 |
 |
|
|
||
Newsletter : 1fax0712.txt
Directory | Previous file | Next file
>PD
>Israel Faxx
>JN July 12, 2001, Vol. 9, No. 117
Saddam Hussein: Arab Nations, Aim Your Weapons at Israel
By IsraelNationalNews.com
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein called upon Arab leaders to aim their weapons at Israel "to liberate Palestine" if necessary.
Hussein stated that the Jewish squatters would have to be removed by force if there was no other alternative. He also called upon Arab nations to "return Palestinian lands," adding Iraq would be willing to do whatever necessary to assist.
Three Palestinians Die in West Bank
By VOA News & IsraelNationalNews.com
Three Palestinians have died, including a newborn baby, and Israeli police say they have foiled a bomb attack, while diplomats urge both sides to give peace a chance.
A potentially catastrophic terrorist attack was thwarted in downtown Afula, thanks to alert police activity. An Arab man walking around with a heavy pack aroused the suspicions of three policemen; they surrounded him and prevented him from detonating the large bomb he was in fact carrying. The would-be suicide killer is a resident of the Palestinian city of Jenin.
Israeli soldiers Wednesday shot and killed a Palestinian woman when her taxi evaded an army checkpoint near Hebron on the West Bank. Israeli soldiers say they followed proper procedures.
Palestinians also say Israeli troops held up vehicles going to a hospital for hours at other checkpoints - resulting in the death of newborn baby and Palestinian man who had suffered a heart attack. Army officials are investigating both incidents.
Powell Appeals For Calm In Mideast
By David Gollust (VOA-Washington)
Secretary of State Colin Powell discussed the Middle East and U.N. sanctions against Iraq in a meeting Wednesday with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. Powell used a news conference with Straw to appeal to Israel and the Palestinians to create "conditions of calm" so that peace efforts can resume.
The secretary of state said the recommendations of the Mitchell international fact-finding commission provide the only roadmap out of the latest flare-up of Middle East violence. And he says the onus is on the parties themselves to reduce violence to a level where both sides feel comfortable in moving forward on the Mitchell plan.
At a joint news conference with Straw, Powell called on Yasir Arafat's Palestinian Authority to rein in radical elements within its areas of control, and he reiterated U.S. calls on Israel to end its demolitions of Palestinian homes.
"We hope that the Palestinian side will continue to make efforts to bring the violence under control and to assert control over those elements that are within the Palestinian Authority's domain and within the Palestinian movement.
"And we hope the Israeli side will avoid taking provocative acts that cause the situation to become unstable again, such as some of their settlement activities and such as the destroying of Palestinian homes."
Powell said the Mitchell plan, with its cooling-off period and confidence-building steps, provides "everything the parties need" to restore the peace process.
Ashrawi to be Arab League Spokeswoman
By Sonja Pace (VOA-Cairo)
The Arab League has appointed Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi as its top spokeswoman. The selection is viewed as part of an effort to revitalize the organization and also to counter what many Arabs see as a pro-Israeli bias in the American and Western media.
For more than a decade, Ashrawi has been the most prominent spokesperson for the Palestinians. Her face is well known on television sets around the world, and she has been sought after by most major media outlets to talk about Palestinian issues and Middle East peace. Now, she is taking on a new challenge as the top spokeswoman for the Arab League.
She told reporters in Cairo that it is vital to find a new, modern, and civilized way to let the world know what is happening in the Middle East. Ashrawi said she will work to improve the image of Arab nations in the world.
There is a widespread feeling in the region that American and Western media have a pro-Israeli bias and therefore portray Arab countries and Arab causes in a negative light. Ashrawi said she wants to change that and also counter what she described as Israeli "racist" propaganda.
Ashrawi is a Palestinian Christian from Jerusalem. She was an English professor before entering the political arena. She came to prominence as the Palestinian spokesperson during the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in Madrid in 1991. She won a seat in the Palestinian Legislative Council five years later. She served as minister for higher education in Yasir Arafat's cabinet until 1998, when she resigned after complaining about corruption within the Palestinian government.
The 22-member Arab League is headquartered in Cairo, but Ashrawi said she would continue to reside in Jerusalem while carrying out her duties as the organization's spokeswoman. She said that is her natural place, as she put it, among the Palestinian people on Palestinian land.
| Home My Account Search Contact Us |
by Electronic World Communications, Inc.)
