Jerusalem today

http://www.jpost.com/


Israel launches reprisal attacks on PA

By Margot Dudkevitch and Arieh O'Sullivan

JERUSALEM (October 13) - The IDF warned yesterday that it is poised to
continue attacking Palestinian targets if developments warrant, after attack
helicopters rocketed five Palestinian police sites in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip yesterday in retaliation for the brutal lynching and mutilation of two
IDF reservists in Ramallah. 

The IDF was investigating whether a third soldier also was killed in the
rampage against the soldiers, who made a wrong turn while heading to their
base. The two were identified as Yosef Avrahami of Petah Tikva and Vadim
Novesche of Or Akiva. 

Meanwhile, Lebanese radio and television stations reported last night that
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat is on the verge of unilaterally
declaring an independent Palestinian state. 

The reports quoted Palestinian sources in Lebanon as saying that Arafat is
expected to make the declaration within the next 24 hours. There was no
confirmation from other sources. 

Last night, Fatah called upon Palestinians to volunteer for the
newly-founded Palestinian militias, a Palestinian security source said. 

In Nablus, where helicopters were firing at the police headquarters last
night, people poured into the streets and the police stations to protect
them with their bodies. All prisoners, including those belonging to Hamas
and Islamic Jihad, were released, a Palestinian source said. 

The IAF also fired rockets at the Palestinian officers' school in Jericho in
retaliation for the torching of the Shalom Al Yisrael synagogue there. (See
below) 

"We haven't declared war on the PA. I hope that the PA doesn't want to be in
a full-scale war with us," said OC Operations Maj.-Gen. Giora Eiland. 

Yesterday afternoon, IDF tanks rumbled out of their camps and the army
isolated all West Bank Palestinian towns, preventing the Palestinians from
moving in or out of their areas of control. 

The navy imposed a blockade of Gaza, which is already fenced off. The IDF
denied that its tanks had fired or that it had moved troops into any
Palestinian-controlled areas. Eiland said that some 2,000 men have been
called up for reserve duty during the past two weeks, and that more would be
called if the situation warrants. 

"The steps we took are a message, and not just a symbolic one," he said.
"Rather, they are a clear signal that we can carry out many more and painful
attacks, which we are deployed to do. 

"The next step depends very much on the other side's response. We hope that
the message has been transmitted and we hope that the kind of activities we
carried out today will not be necessary either tonight or in the following
days. But we have to be ready for any development." 

The air force attacked five targets, three in Ramallah and two in Gaza,
including Arafat's seafront compound. 

One IDF rocket struck just 50 meters from Arafat's headquarters while he was
inside, his aides told AP. But both Prime Minister Ehud Barak and the IDF
Spokesman flatly denied that Arafat had been targeted. 

Avrahami and Novesche lost their way en route to the army base at Beit El
yesterday morning and entered Ramallah, where they were attacked and killed
by Palestinian policemen and a frenzied mob at the Palestinian police
station. 

The body of one was later dragged by the mob to Manara Square and burned.
The second, near death, was transferred to the local District Coordinating
Office, where he died. Both bodies were severely mutilated. 

According to initial reports, as the two were taken to the local police
station, rumors spread that they were from an IDF undercover unit, and
within minutes thousands surrounded the police station. Footage showed
Palestinian policemen beating one of them as the mob outside cheered, IDF
officials said. One of the reservists was thrown out of the top window of
the police station to the crowd below. Later their vehicle was torched. 

The IDF last night denied reports that a third soldier had died, apparently
burned to death in the car the soldiers traveled in, despite statements made
by Communications Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who told reporters that
three IDF soldiers had been murdered. Barak said the army is investigating
the possibility that a third soldier may have been killed. 

Arafat spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh condemned the murders, but said that "it
seems the soldiers were part of an Israeli operation" planned inside
Ramallah. He said Arafat had been angered and shocked by the reports of the
murders. 

Arafat adviser Bassam Abu Sharif also said it is very likely that the
soldiers belonged to an undercover unit, but he strongly condemned the
lynching and called upon the Palestinian leadership to restrain the
Palestinian street. He said the street is out of control and its actions are
harming Palestinian interests. 

"The soldiers should have been protected by the police... what happened is
against any military honor," Abu Sharif said. 

Marwan Barghouteh, a senior Tanzim militia leader, also called the brutal
killings "an unbelievable act, which should be condemned by everybody." 

The soldiers' bodies were transferred to the L. Greenberg Institute for
Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir, where officials waited to receive
authorization from the families to carry out autopsies. 

The Cobra helicopter attack on the police station where the lynching took
place began at 2:55 p.m. At about 4:30, the PA radio station, which for
weeks had called on the armed Tanzim and public to attack Israeli civilians
and security forces, was targeted. It was followed by attacks on the parking
lot of another local police station and additional targets. 

Palestinians claimed that 14 were wounded in Ramallah, including two Italian
journalists, and four in Gaza. In Gaza, helicopters blasted three
Palestinian gunships, the headquarters of Force 17 - Arafat's personal guard
- and a floor of the building of the police station used by the Tanzim.
Helicopters also hit additional targets in both areas, but the IDF refused
to divulge details. 

A smiling, defiant Arafat was cheered by hundreds of Palestinians as he
toured the Gaza sites hit by rockets. 

"Our people don't care, and don't hesitate to continue their march to
Jerusalem, the capital of the independent Palestinian state," he said. 

Arafat's whereabouts later in the day were unclear, and it was rumored that
he had gone to a secret underground headquarters. 

The IDF Spokesman flatly denied statements made by Gaza security chief
Mohammed Dahlan, who claimed that IDF soldiers were entering the Gaza Strip
and areas in the West Bank. 

Last night two Israeli civilians were lightly wounded after stones were
thrown at their car near Betar Illit. The two were transferred to
Hadassah-University Hospital, Ein Kerem. 

Shots were fired at the DCO in Tulkarm, where troops returned fire. No
injuries were reported. The IDF deployed attack helicopters near Ariel and
Hebron after heavy exchanges of shots were reported in both areas. The IDF
spokesman said the helicopters fired into open areas as a warning to the
Palestinians. 

Security forces have warned Jewish civilians to refrain from traveling on
roads in the West Bank at night, fearing they may come under fire. 
Arno Tausch, Vienna


Earlier, shots were fired at troops near Adam, but no injuries were
reported. An Israeli civilian suffered light injuries after stones were
thrown at his car near El Aroub. 

In the Gaza Strip last night, firebombs were thrown at the hothouses of
Ganei Tal, setting one of them ablaze. IDF troops fired rubber bullets at
the arsonists. 

A Channel 2 cameraman was lightly wounded by a ricochet bullet after the
crew was caught in the crossfire when Palestinians opened fire at an IDF
post near the Gush Katif junction. The IDF Spokesman said that the crew was
taken into the IDF post until calm was restored. 

David Rudge and Lamia Lahoud contributed to this report.


http://www.sabeel.org/theology/


The Declaration of Principles And Its Implications
A Palestinian Christian Perspective


On September 13, 1993, the eyes of the world were focused on Washington, D .
C ., where the signing of a document and a handshake between Yasser Arafat
and Yitzak Rabin took place. The sudden escalation in the negotiations
between the Palestinian people and the state of Israel (this round held
secretly in Norway) came as a surprise to many, Palestinians and Israelis
included. The months following this Agreement were filled with much
excitement, anxiety and speculation as everyone wondered what the next steps
would be, and how the Agreement would be implemented. Hope, however, fell
away as daily life under occupation did not change. The closure of the West
Bank and Gaza persisted, violence continued and prisoners remained in jail.
Despite the disappointment and mounting fears, many people remained
stubbornly committed to making the Agreement work. 
However, as dramatically as one date, September 13, could change things so
did another, February 25. Since the day of the massacre of 29 Palestinians
(this is one figure but other sources quote over 40 Palestinians killed) in
the sanctuary of Al-Haram el Ibrahimi (the Mosque of Abraham) in Hebron, the
situation has erupted like a volcano. Not knowing what the future holds, one
remains gripped in the devastating reality of the present. Violence has
escalated, and since the massacre another 86 people have been killed - 64
Palestinians and 22 Israelis. Strict curfews have been imposed on
Palestinians and their daily schedules disrupted. In this issue, we have
included the article on page 8 that presents a theological reflection on the
massacre itself. But what about the future of the Agreement? Does this
monumental event simply fade away? We hope that the answer is no, and there
are several reasons for our continued hope. 

For many Palestinians, the significance of September 13 is not primarily the
Agreement itself, but rather the handshake that took place between Arafat
and Rabin. In general, many people think that the document is a bad deal for
Palestinians. Many feel that Palestinians were negotiating from a weak
position which is reflected in this Agreement: it is a framework with major
loopholes that offers no direct commitment for a Palestinian State, no
freeze of settlements and no end to occupation. However, the act of mutual
recognition that took place as part of the Agreement irreversibly binds the
Palestinians and Israelis in a new set of rules, within a new reality where
each group now has a stake in the security, protection and economic
prosperity of the other. This can be seen as a paradigm shift from a
situation of a zero sum game where one always loses when the other gains to
a situation of mutual gain and loss. Both parties have to adjust and deal
with these facts. If the paradigm shift is able to take hold and Israel acts
on its obligation for mutual security, then the Agreement will have a
chance. 
If the Palestinian people feel assured of their rights, then they will be
able to transform and translate the principles of the September Agreement
and the recent Gaza-Jericho Agreement of Autonomy signed on May 4th, into
tangible facts and actual practice. We can begin to live in the spirit of
peace and harmony. We can work towards a true democracy. We hope that
eventually all restrictions will be removed, all prisoners will be released
and there will be an end to occupation. For the sake of our future we must
retain this vision. "When there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs
29:18, KJV). As Christians, our faith in justice and peace puts us in the
midst of the fight as spearheads; we have to be at the forefront of
transforming the quality of life. 


What is Palestinian Liberation Theology?
Liberation Theology was a term that was created in the middle decades of
this century to describe the attempt by Latin American theologians to make
the Gospel of Jesus Christ relevant to the social, economic and political
situation in which many people in Latin America find themselves. In a direct
challenge to the existing situation where the established churches used
Christian Doctrine to bolster and support oppressive regimes, these
theologians embarked upon an interpretation of the scriptures which found in
the words and deeds of Jesus Christ a wealth of positive, relevant, and
liberating doctrines and ideas that were indeed "Good News" for the poor,
oppressed people of Latin America. 
One of the principle objectives of Liberation Theology is to proclaim the
relevance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has to be reread and
reinterpreted to make it relevant, refreshing, and liberating to the
oppressed people living under specific circumstances in a particular
geographic location at a particular point in history. This model was later
followed by Liberation Theologians in other parts of the world, notably
South Africa where black and other theologians offered a powerful
theological critic of the Apartheid regime and pointed the way to a
Christian response that is neither passive nor quiescent to the status quo. 
Within the Palestinian context, the need for a unique Liberation Theology
that is relevant and responsive to the needs of the Palestinian population
was heightened by the fact that much of their oppression has a distinctly
misinterpreted theological basis. Christian Zionism has been successful in
providing not only theological justification for Palestinian displacement,
forced exile and continued oppression, but also is directly responsible for
marshalling material resources to the Israelis. 
In this context, it was necessary for the local Palestinian Church to
respond to the challenges before it: the concrete material and political
situation of oppression, deprivations, human rights violations and daily
violence. It desired to provide a theological perspective for a population
that was in revolt against this oppression. 
In addition, Palestinian theologians needed to make a larger contribution to
the ongiong ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. 
From this perspective, which is rarely fully understood by the dominant
Christian Churches, Palestinians had to face the formidable task of
formulating and disseminating their understanding of Christianity and the
Gospel of Christ within the context of the lives of Palestinian Christians
today. 
To meet this formidable task, individuals interested in Palestinian
Liberation Theology needed to address a wide variety of theological issues
that have implications far beyond the limited political and socioeconomic
situation in which they find themselves. This also has ramifications for
Christians living in other parts of the world. 
The fundamental issues addressed by Palestinian Liberation Theology include
the following: 
1. The Nature of God
In the heart of the birth place of the three monotheistic religions, it is
important to affirm the universal, non-exclusive nature of God. Some
theologies and practices are clearly exclusive, racist, and discriminatory
towards one group or another. In the face of this reality, one aspect of
Palestinian Liberation Theology is to explore God's nature, universality and
love for all people and individuals and to assert a theological basis for
the rejection of all forms of racism and discrimination without exception. 
2. The Concept of Choseness
Palestinian Liberation Theologians have to deal with the claim that the Jews
are a chosen people and have special status entitling them to specific
political and economic as well as social and religious rights which are
denied to others including Palestinian Christians. Palestinian Christians
believe and assert that in Christ there is neither Jew nor gentile. 
3. The Importance of Land
Land has been a central issue in the conflict in the Middle East.
Theological arguments have been presented by various groups in order to lay
claim to the land. Palestinian Liberation Theology studies the theological
foundations to these arguments and offers a theological understanding and
position based on justice. 
4. Issues of Nationalism, Peoplehood, Self Determination, and Universalism
For an oppressed people whose self determination has been denied and whose
very existence has been challenged, these issues have a special role. At the
same time, many Palestinians are not unaware of the dangers of falling into
a narrow and chauvinistic nationalism. 
5. Issues of Social Justice
Palestinian Liberation Theology addresses a wide variety of social justice
issues including economic justice, human rights, justice for women and the
environment. 
6. Issues of ecumenism and relationship between the different denominations
as well as between the hierarchy of the churches and the masses of
believers. 
7. Issues of War and Peace, and Non-violence
Palestinian Liberation Theology addresses the day to day reality of
Palestinians who have been living under an occupation that destroyed homes,
confiscated lands, killed and jailed children, and closed institutions. As
the possibility for peace becomes more real each day, Palestinian Christians
need to see in their faith a source of courage and strength and vision for a
better future. 
This is the task of Liberation Theology. Palestinian Liberation Theologians
follow the theological premise that if we preach the entire Gospel except
for that portion of it which is relevant to the particular time and place
and people we are speaking to, then we have not preached the Gospel at all.
In this sense, it is the task of Palestinian Liberation Theology to truly
preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Palestinian context. Nothing more,
and nothing less. 



Arno Tausch, Vienna