Israel: November 15, 2000

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Palestinian officials are talking about a "War of Attrition" against Israel. This tactic would not only use the physical attacks (mostly rocks, but increasingly guns), but also making the most of the higher Palestinian death toll to portray the Palestinians as victims of Israeli aggression. The death toll so far is over 220. The Palestinians are trying to get UN peacekeepers into their areas to provide some protection for Palestinian demonstrators. Actually, there are areas where UN peacekeepers are stationed (for the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty) and there is somewhat less violence. No one wants to hit a UN peacekeeper with a stone or a bullet. Overnight, Israeli commandos entered Palestinian areas and arrested fifteen members of the Fatah faction (loyal to Yasser Arafat) suspected of firing on Israeli settlements.