Israel defies US with attacks on West Bank village
October 25, 2001
At least five people died in the pursuit. The Palestinian Authority described the attack as a massacre that could bring an end to hopes of reviving the peace process.
Twelve men thought to be connected to attacks on Israelis were captured and taken to a nearby Jewish settlement for interrogation. The manhunt on Wednesday was one of the bloodiest raids yet, since Israeli forces occupied six West Bank towns less than two weeks ago.
Journalists and medical helpers were barred from the village.
Early on Thursday, Israeli forces withdrew from Beit Reema.
The raid was launched despite renewed calls from US President George Bush to stop Israeli occupations of Palestinian towns.
Other recent diplomatic efforts by the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, had also proved unfruitful. The Israeli government has been under strong international criticism for the latest incursions.
Israel claims that Beit Reema is a PFLP stronghold. However the wide scale hunt for Zeevi's killers appears to contradict former Israeli statements that Israel had already identified all five members of the PFLP responsible for the killing of the minister.
Palestinians treat Thursday as an official day of mourning.
The Bush administration is well aware that its control over the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Scharon is tenuous. Scharon is showing open defiance of the US government.
Bush's capacities to influence Scharon are further diminished by the leverage he has on Washington. There are enough members of the Bush administration who sideline with Scharon's views on the current crisis in Afghanistan - that his struggle with Yasser Arafat is not so different to the US fight against Osama Bin Laden.
Fears that Yasser Arafat is losing grips on the situation and that he might even fall is evident in the US government. His fall would trigger further chaos in the West Bank and would only heavily burden the already tense situation in the Arab world during the current US war on terrorism.
German foreign minister Joschka Fischer is setting out for the Middle East on Thursday for a two-day visit. He will meet the Israeli leadership before going on to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Fischer's initiative has the support of the United States, which has been calling on Israel for restraint in the latest upsurge of violence in the region.
Anger over US cluster bombs
In Afghanistan, U.S. and British planes have staged their fiercest strikes so far on Taliban positions. The cities of Kabul and Kandahar were targets of overnight raids.
Defence Department officials admit the Taliban are proving to be "tough opponents", but accuse them of denying essential food aid to civilians. The Pentagon said it was taken aback by the tenacity of the Taliban as the US-led attacks continue for the third week.
"I'm a bit surprised at how doggedly they're hanging on to power," Pentagon Spokesman Admiral John Stufflebeam said.
The ruling Taliban say they're arming villagers to resist U.S. ground attacks and have vowed to fight to the last man. The Taliban are reported to be moving into residential areas in order to avoid being hit.
"Now our decision is to form armed groups in villages and all provinces of Afghanistan to confront against the US," Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi said.
One of the Taliban's main goals in the 1990s was to disarm the population. The Taliban's new policy of arming - as to the earlier one of disarming - the population is being implemented in the south and the east of Afghanistan.
The Pentagon has released little information about the bombing in Afghanistan. But officials say the strikes are aimed at one special target:"We are targeting all of the Taliban that we find. We have an interest in the 55th Brigade because that is one that had previously been identified to have been populated with al-Qaida fighters", Admiral John D. Stufflebeem said.
American warplanes have been striking Taliban positions near the former main Soviet air-base at Bagram. Northern Alliance opposition forces have welcomed the attacks which they believe may pave the way for them to take the Afghan capital, Kabul, and sever the Taliban's main lines of communication.
The United Nations has voiced concern over unexploded munition from cluster bombs dropped by US-led forces. The UN said that villagers near the western Afghan city of Herat were trapped, and were afraid to move due to unexploded bombs.
Cluster bombs contain a large number of small bombs which are dispersed when the bomb explodes.
The Afghan Islamic Press, based in Pakistan, reports that US bombs have killed 52 people in a village near the southern city of Kandahar.
However these reports have not yet been confirmed.
Clans talk about Afghanistan's future
More than 800 exiled Afghans are meeting in Peshawar Pakistan for talks aimed at reaching agreement on the formation of a future government in Kabul. However, some key opposition Afghans have stayed away, including representatives of the former King, Zahir Shah.
The exiled Afghans include tribal, political, military and religious leaders. They are discussing an outline plan for a government that could replace the current Taliban administration.
The plan is for a transitional government to be led by the former King, Zahir Shah and calls for a UN peacekeeping force of soldiers from Islamic countries.
It might give both the Northern Alliance and moderate members of the Taliban a role in a future government - a constellation which may, however, prove a tough balancing act:
"I invite those Taliban who agree with us to meet us as soon as possible. The crisis in Afghanistan cannot be solved by bombing - it has to be resolved on the political level."
Anthrax spreads in Capitol complex
A fifth location in the United States Capitol complex has tested positive for anthrax. Police said Anthrax bacteria had been detected in the freight elevator of the Senate Hart office building.
The Hart building and all other congressional offices have been closed since first traces of the bacteria were discovered in the Capitol complex on October 17.
The U.S. Postmaster General, John Potter said there is no guarantee that the postal system in America is safe from anthrax. The government has warned the public to be cautious when opening their post.
Responsibility for finding the perpetrators has been given to the FBI.
Speaking in Washington, the FBI Director Robert Mueller said his agency had no evidence of a connection between the anthrax attacks and any organised terrorist organisation. But the prime suspect still remains Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist network.
Seven thousand FBI personnel are working on the case. Earlier, letters mailed in three of the anthrax-laced letters were published. The chilling letter sent to Senator Tom Daschle said "you can not stop us" and condemned America and Israel to death. The envelope had the address of a primary school written on it.
Six cases of inhalation anthrax and six of skin anthrax in the US have been reported so far. Three people have died and several others are still in hospital.
Health authorities in Washington have been under severe criticism for the delay checking postal workers for anthrax. Congressional staff were screened immediately after a letter sent to Senator Tom Daschle was found containing anthrax. It took five days to start checks on postal workers who had handled the mail.
$1 bn will be spend on new security measures at post offices, including machines to radiate anthrax bacteria in mail. US President George Bush authorised further $ 175m to improve safety at post offices.
German government approves new security measures
The German government has approved new regulations authorising more stringent controls on electronic communications, including telephone and internet services.
The regulations compel the communications industry to expand technical and organisational systems to make it easier to eavesdrop on their facilities. The new measures will come into effect as soon as they are published in the official gazette.
Although under review for some time, the regulations were given higher priority following the 11 September attacks on the US.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has met with President Jacques Chirac of France in Paris. The Foreign Ministers of both countries attended as well.
German foreign minister Joschka Fischer interrupted his tour of the Middle East for the meeting. After the meeting Fischer was scheduled to continue on to Israel.
Pakistan sends refugees back
Despite the dangers and difficulties, relief agencies are continuing to send what aid they can. A convoy with over 1, 000 tonnes of wheat left Peshawar in Pakistan on Tuesday. But this is just a fraction of what is needed.
"There are two million people who live in what we call the hunger belt of Northern Afghanistan who are affected by drought. We are particularly concerned for 400 000 people who will not have enough food to carry them through the winter," Mike Huggins, World Food Programme said.
The United Nations says it needs 50 million dollars urgently to provide food and shelter for the refugees.
Tens of thousands have gathered near the border to Pakistan. But the crossing at Chaman has only been opened sporadically, and Pakistan is refusing to accept more refugees.
Pakistan is now setting up refugee camps inside Afghanistan. "All assistance to the refugees must be given there, so that people go back to Afghanistan instead of making them comfortable here in Afghanistan," President Pervez Musharraf said on Tuesday after a meeting between Pakistan and Taliban district authorities.
The decision follows further tension in the border village Chaman on Tuesday, as Afghan refugees fought their way across the border.
Despite UN appeals to open up the border, Musharref said that Pakistan would only be prepared to accept the old, the injured and children. "But we cannot open the flood gates for all refugees flowing into Pakistan," he said.