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Newsletter : 9fax0625.txt
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>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN June 25, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 115
Israel Bombs Beirut Electrical substation
(Courtesy CNN)
Israel and Hizbullah members in Lebanon exchanged firepower
Thursday, in rocket and bomb attacks that reportedly killed at
least seven people. Two Israeli civilians died when Katyusha
rockets fired from Lebanon into the town of Kiryat Shemona struck
the municipal building, Israeli security forces said. One person
was injured.
Earlier, Israeli warplanes bombed an electrical substation in the hills above the Lebanese capital, Beirut, killing four people and injuring 10 others. The attack, the first Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital in three years, plunged most of Beirut into darkness.
About three hours later, Israeli jets reportedly bombed targets in Beirut's densely populated southern suburbs, and two large explosions were heard. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Arafat Orders Arrest of Fatah Dissidents
By Ross Dunn (VOA-Jerusalem)
Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat has ordered the arrest of a dissident group of PLO members who have accused his officials of bribery, corruption and abuse of power. Palestinian police said Thursday they have detained a group of people suspected of committing acts of sedition and defamation against the Palestinian Authority.
Unofficial reports say up to 20 people were arrested for
distributing leaflets alleging that Arafat and senior officials in
the Palestinian security establishment are guilty of what the
leaflets describe as "corruption and immorality."
The accused are being interrogated by Palestinian Authority police,
who say the detainees are members of a gang that calls itself the
"Free Officers" -- a name taken from the movement initiated by the
late Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser in the 1950s. All are
members of Arafat's Fatah organization, the dominant faction of the
Palestine Liberation Organization.
Palestinian security officials say the gang did not constitute
a serious underground network. Nor is it the first part of the
mainstream PLO to have protested against the Palestinian Authority.
Some Palestinian analysts say these signs of dissension are an
early warning that Arafat needs to clean up, his administration or
risk losing more popular support.
Last year, a Palestinian legislative council committee of inquiry
recommended the dismissal of the entire cabinet over allegations
of corruption and mismanagement. Arafat surprised the Palestinian
parliament by refusing to remove even one cabinet minister accused
of fraud.
Ancient Ships Discovered off Israeli Coast
By David McAlary (VOA-Washington)
A team of scientists has found the oldest ships ever discovered at
the bottom of the deep ocean. They are remains of two ancient
Phoenician trading vessels more than 300 meters down in the
Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel.
The US explorer who discovered the sunken "Titanic" -- Bob Ballard
-- has led a team of oceanographers and archaeologists to a pair of
wooden Phoenician ships which were carrying hundreds of jugs of
wine when they apparently were dragged to the depths during a storm
2,700 years ago.
They were located by an underwater robot vehicle and deep water
tracking equipment -- the same hardware which helped find the
British passenger liner.
Speaking from Tel Aviv where he announced the finds, Ballard says
they are the first ships ever discovered from the ancient seafaring
civilization. "Clearly we've made a major discovery. What we have
is a time capsule -- two time capsules -- of the period of the Iron
Age."
The two vessels -- discovered upright -- are 18 and 15 meters long
respectively. Heavy stone anchors lie at their bow and midship.
The galley holds crockery for food preparation, an incense stand,
and a wine decanter. Expedition archaeologists say these and other
items leave little doubt Phoenician crews manned the vessel --
possibly as part of a fleet of cargo transports.
The boats are pointing toward Egypt and thought to have been
sailing from Phoenicia, now Lebanon, to either Egypt or Carthage,
in what today is Tunisia.
The wine originally part of the cargo has seeped out, but the
sand-filled jugs are still intact -- as is everything else the
boats carried. "They are amazingly well preserved. The wood was
eaten, but it's like photographing a ship with an X-ray machine.
In other words, you don't see the ship, but you see everything else
inside of it."
Ballard says the shipwrecks open a new chapter in the history of
Phoenician seafaring. The discovery is already revealing facts
about their sailing methods. For one thing, it shows the crew
followed an unknown route 50 kilometers from shore.
"T tells us that they were braver than we thought. Most people
thought that the ancient mariner hugged the coastline and clearly
these people were bold and willing to go far from land. They went
the direct route, they didn't go the circuitous route along the
shore. We know that they had a crew that not only rode the ship
but also had sails. We know the kind of cargo they were
carrying. So we're learning a lot."
Ballard -- who operates from the Institute for Exploration in
Mystic, Conn. -- says his next expedition begins in two weeks in
the Black Sea. He has chosen that location because he is convinced
it is the site of the flood described in the Bible. He and his team
will be searching for villages inundated by the waters.
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