Free Republic

Palestinian security forces in Ramallah on Monday arrested a suspect in the murder of Samir Rantisi, a local journalist and spokesman for former PA Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo. Rantisi, 42, had for years urged Palestinians to endorse non-violent methods in their confrontation with Israel and was strongly opposed to suicide bombings. He was murdered early Monday morning while he was sleeping in his bedroom in the Sateh Marhaba neighborhood. A lone gunman who broke into his apartment in the Shkukani Building shot him twice in the head in front of his wife. The wife managed to identify the suspect,...

Nov. 26, 2003 Katzav hosts Geneva Initiative architects By GIL HOFFMAN President Moshe Katzav hosted the Palestinian signatories to the Geneva Initiative at Beit Ha-Nassi (the President's residence) Wednesday. At the start of the meeting, former Palestinian minister Yasser Abed Rabo said that his delegation is "extending the hand of peace to Israel." "We are looking for the support of all Israelis who want peace in this land to help create a bridge to peace," Abed Rabo said. "Both sides have suffered a lot. We hope to put an end to the suffering and start a new era of friendship,...

Oct. 13, 2003 Riskin: Efrat to outlast Yossi Beilin By GIL HOFFMAN Residents of Efrat are not losing any sleep worrying about the Geneva Initiative, Efrat Chief Rabbi Shlomo Riskin said on Monday. The plan, hammered out by a group of Palestinians and Israeli leftists over the weekend, would leave the 8,000 resident Gush Etzion community outside the borders of the State of Israel as part of a final-status agreement. But Riskin said he does not expect the initiative of former Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and former Palestinian Culture Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo to gain enough legitimacy to threaten Efrat....