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Newsletter : 0fax0307.txt
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>JN March 7, 2000, Vol. 8, No. 43
Shooting Attack on the No. 160 Bus
By IsraelWire
An Egged 160 line traveling from Kiryat Arba to Jerusalem Monday evening was fired upon near the village of Sa'ir, about three miles south of Hebron. One bullet struck the bulletproof windshield and two bullets hit the bus' armor plating. There were no reports of injuries. The bus travels from Jerusalem to and from the Kiryat-Arba/Hebron area.
Terrorist Bases in Lebanon are Bombed
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
Israeli warplanes have bombed terrorist positions in south Lebanon one day after the Israeli cabinet voted to pull its soldiers out of Lebanon by July. Israeli warplanes attacked a suspected Hizbullah base near the villages of Majdal, Silim, and Kabrikha.
There were no immediate reports of casualties from the bombing raids, which took place about 7 kilometers west of the Israeli border. The cabinet said in a statement Israel will work to ensure the withdrawal occurs within the framework of a peace accord with Syria, but government officials say the redeployment will happen whether or not an agreement is reached.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak called the vote an end to the tragedy and an end to the bloodshed in Lebanon. Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy says the decision will test Syria's desire for peace.
Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin says he hopes the cabinet's action will prevent more casualties and help the peace process. "Well, we want to save lives and that is the main reason for the decision. If it will also bring (Syrian) President Assad to the negotiating table that will be a benefit, which is a very important one."
With about 30,000 soldiers in Lebanon, Syria is considered the major power broker in the country. In Damascus, a state controlled newspaper (Tishreen) expressed skepticism about the cabinet's decision, saying it stirs a new wave of question marks and doubt over Israel's seriousness about peace in the region.
Iranian-backed Hizbullah gunmen have killed seven Israeli soldiers so far this year and the Israeli government is facing increasing public pressure to pull out of Lebanon. Since 1985 Israel has maintained a 15 kilometer buffer zone in southern Lebanon to protect its northern communities from attack.
Peace talks between Israel and Syria resumed last December, but were indefinitely suspended in January when Damascus demanded that Israel agree, in writing, to return the Golan Heights. Israel captured the strategic plateau in the 1967 Middle East war and says it needs to know what security guarantees Syria would offer as part of a peace agreement.
Explosives Lab Uncovered in Tul Karem
By IsraelWire
An explosives factory was uncovered in the PLO Authority autonomous city of Tul Karem, in Samaria, on Sunday by PA security forces. According to Israel's Channel One TV, the information leading PA security agents to the factory was furnished by the General Security Service (GSS/Shin Bet).
PA officials report the contents of the factory included large quantities of explosive materials believed to be intended for the carrying out of terrorist attacks inside Israel. Channel One reported that it is theorized that the bombs found in the possession of the Taiba terrorists last week were supplied from the Tul Karem location.
The Hamas terrorist organization has vowed to strike out against Israeli cities in an attempt to bring the ongoing peace initiatives in the area to an end. Following last week's successful containment and dismantling of a similar bomb in Taiba, including the apprehension of one terrorist and the killing of four others, the nation's security forces have been placed on an increased state of alertness expected to continue through March, following the Purim holiday and the visit of Pope John Paul 2. Security agencies are continuing the manhunt for members of the same terror cell still at large.
The Taiba terrorists were planning to carry out five terror attacks simultaneously at IDF hitchhiking posts in the Tel HaShomer area in the center of the country.
Terrorism Expected Following Pope's Visit
By IsraelWire
According to Yediot Ahronot, IDF forces are preparing for what is expected to be a sharp and significant escalation in Islamic sponsored violence throughout Israel and the territories, following the March visit to the area by Pope John Paul 2. Quoting unnamed senior officials in the security and defense communities, the government is being warned that PLO Authority Chairman Yasir Arafat will use violence to "influence" the Israeli government to move forward on the PA track, shifting the focus of negotiations from Damascus to the PA.
PA Secretary Taib Abed el-Rahim stated, "If progress is not made on the political track, the area will ignite. The violence is likely to erupt in the PA areas in light of Israel's stubbornness which has paved the road to an explosion."
Intelligence officials believe that senior PA officials are intentionally issuing inflammatory statements to create a crisis and inflame the situation, buying time until month's end -- following the papal visit, at which time the violence will erupt once again.
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