Reported from Jerusalem
1. HIGH TERROR ALERT IN ISRAEL AFTER GAZA AIR STRIKES… Israeli security officials are maintaining a high state of alert on Tuesday following a day of multiple air raids on Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets in Gaza. At least 14 Palestinians were killed and 80 injured in the five separate attacks. The Israeli army (IDF) said in a statement that the raids were in response to the firing of at least eight Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israeli troops killed two Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated near an Israeli kibbutz. Both bodies were booby-trapped. In a speech to the Knesset (Parliament) on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said that, “The Israeli military will continue to act to foil terror attacks, capture murderers and liquidate terror organizations.”
2. SHARON, IN KNESSET SPEECH, FLIP-FLOPS ON ARAFAT REMOVAL… Speaking to the opening session of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament), Prime Minister Ariel Sharon reiterated his determination to remove Yassir Arafat, contradicting an interview he gave to an Israeli newspaper only one week ago. Although he told a newspaper that removing Arafat would not be good for Israel, in his Knesset speech he said, “This man is the biggest obstacle to peace and therefore Israel is determined to bring about his removal from the political arena.”
3. QUREI’ ANNOUNCES ELECTION PLANS… Ahmad Qurei’, the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, announced his intention to hold elections in June 2004, but said it would be impossible to do so unless Israel withdraws its troops from “the West Bank and Gaza.” He said that the elections would include presidential, parliamentary and municipal levels. The European Commission voiced its support for elections through its chief representative in the area. Jean Breteche said, “We are ready now to start working with the Palestinians to organize and carry out elections,” and added that 10 million euros ($11.7 million) had been put aside to “support the next Palestinian elections to help prepare for the creation of a Palestinian state.”
4. EGYPTIAN LAWYER SAYS AL-QA’IDA NO LONGER EXISTS… An Egyptian lawyer with ties to Al-Qa’ida has told a French news agency that the United States succeeded in destroying the terrorist network in Afghanistan. Montasser el-Zayat accused the U.S. of using Al-Qa’ida to “justify their so-called war on terrorism. They no longer (have) the territory on which they were based, the (Taliban) government which supported them has been overthrown and the money they had in their hands has been frozen.” Zayat said that although the organization is dead, its leaders can still inspire “angry young people” into staging attacks.
5. PALESTINIANS TO ASK THE HAGUE TO STOP ISRAELI SECURITY FENCE BUILDING… The United Nations General Assembly is expected to approve two Arab-authored resolutions on Tuesday: one condemning Israel for building a security barrier dividing it from Palestinian territory and one that will ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague to issue an opinion declaring the fence project to be in violation of international law. The Palestinians claim that the security barrier is camouflage for the unilateral creation of borders by Israel and a means of usurping Palestinian land. The United States also opposes Israel’s building of the fence.
6. U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT ISSUES TRAVEL ALERT: AVOID “ISRAEL, THE WEST BANK AND GAZA”… The U.S. State Department has asked American citizens to defer any plans to visit “Israel, the West Bank and Gaza,” noting that violence in the region has claimed numerous civilian deaths and injuries. Following an attack in Gaza on an American convoy last week, the State Department warned U.S. citizens to stay out of Gaza. The statement issued on Monday went beyond Gaza, saying that “The situation in Israel, Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank remains extremely volatile, with continuing terrorist attacks, confrontations and clashes…The potential for further terrorist acts remains high.”
7. U.S. ACCUSED BY RIGHTS ORGANIZATION OF FAILING TO PROTECT IRAQI CIVILIANS… The New York-based Human Rights Watch organization has issued a report criticizing the United States for failing to investigate civilian deaths caused by the use of “excessive force” by American troops. A spokesman accused the U.S. forces of “a pattern of over-aggressive tactics, excessive shooting in residential areas and hasty reliance on lethal force. ”