-Caveat Lector- Mideast Residents Talk About War http://www.worldnews.com/?action=display&article=4088610&template=worldnews/ search.txt&index=recent The Associated Press, Mon 23 Oct 2000 AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — With Middle East peace talks at a standstill, frustrated Palestinians in exile said Monday that the only way forward is to fight. ``I can sell my house and my belongings, have my 11 children fight and die as martyrs in the war for the sake of liberating Palestine from the Jews,'' said Walid al-Khatib, a 62-year-old Palestinian. ``What's more precious than our homeland?'' asked al-Khatib, who took refuge in Amman's Hussein Camp after fleeing the West Bank town of Hebron during the 1967 Middle East war. In the past three weeks, thousands of demonstrators in Egypt, Syria, Iran, Jordan and elsewhere across the Arab world have called for jihad, or holy war, against Israel. The calls came as frustration soared because of the faltering Middle East peace process, a sense that Arab leaders lack the will for firm action and Israel's call for a ``timeout'' in negotiations. ``The Jews never wanted peace,'' Karima Abdul-Rahim, 65, said with a sigh. ``We lived for 52 years without peace and we can live another 52 years without it,'' Abdul-Rahim said as she picked olives from a tree in her back yard. She originally was from Ramleh in what is now Israel proper. Across the street, shopkeeper Jihad Abu el-Samen, 56, said Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak ``is playing games'' with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and other Arab leaders. ``Barak's 'timeout' means he doesn't want peace,'' he said. ``If he doesn't want peace, then he wants war. And we tell him we want war, too, because the Jews only understand the language of force.'' Barak told his Cabinet the continuation of violence that erupted Sept. 28 between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli security forces made it necessary for his government to take a ``timeout'' from the peace negotiations to assess the situation. An emergency Arab summit meeting Saturday and Sunday in Egypt held Israel responsible for the deadly violence. Leaders urged international intervention but did not require Arab governments that have made peace with Israel to sever their relations with the Jewish state. Foreign Minister Abdul-Illah Khatib said Jordan, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, will not cut ties with its neighbor. ``The peace doesn't need more blows,'' he said. Prime Minister Ali Abu-Ragheb told reporters that Barak's timeout declaration was ``unacceptable and lacks logic.'' Instead, Barak should return to the negotiating table, he added. At Hussein camp — one of 13 camps in Jordan sheltering more than 1.57 million Palestinian refugees — people blamed Arab leaders for what they described as Barak's ``defiance.'' ``It was a slap in the face of all Arab leaders, who have no guts to stand up and tell the criminal Barak, 'We want to cut ties with you,''' said Yousef Attallah, 26, from Lod in what is now Israel. Nidal Zahrawi, 29, a construction worker from the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, said ``Arab people should unite, defy their leaders and fight Israel.'' Both men's families fled to Jordan during the 1967 war. Zahrawi's co-worker, Mahmoud Taha, 32, from Hebron, nodded his head. But when asked if he would fight Israel if war were declared soon, he said: ``It doesn't have to be now.'' ``The Muslims will prevail in a war against the Jews, but not now. Maybe in the next generation or the one after,'' he said. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
