Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
1996

1996

1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty.

Events

January


- January 5 - Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.
- January 7 - One of the worst blizzards in American history hits eastern states, killing more than 100.
- January 8 - Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital Kinshasa - 350 dead.
- January 9 - Assassination of Eric Hebborn, art forger, in Rome, Italy.
- January 14 - Jorge Sampaio is elected president of Portugal.
- January 20 - Yasser Arafat is re-elected president of the Palestinian Authority.
- January 22 - Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece resigns due to health problems. New government forms under Costas Simitis.
- January 24 - Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy resigns amid charge he spied for Moscow.
- January 26 - Whitewater scandal: Hillary Rodham Clinton testifies before a grand jury.
  - US millionaire John Dupont shoots wrestler David Schultz
- January 27 - Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane, in a military coup.
- January 29
  - President Jacques Chirac announces a "definitive end" to French nuclear testing.
  - Fire destroys La Fenice, Venice's opera house.
  - A Greek flag is hoisted above Kardac Rocks, initiating the Imia-Kardak crisis
- Duke Nukem 3D Shareware released to public
- January 30 - Leader of the Irish National Liberation Army Gino Gallagher is killed, in an internal feud, while in line for his unemployment benefit.
- January 30 - February 5 - Sarah Balabagan caned in the United Arab Emirates
- January 31 - An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.

February


- February - Iraq disarmament crisis: Recently defected Iraqi weapons program leader and son-in-law to Saddam Hussein, Hussein Kamel, returns to Iraq. Within days of his return, he is murdered along with his brother, father, sister and her children. Kamel had forced Iraq to reveal portions of its illegal nuclear and chemical weapons programs.
- February 1 - Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
- February 4 - Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ties all-time low temperature at -26°F. (-32°C)
- February 8 - The Telecom Reform Act is signed into law by United States President Bill Clinton.
- February 9 - IRA ceasefire ends with 1 one-ton bomb in London's Canary Wharf District - 2 dead.
- February 10 - Chess computer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov for the first time.
- February 17 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world chess champion Garry Kasparov beats the "Deep Blue" supercomputer in a chess match.
- February 18 - IRA briefcase bomb in London bus kills the bomber and injures 9 in London West End.
- February 29 - Daniel Green convicted of murder of James R. Jordan, the father of basketball star Michael Jordan.

March

Michael Jordan.]]
- March - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi forces refuse UNSCOM inspection teams access to five sites designated for inspection. The teams enter the sites only after delays of up to 17 hours.
- March 2 - John Howard is elected Prime Minister of Australia in a landslide election victory, over the Labor Party's Paul Keating.
- March 13 - The Dunblane Massacre.
- March 17 - Sri Lanka win the Cricket World Cup by storming to a famous victory against the tournament favourites Australia.
- March 19 - Sarajevo becomes a united city again when Bosnian authorities took control of the last district held by Serbs.
- March 20
  - In Los Angeles, California, Lyle and Erik Menendez are found guilty of first-degree murder for the shotgun killing of their parents.
  - The British Government announces that Bovine spongiform encephalopathy was likely to have been transmitted to people.
- March 23 - The Republic of China on Taiwan holds its first direct elections for president. Lee Teng-hui is reelected.
- March 25 - An 81-day long standoff between antigovernment Freemen in Jordan, Montana and federal officers begins.
- March 26 - The International Monetary Fund approves a $10.2 billion loan to Russia for 'economic reform'.
- March 28 - Fire breaks out at the Pasar Anyar shopping centre in Bogor, West Java. First estimated death toll is 78 until rescuers notice that 68 of them are mannequins
- March 30 - The Kennett government is re-elected in Victoria with a 30 seat majority.

April


- April 2 - US Mafioso John Gotti is found guilty of murder of Paul Castellano
- April 3 - Plane carrying US commerce secretary Ron Brown crashes near Dubrovnik, Croatia
- April 3
  - Suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin.
  - The first EuroHowl is held in Aberystwyth, Wales.
  - A Lunar eclipse occurred.
- April 10 - United States President Bill Clinton vetos a bill that would have banned partial-birth abortion.
- April 18 - Over 100 Lebanese civilians were killed after Israel shelled the UN compound in Qana. See Qana Massacre.
- April 28 - Martin Bryant kills 35 people as part of the Port Arthur Massacre, at the Port Arthur tourist site, Tasmania, Australia.
- April 29 - Official opening of Rent (musical) on Broadway.

May


- May 10 - A sudden storm engulfs Mount Everest with several climbing teams high on the mountain, leaving 8 dead. By the end of the month, at least four other climbers die in the worst season of fatalities on the mountain to date.
- May 11 - After taking-off from Miami, a fire started by improperly-handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.
- May 13 - Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kills 600.
- May 20 - Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of homosexuals.
- May 23 - Swede Göran Kropp reaches Mount Everest summit alone without oxygen after having bicycled there from Sweden.
- May 27 - First Chechnya War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire in the war.
- May 27 - Doctor Who makes its return to British television for the first time since 1989. Paul McGann starred in the US made movie which pitted the Doctor against Eric Roberts' Master.
- May 31 - id Software releases the first person shooter computer game Quake.
- May-June - Iraq disarmament crisis: UNSCOM supervises the destruction of Al-Hakam, Iraq's main production facility of biological warfare agents.
- May - The Onion launches its satirical news publication on the Internet.

June


- June - Iraq disarmament crisis: As Iraq continues to refuse inspectors access to a number of sites, the U.S. fails in its attempt to build support for military action against Iraq in the UN Security Council.
- June 1 - Tennessee celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
- June 10 - Peace talks begin in Northern Ireland without Sinn Féin
- June 12 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a panel of federal judges blocks a law against indecency on the internet. The panel says that the 1996 Communications Decency Act would infringe upon the free speech rights of adults.
- June 13 - An 81-day standoff between the Freemen and FBI agents ends with their surrender in Montana.
- June 15- A large bomb explosion devastates Manchester City Centre in England.
- June 25 - 19 U.S. servicemen are killed at Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia.
- June 30 - Costas Simitis is elected President of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement of Greece.
- June 30 - Germany beat the Czech Republic 2-1 with a Golden goal to win Euro 96.

July

Euro 96
- July - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.N. Inspector Ritter attempts to conduct surprise inspections on the Republican Guard facility at the airport, but is blocked by Iraqi officials.
- July 1 - The Northern Territory in Australia legalises voluntary euthanasia.
- July 5 - Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloned from an adult cell, is born. It will prematurely die in February 2003.
- July 8 - Martina Hingis youngest person in history (age 15 years and 282 days) to win at Wimbledon (Ladies Doubles event).
- July 8 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu purportedly receives a hand-delivered document, "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Security the Realm," spelling out how Israel could abrogate the Oslo Accords, and pursue a permanent annexation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, among other policies. The paper had been prepared for him by Richard Perle, Donald Rumsfeld, Doug Feith, David Wurmser and John R. Bolton.
- July 17 - Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound Boeing 747 carrying TWA flight 800 explodes killing all 230 on board.
- July 18 - 21 - Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River in Quebec, in one of Canada's most costly natural disasters.
- July 19 - The 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, is opened by US president Bill Clinton.
- July 27 - The Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics kills one and injures 111.
- July 29 - The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is struck down as too broad by a US federal court.
- July 31 - MIL-STD-1750A was declared inactive for use in new designs.

August

The Detroit of India and port city Madras is renamed Chennai.
- August 1 - Sarah Balabagan returns to the Philippines
- August 4 - The closing ceremony of the 1996 Summer Olympics takes place.
- August 6 - NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms
- August 6 - Australian census
- August 6 - The Ramones play their last show ever at Lollapalooza.
- August 13 - Data sent back by the Galileo space probe indicated there may be water on one of Jupiter's moons
- August 28 - Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are formally divorced at the High Court in London. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales is restyled, Diana, Princess of Wales.
- August 31 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraqi forces launch an offensive into the northern No-Fly Zone and capture Arbil.

September


- September 4 - War on Drugs: Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, Colombia starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare that will claim the lives of at least 130 Colombians.
- September 7 - Rapper Tupac Shakur shot in Las Vegas, Nevada following Mike Tyson bout. He would succumb 6 nights later on September 13.
- September 11 - Aubrey Berryhill and Ashton Cayado won the Nobel prize.
- September 22 - The Panhellenic Socialist Movement under the leadership of Costas Simitis succeeds in the Greek legislative election, 1996.
- September 25 - The last of the Magdalen Asylums was closed in Ireland.
- September 25 - Nicu Ceauşescu dies from cirrhosis of the liver in a Viennese hospital. He was the younger son of Nicolae Ceauşescu.
- September 27 - In Afghanistan, the Taliban capture capital city Kabul after driving out President Burhanuddin Rabbani and executing former leader Mohammad Najibullah.

October


- October 2 - The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton.
- October 2 - Assassination of the former prime minister of Bulgaria, Andrei Lukanov
- October 14 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 40.62 to close at 6,010.00 -- The Dow's first close above 6,000.
- October 23 - Opening statements in the O.J. Simpson civil trial begin.
- October 30 - Fighting erupts when Banyamulenga Tutsis of Laurent Kabila in Zaire seize Uvira and proceed to kill Hutu refugees

November


- November - Iraq disarmament crisis: UNSCOM inspectors uncover buried prohibited missile parts. Iraq refuses to allow UNSCOM teams to remove remnants of missile engines for analysis outside of the country
- November 5 - U.S. presidential election, 1996: Democrat incumbent Bill Clinton defeats Republican challenger Bob Dole to win his second term.
- November 7 - NASA launches the Mars Global Surveyor.
- November 15 - Alger Hiss, former U.S. State Department official
- November 16 - Mother Teresa receives honorary US citizenship.
- November 18 - World-renowned bird expert Tony Silva is sentenced to seven years in prison without parole for leading an illegal parrot smuggling ring.
- November 19 - U.S President Bill Clinton makes a visit to Australia in which he addresses both Houses of Parliament
- November 23 - The Republic of Angola officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Angola.
- November 25 - The U.S. stock markets, especially the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gains at an incredibly fast pace following the 1996 Presidential elections. It gains 10 days in a row during the month (a feat that hasn't been touched as of June 2005), and burned through five century marks:
  - 6,100 on November 6
  - 6,200 the next day
  - 6,300 on November 14
  - 6,400 on November 20
  - 6,500 today

December


- December 2 - US President Bill Clinton signs Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments.
- December 5 - Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan gives a speech in which he suggests that "irrational exuberance" may have "unduly escalated asset values".
- December 12 - Uday Hussein is seriously injured in an assassination attempt.
- December 17 - Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement takes 72 hostages in Japanese Embassy in Lima, Peru
- December 26 - JonBenét Ramsey, a six-year-old beauty queen, was found murdered in her family's basement in Boulder, Colorado.
- December 27 - Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.
- December 29 - Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord that ends a 36 year a civil war
- December 30 - In the Indian state of Assam, a passenger train is bombed by Bodo separatists killing 26.
- December 30 - Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.

Environmental change


- The invasive species Asian long-horned beetle is found in New York

Unknown date


- Ask Jeeves formed.
- General Motors EV1 launched. The EV1 is the first electric car to go into mass production.

Births


- February 9 - Jimmy Bennett, American actor
- July 5 - Dolly the sheep, first cloned mammal (d. 2003)
- November 3 - Aria Wallace, American actor

Deaths

January-February


- January 2 - Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor (b. 1915)
- January 5 - Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian terrorist (b. 1966)
- January 8 - François Mitterrand, President of France (b. 1916)
- January 17 - Barbara Jordan, American politician (b. 1936)
- January 18 - Leonor Fini, Argentine artist (b. 1908)
- January 20 - Gerry Mulligan, American musician (b. 1927)
- January 28 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1940)
- January 28 - Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
- February 2 - Gene Kelly, American actor (b. 1912)
- February 3 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (b. 1926)
- February 6 - Guy Madison, American actor (b. 1922)
- February 7 - Boris Alexandrovich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (b. 1925)
- February 11 - Kebby Musokotwane, Prime Minister of Zambia (b. 1946)
- February 11 - Cyril Poole, English cricketer (b. 1921)
- February 11 - Phil Regan, American actor (b. 1906)
- February 11 - Amelia Rosselli, Italian poet (b. 1930)
- February 11 - Bob Shaw, British writer (b. 1931)
- February 16 - Edmund G. Brown, Governor of California (b. 1905)
- February 16 - Brownie McGhee, American musician (b. 1915)
- February 20 - Tōru Takemitsu, Japanese composer (b. 1930)
- February 21 - Morton Gould, American musician and composer (b. 1913)
- February 25 - Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian actor (murdered) (b. 1940)
- February 26 - Moisei Vainberg, Polish composer (b. 1919)

March-June


- March 3 - Marguerite Duras, French author and director (b. 1914)
- March 4 - Minnie Pearl, American comedienne (b. 1912)
- March 9 - George Burns, American actor and singer (b. 1896)
- March 13 - Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish film director (b. 1941)
- March 16 - Charlie Barnett, American actors (b. 1954)
- March 17 - René Clément, French film director (b. 1913)
- March 18 - Odysseas Elytis, Greek writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- March 26 - David Packard, American engineer (b. 1912)
- April 3 - Carl Stokes, American politician (b. 1927)
- April 4 - Barney Ewell, American athlete (b. 1918)
- April 4 - Larry LaPrise, American songwriter (b. 1912)
- April 6 - Greer Garson, English actress (b. 1904)
- April 20 - Christopher Robin Milne, English author and bookseller (b. 1920)
- April 22 - Erma Bombeck, American humorist and writer (b. 1927)
- April 26 - Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
- May 5 - Salli Terri, Canadian mezzo-soprano (b. 1922)
- May 15 - Charles B. Fulton, American judge (b. 1910)
- May 17 - Kevin Gilbert, American musician, composer, and record producer (b. 1966)
- May 20 - Jon Pertwee, British actor (b. 1919)
- May 24 - Jacob Druckman, American composer (b. 1928)
- May 24 - Joseph Mitchell, American writer (b. 1908)
- May 25 - Brad Nowell, American musician (b. 1968)
- May 31 - Paul Peter Piech, American artist (b. 1920)
- June 2 - Ray Combs, American game show host and comedian (suicide) (b. 1956)
- June 2 - Leon Garfield, English children's author (b. 1921)
- June 6 - George Davis Snell, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1903)
- June 15 - Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (b. 1917)
- June 17 - Thomas Kuhn, American philosopher of science (b. 1922)
- June 19 - G. David Schine, American investigator and businessman (b. 1927)
- June 23 - Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1919)

July-December


- July 1 - William T. Cahill, America politician (b. 1912)
- July 10 - Alan Blakley, British musician (Tremeloes) (b. 1942)
- July 15- Dana Hill, American actress (b. 1964)
- July 20 - Frantisek Planicka, Czech footballer (b. 1904)
- July 28 - Roger Tory Peterson, American naturalist and artist (b. 1908)
- July 30 - Claudette Colbert, French actress (b. 1903)
- August 1 - Tadeus Reichstein, Polish-born chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1897)
- August 8 - Nevill Francis Mott, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- August 11 - Rafael Kubelik, Czech-born conductor (b. 1914)
- August 13 - David Tudor, American pianist and composer (b. 1926)
- September 1 - Vagn Holmboe, Danish composer (b. 1909)
- September 13 - Tupac Shakur, American rapper, poet, and actor (b. 1971)
- October 4 - Silvio Piola, Italian footballer (b. 1913)
- October 16 - Eric Malpass, English novelist (b. 1910)
- October 16 - Jason Bernard, American actor (b. 1938)
- November 21 - Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- November 26 - Mark Lenard, American actor (b. 1924)
- November 26 - Paul Rand, American graphic designer (b. 1914)
- November 30 - Tiny Tim, American musician (b. 1932)
- December 6 - Pete Rozelle, American commissioner of the National Football League (b. 1926)
- December 11 - Willie Rushton, English comedian, satirist, actor, and cartoonist (b, 1937)
- December 16 - Quentin Bell, English biographer and art historian (b. 1910)
- December 20 - Carl Sagan, American astronomer (b. 1934)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - David M. Lee, Douglas D. Osheroff, Robert C. Richardson
- Chemistry - Robert Curl, Sir Harold Kroto, Richard Smalley
- Medicine - Peter C. Doherty, Rolf M. Zinkernagel
- Literature - Wislawa Szymborska
- Peace - Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo and José Ramos Horta

Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel


- James Mirrlees, William Vickrey

Templeton Prize


- William R. "Bill" Bright

Right Livelihood Award


- Herman Daly, The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishat and George Vithoulkas als:1996 ko:1996년 ms:1996 ja:1996年 simple:1996 th:พ.ศ. 2539

Leap year starting on Monday

This is the calendar for any leap year starting on Monday (dominical letter GF). Previous year | Next year
Millennium Century Year
2nd Millennium: 19th century: 1816 1844 1872
2nd Millennium: 20th century: 1912 1940 1968 1996
3rd Millennium: 21st century: 2024 2052 2080
3rd Millennium: 22nd century: 2120 2148 2176
Category:MondayCategory:Weeksko:월요일로 시작하는 윤년th:ปีอธิกสุรทินที่วันแรกเป็นวันจันทร์



Category:1996

Category:1990sko:분류:1996년ja:Category:1996年simple:Category:1996

Hamas

: "Hamas" is also the former name of the Movement of Society for Peace, a political party in Algeria.Algeria (roughly, present-day Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip).]] Hamas, acronym of Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Arabic: حركة المقاومة الاسلامية, literally "Islamic Resistance Movement" and Arabic for 'zeal' or 'courage'), is a PalestinianIslamist movement closely related to the Muslim Brotherhood. Its stated goal is to establish an Islamictheocracy in the area that is currently Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Hamas is listed as a terrorist group by the European Union, Canada, the United States, and Israel, and its attacks targeting Israeli civilians and other human rights abuses have been condemned by the United NationsCommission on Human Rights and by Human Rights Watch. The organization is popular among Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. It also has a following in the West Bank, and, to a lesser extent, in other Middle Eastern countries and throughout the Palestinian diaspora, including within Israel. The movement's popularity stems from its terrorist activities activities and from its provision of welfare and social services to the Palestinian poor. Hamas is known for its suicide bombings against civilians in busy urban areas in Israel, and is known for its generous payments to the families of suicide bombers. Suicide attacks are an element of what Hamas sees as its asymmetric warfare against Israel. Because the group considers all Israelis to be participants in an illegal occupation of Palestinian land, Hamas does not distinguish between Israeli civilian and military targets. This failure to distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, and the group's willingness to select civilian targets at random, has helped to earn it the label of terrorist organization. Hamas also fights a guerrilla war against the Israeli military and security forces in its effort to drive them from the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and ultimately eliminate the state of Israel and replace it with an Islamic state. As well as suicide bombings, Hamas operatives plant bombs and carry out shooting attacks on civilians in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The organization's goal to destroy Israel in its entirety has been used by the Israeli government to justify the assassination of its leaders. Assassinations and assassination attempts on Hamas leaders have been carried out in the past by the Israeli Air Force in the occupied territories, and by car bombings, shootings and even poison injections by Mossad agents outside Israel and the occupied territories.

Background

Hamas regards the land that it calls Palestine, including present-day Israel (without the Golan Heights), as an Islamic homeland that can never be surrendered to non-Muslims, and asserts that individual and community struggle (jihad) to wrest control of the land from Israel is a religious duty for all Muslims. This position is more radical than that of the PLO, which in 1988 recognized Israel's sovereignty. Hamas does not recognize Israel as a sovereign state and refers to Israel as the "Zionist entity". According to the Washington Institute, Hamas views the Arab-Israeli conflict as "a religious struggle between Islam and Judaism that can only be resolved by the destruction of the State of Israel." [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=116]
Hamas uses both political activities and violence to pursue its goal of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel and the secular Palestinian Authority. As of 2004, Hamas' strength is concentrated in the Gaza Strip and a few areas of the West Bank. Israeli military operations during the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2002 put pressure on Hamas in the West Bank following several bombings in Israel for which Hamas claimed responsibility. Hamas has also engaged in peaceful political activity, such as running candidates in West Bank Chamber of Commerce elections. In December 2004, one of Hamas' leaders stated that the group was seriously considering participating in the upcoming Palestinian Authority legislative elections, but the group boycotted PA Presidential elections as it had in the past.[http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_ID=5900] In May 2005, Hamas won over one third of the municipal councils in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, seizing control of them from Fatah, which the BBC describes as "the biggest force in Palestinian politics." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4541383.stm]
According to UPI, Israel supported Hamas starting in the late 1970s as a "counterbalance to the PLO". [http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=18062002-051845-8272r]

Name

Hamas is an abbreviation of Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyyah (Arabic: Islamic Resistance Movement), and the acronym is colloquial Arabic for "enthusiasm" or "zeal." Its military wing is known as the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades (also known as the Ezzedeen-al-qassam brigades) (to commemorate Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, the father of modern Arab resistance, killed by the British in 1935). Armed Hamas cells also sometimes refer to themselves as "Students of Ayyash," "Students of the Engineer," or "Yahya Ayyash Units," to commemorate Yahya Ayash, an early Hamas bomb-maker who was assassinated by Israel in 1996 for designing explosive devices used in operations that killed more than 50 Israelis.

Beliefs

The Hamas Covenant, written in 1988, states that the organization's goal is to "raise the banner of God over every inch of Palestine," i.e. to eliminate the State of Israel (and any secular Palestinian state which may be established), and to replace it with an Islamic Republic. The thirty-six articles of the Covenant detail the movement's Islamist beliefs regarding the primacy of Islam in all aspects of life. The Covenant identifies Hamas as the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and considers its members to be Muslims who "fear God and raise the banner of Jihad in the face of the oppressors." Hamas describes resisting and quelling the enemy as the individual duty of every Muslim and prescribes revolutionary roles for all members of society; including men and women, professionals, scientists and students. The slogan of Hamas is "God is its target, the Prophet is its model, the Koran its constitution: Jihad is its path and death for the sake of God is the loftiest of its wishes." Hamas states that its objective is to support the oppressed and wronged and "to bring about justice and defeat injustice, in word and deed." Hamas believes that "the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf (trust) consecrated for future Muslim generations until Judgement Day," and as such, the land cannot be negotiated away by any political leader. Hamas rejects "so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences" as incapable of realizing justice or restoring rights to the oppressed, believing "there is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad." The Hamas Covenant cites the long-discredited anti-Semitic fraud, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, describing it as "the embodiment of the Zionist plan to usurp Palestine". Hamas dismisses the Freemasons, Lions Club, and the Rotarians as organizations promoting "the interest of Zionism." It accuses those organizations, and the "Zionist invasion" in general, of being "behind the drug trade and alcoholism in all its kinds." Some Hamas members have alleged that Jewish people were responsible for the French Revolution, "Western colonialism," and both World Wars. Top Hamas leaders have reiterated beliefs of Holocaust denial. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi contended that the Holocaust never occurred in the manner described by Western historians and that Zionists at one time supported and funded Nazi activities.

History

Hamas was funded directly and indirectly during the 1970s and 1980s by various states including Saudi Arabia. The political/charitable arm of Hamas was officially registered and recognized within Israel at this time: indeed Israel supported and encouraged Hamas' early growth in an effort to undermine the secular Fatah movement of Yasser Arafat. Hamas abstained from politics throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, concentrating on social issues such as exposing corruption, administration of waqf (trusts) and organizing community projects. Towards the mid-80s, however, the movement was taken over by a militant faction led by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. The acronym "Hamas" first appeared in 1987 in a leaflet accusing Israeli intelligence services of undermining the moral fiber of Palestinian youth as part of their recruitment of "collaborators." The use of violence by Hamas appeared almost contemporaneously with the First Intifada, beginning with the so-called punishment of collaborators, progressing to attacks against Israeli military targets and moving on to violence aimed at civilians. As its methods have changed over the last thirty years, so has its rhetoric, now effectively claiming that Israeli civilians are "military targets" by virtue of living in a state with a military draft. According to the semi-official Hamas biography "Truth and existence," Hamas evolved through four main stages: # 1967-1976: Construction of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gaza Strip in the face of "oppressive Israeli rule"; # 1976-1981: Geographical expansion through participation in professional associations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and institution building, notably al-Mujamma` al-islami, al-Jam`iyya al-islamiyya, and the Islamic University in Gaza; # 1981-1987: Political influence through establishment of the mechanisms of action and preparation for armed struggle; # 1987: Founding of Hamas as the combatant arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine and the launching of a continuing Jihad. While this reflects the activities of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the organization in the West Bank developed differently, with less emphasis at the beginning on the creation or control of public institutions. The Muslim Brotherhood in the West Bank constituted an integral part of the Jordanian Islamic movement, which for many years had been aligned with the Hashemite regime. Furthermore, the Muslim Brotherhood in the West Bank represented a higher socio-economic profile, consisting of merchants, landowners, and middle-class officials and professionals. By the mid-1980s, the Muslim Brotherhood held a significant portion of the positions in West Bank religious institutions. On January 26, 2004, senior Hamas official Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi offered a 10-year truce, or hudna, in return for a complete withdrawal by Israel from the territories captured in the Six Day War, and the establishment of a Palestinian state. Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin stated that the group could accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Rantissi confirmed that Hamas had come to the conclusion that it was "difficult to liberate all our land at this stage, so we accept a phased liberation." He said the truce could last 10 years, though "not more than 10 years." [http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2004%20News%20archives/Jan/27n/Hamas%20proposal%20of%2010year%20truce%20scorned.htm] (See Hudna) On March 22, 2004, Yassin was assassinated in an Israeli missile strike. Rantissi replaced him as the leader of Hamas. On March 28, Rantissi stated in a speech given at the Islamic University of Gaza City that "America declared war against God. Sharon declared war against God, and God declared war against America, Bush and Sharon." On April 17, 2004, Rantissi was also assassinated in an airstrike by the Israel Defense Forces, five hours after a fatal suicide bombing by Hamas. Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas in Syria, said Hamas should not disclose the name of its next leader in Gaza. [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/18/international/middleeast/18MIDE.html] On April 18, 2004, Hamas secretly selected a new leader in the Gaza Strip, fearing he will be killed if his identity is made public. [http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html?hp (NYT)]. However, Israel believes that the new leader is Mahmoud al-Zahar; the second-in-command, Ismail Haniya; and third-in-command, Sa'id A-Siyam. [http://www.israelnn.com/news.php3?id=61435] As of 2004, Israeli military and intelligence sources believed that the Hamas infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been significantly weakened by Israeli military operations. Israeli sources have noted that no prominent attacks have been claimed by West Bank-based Hamas members (whereas bombings by the Fatah-linked Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades continued), even though the Hamas leadership had reputedly ordered an escalation of suicide attacks after the assassinations of Yassin and Rantissi. The West Bank has been under increased Israeli military control since Operation Defensive Shield was launched in April 2002, which severely limited the mobility and organization of the remaining Hamas membership. In the Gaza Strip, on the other hand, Hamas is generally seen as a major force, rivalling Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement. In 2004, in a prelude to the planned Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces carried out a number of military attacks on Gaza cities and refugees camps, seeking to draw out and kill Hamas-affiliated gunmen. Awareness of high casualties during such incursions has led the Hamas leadership to instruct its activists to avoid putting themselves needlessly in the line of fire. In September 2004, Israeli army chief Moshe Yaalon said that Israel would "deal with ... those who support terrorism," including those in "terror command posts in Damascus." On September 26, 2004, Hamas guerrilla leader Izz El-Deen Sheikh Khalil was assassinated by a car bomb in Damascus, Syria. Khalil was described variously as "mid-level," "senior," a "distinguished member," and "believed to be in charge of the group's military wing outside the Palestinian territories." [http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=927356&tw=wn_wire_story] Although the Israeli government offered no official confirmation, anonymous Israeli officials acknowledged responsibility for the attack. In a statement released in Gaza, Hamas threatened to target Israelis abroad in retaliation. [http://olympics.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6334113][http://www.boston.com/dailynews/270/world/Car_bomb_kills_Hamas_operative:.shtml]. On 12 September 2005 Israeli soldiers withdrew from the Gaza Strip and declared an official end to Israeli military rule in Gaza, although since Israel still retains control of the airspace and sea the Palestinan Authority argues the occupation is on-going. Hamas claimed that the withdrawal was a victory for their armed struggle and pledged to liberate all Palestinian land. Israel had previously evacuated and dismantled Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Hamas guerrillas, fighters from other factions and Palestinian civilians streamed into the evacuated and dismantled settlements and raised Palestinian and Hamas flags and scavenged in the rubble. Some synagogues, which were left standing, were burnt down. The Israeli government now claims the onus is on the Palestinian Authority to crack down on Hamas and other "terrorist groups" in Gaza. The West Bank remains under Israeli occupation, and populated by Jewish settlers. On 24 September 2005, a transport carrying Hamas rockets apparently exploded during one of the group's parades through Gaza, killing civilian spectators. Hamas claimed the parade had been attacked by an Israeli airstrike. The Palestinian Authority and Israel both denounced Hamas's claim as false. The P.A. demanded that Hamas end its use of those weapons.

Activities

Palestinan Authoritys in order to maximize fear, terror and casualties.]] Hamas militants, especially those in the Ezzedeen-al-qassam Brigades, have conducted many attacks, including large-scale suicide bombings against Israeli civilian targets. These include the Passover massacre in March 2002, in which 30 people were killed in a terrorist attack while celebrating the Jewish festival of Passover; the Patt junction massacre (19 dead); the Jerusalem bus 20 massacre in November 2002 (11 dead); the Jerusalem bus 2 massacre in August 2003 (23 dead); and many more. The first suicide bombing was in response to the 1994 masacre in Hebron of 29 Muslim worshippers at the Ibrahimi Mosque by settler Baruch Goldstein. Hundreds of Israeli civilians have been killed in Hamas suicide attacks between the 2000 and 2004. Hamas has used female suicide bombers, including a mother of six and a mother of two children under the age of 10. Hamas claims that all suicide bombers volunteer for what Hamas terms "martyrdom operations" however an anonymous Israeli military source claims that the one of the women was forced to commit these acts under threat of what is termed an "honor killing". [http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1131866,00.html][http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=19474] Hamas has also attacked Israeli military and security forces targets (mostly inside the West Bank and Gaza Strip and occasionally inside Israel), suspected Palestinian collaborators, and Fatah rivals. Hamas also constantly shelled the Gush KatifIsraeli settlements in Gaza with homemade mortars. So far, about 5500 (as for Jul 2005) mortar shells have landed in Gush Katif, killing 3 people. Since 2002, Hamas has used homemade Qassam rockets to hit Israeli towns in the Negev, such as Sderot. The introduction of the Qassam-2 rocket has allowed Hamas to reach large Israeli cities such as Ashkelon, bringing great concern to the Israeli populace and many attempts by the Israeli military to stop the proliferation and use of the rockets. Hamas runs many relief and education programs. These programs are viewed variously as part of a sincere social development agenda, an integrated para-state policy, as propaganda and recruitment exercises, or both. In addition to its paramilitary activities, Hamas funds a number of charitable activities, primarily in the Gaza Strip. These include religious institutions, medical facilities, and social needs of the area's residents. The work of Hamas in these fields is in addition to that provided by the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA). The charitable trustHoly Land Foundation for Relief and Development was accused in December2001 of funding Hamas. Hamas has an unknown number of hard-line members and tens of thousands of supporters and sympathizers. It receives funding from Palestinian expatriates, from the Islamist regime in Iran, and from private benefactors in Saudi Arabia and in other Arab states. Some fundraising and propaganda activity take place in Western Europe, North America and South America. Like Hezbollah, Hamas has been known to use illicit drug sales to raise funds for its operations. Hamas is believed to operate dozens of websites. A current listing can be found at Internet Haganah (External link below). [http://www.palestine-info.info/ The main website of Hamas] provides translations of official communiques and propaganda in Persian, Urdu, Malay, Russian, English, and Arabic. In the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Authority is reportedly losing control to Hamas, especially in the Jabalia refugee camp and the neighboring town of Jabalia in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Dir al-Balah area in the center of the Gaza Strip, Abasan to the south of it and the Dahaniyeh region in the south.

Legal action against Hamas

In 2004, a federal court in the United States found Hamas liable in a civil lawsuit for the 1996 murders of Yaron and Efrat Ungar near Beit Shemesh, Israel. Hamas has been ordered to pay the families of the Ungar's $116 million. On July 5, 2004, the court issued a default judgment against the Palestinian Authority and the PLO regarding the Ungar's claim that the Palestinian Authority and the PLO provide safe haven to Hamas. On August 20, 2004, three Palestinians, one a naturalized American citizen, were charged with a "lengthy racketeering conspiracy to provide money for terrorist acts in Israel". The indicted include Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, senior member of Hamas, believed to be currently in Damascus, Syria and considered a fugitive. The two others — Muhammad Hamid Khalil Salah of Chicago, Illinois and Abdelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar of Alexandria, Va. — were arrested on August 19. The indictment states that Salah received $50,000 which was used over the course of the following three months to help Hamas finance eight terrorist attacks that resulted in the deaths of numerous Israeli civilians [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/hamas_indictments][http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040820-113158-5933r.htm (Washington Times)].

List of notable Hamas members


- Gaza Strip
  - ShaikhAhmed Yassin - spiritual leader and founder of Hamas ([http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,1175454,00.html killed by Israeli military operation], 2004)
  - Dr. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi - leader in Gaza ([http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/F6718419-88F8-48D0-A3F1-2E4A4F2817AC.htm killed by Israeli military operation], 2004)
  - Ibrahim al-Makadmeh - co founder of Hamas ([http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/629/re2.htm killed by Israeli military operation], 2003)
  - Mahmoud al-Zahar - "political wing"
  - Ismail Haniya - "political wing"
  - Sa'id A-Siyam - "political wing"
  - Ismail Abu Shanab - "political wing" ([http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A29070-2003Aug21¬Found=true killed by Israeli military operation], 2003)
  - Keaton Bell - "political wing" ([http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/07/22/mideast/ killed by Israeli military operation], 2002)
  - Salah Shahade - leader of "military wing" ([http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/07/22/mideast/ killed by Israeli military operation], 2002)
  - Mohammed Deif - leader of "military wing"
  - Adnan al-Ghoul - chief explosives expert in Gaza and "father of the Qassam rocket"[http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6580807]([http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1098331916230 killed by Israeli military operation], 2004)
- West Bank
  - Mohammad Taha - co founder of Hamas (arrested by Israel, March 2003)
  - Qawasameh clan in Hebron - provided local leaders and suicide bombers to Hamas (some members killed by Israeli military operationa, one arrested, 2002-2003)
  - Yahya Ayyash - the "Muhandees", a senior bomb-maker (killed by Israeli military operation, 1996)
- Arab and Muslim countries
  - Khaled Mashal - leader of Hamas, based in Damascus, believed to have fled to Iran in September 2004.
  - Mousa Abu Marzuk - Hamas senior, Damascus, believed to have fled Syria in September 2004.
  - Izz El-Deen Sheikh Khalil - Hamas mid-level, "military wing" (according to Israel) Damascus (killed by Israeli military operation, 2004)

See also


- Hamas Covenant
- Holy Land Foundation
- Islamic Terrorism
- Sheikh Ahmad Yassin
- List of pejorative political slogans#Islamofascism
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- Qassam rocket
- Members of Hamas called Qawasameh
- PLO and Hamas
- Suicide bombing
- Terrorism
- Terrorist organisations in Asia
- Steven Emerson
- Anti-Defamation League

External links


- [http://www.palestine-info.info/arabic/hamas/ Website for the study of the ideas of Hamas, not the official website.] In Arabic.
- [http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/am/publish/ "The Palestinian Information Center"] Mideast news from the Hamas point of view. In English.
- [http://www.geocities.com/martinkramerorg/Excluded/Hamasbooks.htm Ten books on Hamas].
- [http://www.adl.org/israel/hamas_facts.asp Anti-Defamation League] Hamas "Fact Sheet" from a Jewish perspective.
- [http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hamas.htm Description of Hamas from GlobalSecurity.org]
- [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=116 Hamas: The Fundamentalist Challenge to the PLO]

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/03/hardtalk/zahar20may.ram BBC Interview of Hamas Leadership] (real media player required, 24 minute TV segment)
- [http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=18086 Hamas Leader Rantisi: The Holocaust - The Greatest of Lies Funded by the Zionists]
- [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/347223.html FBI sent money to Hamas while Clinton was negotiating Wye]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/1654510.stm BBC: Who are Hamas?]
- [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/hamas.htm The Covenant of Hamas]
- [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/09/01/attack/main520457.shtml News Report detailing Hamas-Hezbollah Drug Activities]
- [http://haganah.org.il/jihadi/hamas.html Internet-Haganah list of the websites of Hamas]
- [http://www.meforum.org/article/582 Hamas from Cradle to Grave]
- [http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Terrorism/Qassam.html Qassam Rockets]
- [http://www.counterpunch.org/hanania01182003.html Sharon's Terror Child: How the Likud Bloc Mid-wifed the Birth of Hamas]
- [http://www.emperors-clothes.com/letters/cia.htm The CIA fabricated the allegation that Israel created Hamas]
- [http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/9_04/hamas.htm Hamas: Portrait of a Terrorist Organization]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4727291.stm Hamas holds mass wedding ceremony]
- [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1124504879286&p=1101615860782 Gaza women join Hamas fighters] by Khaled Abu Toameh, published in the Jerusalem Post August 21, 2005
- [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,251-1814968,00.html No dancing and no gays if Hamas gets its way] by Stephen Farrell, published in the Times of London, October 07, 2005
- [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1128737860857 Hamas missteps upset its bid for legitimacy] by Matthew Gutman published in the Jerusalem Post October 9, 2005
- [http://www.axisglobe.com/article.asp?article=446 Russia as a Bridgehead of HAMAS] Category:Islamist groupsCategory:Israeli-Palestinian conflictCategory:National liberation movementsCategory:Palestinian charitiesCategory:Palestinian militant groupsCategory:Political parties in PalestineCategory:Terrorismja:ハマース

Yahya Ayyash

Yahya Ayyash (يحيى عياش; March 6, 1966 - January 5, 1996) was a member and chief bombmaker of the Hamas terrorist organization. He is credited with advancing the technique of suicide bombing in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. [http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=9721] He received a degree in electrical engineering from Bir Zeit University in 1988. Ayyash became one of the chief bomb-makers for Hamas. In that capacity, he earned the nickname the Engineer (المهندس, transliterated Al-Muhandis). The bombings he orchestrated caused the deaths of more than 70 Israelis, many of them civilians. The bombings began after the murder of 29 Palestinian civilians by Baruch Goldstein on February 25, 1994 and were carried out despite the signing of the Oslo Accords, which Hamas opposed. Ayyash was assassinated, allegedly by the Israeli security forces in 1996, following a massive manhunt. A relative of one of Ayyash's fellow Hamas militants passed him a cell phone. It exploded when Ayyash was using it, killing him instantly.

Aftermath

Israel did not confirm or deny its role in killing Ayyash. This led to wild rumors and speculations as to the extent of their involvement. Three days after the assassination, the head of the Shin Bet at the time, Carmi Gillon resigned his post (because of Shin Bet failure to prevent Itzhak Rabin's assassination). In retaliation Hamas launched a series of suicide bombings. These attacks began on February 26, 1996, with dual early morning suicide bombings of an Israeli bus and troops on the roadside. Other attacks included the suicide bombing of an Israeli bus on March 3, 1996, and March 4 bombing of Dizengoff Center.

References


- ISBN 1585747491 The Hunt for the Engineer by Samuel Katz

External links


- [http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/sib/6_04/ayash.htm A senior Palestinian terrorist as role model and admired figure] at Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies (C.S.S), Israel Ayyash, YahyaAyyash, YahyaAyyash, YahyaAyyash, Yahya

Booby trap

This article is about an antipersonnel trap designed for use against humans. For other uses, see trap. In warfare, a booby trap is an antipersonnel device, such as a landmine or grenade, placed in building or in a noncombat area that has a psychological draw for enemy soldiers. The term comes from the implication such a trap will be set off by a foolish person (a booby). The first use of the term is from the 1850s, when it was first used to describe practical jokes that are set off by their victim. A booby trap is distinguished from a land mine by the fact that it is an improvised weapon, perhaps made from an artillery shell, or a grenade, or a quantity of high explosives, whereas a land mine is manufactured for its specific purpose. A booby trap may be buried in the manner common with land mines, or not, though as a rule it is concealed in some fashion, and set to be detonated by means of pressure or a trip wire. During World War II retreating British and Canadian soldiers in France in 1940 made booby traps from artillery and mortar shells, burying them in roads behind them as they retreated, or hanging them from trees concealed by the leaves and rigged with tripwires concealed in the grass around the tree. Booby traps can also be applied as defensive weapons against unwelcomed guests or against non-military trespassers, and some paranoid people set up traps in their homes to keep people from entering. These civilian booby traps might use a non-lethal method, such as a strong electric shock, rather than explosives. As laws vary, the creator of the trap can sometimes be immune from prosecution since the victim is technically trespassing or may be held strictly liable for injuries caused. In some jurisdictions some types of traps are specified as illegal. A booby trap does not necessarily incorporate explosives in its construction, though they commonly do. Massive objects, such as a heavy log, or a boulder, arranged in such a manner as to fall down and crush the unfortunate person who disturbs the trigger mechanism, are also booby traps. So is a concealed pit with sharpened stakes in the bottom (often refered to as Punji sticks).

Usage

During the Winter War between Finnish and Soviet forces, Finnish guerilla fighters would modify dud Soviet bombs to be improvised anti-tank and personnel mines. The modified bombs were buried trigger up in roads. These devices were nicknamed Molotov's Bread Baskets by the Finns. During World War II, scales in warehouses and factories were rigged with explosives. Allied soldiers securing an area would be tempted to step upon the scale to compare their weight with that of their compatriots, and would thus perish. During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Jewish resistance fighters severely worsened Nazi casualties through a vast array of improvised and often elaborate booby traps, set up inside the ghetto buildings and basements. They were so effective that the German forces eventually decided to demolish every building systematically rather than risk entering. During the Soviet era in Eastern Europe, the Warsaw Pact attempted to better secure their borders with Western Europe by rigging border fences sporadically with explosive devices. These were usually fairly simple devices, often no more complicated than landmines hung on barbwire. The mines were modified to be sensitive enough to go off if the barbwire was tampered with or cut. During the Vietnam War, motorcycles were rigged with explosives by the Viet Cong and abandoned. US soldiers would be tempted to ride the motorcycle and thus trigger the explosives. As well, Viet Cong soldiers would rig Rubber Band Grenades and place them in huts that US soldiers would likely torch. Another popular booby trap is the Grenade in a Can trap. This involves a primed grenade in a container and a string attached, sometimes with the grenade's fuze mechanism modified to give a much shorter delay than the four to seven seconds typical with grenade fuzes. The Viet Cong soldiers primarily used these on doors and attached them to tripwires on jungle paths. The Viet Cong also used far simpler, but also effective, low technology booby traps in the form of punji sticks hidden in pits. During the Al-Aqsa Intifada, Palestinian fighters used booby traps widely. The largest use of booby traps was in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield where a large number of explosive devices were planted. :The Palestinian fighters had made their own preparations. Booby traps had been laid in the streets of both the camp and the town, ready to be triggered if an Israeli foot or vehicle snagged a tripwire. Some of the bombs were huge—as much as 250 lb (110 kg) of explosives, compared with the 25 lb (11 kg) a typical suicide bomber uses. On Day 2 of the battle, when the town had been secured but the fight in the camp was just beginning, an armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozer rolled along a three-quarter-mile (1.2 km) stretch of the main street to clear booby traps. An Israeli Engineering Corps officer logged 124 separate explosions set off by the vehicle, which was undamaged. In the camp, the explosive charges were even more densely packed, and tunnels had been dug between houses so that Palestinian fighters could move around without exposing themselves on the street. [http://www.time.com/time/2002/jenin/story.html] According to Palestinian fighters who survived the battle in Jenin this tactic failed because of the Israeli usage of the armored Caterpillar D9 bulldozer to clear out explosives and detonate booby traps. Furthermore, some of them admitted to the Times that some of the booby traps they planted are continuing to kill innocent Palestinian civilians who accidentally set them off.

See also


- combat engineer
- Improvised explosive device

External links

[http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mbooby.html The Straight Dope: What's the origin of "booby trap"?] Category:Area denial weapons

Cell phone

A mobile phone, also known as a cell phone, smart phone, mobile, or hand phone, is an electronic telecommunications device with the same basic capability as a conventional fixed linetelephone, but which is also entirely portable and is not required to be connected with a wire to the telephone network. Most current mobile phones connect instead to the network using a wireless radio wavetransmission technology. The mobile phone communicates via a network of base stations which are in turn linked to the conventional telephone network. In addition to the standard voice function of a telephone, a mobile phone can support many additional services such as SMS for text messaging, packet switching for access to the Internet and MMS for sending and receiving photos and video. Some of the world's largest mobile phone manufacturers include Alcatel, Audiovox, Fujitsu, Kyocera (formerly the handset division of Qualcomm), LG, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Panasonic (Matsushita Electric), Philips, Sagem, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Siemens, SK Teletech, Sony Ericsson, and Toshiba. There are also specialist communication systems related to, but distinct from mobile phones, such as satellite phones and Professional Mobile Radio. Mobile phones are also distinct from cordless telephones, which generally operate only within a limited range of a specific base station.

Worldwide deployment

Radio phones have a long and varied history that stretches back to the 1950s, with hand-held cellular radio devices being available since 1983. Due to their low establishment costs and rapid deployment, mobile phone networks have since spread rapidly throughout the world, outstripping the growth of fixed telephony. In most of Europe, wealthier parts of Asia and Latin America, Australia, Canada and the US, mobile phones are now widely used, with the majority of the adult, teenage, and even child population owning one. The number of cellphone subscribers in the US has reached over 190 million. At present India and China have the largest growth rates of cellular subscribers in the world. The availability of Prepaid or pay as you go services, where the subscriber does not have to commit to a long term contract, has helped fuel this growth. The mobile phone has become ubiquitous because of the interoperability of mobile phones across different networks and countries. This is due to the equipment manufacturers all working to the same standard, particularly the GSM standard which was designed for Europe-wide interoperability. All European nations and some Asian nations chose it as their sole standard, while in Japan and South Korea another standard, CDMA, was selected.

Mobile phone culture

CDMA handset]] In less than twenty years, mobile phones have gone from being rare and expensive pieces of equipment used by businesses to a pervasive low-cost personal item. In many countries, mobile phones now outnumber land-line telephones, with most adults and many children now owning mobile phones. It is not uncommon for young adults to simply own a mobile phone instead of a land-line for their residence. In some developing countries, where there is little existing fixed-line infrastructure, the mobile phone has become widespread. With high levels of mobile telephone penetration, a mobile culture has evolved, where the phone becomes a key social tool, and people rely on their mobile phone addressbook to keep in touch with their friends. Many people keep in touch using SMS, and a whole culture of "texting" has developed from this. The commercial market in SMS's is growing. Many phones even offer Instant Messenger services to increase the simplicity and ease of texting on phones. Cellular phones in Japan, offering internet capabilities such as NTT DoCoMo's i-mode, offer text messaging via standard email. The mobile phone itself has also become a totemic and fashion object, with users decorating, customizing, and accessorizing their mobile phones to reflect their personality. This has emerged as its own industry. The sale of commercial ringtones exceeded $2.5 billion dollars in 2004 [http://digital-lifestyles.info/display_page.asp?section=distribution&id=1474]. Mobile phone etiquette has become an important issue with mobiles ringing at funerals, weddings, movies and plays. Users often speak at increased volume, with little regard for other people nearby. It has become common practice for places like bookshops, libraries, movie theatres, and houses of worship to post signs prohibiting the use of cell phones, sometimes even installing jamming equipment to prevent them. The US intercity passenger system Amtrak offers a "quiet car" where cellphone use is prohibited, much like the designated non-smoking cars in days of yore. Mobile phone use on aircraft is also prohibited. Cameraphones and videophones that can capture video and take photographs are increasingly being used to cover breaking news. Stories like the London Bombings, the Indian Ocean Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina have been reported on by cameraphone users on news sites like NowPublic and photosharing sites like Flickr. In Japan, cellular phone companies provide immediate notification of earthquakes and other natural disasters to their customers free of charge. In the event of an emergency, disaster response crews can locate trapped or injured people using the signals from their cellular phones; an interactive menu accessible through the phone's internet browser notifies the company if the user is safe or in distress.

Mobile phone features

See main article: Mobile phone features Mobile phones are often packed with features that offer users far more than just the capability to send text messages and make voice calls. These may include internet browsing, music (MP3) playback, personal organisers, email, watch/alarm, built-in cameras, ringtones, security measures (e.g. pin codes), SIM blocks, games, radio, Push to talk, infrared and bluetooth connectivity, and call registers.

Technology

Mobile phones and the