Word: israel
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...lesser kestrel, a small red, black and gray bird of prey, is more hawk than dove. But in a symbolic sense it carries an olive branch in the Middle East. Confronted by devastating changes in its habitat, the bird is endangered in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Now dozens of Jewish and Arab schoolchildren, recruited by conservationists Dan Alon and Nader al Khateeb, have come together to help save the kestrel--and learn lessons in cooperation and friendship...
Alon, 31, is the Jewish director of the Israel Ornithological Center. Al Khateeb, 39, is a Palestinian engineer who runs the Water and Environment Development Organization in Bethlehem. Despite their very different backgrounds, Alon and al Khateeb share a passion for preserving beleaguered creatures like the kestrel. The bird, a native of the Mediterranean region that feeds on crickets and other insects, builds its nests in the gutters and ventilation ducts beneath the red-tiled roofs of the traditional stone houses that once dominated the Middle East. Over the years, though, many of the old-style homes have been knocked...
...wake of his decision to close Orient House, the Palestinian Authority's unofficial headquarters in the city. Israeli opposition leaders charged on Friday that Netanyahu made the move knowing that likely Palestinian unrest in the heart of Jerusalem would work for him on the eve of Israel's election. "This may have created a very dangerous situation, but it's politically expedient for Netanyahu," says TIME Jerusalem bureau chief Lisa Beyer. "Denying a Palestinian political presence in Jerusalem will please his supporters, and any demonstrations in response could actually serve his political ends...
...Netanyahu announced Thursday that Israel would close down Orient House, saying meetings there between a Palestinian Authority official and European diplomats violated Israel's sovereignty. But Netanyahu's crackdown presents a complex challenge for Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. "A wave of protests on this issue would give Arafat an opportunity to rally his own supporters, who've had to accept some backing down over the promise to declare a Palestinian state on May 4," says Beyer. On the other hand, the reason for Arafat's soft-pedaling the statehood issue has been a desire to avoid stampeding Israeli voters...
Ross reassured the audience that Israel will likely have many more birthdays since several Arab states--previous enemies of Israel--agreed to recognize Israeli statehood in 1993. He said there must be continued efforts for lasting peace in the region...