Summary and Analysis

VOP charged Monday morning that the Israeli army was giving back-up fire in support of settlers attacking citizens in Husan near Bethlehem who were trying to carry out a massacre of Palestinians similar to the one carried out in Ramadan 1993 (i.e. the Goldstein massacre in Hebron in which 29 were murdered).

VOP led its Sunday morning news round-up with an interview with PA Information Minister Yasser Abd Rabbo who reiterated the PA’s demands for a complete final settlement including the right of return, Jerusalem and an independent Palestinian state in all of the West Bank and Gaza.

A similar statement Sunday by PA Presidential Secretary Taib Abdel-Rahim-underscoring the right of return — was reported in detail throughout the day.

VOP continues to feature in detail the deaths and funerals of the martyrs, giving much detail to Palestinian wounded as well. In addition, the theme of economic and medical deprivation is appearing regularly in the statements of PA officials.

Quote of the Day

“A responsible Palestinian source issued the following statement last night: ‘In a premeditated and planned escalation, the Israeli occupation army and a group of settlers opened fire with their weapons on tens of worshipers in the town of Husan in the Bethlehem region. As the townspeople gathered for the evening prayers, the hate-filled settlers, under the protection of the Occupation Army, began laying siege to the place and opening live fire in a deliberate attempt to murder the all the worshipers, causing various injury to thirty citizens, some of them serious. And when the ambulances attempted to transport the wounded, the settlers and the soldiers prevented their transport directly to hospitals in and Bethlehem and Beit Jallah.

The cold-blooded and despicable shooting of worshipers recalls the massacre committed by settlers under the protection of the Occupation Army in the holy Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in the holy month of Ramadan in 1993. We turn to world opinion and to all parties for the need to give us protection from the aggression of settlers and the Occupation Army. We hold the Israeli government completely responsible for this criminal act of invasion which represents a dangerous escalation in a crazy attempt to repress our steadfast people.

But our people, after this aggression, will not be cowed…and it asserts that it will cling to its heroic intifada and to its firm national goals.’

That is the text of the state by a responsible Palestinian source in the wake of events in the town of Husan.”

(Note: the statement was in effect the equivalent of an official PA cabinet communique.)

Note on coverage: VOP has not reported any of the attacks on Israeli neighborhoods or communities in Giloh, Pesagot or Hebron. Interestingly, neither VOP nor Israel state radio reported what IDF radio reported monday morning, the Palestinian attempt to conquer the tomb of Rachel on Sunday night in a three-pronged attack

Notable and Noteworthy

“They think they will overcome us village by village, town by town. We will not let them. If they overtake a village, we will open up fronts on them from every quarter….We will confront them no matter what the results….This is like what happened yesterday in Aida Camp and Gaza Camp and Husan. The citizens stood up to their tanks with only their flesh…We will fight them no matter what the losses to achieve our national dreams and our national goals.” (From Interview, 8:15 a.m., with Salah Ta’amari, senior PLO official in Bethlehem, and PA legislator.)

Morning Headlines 8/9 a.m.

  • A reliable source holds Israel responsible for the great crime committed in Husan;
  • Israelis attack Aida Refugee Camp with heavy helicopter fire;
  • Beit Jallah, Hebron and Al-Bireh attacked heavily overnight;
  • President Arafat meets with Sheikh Hamad Ibn Khalifa of Qatar;
  • Major battles in Husan, and responsible sources say Israel will be held responsible for wounding tens of our citizens;
  • Settlers increase their aggression against our citizens.

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