Katyusha Rockets

WASHINGTON -- The United States took new steps to calm the security fears of nervous Israelis yesterday as President Clinton declared that no one should be allowed to derail the Arab-Israeli peace through violence and terror.Two days after a U.S.-brokered cease-fire went into effect on the Israeli-Lebanese border, the administration made a concerted effort to reassure Israel of U.S. support for its safety. In so doing, the White House also lent implicit political support to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres in his fierce re-election battle.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - At a recent forum of the New America Foundation, scholar Walter Russell Mead reminded the audience that Israelis - and by extension all Jews - and Palestinians are the two peoples most betrayed by the history of the 20th century, albeit in vastly different scales. The U.S. response thus far to Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip suggests that this double dose of human betrayal will be every bit the geopolitical phenomenon in the 21st century as it was in the 20th.

THE AWFUL barrage in southern Lebanon that killed at least 90 persons huddled under a Fijian soldiers' hut in a U.N. compound was a victory for Hezbollah terrorist gunners. They had fired Katyusha rockets and mortars from 300 yards away, luring supposedly smart, radar-directed, Israeli return fire to the greatest possible atrocity.Hard as it is to think of progress on the peace front during the barrage, progress was made.Prime Minister Shimon Peres met with Palestinian Authority chief Yasser Arafat.

When Stephanie Lerner's parents encouraged her to spend time in Israel before her senior year at Park School, she didn't want to go. Despite her faith, Lerner said she never felt "any true visceral connection" to the Jewish homeland. Mark and Traci Lerner, however, knew from their own experiences in Israel as teenagers that being there likely would evoke strong feelings in their daughter, too. Her curiosity grew and she decided on a six-week cultural immersion program that fit between field hockey camp at Wake Forest and a family vacation in Spain.

When Stephanie Lerner's parents encouraged her to spend time in Israel before her senior year at Park School, she didn't want to go. Despite her faith, Lerner said she never felt "any true visceral connection" to the Jewish homeland. Mark and Traci Lerner, however, knew from their own experiences in Israel as teenagers that being there likely would evoke strong feelings in their daughter, too. Her curiosity grew and she decided on a six-week cultural immersion program that fit between field hockey camp at Wake Forest and a family vacation in Spain.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. - At a recent forum of the New America Foundation, scholar Walter Russell Mead reminded the audience that Israelis - and by extension all Jews - and Palestinians are the two peoples most betrayed by the history of the 20th century, albeit in vastly different scales. The U.S. response thus far to Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip suggests that this double dose of human betrayal will be every bit the geopolitical phenomenon in the 21st century as it was in the 20th.

KIRYAT SHIMONA, ISRAEL -- Calm returned to Israel and Lebanon late yesterday after a night and morning of destruction, panic and grief. As the Jewish Sabbath began, residents of this border city left shelters in relief at having narrowly escaped with only wrecked or damaged buildings, burnt-out cars and scattered light injuries and shock. But in a rural village farther south, soldiers hugged one another and choked back sobs as they buried Israeli Master Sgt. Shaked Ozery, 24, killed Thursday night when a Katyusha rocket fired by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas struck his Jeep.

WASHINGTON -- Using simple, inexpensive rocket technology dating from World War II, the Islamic militant group Hezbollah has opened a new chapter in the long-running Middle East conflict - showing that a decentralized guerrilla organization can partly counter the region's military superpower. Despite Israel's overwhelming conventional force, Hezbollah has been able to fire more than 750 short-range rockets into northern Israel at will. Hezbollah is relying heavily on variants of short-range Katyusha rockets, a weapon first produced by the Soviet Union in 1941 as a cheap metal tube stuffed with fuel at one end and explosives at the other.

JERUSALEM -- The hundreds of thousands of refugees from Israeli shelling in southern Lebanon will not be allowed back to their homes until anti-Israeli guerrillas are quieted, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin vowed yesterday.He confirmed that the Israeli bombardment, now in its fifth day, is intended to create a wave of civilians fleeing north.In Washington, the Clinton administration, in its first direct criticism of Israel, demanded that Israel halt the bombardment and denounced the policy of creating refugees.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Armed followers of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Hassani opened fire on Iraqi forces with rifles and grenade launchers yesterday after the army raided his offices in Karbala. At least four men were killed during an extended gunfight, and 50 of al-Hassani's followers were detained. Iraqi police closed off the city and imposed a three-day curfew. The fighting came on a day of violent clashes around Iraq. Al-Hassani, who claims to be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, is a controversial figure because of his criticism of other more influential Shiite clergymen, such as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Armed followers of Shiite cleric Mahmoud al-Hassani opened fire on Iraqi forces with rifles and grenade launchers yesterday after the army raided his offices in Karbala. At least four men were killed during an extended gunfight, and 50 of al-Hassani's followers were detained. Iraqi police closed off the city and imposed a three-day curfew. The fighting came on a day of violent clashes around Iraq. Al-Hassani, who claims to be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, is a controversial figure because of his criticism of other more influential Shiite clergymen, such as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

WASHINGTON -- Using simple, inexpensive rocket technology dating from World War II, the Islamic militant group Hezbollah has opened a new chapter in the long-running Middle East conflict - showing that a decentralized guerrilla organization can partly counter the region's military superpower. Despite Israel's overwhelming conventional force, Hezbollah has been able to fire more than 750 short-range rockets into northern Israel at will. Hezbollah is relying heavily on variants of short-range Katyusha rockets, a weapon first produced by the Soviet Union in 1941 as a cheap metal tube stuffed with fuel at one end and explosives at the other.

HAIFA, Israel -- The first rocket to hit this bayside city from southern Lebanon has confirmed worries in Israel that Hezbollah has rockets that can hit targets deep in their nation, and that the militant group is prepared to use them. A length of police tape was the only sign yesterday of where a rocket slammed into a hill here, about 20 miles from the Lebanese border, a night earlier. The strike against Israel's third-largest city caused no injuries, but officials said it made clear the worrisome improvement in the range of rockets that Hezbollah guerrillas have at their disposal.

KIRYAT SHIMONA, ISRAEL -- Calm returned to Israel and Lebanon late yesterday after a night and morning of destruction, panic and grief. As the Jewish Sabbath began, residents of this border city left shelters in relief at having narrowly escaped with only wrecked or damaged buildings, burnt-out cars and scattered light injuries and shock. But in a rural village farther south, soldiers hugged one another and choked back sobs as they buried Israeli Master Sgt. Shaked Ozery, 24, killed Thursday night when a Katyusha rocket fired by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas struck his Jeep.

WASHINGTON -- The United States took new steps to calm the security fears of nervous Israelis yesterday as President Clinton declared that no one should be allowed to derail the Arab-Israeli peace through violence and terror.Two days after a U.S.-brokered cease-fire went into effect on the Israeli-Lebanese border, the administration made a concerted effort to reassure Israel of U.S. support for its safety. In so doing, the White House also lent implicit political support to visiting Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres in his fierce re-election battle.

THE AWFUL barrage in southern Lebanon that killed at least 90 persons huddled under a Fijian soldiers' hut in a U.N. compound was a victory for Hezbollah terrorist gunners. They had fired Katyusha rockets and mortars from 300 yards away, luring supposedly smart, radar-directed, Israeli return fire to the greatest possible atrocity.Hard as it is to think of progress on the peace front during the barrage, progress was made.Prime Minister Shimon Peres met with Palestinian Authority chief Yasser Arafat.

HAIFA, Israel -- The first rocket to hit this bayside city from southern Lebanon has confirmed worries in Israel that Hezbollah has rockets that can hit targets deep in their nation, and that the militant group is prepared to use them. A length of police tape was the only sign yesterday of where a rocket slammed into a hill here, about 20 miles from the Lebanese border, a night earlier. The strike against Israel's third-largest city caused no injuries, but officials said it made clear the worrisome improvement in the range of rockets that Hezbollah guerrillas have at their disposal.

METULLA, Israel -- The F-16 snarled down the runway of an air base in northern Israel, wingtips bristling at takeoff with 500-pound bombs and sidewinder missiles. A few minutes later, another jet landed, wings bare, its explosives purged over Lebanon.Traffic at this base remained busy yesterday, despite signs that Israel's bombardment of Lebanon might be nearing an end.Rumors of a cease-fire abounded last night, and a lull came in the constant artillery barrage that Israel has showered on southern Lebanon for six days.