Chicago, IL, March 3, 1996 (ENN)--An already fragile Middle-East peace agreement may be about to unravel in the wake of the third bus bombing in Jerusalem in the last eight days. Nineteen (19) people died Sunday morning at 06:27a.m.(Israeli time) as the #18 bus disintegrated into a mass of flames and flying metal. As many as fifteen (15) others were wounded, several critically.
The blast occurred very near the Central Jerusalem bus station, at almost the same time and place as a previous devastating explosion that occurred the proceeding Sunday morning. That attack and another concurrent bombing at a favorite Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) hitchhiking spot took the lives of 28 Israelis. Experts say that today's bomb may have been even larger than the two that were described by eyewitnesses as being "massive".
Prime Minister Shimon Peres reportedly came to blast site within a short time after the explosion, but left within a few minutes. Bystanders report that upon his arrival he was greeted by shouts and jeers of, "Peres get out", "Peres...Resign", and "Death to Arabs". According to Jerusalem police sources, large spontaneous demonstrations began at the blast site and several other locations within Israel. The SNS Israeli News Service, an ENN Affiliate, reports that the tension and anxiety on the streets of Israel is "unprecedented"...even considering the history of past attacks and bombings.
In the wake of this latest atrocity, Israeli President Ezer Weizman has called for an immediate and total cessation of talks with PLO Chairman Yasar Arafat. He also pleaded that the country remain calm and not engage in counter-productive behavior, even though he is aware of their anguish and concern about additional security threats. Weizman was also quoted by the Israeli press as saying, "We are at War with Hamas" and "must all exercise restraint at this most sensitive time."
According to ERRI analysts, both Prime Minister Peres and PLO Chairman Arafat find themselves in a precarious position following this latest bombing. Peres, who faces an election shortly, is faced with the prospect of attempting to continue a potentially unpopular peace process with the Palestinians, while solving continuing interior security problems. Arafat is being charged by the Israelis with disarming and arresting Islamic extremists, who have constituted part of his power base on the West Bank and Gaza, from which he ascended to his current position of power. To make matter worse, both Israeli and Palestinian splinter groups desire to end the peace process entirely.
In the past week, Hamas and its militant Izzadin El Kassim Brigade had offered to participate in a cease-fire with Israeli forces. Unfortunately, they attached conditions to this offer that were deemed politically and ethically unacceptable to Prime Minister Peres and his administration. Hamas offered to stop the attacks if all Palestinian prisoners held by the Israelis were released, and attempts to arrest currently sought Palestinians were stopped. The Hamas proposals were immediately rejected by the Israeli government for two reasons; their policy prohibits direct negotiations with terrorists and they do not wish to undermine whatever leadership role Arafat has been able to assume among Palestinian residents of the Gaza and the West Bank.
All of the parties involved in this conflict know that unless a mutually agreeable settlement is rapidly arranged that even greater violence of one kind or another will inevitably result. Without political resolution, Israel will have little choice but to retaliate by covert means or in an open military response. The Oslo and Washington accords and subsequent agreements will mean little, if extremists are allowed to reign and revenge begets revenge.
Security measures throughout Israel have been vastly increased within the past twelve (12) hours and an additional 800 special commando-trained members of the IDF have been assigned to monitor and secure bus stations and other public gathering places. Intelligence gathering units of both the IDF and the Palestinian Authority are reportedly concentrating on possible assassination threats against Prime Minister Peres and Chairman Arafat.
The beleaguered nation of Israel holds its collective breath as palpable fear and anger spreads through the streets. A nation under siege and assaulted by hostile forces since its very inception, Israel finds itself at a crossroads in its hope for peace. Israeli mothers say that they are afraid to let their children go out and play or ride a bus to a relative's house. Bus stops, highways, schools, and synagogues are under constant threat of possible terrorist attack. So many years of danger, and seemingly so close to a lasting peace, large numbers of both Muslims and Jews deeply hope and pray for an answer to what appears today to be an almost insoluble problem.
(c) Emergencynet NEWS Service, 1996, All rights reserved, except as assigned.
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