An exciting weekend

Well, it looks as if Barak has pulled another rabbit out of the hat by resigning - again turning the political situation around in his favour. The Israeli elections set to be about as much fun as those in the US (but possibly with a bit more at stake for the electors).


The weekend news before this announcement was full. The newsite I previously directed you to (www.israelwire.com) is not currently being updated (part of the Virtual Jerusalem company failure), but the content is now featured on the following sites http://www.usajewish.com/ (See the grey left hand side bar. If you go to the end you can see previous bulletins, including the one below or subscribe to get the frequent emails.) or http://www.morashanetwork.com/ .

To give you a flavour of the busy Shabbat, here are just the headlines:

BreakingNews-Israel
BNI – December 9, 2000 –
YeshaBB@netvision.net.il
**** Including Sabbath recap ****
1. Terror victim to be laid to rest on Saturday night
2. Second Friday terror attack claims third victim of the day
3. Shots fired at soldiers at Ayosh Junction Friday
4. Gilo attacked by gunfire on Friday night & Saturday morning
5. Soldiers attacked with gunfire near Enav
6. Disturbances and rioting on Hussan bypass road
7. Soldiers stationed at the Sufa outpost attack by gunfire
8. Shots fired at Ofer base on Saturday night
9. Arabs claim “settlers” shot Arab teenager
10. Riots in Jenin on Saturday morning
11. Shooting into P’sagot on the Sabbath
12. Kfar Darom attacked with anti-tank rockets on the Sabbath
13. Rioter killed in clashes at Rachel’s Tomb Friday
14. One killed in violent clashes in Jerusalem’s Old City on Friday
15. Border police attacked in Shuafat section of Jerusalem
16. Firebomb attacks in Jerusalem’s Atarot neighborhood
17. Second stone-throwing attack on Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway
18. Israeli motorist injured in nail gun attack
19. PA: Five killed near Jenin by IDF on Friday
20. PA residents mark 13 years since the start of Intifada
21. Closure placed on autonomous areas by IDF
22. Two Hebron residents arrested on the Sabbath at Rachel’s Tomb
23. Force of 200 on hand to remove Jews from building near Givat HaCharsinah
24. PM announces 9:00pm press conference

And what will peace bring - here is what Faisal Husseini is quoted as having to say:

Ha'aretz Services, 6 December 2000

Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Faisal Husseini has said the Palestinians are waging a war of independence that will end only when the last Israeli settler leaves the territories, and that when Palestinians become a majority in the Holy Land, they will decide whether to allow the Jews to have a state, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.

It quoted Husseini as saying that the clashes in the territories are not a another intifada, or uprising, but a war of independence that will end only when the last Israeli leaves land captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Husseini also said that in another few dozen years the Palestinians will constitute a majority in the area, and that it will be they who will decide whether to grant Israelis a state, if Israel continues with its present policies.

-------IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis Website: www.imra.org.il