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Newsletter : 0fax0209.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN Feb. 9, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 25
Separate But Equal Lasts One Day
Israel Faxx Staff Report
Egged, Israel's major bus company, had announced a special arrangement on its new line from Ashdod to Bnei Brak. Men travelling on bus line 350 would have seats in the front of the bus, while women would be seated in the back. The segregated seating arrangements drew an immediate wave of protest, including from Ministry of Transportation officials. As a result, Egged withdrew the special status of the bus line, which serves mostly Haredim travellers. The Dan bus company has been running an internal route in Bnei Brak with separate seating for over a year.
Hizbullah Murders Another Israeli Soldier
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
Hizbullah terrorists in southern Lebanon have killed another Israeli soldier, just hours after Israeli warplanes launched massive air strikes in retaliation for earlier guerrilla attacks. Israel is saying it will launch new, more severe, air raids on Lebanon if the violence continues to escalate.
The soldier was killed when Hizbullah attacked an Israeli army post in south Lebanon. This latest death raises to six the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon so far this year.
The attack comes hours after Israeli warplanes carried out raids on Lebanese power stations and on a Hizbullah base in retaliation for the recent escalation in violence.
A senior Israeli military official says the army is planning new, more severe, attacks on Lebanon if the terrorists retaliate for the air strikes. A Hizbullah statement is warning the air strikes will not protect Israeli troops stationed in south Lebanon.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak visited people staying in bomb shelters in communities in northern Israel. He accused Hizbullah of violating agreements under which Israel and Lebanese guerrillas have agreed to refrain from launching attacks on civilians or from civilian areas.
"Our operation yesterday intended to signal to the Lebanese government, to the Hizbullah, and indirectly even to the Syrians that Israel is not ready to accept unilateral violation of these agreements. And whatever it will take to defend our citizens, we will do it as, as would any free world government."
The Israeli government coordinator for Lebanon, Uri Lubrani, says the air strikes were designed to avoid civilian casualties. "The infrastructures are targets where there are no civilians. The main goal was to avoid, if possible, to harm civilians. This is the main goal, to go after infrastructures and not places with a high concentration of civilians. We directed the attacks first of all to the Lebanese government, which supports Hizbullah. Of course, we cannot, under any circumstances, absolve Syria from involvement and blame."
Thousands of people in northern Israel have been told to remain in bomb shelters in case Hizbullah retaliates with rocket attacks. The terrorists have been fighting a war of attrition against Israel and the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army since the mid-1980s.
Hizbullah guerrillas are trained and funded by Iran, but Israel says Syria serves as a conduit for weapons shipments to them and allows them to move freely within Lebanon. Syria maintains 30,000 soldiers in Lebanon and is considered the major power-broker in the country.
IAF Fighters Scramble in Response to Egyptian Passenger Plane
By IsraelWire
Israel Air Force fighter jets were scrambled last week when an Egyptian passenger plane made a wrong turn en route to Gaza, heading to central Israel. The jets flew alongside the Egyptian plane, with air force pilots signaling the crew to turn around and return to Cairo.
The Egyptian plane with 50 passengers onboard left Cairo heading for Yasir Arafat International Airport in Dahaniya, Gaza. At some point, while the plane was over the Mediterranean, the crew left the international airspace lane, making a sudden turn for central Israel.
Air traffic controllers became suspicious, as did military personnel monitoring radar. Two fighter jets were scrambled, fearing the craft was an enemy plane. Understanding the signals of the air force pilots, the Egyptian crew changed direction and returned to Cairo.
Haider Calls Upon Israel to Maintain Relations
By IsraelWire
Minister of Diaspora Affairs Rabbi Michael Melchior has rejected overtures by Austrian Freedom Party leader Joerg Haider, who issued apologies for past statements in support of the Nazis. Haider stated that he erred in his statements of the past and stated the Austrian government, of which his party is a member, would take responsibility for its actions during the Holocaust.
Despite efforts to convince the public that he is not an anti-Semite or a Holocaust denier, Israel indicated it would maintain relations with the opposition that opposes Haider but would not maintain relations with the current coalition, which includes the Freedom Party.
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