Terror attacks send shock waves through Middle East
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SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
CAIRO Ñ The Middle East was shaken by the spate of bombings that
destroyed parts of New York and Washington.
Jordan's King Abdullah cut short his visit to the United States and
returned to Amman. Abdullah was to have held talks with President George
Bush.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak convened his military and security
chiefs for an emergency meeting. Mubarak is expected to cancel a Persian
Gulf tour in wake of the U.S. bombings.
An estimated 60 employees from the Israeli Embassy in Cairo left Egypt
on late Tuesday. The embassy had been under constant threat from Egyptian
militants.
U.S. military installations in Turkey have also been placed on alert.
Turkey also increased its security and military presence along its borders.
Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer cancelled his trip to
Washington to discuss strategic issues. Ben-Eliezer was to have discussed
missile defense cooperation with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
Israel's air force declared an alert for any attempt to enter the
nation's air space. Ben-Eliezer convened senior defense and military
officials to review preparations against a terrorist attack.
Palestinians celebrated Tuesday's bombings. Palestinian Authority
Chairman Yasser Arafat, who cancelled a trip to Syria, condemned the
bombings. But in the streets of the West Bank, young Palestinian revelers
handed out candy while PA officers shot in the air in a celebration of the
attacks.
The largest celebrations were in Nablus and Tulkarm. Palestinians flags
were raised and music was broadcast. Israeli sources said PA officers
stopped the celebrations and threatened television crews against
broadcasting the footage.
Celebrations were also reported in Egypt and Lebanon.
Overnight Wednesday, Israeli troops and tanks entered the West Bank city
of Jenin and blew up a Palestinian security installation. Palestinian
sources said 10 people were killed, including commanders of the Islamic
Jihad and the Palestinian Authority. Jenin was identified as the launching
point of Palestinian suicide bombings against Israel.
The Islamic Kashmir-based group, Lashkari Taiba claimed responsibility
for the U.S. bombings. But diplomatic sources in Washington, Cairo and
London said Saudi billionaire fugitive Osama Bin Laden is believed
responsible for the attacks. Five Arab nationals are said to have been
identified as suspects by U.S. authorities.
The sources said Bin Laden relayed warnings last month of a massive
attack on the United States and that at least one passenger on one of the
hijacked planes was a Bin Laden agent.
Arab television stations broadcast claims by unnamed Palestinian groups
that they were responsible for the attacks in New York and Washington. The
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which was reported to have
participated in the hijackings, denied any involvement.
For its part, Israel offered immediate aid to the United States. This
included participation in intelligence and operational missions as well as
rescue teams to search for survivors in the rubble of the World Trade
Center.
"When you don't have a problem of money and suicide bombers, you can do
this," Israeli Transportation Minister Ephraim Sneh, who was in New York
during the bombings, said.
Arab media commentators in several countries accused Israel of trying to
exploit the U.S. catastrophe. The commentators said Israel would try to use
the attacks to prompt an international backlash against the Palestinians and
Arab world.
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