Amidst growing international hope that Israelis and Palestinians would be able to get the peace process back on track, Palestinian groups are blaming the Israeli government for the assassination of three members of the Hamas terrorist movement. Hamas Iyad al Akhars claims was killed by an explosive device that went off outside of his house on Tuesday. Palestinian sources told CNN that a member of Hamas was killed in a car bomb explosion on Monday near the offices of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. Snipers killed another Hamas member on Sunday. Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officials would not comment on the Monday or Tuesday deaths but did say that the target of the snipers on Sunday was a "known terrorist" who Israeli intelligence had implicated in previous attacks-most notably, the June 1 bombing of a Tel Aviv disco that killed 23-and was suspected to be planning another attack. IDF moved into the West Bank neighborhoods of Haret al-Sheik and Abu Sneineh on Oct. 5 to prevent Palestinians from firing on the Jewish enclave in Hebron and on Israeli troops.
Washington, D.C.
Anthrax found in mail received around the country
U.S. investigators have detected similarities in the handwriting of the letters containing anthrax that have been sent throughout the nation, but they have not established a direct link with "organized terrorism," according to the BBC. "While organized terrorism has not been ruled out, so far we have found no direct link," said the director of the FBI, Robert Mueller. Authorities are tracking traces of anthrax in New York, Washington, D.C. and various other places and are preparing to test hundreds of people for possible exposure to anthrax spores. There has been heightened awareness to anthrax since one Florida man died last week. Several others across the nation have been exposed. A letter opened in the office of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle on Monday was also contaminated with anthrax. Attorney General John Ashcroft warned that pranks and hoax mailings would be prosecuted. He added that any anthrax sent through the mail would be considered "an act of terrorism" and would be treated as such, according to CNN.
Amherst, Mass.
War rally takes place alongside longstanding peace rally
On Sunday, a group of citizens held a pro-war rally on the town common during the time that a weekly peace vigil is held. "We wanted to show that not everyone in Amherst is on the side of the appeasers," said Arnold Silver, who organized the demonstration in support of the U.S. military action in Afghanistan, according to The Daily Hampshire Gazette. The demonstration consisted of a group of 11 people waving signs at passing motorists, including one that read "Support Our Pilots? Honk Twice." Around noon, 14 people arrived for the peace vigil, which has been held weekly for the last 20 years, and set up their signs and banners on the sidewalk just south of the rally. Silver said that he deliberately chose the spot to displace the peace vigil. He added that he did not believe his motives were in the wrong because the group he heads, Support our Servicemen, received a town permit to stage a rally on South Pleasant St. The Gazette reported that there were some verbal skirmishes between members of the two ideologically opposed groups.