Skip to comments.

Posted on 09/30/2001 12:07:27 PM PDT by KLT

A calendar printed in Egypt shows, for the month of September 2001, the crash of a passenger plane -- with New York City as its backdrop. The calendar, published three months ago, is being used in an Islamic school in the Dutch town of Almere, where it has caused an uproar. The Dutch internal security service (BVD) is reportedly investigating the matter. Quoted on the calendar are the words, "I am supported by Allah, to die for Allah" - uttered by an EgyptAir pilot as he crashed a jet near New York two years ago, causing the deaths of all 217 people on board. However, the plane crashed in November - not September - of 1999. Almere's Deputy Mayor said the distribution of such controversial Islamic-extremist fundamentalist propaganda material "cannot be tolerated in Almere." Some of the calendar's other illustrations show a stone-throwing Palestinian demonstrator in front of the Al-Aksa mosque in Jerusalem, an Egyptian military assault during the Six-Day War against Israel, and a futuristic image of an Arab "liberation" of Jerusalem.

De Telegraaf reports that the head of the Islamic school, Mrs. Dekker, allegedly had a large number of calendars in her possession from the end of May to the beginning of June, and that when confronted with the calendar images, she responded in a "shocked, startled manner," asking, "How did you get this?" before shrouding herself in silence when further questioned by journalists.

Security officials reported last night that there had been close to 60 Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets over the Sabbath in what at least one Knesset Member called the "worst day of warfare" during the current year-long round of hostilities. The terrorism continued intensely today as well, while amidst it all, Israel's security cabinet decided to give Yasser Arafat yet another 48 hours to bring quiet.

The weekend attacks included three mortar shells against Gaza communities, and, for the first time, mortars against a community in Judea, namely, Tekoa in eastern Gush Etzion. One child was treated for shock in Gaza following a mortar attack. Ten other Israelis were wounded in other aggressions involving grenades, automatic gunfire, firebombs and rocks. Shooting was reported throughout the morning in Hevron, with two soldiers sustaining light wounds near Beit Hadassah. Last night, Arabs shot at the Jewish towns of N'vei Dekalim, Psagot, Chomesh, and Tapuach. In addition, terrorists shot at two Israeli motorists on the highway from Ma'aleh Adumim to Jerusalem; there were no injuries.

Today, there were shots at the N'vei Dekalim industrial zone, and, in more direct attempted murders, terrorists lying in ambush opened fire at an Israeli car along the southern Shechem bypass road and at another one near Ginot Shomron. In the latter incident, bullets hit the car, and a curfew was imposed on the nearby Arab village to where the would-be murderers escaped. Arabs also shot at an army vehicle south of Hevron this afternoon. No one was hurt in these incidents.

In the wake of, and/or despite, the increased Palestinian violence over the weekend, the security cabinet convened by Prime Minister Sharon last night decided to give PLO chief Yasser Arafat another 48 hours to prove that he is taking the ceasefire seriously. At the end of that period, the cabinet will reconvene to decide on its next steps. Foreign Minister Peres explained that the weekend's violence occurred only to mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the current violence, but that the "ceasefire was to begin in practice" only today.

In the meanwhile, Israel will continue easing the restrictions on the Palestinians, as agreed upon during the Peres-Arafat meeting. IDF forces have already begun removing the closure around the PA-controlled city of Jericho, which has been quiet over the past days. In addition, the army removed other roadblocks from other areas in Yesha, including near Ramallah, Jenin, Shechem, and even Rafiach - the scene of intense Palestinian attacks over the past weeks.

The cabinet decision of last night implied that if the violence continues, Israel would resume its offensive activities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer recommended, in the name of the army, that the restrictions be eased in quiet sectors. On the other hand, senior military commanders were quoted by Israel Radio this morning as saying that Arafat is doing nothing to enforce the latest ceasefire agreement, and that he will continue thusly if adequate pressure is not exerted on him.

PA leaders continue to say that they will not arrest the terrorists wanted by Israel - although this is a principle clause of the ceasefire agreement reached by Peres and Arafat.

Arutz-7's Yosef Zalmanson noted that the latest 48-hour deadline is reminiscent of several previous 48-hour requirements: Sharon's demand for 48 hours of quiet before a Peres-Arafat meeting, an ultimatum laid down in June of this year as a condition for the implementation of the Tenet understandings - but most significantly, it brings to mind the deadline set by then-Prime Minister Barak exactly a year ago. The night before Yom Kippur, on Oct. 7, when the Rosh HaShanah Arab Assault was just over a week old, Barak said that Israel very likely no longer has a peace partner, but "we are giving Arafat 48 hours to cease the violence." If it does not stop, Barak warned, the IDF would respond with full force. Three days later, he said that the ultimatum had served the purpose of bringing world leaders such as the UN Secretary-General and the Russian Foreign Minister to the region, and that he would therefore give more time to the diplomatic efforts before acting on his ultimatum. On Oct. 12, Arabs cruelly lynched two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah.

Yediot Acharonot's PA-affairs correspondent Roni Shaked outlined for Arutz-7 today Israel's current public relations problem: "Many in the U.S. and Europe, and sadly even here in Israel, do not feel that attacks within Judea and Samaria (Yesha) are considered terrorism. They do not understand that terrorism is terrorism no matter where it occurs. But Arafat knows that he can advance his strategy by continuing his violence within Yesha, because his goal is to kill Jews, while at the same time acting as if he is engaged in diplomatic negotiations."

CNN reported this morning, "Israeli troops shot and killed two Palestinians… The two were on their way to work in Israel… Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's inner security cabinet has decided to give Palestinian President Yasser Arafat at least another 48 hours to comply with a truce…" This puzzling report left out a few key details regarding the morning's incident as well as the context in which the Israeli cabinet made its decision, such as this weekend's 60 Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli targets.

What actually occurred was that an Arab taxi driver, carrying several passengers, was signaled to stop at an IDF checkpoint, as are thousands of Arab cars each morning. Rather than do so, however, he immediately reversed direction and attempted to escape. Checkpoint soldiers are trained to suspect just such behavior as an indication of the all-too pervasive terrorist activity that has left 180 innocent Israelis dead in the past year; in this case, they suspected that wanted or would-be terrorists were passengers. The soldiers opened fire on the vehicle, killing two of the passengers. Other Arab suspects escaped on foot.

Speaking at the official memorial ceremony at Mt. Herzl today for the soldiers who fell during the Yom Kippur War, Prime Minister Sharon said that our main lesson from that war must be that we must insist that our "peace partners" fulfill their agreements with us. "The terrible strike that befell us," he said, "and from which we have still not totally recovered, did not begin on Yom Kippur 28 years ago, but mainly from something that happened three years earlier. When the ceasefire was announced, after the [1968-1970] War of Attrition, that very night the Egyptians moved forward their Soviet array of [anti-aircraft] missiles [close to the Suez Canal, and began building new missile sites there]. And Israel, tired after 1000 days of fighting along the Canal, did not respond to the violation. This violation, and the lack of Israeli response, was very instrumental in Egypt's early gains during the Yom Kippur War. [We won the war, but] the lesson is that we must insist on the fulfillment of agreements, and this is the only way to reach peace."

Then-Defense Minister Moshe Dayan said in 1970, upon noting the Egyptian violation, that the U.S. had earlier promised Israel that if the Egyptians moved up their missiles, the U.S. would pressure the Egyptians to pull them back - but, in the event, the U.S. explained that they could not pressure Egypt. Dayan also said that it was those very anti-aircraft missiles that ultimately provided invading Egyptian forces protection from the Israeli Air Force at the opening of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Political analyst Dr. Aaron Lerner notes that Sharon implied that "the Labor Government that ruled the country during that period is responsible for taking a cavalier attitude towards the Egyptian violation of the cease-fire," and that Foreign Minister Peres, "who comes from that same Labor Party, should recognize the danger of taking a cavalier attitude towards Palestinian compliance." In addition, Lerner noted that the United States contributed to the Yom Kippur War by deliberately turning its back on the Egyptian violation and refusing to act on it.

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.