Foreign Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

PERSIAN GULF
SAUDI CAMPAIGN AGAINST EXTREMISTS SEEN WORKING
The five men who attacked the American consulate are being vilified by some Saudis as criminals, not lauded as heroes, even though they targeted the offices of a country that remains unpopular among many Arabs. While support for Al Qaeda remains strong in parts of Saudi Arabia and among some religious figures, a sophisticated government campaign to turn Saudi public opinion against Islamic extremists appears to have gained some ground. Some Saudis are now referring to Islamic extremists as “the grim reapers.” The family of one of the consulate attackers also condemned his act yesterday, refusing to accept condolences for his death. And the country’s highest religious authority, Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Sheik, called Monday’s rampage a great sin.
– Associated Press
MIDDLE EAST
SETTLERS ASK TO STAY TOGETHER AFTER DISENGAGEMENT
JERUSALEM – Residents of some Jewish settlements in the northern Gaza Strip have proposed that their entire communities be moved to locations inside under Prime Minister Sharon’s plan to withdraw from Gaza next year, a lawmaker said yesterday. A resident said the settlers want to remain together outside Gaza, a sign that a significant number of the 8,200 settlers slated for evacuation next year are resigned to leaving Gaza, despite vocal opposition by settler leaders. Some have quietly formed committees to negotiate their exit. Nissim Slomianski, a lawmaker with the pro-settlement National Religious Party, who met with settler representatives on Tuesday, said they remained opposed to Mr. Sharon’s withdrawal plan, but want to remain together if they are forced to leave.
– Associated Press
WESTERN EUROPE
BRITISH, IRISH LEADERS UNVEIL NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE PACKAGE
The British and Irish prime ministers unveiled a sweeping new Northern Ireland peace plan yesterday that offered solutions to issues – particularly Irish Republican Army disarmament – that have bedeviled negotiations for a decade. The leaders’ optimism was offset, however, by statements from the two key parties in the conflict – the British Protestants of the Democratic Unionist, and the Irish Catholics of Sinn Fein – that they could not fully support the plan. Each blamed the other for being unreasonable on the key stumbling block: whether the IRA should allow disarmament officials to photograph the destruction of the outlawed group’s remaining weapons stockpiles. Sinn Fein said the existence of such photographs would humiliate the IRA after decades of armed struggle.
– Associated Press