M I D - E A S T    R E A L I T I E S - WWW.MiddleEast.Org
***************************************************************
"News, Analysis & Commentary They Don't Want You to Know" ***************************************************************
To get MER regularly email to: INFOMER@MiddleEast.Org
.
M E S S A G E S  F R O M  H A M A S ?
ISRAELI  KIDNAPPED, BOUND, FOUND WITH ARAB HEADRESS AND BIBLE!
,
MER - Washington - 9/17/97:
     Oftentimes a political cartoon, or a particular gesture, can be more meaningful than another verbal quotation.
     Such an "action" took place a few days ago in Israel even prompting visiting Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to ask Yasser Arafat for his help. It was a bit reminiscent of an IRA tactic from a few years ago. Rather than actually attacking Heathrow Airport and blowing up airplanes there, the IRA showed that it could in fact have done so but chose to use a dummy round rather than a live explosive.  It was clearly a clever "demonstration" and if memory serves rightly the IRA did it twice just to make sure the pointed message came through loud and clear.
     What some Palestinians appear to have done last last week was abit similar. It seems they kidnapped an elderly Israeli. Whether they held him for ransom or made any particular demands is not known as Israeli military censorship often prevents these things from becoming published. However, one way or another a part of the man's ear was passed on to the Israelis; and at that point the Israelis asked Madeleine Albright to urge Yasser Arafat to find and free the man. But the next day the man was found in a vacant house in the Israeli city of Ashkelon. He was bound, an Arab headdress was on his head, and there was a Bible on his chest! The man, Yaakov Schwartz, 63, is said to have indicated to his rescuers that he couldn't remember what had happened to him. At least that's what's being said publicly so far.
.
------------------------
HAMAS LEADER KIDNAPPED FROM GAZA
EXPECT MORE TERRORISM
Meanwhile, while the mainstream press was busy reporting the public inanities of Madeleine Albright and the Arab leaders who have been greeting her, it appears the Israelis kidnapped from Gaza Ghetto Dr. Ibrahim Makadmeh, the suspected leader of the Hamas military wing. Israel denies the deed, but then we all know how much that means. Makadmeh was high on the list of those Bibi demanded Yasser arrest. Whether Yasser and friends cooperated in the abduction is not known, but the suspicion is not unusual any longer. A few days ago the Hamas military wing distributed a leaflet threatening still more retribution in Israeli streets because of Makadmeh:
     "We will burn fires under the legs of the Zionist conquest. If there was a painful response taken by Iz el-Deen al-Qassam (the military wing) after the murder of Ayyash (the engineer,) this time the response will be many times more hurtful."
M I D - E A S T    R E A L I T I E S 
(202) 362-5266, Ext 638      Fax: (202) 362-6965      MER@MiddleEast.Org
***************************************************************
For information about the weekly TV program, MID-EAST REALITIES, send email to
INFOMER@MiddleEast.Org. ***************************************************************
For previous MER information, commentary, editorials & Readers Comments: http://WWW.MiddleEast.Org