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Newsletter : 9fax0811.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Aug. 11, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 147
30 People Riding in a Ford Van
By IsraelWire
Police report that a van driving from the Dead Sea to Jerusalem, with a legal limit of eight people, was found to be carrying 30. The driver, a resident of Ras el-Amud, was taking members of his family and friends for a day outing. Police suspended his license on the spot.
Terrorist Crash Kills One Soldier, Injures 12
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
One man is dead and at least 12 Israeli soldiers injured in what police are calling a terrorist attack. Israeli police say a car driven by a Palestinian terrorist twice hit a group of Israeli soldiers at a busy intersection [Nachshon Junction] about 18 miles southwest of Jerusalem.
Police say the car ran down the soldiers and then returned about 10
minutes later and again hit some of the injured. Police opened fire
and killed the driver. The injured soldiers were taken to a
hospital.
The driver is identified as 23-year-old Akram Alqam, from the West
Bank town of Bethlehem.
Adi Weisel witnessed the attack. "I saw two soldiers being thrown
up in the air. I jumped from the sidewalk because I was next to the
woman soldier lying on the ground. He passed me by. Another
soldier standing 10 meters after me was thrown in the air. He
continued, hit another soldier and the soldier wounded on the first
time - he hit her again."
The motive for the attack is not immediately clear. No group
claimed responsibility for the incident. Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak briefed his cabinet on the attack. Barak is calling the
attack "cowardly" and says he is taking a "grave view" of the
assault.
He says the attack will strengthen Israel's "resolve to fight
terrorism and the need to cooperate with Palestinian security
services." Palestinian leaders are also condemning the attack.
In the past Palestinian militants have driven cars into groups of Israelis at intersections and bus stops. In response, iron barriers have been set up at some of the country's major intersections to prevent such attacks.
Palestinians Declare State of Emergency for Eclipse
By IsraelWire and Arutz-7 News Service
The Palestinian Authority appears to be readying for today's
eclipse as if for a nuclear attack. The PA's official newspaper
carries instructions from the "Civil Guard," which "has declared a
state of emergency, in order to protect citizens from all dangers
arising from the eclipse of the sun over the Palestinian lands."
After noting that viewing the eclipse can cause blindness - against
which the Israeli authorities have also warned - the announcement
presents Palestinians with instructions on how to behave during the
eclipse: remain indoors, don't receive guests; stay in a closed
room without windows; bring clean water into the room as well as a
battery-run radio in case of a power shortage.
The Israeli Meteorology Service predicts clear skies for the
eclipse with its zenith at 2:30 p.m. Israel time.
Iraq petitioned the UN, the US, and Britain not to conduct
reconnaissance flights over Iraq on Wednesday, in order that the
Iraqi citizens can enjoy the eclipse in peace. In Lebanon, the
Shiite leader announced that viewing the eclipse is in
contradiction to the laws of Islam.
In Israel, eagles are expected to fly to their night roosts in the
Golan Heights during the eclipse. Nature observers will watch the
"night candle" flowers, which normally open at nightfall, to see if
they open during the eclipse. They are also concerned for the sea
turtles, that normally emerge at night, which may be devoured by
predators if they emerge during the eclipse.
Attorney General: Eichmann Transcript Will Be Released
By IsraeWire
State Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein says Israel will permit
the publication of some 1,300 pages of handwritten documentation
of Adolph Eichmann -- documents written by the mass murderer while
he was being tried for his war crimes in Israel. The pages contain
Eichmann's account of the war and his actions during the war. He
was hanged in 1962 after being found guilty of the charges against
him by the Israeli court.
The family of the infamous war criminal has petitioned the state to
release the memoirs, which have been sealed in the national
archives and not made available for publication. Some Holocaust
historians who were permitted to review the manuscript insist the
release of Eichmann's account of events would serve as ammunition
for those persons who continue to deny that the Holocaust took
place.
Rubinstein says he would do everything possible to ensure the swift
publication of the memoirs together with the appropriate
commentary. Some opponents to the release of the memoirs have
requested that a precondition be attached to their release ensuring
that any profits earned by their publication be turned over to the
State of Israel to prevent Eichmann's family or others to profit
from them.
