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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (644)	11/26/2001 3:54:32 PM
From: Scoobah	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 32591

Sharon: talks with Zinni will focus only on achieving cease-fire By Amos Harel, Ha'aretz Correspondent IDF Military Intelligence chief Amos Malka (R) and Shin Bet security head Avi Dichter after meeting with U.S. mediators Anthony Zinni and William Burns on Monday. (Photo: Alon Ron) Retired Marines Corps General Anthony Zinni will begin his mission Tuesday to get Israel and the Palestinian Authority back to the negotiating table with seven hours of meetings with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as Sharon and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres appear to have sharp differences over the proper strategy and tactics for the Zinni mission. Zinni, Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs William Burns and veteran U.S. peace envoy Aaron miller arrived Monday in Israel and met immediately with Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter and Military Intelligence Commander Maj. Gen. Amos Malka, who briefed the Americans on the current security situation. Tuesday morning, Zinni and his team will meet with Sharon, who has declared that Israel regards the Zinni mission to achieve a cease-fire as having "supreme importance" for Israel. But Sharon's selection of the negotiating team, headed by former Maj. Gen. Meir Dagan, is a clear indication that the prime minister believes the Zinni mission is limited to achieving a cease-fire. According to Sharon, "Zinni's mission is a test for the Palestinian Authority and its chairman Yasser Arafat, to prove they intend to seriously advance the political process. Arafat has to make the strategic decision that he's giving up terrorism, because that's the only way to reach the negotiating table. As long as Arafat doesn't make that decision, there won't be a cease-fire." "If Zinni can make Arafat do that, we'll all profit," said senior government sources Monday night. Peres, who wanted to chair the Israeli side of the negotiations, believes that the Zinni mission has a much wider scope, since it is supposed to lead to the implementation of the Tenet work plan and Mitchell Report recommendations. According to Peres, Israel should be sending a top-level team to meet with Zinni, lest Washington believe that Jerusalem is deliberately downplaying the importance of the Zinni mission. Arafat meanwhile has been meeting with Saudi Arabian, Egyptian, and Jordanian leaders in preparation for the Zinni mission, and named his long time associate Muhamed Qureia - Abu Ala - to head the Palestinian team. Abu Ala said yesterday that for the Palestinians, "the three issues are an end to the occupation, the establishment of a Palestinian state and a freeze on the settlements." Sharon meanwhile is determined to stick to the seven days of quiet he wants before any advance toward political negotiations with the Palestinians. The Tenet work plan includes a seven-day period to lead into the Mitchell plan. Zinni and his team were meeting Monday night at the Jerusalem consulate general's offices with U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer and Consul General Ronald Schlicher. Sharon established a steering committee consisting of him, Peres and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, to oversee the work of the team headed by Dagan. Peres wanted that team was to include Foreign Ministry Director General Avi Gil, but Gil refused to join the team if Peres was not its chairman. Ben-Eliezer said Monday that Zinni's mission "will start as a security mission that will gradually change into a political one," and said that he had instructed the army "to be generous" with the Palestinians. One possible move in the cards would be a withdrawal of the last remaining IDF troops positioned inside Area A, in Jenin. Defense establishment sources said that a Jenin withdrawal was under consideration. "But there's not a lot of room for creativity here," said one source. After the meeting with Sharon Tuesday, Zinni, Burns, and Miller are slated to meet with Peres and Ben-Eliezer and his security team.

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (644)	11/27/2001 9:36:08 AM
From: Scoobah	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 32591

This is what happens when you let the animals out of their cages: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 Two people killed, 10 seriously injured in Afula shooting attack Location of Tuesday's attack: Afula is situated about 15 km north of the West Bank town of Jenin, from where the IDF pulled out overnight Monday. (Photo: Ha'aretz Archive) Two people were killed and 10 others suffered serious-to moderate injuries when gunmen opened fire in the area of the market in the northern town of Afula around 11:30 A.M. on Tuesday. Fifty-one people in all were reported to be wounded in the attack with and 32 of them have already been sent home. Israel Radio reported that Fatah and the Islamic Jihad had claimed responsibility for the attack. The two groups told Hezbollah television that they had worked together in carrying out the attack. According to eyewitness accounts, two gunmen opened fire indiscriminately and were then shot dead by police and IDF reservists who were on the scene. They were identified as Jenin residents Mustafa Faisel Abu Saria, 21, and Abed al Karim Abu Nasa, 20. The attack took place in the market area, close to the central bus station in Afula, which is some 10-minute drive north of the West Bank town of Jenin. The IDF withdrew from Jenin early Tuesday morning. "Terrorists in civilian dress appeared and started to fire," eyewitness Mordechai Cohen told Israel Radio. "They shot the first person in the head. He fell down they ran toward the market." Cohen said assailants sprayed the crowd with gunfire for minutes before police appeared on the scene. Police and rescue workers are at the scene of the attack. Israel Radio reported that security forces are on a high state of alert in the area along the Green Line border between Israel and the West Bank. All of the injured have been taken to Haemek Hospital in Afula for treatment. Emergency number for Haemek Hospital in Afula: 1255168 IDF withdrawal from Jenin seen as gesture to U.S. envoy The IDF withdrew overnight Monday from the West Bank town of Jenin in what was seen as a goodwill gesture to U.S. envoy Anthony Zini who arrived in the region Monday. The army pulled back from positions it took up in Palestinian-controlled territory around Jenin after the assassination of Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi on October 17. There were no shooting incidents and no injuries during the withdrawal. IDF forces, however, remain deployed around the town due to continued warnings that militants from Jenin plan to carry out suicide bombings inside Israel. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer ordered the withdrawal Monday in advance of Zinni's arrival. Palestinians reported that the withdrawal was carried out without security coordination with the Palestinian Authority. A meeting between Israeli and Palestinian security officials is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. After Ze'evi's assassination, the IDF took up positions in PA territory around six West Bank towns. Jenin was the last remaining town from which the IDF had yet to withdraw.

To: Elmer Flugum who wrote (644)	11/27/2001 12:43:48 PM
From: Scoobah	Respond to of 32591

Palestinians attacking Lebanese troops?, Are they also occupiers? Is lebanon Palestinian land also Len? TENSIONS GROW AROUND LEBANON'S EIN HILWE November 27, 2001 The Middle East Newsline reports: “The Lebanese military is quietly urging the government to launch a crackdown on the Palestinians. The military has been increasingly dismayed by Palestinian attacks on troops near Sidon. The troops are being deployed at the Ein Hilwe refugee camp outside the city. Lebanese sources said military commanders are urging the Beirut government to launch operations against Palestinian insurgents inside Ein Hilwe. The government, controlled by Syria, has banned Lebanese military operations inside the refugee camp. Over the weekend, a Lebanese army position near Ein Hilwe was attacked by Palestinian insurgents. Lebanese sources said a bomb was detonated about 100 meters from the position. It was the fourth Palestinian attack on Lebanese troops near Ein Hilwe since the Sept. 11 Islamic suicide attacks in New York and Washington. The sources said two people were arrested over the weekend…”