza Strip today, Palestinians said, a Palestinian hurling a hand grenade tried to rush Israeli soldiers at a border area where Palestinians gather to go to work. He was shot dead, as were two Palestinian workers standing in line.
Also in the Gaza Strip, a 10-year-old boy, identified by Palestinians as Abd al-Samed Shamlakh, was killed by a bullet to the head when Israeli troops opened fire at a group of Palestinian children and an Associated Press reporter and photographer who were watching soldiers tear down a Palestinian police post the army said had been used to fire antitank shells at their outpost.
In what appeared to be an increasingly desperate effort to remain relevant, Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, granted an unusual interview to Haaretz, the leading Israeli paper, in which he declared that he was now ready to accept the peace proposal offered by President Bill Clinton, which he had rejected at the failed Camp David summit meeting nearly two years ago.
In the interview, Mr. Arafat accused "foreign" elements of exploiting hopeless young Palestinians to commit suicide bombings in exchange for money.
All told, as Israelis hurried off the streets for the Sabbath beginning at twilight, it was a grim day to rival many others. The first four pages of both popular dailies, Yediot Ahronot and Maariv, were devoted to the Israeli victims of the last three attacks — the commuter-bus bombing on Tuesday, 19 dead; the bus-stop bombing on Wednesday, 7 dead; the Palestinian gunman's assault on the West Bank settlement on Thursday, 5 dead.
In one of many hand-wringing analysis in the newspapers, the weekend magazine of Haaretz recounted the visit of Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer to a jailed failed suicide bomber, Arien Ahmed, in which he tried to seek out her motives.
Reflecting on their conversation, the defense minister says, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces:
"But unfortunately, while the I.D.F. is carrying out these necessary actions, the operations themselves become a hothouse that produces more and more new suicide bombers. The military actions kindle the frustration, hatred and despair and are the incubator for the terror to come. The religious and political environment immediately exploits this effect and dispatches the new suicide bombers, and the pattern is repeated."
The bias in this story is so pathetic. "Israeli troops in tanks firing at poor, innocent Pali fathers carrying their children while trying to buy bread"
Sniffle, sniffle, boohoo, boohoo!
Instead, Israel should announce the following policy:
After each new terror attack, the IDF will take and hold a 1K wide strip on the PA side of the Green Line. It may be wider or narrower in specific locations as suits the terrain, or the land may be taken in chunks where it will best suit the Israeli tactical advantage. (There are 6,000 square kilometers in the West Bank, annex a total of 100 to 200 square kilometers after each attack.) Push all the muslims eastward out of this 1K strip into the rest of the PA, let Arafat feed and house them.
Turn the 1K strip into a cordon sanitaire, a free fire zone which is as good as the billion dollar mega wall at preventing infiltration, and has the benefit of being moveable eastward as needed. Any non IDF seen in the 1K strip are to be fired upon immediately.
Bulldoze every structure in the 1K strip and truck away the rubble. Leave not one house for the Palestineans to demand to return to. Tell them "you have no house here, this land is lost to you forever. Thank Hamas, Hizbollah and Islamic Jihad for the loss of your land."
After each new attack, move the cordon sanitaire strip 1K eastward, and permit Israelis to settle the now fallow land previously taken.
Eventually the Palestineans will either revolt against their terrorist organizations for causing the loss of their land, or they will find themselves all in refugee camps in a few tiny patches right against the Jordan River.
(The giant billion dollar wall now being built is a mistake: it grants permanent control over the land on the other side to the Palestineans, no matter what future atrocities they may commit, or what heavy weapons they smuggle in.)
This is all so sad, but the 5th Century Islamic Idiots love it. Anytime someone is killed, it is sad - and especially so when kids are involved. I wonder what these children could have become had they lived. Then, I am snapped back to reality by the realization that they may already have had explosives strapped to their bodies. Ugh! What a filthy, vile culture that spawns such insanity.
And to think that MSNBC is planning to fire Alan Keyes, because the representatives of this 5th Century insanity don't want him to speak freely against this insanity - even in America.
Excellent plan. Can we email it to Bush?........he needs help.....quickly.
Retaliating with military force leading to civilian casualties, the Palis welcome that. They love death, and benefit from the propaganda.
Psssst. Hey kid, come here. You go and blow yourself up on a crowded bus full of Jews, and when you get back I'll give you $25,000. Deal?
Is it "draconian" to expell a people one kilometer at a time after each mass slaughter of Israeli women, babies, and high school students which those blood lusting people celebrate and promise to do again and again?
Yes or no will do, please try to be honest.
I will, however, directly answer your question. No, I am not prepared for the Israelis to be slaughtered. At the same time, I do not believe that it is the job of American taxpayers to fight their battles. As I said, the Israelis have a perfect right to defend themselves (or negotiate peace treaties if they wish). The issue is whether or not the American taxpayer is obligated to prevent people from being "slaughtered" not only in Israel, but Ceylon, Kosovo, Columbia, Burundi, Tibet, and Liberia. Do you think that taxpayers has are obligated to protect people in those places too? If not, why do you single out Israel?
I was honest enough to directly answer your question. Will you now respond in kind?
Israel is our outpost in the Islamic world. It is our Malta against the Nazi takeover of the Med and Middle East. I would help them, for the same reason the Brits defended Malta.
Or you can choose to surrender, and fight later in NY and LA.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.