http://msnbc.com/news/677951.asp?cp1=1 March 29 — Hours after declaring Yasser Arafat “an enemy,” Israel on Friday launched a strike on the heart of the Palestinian Authority by storming Arafat’s compound in the West Bank. Amid reports of room-to-room fighting, the Palestinian leader took refuge in a windowless room and declared he’d prefer to be martyred than captured — although Israel said it wasn’t targeting Arafat himself. The attack was the opening shot in a large-scale military campaign in response to anti-Israeli attacks that killed 30 people in three days. FIVE PALESTINIANS and an Israeli soldier were killed in fighting as Israeli forces seized the West Bank town of Ramallah, where Arafat has been confined for four months, and broke into buildings in his sprawling compound. Israel’s “endgame is to kill Arafat,” Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said. But Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States had received assurances from Israel that Arafat wouldn’t be harmed or captured. He again called on the Palestinian leader to take action against those responsible for terrorism. A senior Palestinian official told The Associated Press that phone links to the building and electricity were cut off after nightfall Friday and that Arafat was confined to the middle floor of the three-story office building. PHONING WORLD LEADERS Earlier, the Palestinian leader was seen gathered with advisers in a ground-floor room of the compound. With a submachine gun placed next to him on a table, he spoke by phone to world leaders and demanded immediate international intervention. “They want me under arrest or in exile or dead, but I am telling them, I prefer to be martyred,” Arafat said in a telephone interview with Al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite television channel. “May God make us martyrs.” The network reported that Israeli soldiers were battling Arafat’s bodyguards inside the compound. Arafat aide Nabil Abu Rdainah told Reuters that one of the leader’s bodyguards was killed in the fighting and that 20 others were wounded. There was no independent confirmation of these reports. Ranaan Gissin, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s spokesman, said Israel did not aim to harm Arafat. Gissin said that “at this stage” the aim was to isolate Arafat while Israel destroys the infrastructure Israel says the Palestinian leader has built around himself that supported terrorist attacks. The assault was launched after Israel’s Cabinet declared Arafat an enemy and approved an extended military operation, agreeing to call up thousands of reserve troops. Sharon said Israel had sought a cease-fire in good faith, “but all Israel got in return was terrorism, terrorism and more terrorism.” Advertisement ANOTHER SUICIDE ATTACK In the latest Palestinian attack, a female suicide bomber blew herself up at the entrance of a Jerusalem supermarket, killing herself and two shoppers and wounding about 20 others. Al-Aqsa Brigades, a militia linked to Arafat’s Fatah movement, said it sent the bomber, an 18-year-old from a refugee camp. And in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian stabbed two Israelis to death in a Jewish settlement before he was shot dead by soldiers, the Israeli army said. Police also stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, using stun grenades to disperse stone-throwing Muslim worshippers. Despite violence that appeared to doom U.S. efforts to bring a cease-fire, American envoy Anthony Zinni spoke with Arafat by telephone and said he would continue his mission, Erekat said. Erekat, who met Zinni, said the envoy said “he will not leave, and that he will continue exerting every possible effort to ... the de-escalation process.” Secretary of State Powell spoke with both Sharon and Arafat late Thursday and U.S. officials in Jerusalem remained in contact with both sides. Powell said he would attempt to contact Arafat again on Friday. NBC’s Fred Francis reported that the so-far muted response from the United States suggests that the White House had been aware of Israel plans. One official even told NBC News that today’s developments could be a good thing, “because when things get horrific, maybe then there’s a chance for peace.” Friday’s assault was closest Israeli fire has come to the Palestinian leader, targeting for the first time Arafat’s office building — though Israel has repeatedly hit other buildings in the compound where he has been confined for months. Israeli troops stormed the compound early Friday, exchanging fire with Arafat’s security guards, killing one and wounding 25. After punching holes through the outer wall, two dozen tanks were deployed inside the compound, which is about the size of a city block. An army bulldozer punched a large hole in the stone wall of one building and soldiers streamed in. Israeli snipers took positions on rooftops. Tanks shelled the Palestinian intelligence headquarters in the complex, severely damaging it, and troops stormed a lockup adjacent to Arafat’s three-story building. On Friday afternoon, the building came under heavy Israeli shelling. DAY AFTER SUMMIT The fighting came a day after an Arab summit in Beirut, Lebanon, approved a plan that calls on Arab nations to develop normal relations with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Mideast war. The plan marked the first time in more than a half-century of Mideast conflict that Arab states have made such an offer. Israel said it would study the plan, but that its top priority was responding to Palestinian attacks. Arab summit OKs Saudi peace plan Palestinians in Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp burned tires to protest the Israeli assault in Ramallah. Arafat said the assault on his compound aimed to scuttle the peace offer. “This is the Israeli response to any peace attempt. Because they don’t want peace, they don’t want peace,” he told Abu Dhabi television. The latest escalation began with a suicide bombing by the Islamic militant group Hamas on Wednesday in a hotel in the Israeli resort of Netanya. The bomber blew himself up in the hotel’s banquet hall, among 250 Israelis gathered for the Passover Seder, the ritual meal ushering in the Jewish holiday. Twenty-two diners were killed — one died of wounds Friday — and more than 130 were hurt, putting the attack on par with a suicide bombing outside a Tel Aviv disco last June that also killed 22 people. The bombing was widely seen as a turning point in the fighting, with Sharon coming under growing pressure from an outraged public to respond harshly. The bombing was followed by two attacks on Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that killed six Israelis, and the suicide bombing in Jerusalem. EARLIER OPERATION Israel’s Cabinet met for an all-night session Thursday. Sharon announced Friday that Israel now considered Arafat an enemy and would completely isolate him. Sharon did not explain what branding Arafat an enemy would mean in practical terms, but left open the possibility that the Palestinian leader could be expelled from the Palestinian territories at a later time, as several Israeli Cabinet ministers have demanded. Earlier this month, the Israeli military carried out an extensive operation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, sending 20,000 soldiers into towns, villages and refugee camps in a hunt for Palestinian militants. That operation was the biggest since Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. As the Cabinet met, tanks rolled into Ramallah, and soldiers exchanged fire with Palestinian gunmen. Four Palestinians and an Israeli soldier were killed in the fighting. The tanks then stormed Arafat’s compound. Arafat said Thursday night he was ready for an immediate, unconditional truce, but he stopped short of formally declaring a cease-fire. Speaking at a news conference in Ramallah, he said the Palestinians had informed Zinni of “our readiness for an immediate implementation of the (U.S. truce) plan without any conditions.” The Palestinians have been holding out for some changes, while Israel accepted Zinni’s bridging proposals reluctantly.
Yeah let Arafat die who are you going to deal with afterwards? Sheikh Yaseen won't exactly be a nice tolerant peaceful guy to deal with. A 9th century Muslim scholar once said "80 years of a corrupt king is better then one day of anarchy".
do you honestly think it will make a difference?? Arafat is certainly not in control right now...civilians continue to die at the hands of suicide bombers. If it gets any worse Israel will unleash...that's the worst possible scenario, but i'm sad to say I think it might be headed that way.
You're right Arafat has no control of the few radicals, much like the Scottish Nobles had no control of the uprising of William Wallace to bring Scottish freedom. Nazi Sharon and Israel unfortunately probably will unleash the worst possible scenario, much like Hitler unleashed the world's worst possible terror in WWII. And the rest of the world will pretend to look the other way until it's too late, just like during the Holocaust. History will repeat itself. What a shame. It's time for the US to take a stand against Sharon who will stop at nothing to crush the Palestinians, and continue to force them into conditions similar to the "Warsaw Ghetto." Meanwhile, the entire town of Ramallah is without electricity and water. Thousands of Palestinians are living in poverty in refugee camps that have sub-human standards.
boy: For starters, Sheik Yaseen isn't going to live through this. The Israelis are going to totally destroy Hamas before this is all over, much as that may sadden you. And are you trying to tell me that Arafat is the best alternative for Palestinian leadership? If that is true (and it is not) then the Palestinians are all going to die, because Arafat is *totally unacceptable* as a leader. If the Israelis don't deal with someone else - and replace the Palestinian Authority (they are going to destroy it, too) - then the Palestinians are in some serious, serious trouble. Baqui99: Bullsh*t. Total bullsh*t. If he doesn't have control over Fatah, Tanzim, and the Al Aqsa Brigades, then who in the f* does??? THEY ARE HIS ORGANIZATIONS! As for Hamas, Islamic Jihad, PFLP, DFLP, etc - 1) Arafat and the PNA know who their members are, 2) Arafat and the PNA know where their members are, 3) given #1 and #2, and the fact that the PNA has 40,000 "policemen", Arafat coult totally disable all of these organizations within a week if he wanted to. Easily. Why hasn't this happened? The answer is *very* simple: Arafat's true goal is to destroy Israel - just as it has been for 40 years, since even before the 1967 war and occupation. Maybe they should have thought about that before they attacked Israel? You are just another fool who is trying to justify terrorism and make excuses for the suicide bombers. Why does it not surprise me that you are incapable of actually thinking that the Arabs should take any personal responsibility for the sorry state they're in? There's nothing more pathetic than a fool in denial.
Explain that to the thousands of inncent women and children who are malnourished. Open up your heart man. Your ignorance is apparent in your personal attacks. Nowhere in my statement did I make excuses for the suicide bomber. Everyone agrees that the bombings are wrong. Personally I think that the Palestinians should take to the streets in protest much like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, unfortunately the protestors are met with tear gas. We ended apartheid in South Africa. Now it's time for us to end apartheid in Gaza, Ramallah and the entire West Bank. William Wallace: "YOU CAN TAKE OUR LIVES, BUT YOU'LL NEVER TAKE OUR FREEDOM!"
As soon as you show an inkling of sympathy for all those the Palestinians have killed. But it's OK to kill those Fascist Jews, isn't it? I don't have any sympathy for terrorism supporters anymore, and no patience for those who try to rationalize and justify terrorists' actions. You are trying to do both. And the Palestinians lost alot of my sympathy when they threw a party on 9/11. They have been steadily losing the rest of my sympathy since the suicide attacks began in earnest, and Wednesday they lost the last drop of it. Again, they should have throught of all this before. If they are incapable of taking responsibility for their own friggen actions, then they deserve what they get. Every statement I have ever seen you make on this subject has been an attempt at either justification and/or rationalization of the terrorists' actions. In fact you did it again immediately after claiming that you didn't do it. "Well, the Israelis have treated them like s*it, so what do you expect?" is basically your whole thrust - and it is bulls*it. Civilized people don't f*ing blow themselves up so that they can kill old people, women, and children. Period. Until you stop making excuses for them I will regard you as an idiot who is indirectly supporting the terrorists - with moral support. And a very tempting candidate for my short ignore list...
treeman: You are not arguing from a point of strength here. Just because YOU don't agree with him doesn't make your opinion superior. For every time that he has attempted to justify or rationalize something that happened in favor of Palestine, I'm sure we could dig up 3 or 4 posts of yours doing the opposite. Regarding someone as an idiot for their incessant beliefs to the contrary of their own is what got you the reputation you have on this BBS - one of a obsessed anti-Arab nut. And just as the attacks and fighting in the middle east have increased, so has your rhetoric and readiness to call people idoits and relegate their opinions to "bullsh*t". No matter what your beliefs, you are behaving like an ass and it is time to stop. So, either back off that stupid assanine name calling or you'll be shipping out from HERE a few days early.
Thank you Jeff, I was wondering if an admin was ever going to say something to this guy. You don't have to be an abusive ass to get your point across treeman!
"Be nice and don't call names" has been said over and over and over again. If something bothers you, email one or all of us and tell us. We can't read every thread so don't assume we're ignoring people when they act like idiots.
Jeff: You're right, and I apologize - I have been in a testy mood all day... But that's no excuse. *I apologize for the personal attack, Baqui99. It was uncalled for.* I still do think that we are seeing way too much rationalization of the Palestinains' behavior, but there's no need to make it personal here. Sorry.
Oh man, Jeff just opened up a big can of whoop-ass and proceeded to lay the smackdown on any futile attempts to mess with the BBS's 10 COMMANDMENTS.....(Let's just hope there's ten) Oh yeah, Tree Man, calm down on the expletives man, its not helping your cause and not helping me read into what your saying because everytime i got to the next sentence I see stars....a whole load of f***in stars...
Baqui, you are f**cking sick.. i swear to god.. if treeman has to apologize.. I DEMAND AN APOLOGY FOR THIS CRAP! To compare Sharon to hitler is as extreme as it gets and I will boycott and ask every jewish person I know to boycott cc.net until there is an apology. This bullsh*t propoganda is what spawns hate in the arab world. Sharon does not want to exterminate palestinians. In fact, he has expressed hope for a palestinian state. However, as his INNOCENT civilians die, HE MUST DEFEND HIS PEOPLE. If it means rounding up men for interrogation (then letting them go after they are cleared) then it has to be done. Many of my ancestors were killed in the holocaust along with millions of Jews. How dare you accuse today's jews of committing such a genocide. The palestinians are in the situation they are in because of EVERYONE around them including THEMSELVES. This includes other arab nations(ever heard of Black September?) who won't lift a finger to assist. AGAIN, I WANT HIS POST REMOVED AND I WANT AN APOLOGY.
Wow... Baqui99 actually supplied a link to a Lyndon Larouche site. I must say that I never expected that... Franchise2001: The opposing side is totally incapable of accepting any - any - responsibility for their actions. I suspect that they could run over an old woman in a 67 Chevy, and when the cops came and asked what happened they would say that some *other* guy in a 67 Chevy ran the dude over... Of course, they would also claim that the other guy was a Jew.
The fingerpointing is the problem These two old farts have been screwing around for decades now, and have acomplished nothing... Arafat's ppl still live in ruin, and innocent people on both sides die daily. Sharon and Arafat are both worthless leaders who put pride before the welfare of their people
Baqui, do you believe everything you read that is anti-Israeli? Did the Jews in Nazi Germany go and blow up German discos, restaurants, hotels? This is a guerilla war!!!! Again, HOW DARE YOU COMPARE TODAY'S JEWS TO NAZIS! You told Treeman to open his heart, now I tell you to do the same. You actually believe that the ultimate goal of sharon is the total distruction of palestinians and is bent on world domination? Obviously, you know nothing of history(real history, not news articles written from "independant" sources). Treeman, is it common in a war to cut your enemy's power and any supplies that go to them? This was the line that you should read again --- 5) rounding up all men and boys in the camps, forcing them to partially strip and stand, with eyes blindfolded, in the sun, and classifying them with different colored hats, before taking them off to be interrogated, or worse.---- What is the definition of partially stripping (maybe they had to take off their shoes)? From what I saw on the T.V. these men were not blindfolded at all and they were not wearing hats. C'mon, you must have the I.Q. of a pea to believe all of this trash. I see lydon larouche's volunteers when I walk to class in austin. I don't think I will be so quiet next time I walk by them. Being a democrat they are extreme leftists and they don't belong in my party. IM WAITING FOR AN APOLOGY BAQUI. YOU HAVE ACCUSED TODAY'S JEWS OF COMMITING THE SAME GENOCIDE THAT HAPPENED TO THEM. YOU HAVE NO SOLID PROOF AND YOU ARE ACTING ON PURE HATRED AND PROPAGANDA!
What Israel should do is just withdraw from all the Palestinian areas. Then, when the withdrawal is complete, get on TV and make a public statement indicating the following: "We have withdrawn from all the previously occupied territories. We have done this to prove that we want peace, we want to begin negotiations, and we want to end this conflict. Our military has taken up defensive positions within our own territories which are not in dispute as precautionary measures. This goodwill gesture was done to ensure that noone can claim Israel is for war and against peace. Now, if the suicide bombings continue after our withdrawals and calls for a full cease-fire in which we are now respecting, then this will prove that there are those who do not want peace and want to destroy Israel regardless. If the suicide and other attacks continue even after our attempts to get into the peace process, then we will be forced to move to protect our people once again in whatever means necessary. There can be no road to peace if the Palestinians and those who support them will not cease-fire after what we have done to jumpstart the peace process and begin negotiations. None in the international community would sit idle and refrain from defensive aggression to protect themselves under such circumstances if they do indeed continue and those who say they would are lying. We now will wait for a Palestinian response by Yasser Arafat, a response from the international community, and to see if the violence continues." Someone has to go above and beyond to make a gesture of peace. So far, noone is going to do that. If Israel did implement a full withdrawal and ceased fire, then that would put the pressure on all the militants and Palestians. If they did not refrain from violence and cease fire, then it will be out there for all to see clearly....that the Palestinians wish to achieve their means violently and wish the destruction of Israel. The Arab leaders will play an extremely important part when this occurs. They will make their statements to the Palestinians and militant groups that they must stop now after this gesture and begin negotiations toward a peaceful resolution. What could Israel lose if they did this? There may still be more violence and suicide bombings but they never stop anyway. Israel can, after a few days if attacks continue, re-take their occupying positions or make their next move...whatever it is. We would hope it wouldn't come to that. In my opinion, Israel has to do something completely different from what their doing now cause it is not working in the worst way. Their moves are completely failing at this point. For every bomber they stop, another one is coming. Unless you can stop anyone who wants to suicide bomb...which you cannot through continued aggression, then you have to try a completely different approach. You have to prove to the international community that you are making steps to improve relations and not compound the problems. Leave the other Arab countries no room to criticize and expose the real problem if it continues...that of groups and people who will not stop the violence under any circumstances(if it were to continue after the move). Arafat would also be free to do his thing...whatever that may be....by moving around the areas not under "isolation" or house arrest. If the end effect is still not a peaceful one on the part of the Palestinians, then it will be clear for all to see who is to blame. Whatever Israel is doing now is just making their problems worse. I don't know why they can't see that. If you don't like my proposal, then continue your war cause I don't think anything else will work at this point. I know that Israel would never do what I said so it doesn't matter. I know that people will think the violence against Israel will just increase if what I said was done. Regardless of what happens, it is the gesture that might make some headway. Okay, blast me a new a-hole. Fire away. Surf
