Word: hasmoneans
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...Gaza was best known in ancient times for its strategic location as an important trading center for Asian, European and North African markets. The desirability of the territory resulted in frequent battles for its control. Gaza was conquered by the Philistines in the 13th century B.C., razed by the Hasmonean Kingdom and suffered incursions from the likes of Napoleon and Alexander the Great, whose army put the entire male population to death for refusing to surrender. (See pictures of the conflict in the Gaza Strip...
These snipers are the linchpin of Israel's military strategy in the Aqsa intifadeh. After the violent Hasmonean Tunnel riots of September 1996, started when Israel opened a tunnel near the golden Dome of the Rock and the Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the army decided to prepare for an even more terrible outbreak. Major General Giora Eiland, head of the army's operations division, was at the heart of this planning. A former commander of the Givati Brigade, Eiland insisted a few years back on buying the M-16A3 for the army, though most other generals didn...
...when Jerusalem authorities cut through the last part of the Hasmonean tunnel, as it is called, they tapped into a wellspring of rage, all of it, for the moment, directed at Israel. "Our internal differences have been put aside for now," says Abu-Amr. "We see a situation of firm unity among the Palestinians." Arafat's troops, who were widely viewed two weeks ago as the enemies of the public, are its heroes today. Abu-Amr concludes, "This is definitely consolidating and broadening the power base of Mr. Arafat...
...Hasmonean tunnel, which has existed for roughly 2,500 years, was rediscovered and re-excavated in 1987. At the time, the Muslim religious authority, the Wafk, permitted excavation of the tunnel provided that the excavations did not extend under the Temple Mount (Al-Haram Al-Sharif). Israel adhered to these requests. The excavations have not in any way disturbed any Muslim religious sites, nor does the tunnel run under the Temple Mount as the Palestinian Authority had originally claimed. The only action the Israeli government took last week concerning the tunnel was to open another entrance...
...great friend of the Jewish State, joined the Arab nations in issuing a strong rebuke for Israel's defending itself. According to The New York Times, Washington called upon both sides not to raise any "new issues." Someone should whisper to Warren Christopher that since parts of the Hasmonean tunnel date back to as early as 2 B.C.E., perhaps the administration's rhetoric should be changed to accommodate the Holy Land's admittedly lengthy history. Secretary Christopher's lack of empathy is symptomatic of the West's lack of understanding of both Jewish and Islamic history. (I recommend Foreign Cultures...