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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2002)
Monday, July 1, 2002 INTKRNATIOY Ag THE BATTALlJ Israel kills suspected Hamas leader, begins construction on electronic fence in Jerusalem 111 IT JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli tank shelled a house in the West Bank city of Nablus on Sunday, killing a sus pected Hamas bombmaker whose work is blamed for the deaths of at least 100 Israelis in suicide bombings. Israel also started building a tower ing electronic fence that will protect three sides of Jerusalem against Palestinian attacks. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said on a visit to the area Sunday. “I am happy that ... we have started with the project,” said Ben-Eliezer, who is also overseeing other security operations: the army’s occupation of seven Palestinian cities and towns in the West Bank, and the dismantling of illegal, isolated Jewish settlements that are difficult for the army to defend. In the assault in Nablus, the army said special forces killed Mohammed Tahir, described as a local leader of the militant Islamic Hamas movement. His attacks included the June 18 bombing of a Jerusalem bus that killed 19 and the June 1, 2001, attack on a Tel Aviv disco that killed 2 1, the army said. Palestinians described Tahir as one of the leading bombmakers in the Hamas military wing, Izzadine al Qassam. A Tahir aide was also killed and another Hamas activist was seri ously wounded, the army said. The Jerusalem fence, which will stretch 30 miles, is similar to one that will separate part of the West Bank from Israel further to the northwest. Construction on that fence began earli er this month, part of a larger plan to construct barriers that will completely separate Israel from the West Bank — a distance of about 215 miles. Israel will first build the fence — at some points about 15 feet high — at the city’s northern and southern ends, which should take about three months, said Amos Yaron, director general of the Defense Ministry. Later it will build the barrier along the city's east side. Palestinians want east Jerusalem lor a capital of a future state, and they oppose fencing off the city from the West Bank. Roadblocks already have made it difficult for Palestinians to visit Jerusalem since violence began in September 2000. Palestinian attackers have launched frequent attacks in the area. Gunmen have fired from the West Bank at Gilo, a nearby Jewish neighborhood built on land Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. Jerusalem has been hit harder than any other Israeli city during the Palestinian uprising, and security forces have set up barricades to keep West Bank Palestinians from reaching Jerusalem. Since the beginning of 2002, 63 Israelis and foreigners have been killed in bombings, shootings and stabbings in Jerusalem. The army on Sunday oversaw the evacuation of two tiny, unauthorized outposts tor Jewish settlers in the southern West Bank, army radio report ed. Ben-Eliezer said other illegal settle ments would also be demolished. Israeli officials said settlers were coop erating with the actions. Near the Beit Haggai settlement, two families living in one caravan were evacuated, according to a security guard at the settlement who spoke on condition of anonymity. The caravan was about a half-mile away from Beit Haggai. but guards did not allow journalists from The Associated Press to approach. The second illegal outpost was out side the settlement of Maaleh Hever, army radio said. “Israel will close illegal settlements in the West Bank that are built without permission,” said Arthur Lenk. spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. Peace Now, an Israeli group opposed to the settlements, said about 40 illegal outposts have been e>i fished since Prime Minister A: Sharon came to power last year, has been a leading proponent of set ments for decades. Most unauthorized outposts coc only of a few trailers set on WestB; hilltops, and critics say the need defend them places too greatabti on the army and damages the pros] of an eventual deal with Palestinians. Israel has almost 150 govern! authorized settlements in the Bank and the Gaza Strip, w here a 210.000 Israelis live. Settler groups claim that the outposts are merely extensions existing settlements and that rentes them would be a “reward" Palestinian terrorism. Palestinians want all settleme evacuated and claim all of the l Bank and the Gaza Strip forak Palestinian state. This is o today in Cameron Reynolds Attorney At Law Licensed by the Texas Supreme Court Not Board Certified Class of‘91 Jim James Attorney At Law Board Certified Criminal Law Class of‘75 V SPECIALIZING IN THE DEFENSE OF CRIMINAL CHARGES INCLUDING: ¥ Driving While Intoxicated ¥A11 Alcohol and Drug Offenses ¥A11 other Criminal Offenses 979-846-1934 e-mail: jim@tca.net website: http://jimwjames.wld.com J 1 U.S. building up forces at obscure but critical air base in Qatar desert m ABflQBS WOLF PEN CREEK A Perfect Place to Call Home Located in the prestigious Wolf Pen Creek area. You’ll appreciate the easy access to Highway 6, Texas A&M, shopping, dining, and entertainment. Our goal is to provide quality housing and we regard service as the foundation of our business. Full Size Washer/Dryer Microwaves Covered Parking Patios/French Doors Balcony Storage Nine Feet Ceilings Intrusion Alarm Ceiling Fan Business & Fitness Center Sand Volleyball Court Waterscaped Pool Conveniently Located 301 Holleman Drive E College Station, TX (979) 694-5100 0 0 <*» & Lease SPECIAL! No application AL-UDEID AIR BASE, Qatar (AP) — If President Bush ordered airstrikes on Iraq, this vast, remote and little-pub licized base in the central Persian Gulf would be a critical hub for U.S. warplanes and their aerial pipeline of bombs and supplies. The government of Qatar is spending millions of dollars to expand al-Udeid. Over the past months, the U.S. military quiet ly has moved munitions, equip ment and communications gear to the base from Saudi Arabia, the Control center for American air operations in the Gulf for more than a decade. About 3,300 American troops are in Qatar, mostly at al- Udeid. The base is an isolated outpost amid a flat, seemingly endless stretch of scrubby desert about 20 miles from Doha, Qatar’s capital. Signs of an American mili tary buildup are unmistakable: • A tent city has sprouted, along with huge, air-conditioned warehouses and miles of securi ty barriers that attest to the U.S. military’s sharpened focus on protecting troops against terror ist attack. • Freshly paved runways and aircraft parking ramps stretch deep into the desert. Al-Udeid’s main, 15,000-foot runway is the longest in the region and can handle the largest Air Force transport planes. • Newly built hangars for fighter aircraft are hardened to withstand aerial attack. Within view from the main runway are dozens of hardened bunkers, presumably for storage of muni tions and supplies. “It is likely the most capable base in the Gulf region,” said William Arkin, a private military analyst. In a sign of al-Udeid’s impor tance to the Bush administra tion, Vice President Dick Cheney visited the base in March and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld stopped to see the troops in June. Al-Udeid is by no means the only important U.S. military base in the Gulf area. Nearly 10,000 U.S. Army soldiers are at Camp Doha in Kuwait and an additional 4,200 troops are in Bahrain, headquarters for the Navy’s 5th Fleet. Several thou sand are in Saudi Arabia and a few thousand in Oman. Days after the Sept. 1 1 attacks, Qatar granted permis sion for the United States to send a group of warplanes, organized as the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, to al- Udeid. They flew attack mis sions over Afghanistan and were supported by KC-10 and KC-135 refueling aircraft also based at al-Udeid. Al-Udeid also is host to Air Force Red Horse squadrons, rapid-response teams of civil engineers that can repair and build a wide array of structures such as runways and roads in remote areas. They also conduct site surveys, drill wells, erect buildings and organize tent cities for troops. There has been speculation that al-Udeid is being built up as either an alternative to, or replacement for, the Combined Air Operations Center at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have made clear they do not favor an American invasion of Iraq, and it is possible that if Bush went ahead anyway, the Saudis might forbid the use of the air control center at Prince Sultan. U.S. government policy is to achieve “regime change” in Iraq, and President Bush has made clear that this could mean mili tary action to topple President Saddam Hussein. Bush asserts that Saddam is building weapons of mass destruction and cannot be trusted to keep such weapons out of the hands of terrorists. Preparing for war? The United States is quietly moving weapons and equipment from Saudi Arabia to Al-Udeid Air Base, an expanding base in Qatar that is becoming the most capable and important in the Middle East. I IRAQ KUWAITY BAHRAIN 200n o Riyadh m Prince Sultan Air Base SAUDI ARABIA 0 200 km IRAN QATAR U.A.E m Due puters, climate more a< ago.sai state c atmosp Geoscit “Tot is as ac a qua Gamm y Camp As-Sayliyah Dof)a lr * Camp ' Snoopy •AlWAiah IK Persia nGull / ! SOURCES: Associated Press; Globalsecurity Bush has not ruled out ordering pre-emptive strikes to eliminate the Iraqi threat. Gen. Tommy Franks, com mander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, said this year he had no plans to move the air control center. But he added, “That does not mean that I don’t have plans to replicate it.” He also said early in the org CLEN fesider oack ini Afghanistan war that he School ^ considering moving his 'T 11 Command headquarters JJis,on Tampa, Fla., to Qatar, aUho^Jnt fi he eventually chose not 00 Cl Qatar is small-rougW ^c as size of Connecticut hor« a' 16 location on the western s > . ^ ye; of the Gulf, bordering t , S |:Bnli CP t Arabia, make it well sui - air operations against Iraq- The Ridge Manager’s Gone Ape Swing on over for a wet and wild pool party Every Tuesday throughout July w/ food provided by New York Subs DJ and music: Reef, SOHO Lounge,The Library Check out our 2 bedrooms and the NO security deposit special! Win a FREE trip to Jamaica by signing up at the pool www.collegepark.org 694-4100 Pakistan appeals for publiepr help to catch bin Laden KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan denounced Osama bin Laden and his top aides as “dangerous religious terrorists” Sunday and called for public help in hunting them down, five days after its first battlefield casualties in the fight against al-Qaida fugitives. Authorities did not cite any evidence that bin Laden is in Pakistan, but the rare public appeal came as Pakistani troops were scouring a remote region on the Afghan border, searching for dozens of al-Qaida fighters after a firefight Wednesday that left 10 soldiers dead. J The call comes amid a widening crackdown on domestic extremists as part of FBI-assisted investi gations into two recent deadly bombings and the kid nap-slaying earlier this year of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl m Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city which is considered a hub of militant activity^ m J ? three-page statement from the I me,for Ministry bears photographs of bin Laden his cine deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and 17 other al- Qatda figures under the rubric: “Dangerous Religious Terrorists.” . igi “Those who kill innocent Pakistani 1^°^^ the enemy of peace and country,” said tfie J language statement. “Their purpose is te and destruction. Their religion is only tel1 ^ Terrorism is not jihad. Support the Pakista ; ernment against terrorism.” T S j| The statement quotes in Arabic f rolT1 .! holy book, the Quran, and urges people w ^ mation about terrorists to contact police : w ,1 treat sources and information as confide 11 reward money was offered. The appeal jffl in at least one Urdu-language newspaper in “1 though not papers in the capital, Islarriaba • In Pakistan’s rugged North West J Province, more than 3,000 Pakistani pressed ahead with door-to-door se ^ rC k j n g| manned vehicle checkpoints Sunday, 1°° j about 40 al-Qaida suspects who e ^.|| a ^i Wednesday’s four-hour clash near Wana ,■» about 190 miles west of Islamabad. At people have been detained so far.
