Bad news and bad mkt last week can be pretty bad for the mkt tomorrow.
Nasdaq future not seem to be doing well.
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February 28, 1999
Hezbollah Kills Senior Israeli Officer and 3 Others
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
EIRUT -- Lebanese guerillas detonated two bombs beside a military convoy Sunday, killing a brigadier general and three other
Israelis in one of the most serious attacks on Israel's forces in southern Lebanon.
Israel's top general said land, sea and air forces retaliated. Warplanes launched raids on suspected guerrilla hideouts in southern and
eastern Lebanon.
There was no immediate word on casualties from the air raid, the second in south Lebanon in as many days.
Brig. Gen. Erez Gerstein was the highest-ranking officer to die in Lebanon since the 1982 Israeli invasion. His vehicle, described by area
residents as an armor-plated Mercedes, careened off the road, rolled into the valley below and burst into flames.
Two Israeli sergeants and an Israel Radio reporter, all of whom were in Gerstein's vehicle, also were killed.
Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese guerrilla group, claimed responsibility for the attack. It came five days after another south
Lebanon ambush killed three Israeli army officers, prompting renewed calls for Israel to pull troops out of Lebanon.
Israel occupied part Lebanon in 1985 to prevent cross-border attacks, setting up a so-called "security zone" that covers about one-tenth
of Lebanon. Hezbollah is the most active of guerrilla groups fighting to oust the Israelis and their militia allies.
Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah hailed the killing of the Israelis as "a new victory that constitutes a major turning point" in the
war against Israeli forces in Lebanon.
Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss called the U.S. and French embassies in Beirut on Sunday night, apparently seeking intervention to
stop Israel's attacks, state-run Beirut Radio reported.
Speaking after Sunday's attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Lebanon "an acute problem."
"It's one that awaits a solution. Israel knows what to do," he said in Amman, Jordan, where he was meeting that nation's new ruler, King
Abdullah.
In Washington, National Security Council spokesman P.J. Crowley said the United States was urging restraint and for all sides to deal
with their grievances through the Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group, set up in 1996 for crisis resolution.
In announcing Sunday's retaliatory attacks, Israeli chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz said Israel adhered to a three-year understanding
with the Hezbollah to avoid civilian targets.
However, Netanyahu hinted that Israel's action, might eventually end the agreement. He accused the Iranian backed militia of
"systematically" violating the agreement.
Israel attacked the main headquarters of the Hezbollah in the Bekaa valley, Mofaz said.
"We saw fit to attack that target because that is a hard and painful blow to Hezbollah in every way," he said.
Other sites hit included Hezbollah depots for ammunition, Katyusha rockets and other military equipment, he said. An army spokesman
said there were also artillery exchanges with Hezbollah forces.
"Land, sea and air forces are involved," Mofaz said.
More than 900 Israeli soldiers have died since 1982. As many as 25,000 Lebanese and Palestinians have been killed during the same
period, according to Lebanese officials and international relief agencies.
Withdrawing troops from Lebanon is one of the top campaign issues Netanyahu faces as he seeks re-election in a May 17 vote.
If Netanyahu fails to react strongly to the killings of Israeli troops in the past week, he risks appearing weak even as he is seeking to
portray himself as the toughest of the candidates. But strong retaliation could complicate the already unpopular clashes.
Gerstein, 38, was the chief liaison officer between Israel and its Lebanese militia allies, who are known as the South Lebanon Army, and
who help the Israelis patrol the occupation zone.
He was the highest-ranking Israeli officer killed in Lebanon since Maj. Gen. Yekutiel Adam died in the 1982 invasion that evicted
Palestinian guerrillas. Israel's troops then bogged down in clashes with Lebanese guerrillas. |
