PRESS RELEASE
Mideast War Alert
On July 28-29 Weekend
This statement was issued by EIR on July 27, 2001.
Lyndon LaRouche has issued a blunt warning that Ariel Sharon and even more hardline warhawks in Israel may launch their long-planned military assault against the Palestinian Authority as early as Sunday, July 29. Events in the Middle East conform to the desires of a faction of the Anglo-American financial oligarchy, who wish to detonate a Mideast-triggered religious "clash of civilizations" in the near term, to block any further momentum toward a Eurasian development alliance that could strip them of their power.
Sources in the Middle East cited three developments this week that could signal that Israel is preparing to launch a full-scale assault into the Palestinian Authority territories, aimed at driving a majority of the population into Jordan, exterminating the Yasser Arafat leadership group, and permanently annexing the territory of "Judea, Samaria, and Galilee."
- Early this week, Israeli Defense Force Chief of Staff General Mofaz made a five-hour trip to Turkey, possibly to pre-alert the Turkish military to a planned operation into the PA territory. Turkey has been conducting secret back-channel negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and, according to one account, General Mofaz may have asked the Turks to halt their efforts. Turkey is planning to purchase Israeli-made Arrow anti-missile batteries, and Israel would not wish to jeopardize that sale by keeping the Turkish military in the dark, were they to plan a major military operation against the Palestinians.
- The United States has escalated its pressure on Israel to accept an observer force. President Bush came under strong pressure from Russia and from the European Union at last weekend's G-8 summit in Genoa, to support the deployment of international observers, and the Administration has, since then, reportedly been pushing the Sharon government to acquiesce to the demand, that was included in the G-8 final communiques.
- Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, on July 26, made statements that were published in Ha'aretz and in the Jerusalem Post, warning that "one more suicide bomb" would "seal the fate of the Palestinian Authority." This statement is being interpreted as a possible warning, that the Israeli secret services could, themselves, trigger such an attack, in order to provide the pretext for the long-planned invasion of "Area A." The source was unsure of whether Peres was, himself, signalling that he was now prepared to accept the inevitability of a "military solution" to the stalemate.
LaRouche commented on Friday that "nothing is in the works" to prevent an early launching of an Israeli military assault on the Palestinian territories, and, that, "taking into account the character of the people we are dealing with, this weekend represents a particular danger point." LaRouche reiterated his statements on his July 24, 2001 LaRouche in 2004 campaign webcast, that "only an intervention from the U.S. could convince the parties behind this planned war offensive to call it off."
