World Tribune.com

Terror attacks send shock waves through Middle East

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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