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Newsletter : 1fax0323.txt
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>Israel Faxx
>JN March 23, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 53
Israeli Soldiers Kill Palestinian Armed With Bomb
By Meredith Buel (VOA-Jerusalem)
The Israeli army says soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian man armed with a bomb as he was trying to cross into Israel from the Gaza Strip Thursday.
The violence came as Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon returned from a visit to the United States, where he says he gained support for his refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians as long as clashes continue.
The army says the Palestinian man was shot dead as he was trying to infiltrate Israeli territory near a collective farm, just outside the northern Gaza Strip. The army says the man was armed with a bomb when soldiers spotted him and opened fire.
A spokesman said Palestinians also fired anti-tank grenades at Israeli army posts in Gaza. Soldiers returned fire and injured at least three Palestinians.
On Wednesday night, a Palestinian security officer was killed in Gaza, when Israeli forces fired tank shells at a position manned by members of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's presidential guard unit. The army said the tanks responded after mortar shells were fired at a Jewish settlement in Gaza. At the officer's funeral Thursday, hundreds of Palestinians marched chanting "death to Israel."
The clashes came as Sharon returned from a visit to the United States. Sharon said "there is complete American agreement and understanding" that Israel "cannot surrender to violence and terrorism. Though Israel is ready to show, maybe, flexibility in many things.
"There is one thing that I will not show any flexibility, not now, not in the future, and that is, when it comes to an Israeli citizen's life and security."
Sharon's remarks came as members of a U.S. led fact-finding committee looking into causes of the violence continued their visit to the region, meeting Palestinian leaders in the West Bank.
The head of the panel, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, said the committee plans a fair and impartial report on the situation, but said it does not have the ability to solve the crisis. Palestinian Information Minister, Yasser Abed Rabbo, says the international panel must identify the cause of the unrest.
Abed Rabbo, after meeting with the commission, says violence is only a symptom of what he called the "disease" caused by the continuing Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Sharon promised to strike back against what he says is an escalation of Palestinian violence. He told reporters in Tel Aviv Thursday he has U.S. backing for his refusal to hold peace talks with the Palestinians under pressure and violence.
The prime minister ended his trip Wednesday telling Jewish leaders in New York that Arafat was the main obstacle to Middle East peace. He said forces backing instability in the Middle East think Israel's willingness to compromise is a sign of retreat.
The Israeli Prime Minister said all of Israel's intelligence reports indicate that Arafat has the ability to help stabilize the region and control the violence. "In fact, his own presidential guard, known as Force-17, which he commands, carry out and direct many of the terrorist attacks that have already cost many Israeli lives.
"It is clear that the main obstacle to peace today - and really, I am sorry to say that - is chairman Arafat, who has reverted to terrorism."
The Israeli Prime Minister said diplomacy and deterrence must work together to bring about peace in the Middle East. He said this is one reason why he supports U.S. President George Bush's emphasis on developing an anti-missile defense system.
Palestinians Close TV Office
By VOA News
Qatari satellite television Al-Jazeera says its Palestinian office in the West Bank town of Ramallah has been shut down by Palestinian security forces. Jazeera's correspondent in the West Bank, Walid al-Omary, said that police were deployed at the entrance to the office building.
Al Omary said that on Monday Palestinian officials asked the station to stop broadcasting a promotion for a program that included a picture of a demonstrator holding shoes over a picture of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat.
However, Al-Jazeera continued to broadcast the picture, which was part of a promotion for a documentary on the Lebanese war. Al-Jazeera is viewed by millions of Arabs across the Middle East, and broadcasts 24 hours a day.
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