Posted on 04/13/2002 7:49:53 AM PDT by wopoon
"Ahmed Jibril, head of PFLB-GC warns that suicide attacks against Israeli targets to continue"
Hehe... I hear you, and I generally agree, but I thought since no one on this site EVER watches CNN, this might be of interest.
Did anyone hear the talking head on CNN paraphrasing Arafat's statement? She called the latest bombing an OPERATION!
It is the end result that counts! The making of sausage is not a pretty sight. I will wait for the end product before delivering criticism.
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had an unpleasant surprise for Muslims on Friday: he came down on the community like a ton of bricks. Addressing a public rally in the Goan capital, Vajpayee said Islam has two faces: one that teaches tolerance and respects human sentiments; another that fans militancy where there is no place for tolerance. Completely changing his tone from the anguished one he had adopted in Gujarat last fortnight, Vajpayee, in the presence of members of the Bharatiya Janata Party's national executive, lashed out at Muslims.
"In Indonesia, Malaysia, wherever Muslims are living they don't want to live in harmony," he claimed. "They don't mix with the society [ghul milkar nahin rehte]. They are not interested in living in peace."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/664878/posts
U.S. Officials Reviewing Arafat Statement, Trying to Determine if Powell Meeting Should Go Ahead
By Barry Schweid The Associated Press
Published: Apr 13, 2002JERUSALEM (AP) - Yasser Arafat issued a statement condemning terrorism on Saturday, and Secretary of State Colin Powell was weighing whether it would clear the way for him to meet with the Palestinian leader.
The statement, in Arabic, was distributed by the Palestinian news service WAFA, giving it the kind of circulation the Bush administration sought.
"He made the statement and we are looking at it," said a senior U.S. official traveling with Powell. "We expected him to condemn terrorism. ... Now he has made a statement."
After a suicide bombing Friday in Jerusalem, Powell called off talks scheduled for Saturday with Arafat, and indicated a meeting was possible Sunday if Arafat denounced terrorism and the latest attack.
Arafat's statement, issued in Arabic, specifically condemned that bombing, which killed six people.
"The Palestinian leadership and his excellency President Arafat express their deep condemnation for all the terrorist activities, whether it is state terrorism, terrorism by a group or individual terrorism," the statement said.
"We are condemning strongly all the attacks which are targeting civilians from both sides and especially the attack that took place against Israeli citizens yesterday in Jerusalem," the statement said.
Earlier Saturday, Powell issued a statement calling on Israeli forces in the West Bank to "exercise the utmost restraint and discipline and refrain from the excessive use of force."
A top Arafat aide, Hassan Abdel Rahman, said in Washington that Arafat wanted to cooperate with Powell also needed to hear from the Bush administration a condemnation of Israeli military's actions against Palestinian civilians. Palestinians allege many civilians have been killed in the massive Israeli operation to wipe out militant networks in the West Bank.
Israeli forces moved into more West Bank villages Saturday, and sporadic fighting continued, especially in Nablus where seven Israeli tanks began shelling the main local government complex.
Powell met with Christian religious leaders and aid workers while awaiting Arafat's response.
Rene Kosirnik, head of the Red Cross delegation to Israel, said Israeli forces on the West Bank were subjecting the Palestinian people to "collective punishment."
"The whole population should not suffer so much," he said after meeting with Powell.
Kosirnik singled out the refugee camps near Jenin, saying conditions were especially bad and that Israel was denying access to the Red Cross.
Richard Cook, West Bank field director for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, said dead bodies were piling up.
Powell and Arafat were supposed to meet Saturday in Ramallah, where Israeli forces have confined Arafat to his headquarters. Powell called off the sessions, saying through his spokesman that "it is important that Chairman Arafat not miss this opportunity to take a clear stand against the violence that harms the Palestinian cause."
Following a meeting Saturday with Christian church leaders at the American consulate, Lutheran Bishop Munib Younan said Powell had told the clerics he would meet with Arafat. Powell quickly disputed that account.
"We are examining what we are going to do and we're going to make a decision later in the day," Powell said.Powell had come to Israel in hopes of ending the bloodletting with a cease-fire and repeated declarations of his support for a Palestinian state. He said the Palestinians had to be given hope.
He also has advised Israel that hunting down terrorists on the West Bank would not provide security - only a settlement with Arafat would accomplish that.
Younan, the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jerusalem, said Powell indicated a meeting with Arafat would take place.
"If he doesn't, how can we hope to have a solution without the Palestinian leader?" Younan told reporters.
Following his meeting with five officials of U.N. and Red Cross aid groups, Powell announced the United States would contribute another $30 million for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency on top of the $80 million already contributed annually.
Through the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bush administration is providing $62 million in assistance for health care, water system repairs and emergency food aid, Powell said.
"We call upon the international community to do all it can to help at this time of exceptional Palestinian need," he said in a statement.
The statement contained Powell's demand for Israeli restraint, which he said was necessary in order to "ensure that civilians are protected and to avoid worsening the already grave conditions inside Palestinian areas."
Powell said the administration was "particularly concerned at the humanitarian situation in Jenin."
In a meeting Friday, Powell was unable to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to provide a timetable for withdrawing Israeli troops from Palestinian cities and towns, although he continued to press the matter.
AP-ES-04-13-02 1053EDT
I guess if your murdering Jews it doesn't count.
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