RELATED MIDEAST NEWS
The Associated Press — Sep 28th, 2002
Palestinians defy Israeli curfews, march on anniversary of uprising
JERUSALEM -- Defying curfews, hundreds of Palestinians marched in West Bank cities Friday, marking the second anniversary of their uprising against Israel and its increasingly tight grip on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
With Yasser Arafat still under siege at his largely destroyed headquarters, another popular Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti, said in a message from an Israeli prison that the fighting will continue.
"The third year of the uprising will see the occupation collapse," Barghouti said in written comments carried out of an Israeli jail by his lawyer. "This is the year in which the occupation should become an expensive project for the occupiers on all levels."
At a rally in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at youths who threw rocks, but a larger group of demonstrators peacefully beat drums and chanted anti-Israel slogans.
Despite the curfews, about 500 people, many of them waving Palestinian flags, marched in Nablus and 200 others in the nearby Balata refugee camp to commemorate the start of the uprising and to express support for Arafat. Hundreds also gathered in Bethlehem, one of only two major West Bank towns not under curfew.
Palestinian factions said they would keep their gunmen away from the anniversary demonstrations and there was a festive atmosphere among most of the 600 demonstrators in Ramallah, who sang, beat drums and brought children -- a contrast to the bitter tone of earlier protests.
The uprising erupted on Sept. 28, 2000, when Israel's then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon visited the most-disputed site in Jerusalem, known as the Temple Mount to Jews and Haram as-Sharif to Palestinians.
Israel: Lebanese guerrillas plan to thwart U.S. strike on Iraq
JERUSALEM -- Iran has been supplying Lebanese guerrillas with thousands of missiles for an attack on Israel that would apparently be timed to disrupt a possible U.S. strike on Iraq, a senior Israeli official said Friday.
The missiles, as well as several hundred Iranian Revolutionary Guards, have reached the Hezbollah militia unhindered through Syrian airports and roads, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Syria is the main power broker in Lebanon.
The Lebanese government dismissed the Israeli reports as propaganda aimed at discrediting Lebanon. Residents on the Lebanese side of the border said they've seen no evidence that Hezbollah is preparing for war, and a Western diplomat said there were no signs the guerrilla group was stockpiling weapons.
Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said earlier this year at the United Nations that Iran has supplied Hezbollah with 10,000 rockets with ranges of 13 miles to 44 miles.
Israeli military and diplomatic officials said Hezbollah apparently was planning to strike Israel to prevent or disrupt a possible U.S. attack on Iraq, but could not provide specifics on the Iranian support.
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