Violence in the Middle East. (Top News of 2002: March).In 2002, tensions in the Middle East were heightened by new rounds of Palestinian suicide attacks and Israeli military strikes. In mid-March, the region saw its deadliest week since the Arabs and Israelis had resumed their fighting 17 months earlier: 113 Palestinians and 49 Israelis were killed. Arab leaders later met in Lebanon to discuss a peace plan. But hopes for peace faded when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up at a Passover seder in Netanya Netanya (nətän`yə), city (1994 pop. 144,900), W central Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea; also spelled Nathania. It is a beach resort and the trade center for agricultural settlements in the region. Diamond cutting and polishing and citrus packing are the chief industries. Netanya, founded in 1929, was named for the U.S., Israel, killing 22. Outraged by the massacre, Israelis began shelling Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's compound in Ramallah Ramallah (rämä`lä), town (2003 est. pop. 24,000), in the West Bank, N of Jerusalem. It lies in a fertile farming region where olives, figs, and grapes are grown. Ramallah is inhabited mainly by Christian Arabs. It was occupied by Israeli forces after the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. It is the seat of Bir Zeit Univ., in the West Bank. |
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