07 June 2004

Helping the Palestinians help themselves

[source, source]

According to Hader Abu Sheikh, an official of the Palestinian Legislative Council, “there is 70% more nightlife in Jenin than a year ago.” “We are talking about the resumption of traditional Palestinian nightlife,” explains Abu Sheikh. “Weddings, men sitting in cafes late at night, women visiting each other.…The point is, people are no longer confined to their houses at night, because Israel has left the city.” According to the IDF, the security fence relieves the army of the necessity to regularly patrol the city.

“There are positive business indicators, as people are starting to think of capital and investment and commerce again,” said Ziad Mifleh, director-general of the Jenin Chamber of Commerce. Even Palestinian Legislative Council member Sakhri Turkuman, a Fatah official, concedes that the security fence has “created some stability in Jenin.”

No wonder the Palestinian Authority opposes the security fence! The PA is doomed if life improves for the Palestinians.

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THIS JUST IN: Al Qaeda threatens the USA

[source]

A statement purportedly from al Qaeda militants in Saudi Arabia warned Monday of new attacks on U.S. and Western airlines, as a Saudi diplomat said the militant group was behind an attack that killed a BBC cameraman.

“All compounds, bases and means of transport, especially Western and American airlines, will be a direct target for our coming operations in the near future,” said the statement, posted on a pro-al Qaeda site on the Internet.

Was there some point in time since 1993 when Al Qaeda wasn’t planning attacks against the USA?

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Careful with the match, Riyadh!

[source, source]

Explosions rocked the compound surrounding the Kufa mosque on Monday after ammunition used by fighters loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr apparently caught fire, witnesses and Shiite militia members said. At least nine people were hurt.

[…]

Riyadh Moussa, a militiaman who had been sleeping in compound, said he heard a “whoosh of a missile in the air” and a strong thud when a projectile hit the storage area.

[…]

A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition said no forces were near the mosque at the time of the blast. Iraqi police took small arms fire when they tried to approach to see what was going on, the U.S. military said.

When your enemies are stupid, it’s best to give them some rope even if it seems defeatist on the surface.

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