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END TIME NEWS P.O. Box 455 Rutherford College, NC 28671 Tel/Fax (828) 874-0987 November - 2000 Edition JERUSALEM - A CUP OF TREMBLING USA Today - Jerusalem. For the third time in a day, a news bulletin interrupted the Arabic music on the Voice of Palestine radio: Israeli jets had just bombed the West Bank town of Bethlehem, the report said. "The Israeli criminals have fired missiles into the homes of innocent Palestinians," a breathless correspondent said. "Palestinian blood is flowing in the streets! Oh God, God, how can the criminals kill our innocent children?" A trip to the town immediately after the report, however, found no evidence of an attack. An hour earlier, another breathless Voice of Palestine correspondent had reported that the West Bank town of Hebron was "under siege" by armed Jewish settlers who were "shooting Palestinian women and children." A visit to Hebron found calm and quiet there, too. Same thing in the West Bank town of Nablus where the PLO reported that Israeli troops were "burning homes." No such thing, residents there said. Despite Israeli demands that it stop inciting the public, the Voice of Palestine radio, controlled by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, is delivering a daily diet of news, commentary and propaganda aimed at rallying the Palestinian masses into a confrontation with Israel. Nationalistic songs, anti-Israeli commentary and flowery tributes to Palestinians killed in clashes with Israelis are being broadcast around the clock, and they appear to be more popular than ever. "Jerusalem will be our capital. We will fight until the end," a Voice of Palestine commentator said earlier this week. "No more negotiations. Just give us our guns." Palestinian officials say me news service is simply keeping its people informed and getting the Palestinian message out to the world. Illey also insist that their reports are factual, despite the discrepancies. The journalists and technicians at the "Voice of Palestine" view their work as part of their struggle for a Palestinian homeland, "With my task here, I feel I complete the work of those who throw the stones," says tape editor Mahi Adwan. Soon after she spoke the station broadcast another bulletin. "Palestinian people; Our war is about to begin." (End quote}. THE BATTLE FOR THE TEMPLE MOUNT Recent clashes in Israel between Palestinians and Israeli troops have resulted in over 150 deaths in the most violent clashes in years. The Palestinians say the violence was sparked by Sharon's presence on a plateau known by Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif; on which are located the al-Aqsa mosque, Islam's third-holiest shrine, and the Dome of the Rock mosque, Jews know the region as me Temple Mount, on which stood the First and Second Temples in Biblical times. Unfortunately, both revere the same site. It seems quite ironic that the Moslem's most holy shrines for Islam are in Mecca and Medina. Jerusalem ranks a distant third. But, Judaism ranks the Temple Mount first because it is the most holy place on all the earth to the Jews. Doesn't it seem ironic that a high ranking Jewish official is not allowed to even enter the ancient temple precincts, the most holy site to all of Judaism, yet the Moslems can go there freely. Page 2 |
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