Nasrallah opens exhibition to honor fallen fighters…(1)

An exhibition honoring 1,280 fighters who died for the resistance was inaugurated by Hizbullah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah Tuesday.
Entitled Men of Glory, the exhibition features large-scale models of the resistance’s accomplishments since its beginning in 1982.
Spread over 6,000 square meters in the Ghobeiri Municipality Garden, the exhibition, organized by Hizbullah’s central information office, also presents art works by Arab painters under the theme of the Sacrifices of Resistance Fighters for Lebanon.
The exhibition’s entrance is a memorial strewn with flowers for people to use in prayers for the souls of the fighters. Next lies a model of a village that was deserted after being subject to constant attacks by “Israel”. Along with it is the model of a mother clutching her son’s bloody body.
One of Hizbullah’s military achievements, the storming of the Sojod post in 1998, is also depicted, with the model of a fighter carrying the Hizbullah flag and planting it on top of the former “Israeli” post.
Ahmad Qasir was the first resistance fighter to stage a martyrdom operation against the “Israelis”, in Tyre in November 1982. His operation, which killed and wounded about 100 “Israelis”, is also depicted.
The date of his operation, Nov. 11, has since been dubbed Martyrs’ Day by Hizbullah and is celebrated annually.
Nasrallah, who toured the exhibition site accompanied by Information Minister Ghazi Aridi, stopped at the model of a former Hizbullah secretary-general, Sayyed Abbas Musawi, who was assassinated by an “Israeli” helicopter in 1992.
The car Musawi was riding in during the assassination, which is usually on display in his Bekaa village of Nabi Sheet, was also brought in for the exhibition.
The head of the party’s central information office, Hajj Mouwafaq Jammal, explained that a team of 80 people planned and set up the exhibition over a period of three months.
Jammal insisted that the only money spent on the exhibition was for materials. Ghobeiri’s municipality offered Hizbullah’s exhibition space for free. “Everyone volunteered for the work.”
Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, and Egyptian artists, upon Hizbullah’s request, also donated their work, which was exhibited in five wings.
One stand displays “Israeli” paraphernalia Hizbullah confiscated following the liberation, including machine guns, bullets, and uniforms.
A painting of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds is set behind bars, and another piece on display shows a drawing of a hand attempting to release it.
The exhibition also allowed people to view the Ghobeiri Municipality Gardens for the first time.
Ghobeiri Mayor Mohammed Said Khansa said he was honored that the first exhibition in the area was of Hizbullah’s war dead. The Hizbullah exhibit will be on display until Nov. 24.

“Israeli” warplanes fly over Lebanon, break sound barrier near Syrian station…(2)

“ “Israeli” warplanes flew over much of Lebanon on Tuesday, breaking the sound barrier over Syria's main area of military control in the country, AFP correspondents reported.

“Israeli” planes flew at high altitude near Sidon, 45 kilometers (30 miles) north to Beirut and broke the sound barrier over Baalbeck.

“Israel” has stepped up flights over Lebanon in the past month after Hizbullah captured three “Israeli” soldiers on border patrol in hopes of swapping them for Arabs detained by “Israel”.

The Jewish state almost completely halted such flights when it withdrew from south Lebanon in May, ending a 22-year occupation.

Timour Goksel, a spokesman for UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, said Thursday that “Israeli” aircraft violated Lebanese airspace 123 times between October 8 and November 8 and that the UN has protested to no avail.

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud has denounced the “Israeli” flights as acts of war.

UN troops clear a third of south Lebanon of mines…(3)

“ United Nations specialist troops have cleared of mines almost one third of the area of southern Lebanon formerly occupied by “Israel”, defusing 1,520 explosive devices, a spokesman said Tuesday.

UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) spokesmam Timour Goksel told AFP that Finnish, Swedish and Ukrainian sappers had cleared 251.64 square kilometres (100.65 square miles) of the 850 square kilometre area held by “Israel” for 22 years.

They had defused 1,255 anti-personnel mines, 10 anti-tank mines and 255 unexploded shells in the region, which “Israeli” forces abandoned in May.

Goksel said the sappers were working both off maps of minefields supplied by the “Israelis” and information from various other sources.

The UN estimates that “Israel” left at least 130,000 mines in southern Lebanon.

Since the “Israelis” withdrew 11 Lebanese civilians have been killed and 53 wounded after triggering mines.

Eight sentenced for working in “Israel”…(4)

A military court sentenced eight people to prison from three weeks to two years on Tuesday for visiting and working in “Israel”.
Five defendants were sentenced in absentia to two years in jail, the court said in a judgment posted on its bulletin board Tuesday. They were also fined LL2 million.
The other three defendants were in custody when the court sentenced them to three weeks in prison for entering “Israel”. They were also fined LL1 million each.
At its session which began late Monday, the court postponed verdicts in the case of a new batch of collaborators.
Since the trials of collaborators began June 5, the court has sentenced more than 1,200 people to jail terms of up to 20 years for collaboration with “Israel” during its occupation.
The military court, whose verdicts cannot be appealed, has acquitted some defendants of collaboration charges.

Five new Palestinian martyrs and more operations against “Israeli” Occupation…(5)

A 15-year-old  Palestinian boy,Saber Idrees, was killed in clashes with “Israeli” soldiers in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He was shot in the chest, hospital sources said .
In khan Younis , around 10,000 mourners marched in a funeral procession for the Palestinian  youths killed on Monday.
"Revenge, Revenge "and "Millions of martyrs are marching towards Al-Quds", they shouted.
Hospital sources said Yahya Abu Shammala, 18, was hit by a bullet in the back which went through his heart and Mohammed al-Taweel, 17, died from a bullet in the chest.
Another Palestinian youth died after being critically wouded in earlier clashes.

Also a 50-year-old Palestinian civilian, Moussa Alayan, was martyred when a group of “Israeli” settlers pitched a big rock on Alayan's car near Askar refugee camp close to Ramallah.

Moreover, Palestinian fighters executed a number of military operations against the “Israeli” occupation in al-Khalil (Hebron), Nablus, and Ariha.

On the other hand, “Israel” is still under shock from the killing of four “Israelis” on Monday and the wounding of eight in qualitative operations executed by Palestinian intifadah fighters. It has been revealed that three of the dead belong to the “Israeli” intelligence "Shabak".

While heads of “Israeli” colonies in West Bank and Gaza strip went on strike in front of Barak's office in Al-Quds in protest of the atmosphere of fear the “Israeli” settlers are living, the Likud party called for the resignation of Barak. The demonstrators said that the security measurements undertook by the “Israeli” authorities are not enough to protect their settlements.

Fatah announces Wednesday a day of  "embodiment of the Independence of the Palestinian people"…(6)

Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction called on Palestinians on Monday to expel “Israelis” from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Al-Quds on November 15, a date symbolizing Palestinian statehood.

Fatah called on Palestinians to ``liberate'' all  areas captured by “Israel” in the 1967 war. Wednesday marks the anniversary of the declaration of Palestinian independence issued in Algeria in 1988.

Fatah called on Palestinians in a written statement to ``take to the streets in order to impose the sovereignty of the Palestinian people...on Palestinian land and to ban the entry of occupation troops and settlers to our cities, mountains and plains.''`These areas will be liberated under Palestinian popular sovereignty,'' the  statement said. ``The people should do that by continuous clashes to  pursue the national sovereignty of the Palestinian state on all Palestinian land.''

 About 200,000 Jewish settlers live in some 140 settlements erected on Palestinian land.
Fatah movement maintained that the present intifadah proved to the world that Palestinian national rights can not be ignored. Fatah also asserted that it is  illusionary  to think that the language of negotiations has taken away from the Palestinian people the ability to go on with their project to materialize freedom and Independence.

The Occupation accuses Islamic Jihad Movement on Monday's operations and Fatah defends the Movement…(7)

“Israeli” communication Minister Benyamin Ben Eliezer accused Islamic Jihad Movement of executing the ambush that led to the death of 3 “Israelis” near Ramallah in the West Bank Monday.He said that all  available indications reveal that members of the Islamic Jihad carried out the "aggression".  "But what is important is that this kind of operations are carried out after the consent of Yasser Arafat, the head of the Palestinian Authority",  Ben Eliezer said to the “Israeli” army radio.

Fatah Movement issued a statement in answer to Ben Eliezer's threat to Islamic Jihad Movement. The statement said that any threat to the movement or any attack on the movements' members will be considered an aggression on Fatah Movement itself.

Sharon willing to to renew provocative act…(8)

Leader of the “Israeli” opposition likud party Ariel Sharon said he hopes to visit the so-called Temple Mount again despite the clashes which erupted on 28 September due to his provocative visit to the Judaism's temple and Islam's al-Haram al-Sharif.

" As a matter of fact ,I did not enter the mosque, everyone can enter a mosque, they have just to take their shoes off . I hope I'll be doing that in the future as well. No restrictions," said the rightist Likud party chief at a New York Post newspaper forum on Monday in New York city.

Sharon said that Jewish people prayed for two hundred years to gain Al-Quds and that the Holy City will be theirs forever. Outside the speech venue, a number of Arabs and Jews protested against Sharon's policy and the “Israeli” aggressions against Palestinians.

800 million dollars U.S. aid to “Israel”…(9)

While there was no sign of a breakthrough after U.S. President Bill Clinton met Barak on Sunday and Arafat last week in Washington, “Israeli” Prime Minister Ehud Barak returned to
" “Israel”" via London, after canceling a meeting with British PM Tony Blair in London. He had also been expected to see U.N Secretary-General Kofi Annan on his London stopover .
Barak is to lead on Tuesday a meeting of the inner Cabinet  to discuss the deteriorating situation in the west Bank and Gaza Strip.

Upon leaving Chicago Barak said the U.S. President promised Barak that the United States will grant the sum of 800 million dollars in compensation for its withdrawal from south Lebanon and due to the threat brought about by Iran's development of Shehab 3 missaile. 

Footnotes:

1- The Daily Star, 15-11-2000.

2- AFP, 14-11-2000.

3- Same source.

4- The Daily Star, 15-11-2000.

5- Manar TV, 14-11-2000.

6- Same source.

7- Same source.

8- Same source.

9- `Same source.