topic by
Lynette
5/6/2002 (4:17) |
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sraelis a bunch of thieves who even fight amongst themselves for the spoils
by Robert Fisk
The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported yesterday that Israeli army units were 'fighting for the spoils' of the West Bank operations after taking dozens of British-made Land Rovers from the Palestinian Authority.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=292292
Videos of Israeli atrocities:
http://www.palfacts.org/video/13.mpg
http://www.palfacts.org/
Amid the bloodiest Israeli military operation in the occupied
territories since the 1967 war, Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister,
arrived in Washington yesterday, basking in President George
Bush's description of him as a 'man of peace' and determined to
persuade the Americans to abandon Yasser Arafat.
Even as his aircraft took off from Tel Aviv, Mr Sharon's army was
again storming into the West Bank town of Tulkarm and an Israeli
tank was opening fire in Jenin, killing a Palestinian woman and her
two children. The Israeli army later expressed its 'deep sorrow' for
the deaths.
The Israeli Prime Minister had hoped the siege of the Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem would have ended by the time his plane took
off, but talks involving American and British diplomats were
continuing yesterday on the fate of up to 20 Palestinians. The 20
may now be offered asylum in Jordan, a considerable departure
from Israel's initial demand for their jailing. The figure of 'wanted'
men in the church has decreased. At one point last month, the
Israelis were claiming that more than 200 armed men were inside.
There were reports last night that a deal had been reached to end
the siege, but by the early hours, it did not appeared to be finalised.
One of the Palestinians in the church, Ibrahim Abayet, head of the
al-Aqsa Matryrs Brigades in Bethlehem who is wanted by Israel
said that he had heard that 14 people would be exiled abroad, and
24 would be dispatched to the Gaza Strip. He said a meeting was
about to be held inside the church to discuss these numbers, but
he said that they were 'too high'.
He said that the Palestinians inside the basilica would be willing to
reject the offer, even if it was approved by the negotiators
representing Mr Arafat.
Mr Sharon's much-publicised 'peace' plan, which he will try to foist
on the American administration this week, appears to contain three
demands, the first of which is the replacement of Mr Arafat by a
Palestinian leader more amenable to Israel's wishes.
Mr Arafat's Palestinian Authority would have to be reconstituted by
whom is not clear and its security services placed under a single
leadership. Negotiations could begin on Palestinian statehood, but
without Mr Arafat's participation. The plan includes no attempt to
halt illegal Jewish settlement building, or any reference to
Jerusalem.
Mr Sharon also intends to present Mr Bush with a book of more
than 100 pages that purports to prove Mr Arafat has been intimately
involved in 'terrorism' against Israel. The volume, complete with
misspellings and referring to the European Union as the 'European
Unity', suggests that EU as well as American money has funded
Palestinian attacks on Israel and also claims that one of the
Palestinian officials working intimately with the CIA for seven years
is a leader of 'terrorism'.
When one of Mr Sharon's ministers presented the 'evidence' to
journalists in Jerusalem yesterday, he had great difficulty explaining
why the Israeli government after repeatedly naming Mr Arafat and
one of his underlings, Tawfiq Tirawi, as organisers of 'terror'
should have just freed both men. 'It's a good question,' Dan Naveh,
the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, responded. '... To my mind,
the most important thing is that Arafat can't be a partner for peace
in the future.'
The Israeli daily Ha'aretz reported yesterday that Israeli army units
were 'fighting for the spoils' of the West Bank operations after
taking dozens of British-made Land Rovers from the Palestinian
Authority.
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