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October 12, 2001/Tishri 25, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 5
Tension mounts as U.S. forces attack Afghanistan
JESSICA STEINBERG
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
JERUSALEM - Israelis have gone on heightened alert after the launch of joint U.S.-British strikes against Taliban and suspected terrorist targets in Afghanistan.
Still, top officials said they believe the attacks would have no immediate repercussions on the lives of Israelis.
"At this stage, I don't see a danger" that Israel might be the target of retaliatory attacks, Peres said Oct. 7, shortly after the United States launched its first attacks on Afghanistan. Another series of attacks were launched Oct. 8.
Just in case, however, Israelis packed gas mask distribution centers despite the official assurances that they were not in danger.
In a video released Oct. 7, suspected terror mastermind Osama bin Laden attempted to link the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In videotaped remarks broadcast over Qatar's al-Jazeera television, bin Laden said, "I swear to God that America will not live in peace before peace reigns in Palestine."
Though he stopped short of taking responsibility for the Sept. 11 attacks, bin Laden warmly praised them.
"America has been filled with horror from north to south and east to west, and thanks be to God what America is tasting now is only a copy of what we have tasted," he said.
Until now, Islamic extremists who have justified the Sept. 11 attacks have not focused primarily on American support for Israel. Bin Laden's comments on the subject appeared to be an attempt to rally Islamic support and cast the U.S.-led effort for an international anti-terror coalition as an attack on Islam.
The United States has "come out to fight Islam in the name of fighting terrorism," bin Laden said.
On Oct. 8, Peres criticized bin Laden for linking the Sept. 11 attacks against the United States to the Palestinian cause.
"What's he blabbering about?" Peres told Israel Radio. "You don't need any war of liberation for the Palestinians. We offered them liberation without war."
In the first official comment from Jerusalem after the attacks, Peres praised the "brave decision" by Bush.
"I think that all us, first of all, are praying for the welfare of the American army and its allies," Peres told Israel's Channel Two television.
That same day, the Israel Defense Force's Home Front Command held an emergency session to deal with the possibility of retaliatory strikes against the Jewish state.
Sharon, told reporters, "Israel supports the war on Afghanistan, but isn't involved," according to Israel Television.
His office stated Oct. 8 that Israel has taken all necessary measures to protect its citizens.
The Defense Ministry assured the country Oct. 8 that the U.S.-led offensive in Afghanistan "does not raise any threats for Israel."
Israeli commentators said the assessment could change if the United States targets Iraq in subsequent phases of the campaign.
JTA Foreign Editor Mitchell Danow and Intern Amy Sara Clark in New York contributed to this report.
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