Jerusalem--------March 30...........During IDF activity within the Mukata compound in Ramallah, many weapons used against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians were found, and all this, under the eyes of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority.

The weapons that were found are as follows:

An RPG launcher
43 RPG bombs
2 60 mm mortar bombs
22 Kalashnikov rifles
1 short Kalashnikov rifle
13 micro Kalashnikov rifles
Norwegian sniper weapons
A Barreta 762
9mm automatic Barreta rifles
An Arba-type assault rifle
3 PK
4 #26 fragmentation grenades
A Miller fragmentation grenade
A smoke grenade
A #400 gas grenade
128 commando knives
2 MAG action crates
30 5.56 action crates
3 crates of Kalashnikov ammunition
99 Kalashnikov magazines
30 pistol magazines
A Barreta magazine
35 M16 magazines
8 7.62mm magazines
5 9mm magazines
6 short M16 magazines
18 combat vests
5 bulletproof vests
24 telescopic sights
5 night-vision devices
Binoculars

Communicated by the Israel Defense Forces and the Government Press Office

Jerusalem----February 20.....Six IDF soldiers killed, one wounded in attack on IDF post:

Six soldiers were killed and another was moderately wounded in an attack on a military post near Ein-Arik, west of Ramallah. The families of the victims have been notified.

The wounded soldier was evacuated to a hospital where he received medical treatment for his injuries. Another soldier who was on duty at the post was unharmed.

A Kalashnikov rifle was discovered at the scene, which was probably used by one of the terrorists carrying out the attack.

The terrorists apparently escaped to Ramallah after stealing two M-16 assault rifles from the IDF post.

The IDF is investigating the event.

IDF Action in the West Bank:

Last night IDF forces acted against PA targets in the West Bank. Among the targets were Palestinian checkpoints through which Palestinian terrorists travel on their way to carrying out attacks on Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers. The Palestinian police manning these checkpoints either turn a blind eye or cooperate with the Palestinian assailants.

The PA infrastructure is teeming with terror and many of the terrorists are themselves members of the PA apparatus. The IDF will continue to act against the terror infrastructure in the Palestinian Authority until the PA exercises its responsibility for the areas under their control.

In the Nabulus area, the following checkpoints were targeted: the checkpoint east of Balata, the checkpoint near Kafr Kalil and a PA police station in Kfar Tel.

In the Ramallah area the IDF targeted the government building in Ramallah City and a checkpoint south of Ramallah.

IDF Arrests of suspected Terrorists:

IDF infantry forces took action last night in the PA controlled village of Farha, southwest of Ariel. The forces arrested two wanted Hamas members who are suspected of planning and carrying out attacks on Israeli citizens and soldiers in the area. In addition, five other Palestinians were arrested while in possession of four Kalashnikov assault rifles. The forces withdrew from the area in the early morning hours.

IDF forces and Border police arrested 13 Palestinians suspected of terror activity:

· seven were arrested in A-Shiukh, east of Halhoul;
· three were arrested in the village Umm Zalmona, south of Bethlehem;
· Two were arrested in the village of Ein Kinyeh, northwest of Ramallah and one was arrested at a road block near Ramallah.

All the arrested Palestinians were taken in for questioning.

The restrictions on Palestinian traffic:

As a consequence of the murderous attack carried out last night, west of Ramallah, in which six Israelis were killed, tonight the IDF prohibited Palestinian traffic on the roads to and from the Palestinian cities of Ramallah, Kalkilya, Nablus, Jenin and Tulkarm, and between the Palestinian villages in those areas.

As is the case with all closures and restrictions, Palestinian humanitarian cases will be allowed access.

IDF Action in the Gaza Strip:

As a result of the wave of murderous terrorist attacks perpetrated against Israelis in the last few days, and due to the PA's unwillingness to take action and fight the terror, the IDF, last night attacked three targets in the Gaza Strip:

· Palestinian BRDM armored vehicles in the "ANCER 2" compound near the city of Gaza.
· "The Joa'zat" also know as the blue Palestinian police headquarters in the Gaza City.
· A security compound in the city of Khan Yunis.

Last night, the Israeli Navy forces carried out operations in the presidential compound of the head of the PA in Gaza. During the operation, IDF forces targeted a number of Force 17 members and destroyed a Palestinian Navy Police vessel.

No IDF injuries were reported.

The IDF Spokesperson stresses that the IDF will continue to operate against the wave of Palestinian terror in order to insure the security and the lives of Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers.

Jerusalem-----January 29..........Following are Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s remarks at a special session of the Knesset plenum yesterday marking 53 years since the Knesset was established:

“Knesset Speaker,
Honored Knesset,

It is no coincidence that we are celebrating 53 years since the Knesset – the heart and soul of Israeli democracy – was established, on Tu B’Shvat. More than anything, the planting holiday symbolizes our renewed connection with the soil of the land and the Jewish people’s full historic rights over the Land of Israel.

Every year, Israeli children go out to plant in the soil of the hills and the open terraces, dig holes for watering and place a stick to support the tender saplings from damage from nature and the harsh environment, and thus express a historical continuity of several thousand years. Those same terraces on the mountainside that we see
today in Judea and Samaria, in the Binyamin area and in the Hebron hills, were built by our forefathers. As residents of the hills, only the Jews built terraces then for agriculture.

Thus, 53 years ago, in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence (<http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00hb0>), we planted, in the hard soil of the terraces and their environs, which was, on the whole, hostile to the fragile Israeli democracy, the Knesset of Israel.
We planted this fragile sapling in the midst of a struggle for existence and a war for the home which we had come to and which we never, ever really left.

The Knesset was born in war and into a continuing security emergency, into hostility and economic, security and social challenges which created permanent tension between ‘the rule of law’ and ‘the rule of security’, and into a continuing struggle – with ups and downs – to preserve and defend the civil and human liberties to which we committed ourselves in the Declaration of Independence.

The Knesset’s holiday is the entire country’s holiday. This is the day of Israel’s victory as a fighting democracy characterized by a steadfast stand and struggle to realize the Jewish people’s historic rights in its
country on the one hand, and the fight to realize civil rights and equality of opportunity as the Middle East’s only genuine democracy, on the other.

Israel is a pluralistic society with broad representation from the entire political spectrum, and the Knesset, to our pride, is perhaps the only place in which those who oppose it and those who love it, secular
and religious, left and right, Jews, Druze, Bedouin and Arabs – all groups in the rich mosaic of rivalries and tensions – sit together to debate and discuss, occasionally, even if in strident tones, but always
in the fervor of parliamentary dynamism and action. The Knesset is the pulsating heart of Israeli democracy.

The Knesset also gives expression to our common aspiration for peace, to our hand which is outstretched, and to our gates which are open, to all those who seek a genuine peace for generations. But our enemies will
invariably be met with an iron wall, fortified and impregnable, a wall whose bricks are our faith in the justice of our cause, our commitment to democratic values and human freedom, and – above all – our determination and readiness to fight and defend these values, even if we are called upon to defend ourselves for a lengthy period. As David Ben-Gurion put it:

‘If Israeli democracy wants to exist for a long time, it must be armed with the means to defend itself and with the operational tools so as to prevent minorities – and not only non-Jewish minorities, but Jewish
minorities as well – from taking it over by force, whether from within or without.’

Honored Knesset,

We are in the midst of a continuous struggle for our way of life and our rights as a people, in a war of terror that has been imposed on us. Since September 11th, this struggle has found its way to the doorstep of
the free and democratic world. This is a war about our homes, about values, about a way of life that provides the only hope today for millions of people of different nationalities, who now stand on the precipice of a volcano of terrorist forces, and against the wickedness that threatens the stability and peace of the whole world.

On 5.3.1946, after the conclusion of the Second World War, Winston Churchill, then head of the opposition, gave his “Sinews of Peace speech”. His words are of value and significance to us, as well as to
our friends and allies who share with us a common way and destiny, especially after the terrorist attacks in the United States. And these are his words:

‘The dark ages may return, the Stone Age may return on the gleaming wings of science, and what might now shower immeasurable material blessings upon mankind, may even bring about its total destruction.
Beware, I say; time may be short. Do not let us take the course of allowing events to drift along until it is too late. If there is to be a fraternal association of the kind I have described, with all the extra
strength and security which both our countries can derive from it, let us make sure that that great fact is known to the world, and that it plays its part in steadying and stabilising the foundations of peace. There is the path of wisdom. Prevention is better than cure.’

In this spirit I say a prayer and a blessing for the Knesset on its day of celebration: That we should know to find the correct balance between standing steadfast in the prevention of the dangers that lay waiting at
our doorstep and legislative initiatives to foster democratic values, tolerance and unity in the spirit of the prophets of Israel and the heritage of the Jewish people.

Blessings to us all, Members of the Knesset, on this day of celebration.”

Jerusalem----January 13.......Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last night spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and updated him on the situation on the ground, mainly regarding the dangerous developments in the link between the Palestinian Authority and Iran, and the direct involvement of the latter in both smuggling weapons to the former and in terrorism.

Prime Minister Sharon said that the PA is trying to equip itself with large quantities of weapons in violation of the agreements and stated that Israel is making every effort to foil the smuggling of weapons.
The Prime Minister added that the PA is neither making arrests nor conducting investigations and is not taking any counter-terrorist measures.

President Putin asked Prime Minister Sharon to continue updating him on dangerous developments in the region.

Prime Minister Sharon invited President Putin to visit Israel.

The reports – whose appearance is astonishing – are imaginary and without any foundation. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the entire government have decided that the State of Israel will not conduct diplomatic negotiations as long as the following conditions are not met:

1. Terrorists, as well as those who dispatch and operate them, must be arrested;
2. Illegal weapons in Palestinian Authority territory must be collected and turned over
to the US;
3. Terrorist organizations’ infrastructures must be dismantled and their leaders must
be detained;
4. Effective counter-terrorist operations must be undertaken;
5. Incitement must cease.

The appearance of the aforementioned newspaper reports causes severe damage

Jerusalem----December 16.....Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer today sent King Abdullah of Jordan, President Hosni Mubarak and the leaders of their security establishments messages of greetings on the occasion of the Eid el Fitre Holy day.

Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer emphasized that “the wave of terror attacks illustrates the urgent need to put an end to the bloodshed and killing of innocent victims. I fervently hope that this holy day will mark the resumption of diplomatic negotiations on the basis of mutual respect, understanding and cooperation with the clear viewpoint that terrorism and violence do not go hand in hand with the drive to peace.”

Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer also expressed in the message his personal appreciation to President Mubarak and King Abdullah for their efforts to stabilize the region, and advance the peace process.

Jerusalem-----October 28......An ISA [formerly GSS] and Israel Police Northern District CID investigation have revealed that a number of brothers from the Abu Latif family from the Galilee village of Rama have been involved in the smuggling of explosives and other weapons from Lebanon into Israel.

Four family members have thus far been arrested in the affair which has been under investigation since the September. The four are Latif Abu Latif, Loay Abu Latif, Alla Abu Latif from Rama, and Alla’s
brother-in-law Roni Mazhar from Daliat el Carmel. An additional suspect, Suleiman Abu Latif, is wanted by the police, and is still at large.

The above mentioned suspects, as well as other members of the Abu Latif family in Rama, are known to police for their criminal activities over recent years, mainly in the area of illegal drugs and weapons.

Investigation of the affair has revealed connections between the suspects and Lebanese drug lords who are connected to Hizbullah and operate on its behalf.

It was clarified during the investigation that the Hizbullah has taken control of the area adjacent to the border fence, and has conditioned the continuance of the Lebanese and Israeli drug traffickers’ drug flow to Israel on the supply of services to Hizbullah.

Evidence has been gathered during the investigation that around the months of April or May the suspects were involved in smuggling packages from Lebanon across the security fence into Israel. The packages contained, among other things, four claymore explosive charges, a mortar, explosive detonators, pistols and hard drugs.

Part of the package contents, including explosives and the mortar, were located and seized by the police and ISA based on information from the investigation.

It was clarified that the suspects concealed the explosives and weapons in Israel pending directions from the Lebanese regarding sources in the territories or Israel who were supposed to receive the weapons and transfer them to PA territory.

The Haifa District Attorney’s Office will soon indict the suspects in Haifa District Court on charges of contact with a foreign agent, importation of – and trafficking in – weapons, importation of – and
trafficking in – dangerous drugs, providng services for an illegal organization, concealing aid to an enemy and conspiracy to aid an enemy.

Tel Aviv Central Bus Station Closes Due to Discovered Bomb

Tel Aviv----August 3......An alert security guard at Tel Aviv's Central Bus Station was responsible this afternoon for preventing a major terrorist attack. The Israeli guard, in performing a routine check of hand bags, alerted police to a Palestinian woman who refused to allow him to check her belongings.

Israel Radio reported that police sappers discovered a bomb inside the woman's belongings consisting of 4 kilograms of explosive materials packed with nails and metal shards.

After the woman from Nablus was arrested, the bus station and surrounding area was closed to all traffic and buses were rerouted to the old bus station.

Thousands of Israeli police, military, private commercial security guards and security volunteers remain on high alert throughout all of Israel's commercial and residential centers.

Heroic Bus Driver Prevents Terror Bombing;
Detains Terrorist for Arrest

A Hero: Egged bus driver Menashe Nuriel describes
how he apprehended the terrorist in Beit Shean Photo: Yediot

Jerusalem----August 2......An alert and courageous Israeli bus driver averted a terror bombing this afternoon on his bus near the upper Jordan Valley city of Beit She'an.

The driver, Menashe Nuriel, l who works for the Egged Bus Company, spotted a young Palestinian man carrying a bag onto his northbound bus. According to Army Radio he immediately order the suspicious Palestinian off his bus. When the terrorist was about ten feet from the bus, the driver ordered him to open his bag. As the terrorist then attempted to reach for something under the bag, a possible attempt to detonate the bomb, the driver then grabbed him and threw him into some nearby bushes. The driver screamed to the passengers to open the bus doors to allow waiting soldiers to come to his aid.

A high-powered cellphone-activated bomb was found inside the bag and was neutralized by police sappers who were on the scene within minutes. The large duffle bag, weighing 22 pounds and packed with nails and scrap metal, contained three mortar shells, explosives and a triggering device.

.
Police sappers safely detonate the bomb with a controlled explosion

The terrorist was arrested and is presently being interrogated by security personnel.

Police officers and military personnel are presently using both ground and air surveillance to search the valley for other terrorists, Israel Radio reported.

All of Israel's commercial and residential centers remain on a high security alert today with both Israeli police and military setting up roadblocks throughout the country.

Israel Under Constant Attack by Suicide Bombers, Terrorist Snipers and Mortars
As Other Nations Advice: "Don't Defend Yourselves"

Jerusalem----August 1....In the past 24 hours five Israelis were injured by terrorist snipers inside Israel while driving on Israeli roads. Mark and Michelle Kam of Dolev were on their way home with their son Itai, 17, when bullets penetrated their car. They were seriously wounded and taken to hospital. The Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo came under terror sniper gunfire with two apartments sustaining damage. In the south of Israel over two dozen mortars shells have fallen.
Israel is under siege and is taking every effort to defend her civilian populations from more attacks.

The IDF took defensive action yesterday against a terrorist Hamas group in Nablus, killing eight people. The term: "defensive action" is not public relations or spin terminology - it was literally defensive action against two men who had already killed 31 innocent Israelis (many of them Israeli teenagers in Tel Aviv) and were presently planning more terrorist attacks inside Israel. A sign outside the front door of the Hamas office, still intact, identified the place as the Palestinian Center for Studies and Media. "These people were sitting safely in their office," said Ahmed Saker, identifying himself as a Hamas member. "It was an office for study." Yes - an office for the study of killing Jews.

The fact that two children were killed, is the sole responsibility of Hamas. What were two children doing inside the West Bank military headquarters of Hamas? Being used as "human shields"? But still Israel painfully acknowledges and expresses deep regret for the loss of those children. Israelis do not place nor push their children to the front of violent demonstrations. Demonstrations which include automatic M-16's, grenades and Molotov cocktails. Nor do Israeli parents receive "award money" once their children are injured or killed! The humanistic, Western cultural values for which Israelis live and are judged by are very, very different from those that you will find in the streets of Gaza, Damascus or Teheran. With all of the frustration and anger, Israelis do not and will never have snipers pointing their rifles at babies.
Israel does all it can to avoid harming innocent civilians when defending herself - all that is humanly possible - including getting her own civilians and soldiers killed.

The United States and Great Britain have criticized Israel's attack yesterday against Hamas as being "excessive". The INA knows that these words bear no truth - that they are being spitted out for the mere benefit of the Arab lobby.
But one still must ask only one simple question for those diplomats sitting in safe and distant capitals: "How would you defend your civilian populations against terrorism?"

We know that the United States and the UK bombed Tripoli and takes military action daily over Iraq to curb terrorist threats. But what - what would the USA do if Buffalo, New York came under mortar fire from Canada or Palestinian terrorists were firing at cars on the Long Island Expressway. What if Manchester or Leeds came under attack by snipers? We can assure Washington and London that Israel would not use the words "excessive force" for any response taken. Please let's remind all of Mr. Tony Blair's remarks stated after the Palestinian suicide attack in June which claimed 24 teenagers in Tel Aviv: "London would not be so nice" (regarding response).
So now - what should the Israeli government do - send a polite letter to Iran and Syria kindly requesting that they stop shooting at us and await a cordial reply?

No Western government has ever sustained so much blood, exercised so much restraint against terrorist attacks than the State of Israel.
If a group of American teenagers were hanging out outside a disco in Atlanta, Kansas City or Seattle and were blown apart by a terrorist - again we ask - what would you do? Please enlighten us as to what specific actions to take. How much more restraint should we illustrate to the world as our children are being murdered in their homes, on their streets, in their shopping centers and in their play parks. The INA asks: "What would you do?"
Did someone mention the "Powell Doctrine"?

American and British diplomats should be congratulating the Israeli people for exhibiting courage for sitting on the front line of Western democracy against Islamic terror - rather than mumbling and turning their backs at such a critical time. To our friends in Washington and London - you are sending out the wrong signals - verbiage which will accelerate violence, not reduce it. One does not have to be a psychologist to understand Palestinian reaction to your brief retreat. With regards to regional stability - any words of dissent to Israel can be far more devastating and deadly than a terrorist's bullet!

If we, Israel, make a mistake - we will be the first to admit it. But defending ourselves is no mistake.

TERRORIST CAR BOMB PARKED INSIDE RESIDENTIAL GARAGE SENDS WARNING: STAY ALERT!

Photo: Yediot

Jerusalem----July 29......A Palestinian terrorist car bomb partially exploded in an underground residential parking garage in Jerusalem this afternoon. Two Israelis were lightly wounded and others were treated for shock.

This terrorist car bomb should serve as a reminder that all Israelis should check their cars for signs of a break-in on their car doors and the car's back trunk.
Israeli police issued this warning two weeks ago. Palestinian terrorists are using the quiet cover of residential neighborhoods and the cars parked there as unsuspecting targets.

According to security reports, several explosive devices were set inside the vehicle today but only one of them actually detonated. Police sappers said that if all the bombs had detonated, the building may well have collapsed.

Residents of the targeted apartment block and the two neighboring buildings were evacuated by police as a search continues for more terror bombs.
Israeli police have warned this evening of having solid intelligence that a Palestinian terror attack in Jerusalem is imminent.

PA Launches Mortar Attack;
Israel Responds With Defensive Action

Undated photo of Hamas members firing mortars at Israel

Jerusalem----July 28......The PA launched deadly mortars on Israeli civilian targets last night, again breaking the Tenet Cease-fire agreement. Israel, which has repeatly requested that Arafat stop the terror attacks, sent IDF helicopters into Gaza and fired missiles at a weapons factory used by the PA / PLO to produce arms, including mortar bombs.

The IDF said it took defensive action near the Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza and that all IDF pilots returned to base reporting direct hits. No casualties were reported on either side, as Israel, still following a policy of resrtaint makes every effort not to harm civialians when responding to terrorist attacks.

"Following the firing of mortar bombs this evening at the Gadid (Jewish) settlement, air force helicopters attacked a structure used to manufacture weapons," the IDF said in a statement.

Palestinian witnesses said they saw a helicopter gunship fire three missiles near Khan Younis, but could not locate the impacts of the projectiles.

The funeral of Ronen Landau, 17, in Jerusalem.
Ronen was murdered by Palestinian terrorists on Friday. Photo: Haertz

On Friday, IDF tanks destroyed police posts that the Palestinians were using to fire at Israeli targets. The Palestinian police position's belonged to President Yasser Arafat's Force 17 in the West Bank city of Ramallah, confirming the IDF accessment that the PA has become a "terrorist entity".

16th Maccabiah Concludes Successfully in Jerusalem

Jerusalem----July 24......The 16th Maccabiah Games came to a warm and cheerful close yesterday evening in Jerusalem. Over 3,000 Jewish athletes coming from 44 countries enjoyed a spectacular farewell show at the "Sultan Pool".
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert and organizers of the International Maccabiah saluted the athletes, not for their performance on the field, but rather for being on the field.

The 16th Maccabiah Games were in deep doubt of materializing up to one week before the torch was lit. Security was on everyone's mind. The athletes and their families were subject to violent television soundbytes, but yet braved the bloody images to arrive in Israel. The ink still wet, opening ceremony programs were delivered to Teddy Stadium in the middle of the festivities. The United States delegation was determined to show and the remaining countries, not to be outdone by the Yanks, packed their bags and went for gold, silver and bronze medals.

The evening, which began with dancers juggling sticks of fire, concluded with the Maccabiah flame being extinguished and a dazzling display of fireworks over the Old City walls. The clicking of camera shutters by embracing athletes, minutes away from boarding airplanes to points worldwide, captured lasting memories of Israel, Jerusalem and Jewish unity - all defining one of Israel's finest moments.

IDF PLANNING ON OPENING RECRUITING STATIONS WORLDWIDE

Jerusalem----July 20.....The Israeli Defense Forces are planning to open recruiting offices worldwide in preparation for the possibility of an all-out war, according to Israeli newspaper daily Yediot Ahronot.

IDF liaison offices are set to be opened in nine cities, including New York and Los Angeles, where more than 100,000 Israeli expatriates live. If a major crisis erupts, army recruiters will reach out to Israelis who live abroad or are vacationing, the paper said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the report.

Through nearly 10 months of Palestinian-Israeli fighting, warnings have been heard that the conflict could escalate into a region-wide war. However, Israeli military intelligence and top commanders have been playing down the likelihood.

The paper reported that the recruiting stations are planned for cities where Israelis are known to gather, including New York and Los Angeles in the United States, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam and London in Europe, Bangkok and Bombay in Asia, Johannesburg in Africa, as well as another city to be selected later, probably in South America.

IDF Lt. Col. Zaher Atef told the paper that recruitment of Israelis abroad would start only if the situation in the Middle East escalates to a lengthy confrontation.

"Our assumption, based on past experience during wars, is that Israelis tend to fly back home very quickly in times of crises," he said. "Organized recruiting stations, when and if they're needed, will make the task easier for them as well as for the army."

The paper said military officers are visiting Israeli embassies around the world to check if lists of Israeli soldiers and officers living abroad are up to date.

Editor's Note: If you are an Israeli citizen living abroad, you should register your name with the nearest Israeli embassy or consulate. With no relationship to a possible regional conflict - in the event of an emergency or natural disaster - your family in Israel will be able to contact you and or you may be able to receive secure and accurate updates from embassy personnel.

Jewish Underground Group Takes Responsibility for Killing Palestinians
Israel Conducts Manhunt for Jewish Extremists - Strongly Condemns Attack

Jerusalem----July 20......Jewish extremists have taken responsibility for a shooting attack last night near Hebron which killed three Palestinians and wounded four others.

The Committee for Road Safety, an organization with links to the banned Jewish terrorist group Kach, claimed responsibility for the attack. Judea and Samaria police spokesman Rafi Yafe said it is too early to ascertain that the perpetrators were indeed settlers.

Judea and Samaria police chief Cmdr. Shahar Ayalon said the attack was likely an act of revenge by Jews. Police set up roadblocks in the vicinity and a helicopter was scouring the open areas nearby, he said, noting that police had received most of their information from the Palestinian liaison office and were still at the site investigating.

The Prime Minister's Office issued a statement condemning the attack, saying that "the prime minister and the Israeli government condemn all forms of terror and violence, regardless of who committed them. We regret the loss of innocent lives." The statement said that "at present an investigation is under way, and we are unable to determine the identity of the perpetrators of the attack and the conditions surrounding it. We will spare no effort to bring the perpetrators to justice."

President Moshe Katsav strongly condemned the attack, and called on responsible leaders to take steps to prevent such despicable acts. "No one has the right to take the law into their own hands," he said.

The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip issued a statement last night saying that if it is proven that Jews were responsible for the attack, it will condemn them and demand that the police carry out a swift investigation and find the perpetrators. "Such an act is forbidden morally and legally, and such acts can only damage the entire settlement effort," it said.

One Israeli soldier was wounded after Palestinians shot at soldiers near Beit Hadassah and later an Israeli woman was lightly hurt from a bullet ricochet as she worked with a group of young women to restore the ancient Jewish cemetery near Tel Rumeida. As soldiers accompanying the group returned fire, a bulletproof army jeep evacuated the woman to the Jewish enclave below, where she was transferred to an ambulance and taken to Hadassah-University Hospital in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem.

A Palestinian mortar shell landed inside Israel near the Karni crossing, shortly after Palestinians shot at a convoy of Israeli vehicles raveling between Karni and Netzarim. Shots were also fired at soldiers near the Sufa crossing at the entrance to the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank last night shots were fired at an Egged bus 100 meters south of Halhoul and at an Israeli vehicle at Jatt intersection in Samaria. No one was hurt, but several bullets penetrated the vehicle.

Israel radio reported today that a 21-year-old woman was stabbed late last night in a terrorist attack by two Palestinians in Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood. She sustained minor wounds in the attack.

TWO ISRAELIS MURDERED IN RAILROAD TERROR ATTACK

Hanit Arami / Avi Ben Arush

Jerusalem-----July 17.....Two young Israelis, one of them a woman, were killed last night in a suicide terrorist attack in the central, coastal city of Binyamina. At least eight civilians were wounded in the attack which took place near the entrance to the Binyamina railway station. Both Hanit Arami and Avi Ben Arush were serving in the IDF.

A car, apparently driven by a woman, that was seen dropping off the terrorist bomber, drove away from the scene. Police with the aid of helicopters are presently searching for the car.

Shortly after the brutal and barbaric murders, the Islamic Jihad (Party of God) organization claimed responsibility for the attack via Hizbullah's Manar television station, saying it was in retaliation for recent Israeli eliminations of Palestinian terrorists, including those belonging to Islamic Jihad.

Binyamina is a small village located between Tel Aviv and Haifa near the Israeli coast. The village is inside the pre-1967 borders.

The attack was a failed attempt to overshadow Israel's opening of the16th Maccabiah Games - or the "Jewish Olympics," in Jerusalem amid warnings of a Palestinian attack.

The Games went ahead as planned with a powerful, warm and dramatic opening ceremony at Jerusalem's Teddy Stadium. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated in his address to the 2,000 Jewish athletes and thousands of spectators: "Today another terrible crime of Palestinian terror has struck us," he told the thousands of athletes and spectators . Your arrival in Israel from the far corners of the earth is a testimony to the victory of the spirit of the ancient Maccabeans."

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters the U.S. calls upon "the Palestinian leadership to unambiguously condemn this heinous act and take steps to bring to justice those responsible for actions such as these."

Witnesses said the bomb attack left a devastating scene of carnage.

"He waited near the bus stop, and when he thought there were enough people, he blew himself up," northern Israeli police commander Yaakov Borovsky told Israel Radio.

Israeli government spokesman Raanan Gissin said Israel remained committed to a U.S.-brokered cease-fire concluded with the Palestinians a month ago which has so far failed to take root, but added: "We reserve the right to exercise the right of self-defense enunciated by the cabinet, and in conjunction with the continuous attacks...we are going to exercise the policy of immediate response to every attack."

At around midnight the IDF was shelling Palestinian targets in Jenin and Tulkarm in response to the bombing, Channel 1's late-night news reported.

Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer said that Israel would retaliate for all terror attacks .

Peres, Mubarak and Arafat Meet in Cairo

Jerusalem----July 15......Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat met today in Cairo. Peres had initially traveled to the Egyptian capital for separate talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The two leaders last met at a Lisbon conference in June. In 1994, Peres and Arafat shared the Nobel Peace Prize for achieving a breakthrough peace deal. Peres's meeting with Arafat was apparently arranged by Mubarak and on the assurances that Israel would neither attack the PA or Arafat.

Peres told Mubarak earlier that making war on Palestinians was not an option, following press reports that the Israeli army was planning a large-scale military operation against the Palestinian Authority.

Arafat, who met the Egyptian leader before the meeting with Peres, had spoken earlier in the day by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer. Arafat regularly consults Mubarak, whose country in 1979 became the first Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Mubarak sent an intelligence chief last week to Israel for talks with leaders on the Israeli-Palestinian violence.

Peres dismissed as "totally unfounded" a report in Jane's Foreign Report, a British newsletter that specializes in intelligence matters, that said the Israeli army would seek to destroy the Palestinian Authority's fighting forces in a massive offensive to start after the next suicide bombing. Asked about Israel's policy of targeting Palestinian militants, Peres said: "We are not going to kill any innocent Palestinian people... We do not have a policy to assassinate anybody...I told the president (Mubarak) from the outset that we do not have any intention to attack the Palestinians."

As Peres and Arafat sat down to talk, Palestinian terrorists fired at an Israeli school bus and at another vehicle near Tulkarm. According to Israeli security forces, no casualties were reported.
The Greater Tel Aviv area has been placed today on a severe terrorist warning alert, with police and soldiers setting up roadblocks and increasing patrols due to intelligence reports received by Israeli security.

At the conclusion of today's meeting, Peres stated: "I'm leaving Cairo with the sense that there is hope." Peres refused to reveal any details of their discussions, but said they talked about the shaky cease-fire declared June 13 and "ways and means to make it a reality. None of us wants fire or blood or victims."

Peres's visit to Egypt today is the first by an Israeli official since the Arab League decided in May to suspend all political contact between its members and the Israeli government.

Second Israeli Dies From Terror Shooting in West Bank
Jane's: Israel Preparing Offensive Against Palestinian Military Targets

Jerusalem----July 14.......David Cohen, 28, of Betar Illit, has succumbed to terrorist gunshot wounds sustained in an attack yesterday near Kiryat Arba. Cohen was taken to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem yesterday and died last evening.

Fighting in and around Hebron by IDF and Palestinian forces has subsided overnight with occasional sounds of automatic fire bursting with every few hours. Yesterday, the city of Hebron was reported by witnesses to have been "shaking" as a result of Palestinian violence and the IDF responding with tank and gun fire. In violence late on Friday, the IDF reported it came under attack by Palestinian fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah, near Hebron in the southern West Bank, and in the Gaza Strip where the army said anti-tank grenades were fired at them. Two Palestinian terrorists were killed on Friday. One was shot dead after he threw a hand grenade at Israeli soldiers defusing a roadside bomb and the other died in a car blast for which the terrorist Islamic group Hamas blamed on Israel.

A soldier from a United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon unit based on the border between Israel and Lebanon testified this week that UNIFIL soldiers stood by during the Hizbullah abduction of three Israeli soldiers in October, Israeli newspaper daily MA'ARIV reported.
"The Hizbullah kidnappers were dressed in our uniforms," he said.
In the detailed testimony, the UNIFIL soldier gave the full story of the kidnapping event. "I saw three Israeli soldiers patrolling the border in an armored vehicle when a road-side bomb was detonated. The soldiers were not harmed but looked shocked and got out of the car. They saw a group of UN soldiers standing several feet away, under a hut, waiving them over. The UN soldiers shouted: "Come, we'll help you."
The testimony revealed that the 'UN soldiers' were in fact Hizbullah members in disguise. Once the Israeli soldiers reached the hut where the terrorists were standing, another bomb was detonated, wounding them and one of the Hizbullah members who was apparently the commander of the force. At that point two other disguised terrorists arrived and brutally dragged the injured soldiers into another car.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who has just completed a visit to Italy, has told reporters that Israel has every intention of continuing it's commitment to the Tenet Cease-fire agreement, seeking long-term solutions for peace but will respond forcefully to all acts of terror and violence committed by the Palestinians. Sharon has sent his son, Omri, to meet with Arafat in Rahmallah to reduce the violence. The United States has requested Israel to exercise maximum restraint in response to Palestinian terror and violence but most Israeli government officials concede that this violence cannot and will not be allowed to continue.

Jane's Foreign Report has stated that the Israeli government is preparing for an all out offensive against Palestinian military operatives and targets. They stated that the Israeli cabinet came to this conclusion after the Palestinian terror suicide attack in Tel Aviv which claimed 21 teenagers. Jane's states that Israel is prepared to lose hundreds of soldiers while killing thousands of Palestinians in an assault to cease Palestinian terrorism.
The scenario would also have Yassar Arafat and his leadership depart from the West Bank and Gaza. Jane's does not predict that Israel's neighboring States would get involved in this short term conflict.
Israeli analysts say that much of this talk is rhetoric designed to serve as a "last warning" to Arafat to stop all terror and violence and implement the Tenet Cease-fire agreement. Israeli officials deny any substance to Jane's editorial commentary in this regard.

Forty-five leaders of the Canadian Jewish community will depart tomorrow on a solidarity mission to Israel arranged by B'nai Brith Canada's Institute for International Affairs and One Jerusalem. Led by recently-installed President Rochelle Wilner and Executive Vice President Frank Dimant, this mission is the largest contingent from a single Canadian Jewish organization to visit Israel since the current crisis began.
During the five day mission, delegates will meet with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu and several government ministers to discuss pressing security, political and humanitarian issues. They will visit communities throughout Israel and the territories that have been hardest hit by the recent violence. The program will include an informal meeting with teenagers from Tekoa who are struggling to come to terms with the recent brutal murder and mutilation of their 13 year-old school friends, as well as discussions with municipal leaders such as the Mayor of Netanya, the coastal city struggling to overcome the bitter aftermath of a wave of terrorist suicide bombings.
The delegation will also meet with Michael Bell, Canada's Ambassador to Israel, to discuss Canadian policy in the Middle East and the role of Canadian diplomatic representatives in the area.
The delegation reflects a range of interests and viewpoints in the Canadian Jewish community, and includes both lay and rabbinical leadership, academics, young professionals, and representatives from the media, business world and the legal profession.

Jerusalem----July 11.....Living up to their reputation as being among the most professional in the world, Israeli police captured a Palestinian suicide bomber today moments before he was about to detonate a lethal charge.

Local police officers in the Central Israeli city of Afula at approximately 09:26, identified a suspicious male carrying a bag.
During the stop-and-search by the police officers, the suspect attempted to detonate an explosive device concealed in the bag he was carrying.
The officers were able to apprehend the suspect, jumping him and wrestling him to the ground before he could detonate the device. The suspect was taken into custody while the
local police bomb squad dismantled the bomb.

Police say that the terrorist, a Jenin resident in his 20s, placed a bag inside a bank and was seen running from the scene with another bag packed with explosives and nails. The first bag, which was found not to contain explosives, may have been used as a decoy, as a diversion to keep police away from the terrorist's real target.
The suspect, said he planned to set off the device in a crowded area and had no accomplices.

As the suspect was arrested, police sealed off much of the city instructing residents to stay indoors as they searched for other terrorists and explosives that may have been planted nearby, said Yossi Hasson, a police spokesman.

U.S. To United Nations: Don't Surrender to Terrorist Intimidation
Give Tape to Israel Without Delay

Jerusalem----July 11.....After weeks of lies and deception at the highest levels of the UN administration, the United States is fully supporting Israeli demands for the United Nations to turn over a videotape that shows the kidnappers of three Israeli soldiers last October on the Lebanon border.

U.S. deputy ambassador Cameron Hume told the Security Council Tuesday that the tape should be made public.

The United Nations is refusing to do so, claiming that it would compromise U.N. neutrality in southern Lebanon and could jeopardize the security of its peacekeepers. The issue for which faces the UN is not puppet government of Lebanon but rather the Syrian backed, international terrorist group Hizbullah.

The United Nations has offered Israel an edited version of the tape - filmed by peacekeepers 18 hours after the Oct. 7 kidnapping - which obscures the faces of the possible suspects. In taking this action, the UN is ignoring clear international border violations, humanitarian aid and retreating, rather than confronting international acts of terrorism.

The Israel government will not accept an edited copy of the tape.

"We asked for the tape to be released," Hume told The Associated Press. "We believe that under the circumstances, it's best that it be made public."

The Israel Ministry of Defence revealed last week that despite months of denials, lies and deception, the United Nations had a tape of Hizbullah terrorists hauling away vehicles used in the kidnapping. To make matters even worse for the UN, the terrorists were caught by UN soldiers using forged and fake UN identities.

The United Nations acknowledged Friday that it had "misled" Israel about the tape.
Some U.N. officials in the region, who had no knowledge of the tape, have threatened to resign from the UN due to the organizations blunders, blantant lies and cowardly stance in the face of terrorist's threats to treat the UN as "spies" if they provide the tape to Israel.

U.N. ADMITS HAVING TAPE - WILL RELEASE "EDITED" VERSION
Lebanese Attack U.N. For Releasing Terror Tape

Jerusalem----July 7......The United Nations has agreed to release an edited version of a video that UN personnel shot immediately following the kidnapping of three Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense is demanding only the unedited version of the 30 -minute tape, which is said to show the Hezbollah terrorists preventing U.N. peacekeepers from seizing two vehicles with fake U.N. identifications.

U.N. officials said they would allow Israel and Lebanon to view the tape only after the faces of the suspected guerillas have been obscured

Jean-Marie Guehenno, U.N. undersecretary-general for peacekeeping, told Reuters news agency: "The video does not shed light on the circumstances of the abduction or the state of the abductees." He said the U.N. wanted to hide the identities of the guerrillas seen in the tape to assure the confidentiality of its internal documents and protect U.N. personnel. "We are not covering up anything, from the outset. We are not in charge of law and order in southern Lebanon. We have a limited mission that we try to carry out in difficult circumstances," he added.

The U.N. had previously denied the tape's existence as Israel repeatedly requested information from the U.N. about the kidnappings.

The Lebanese puppet Syrian Government attacked the U.N. today for showing Israel the videotape of the Hizbollah terrorists who were involved in the kidnappings.
"The Lebanese authorities regard the showing of this tape as a dangerous precedent and the transfer of information from inside Lebanese soil to the Israeli enemy, which represents a departure from the mission of the international forces in the south," said a statement from President Emile Lahoud's office.
The Lebanese government refuses to deploy it's troops on their Southern border as they believe it would be "tantamount to guaranteeing the security of the Jewish state."

Furthermore - the Lebanese government in wanting to conceal the tape has now made it vividly clear that they are activity aiding and abetting a terrorist organization - Hezbollah - in international terrorism (kidnaping over an international border which is recognized by the United Nations). The Lebanese government has gone as far as threatening "legal action" against the United Nations - something which defines absurdity due to the fact that the activity the U.N. witnessed consisted of cross-border activity where a terrorist organization was using forged and fake U.N. credentials.
To the Lebanese / Syrian governments and to the Hezbollah - we say "good try - but no cigar!"

Israel withdrew its forces from South Lebanon on May 24, 2000.
Syrian occupation troops, which assist the Hezbollah terrorist organization, remain on Lebanese soil.

PALESTINIANS TALK CEASE-FIRE
WHILE MURDERING ISRAELI CITIZENS

Aharon Abidian shot down in the street while shopping / Yair Har-Sinai enjoying a moment with one of his children

Jerusalem----July 3......Yair Har-Sinai, a 51-year-old shepherd, married and father of nine children, was discovered murdered early this morning one kilometer southwest of his home in the Sussia community in the Har Hebron area.

Har-Sinai left his home yesterday morning with his flocks and was not heard from since. His body was found by Palestinians overnight, who alerted authorities. Police believe that Har-Sinai, who was shot in the back and head at close range, was killed by two terrorists.

Aharon Abidian, 41, was gunned down as he was shopping in Baka al-Garbiya. The town which is situated inside the Green Line (1967 borders) is frequented by both Israelis and Palestinians. Abidian, who worked as a kashrut supervisor, was a resident of Zichron Ya'acov, married with four children.

As the US State Department questioned Israel's self-defense policy, the Israeli security cabinet decided today to continue adhering to the cease-fire agreement while maintaining its preventive, defensive counter-terrorism actions of targeting known Palestinian terrorists who present a clear and immediate danger to the Israeli public.

The decision by the small group of ministers, the "kitchen Cabinet," came after a two-day burst of violence in which car bombs exploded in Israeli cities and an Israeli shepherd and a shopper, were both murdered.

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said the US-brokered truce which took effect June 13 was in a "profound crisis." Israel's deputy defense minister, Dalia Rabin-Pelossof, who attended Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, defended targeted killings and said they would continue if necessary.
"It is a policy of self-defense," she told Israel radio. "When we know of a terrorist who is a ticking bomb, meaning he is on his way, carrying explosives, to carry out an attack in Israel, it is incumbent on us to prevent it and that is what we do."

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) issued a paper today that illustrates Israel’s exhaustive and patient efforts to implement the Tenet cease-fire initiative.

AIPAC also detailed serious breaches of the cease-fire plan on the part of the Palestinians. The document points to more than 140 terrorist attacks that have been carried out on Israeli targets since both sides committed themselves to the plan; more than 10 attacks per day.

Israel, in sharp contrast to the PA, has refrained from responding to almost all of these attacks and has only responded to Palestinian aggression and incitement says the report.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon stated today that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat "never started to stop the terror attacks." "The Palestinian Authority is behind every act of terror, encouraging terror, instigating acts of terror and murder in coordination with Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas."

An Israeli wounded in a Palestinian terrorist massacre in 1974 plans to sue Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat in the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. Haim Asulin, 44, told the Israeli daily Yediot Achronot that if Belgian courts can consider bringing charges against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in connection with the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon, "then certainly a suit can be filed against the murderer of Jewish children, Arafat."
Twenty-two Israeli students were killed and over 130 were wounded in the terror attack. Asulin was among the injured. His left arm was amputated, and he still needs hospital treatment.

Does anyone remember the Israeli children who were killed by Palestinian terrorists in Ma'alot?
On May 15, 1974 Palestinian terrorists attacked a high school in the northern Israeli town of Ma'alot, where one of the most horrific and bloody terrorist assaults had taken place. In that massacre three Palestinian gunmen had taken scores of young students hostage. When Israeli soldiers stormed the school to rescue the youngsters, the terrorists opened fire, killing 22 students and wounding dozens more.

Mr. Arafat - do you, the BBC and the Belgian courts need to be reminded of other war crimes and atrocities for which you were directly responsible for?

PALESTINIAN TERROR ATTACK IN YEHUD WOUNDS SIX
Israeli Driver Fatally Ambushed Within 67' Border

Jerusalem----July 2.........Two bombs which were placed under cars in Yehud were detonated this morning by Palestinian terrorists. The Israeli police have confirmed that both blasts were the work of terrorists and have blocked off the entire area. Six people have been wounded and treated for shock in this attack and have been taken to nearby Tel Hashomer hospital.

Yehud, is a small Eastern residential suburb of Tel Aviv, located next to Ben Gurion Airport.

Police say that the bombs were placed under the cars and not inside them. The attack, the first in many days inside Israel, demonstrates that either the terrorists were unable to place a "car bomb" in the area or are using exisiting cars for cover. One bomb was placed under a Fiat Uno parked near a day-care center close to the intersection of Marcus and Arlozorff streets. The second explosive was placed under a small truck, which was parked in the same area near the intersection of Weizmann and Sprintzak streets. Because both vehicles are owned by residents of Yehud, police at first suspected criminal rather than terrorist motives.

One of the car bombs was parked opposite a children's Day Care Center.

Reuters

Investigators have also stated that the two car bombs were detonated by a device connected to a cellular telephone. Both of the powerful explosive devices, set in the trunks of the two vehicles, weighed over 10 kilograms and contained nails and other metallic to increase their lethality, police investigators said this afternoon.

Security forces have stated since the Dolpharnium attack in Tel Aviv, where 21 teenagers were slaughtered, that the nails and other "hardware store" material may have been placed in bacteria before the attack so as to create lethal infection upon contact. Almost all the victims of the Tel Aviv attack had infections 25% greater than normal and contracted hepatitus B.

The two cars were within some 500 meters of each other and exploded ten minutes apart. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a radical PLO faction, claimed responsibility, saying the blasts came in revenge for the helicopter attack.

An Israeli Cabinet minister, Matan Vilnai, said the explosions would delay the start of the weeklong test period of an Israeli-Palestinian truce.

An Israeli citizen was shot and killed this afternoon by Palestinian terrorists inside the pre-1967 Green Line as he drove between Baka al-Gharbiya and adjoining Baka a-Sharkiya.

Initial reports indicate that he was struck by three 9-millimeter bullets and died of his wounds shortly after being shot despite the efforts of medical personnel to save him.

Both Israel and Syria have been testing long range missles. Syria test fired a long range Scud missile yesterday, security forces reported today.

The Israeli Arrow missile radar system identified the Syrian missile as soon as it was launched and followed its trajectory until it crashed in a Syrian desert far away from the Israeli border, Army Radio reported.

Palestinians Give Powell A "Going-Away" Gift
More Terrorism and Violence

Jerusalem----June 30......As Yassar Arafat and the Palestinians said "Yes to a cease-fire" and smiled "Good-bye" to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell as he left Israel for Jordan, Palestinian violence and terrorism quickly returned to the region. The Palestinian terrorist group - Hezbollah - made a cross border attack in the North wounding two Israeli soldiers. This was the first act of violence to erupt on the Israeli - Lebanese border after more than a month of relative quiet.

The IDF responds to Palestinian terrorist international cross border attacks. The IDF left Lebanese territory over a year ago, while the Syrians continue to occupy Lebanon

Hizbollah terrorists launched missile attacks on Israeli IDF positions in the Shebaa Farms region, an area for the which the United Nations has confirmed is not Lebanese soil. According to Reuters, witnesses in Lebanon said Israeli planes responded by firing missiles at three positions near the Lebanese border town of Kfar Shouba. They also said Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Kfar Shouba, hitting at least 14 houses. Some residents fled their homes.

The IDF patrolling Israel's Northern border

"In response to the Hizbollah attack, the Israeli air force struck Hizbollah targets near the border from where the firing on the Israeli positions took place," an Israeli army spokesman said.

IAF - On Constant Alert

Israel clearly holds the Syrian government responsible as they are the main powerbroker in Lebanon.
"We hold the Syrian government responsible for the attacks of Hizbollah...an organization which is under the control of Syria, with armament furnished by Iran and Syria," said Avi Pazner, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

It appears that the only means for maintaining a cease-fire would be for either Colin Powell, George Tenet or George W. Bush to take up residence in Israel.
The IDF, the General Security Services and the Israeli police remain on high alert for taking defensive action in Lebanon and in the cities and towns of Israel.

The Dead - Ekaterina Weintraub

The Wounded - Yehudit Eliahu

Jerusalem----June 29 - Updated.....Ekaterina (Katya) Weintraub, a 27 year-old Israeli woman from the community of Ganim, was murdered yesterday afternoon by Palestinian terrorists who ambushed her car. Weintraub, who was shot in the chest, will be buried today at 2 p.m. in Afula. Her 4 year-old child, who was in the car, was not wounded. The Weintraub family had moved three years ago to Ganim from Kiryat Shomona to escape the Katusha missle attacks.

Yehudit Eliahu, 47, suffered a compound fracture after being shot in the legs in another car was taken to Ha'emek Hospital in Afula by a Magen David Adom ambulance.

According to an initial investigation, the terrorists fired shots at the two vehicles from a parked car and then escaped to Palestinian Authority-controlled Jenin, security forces reported. The Al Aksa Martyrs Brigade, a terrorist organization affiliated with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack in which an Israeli motorist was killed earlier today.

Yassar Arafat, who is presently meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, attempted to deflect responsibly for the attack. Although the leader of the PA this evening did instruct Palestinian security forces to identify and arrest the perpetrators of today's terrorist attack. According to the PA news service, Arafat gave orders to make every effort to apprehend those responsible, Israel Radio reported.

An official statement read over the Voice of Palestine radio station said that the location of the shooting incident was under Israeli security control and therefore the Palestinian Authority could be held responsible.

An IDF armored troop carrier was stationed at the junction where the attack took place up until two weeks ago. It was removed from there in accordance with the cease-fire agreement brokered by CIA Director George Tenet, Army Radio reported.

Palestinians also fired a mortar shell that landed near greenhouses in the community of Netzer Hazani in Gush Katif. According to IDF Radio, Palestinians threw 10 firebombs this afternoon at security forces stationed in Hebron's Jewish quarter. No injuries were reported in either incident.

Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, told reporters at the graduation of new IAF pilots: "If they continue terror activities and there is no quiet, the pin will be pulled, and the hard lives of the Palestinians will be even more intolerable...Hell will arrive at their doors".

ADL SAYS THAT EGYPT CONTINUES WITH ANTI-SEMITIC INCITEMENT

The Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) senior Middle-East spokesperson, Laura Kam Issacharoff, stated today that the Egyptian media is continuing it's attacks on both Israeli's and Jews. The ADL's Israeli office has documented at least 13 instances between February and May 2001 where Arabic language newspapers "continued their campaign of anti-Jewish bigotry."

"Anti-Semitism persists in the Egyptian media without any official censure from the government, which without question exerts influence over the media," said ADL National Director Abraham H. Foxman. "With the tacit approval of the Egyptian leadership, the newspapers continue their campaign of anti-Jewish bigotry and incitement against Israel," Foxman said. Articles appearing in major Egyptian newspapers - including the government-backed Al-Ahram, Al-Akhbar and Al-Gumhuriya - continue to resurrect classic anti-Jewish stereotypes and myths.

Ramallah Terrorists Brought to Justice

Jerusalem----June 26..........The General Security Service yesterday announced it had arrested two more Palestinians suspected of the barbaric torture and lynching of IDF reservists Cpl. Vadim Novesche and Sgt.-Maj. Yosef Avrahami in Ramallah last October 12.

One suspect was identified as Aziz Salah, 20, who had triumphantly displayed his blood-covered hands to the crowd and television camera crews below the window of the Ramallah police station, where the two reservists had been brought by Palestinian policemen. The reservists had made a wrong turn on their way to an IDF base, became lost and were arrested by the PA for driving into Palestinian Authority territory.

Mahmoud Norah, an 18-year-old Tanzim activist and resident of the village of Mizrah Kabila, also near Ramallah, also confessed to participating in the lynching, saying he had broken into the police station and stabbed one of the soldiers. Both men will soon be indicted in Beit El military court.

In an on-going, intensive investigation, the GSS and the IDF have apprehended 15 Palestinians suspected of participating in the lynching. Most of those arrested are Palestinian policemen.

French Jews Confront Syrian President Bashar Assad with Angry Demonstrations

Paris----June 26......Demonstrations by French Jews and other groups were held in Paris and in several other major French cities, to protest the anti-Jewish remarks made by Assad during Pope John Paul II's visit to Damascus in May.
During that visit, Assad accused the "treacherous" Jews of killing Jesus, trying to kill the prophet Mohammed, destroying holy sites and engaging in various plots against both Christianity and Islam over the ages.

"We don't object to the fact that France wants to play a role in the Middle East and [therefore wants] to speak with everyone," Haim Musicant, executive director of the umbrella association of French Jewry, CRIF, told Ha'aretz yesterday. "The demonstrations are not against France, but against Assad's anti-Semitism."

Last night's main demonstration, in Paris, was attended by representatives of every political party in France - a rare gesture of solidarity with the Jews on the part of the French political establishment. The French Catholic Church also sent a representative to the Paris demonstration, and local bishops attended the demonstrations in other cities.

"The French church has taken a brave stand in comparison to the Vatican [which declined to denounce Assad's remarks]," Musicant said.

Opposition parties in Lebanon, meanwhile, are organizing a demonstration in Paris for today, to protest Syria's continued occupation of Lebanon. The demonstrators will call for a "detailed timetable for the withdrawal of the Syrian army." Syrian troops recently withdrew from Beirut, but not from the rest of the country.

Sharon and Bush Meet at White House

Washington----June 26.....After a very warm and brief meeting this afternoon at the White House Prime Minister Sharon has insisted that peace talks can only resume when there is a "full cessation of hostilities, terror violence and incitement."

"I have said it very clearly: Israel wil not negotiate under fire and under terror," Sharon said.

Bush said though sporadic violence has continued, "We also believe progress is being made. I believe that what's important from this perspective is not to let the progress that's been made so far to break apart," he said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell was to leave for the region Tuesday night in hopes of building on the current cease-fire. Powell and Sharon were scheduled to meet later Tuesday.

PALESTINIAN SNIPERS TAKE AIM AT CHILDREN

Jerusalem----June 25.....David Struck, a seven year-old child, was the target of a Palestinian's sniper rifle today. The boy was struck in the shoulder while sitting in his home.

David Struck's two parents were also wounded when a Palestinian sniper opened fire on the Avraham Avinu neighborhood in Hebron.

A heavy gunbattle is presently taking place as civilians and soldiers return fire at the terrorists, who are shooting from the nearby Abu Sneneh hill.

10-month-old baby Shalhevet Pass was shot and killed by a Palestinian sniper in a shooting attack in the same locale on March 26th.

The IDF has imposed a curfew on the part of Hebron under Israeli control, Army Radio reported.

The Palestinian Authority has recently issued verbal warnings to terrorist organizations to halt terrorist attacks in order to satisfy the United States, Gilad said today. Israeli terrorism experts have warned recently that they expect Palestinian extremists to attempt to turn the recent conflict into a "Holy War" against the West with the end result of replacing Israel with an Islamic state. United States Armed Forces remain on a high alert against Arab terrorist attacks while U.S. officials now say that there is evidence suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden's group is trying to "gain a foothold" in Israel and the Palestinian-controlled territories.

A reporter for the Saudi Middle East Broadcasting Corp.(MBC) stated that according to bin Laden aides, strikes would be carried out against U.S. and Israeli interests within two to three weeks.
Bin Laden has been indicted by the United States for allegedly masterminding the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that together killed 224 people. U.S. authorities also suspect bin Laden was behind a suicide bombing of the Navy destroyer USS Cole that killed 17 U.S. servicemen and women and injured 39 in the attack on October 12, 2000.

Israel to Send Aid to Peruvian Earthquake Victims

Jerusalem-----June 25........Israel's Foreign Ministry announced today that they are immediately flying heavy loads of medical equipment and tents to Peru. The Israeli Embassy in Peru is updating the Foreign Ministry as to the natural disaster there and continuing to confirm that no Israelis were killed in the quake.

Rescuers in Peru are presently searching for survivors of the 7.9 magnitude earthquake which left at least 70 people dead, more than 500 injured and 20,000 without homes.

TWO ISRAELI SOLDIERS KILLED WHILE ASSISTING PALESTINIANS

Jerusalem----June 23......Two Israeli soldiers were killed in an explosion in the Gaza Strip late yesterday. The soldiers, hearing a Palestinian women crying for help, approached a booby-trapped jeep which a terrorist suicide bomber detonated. Another soldier was injured and taken to hospital. The army has confirmed the identity of one of the two victims killed in the car bomb attack as Aviv Iszak, aged 19 from Kfar Sava.

Israeli Channel Two news reported that Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack on the soldiers. The Palestinian news agency in Gaza received a fax from Izzadin al-Qassem, the military wing of the Islamic group, claiming responsibility.

Reuters

However, Sharon was not expected to walk away from the U.S.-backed truce ahead of his meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington next week. The violence came as a senior U.S. envoy, William Burns, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres to try to cement a fragile cease-fire.

The two soldiers were killed near the settlement of Dugit in the northern Gaza Strip. The blast was so powerful that only an axle was left of the rigged jeep. A bloodied helmet lay in the sand nearby. One soldier standing near the wreckage fought back tears as he was comforted by a friend.

Israeli forces responded with tank and heavy machine-gun fire, injuring three Palestinians, two moderately and one lightly, Palestinian officials said. The army did not immediately comment on the report of retaliation.

"Obviously the Palestinians are trying to provoke Ariel Sharon before he goes to Washington next week," Sharon aide Zalman Shoval told Reuters after the Gaza blast. "He's not going to let himself be provoked."

In an interview on Israeli Channel One Television, Sharon made it clear he reserved the right to use the army. "There are no restrictions today on what we describe as carrying out the right of self-defense to stop squads who are planning or embarking on terrorist attacks. I would call it activity on a limited level," he said.

THIRD ISRAELI MURDERED DURING "CEASE-FIRE PERIOD
HADERA ROCKED BY BOMB BLAST

Jerusalem----June 20....UDATED June 21 - Ilya Krivitz, 62, was shot and killed by terrorists today in the West Bank. Krivitz, a father of five children and a resident of Homesh in western Samaria, was the third Israeli to be assassinated this week during the so-called "cease-fire".

He was shot at close range and managed to reach Homesh's entrance gate, where he died from his wounds.

IDF forces are currently sweeping the area between Homesh and Silat e-Dhahr in an effort to apprehend the terrorists. They have detained several Palestinians for questioning. OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Yitzhak Eitan ordered all Jews traveling in the West Bank to drive in convoys, not alone.

In Hadera a powerful pipe bomb exploded today in the city center, miraculously wounding not one person.

US President George W. Bush again reiterated today his demand that Yassar Arafat halt all terrorism and violence in the region. In a conversation with President Bush today, Prime Minister Sharon reminded the US leader that Israel reserves the right to defend itself, even though it is obligated to implementing the Mitchell Commission recommendations. Sharon is scheduled to visit the White House next week, Israel Radio reported.

Ra'anan Gissin, a spokesman for Sharon, stated: "We are trying to give the cease-fire another chance but I must say time is running out and it's up to Arafat to stop the hostility, stop the violence and the incitement and come back to the negotiating table. There is really not much time left."

PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS MURDER TWO ISRAELIS
AS ARAFAT CLAIMS ISRAEL BREAKS CEASE-FIRE!

Doron Zisserman and Danny Yehuda - the latest casualties of the PA's cease-fire

Jerusalem-----June 18.....As Yassar Arafat again puts a lethal twist on the word "reality" stating in Jordan today that Israel was breaking the cease-fire, Palestinian terrorists killed two Israel's.

Danny Yehuda, 35, a resident of the northern Samaria community of Homesh, was killed today when his vehicle was shot at near Nablus. Yehuda was married and the father of three children aged one to four.

Later in the day 38-year-old Doron Zisserman was critically wounded in a second terrorist attack near the community Einav in Samaria. Zisserman died earlier this evening from his wounds. A Palestinian terrorist had shot Zisserman in the neck near the entrance to Einav, security forces reported. He is survived by a wife and three young children.

His funeral procession is to commence shortly from in front of the Prime Minister's Office, where a large crowd is waiting.

Prime Minister Sharon made it clear that he will not countenance any attempt to push Israel into negotiating under pressure of violence, terrorism and incitement and emphasized that the violations of the
cease-fire and the murderous attacks are creating an unacceptable situation that will not allow Israel to maintain its current approach indefinitely.

"Pressure must be placed on Arafat in order to bring about a complete cessation of the violence, terrorism and incitement and lead to the implementation of his commitments according to the agreements that he
has signed and as per the Tenet document. This includes a halt to the incitement and the re-imprisonment of the terrorist leaders who have been released and who are behind the continued attacks," Prime Minister
Sharon said.

"Today, any concession on the issue of the Palestinian Authority's honoring of agreements is liable to have serious repercussions regarding the honoring of our agreements with other Arab countries," Prime
Minister Sharon stressed.

The Israeli government is following and implementing the Tenet Cease-fire agreement to the letter, illustrating maximum restraint in the face of Palestinians continuing with fatal shooting attacks, planting bombs in Haifa and with Yassar Arafat continuing to incite the Palestinian people and the Arab world with accusations based on hashish. Many sources in the Israeli government have claimed that Arafat's words do not match any peace making actions on the ground. Arafat is truly wrong to believe that terror attacks against Israelis will go unpunished.
Arafat is doing his very best to destabilize the entire Middle-East by attempting to pull all parties into a regional war. What Arafat may slowly realize is that many of his Arab partners have no desire to enter into a regional war and seek rather all peaceful means to strengthen their economies.

Arafat is quickly isolating himself not only from the White House and the Western world, but now from many of Israel's Arab neighbors.

PA Accepts US Plan for Cease-fire
Palestinian Terrorists Murder Christian Monk

Jerusalem----June 13.....After initially refusing to accept US suggestions for a comprehensive cease-fire, Yassar Arafat told CIA Director George Tenet late last night in Ramallah that the US "work plan" had been accepted by the Palestinian leadership. The US cease-fire proposals had already been approved earlier in the day by Israel to end eight months of bloodshed.

"We have accepted the American document. Implementation will begin tomorrow," Palestinian Information Minister Yasser Abed Rabbo told reporters after the conclusion of talks with the CIA Director. "There will be a trilateral security meeting as well as a bilateral political meeting with the Americans."

"The United States is pleased that a work plan has been accepted by both sides," a U.S. official said in Washington.

"Its purpose is to resume security cooperation, end the violence and restore the situation on the ground that existed before (the Palestinian uprising)." Arafat, Abed Rabbo said, provided the American with a letter detailing his objections to one element of Tenet's plan -- a buffer zone between Israeli and Palestinian forces.

Tenet was prepared to leave the Middle-East with a statement that his mission was a failure due to the Palestinians. Tenet now return to Washington, leaving other U.S. officials to put the plan into motion.

PALESTINIAN TERRORISTS MURDER CHRISTIAN CLERGYMAN

Gur Pzipokatsatakis, 35, a Greek Orthodox monk, was killed by Palestinian terrorists on the Jerusalem-Ma'aleh Adumim highway. Security officials believe the man was targeted because the terrorists, seeing his car's yellow Israeli license plates, presumed he was a Jew. They are believed to have fled in the direction of Abu Dis or Al Azzariya in Area B, which is under Israeli security control. Soldiers and Border Police personnel immediately searched the surrounding area following the attack searching for the perpetrators.

A MDA ambulance received word of the attack shortly before 10:30, and declared Pzipokatsatakis dead at the scene. He is believed to have been a resident of a monastery near Wadi Kelt.

5-MONTH OLD JEWISH BABY DIES FROM PALESTINIAN STONING ATTACK

Jerusalem----June 11.....After many days and hours of pray and hope, 5-month old Yehuda Chaim Shocham died this afternoon of severe wounds sustained from a terrorist stoning attack. The 5-month-old baby was attacked last Tuesday, as his family were traveling home to Shilo from Ra'anana after having made a condolence call. For several days, the staff of Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem struggled to keep the baby alive using life support equipment. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had visited the baby and the baby's family yesterday.

Yehuda Chaim's small and fragile body was not strong enough to fight off the effects of having suffered severe brain damage. Yehuda Chaim died with his parents standing by his hospital bed, where they had been since the baby entered the hospital.

The funeral procession of five-month-old Chaim Yehuda Shoham will start at 7:00 p.m. this evening from the plaza area in front of the Prime Minister's Office and continue to the cemetery in the Samaria community of Shilo.

PA CONTINUES ATTACKS, DESPITE CALLING FOR CEASE-FIRE
Israeli Baby, Injured in Stone Throwing, Described by Hospital: "No Hope"

An Israeli MK invites the Arab world to attack Israel

Jerusalem----June 11.....As U.S. CIA Director George Tenet postponed a meeting of Israeli and Palestinian security officials due to PA resistance, Israeli targets have again come under PA mortar and sniper attacks. More than nine mortar shells were fired from Gaza into Israel last night. The shells fell harmlessly into the Jewish community of Kfar Darom.

Israeli army chief Shaul Mofaz said yesterday: "We don't see a real desire by the Palestinian Authority to end terrorism. We don't see actual efforts of prevention. We don't see actions or results because the shooting continues from the Palestinians," he said.

U.S. Middle East envoy William Burns issued a statement criticizing Israel and the Palestinians over the accidental killing of three women in Gaza. "We deeply regret the death of three Palestinian women in Gaza...and offer our condolences to the families," Burns said in a statement. "We believe that the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) should ensure that the response to any gunfire emanating from Palestinian populated areas minimizes the danger to the lives and property of Palestinian civilians," the statement said. "At the same time, the continued shooting attacks and other violence that have resulted in several Israeli casualties over the past several days must stop," it said.
Mr. Burns must be reminded that the "PA shooting attacks" take place with the PA using their own women and children as "human shields". At least 110 Israelis and 13 Israeli Arabs have been killed since last September.

In Syria yesterday, Israeli MK Azmi Bishara joined Hizbullah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah Bishara and called upon the Arab world "to unite against the warmongering Sharon government. "Our fighters will bring to your place of rest olive branches from Palestine and they will plant them only for you," Nasrallah said at an official ceremony held in Assad's northern home town of Qardaha. "We have nothing for the enemies except blood and rifles." He called on Arab leaders to follow the policies of the late Assad, who was unyielding in the face of international pressures to make peace with Israel unless it first returned occupied territory. "President Assad has refused to submit, surrender or relinquish one inch of land or any single right of the nation. For him, land was the honor that could not be leased, sold or abandoned," he added. "We will not give up one inch of the Shaba Farms...We will regain it with blood, holy struggle and resistance. We will not also give up the Golan for many reasons because Syria supported Lebanon and helped it liberate its land," Nasrallah said to applause. "We will not forget Palestine and Jerusalem will remain the focal point for our strugglers."

In Israel, Interior Minister Eli Yishai asked Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein to prosecute Bishara for violating the law prohibiting visits to an enemy country. Coalition whip Ze'ev Boim called on Internal Security Minister Uzi Landau to arrest Bishara upon his return, for visiting Syria, for his statements there, and because of the continuing investigation into the assistance Bishara has given to hundreds of Israeli Arabs to visit Syria. Labor faction chairman Effi Oshaya said Bishara should ask Damascus to pay half his salary, because he is serving the Syrians even though he is an Israeli citizen and MK.

"Bishara's appearance with Nasrallah at the memorial for Assad shames the State of Israel and deepens the divide between Jews and Arabs in Israel," Oshaya said. "Bishara is spitting in the face of the families of the Israelis who have been kidnapped with Syrian support." Herut chairman MK Michael Kleiner went further, saying: "It cannot be that a parliamentarian in the State of Israel encourages the Arab nations to launch full-scale war against it."

The 5 month old Israeli baby, Yehuda Chaim Shocham, who was critically injured in a Palestinian stone throwing attack last week, is presently being kept alive through "life support equipment". The baby, who is comatose with severe brain injuries, was described by Hadassah Hospital doctors yesterday as "beyound hope".

EDITORIAL MEMORIAL SPECIAL:

"We Ask for Peace - They Ask for Blood"

Tel Aviv----June 7......It's been seven long days since since a Palestinian terrorist broke the tranquil teenage environment of a summer's night. You may have seen television sound-bytes, bloody pictures of the horror from last Friday's massacre in Tel Aviv - an evening which took 20 youths from dancing and music to sudden death and tearful memories. You may have read newspaper accounts. But I can tell you - you have seen almost nothing. This editor visited the site of the terror attack this afternoon. There is no account that I have read or seen which has represented or has come even marginally close to the whole picture. Perhaps we have grown use to seeing the flashing blue and red lights of ambulances and police cars. Perhaps it's too easy for us to integrate the violent images of Hollywood with real life - and at the end of the day just turn off the TV.

I hold in my hand the shining remnants of a hardware store. Fresh pieces of metal picked up off the black asphalt ground from outside the Tel Aviv disco. Sharp washers, bent screws, small ball bearings and twisted wires. Part of the deadly elements which escaped from an explosive device claiming 21 lives. Pieces of metal which flew for up to 300 meters unless they were stopped short by a human body. Any human body. For these pieces of metal could not distinguish between Jew and Arab, White or Black, Russian or American. Nor could the Palestinian suicide bomber distinguish between civilized values of life and death. With blind hatred and religious obsession, the young Palestinian was most likely dropped off in front of the disco, calmly carrying a 40 pound load of explosives and lethal metal parts directly into a waiting crowd of teenage girls. Innocents who were most likely concerned with their make-up, their clothes and the opportunity to dance with a cute guy, catch a few smiles.

As you approach the disco, you can see that it is sandwiched between other stores directly on the beach. You can't miss the large memorial Israeli flag draped in front of the area. You can't miss two makeshift memorial sites - one very small by the main road running parallel to the building, the second - a large memorial sitting directly in front of the disco. It looks like oil stains on the parking lot entrance to the disco, but it is actually teenage blood. Covering many of these dark stains are flowers, black and green wreaths, color pictures of the dead, freshly lit candles and weeping relatives and friends of the victims. The tears have not yet dried. Looking up from the memorial site, you can see dozens of small holes about an inch deep on the outside blue walls of the disco building. Scattered for about 40 yards in every direction. Standing against the building and looking at these fresh puncture marks on the wall, you measure your body up against the height of these holes. You quickly realize with fright that if you stood in the right or the wrong place - one of these metal objects would have hit your foot, knees, stomach, chest and head.

One store is open about 20 meters away from ground zero. It's a kiosk selling Diet Coke, ice cream and Pringles. As you ask Shai or Osha, the owners of the kiosk for a falafel sandwich, you look down and see steel washers sitting by your feet. I ask Shai, who has seen dismembered fingers, feet and blood sprayed on his windows, why he has not closed his store, taken his family away for a few days to "clean" his head. He responds: "I have 4 children to feed." He tells you that social workers come around every morning to talk with him. His eyes are tired and his face is foreign to a smile.

In this place which embraces such potent natural beauty on the Tel Aviv beachfront - the warm sun, a steady cool breeze and the sound of waves brushing up against the sand, an erie silence is broken by people crying. One person says: "This was an act of barbarism". Another responds: "The barbarians would not have even does this."

Across the street and behind a high mobile bungy jumping amusement ride with it's neon lights glowing, one can see a Muslim holy place, it's tan, round brick tower overshadowed by shining, modern Tel Aviv skyscrapers. You can easily understand how one of the members of this Holy place may have told Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the PA: "We have a target for you". You try not to generalize - but the physical logistics are just too damn clear.

As you walk away from the disco's blood stained parking lot, you can't help but think how, how can one person callously commit such a cold, cruel atrocity to others - innocents whose only political agenda was how their lipstick and nails appeared. You pass one of the small makeshift memorial sites as you distance yourself from this horror movie and come across a few signs in English. Black magic marker on white paper held up to knee level by thin wooden sticks. One sign reads: "We Ask for Peace, They Ask for Blood". The sign bears no hatred. It reflects only a clear reality of two very different cultures converging. One brought up to value and preserve life, the other conditioned and destined to hate and destroy. The word incitement takes on new meaning. And you know it will now take several years of understanding and objective education for both sides to entertain the word "trust" and shake hands. You wonder, how many lives will be wasted in this period.

You look down at the white sandy beach and blue, white breaking waves knowing that the beauty and peace there is eternal. You wish, you pray that only some, just a particle of that natural peace could ride a wind into the souls of Israel's neighbors.

PHOTO GALLERY - Friday, June 8

Jerusalem-----June 6, 05:00 - Updated: 18:00 ......A 5-month old Israeli baby was critically injured last night by Palestinians who stoned a family car. The baby was rushed to the intensive care unit at Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital. Yael Bosom, spokesperson at Hadassah, told the INA that the baby is fighting for it's life and although listed as in critical condition, Ms. Bosom states that the condtion is "desperate".

The Shoham Family - before the Palestinian terrorist attack

Palestinians attacked the car with a barrage of rocks near the village of Shilo in Samaria. The Shocham family which lives in Shilo, were returning home from visiting friends. The baby was hit in the head by a rock and immediatly lost conciousness. The baby is being cared for by a special emergency team of doctors and nurses while the family sits nearby and prays for his life.

Palestinian terrorists have now opened fire on hundreds of Israeli protesters who have gathered at the site of the stoning incident. Israeli Border Police have entered a nearby Palestinian village, the apparent source of the shooting, to apprehend the terrorists, Army Radio reports.

Palestinian terrorists also shot and moderately wounded an Israeli motorist near Nablus last night, Army radio reported.

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday took off his diplomatic gloves and in his most honest and strongest tone called Yassar Arafat a "murderer" and "pathological liar". Making the statement on a Russian television channel, Sharon continued: "It cannot be that he will go all around the world with a red carpet... He is not a head of state. There were some people who expected that he would behave like a head of state, but he behaves as the head of terrorists and murderers." Sharon's comments come three days after the security cabinet issued a statement saying that "the Palestinian Authority and Arafat are involved in terror, encourage terror, and incite to hatred and violence." From this morning's Palestinian attack on a 5-month old Israeli baby, one does not need to read Yasser Arafat's biography.

Israel is presently trying very hard to keep a cease-fire in existance. With babaric, bloody Palestinian terror attacks targeted at babies and children taking place after the Tel Aviv massacre on Friday, and during a period in which the PA has promised to implement a cease-fire, the outlook for the continuation of a "unilateral" cease-fire by Israel is not optimistic.

Jerusalem-----June 4.....UPDATED: 11:00 - Some of the Palestinian terror organizations have agreed to join the cease-fire called upon by the PA. At the same time, the INA is receiving conflicting reports that some, if not all of these groups are rejecting any cease-fire agreement. Islamic Jihad and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine have reportedly rejected any cease-fire agreement. Hamas and Fatah reportedly state that they continue to see all Israel targets (Israeli soldiers and settlements) in the West Bank and Gaza as legitimate targets and will continue their attacks. Sporadic fighting continues in Gaza and the West Bank, with anti-tank grenades and mortars being fired at Israeli targets. The Israeli government has acknowledged a drop in terror attacks and media incitement by the PA, but remains cautious that the decreased activity only represents a "tactic" by Yassar Arafat.

CIA Director George Tenet has postponed his visit to the Middle-East, stating that he is also waiting to see if Arafat implements his own calls for a cease-fire. Another victim of Friday's terrorist attack in Tel Aviv will be laid to rest today. Jan Bloom, 25 and married was working as the security guard at the Tel Aviv disco when a Palestinian terrorist blew himself up and claimed the lives of 20 Israelis, mostly teenagers.

Jerusalem-----June 4.....In his first appearance in addressing the Nation since Friday's bloody terror attack, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon responded to some critics for not having taken retaliatory action against the PA by stating: "restraint is a component of strength."

"What I went through today (Sunday) was really one of the [most] shocking, difficult [experiences of my life], and I have seen many difficult things in my life," Sharon said. "We are in the midst of an extremely difficult battle. And it's completely clear ... that the Palestinian Authority is the responsible party. "This is certainly not a simple situation. We need to see the whole picture, [and] this is my responsibility... We will overcome and we will win this battle."

Responding to Yassar Arafat's declaration that he agrees to an immediate cease-fire, Sharon said, "I do not believe in words, I do not believe in declarations, I believe in deeds." "This nation is much stronger than all of those murderers," the prime minister added.

Meanwhile, the Syrian government controlled press announced today that Syria was pleased with the suicide attack against innocent civilians in Israel. The Syrians, whose fighting capacity is no match for Israel, continues to encourage Arab youth with hate and violence towards Israel - using terrorist groups such as Islamic Jihad and Hamas to do it's fighting in a war of attrition with Israel. The Syrian newspaper Tishrin in an editorial stated that Friday's Tel Aviv explosion had shown Israel that "Palestinians would never alone be the (Mideast conflict's) victims, but also the other side (Israel) would pay the price as well." As no official claim of responsibility has yet been made for Friday's Arab suicide attack against Israeli teenagers, one can easy assume that Syria may have been behind the attack.

The Israel Defense Forces announced today that the Israeli Air Force will be conducting extensive exercises over the country for the next few days and apologized for any noise disturbances made by their aircraft. The INA has not heard such beautiful "noise" since the Beatles, Elton John and Madonna were last heard on Israel radio!

• Ichilov - tel. (03) 697- 4444

• Tel Hashomer - tel. (03) 125- 5131

• Wolfson - tel. (03) 502- 8312

• Belinson - tel. (03) 937- 7011

If Calling Outside of Israel, Please Dial Country Code 972

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

(Camp David, Maryland)

For Immediate Release

June 1, 2001

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

Terrorist Bombing in Tel Aviv

I condemn in the strongest terms the heinous terrorist attack this sabbath evening. There is no justification for senseless attacks against innocent civilians.
This illustrates the urgent need for an immediate, unconditional cessation of violence.

I call upon Chairman Arafat to condemn this act and to call for an immediate ceasefire.

My deepest condolence and those of the American people go out to the victims and their families.

IIN MEMORY OF THE YOUTHFUL VICTIMS OF PALESTINIAN TERROR - JUNE 1, 2001

Julia Skalanic, 15, Holon

Marina Borokovsky, 17, Tel Aviv

Irena Asatsif, 18, Holon

Simona Rodin, 18, Holon

Yelena Nelimov, 18, Tel Aviv

Yulia Nelimov, 16, Tel Aviv

Ori Shahar, 32, Ramat Gan

Kastaniada Arias, 15, Ramat Gan

Eliya Gutman, 14, Bat Yam

Aleksei Lupalu, 16, Ukrain

Roman Dezanshvili, 21, Bat Yam

Anya Kachkova, 16, Holon

Liana Skian, 16, Tel Aviv

Irena Nafmaniashtsy, 16, Bat Yam

Mariana Madbaneko, 16, Tel Aviv

Maria Tagilchev, 14, Netanya

Raisa Nimrovsky, 15, Netanya

Marina Zokovska, 17, Tel Aviv

Jan Bloom, 25, Tel Aviv

Diez (Dani) Normanov, 21, Tel Aviv

Jerusalem---May 30....As dozens of young students were taking civics exams at the ORT school in Netanya's old industrial zone a Palestinian booby-trapped car, a Mazda 323 model, attempted to enter the school's grounds. The terrorist, who was deterred by a school security guard, detonated the car bomb outside the school shortly after 4 P.M.; miraculously, no students or pedestrians were inured by the blast. Eight civilians suffered shock-related injuries, and were treated at Netanya's Laniado Hospital.

The school's security guard realized after the blast that he had seen the driver of the Mazda leave the car. Based on a physical description furnished by the guard, police and security forces launched a massive manhunt after the suspect.

The Islamic Jihad terrorist movement issued a statement yesterday claiming responsibility for the Netanya car bomb attack. Speaking on Hezbollah's Al-Manara television station, which is broadcast from Lebanon, an Islamic Jihad spokesman vowed that his organization will soon carry out more suicide strikes within Israel.

Jerusalem area hospitals have set up emergency hotlines for patient inquiries:

• Hadassah-University Hospital, Ein Kerem, 1255122
• Hadassah-University Hospital, Mount Scopus, 1255121
• Bikur Holim Hospital, 1255123
• Shaare Zedek Hospital, 1255125

International callers should dial 972 prior to the above numbers.