The government of Israel said Tuesday it had approved the building
of a new neighborhood in the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Sefer in
the Palestinian West Bank. It will comprise 1,806 housing units.
In response, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat told a
session of the Palestinian legislature, "What happened concerning
continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership
means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian
people."
In a separate incident enraged Palestinians marched in
Jerusalem on Tuesday and staged a two-hour general strike following
the destruction of a building which they said housed a community
center. Israeli authorities had moved a bulldozer over the ancient
wall of the old city and flattened the building in the middle of
the night.
"The Israelis are sending a very clear message to the
Palestinians that we do not want peace with you," said Mr. Ahmad
Qorai (Abu Alaa), speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Shawgi Tell
University at Buffalo
Graduate School of Education
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
