Terrorists late Monday night attempted to blow up an Israeli
Navy vessel with a booby-trapped boat. There were no
injuries to the Navy personnel and no damage was caused.
Reports continued that attacks and bombs are expected all
over Israel, including the northern border and in the major
cities. Security forces and private citizens are all on the
alert for suspicious objects.
Shooting continued throughout the territories, especially in
Hebron. Nonetheless, the Arab riots are not a daily presence
in the life of most Israelis, except in news reports.
The Navy's Dabur-type vessel was off the coast of Rafiah,
when a fishing vessel approached it in a manner reminiscent
of the bombing of a U.S. ship off Yemen a month ago. The
boat exploded too far from the Israeli vessel to do any
damage.
Meanwhile IDF troops are on full alert along the northern
border amid warnings that Hizbullah is planning a major
attack in the Mount Dov region, following a reported
explosion near Baalbek in the northern section of Lebanon's
Bekaa Valley which damaged a Hizbullah command post in that
region.
The reports said the blast took place in Nahbicheet, near
Baalbek, at the home of Hussein Musawi, head of the
Hizbullah-affiliated Islamic Amal group which broke away
from the more secular mainstream Amal movement many years
ago. Musawi is believed to be a leading Hizbullah bomb-
maker. According to the reports, there was no one in the
building at the time of the explosion.
Also on Monday there was an infiltration from across the
Syrian border of a man who apparently intended to carry out
a terror attack in the region. He was caught after a nine
hour chase. It was the first attack from Syria in many
years.
Prime Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset Foreign Affairs
and Defense Committee that Hizbullah is also planning to
attack Israeli targets in a third country.
Despite the agreement between Regional Cooperation Minister
Shimon Peres and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser
Arafat to a cease-fire, Prime Minister Ehud Barak said that
nothing much has changed on the ground.
"We see a certain effort by Chairman Arafat to calm things,
but the results clearly show that there is not a real
decrease in the violence," Barak told reporters after his
appearance before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense
Committee. "This means that the Sharm [e-Sheikh]
understandings are not being implemented by the other side,
and that is a grave and perplexing violation of the
understandings."
Barak said he continues to believe that Arafat can end the
violence, even if not immediately. "I would almost say that
in the event that he is unable [to control the violence],
and he has no control over what is taking place on the
ground, that places a question mark on the value of
discussions with him as a partner to an agreement."
He added that Israel is opposed to bringing an international
observer force into the territories. This idea is expected
to be dealt with at a closed-door UN Security Council
meeting on the Middle East scheduled for Wednesday. In
addition, Arafat is expected to raise the idea in his
scheduled talks with President Bill Clinton in Washington on
Thursday.
"The placement of forces or international observers cannot
contribute to a solution of the conflict and a decrease of
violence, and may in fact contribute to more complications,"
Barak said.
International observers have been disappointed with the
effectiveness of international forces. They proven unable to
really stop violence, and are useful only when there is an
agreement between the parties that must be supervised, such
as between Israel and Egypt.
Observers said that Arafat wants the international force
between the PA and Israel so that he can have effective
borders without signing any agreements. The presence of such
a force would effectively mark his territory and hamper
Israel's ability to respond to Palestinian moves.
Arrangments are going ahead for an investigative committee
composed of prominent Israelis to look into the violence
among Israeli Arabs and the government reaction to it.
