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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: Mephisto who wrote (3261)3/11/2002 9:13:29 PM
From: PartyTime  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 15516
 
Been busy of late. Any of you folks seen this?

bigeye.com



To: Mephisto who wrote (3261)3/12/2002 10:55:54 PM
From: Mephisto  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 15516
 
Israel kills 31 Palestinians in major new offensive
The Irish Times


Israeli forces killed 31 Palestinians today in their biggest offensive in the
West Bank and Gaza since Israel captured the territories in the 1967
Middle East war.


Israeli armour and infantry stormed
refugee camps and the West Bank
city of Ramallah, where Palestinian
President Yasser Arafat has his
headquarters, on the eve of a US truce
mission.

UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan,
in his harshest criticism of Israel,
urged it to stop the bombing of civilian
areas, the assassinations, the
unnecessary use of lethal force, the
demolitions and the daily humiliation of
ordinary Palestinians .

Hours after tanks occupied Ramallah,
trapping Mr Arafat in his office, two gunmen disguised as Israeli soldiers
killed six Israelis near the Lebanese border as tit-for-tat violence reached
a new level of ferocity.

An Israeli army spokesman said there were no signs that the gunmen,
who fired on a bus and cars before soldiers shot them dead, had
infiltrated from Lebanon. Hours after the attack the identities of the
assailants had not been released.

The cycle of violence threatened to derail US envoy Mr Anthony Zinni's
mission before it starts.

The Israeli army's chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Shaul Mofaz, told a
parliamentary committee the military had thrown 20,000 troops into
action in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Even so, the scale of the offensive was not enough to satisfy two
ultra-nationalist ministers who resigned from Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon's coalition government today.

Witnesses said 150 tanks thrust overnight into Ramallah and nearby
refugee camps, tearing up roads and crushing cars in the main
Palestinian commercial and political hub in the West Bank.

Heavy shooting broke out in some parts of the city of more than 200,000,
and Israeli helicopter gunships opened fire on the al-Am'ari refugee camp
on the city's outskirts. Mr Arafat remained in his headquarters as the
shooting erupted outside.

By mid-afternoon the usually bustling city streets were empty except for
gunmen trying to resist troops who went from house to house searching
for weapons and militants, accused of leading a Palestinian uprising
against Israeli occupation.

In Ramallah's main square, angry Palestinians strung up the corpse of
an alleged collaborator with the Israelis. The young man, blood staining
his face and bare chest, dangled upside down by his feet from a metal
pylon.

Israeli troops and tanks had battled their way into the Jabalya refugee
camp in the Gaza Strip overnight, killing at least 17 Palestinians in fierce
fighting, Palestinian hospital sources and witnesses said.

People ran screaming for cover down the camp's warren of alleys as the
tanks surged into the densely populated camp of about 90,000 people.
The army withdrew four hours later.

Nine Palestinians were killed in other violence in Gaza and five died in
the West Bank. The six Israelis and two gunmen killed in the Galilee
attack, and an Israeli shot in the West Bank, took the total killed on both
sides to 38 in 24 hours.

More than 1,000 Palestinians and almost 350 Israelis have been killed
since the uprising began after peace talks stalled.


The Israeli army said its offensive was intended to root out militants
behind suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis.

ireland.com