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WEEK OF MAY 28 THROUGH JUNE 2

Bulletin: June 1
Suicide Bomber Strikes hard in Tel Aviv

A suspected Palestinian suicide bomber killed at least 16 other people and wounded more than 60 at a Tel Aviv nightclub on Friday night in the worst attack against Israelis since a Palestinian uprising erupted last September, police reported. It cast further how long Israel would stick to a declared ``limited unilateral cease-fire'' which already looked in tatters. Police said at least 17 people had been killed, including the bomber, and more than 60 injured. The blast at a club in a seaside complex along a beach-front promenade lined with palm trees caused carnage. Women wept and young victims lay groaning on the ground being comforted by rescue workers. Pools of blood covered the pavement. A man with explosives on him blew himself up at the entrance to the club and caused many casualties,'' Israel Radio said dozens of people had been taken to hospital and that many were in a serious condition. The blast at the Pacha nightclub took place shortly before midnight.

“PEOPLE BLOWN APART''

Avi, a waiter from a nearby nightclub, said: ``There were people blown apart, limbs strewn everywhere.'' Many of the victims had been enjoying a night out on the Jewish Sabbath. After the blast, a long line of ambulances stood in the road, their lights flashing. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups have vowed to carry out more bomb attacks following a string of bomb attacks in recent months. The scene at the nightclub was a sharp contrast to the events earlier in the day in Jerusalem, when the funeral of a senior Palestinian official passed off without major violence. Tens of thousands of Palestinians marched through East Jerusalem behind the coffin of Faisal al-Husseini, the most senior Palestinian official for Jerusalem, turning mourning into an outpouring of defiance against Israeli rule. Israeli police stood aside as youths raised Palestinian flags over Jerusalem's Old City and outside Israeli government buildings as the flag-draped coffin was carried through the city that Husseini had hoped to make the Palestinian capital.


Supreme Court allows Husseini burial on Temple Mount

Fri Jun 1,2001 -- Israel’s Supreme Court has decided to reject the private motion filed this morning attempting to prevent the burial of Faisal Husseini in the Temple Mount area of Jerusalem’s Old City. The motions were filed with the Supreme Court by a former activist of the outlawed Kach movement, Noam Federman, and Gershon Solomon, leader of the Temple Mount Faithful movement. The funeral arrangements are scheduled to proceed as originally planned. Husseini’s funeral procession passed through Jerusalem’s northern roadblock a short time ago. Thousands of Palestinians are following the coffin as it makes its way south from Ramallah, located approximately 12 kilometers from Jerusalem. Several hundred mourners not carrying Israeli entry permits succeeded in bypassing the Israeli checkpoint, but security forces have refrained from interfering with the procession.


Arafat: We Will Continue Battle for Jerusalem

PA leader Yasser Arafat on Friday morning announced the PA would continue the struggle over Jerusalem, following in the footsteps of Faisel Husseini, who held the Jerusalem Affairs portfolio in the PA. Arafat made his remarks for Husseini’s funeral, which he delivered in Ramallah.


Israel moves reinforcements into Shaba Farms on Lebanese border

Israel has moved reinforcements into the disputed Shaba Farms sector of the Israeli-Lebanese border. Long columns of tanks and armored personnel carriers were moved into the area. Israel have been buttressing its defenses in that part of the border for the last two weeks in anticipation of attacks by the militant Hezbollah organization to mark the first anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from South Lebanon, a withdrawal that was supposed to bring peace.


IDF sending crack units into W. Bank

The IDF's presence in the West Bank will be beefed up by several special forces units in order to improve security on the roads, the general staff decided yesterday.Some of the teams will operate undercover, lying in ambush for Palestinian attacks, while others will be high-profile, demonstrating a presence on the roads. The IDF is also preparing for a possible decision by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to launch a new offensive in the territories if the Palestinians do not respond soon to his unilateral cease-fire, and persist with civilian attacks.


June 1, 2001 Islamic Jihad Promise More Attacks in Israel The Islamic Jihad movement vowed at a rally in the Gaza Strip on Friday to continue suicide bomb attacks against Israel, and told Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to "go to hell". "Go to hell Sharon, you and your state, and your settlers. The Jerusalem brigade of Islamic Jihad will strike everywhere and you will not be protected anyplace! Masked Islamic Jihad activists burned models of Jewish settlements and Israeli buses. Some carried mock missile and mortar bomb launchers. Others fired in the air from rifles.


Arafat Blames Israel for Husseini's Death

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat yesterday blamed Israel for the death of leading Palestinian politician Faisal Husseini, claiming that his fatal heart attack in Kuwait on Wednesday night was caused by tear gas fired at him and Arab MKs during a May 15 Nakba Day protest. "There is no doubt that the [tear gas] canisters thrown at him by the Israeli forces led to his death," Arafat told reporters.

Note: Israel is responsible for every problem in the world, undoubtedly!


Russia Focuses On Upgrade of Libyan Weapons

Russia appears close to signing a deal for the upgrade of Soviet-era weapons in Libya's military. The two countries are proceeding with contract negotiations that would modernize a range of Libyan aircraft, tanks and armored vehicles. Officials would not disclose the extent of the contract.

Note: Libya is mentioned by Ezekiel as an ally of Russia in the great assault upon the mountains of Israel. Keep it up Russia.


Husseini Funeral Draws Thousands

JERUSALEM (AP) - Thousands of Palestinians triumphantly laid claim to east Jerusalem on Friday as they mourned Faisal Husseini, fulfilling, at least temporarily, the beloved Palestinian official's dream on the day he was buried. Israeli border police, trying to avoid friction, stood by as West Bank residents poured into the city to accompany the coffin of Husseini, the top Palestinian official in Jerusalem. Husseini was 60 when he died Thursday of a heart attack in Kuwait. ``We have freed Jerusalem!'' cried one mourner, Nafiz Abdou, 23. The streets are full of Palestinians. I feel like they surrendered the city to us!''


Feisal Husseini dies of heart attack in Kuwait

Faisal Husseini, the top Palestinian Liberation Organization official in Jerusalem, died of a heart attack Thursday in Kuwait, Palestinian officials said. He died in his hotel room before dawn, said an organizer of a conference where Husseini was scheduled to speak later today. Husseini, a close aide to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, was 61. The news of Husseini's death was announced by the Voice of Palestine radio station in the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian National Authority, the PLO and the Palestinian people announce with deep sorrow the death of the hero Faisal Husseini. We have lost today one of our honest men. Husseini arrived in Kuwait on Tuesday to attend a conference on resisting the normalization of relations with Israel, the first such visit to Kuwait since it severed ties with the Palestinian leadership after the Gulf crisis. “It is a great loss for the Palestinian people,'' said Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, on arrival in Brussels to address the Belgian Senate”. He has been my colleague in all stages of life and since we were both very young. At the same time he is also my relative. He is also my colleague in the Palestinian leadership,'' Arafat told reporters through an interpreter. ”This is God's will,'' said Palestinian Hamas official Khaled Meshal upon arrival in Kuwait from exile in Qatar for a conference on opposition to normalization with Israel. ``He was a man of struggle who lived under the Israeli occupation. He is the son of a family known for its struggle'' against the Jewish state, added Meshal. Abdel Q'ader Husseini, Husseini's son, said his father would be buried at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, a shrine that has become a symbol of Palestinian yearning for an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Kuwait was home to over 400,000 Palestinians prior to the U.S.-led 1991 Gulf War. The Palestinian community in the small country of 825,000 Kuwaitis is now estimated at between 40,000 and 50,000 people. Arafat worked in Kuwait after graduating from an Egyptian university. He formed his Fatah liberation movement in Kuwait in 1959, advocating armed struggle for the return of Arab land seized by Israel.

Note: Feisal Husseini was notorious in his hatred of Israel. At a conference in Beirut, Lebanon Recently he called for the total extermination of the Jewish State.


Feisal Husseini to be buried on Temple Mount

Thursday May 31,2001…. Faisal Husseini, the top Palestinian Liberation Organization official in Jerusalem, who suffered a heart attack and died this morning in Kuwait, will reportedly be buried on the Temple Mount tomorrow morning. He will be buried next to his father in the Muslim cemetery. It is unclear whether Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat will attend the burial on the Temple Mount, known to Arabs as al-Haram al-Sharif. If Arafat does attend Husseini's funeral, this would mark the Palestinian leader's first visit to the Temple Mount area since the 1967 Six Day War. Husseini is a close relative of Haj Amin al-Husseini, who served as Grand Mufti of Jerusalem during World War II.

Note: His burial on the sacred Temple Mount could be controversial.


Syria wants Russian multiple-warhead missiles

Thursday May 31,2001…. Syria has expressed interest in the purchase of a Russian multiple-warhead missile. The Iskander-E has a range of 280 kilometers and can carry multiple 480-kilogram warheads, with each warhead containing 54 bomblets. Russian defense officials said the system can foil any anti-missile defense effort of Israel or the United States.

Note: Russia is building up Syria’s war capabilities for an expected confrontation with Israel!


Pope sends Special Envoy to Jerusalem in peace effort

Wed May 30,2001…. Pope John Paul II sent his special envoy to Jerusalem to encourage Israelis and Palestinians to reach a cease-fire and resume dialogue. The Vatican reports that Cardinal Pio Laghi, a former Vatican envoy to the United States, will meet with both Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, handing them a signed message from the pope. Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said John Paul's concern for the Holy Land led him to decide on the diplomatic initiative intended to "encourage both sides for a cease-fire and a resumption of dialogue."


Russian-Syrian $1b Arms Deal Realigns ME Balance

30 May…. The Russians have agreed to substantially modernize the Syrian army as part of a major arms transaction worth more than $1 billion. The deal covers not only the general upgrading of obsolete hardware bought from the USSR in the eighties and early nineties, but items that could alter the military-strategic balance of strength in the Middle East. One is the highly effective Russian S-300 air defense system; another is acquisition of 3-5 MiG-25RE high-altitude intelligence-gathering aircraft, with which the Syrians could carry out airborne reconnaissance over Israel with impunity. The deal was negotiated by Syrian defense minister General Mustafat Tlas in Moscow last week. The sale to Syria will certainly raise an international outcry, especially in view of the current Middle East crisis. Concern over the transaction and its threat to regional security was the subject of the call Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon made to the Russian president Vladimir Putin Tuesday, May 29, on the day of Yasser Arafat’s arrival in Moscow. Sources disclose that Sharon talked tough. If the Russians are about to equip the Syrian army with top line weapons and go back to training hundreds of its officers in advanced methods of warfare as they did in the Soviet era, then the next Middle East war could well erupt before the new weapons reach Damascus, Sharon indicated.

Middle East sources interpret the sale as symbolic of the Russian President’s decision to tilt his Middle East towards support of the Damascus-Baghdad alliance. In addition to its arms deal with Damascus, Russia is secretly selling the Iraqi army advanced weapons, as well as up-to-date oil drilling and pumping systems. Russian oil engineers have quietly joined the Iraqi-Syrian teams working on the new Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline to the Mediterranean, in which the two countries stand to invest $145 m. Russian banks appear willing to negotiate credit terms.

If the Kremlin has indeed opted for a Damascus-Baghdad orientation, its effective corollary would be backing for the Baghdad-Damascus-Gaza axis and, therefore, support for Yasser Arafat. If this is what is going on under the surface, then Sharon’s assessment that a new Middle East war is round the corner could be correct. The Russian-Syrian arms deal is extensive. It also covers the repair and upgrading of 4,000 tanks, including T-72s, all its BMP-1 APCs, and its entire air fleet of over 500 fighters and bombers - mainly MiG-21s and MiG-23s, and MiG-29s


Get Syria out of Lebanon now!

It has been a year since Israel withdrew its defense forces from Lebanon, yet the Jewish state's northern neighbor is still the only nation in the world currently under occupation. Though Israelis were, for the most part, enthusiastic about getting out of Lebanon, and hopeful it would be a step toward peace, the pullout has proved to be an unmitigated disaster.

First of all, Syria hasn't budged. Some 35,000 Syrian troops deny Lebanon, one of only two Middle East nations with a recent history of republican self-government, its sovereignty and freedom. In addition to the military force, Syria has encouraged the emigration of some 1 million of its citizens to Lebanon, straining the economy and altering the demographics of the country. In addition, under Syrian control, Lebanon has become a haven for terrorist groups such as Hezbollah. It has become a major producer of heroin and other drugs. Syrian domination has resulted in the worst imaginable human-rights abuses. For years, Syria used the presence of Israeli troops in southern Lebanon as an excuse to maintain its own armed forces in the country. Now Syria has run out of excuses, and that's all they ever were. What justification is there for this continuing hegemony over a peaceful neighboring state? There is no excuse! Syria has occupied Lebanon since 1976. President Hafez Assad has died and his son has assumed control in Damascus. Yet there is not even the slightest indication that Syria is interested in negotiating a withdrawal, let alone proceeding in the direction of a good-faith, unilateral pullout. We still hear much about United Nations resolutions in discussions of Middle East problems. Why is it that we hear so little about Security Council Resolution 520, unanimously passed Sept. 17, 1982, calling for the evacuation of all non-Lebanese forces from the nation? Worse yet, given the developments in Israel since last fall – notably the Arab uprising, it is clear that Yasser Arafat interpreted the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as a sign of weakness. It has neither prompted Syrian good intentions, nor a willingness on the part of Arafat to negotiate seriously and in good faith. Additionally, attacks on Israel's northern border from Lebanese territory have only increased since the withdrawal. These attacks could not take place without the tacit support of Damascus, which rules Lebanon with an iron hand and which provides safe haven to the Hezbollah terrorists. Hezbollah also has a deal with Arafat to provide training and arms to the Palestinian Authority. There will be no peace in the Middle East until Syria pulls out of Lebanon.


Syria says Mideast Peace moves must be based on UN Resolutions

Wed May 30,2001 -- Syrian Foreign Minister Faruq al-Shara said Wednesday that any peace moves in the Middle East must be based on UN resolutions, which call for Israel to withdraw from land it captured in 1967. Shara made his comments as he received Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah el-Khatib, whose country and Egypt are co-sponsors of a plan to end eight months of deadly Israeli-Palestinian clashes and bring the sides back to the negotiating table.

Note: Israel has complied with all UN Resolutions regarding Lebanon. Syria has not!


Report: Sharon warns Assad against attack

(May 29) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has warned Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel will mount a "devastating response" against Syrian targets if Hizbullah attacks Israel! The message is said to have been relayed to Assad via US and Russian diplomatic channels ahead of this weekend's anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from South Lebanon. In his message, Sharon reportedly warned that if Hizbullah mounted such an operation, Israel would respond with "very harsh military action" against Syrian and Hizbullah targets. IDF security officials in Jerusalem have perceived that Hizbullah has received the green light to resume its military operations from Assad to attack Israel, Israeli intelligence believes that a large operation is imminent. Israeli farmers close to the northern border have reportedly been warned that Hizbullah is monitoring all movements, possibly in anticipation of an attempt to snatch hostages in Israel. While much attention is focused on events in the West Bank and Gaza, IDF officials were quoted as saying that the northern border remains the most likely flash-point for a wider Israeli-Arab conflict.


Harsh Gap Left by Burns-Arafat Talks

29 May: Intelligence sources disclose that the two conversations the US Middle East Envoy William Burns held with Yasser Arafat in Gaza Sunday and Monday failed to close any gaps. While the US envoy insisted upon a ceasefire before discussing the terms of US Senator George Mitchell’s report, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat demanded that a monitoring mechanism with an International presence, ( UN ) be established in the West Bank. The most urgent subject of discussion between Burns, Powell and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, was how to get Arafat to stop from the ascending the terrorist track. As a last resort, Sharon was to announce he accepted the Mitchell recommendations in full in the dim hope of persuading Arafat to respond with a complete ceasefire. Even that hope was dashed when the Palestinian leader announced Monday he was off next day, May 29, to Moscow, effectively washing his hands of the US shuttle mission. He left his men instructions to carry on with their heightened terrorist campaign, whatever they might hear. At his meeting with Sharon in Jerusalem, Burns was given details of the massacre planned for last Thursday at the Tel Aviv bus depot. Both the US and Israel have received fresh intelligence confirming Arafat’s orders to step up the campaign of terror in view of his suspicion that someone, the Americans, the Israelis, or disloyal members of the Palestinian leadership, or certain moderate Arab rulers, has decided to assassinate him. Arafat is also casting a suspicious eye on his most devoted followers, in particular, his own top deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, known as Abu Mazen, after being tipped off that Abu Mazen, confided in Secretary Powell that it was time to be rid of Arafat. The reason, he explained, was that as long as he was around there was not the slightest hope of an accommodation between Palestinians and Israelis.


IDF Musters to Meet Hizballah Threat

22 May: The verbal campaign of intimidation launched this week by Hizballah leader, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, has placed at least three Middle East armed forces on a high alert. In his latest pronouncement in an Egyptian TV interview Monday night, he declared the Palestinians have the power to force Israel out of all Palestinian areas within a short period of time, a feat that it took the Hizballah 18 years to achieve in Lebanon. “Every operation carried out inside Israel takes its toll on the Jews psychologically and morally and damages their feeling of security. In the last 24 hours, the diplomatic flurry between Beirut, Damascus and Tehran has been accompanied by Israeli aerial activity deep inside Lebanon. There are reports of Israeli jets flying low over the south and the Lebanese-Syrian border and breaking the sound barrier over the northern city of Tripoli, which holds a major concentration of Syria’s standing army of 45,000 troops.Military sources add that Israeli air force and northern command units have been in a state of preparedness since the Hizballah leader issued his threat to open a second front in support of the Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians. The Hizballah are themselves visibly on the ready, their Katyusha launchers ranged in position along the Israel frontier, while Syria has placed its air force and air defense units in Lebanon and Syria itself on alert, together with its Lebanon-based army. Israel intelligence judges Syria, Iran and the Hizballah bent on putting a match to Israel’s northern border for three reasons:

A. To capitalize on the first anniversary of Israel’s troop withdrawal from south Lebanon by imprinting it on Middle East consciousness forever as a Hiaballah rout of the Israeli army

B. To open a second front for the Palestinian intifada.

C. To manipulate Yasser Arafat into lining up with the militant Iranian-Syrian Middle East stand and thus radicalizing the Palestinian struggle. The radical trio have welcomed Arafat’s operational pact with the Palestinian Hamas and Jihad Islami groups and his import of Hizballah fighting elements into the Gaza Strip and West Bank. They will go far toward forcing Arafat to stick to his confrontational tactics and not be diverted by peace initiatives instigated in the West. President Bashar Assad has promised Nasrallah an artillery and air umbrella. He has hedged it with the proviso that he alone decides at what point in Israel’s counter-attacks his umbrella may be invoked The Syrian military and air alert is an indication that the Hizballah guerrillas are close to attacking and that Syria means to come to their aid. If this scenario goes as far as Syrian intervention, Israel can be expected to hit back at Syrian radar and missile batteries. These raids could develop into dogfights between Israeli and Syrian fighters and heavy Syrian losses, leading on to a full-scale Syrian-Israeli war.


F-16 Raids Send Signal to Damascus of Israeli Arsenal

21 May: The F-16 bomber fighter jets sent to bomb Palestinian military targets over the weekend were aimed as much at Damascus and the Hizballah as the Palestinians. In Teheran for the Palestinian Intifada Solidarity Conference, Hizballah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned Hizballah commanders along the Israeli frontier to stand by for orders to start firing rockets into Israel. The actual firing order he kept back for a green light from Syrian president Bashar Assad, the price tag the Syrian ruler attached to the ground-to-ground Katyusha rockets he supplied the Lebanese Shiite militants. Last Wednesday, IDF spotters watched Hizballah guerrillas openly and with much bravado rigging the launchers and bringing up quantities of rockets in trucks. Assad’s knowledge of this development lurked behind his conversation with the Egyptian President Hosni Mobarak in Sharm El-Sheikh last week. Awareness of the heavy weapons he had helped the Hizballah mass on the Israeli frontier prompted him to cut short his state visit to Egypt and spurn his Egyptian host’s efforts to draw him into endorsing the joint Egyptian-Jordanian cease-fire formula. Assad had given Nasrallah his green light to engage Israel in battle and assured him of Syrian air and artillery support if Israel fought back. This, in turn, led Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to his decision last Friday to send F-16 fighter jets over Nablus immediately after the suicide bombing in Netanya. Assad and Nasrallah knew that Sharon was reminding the Hizballah and Syria, of Israeli air force operational might and capabilities. Israel, the Hizballah and Syria now face one another on the ready, poised to see who fires the first shot!


Syria says it will attack Israel if Lebanon is struck again

Fri May 25,2001 -- Lebanese Speaker Nabih Berri, a close Damascus ally, indicated that Northern Israel would be bombarded if the Jewish army carries out any more attacks on Syrian positions in Lebanon. We will retaliate against the whole of Israel's north", he said during a ceremony in Beirut marking the first anniversary of Israel's pull out from South Lebanon.


Egypt, Syria said to be alarmed by Israel's use of F-16s

Fri May 25,2001 -- Egypt and Syria are said to regard the Israeli F-16 attack on Palestinian Authority installations as a threat to Arab national security. Arab diplomatic sources said officials in both Cairo and Damascus believe that the F-16 attack was meant to underline Israel's military capability to strike any Arab country ready to confront the Jewish state. The F-16 attack, the sources said, has heightened the military alert in and Syria. They said Syria's military has prompted renewed exercises, placed Syria's missile batteries on alert and cancelled leave by senior commanders. The sources said Egypt has expressed alarm to the United States over Israel's F-16 attack. They said Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, already dismayed by Washington's criticism of his regime's human rights record, is said to be concerned that Israel could in the future deploy the same U.S.-made aircraft in a preemptive strike against Egypt. The F-16s attacked PA installations in the Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border.


Russia criticizes Israel for Mideast violence

May 28, 2001 Russia criticized Israel for the escalation of Palestinian-Israel violence and praised as "practical" an Egyptian-Jordanian proposal for a cease-fire. The current Israeli policies are destroying peace achievements, Yevgeny Primakov, the former prime minister and President Vladimir Putin's special envoy, said after talks with Jordan's parliamentary speaker Abdul-Hadi Majali. "We are very worried that peace accomplishments would be destroyed if the violence persists". Primakov arrived in Amman on Saturday on the first leg of a Mideast tour that will also take him to Syria, Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. He praised a Jordanian-Egyptian initiative for a truce, saying the proposal contained "practical ideas" to end eight months of violence. The Egyptian-Jordanian cease-fire plan requires Israel to end all construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, a call that Israel opposes and that also appears in a draft report by an international commission led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell. Primakov urged Israel to stop settlement building and put and end to policies which are encouraging extremism and weakening the peace potential.


WEEK OF MAY 14 THROUGH MAY 20

May 18, 2001 Suicide Bomb Attack in Netanya

A Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to the Hasharon shopping mall in the center of the coastal town of Netanya at around 11.30 A.M on Friday morning. Seven people were killed in the blast, one of them most likely the bomber himself. More than 50 people were reported injured in the attack, some of them seriously. Witnesses said that the bomber, wearing a heavy blue coat over the explosive device that was strapped to his waist, tried to enter the mall, but when he was blocked by one of the security guards at the entrance, he blew himself up. At the time, there was a line of people waiting to enter the mall. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called an emergency meeting with Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer to discuss the security situation. This has raised speculation that Israel could decide to retaliate against Palestinian security installations.

Note: The terrorist cell Hamas has already claimed the fame of this insanity.


BILL CLINTON LIES FROM AGAIN

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said last night that Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount was the event which provoked the current Palestinian violence. Sharon's office responded calmly with a statement to the effect that even PA spokesmen have admitted that the violence was planned beforehand, and Sharon's visit was merely an excuse for the violence to begin. Even the American Mitchell report exonerates Sharon of the blame for the instigation of the violence.

Note: Mr. Clinton just can’t get things straight!


Jerusalem Day - The March to the Temple Mount

May 17, 2001…On Monday, 21st May 2001 The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement with many other supporters will hold its annual Jerusalem Day march to the Temple Mount. We shall never forget the great miracle which God did for Israel in the Six-Day war of 1967 when He gave back the Temple Mount, the heart, soul and focus of Israel to His people.

At the same time, we shall also not forget the hundreds of young soldiers who gave their lives to liberate the holy Temple Mount for the honor of God and to glorify Him on His holy hill as the Israelites did in Biblical times. On this godly day our hearts will be with the God of Israel and his heroes. Our hearts will be in prayer to the God of Israel, to redeem His Holy Hill and to rebuild His holy house, the Third Temple, and to redeem His people Israel from the hatred and attacks of all her enemies who are again gathering themselves around Israel to take away from her, her beloved capital, Jerusalem, and the land which God gave her in an eternal covenant. On this day we shall give the enemies of the God and people of Israel a very clear answer exactly as our forefathers in Biblical times did to their enemies: we shall never move from the land which God gave to Israel forever and the Temple Mount and Jerusalem will never fall again as God promised us in His holy Word.

Note: Israel is preparing for the Last Days events. Are you ready?


US House Votes to Withhold Aid To Lebanon

The House yesterday voted to withhold about $625,000 in aid to Lebanon until that country secures its border with Israel. The measure, which passed 216-210, also would direct the President to develop a plan for terminating millions of dollars in other aid if the Lebanese do not comply within six months. The provision, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Tom Lantos of California, was attached to an $8.2 billion State Department reauthorization bill, approved 352-73 late Wednesday evening. Supporters said securing the border was essential to securing Middle East peace. They expressed worries about attacks on Israel by the guerrilla group Hizbullah, which operates out of Lebanon but is supported by Syria.

Note: Syria will never permit Lebanon to secure its own border with Israel. This is the reason that Israel has had to secure it themselves for 20 years.


Palestinians remember ''catastrophe'' of Israel's creation

Tue May 15,2001….Palestinians marked Tuesday, May 14th, the anniversary of the "catastrophe" caused by Israel's birth 53 years ago, clashing with Israeli troops who also killed an extremist as he was firing mortar bombs from the Gaza Strip. After one of the deadliest days in the territories in weeks, thousands joined mass street protests across the West Bank and Gaza Strip for Al-Nakba, or the "catastrophe", recalling bitterly the hundreds of thousands who lost their homes when Israel was founded. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat delivered a feisty speech to mark the event, called Nakba, laying out his demands for peace after 7 months of raging conflict with Israel. The road to peace is very clear," Arafat said in his first speech to the Palestinian people since the intifada, or uprising, against Israeli occupation erupted last September. His pre-recorded address was broadcast shortly after Palestinians observed a three-minute silence during rallies for Nakba, which was also commemorated in neighboring Arab states and by members of Israel's one million strong Arab community, comprising Palestinians who remained after 1948. Arafat, was in Egypt, holding talks with President Hosni Mubarak. The hardline Islamist movement Hamas had called Monday on Palestinians to pursue the fight against Israel, arguing that "the enemy only understands the language of violence."

Note:: Palestinians mark the anniversary of the "catastrophe" caused by Israel's Birth! And this is the people Israel is supposed to try to make peace with and concede their God-given land to?


Arafat calls urgent meeting of Islamic countries

Tue May 15,2001….At the request of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, the Organization of Islamic Conference will hold an emergency meeting on May 26 in Doha, Qatar. Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani told reporters Arafat had asked Qatar, which currently chairs the 56-member OIC, to organize the meeting of foreign ministers in response to more than seven months of Israeli-Palestinian violence. In November, the OIC invited its member states during a summit in Doha to break ties with Israel and severe relations with countries that move their embassies to Jerusalem. The summit also called for the establishment of a war crimes tribunal for Israelis and demanded an international force be deployed to protect the Palestinians.


Palestinians Decry Israel’s Birth

JERUSALEM - Israeli soldiers killed four Palestinians and wounded more than 200 on a day of mourning for the Palestinian-proclaimed Nakba or ``catastrophe'' of their exile at Israel's founding in 1948. An Israeli was also killed. Late on Tuesday, Palestinian gunmen in the West Bank riddled a passing car with bullets, killing a 21-year-old Jewish settler woman and lightly wounding her father near the settlement of Maale Michmash. At midday, Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip stood in silence for a three-minute siren tribute to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who became refugees in the displacement that followed Israel's creation on May 15, 1948. President Yasser Arafat said in a defiant address on Palestinian television that Israeli military might would never make them surrender their dream of independence. Wearing his traditional military uniform, Arafat called for the ``full and comprehensive withdrawal of the occupation army and settlers'' from all Arab lands seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.

Victory is just an hour away. Palestinians took to the streets, fanning a more than seven-month-old uprising for statehood. At least 424 Palestinians, 80 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed since the revolt erupted after peace talks stalled. Gunfire echoed throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip long into the night. Security sources said a mortar bomb smashed a Jewish settlement house in Gaza while others slammed into Israel.

Note: The Arab countries actually possessed all the so-called occupied territories when Israel was born in 1948. Arafat’s conditions for peace ( pre-1967 borders ) weren’t enough for the Arab countries in 1948, nor was it enough in 1967.


Arafat not set on Ending Conflict in His Lifetime

(May 15)…. Israeli Intelligence reports indicate that Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is prepared to wage a protracted struggle and to pass it on to future generations if the conflict is not resolved during his lifetime. The report also indicated that the intent of the ship captured last week, was to smuggle heavy arms such as Katyusha rockets, into the Palestinian Authority. These arms in the hands of the Palestinians under the intense situation could bring about a turning point in the conflict. Ahmed Jibril, leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, sent the shipment with the goal of bringing about the collapse of the Oslo Accords. As a result of the current security and diplomatic situation, Arafat’s strategic message to all of the Palestinians is to continue with the struggle, as there is great public support for the struggle against Israel. Attacks are being carried out by all of the PA security forces, Fatah, and the Tanzim. The official noted that Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been given the clear go-ahead to carry out terror attacks in Israel that will get wide media coverage. All of the terror activists have been released from jail and are serving as "professional advisers" and participants in the current Intifada. According to intelligence assessments, Arafat believes that Israel's ability to endure terror is limited. Arafat is also sticking to his belief that by terror, in addition to international support, he will force Israel to accept his demands. Arafat will not settle for anything less than a state up to the 1967 border, the Temple Mount, and a solution to the refugee problem.

Note: Yasser Arafat supposedly renounced terrorism at the outset of the Peace Process. Can a terrorist change his stripes? Perhaps he should be accorded another Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Arafat has always been the world’s most renowned artist of terrorism.


Israel bombards Palestinian Centers of terror

Israeli helicopter gunships rocketed Arafat's terrorist command centers in Gaza, and Beituniya, a suburb of Ramallah May 13, leaving five PA policemen dead in the aftermath. The raids were targeted at specified PLO centers suspected of planning, and engineering terrorist attacks against Israeli citizenry. Yasser Arafat denounced Israel for the raids, and promised that there would be incidents of revenge for the attack.


Pope Marks 1981 Attack With A Mass

John Paul II marked the 20th anniversary of the attempt on his life, with a Thanksgiving Mass and the ordination of 34 new priests. It was a warm afternoon on May 13, 1981, when Turkish Mehmet Ali Agca shot and felled the white clad Pope, who was standing in an open convertible in St. Peter´s Square. The seriously wounded Pope was rushed to Rome´s Gemelli Hospital, where much of his intestine was removed. That fateful day was the feast of the Virgin of Fatima. The Holy Father is convinced that the Blessed Virgin saved his life: "a maternal hand guided the bullet´s path, and an agonizing Pope stood at the threshold of death," he said on May 13, 1994. John Paul II requested that the bullet removed from his body be placed in the Fatima shrine. Last May 13, the Pontiff beatified the two little shepherds who witnessed Mary´s apparitions in Portugal. On that occasion, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, announced the revelation of the third secret of Fatima.

Pope John Paul II also appealed to international leaders to end the vicious cycle of violence in the Middle East. Speaking 20 years to the day after surviving an assassination attempt, the Pontiff said that it was everyone's duty, in particular the leaders of the international community, to help both sides in the conflict to break from what he termed "this immoral chain of provocations and reprisals". The Pope's renewed appeal comes four days after returning from his Holy Land pilgrimage, and said that his visit there had been made sadder by news of violence in the Middle East. The Pope believes that the Madonna of Fatima, whose feast is celebrated on May 13, saved him from certain death when he was shot by Mehmet Ali Agca on May 13, 1981, in Saint Peter's Square.


Arafat is most lavish in dispensing gifts

Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat gave jewelry worth tens of thousands of dollars to former U.S. President Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary, and other senior members of the Clinton administration, including secretary of state Madeleine Albright, and national security advisor Sandy Berger, when the U.S. was mediating negotiations between the PA and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Arafat gave the following gifts:

To the Clintons, he gave gifts worth $23,650. This included $17,300 worth of jewelry, a necklace, bracelet and earrings set of gold studded with diamonds and sapphires worth $5,500; a necklace, bracelet, earrings and ring set of gold and diamonds worth $4,350; another diamond and gold set, consisting of necklace, bracelet and earrings, worth $3,200; a gold necklace in the shape of leaves with a flower pendant worth $2,400; and a gold necklace with matching bracelet worth $1,800. Arafat also gave the Clintons a mother-of-pearl box with a picture of the Last Supper worth $1,500; four mother-of-pearl boxes commemorating the millennium in Bethlehem worth $4,400; a $400 vase; and a medallion of the city of Bethlehem worth $50.

Albright received jewelry worth $18,800 - a gold necklace, bracelet, earrings and ring set worth $8,400; a gold necklace set with gemstones worth $3,000; a gold necklace and bracelet worth $3,000; another gold necklace and bracelet also worth $3,000; a gold chain worth $400; and a gold chain and bracelet worth $1,000. Berger received a gold necklace, bracelet and earrings set worth $2,450; a scarf worth $350; and a woman's jacket worth $200.


New Palestinian song "I hate Israel"

In the Bab Khan al-Zeit market in the Old City of Jerusalem, and in the small plaza in front of the Old City's Damascus Gate you can find stands piled with audio-cassettes. Mounted on these stands are stereo-tape decks, blaring out a now-popular Egyptian-Palestinian song, titled: "I hate Israel." The owner of one of those stands says the tune has become a favorite among Palestinians, and that he sells hundreds of cassettes of this song each week. The vocalist is Shaban Abed al-Rahim, a hitherto unknown singer who has become an overnight superstar. The song's immense success could mean big bucks for all those connected with its production.


Israel Acts to Intercept acts of Terror

14 May: Israel’s heavy aerial-naval assault across the Gaza Strip Sunday night carried forward the systematic campaign launched last week in Jericho and Jenin to dismantle the Palestinian capacity to strike. It was also a blunt warning to Yasser Arafat, that his continuing on the path of violence and terrorism would be costly, because the IDF would progressively divest him of the military strength for buttressing his regime. The raid’s timing was linked to one event: Al Nakba Day, May 15, which Arafat has designated a day for massive terrorist and mob operations both in the West Bank and inside Israel. The Israeli bombardment was launched shortly after midnight Sunday. It was the heaviest seen over the Gaza Strip since the 1967 War. Gunships fired rockets, including anti-tank projectiles, while warships off the Mediterranean coast directed heavy automatic artillery and missiles at a number of military targets in the City of Gaza, Nuseirat, Jabaliya, Khan Younis and Deir el Balah. Hit were the command posts of Arafat’s Presidential guard Force 17, a naval police firing position and around 8 armored vehicles. Military sources add that among the targets were armored vehicles fitted up as mortar and missile carriers.


Jordan Cracks down on Muslim Extremists

Jordan has resumed its crackdown on Islamic militants who are pressing the kingdom to sever relations with Israel. Jordanian authorities arrested more than 100 Islamic activists in connection with illegal protests organized against Israel in Amman. The kingdom has banned anti-Israeli and anti-government rallies out of concern that they will turn violent. But Islamic militants have ignored the government ban. On Friday, hundreds of worshippers left an Amman mosque and staged a rally against Israel organized by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Note: The radical Islamists are seeking to disect Jordan from the sphere of countries that are presently aligned within the Western sponsored peace-craft with Israel. ( Egypt and Jordan have signed treaties with Israel ) The West would like to incorporate Syria into that circle, thereby negating the sphere of influence based in Teheran, which is gradually engulfing Russia into the equation.

Hezbullah launches attack upon Israel

May 14 Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas fired anti-tank missiles at Israel's Dalia border position today, one month after Israel bombed a Syrian radar post in Lebanon and just hours before the U.N. Security Council was due to vote on reducing the number of peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon. One of the missiles hit the IDF's mess hall, an Israeli military source said. Lebanese sources said the attack was carried out by the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hezbollah's military arm. Guerrillas fired machine guns and at least three rockets on the Israeli post in Sammaka near the disputed Shabaa Farms at around midday. Israel captured the area from Syria in the 1967 war. The Lebanese also claim the area and Syria supports their claim. Last summer, U.N. surveyors demarcated the border, called it the Blue Line and left the Shabaa farms in the Israeli-held Golan area. The Israelis retaliated with several artillery rounds. Hezbullah said the attack was to "continue the march of Jihad and the liberation of the land."


Christian Palestinians Ask World to stop PLO-Hamas

Residents of Beit Jala, a primarily Christian Arab town between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, which has been the scene of scores of recent terrorist-IDF confrontations, have appealed to the international community to help stop Palestinian gunmen from using their homes to fire on nearby Jewish neighborhoods to provoke an Israeli response. The Beit Jala townsfolk resorted to calling for international intervention after repeated appeals to the Palestinian Authority, and its leader Yasser Arafat, to stop launching attacks from their community went unheeded. Our tragedy started with the outbreak of the intifada (uprising), when armed PLO terrorists broke into our houses and turned them into their bases of operations, shooting upon Israeli civilian and military targets. The PA-Hamas terrorists sole aim is to involve the Israelis in bombing Beit Jalla severely, to kill and to injure innocent people and demolish their homes. They want to force the Christian inhabitants of Beit Jalla to leave their residences. The residents of Beit Jala made a copy of their request available to the Vatican, the UN’s Secretary General Kofi Annan, and the European Union. Copies had also been sent to Arafat and to local churches. The letter was signed only "the residents of Beit Jalla," apparently out of fear of Palestinian retribution. There has been no response from any of these entities.

Note: Arafat’s henchman routinely attack Israel from civilian houses, incurring an IDF retaliatory response upon the location of firing. This is Arafat’s strategy, to avoid direct hits, and to incur a media backlash against Israel.


Saddam says Israel may attack Syria

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has predicted that Israel will launch a military strike against Syria or Jordan if it succeeds in controlling the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. If they control the situation in the Arab occupied territories, they will definitely hit either Syria or Jordan. If Israel controls the situation in the Arab occupied territories, may God forbid, they will definitely hit either Syria or Jordan, Saddam said. We should be on high alert for such a development and we should be prepared for it. Saddam said it was high time that the Arabs got rid of this germ (Israel) in the Arab body which, if is not extracted there will be no peace and security for Arabs. Saddam has always taken a hard line towards Israel. He said at the start of the Palestinian uprising last September that Iraq was ready "to put an end to Zionism" if Arab rulers did not defend the Palestinians against Israel. He ordered the formation of military units to fight with the Palestinians against the Israelis. According to official figures, nearly seven million Iraqis have volunteered to fight alongside the Palestinians. Iraq does not share a border with Israel.


Young ''Christians'' like living in sin

A third of young evangelical Christians believe in living together with a partner before marriage. Church leaders were shocked at the finding, expecting fewer than 10 per cent to support cohabitation. Thirty three per cent of Christians aged 18 to 35 supported living together, compared with 82 per cent of non-Christians. The survey also shows that Christians in the 18-35 age group are the most rapidly declining age group among churchgoers. The figures present church leaders with a dilemma. Either they emphasize biblical teaching on sexual morality, which risks driving away even more young people, or they compromise their traditional teaching, which may alienate the older generations. One Church of England report has already recommended that the phrase "living in sin" should be abandoned.

Note: True born again believers walking in the power of the Holy Spirit would eschew sin, not wallow in it. God’s word in unchanging, and what God called sin is still sin, irregardless of Church polls, and compromising teaching.


U.S. Blasts Israel Over Settlements

The US State Department has condemned Israel for allocating more money for settlements at this particular time in the West Bank. This activity risks further inflaming the already volatile situation in the region and is a provocative act. Washington has been increasingly vocal in its criticism of Israeli policy as the Palestinian uprising and violence continues. Some 200,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, home to three million Palestinians. Settlements built on occupied land are illegal under international law.


Hamas: "The Third Temple is on the Way"

A Hamas terrorist organization communique released this week repeated a common Arab theme this week when it wrote that "Zionist premier Ariel Sharon is expected to hold a special discussion with two of his ministers, to discuss the establishment of the alleged Jewish temple in the Aqsa Mosque. The article, explaines that Israel wishes to ensure the right of Jews to pray on the Mount. For obvious political reasons, the PLO-controlled Waqf wishes to negate the Jewish ties and religious rights to the Temple Mount. A central element of this approach is the Muslim eradication of Temple-era mosaics and religiously-significant artifacts.

Note: Feisal Husseini has repeatedly said that Israel has no history on the Temple Mount, and that there has never been a Jewish Temple on the mount.


Brutal Slayings of 2 Teenagers In West Bank Cue War Drums in Israel

The murders of two 14-year-olds near their West Bank settlement of Tekoa, bound, stoned to death and stabbed, then cast into a cave set war drums beating among Israeli hard-liners. Israeli officials said the murders were apparently a response to the accidental death of a month old Palestinian baby in a retaliatory rocket attack against a Palestinian mortar attack in a Palestinian settlement earlier this week. Reports from the site indicated the bodies were also mutilated. Not even animals do to their victims what the murderers did to these boys, said Gush Etzion Regional Council head, Shaul Goldstein. Hours before the bodies were discovered early Wednesday, settlers, already up in arms over the killings of more than 50 Jews in the West Bank and Gaza since the outbreak of the Intifada, held a protest demonstration against what they called a soft line taken by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.


New Palestinian Group Says it Killed Teenage Settlers

A caller claiming to represent a group namd Hezbollah Palestine said Wednesday it killed two 14-year-old settlers in the West Bank to avenge the death of a four-month-old Palestinian baby in Israeli shelling. "I am from Hezbollah Palestine. We killed the two settlers today to avenge the killing of Iman Hiju.


Palestinian Arsenal Worries Israel

Anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons are being illegally smuggled into the Palestinian territories and pose a serious threat to Israeli security. A navy boat off the coast of Haifa this week seized a fishing vessel carrying a cargo of weapons on what officials said was its fourth smuggling run to Gaza. Of greatest concern to Israel were four SA-7 Strela anti-aircraft missiles, a missile developed in the 1970s that has a range of about 5 miles. Also aboard the boat were a variety of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, land mines, Kalashnikov assault rifles, and Katyusha rockets of the type that for decades were often fired from Lebanese territory at northern Israel by Hezbullah. Such weapons are more powerful than any used so far by the Palestinians, who have faced off against Israel with little more than stones, automatic rifles and mortars. Israel has used tanks, artillery and attack helicopters in the conflict. From the West Bank, Jerusalem or Tel Aviv would be within easy Katyusha range. 'This indicates that Arafat wants to initiate another stage of escalation against the Israeli population inside Israel. The confiscated weapons shipment was organized by a radical Palestinian group headed by Ahmed Jibril.


Palestinian kids raised for War Taught to hate, kill Jews through ”Sesame Street” type TV show. Heavily armed Israeli soldiers shooting at innocent Palestinian children caught in the crossfire. This is the image that has dominated international press coverage of the five-week-old wave of violence that has wracked the Middle East, during which, according to some accounts, over 40 Palestinian children have died. With each new report of youthful casualties, the perception of something unthinkable, that Israeli soldiers are targeting children, is reinforced in media coverage, a great deal of which tends to favor the perceived underdog in the clashes, namely the Palestinians. The reality is indeed unthinkable, but not in the way so neatly portrayed by sound-bite media accounts of Palestinian children being shot by Israeli soldiers. Indeed, powerful and secret forces are at work in Palestinian nurseries, preschools, entertainment venues, classrooms and summer camps, forces that shape the current and future battles between Palestinians and Israelis, and indeed, make them all but inevitable. However, up until recently, this amazing story has for the most part been hidden from Western eyes. Palestinian children are taught to hate Jews, to glorify "jihad" (holy war), violence, death and child martyrdom almost from birth, as an essential part of their culture and destiny. As captured on an Israeli video documentary produced in 1998, which readers can view here, a "Sesame Street"-like children's program called the "Children's Club" complete with puppet shows, songs, Mickey Mouse and other characters, focused on inculcating intense hatred of Jews and a passion for engaging in and celebrating violence against them in a perpetual "jihad" until the day the Israeli flags come down from above "Palestinian land" and the Palestinian flag is raised. Intelligence Report:
Second Temple Mount Intifada Being Planned

Yasser Arafat is mustering powerful reinforcements for his second “Al Aqsa Intifada” front whose opening in Jerusalem and Temple Mount is scheduled for the Palestinian Day of the Catastrophe, or Al Nachba on May 15. His agents are busy raising strength among Israeli Arabs with the help of “Palestinian Hizballah” operatives smuggled into East Jerusalem from Lebanon for terrorist operations, and are working directly under his orders. Monday morning, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon held a special consultation with police and internal security minister Uzzi Landau and interior minister Eli Suissa on measures to meet the worst case scenario, another Temple Mount uprising, if Arafat can pull it off. Intelligence sources report that the discussion centered on the upsurge of armed clashes and war activity outright on the edges and around the border districts of Jerusalem in the last few days. According to the intelligence reaching Israeli ministers, Arafat intends for the turmoil in Jerusalem on May 15 to spread rapidly into the heart of the Jerusalem.

Intelligence sources point to three disquieting developments:

A. Arafat is rounding up Hizballah agents from the Gaza Strip and posting them in the West Bank and among Israeli Arab concentrations, where they have the advantage of being unknown faces to Israeli intelligence and security. The Palestinian leader must be circumspect. Syrian President Assad objects to direct Hizballah collaboration with the Palestinian leader, insisting they work with radical Palestinian groups under the authority of Damascus. To get round this objection, the imported Hizballah squads are partnered with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad, through which Arafat orchestrates their operations. The very presence of operational Hizballah elements among Israeli Arabs is a menacing precedent and cause of unrest. B. While Arafat stayed away from last month’s Tehran conference to avoid a media backlash, and to support his intifada, he was represented by Faisal Husseini, minister for Jerusalem affairs. Intelligence reports speak of an operational directive from Teheran to support Arafat’s drive to plant Hizballah operatives among the West Bank population. C. The monumental mosque under construction on Temple Mount is a prime focus of Palestinian-Israeli Arab collaboration. Arafat dispatched Umm al Fahm mayor Raad Salah some weeks ago to make the rounds of the Persian Gulf and raise funds in his name to finish the vast building. Arafat thereby extended his blessing to Raad’s mosque project, which entails connecting the subterranean vaults of the Temple Mount under Al Aqsa Mosque and the space known as “Solomon’s Stables” to create the largest mosque on the site. Arafat is determined to make May 15 a day of catastrophe in every sense; many hundreds of thousands of Israeli Arabs and West Bank Palestinians will be sent pouring into Jerusalem and the Temple Mount compound to proclaim the dual event of the laying of a cornerstone for the new mosque and the opening of the intifada’s second front.


The Pope calls on all Faiths to Work for Peace

Sun May 6,2001…Pope John Paul urged Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Middle East on Sunday to take bold action to bring about peace in their region. After referring to the Arab-Israeli conflict on his arrival in Syria on Saturday, he returned to the theme during a Sunday mass for a vibrantly enthusiastic crowd of some 50,000 people. With all your compatriots, without distinction of community, continue tirelessly your efforts to build a society marked by fraternity, justice and solidarity. The mood at the stadium was festive and the crowds were far larger than in Greece. The Pope, wearing his traditional white robe, entered the stadium to the echoes of hymns and chants of Alleluia. A few hours after the mass, the Pope was due to make history by reciting a joint invocation, with Muslim clerics in the ancient Umayyad Mosque in the Old City of Damascus. The Pope's visit to the Umayyad Mosque is highly significant in his relations with Muslims. The magnificent building is a unique site that was once a church and a mosque at the same time.

Note:“Lets all come together” (Solidarity)…….Does this sound a little like Nimrod at the tower of Babel? (See Genesis 11:3-4)


The Pope enters Damascus Mosque to make History

Sun May 6,2001….Pope John Paul, flanked by Syria's leading Muslim clerics, entered a mosque in Damascus on Sunday to become the first Roman Catholic Pontiff to visit a Muslim place of worship in Islam's 1,400-year history. The frail 80-year-old Pope, walking slowly, went inside the splendid Great Umayyad Mosque, containing the supposed tomb of St. John the Baptist, where he was expected to exchange statements with senior clergymen. Religious authorities hope the groundbreaking visit will take Muslim-Christian relations to a new level of cooperation and unity.


IDF Retaliates against terrorists in Beit Jala

Sun May 6,2001….The IDF retaliated against terrorists shooting from houses in Beit Jala. The raid into Beit Jala was intended to signal the Palestinians that IDF actions would continue and intensify if the terrorist attacks do not cease. For the IDF, this is a war against violence, and the ruthless assault upon innocent Israeli civilians . For the Palestinians, it is a war of awareness. Their desire is to keep the plight of Palestinian’s on the world's daily media agenda. The strategy of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is to maintain a balance in the conflict. Practically speaking, the Palestinian Police, armed with tens of thousands of weapons, can shed a lot more Jewish blood, but it is careful not to do so because the PA desires a favorable world image and, more importantly, a evoke negative world reaction against Israeli retaliation. However, when the Palestinians feel the conflict is no longer paying off in the media, they escalate the violence, with sniper shootings and terrorist incidents, attempting to incite the IDF into heavy retaliatory responses, and thereby gaining sympathy from the worlds powerbrokers.


Pope calls for ''Peace in Mideast, Assad for Support against Israel

Sat May 5,2001….Pope John Paul II began a visit to Syria Saturday with a strong appeal for a "real" Middle East peace, while his host, President Bashar al-Assad, called forworld support against Israeli "oppression. Continuing Middle East tensions featured prominently in both speeches, as did the theological and cultural links between Christians and Muslims. The Pope said: "We all know that real peace can only achieved if there is a new attitude of understanding and respect between the people of the region, between the followers of the three Abrahamic religions" of Christianity, Islam and Judaism”.

In Syria, the pontiff was warmly welcomed by Assad and a throng of well-wishers before listening to an impassioned speech by the Syrian leader. "We know that in your prayers you remember the suffering of Jesus Christ, said Assad, urging the Pope to remember the suffering of our people in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine, who were victims of oppression. Assad accused the Israelis of "trying to kill religions in the same way that they betrayed Jesus Christ, in the same way they tried to kill the prophet Mohammed. "They are killing the principle of equality when they speak of God creating people who are “superior” to others," he said. "We see them making aggression against holy places in Palestine, Muslim and Christian," such as the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem. "The implementation of holy principles requires standing in the face of those who oppose those principles," Assad said, adding that "justice means that rights should be returned to their original owners. Lands in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine belong to their original Arab owners, the houses belong to their owners and the refugees should be allowed to return to homes.

The pontiff also read from a prepared text. "As I have publicly stated on other occasions, it is time to 'return to the principles of international legality: the banning of the acquisition of territory by force, the right of peoples to self-determination, respect for the resolutions of the United Nations Organisation and the Geneva conventions!” As the word 'peace' echoes in our hearts, how can we not think of the tensions and conflicts which have long troubled the region of the Middle East," the pontiff asked, and then praised the Syrian leader for confirming that "a just and global peace is in the best interests of Syria." The Pope ended his comments by sayingToday, in a world that is increasingly complex and inter-dependant, there is a need for a new spirit of dialogue and cooperation between Christians and Muslims, Together we acknowledge the one indivisible God.”

Note:, The God of Christianity and Islam are not identical. Then again, neither is the God of Catholicism really and truly the God of Christianity. So, the Pope and the Muslim leaders should find plenty of room for cooperation. It should be noted from the reading of Mr. Assad’s comments that he is blaspheming the God of Israel ( Jehovah ) for choosing the seed of Jacob as a special people unto himself. The Papacy has always been agreeable to this point of view.


U.S. Blocks Weapons Supply Line From Iran to Hezbollah

The United States has closed the main supply line of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah. Iran had used the line for about 20 years in order to pass weapons to Syria, and from there to terrorists organizations in Lebanon. The weapons were transferred on plans that passed over Turkish airspace. The U.S. recently convinced Turkey to cancel the flight licenses for flights on their way to Syria. As it is impossible to fly over Iraq, Iran now has only a few expensive ways to deliver the weapons to Hezbollah forces. American officials said that Iran recently increased its involvement in Muslim terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. According to the officials, Iran's current level of involvement is the highest it has been in the last decade.


Assad Denounces Israel to Pope

Pope John Paul II began a historic pilgrimage to Syria yesterday with an emotional plea to Israel and its Arab neighbors to turn "fear into trust" to end decades of conflict. But President Bashar Assad, who along with government ministers and clerics gave the pope a warm welcome, called on the frail 80-year-old pontiff to stand by the Arabs in their struggle against Israel. "We feel that your prayers, in which you recall the suffering of Jesus Christ, you also remember that there are people in Lebanon, and in the Golan Heights, and in Palestine that is suffering from the subjugation and persecution, of Israeli occupation!" We expect you to stand by them against the oppressors (Israel) so that they could regain what was unjustly taken from them. Assad, who stirred a storm of controversy in March by saying Israelis are more racist than Nazis, said the suffering of Arabs under Israeli occupation is similar to the biblical suffering of Jesus Christ at the hands of first-century Jews. He said Israel is killing Palestinians, violating justice, occupying Arab land, and attacking Moslem and Christian religious sites. In response to Assad, the pope quickly got to the heart of his hope for the trip, to encourage all sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict to change their attitudes and seek lasting peace. My pilgrimage is also an ardent prayer of hope," said the pope, who tomorrow will pray for peace at Kuneitra in the Golan Heights. "It is time to return to the principles of international legality; the banning of acquisition of territory by force, the right of peoples to self-determination, respect for the resolutions of the United Nations and the Geneva convention."


Pope makes history in Syria, and angers Israel

Pope John Paul II, who yesterday made history by becoming the first pontiff to visit a mosque, sided with the Palestinians by calling indirectly on Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Pope, on his first full day in Damascus, also found himself caught up in a row between Israel and Syria over accusations of anti-semitism. The Israeli foreign ministry claimed that the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, was using the Pope as "a platform to wage an anti-Jewish campaign, raising anti-semitic accusations that have led to much bloodshed over the ages" and called on the Pope to dissociate himself from them during his visit. For the first time in 1,400 years of Muslim history, a pope entered a mosque. The Pope was greeted at the Umayyad mosque in the centre of Damascus's old city by Syria's leading Muslim cleric, Sheik Ahmad Kuftaro, who said before the meeting that he hoped the visit "will result in serious common action to save the Palestinians, Christians and Muslims, from the massacres being carried out by Israel". As required by Muslim custom, the Pope removed his shoes and put on white slippers before entering the mosque. He stumbled several times on his way to the tomb in the mosque believed to contain the head of John the Baptist.


Jewish Prayer on Temple Mount Discussed

Public Security Minister Uzi Landau insists that a way must be found for Jews to be able to pray on the Temple Mount, and a meeting is being held this morning on the matter. In attendance are Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, Jerusalem Affairs Minister Eli Suissa, and Minister Landau.


The Pope begins his controversial Golan Heights Visit

Thousands of Syrians gathered in the rubble of a town they say was destroyed by Israel, turning a papal visit this morning into an opportunity to tell the world about their bitterness. Pope John Paul II said a prayer for peace in the city of Kuneitra, a city that still lies in ruins from previous Syria-Israel wars. Syria refuses to rebuild Kuneitra or let most of its residents return, saying it should stand as a monument to Israeli "crimes" until the entire Golan, seized by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, is back in Syrian hands. Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations, based upon UN Resolutions have stalled. The Syrian government had bused in thousands of former Kuneitra residents for the day, putting them before the cameras and reporters from around the world who have recorded the Pope's four-day trip to Syria. "The pope is very important. The Vatican has repeatedly called for a peaceful resolution that would return land captured in war to its original owners. The pope was unlikely to be more explicitly critical of Israel during his Syrian pilgrimage, which ends Tuesday. John Paul has called during his Syrian trip for peace and mutual understanding in the region.


The pontiff did not respond to Assad’s criticism of Israel. The Pope, who at the Western Wall begged the forgiveness of the Jewish people for the “Christian world’s anti-Semitic sins” only last year, said nothing when he heard the Syrian ruler say: “The Jews who tortured the early Christians are now torturing the Palestinian people…” and, “The Jews are systematically murdering the principles of the three monotheistic faiths in the same way as they betrayed Jesus Christ and tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammed.”

Note:” Anti-Semitism proclaimed right under the Pope’s nose; and He does not denounce it! He even praises the one who spoke it, calling Assad a great leader with a great vision for Global Peace! Could the Antichrist be closely associated with the actions of these two leaders?


WEEK OF APRIL 30 THROUGH MAY 5

Egypt pledges to help Syria against Israel

Thu May 3,2001….Egypt has issued a pledge to help Syria in case of any war against Israel. Arab diplomatic sources indicate the pledge was relayed by Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mussa during his visit earlier this week to Damascus. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is playing with fire and he will be the first one to be burnt with it, Arab League secretary-general Ismat Abdul Meguid said. The sources said the Egyptian pledge was meant to assuage Syrian fears of an Israeli attack. Last month, Israeli warplanes destroyed a key Syrian radar position in Lebanon in wake of a Hizbullah attack along the border with the Jewish state. Israel has held Syria responsible for Hizbullah attacks along the Lebanese border.

Note: Egypt has signed a peace treaty with Israel, but offers to join in any attack against Israel. What did Israel gain by giving the Sinai back to Egypt? Nothing! What will Israel gain by giving the Golan to Syria? Nothing!


Arafat's wife: 'I Hate Israel'

Thu May 3,2001 -- In a series of blunt comments, the wife of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said she hates Israel, and opposes normal relations with Israel. She alos believes that Mideast peace is unobtainable at present. Soha Arafat, claimed that Israel is responsible for the problems that Palestinian children have.I have always rejected normalizing relations with Israeli women, but I categorically refuse to go because I hate Israel. Amid the current Mideast bloodletting, she also declared that "peace with Israelis is a lie.I have always had the inner conviction that peace with Israel wouldn't succeed. Soha Arafat spends most of her time in Paris with the couple's daughter, Zahwa. Soha Arafat, who converted from Christianity to Islam when she married the Yasser Arafat says she cannot live in Gaza.

Note: Like husband, like wife? Yasser also hates Jews! With such venomous within her, it's no wonder Arafat came home from Camp David in July 2000 without a peace agreement in tow. She would have sent her hubby to the woodshed if he had made peace with the despised Israelis.

Palestinians, Israeli Arabs to Hold 'Nakba' Rally On May 15

Israeli Arabs and Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip are planning a joint rally in East Jerusalem on May 15, to mark the 53rd anniversary of the Al Nakba, the catastrophe that befell the Palestinians with the collapse of the Arab invasion of newly founded Israel in 1948. For the first time, Israeli Arabs are marking the day according to the Gregorian calendar, and not the Hebrew calendar.

Note: The Arab countries refer to the birth of Israel as a “Great Catastrophe”. How do you make peace with nations who rue the day that you were born?


Assad Says Israeli Racism 'Beyond Nazis'

Syrian President Bashar Assad, on his visit to Spain, has again stated that Israelis who voted for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon were "more racist than the Nazis. Assad said Syria would not sign a peace agreement with Israel before the Palestinians, and called for a comprehensive settlement. "All we have seen shows the Israelis have no time for peace with the Arab nations," Assad said. He said he would meet with an Israeli Prime Minister only to sign a peace agreement. Assad called upon Europe to increase its involvement in the Middle East peace process and said Syria is still waiting to see how President George Bush deals with the region.


New Age Gospel infiltrates Churches Today

Thu May 3,2001 -- Is the church in America doing its job by lifting up the name of Jesus and preaching the true gospel? Many believe the church has fallen short in this area and is now reaping what it's has sown. In the beginning, America's churches were the spiritual and moral rock upon which the nation was founded. But two centuries of spiritual decline have taken their toll on America's churches. Pulpits that were once aflame with Biblical righteousness now preach anything from goddess worship to new age beliefs to tolerance of homosexuality to a one-world religion. America is no longer a nation which knows the Bible. Americans are Biblically illiterate," says George Barna, of the Barna Research Group. Acceptance of new age ideas is also up among those who call themselves Christians. A Gallup survey found some 20% of Christians believe in reincarnation, 26% in astrology, and 16% have consulted fortunetellers, all of which are outright condemned in the Bible.

Note: 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. These days, some believers in Christ have become restless and are not satisfied with the old fashioned way. They want new things, things that appeal to the inner man and the old nature. New Age "good feeling" type gospel is alluring to them. Self help supplements to the Word of God is the in thinking. You can have God and anything else your heart feels like. The New Age influence is growing stronger with time. Satan cannot steal the believer away from Jesus, but he sure can ensnare them like a spider web. The end result is a watering down of the Christian testimony as believers prescribe to unscriptural beliefs. Spiritual deception is all around us.


Fragile Pope Setting Out on Delicate Mission to Syria

Pope John Paul embarks this Friday upon a delicate mission of religious and political peace that will take him from Orthodox Greece to Muslim Syria and Roman Catholic Malta. For the Pope, who turns 81 this month, the May 4-9 trip will again test the faded stamina of the man once called ``God's Athlete''. His visit to Syria takes him to the Middle East for the first time since the region's peace process began unraveling. The official purpose of the visit, his 93rd outside Italy, is to retrace the steps of St. Paul, the apostle who converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus and later preached in Athens and Malta on his way to Rome, where he was beheaded. While in Syria, the Pope will issue an appeal for peace in the region. He will call for peace from the Golan Heights city of Quneitra, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and returned under a U.S.-negotiated agreement in 1974. Israeli troops destroyed Quneitra, but still occupy the western Golan. The Jewish state's military radar posts perched on the dominating peak serve as towering reminders that regional peace has been elusive. Syria has left Quneitra as it was in 1974 and made the city a museum to illustrate what it calls Zionist destruction. By visiting Syria, the Pope will have traveled to Israel and all the border nations that have been at war with the Jewish state.Another highlight of the Pope's visit to Damascus will be a stop in the splendid Umayyad Mosque, whose history neatly sums up the complexity of Syrian religious history. The site began as a pagan temple, was converted to a church after Christianity became the Roman Empire's religion in the 4th century and a mosque after the Arabs conquered Damascus in 639.

Note: The visit of the Pope to Syria and the Golan is occurring at the very same time that the EU is utilizing Spain to entice Syria into taking a more conciliatory stance with respect to the prospect of signing a Peace Deal with Israel. The EU knows that there can be semblance of peace in the Middle East without the inclusion of the Syrian track.


West Must Assume M.E. States Have Russian Nukes

The United States must assume that Middle East allies of Moscow as well as terrorist groups have succeeded in obtaining nuclear material smuggled from reactors around the former Soviet Union. A combination of corrupt officials and a thirst for revenue by Russia's nuclear industry appears to guarantee the prospect of widespread smuggling of nuclear material to such countries as Iran, Iraq and perhaps terrorist groups.


Russia and China forge closer ties

Russia and China signed a mutual defense and cultural relations pact on April 26, 2001. The increased diplomatic activity between the two cpuntries ccurs at a time when mainland China is extending its military capability into the Pacific, and confronting the USA on strategic issues. Russia faces an expanding NATO alliance and both Moscow and Beijing are hostile to any proposed U.S. anti-missile system. Russia and China have already declared their mutual cooperation to establish a "New World Order." In April 1997, Yeltsin and Jiang declared that there was "an urgent need for building a just and rational New World Order" and agreed upon a "shared goal of a multi-polar world," which would challenge the perceived "uni-polar" world dominated by the United States. Since the first declaration in 1997, Russian and Chinese leaders have periodically called for a new international order, free of the supposed dominance of the United States. Russia has warned that US President George W Bush's commitment to scrapping a landmark arms control treaty and creating a US anti-missile defense shield could lead to escalating global tensions.


Shimon Peres calls Arafat a Peace Partner

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres says the Palestinian attacks on Israel were undertaken without Yasser Arafat’s knowledge. He maintains that Yasser Arafat is a sincere partner for Middle East Peace. Peres, who is the architect of agreements with the Palestinians that have given them control of 40 percent of the West Bank and most of Gaza, described Arafat as a man who makes mistakes, but is a true peace partner. Peres said Israel must be ready to make painful compromises once negotiations with the Palestinians are resumed. We cannot solve anything with force, so we must rely on our peace partners.

Note: Peace partner? Surely Mr. Peres is the most naďve man in the Middle East today.


Syria's President Accuses Sharon

Syrian President described Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as a person who likes to kill and wants to push the region to war. He also claimed that Syria does not want to be drawn into a conflict with Israel. Syria doesn't seek to ignite a war, but the signs suggest that Israel does want war with us, he said? Assad, in Spain to meet with King Juan Carlos is seeking close economic ties to the European Union.

Note: The EU will be exerting a tremendous amount of effort to coerce Syria into a Peace Resolution with Israel over the issue of the Golan Heights.


Syria’s Assad seeks closer ties with European Union

Tue May 1,2001….Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad will encourage a greater European role in Middle East peace efforts during a visit to Spain this week, the first visit by a Syrian ruler to the European country in more than a thousand years. Syria has always called for an effective European role to achieve peace in the Middle East. Syria’s sporadic peace negotiations, launched as part of the Middle East peace conference opened in Madrid in 1991, then broke off a year ago without agreement on the fate of the Golan Heights, which was captured by Israel from Syria. Assad and Spanish King Juan Carlos are scheduled to discuss the Middle East Peace process.

Note: Spain is front and center in the news pertaining to Mideast peace. Madrid, Spain was the location for the formal launching of the Oslo Peace Process. Many say that there can be no comprehensive Mid-east peace unless the Syria and Lebanon (Syria's puppet) track of the process is finalized with Israel, in addition to the Palestinian-Israel track. Bashar, unlike his father, is a progressive thinking person who realizes that Syria cannot remain isolated from the rest of the world. His country is an economic disaster that needs a lot of financial assistance from the EU monetary aid and trade, but before it is made available, the EU will force to forge a peace with Israel. Spain would appear to be an amenable EU nation that could facilitate a peace treaty to Syria's acceptability. King Juan Carlos is about to make his foray into Middle East peace making.


IDF is among Largest armies in the World with advanced hi-tech weaponry

Sun Apr 29,2001…. The IDF has unveiled some hitherto top-secret, domestic, hi-tech weaponry at their annual "salute to technology" fair being held at Latrun, Israel. These include a model of the heavy surveillance network of sensors and cameras deployed along the Lebanon border, as well as a detailed exhibition of the Gil new-generation anti-tank rocket. Until now, the Lebanon border surveillance network was a heavily censored military secret. Dubbed "Solid Mirror," the network provides the IDF with an all-weather look deep inside enemy territory. It has also reportedly been deployed in the conflict with the Palestinians. Developed by the IDF and at the final stage of development, it is said to improve the accuracy of the US-made rockets tenfold. Twenty five percent of all officers in the IDF are engineers or hold science degrees. The IDF is one of the largest armies in the world, larger than the British, French, or German armies. The IDF is a gigantic army, but in comparison to the armies of Israel’s Arab neighbors, Israel’s army is only one-third as large.

Note: Is it not ironic that all these Middle Eastern nations now have the world’s largest armies. These nations didn’t even exist until after the WW II era, yet the Bible foretold of their involvement in the prophetic events of the Last Days.


European Council calls on Syria to withdraw troops from Lebanon

Sun Apr 29,2001….The European Council approved a decision denouncing the continued presence of Syria in Lebanon, and calling for Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon following the IDF withdrawal from the southern portion of the country. The council also rejected the claim made by both Hezbollah and Lebanon regarding Israel’s presence in Sheba Farms, adjacent to Har Dov. The decision was made following a week of deliberations in Strasbourg. The council called on Israel to refrain from using excessive force towards Palestinian citizens and their property.

Note: The “European Council” is playing an increasing role in the Middle East Peace Process.


Cease-fire ongoing between Israel and Palestinians

Sun Apr 29,2001 -- Israel and the Palestinians are involved in intensive talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire agreement, to be followed after a still-undetermined interval by diplomatic negotiations, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said yesterday during visits to Egypt and Jordan. Peres, who flew first to Cairo and then to Akaba, carried a message from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordanian King Abdullah II stating that Israel wants to return to the negotiating table, but not under the threat of violence. Peres also said the leaders warned of dire regional consequences if the situation is not stabilized soon. Mubarak caused some confusion when he, after meeting for about 90 minutes with Peres at his palace in Cairo, made a short statement to the press to the effect that the two sides had reached a cease-fire agreement, and that negotiations would begin in some four weeks. Peres later clarified that the sides are discussing the terms of an agreement, which has not yet been reached.


Europeans back Egyptian-Jordanian peace plan:

Sun Apr 29,2001 -- A top Palestinian announced Sunday an Egyptian-Jordanian Middle East peace plan could succeed because it was far-reaching and the European countries were supporting it. Nabil Shaath, Palestinian international cooperation minister, was speaking to journalists after talks with Danish Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft. Israeli Foreign Minister Meanwhile Shimon Peres submitted his government's official response to a joint Egyptian-Jordanian bid to end the bloodletting from a Palestinian revolt against Israeli occupation. There is real support in Europe for this initiative, he stressed: "I've been in Brussels, Stockholm, Rome and now Copenhagen and I have the feeling that the Europeans support the initiative.


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